{"id":25212,"date":"2016-01-26T13:20:57","date_gmt":"2016-01-26T19:20:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/?p=25212"},"modified":"2016-01-26T13:21:45","modified_gmt":"2016-01-26T19:21:45","slug":"amazon-offers-full-refund-for-hoverboards","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/amazon-offers-full-refund-for-hoverboards\/","title":{"rendered":"Amazon offers full refund for hoverboards"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Siri Bulusu<\/strong><\/p>\n

In response to mounting evidence of hoverboards spontaneously exploding and injuring customers, Amazon.com Inc. offered Wednesday\u00a0to pay full refunds for all hoverboards purchased through\u00a0its site.<\/p>\n

Amazon\u2019s announcement comes on the heels of a statement issued by Elliot Kaye, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who urged anyone with a hoverboard to \u201chave a working fire extinguisher nearby.”
\n<\/p>\n

Any time there are this number of fires and dozens of falls and collisions, that is a real concern,\u201d said Patty Davis, a spokesperson for the CPSC. \u201cThis is why we decided to investigate.”<\/p>\n

The CPSC is currently investigating 40 incidents in 19 states of hoverboards catching on fire.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re looking for the root cause of the fires,\u201d Davis said noting special attention to the lithium-ion battery and its interaction with the circuit boards inside the device.<\/p>\n

The CPSC chairman lauded Amazon for \u201ctaking action\u201d and called for other large-volume online retailers to follow suit.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe commend Amazon for voluntarily stepping up,\u201d Davis said. \u201cThey are putting customer safety first and that\u2019s a good thing.”<\/p>\n

Amazon first took steps to protect consumers from hoverboards in December when it pulled all but two brands of hoverboards from the virtual store, according to a spokesperson at Swagway USA, a hoverboard manufacturer.<\/p>\n

Hoverboards, which are also referred to as self-balancing boards, rose to popularity when young celebrities like Wiz Khalifa and Kendall Jenner posted photos of the product on social media. Many speculated it would soar during the holiday season but sales slowed when videos of the hoverboards on fire began surfacing on YouTube.<\/p>\n

[youtube https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=ZfHWt447nRM&w=420&h=315]<\/p>\n

Smoke pours from a hoverboard before it explodes and catches fire. (Marcus Trens\/ YOUTUBE)<\/div>\n

A spokesperson for Swagway said that the company counted 250,000 minutes of customer service calls during the month of November and guesses that number quadrupled in December.<\/p>\n

Injuries caused by hoverboards are not limited to spontaneous explosions. Elliot Volkman, a contributing staff writer at Tech.co, said the 20-pound device can \u201ctake someone\u2019s legs out when you\u2019re really going.”<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re going 10 miles per hour and it flies out in front of you, it\u2019s not a good experience,\u201d Volkman said in an interview. \u201cMore people around you are likely to get hurt than you are.”<\/p>\n

Hoverboards were not designed to sense the weight of the user and can therefore lurch at unanticipated speeds and destabilize the rider, sometimes resulting in serious injuries and hospital visits, according to Davis.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to look deeper into the design to see if there is a hidden hazard,\u201d Davis said.<\/p>\n

The CPSC does not have the authority to pre-approve products before they come to market but it is in the process of creating standards for hoverboards in addition to the standards for lithium-ion batteries and chargers that already exist.<\/p>\n

A Swagway spokesperson said that hoverboards are the new generation\u2019s skateboards or roller skates and just as when those came out, people might take a spill.<\/p>\n

\u201cJust like with bikes, you may fall off,\u201d Davis said. \u201cBut it doesn\u2019t surprise you.”<\/p>\n

Amazon has offered full refunds on all hoverboards bought through the site. (Soar Boards<\/a>\/FLICKR)<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Siri Bulusu In response to mounting evidence of hoverboards spontaneously exploding and injuring customers, Amazon.com Inc. offered Wednesday\u00a0to pay full refunds for all hoverboards purchased through\u00a0its site. Amazon\u2019s announcement comes on the heels of a statement issued by Elliot Kaye, chairman of the Consumer Product Safety Commission, who urged anyone with a hoverboard to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":220,"featured_media":25236,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27,585],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25212","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-winter-2016"],"yoast_head":"\nAmazon offers full refund for hoverboards - Medill Reports Chicago<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news.medill.northwestern.edu\/chicago\/amazon-offers-full-refund-for-hoverboards\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Amazon offers full refund for hoverboards - Medill Reports Chicago\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Siri Bulusu In response to mounting evidence of hoverboards spontaneously exploding and injuring customers, Amazon.com Inc. offered Wednesday\u00a0to pay full refunds for all hoverboards purchased through\u00a0its site. 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