Amazon is emailing customers to throw away their hoverboards in case they explode
Amazon is emailing customers who bought hoverboards from the online retailer to throw them away over concerns they can catch fire or explode, the BBC reports.
"We regret the inconvenience this may cause you but trust you will understand that your safety and satisfaction is our highest priority," Amazon said in the email, according to the BBC.
It recommends customers who bought boards with faulty plugs to take them to recycling centres and promises to refund customers within three days, the BBC said. It's not clear if it lists specific brands. Amazon also sent a safety warning to customers who bought boards with compliant plugs.
There has been a spate of highly-publicised fires and explosions likely caused by dodgy batteries and other poorly-made components in the wildly popular two-wheeled self-balancing boards.
In early December, Britain's National Trading Standards Agency announced it had seized more than 15,000 "cheap and dangerous" hoverboards. Inspectors found issues with the plug, cables, charger, battery, or cut-off switch within the boards.
Airlines are also increasingly banning the boards from their planes over safety fears.
When the boards explode, it can have serious consequences. One that burst into flames in Deal, Kent, while charging set fire to a man's kitchen and caused £25,000-worth of damage, Kent Online reported in November. Also in November, a woman from Buckinghamshire had to go to hospital after being burnt by a flaming hoverboard.
Amazon pulled hoverboards from sale over safety concerns and is demanding that manufacturers prove they abide by the relevant safety standards.
Trading Standards in Kent, England, put out a warning about the boards in November. It said that they should cost around £300 to £600 ($450-900) from most reputable shops, but potentially faulty models are going for as low as £100 ($150) "on auction sites and social media accounts."