REMINDER RE HOVERBOARD BAN

NSW Fair Trading Commissioner Rod Stowe is reminding the public about an interim ban on hoverboards, following reports of the fifth hoverboard related fire Fire and Rescue NSW has responded to this year.

Just before 6pm on 20 April 2016, Fire & Rescue NSW was called to a small fire in a Bankstown house. Investigations revealed the fire was caused by a hoverboard battery unit that had caught alight while being charged.

The battery unit had exploded, scattering hot fragments of battery around the room. There was a small fire in the vicinity of the hoverboard.

Mr  Stowe said the interim ban had been in place since 19 March 2016 due to imminent fire safety risks from defective  electrical circuitry and substandard lithium-ion batteries in some hoverboards.

There have been a number of house fires and incidents of hoverboards sparking, overheating or producing smoke, in Australia and overseas.

Commissioner Stowe is urging consumers to stop using and charging hoverboards immediately, unless they are sure it meets safety standards specified in the ban.

Some hoverboard suppliers are testing their hoverboards to the safety standards, but it is likely that many have not.

Consumers should contact the retailer or manufacturer of their hoverboard to confirm if the product has been tested and if it meets the safety standards specified in the ban.

Consumer should also check if their hoverboard is one of the following that has been recalled:

• Hunter Sports—Moonwalker Electric Balancing Scooter sold at BIG W
• eBay Trader ‘SelloProducts’—Self-Balancing 2 wheels Electric Scooter
• Catchoftheday.com.au Pty Ltd—AirWalk Self-Balancing Scooter
• Techwheel—Techwheel Z-01 (ChargerOnly)
• Scooter Emporium—Self Balancing Scooter with Charger
• Go Easy Australia – Go Skitz Self Balancing E Board models S01 & S03 ( Charger Only)
• Mod Products—Mod Board Model MOD001(Charger Only)
• Jyro Pty Ltd—Jyro Self-Balancing 2 Wheel Electric Scooter
• Smart Scooter ANZ—Smart Scooter ‘Hoverboard’
• TCB Contracting Pty Ltd—Balancing Scooter ‘Hoverboard’
• Freego Australasia Pty Ltd—Freego Hoverboard W1, W2 and W2SR (Charger Only)
• Smart Wheels Australia Pty Ltd—”Neo” Hoverboard (Charger and Appliance Connector Only)
• Ohmama—”Swegway” Hoverboard
• Crazy Technology Pty Ltd—Smart Electric Self-Balancing Scooter / Hoverboard (Charger Only)
• Austwide Consumer Products—Two Wheel Self Balance Drift Board (“Hoverboard”)
• Glideboard—Balance Wheel Electric Scooter (“Hoverboards”)
• Awesomewheels Pty Ltd—SEGGi Self-Balancing 2 Wheel Electric Scooter (“Hoverboard”)
• Home Garden Sales—Smart Self-Balancing Scooter/Hoverboard Charger 
• Hoverboard Store—2 Wheel Self-Balancing Scooter/ Hoverboard (Charger Only)
• DayNight Technology Pty Ltd—Self-Balancing Scooter/Hoverboard

Under the Australian Consumer Law if you have been supplied an unsafe product, you have the right to seek a refund or replacement product that meets the safety standards.

If your supplier is unable to confirm, after testing, that your hoverboard meets the safety standards specified in the ban, you are entitled to ask for a refund on the grounds that it is not of acceptable quality.

The key safety standards under the ban address lithium-Ion battery and battery control system risks in hoverboards by preventing battery overcharging, controlling battery temperature and current flow and voltage imbalance within the battery pack.

Ask your manufacturer to confirm the products it has supplied meet the safety standards specified in the ban. The charger for recharging the battery should also meet state and territory electrical safety requirements.

Mr Stowe said Fair Trading would continue its inspection program of hoverboards.

“Officers have conducted onsite inspections and contacted more than 40 auction site sellers since the interim-ban was announced and examined four hoverboards as part of our preliminary investigation into their design and construction,” he said.

Fair Trading are continuing to search through online sales of hoverboards and will contact all identified traders making them aware of their responsibilities under the interim-ban.

Fair Trading have identified that lower priced, directly imported hoverboard models pose a greater safety risk.