Amazon tells United Kingdom customers to throw out some hoverboards

Online retailer Amazon has reportedly advised customers who bought hoverboards to throw them away after a watchdog called on all retailers to remove them from sale over safety concerns.

Amazon said these customers should dispose of the boards at a recycling centre, adding that they will receive a full refund. Amazon has also pulled boards off its site, along with online retailers Argos and John Lewis.

In an email, the company warned customers who had bought some models of the electric travel devices through its United Kingdom website that they were unsafe and should be disposed of because of “non-compliant” plugs.

They operate off of large lithium batteries which can cause a fire if they suddenly erupt into flames. “Customers are entitled to a full refund for a further six months after this period if a fault develops and a fix or suitable replacement is not available – which would appear to be the case with many of these products”, he said.

The warning serves as another knock against hoverboards, which have now raised safety concerns after reports that some have caught fire.

Stephen Curtler, of Electrical Safety First, said the batteries used the same technology as e-cigarettes and mobile phones, but the risk of injury was greater as they were “about 10 times the size”.

The email contains a link for people who want to return their hoverboards.

If you’ve bought one from Tesco, John Lewis and Argos, you should contact the retailers about your particular hoverboard as only certain brands are being withdrawn from those stores.

It said inspections have found significant issues with plugs, chargers, cabling and battery packs, all of which fail safety standards. The company has stopped selling hoverboards while it investigates.

Airlines are also increasingly banning the boards from their planes over safety fears.

Also, a majority of the hoverboards are manufactured in China and they use the unscientific method to evade from questions about intellectual property and other trade regulations. “We suspect that most of these products are being imported for onward sale domestically as Christmas approaches”, said Lord Toby Harris, Chairman of National Trading Standards (NTS).