dangerous hoverboards DANGEROUS WARNING: VOVO Hoverboards on eBay Australia

[Hoverboard Warning]

** WARNING ** To all VOVO 6.5" Hoverboard Owners.. Send it back and get your money back is my advice. VOVO Hoverboard purchased on eBay Australia from Discounted Kiosk who are also known as Tradeworks International / Tradeworkz. They claim to be a Australian Seller / Company but when requesting the contact info through eBay I receive a Malaysian phone number and Address.. Tradeworks International / Tradeworkz is registered to a Vincent Gangemi with a current ABN but he doesn't appear to have any association with Discounted Kiosk, they appear to be using his ABN. Discounted Kiosk is not an Australian Company. They use a Australian forwarding company based in Mascot, 2020 NSW

Associated Customs & Forwarding Services Pty Ltd 

Now for the 6.5" Hoverboard. Power button failed after first use. Would not switch off / on (would only beep and nothing else).. Green Battery light was illuminated. Only way to power it off was with the remote but that doesn't actually switch it off. Just puts it in Standby mode. Bluetooth would not turn off even in standby mode. I was riding mine for approx. 20 minutes and the Green light was still illuminated showing it had a full battery. Then without any warning at all it powered itself off sending me flying / skidding along the bitumen for about 2 metres ripping chunks off me and leaving me laying in a pool of Blood. Put my back out, Busted my Ribs, Fractured my Pelvis, Dislocated my Thumb and fractured my elbow. If it wasn't for my Beer Belly my face probably would of taken the impact on the bitumen and I highly doubt I would be here now writing this comment to you. By the time I was able to pick myself up off the road and turn around to recover it the hoverboard had powered itself back on again and was out of control. It took off down the road rolling and bouncing and spinning out of control. Had to chase after it. Now I am bed ridden and in the process of reporting this company to Consumer Affairs. Contacted eBay and told them of my injuries caused by this cheap knockoff and of cause eBay protects the Fraudulent Malaysian Based Seller who has sold over 2000 of these death traps in Australia making over $1,000,000.00 off our poor Australian Consumers.. So I called Paypal and reported it now it has been sent back to them for a refund. I ended up Pulling the cover off to see the battery had a Samsung logo on it but I'm sure that was a counterfeit as well so I disconnected the Battery as it was making a continuous buzzing noise and I could of cooked Bacon and Eggs on the wheels they were that hot including the battery side on the casing / frame. I wasn't gunna take the risk of it exploding / burning my house down or exploding while in transit with the courier or at the post office.

They are cheap counterfeits and are extremely dangerous. My street is as smooth as glass and there was nothing on the road to cause this accident.  

They have no Electrical Safety Certification or Mandatory Standards. I will be seeking legal action against this company for my Injuries from this defective hoverboard..

Honestly I am just happy to be Alive. (Prefer to be Bed Ridden then Dead)..

Hope this is a wake up to anyone who purchased one of the Dangerous Death Traps from eBay Australia and I highly recommend returning it for a Full Refund.

By the way, I am a experienced Hoverboard user and know how to ride these things. But buyers beware if you plan on buying a Hoverboard make sure you do your research! 

[Phil Wright]

Sorry to hear of yr accident Josh, Im a Ninebot One e+ single wheel rider and to me they are 100% safer than those 2 wheel death traps. There was a fire reported on the news last night in Melbourne where one caught fire and burned the house down.

I wouldnt ride one if I got it for free, just too risky..

hoping a speedy recovery

[Hoverboard Warning]

Thanks Phil. Still hurting but am happy to be alive without any head injuries. 

Yes, I seen it all over the news in QLD this morning and checked the ACCC facebook to find warnings are now in place so I filed a Product Safety Complaint. 

Death Trap is now on the way to being returned to the Malaysian companys forwarding agent in Mascot NSW

Paypal have already refunded me due to the Circumstances. Funny you say you wouldn't ride one if you got it for free.

I actually have a Free 8" Bluetooth Hoverboard on its way to me but there is no chance in hell that I will even take it out of the box.

But again saying that from what I have seen on the news, the ACCC website and youtube I have not seen any stories as of yet about any problems with the 8" model.

It seams to be all the 6.5" models that are exploding / catching on fire but still there is no chance of me taking any more risks with my Life..

I will stick to walking/driving.lol.

 

 

[Jurgen]

hi Josh, sorry to hear about your injuries, some of these devices indeed seem to be extremely dangerous.

I'm riding an IPS Lhotz monowheel, the reason why I bought this model is because the brand has a good reputation, and the batteries are made in Japan.

