Nearly a month after the Consumer Product Safety Commission recalled half a million (non-hovering) hoverboards over safety concerns, urging owners to stop using the self-balancing scooters and seek refunds, some customers say they’re having a difficult time doing so.
The CPSC says it has received a slew of complaints from hoverboard owners related to how companies are providing refunds for the potentially dangerous boards, WCNC reports [warning: link has video that autoplays].
One family, which bought two hoverboards as Christmas gifts last year, said their refund experience has been anything but simple or satisfying.
The boards, from Hoverboard 360, cost $800 in all. When the family attempted to get a refund, the company responded with an email explaining the only thing they could get was $800 toward the purchase of clothing. But that apparel had to be from the same company, and, as the family quickly found, the clothing was limited in size and styles.
“I think it’s ridiculous,” the father says. “If we wanted to buy $800 in clothes for our kids for Christmas, we certainly wouldn’t have ordered $800-worth through Hoverware.”
The CPSC tells WCNC that the issues customers are encountering are partially its fault, having negotiated the refund process.
Per the deal, Imoto, the parent company to Hoverboard 360, can offer credit offers to the 84,000 customers who can no longer use their boards.
A spokesperson for the CPSC tells WCNC that it is working with the company to find a different solution for refunds.
“We want consumers affected by this recall to be taken care of appropriately,” the spokesperson said. “We want companies to do the right thing.”
After a recall, complaints about hoverboard refunds [WCNC]
by Ashlee Kieler via Consumerist