Amazon is removing some brands of the self-balancing scooters, i.e. hoverboards, from its store until the products are proven to be safe.
There have been a number of reports of hoverboards catching fire, with at least two houses in both the US and the UK nearly burnt down after the gadgets combusted while charging in recent weeks. Some US airlines have also banned scooters from flights.
Consumer advocacy group CHOICE has released a warning to hoverboard owners not to overcharge their devices because some units pose a fire hazard.
In response to Amazon’s removal of hoverboard, a spokesperson for Swagway, which claims its the ‘original and official’ seller of hoverboards, provided this statement to The Verge: “Amazon just sent out a notice to all “hoverboard” sellers to ‘provide documentation demonstrating that all hoverboards you list are compliant with applicable safety standards, including UN 38.3 (battery), UL 1642 (battery), and UL 60950-1 (charger).’
“Swagway already meets all those certifications and is happy that Amazon has decided to take steps to weed out the low quality boards. As safety is always on the forefront for Swagway, we’re glad that this is taking place, especially in light of recent concerns with the fires with the poor quality batteries.
“On that note, we’re also in the process of working on measures, to help consumers identify between an authentic Swagway and the many imitation boards that are adding our branded logo to their unauthorised boards. Meanwhile, we ask that consumers only purchase from authorised retailers as an added precaution.”
According to Best Reviews, all five of its most-recommended hoverboards have now been removed from Amazon, as of December 2015, including the Swagway X1.