Currently I'm looking around for buying another monowheel.  I just received a e-mail back from the manufacturer that the battery of the wheel I like, is from Sony.

My advice: never ever buy a device (be it a hoverboard, phone, whatever) with generic chinese batteries, you risk that it litterally explodes in your face or burns your house down a night while charging.

[lizardmech]

Any chance of a disassembly and photos of the parts or did you send it somewhere already? Government authorities have been not been helpful, despite being sent defective hover boards in multiple countries none of them have made any attempt to create guides to identify dangerous versions. One burnt down a house here the other day as well, energy safe Victoria after being given another from the same batch, only said it didn't comply with Australian standards. This is of no use to anyone because the majority will be bought from overseas and won't be submitted for australian certs.

[Hoverboard Warning]

Hi @lizardmech

I have already sent it back to the forwarding agent yesterday and paypal refunded me immediately due to the circumstances..

I did take the cover off and disconnect the battery which had a Samsung stamp on it but It could of easily been a cheap chinese battery with a Samsung stamp. 

The instructions stated to plug the power supply into the wall and switch it on prior to plugging it into the scooter and when you attempt to plug it in it shot sparks out everytime. 

All the connections on the circuit board had been secured in place with a hot glue gun and even though they had been glued the glue was useless and every connection was loose. The circuit board for the bluetooth speaker was secured by 4 blobs of glue which had come off as well and 2 of the 3 wires to one wheel were just barely connected. 

Poorly made counterfeits. 

Hoverboard / Self Balancing Scooter Recall Notice | ACCC

[lizardmech]

Samsung don't even make hoverboard packs only the cells inside, so if it has a samsung logo on the outside it's pretty much meaningless and added by the manufacturer not samsung. I'm not sure how they can fix it, maybe require transparent shrink wrap be used to allow visual inspection of the cells and BMS without cutting them open.

[Keith]

I think this video is quite telling regarding Hoverboards: http://youtu.be/mjjJex28WMM

The cheap generics in particular do not have the power to maintain balance, even when working correctly with the result that the majority of the falls captured on this clip are people flying off backwards and landing very heavily, in many cases with significant risk to the back of their heads. The video also show how easily the rider is thrown off (not just falling) if they put too much weight on one leg. EUC's look harder to ride but, actually, if of good quality, are much easier to ride safely than these.

[Neale Gray]

2 hours ago, lizardmech said:

Any chance of a disassembly and photos of the parts or did you send it somewhere already? Government authorities have been not been helpful, despite being sent defective hover boards in multiple countries none of them have made any attempt to create guides to identify dangerous versions. One burnt down a house here the other day as well, energy safe Victoria after being given another from the same batch, only said it didn't comply with Australian standards. This is of no use to anyone because the majority will be bought from overseas and won't be submitted for australian certs.

@lizardmech The Australian government legislation is working correctly, it is not the governments job to do the work that is the responsibility of business.

Importing and distribution in Australia is a professional and expensive business.

You can rest assured that the system will work, there will be prosecutions and fines. If any device was purchased internationally then NO Australian consumer protections will apply. Almost all national retailers have a forced recall because of compliance. https://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1081137

When consumers convinced themselves that a $1000.00 product should sell for $400.00 it was clear that it was always going to end badly for the device introduction.

Fortunately Australia does have at least one professional specialist self balancing vehicle developer and distributor where compliance, quality and reliability are our primary considerations.  Milbay are very much involved in the Motouni (self balancing unicycle) and electric chariots (aka Segway) which as suggested are a far safer device for a variety of design reasons.

About the sparks when you connect the charger. - This is quite normal as you are dealing with high amp DC, the exact same thing happens with most DC switches as the air gap is breached. This is common when connecting the battery on an electric bicycle as well as many other devices. If you test the charge port with a multimeter it will always report live voltage and why normally there will be a rubber cover for when the charger is not connected (keeps out moisture and foreign objects that could create a short circuit)

[lizardmech]

33 minutes ago, Neale Gray said:

The Australian government legislation is working correctly, it is not the governments job to do the work that is the responsibility of business.

Importing and distribution in Australia is a professional and expensive business.

You can rest assured that the system will work, there will be prosecutions and fines. If any device was purchased internationally then NO Australian consumer protections will apply. Almost all national retailers have a forced recall because of compliance. https://www.recalls.gov.au/content/index.phtml/itemId/1081137

When consumers convinced themselves that a $1000.00 product should sell for $400.00 it was clear that it was always going to end badly for the device introduction.

I don't see how it's working when people are faceplanting and burning down their houses. The difference in BoM cost of a decent quality hoverboard vs a unsafe one would be maybe 50 or 60 USD. Australia is a small market, if a 300USD hoverboard is so expensive to certify and import that it ends up $1000 AUD few people will buy locally. By not adopting any sort of standardised requirements for batteries and chargers for ebikes and other li-ion transport devices they have failed to stay in control of the situation. If they had been proactive they would have some sort of system in place that made it easier for consumers buy proper ones by providing an efficient way for importers and manufacturers to certify chargers and packs.

[maddy]

6 hours ago, Joshua Anthony said:

Thanks Phil. Still hurting but am happy to be alive without any head injuries. 

Yes, I seen it all over the news in QLD this morning and checked the ACCC facebook to find warnings are now in place so I filed a Product Safety Complaint. 

Death Trap is now on the way to being returned to the Malaysian companys forwarding agent in Mascot NSW

Paypal have already refunded me due to the Circumstances. Funny you say you wouldn't ride one if you got it for free.

I actually have a Free 8" Bluetooth Hoverboard on its way to me but there is no chance in hell that I will even take it out of the box.

But again saying that from what I have seen on the news, the ACCC website and youtube I have not seen any stories as of yet about any problems with the 8" model.

It seams to be all the 6.5" models that are exploding / catching on fire but still there is no chance of me taking any more risks with my Life..

I will stick to walking/driving.lol.

 

 

I bought my son a Vovo Hoverboard from Ebay for Christmas and after reading hearing of all the carnage, just want the thing out of the house. What steps did you take to get a refund and who did you send it back to?

 

[lizardmech]

8 minutes ago, maddy said:

I bought my son a Vovo Hoverboard from Ebay for Christmas and after reading hearing of all the carnage, just want the thing out of the house. What steps did you take to get a refund and who did you send it back to?

 

Do you know how to open the cover? If it has quality issues like his or if the battery lacks BMS you can probably take some pictures and send them to paypal or ebay if the seller isn't helpful.

[Hoverboard Warning]

@maddy I tried contacting Discounted Kiosk who I purchased the VOVO Hoverboard from without any reply. Then I requested there contact details on eBay and received a Malaysian phone number and address of a Business claiming to be Australian. So I did some more research and and found that it had been sent to me by Associated Customs and Forwarding Services Pty Ltd. That is who I had to return it too. I opened a return dispute on eBay but it was taking to long so I went ahead and opened another dispute with paypal instead which closed the eBay return so I could deal directly with paypal and I called them and stated what had happened and requested a return due to the circumstances but paypal told me I was not covered by there money back guarantee due to it being a scooter and that the dispute should not of been approved (but then I said its actually classed as a Hoverboard and they put me on hold and spoke to there supervisor and they were all apologies when they returned and then told me I was covered by the money back guarantee) Finally Tradeworks International replied accepting the return but expected me to pay return postage cost. Then I called Paypal again and requested them to reimburse me for the return shipping cost as if it wasn't defective I would not be returning it. Paypal will reimburse up to $45 for returning the item but it will take a week or so. Then I processed the postage via Click and Send with Tracking, Added the tracking number on Paypal for the return yesterday, lodged it at Auspost then called them again today asking them to check the tracking number to see it had been scanned in by Auspost and I requested they process my refund immediately. Within 5 minutes I had my refund.

I honestly felt like filling the box with my Dogs Business and throwing the Hoverboard in the bin in case they tried to resell it but decided I was best just to return it.

Discounted Kiosks eBay account will be if not already under investigation by eBay and they will eventually be closed down permanently. But currently they are still trading on eBay and still selling these lethal VOVO Death Traps. I have reported them to the ACCC so hopefully they will sort it out. 

Goodluck with returning your Hoverboard. You have the right to do so with all that's been on the news about these things as I stated to paypal.

@Keith it actually threw me off forwards when it shut off without any warning and shot out backwards from under me and if it wasn't for my bourbon belly I reckon I wouldn't be here now.. and for my Bourbon Belly I only weigh 77kg so it wasn't a weight problem. It just shut down without warning and I did actually Hover in the air before skidding along the ground for about 2 metres. 

[Neale Gray]

@lizardmech Like I said importing and distribution into Australia is a professional business. Yes compliance for Australia is expensive because it is not just a sticker that is required.

I cant condemn the Australian system as it works quite effectively when correctly interpreted and followed.

The fact is that a lack of technical expertise allowed otherwise responsible corporates to become involved in the product without proper preparations for the Australian market, I know this because my business canvassed most of the mentioned national retailers about the product earlier in 2015 but it appears that they went it alone or with businesses that were established purely to capitalise on the world wide promotion that was put in place, maybe they just went for the lowest price?. I am sure all these companies have learnt from the experience as there will be large losses instead of profits, most issues could have been avoided had the corporates started their investigations earlier. Please understand many Chinese workers have lost employment and payments as a result of the failed hoverboard situation, I don't blame the Chinese manufacturers I think fault lays with the corporate buyers and distributors who entered the market with no ability to determine if the product was good or bad before introduction.

I think that there are many lessons that Australian corporates, consumers and legislators should learn from this introduction regarding the new borderless consumer paradigm.

about the government staying in control of new battery technologies, again this is a business responsibility. The gov does have some responsibilities around some new legislation and they have been working with the business community for some time.

Although the new Li battery system appear very simple to the end user (just plug in the connector) they are quite complex and each battery system is specifically designed for the application and there are many design alternatives that must be considered as you can build a battery to a quality or to a price, it is for the consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

Another great recent example: Tesla Powerwall. Oh how quick many Australian commentators have decided that this is a great idea without the slightest investigation or scrutiny just because of the company name and location. For me this is not the correct technology for household power storage when there is a far safer option in LFP (LiFePO4) LFP is the technology Milbay Australia already has available as it is newer technology and well proven to be far safer. I AM NOT making any claims or suggestions that the Tesla Li technology poses any danger, it is my technical opinion 18650 Li is not the safest option available for household storage application. link to LFP solar battery module for reference purpose http://www.milbay.com.au/Li/SolarHome Just like Tesla Milbay also have an electric vehicle, our 4WD 4X4 UTV uses an LFP technology battery system specifically designed in cooperation with our Chinese partner manufacturer. Admittedly not as impressive as Teslas vehicle efforts but it is the first vehicle in this class to outperform petrol equivalents and the only production vehicle in the UTV class using LFP. The development of this vehicle was totally driven by Milbay Australia ( we are very proud of this achievement) http://www.milbay.com.au/CustomerViews/UTV

There are standards in place in all product categories and it is businesses responsibility to ensure that products sold in Australia meet these standards. 

It is always difficult for consumers when brand new technology is introduced, as an Australian business all we can do is maintain Australian standards and continue to provide our specialist services, advice and knowledge to Australian businesses and consumers.

I hope this explains the situation

[maddy]

Wow.Thanks all for your amazing detailed info. Sounds complicated but I will get the ball rolling and try for a refund!

[Hoverboard Warning]

Checked eBay Australia today and all VOVO Hoverboards have been removed. My work here is done 

[Hoverboard Warning]

I will be keeping an eye on this company as my guess they will popup again in the coming months with a Different branding on the same Counterfeit Death Traps. The same company still have Airwheel Self Balancing Unicycle's advertised on eBay Australia stating that they are 100% genuine and again they are claiming to be a Australian Company but they are indeed based in Malaysia and would be using Associated Customs and Forwarding to deliver them in Australia as well so if I was to take a wild guess these thing are obviously not 100% genuine like they claim in there listings. So I guess it will take a serious accident to occur before they are removed / banned from selling on eBay Australia. Just remember avoid Discounted Kiosk at all costs. Not worth risking your life and ending up in Hospital or even worse 6 Feet Under. 

Travel Safe Guys and if you are using a Hoverboard, Self Balancing Scooter or Unicycle always remember to where Protective Gear!..

Who care's if you look silly or think you are a Pro at riding and that your not going to have a Accident! It's not worth risking your lives.. Life is a Gift! 

 

[lizardmech]

I was looking through the Australian compliance rules today, I'm very skeptical there is anything in there that would prevent most of the hoverboard issues. There also seems to be an issue that the Australian requirements aren't even easily accessible, despite the standards being handled by a non-profit org, they pass the rights of the details into another corporate entity who then tries to sell access for up to $400 just to view a single PDF file. Meanwhile the Euro CE guidelines appear to be free so european companies can easily just order CE compliant equipment from chinese suppliers. To me that seems like an extreme conflict of interest and rather unethical, I need to look into it further.

[Hoverboard Warning]

What I have been reading from around the world about them catching on fire is most of them are children who are using them / charging them.. 

When I was a kid I never read instructions (destructions I called them). They are plugging them in and leaving them on charge for way too long.. 

Maximum charge time on the Hoverboards / Smart Balance Wheels / Self Balancing Scooters is approx 2 hours.

When the light changes from Red to Green it is meant to be unplugged immediately. Not left on charge overnight/all day etc

They are not like Laptop Computers / Mobile Phones etc. I leave my laptop plugged on charge overnight along with my mobile phone..

The biggest problem with these house fires is the parents are not following the instructions or teaching there children how to follow instructions..

I didn't bother looking at the instructions with the VOVO Hoverboard but as I was a experienced user I didn't need to follow the instructions.

It was just that I ended up with a poorly made Counterfeit which I wasn't to know until it Powered Off without any warnings at all causing me Injuries. 

For example:

The house fire in Melbourne which is a terrible accident and I feel sorry for the home owners but again houses can be replaced, your life cannot!! 

As the father stated that it had only been on charge for 7 to 8 minutes before it exploded. Honestly how can he be certain of that if he wasn't watching over it?!

I think that this statement is possibly inaccurate but we will never know for sure as we were not there to see if it was on charge for 7 to 8 minutes or 7 to 8 hours.

If my house burned down cause of this I would also say the same if my house was insured to try and cover my own backside.. (don't worry, its not insured)

For all we know it could of been left on charge for 7 to 8 hours or even longer / all day / overnight. If I was a kid and it was my parents house and I was in shock from the circumstances I would also say it was only on charge for 7 to 8 minutes but really its been left plugged in all day or it was already 99% charged when it was plugged in.

Also for the ones that have been catching on fire around the world when riding I would have to say the main cause of this problem is everyone is opting for the cheapest one's out there being counterfeits (most consumers not knowing they are counterfeits, if its cheap its more then likely a counterfeit) which no doubt would have a poorly made chinese battery, internal components and circuit boards. It is a shame about all the Counterfeit Reproductions on the market in Australia as they are actually great fun to ride.

If mine wasn't defective I probably wouldn't of sent it back as I did like the way the hoverboard handled for the 20 minutes that it actually worked but after my Accident from a Defective model I don't think I would trust using another one even if it had the Australian Tick of Approval and I was wrapped from head to toe in Bubble Wrap..

I have talked with many Chinese factory's and have only found a couple that actually do Strict Testing of there Self Balancing Scooters from Drop Tests to Vibration Tests etc.

If you still plan on purchasing one make sure you do your research prior to buying and I would avoid eBay Australia as you will find most of them are cheap reproductions.

WARNING FOR ALL USERS:

If you intend on keeping / using / charging your Hoverboard / Self Balancing Scooter I highly recommend charging it outdoors away from anything that could ignite and if you purchased it for yourself / or your child to read and read and read the instructions until they sink in prior to using / charging it and check on it every 5 - 10 minutes so once the red light has changed to the green light in the charger pack you can immediately disconnect it.

(I recommend switching it off at the wall prior to unplugging it from your hoverboard / self balancing scooter for personal safety reasons).

 

 

[maddy]

4 hours ago, Joshua Anthony said:

Checked eBay Australia today and all VOVO Hoverboards have been removed. My work here is done 

Joshua,I did as you suggested and called Paypal who put in a return request straight away on my behalf. Soon after I too noticed the Vovo boards had been removed from ebay. I can't thank you enough-I wouldn't have had a clue how to go about it. Hope you are fully recovered soon!

[Hoverboard Warning]

No worries at all @maddy Glad you got it sorted out. Thanks mate  

[Hoverboard Warning]

My Free Hoverboard / Self Balancing Scooter just arrived today. I will take a photo of it later and post it up here for everyone to see 

@maddy Once you have dropped it off at the Post Office / its been Scanned in call Paypal again stating it has been lodged and that you want your refund now.

It will be processed immediately as long as you can supply the tracking number to paypal and it shows as lodged at Auspost they will instantly refund you . 

Am glad that I could help you on resolving this 

[Hoverboard Warning]

 @maddy Signing up for a Click and Send account would probably be the cheapest way to process a return postage label. 

[maddy]

1 hour ago, Joshua Anthony said:

 @maddy Signing up for a Click and Send account would probably be the cheapest way to process a return postage label. 

Yep will do. Just waiting for a response from paypal. I'd love to know if ebay took these Hoverboards off their site as a direct response to your (our) complaints!

Had a good look at the user manual-no model/serial number and written with the most laughable translation of English I've ever seen. For example (and I quote word for word),on page 1: "Before your starting,familiarize yourself with how to operation,so that you can keep the scooter in the best condition. Otherwise you will get crashed, fell down or lose control, etc." This alone should have been a warning sign that it was a shonky deal....

[Hoverboard Warning]

@maddy The instructions were the highlight of my day prior to my accident. It was a good laugh at how poorly translated the instructions were.

I have been doing some more research into SAA Approvals and the Australian Regulatory Compliance Symbol / RCM and have found some very interesting info. 

There is a Company in China claiming to be the SAA representative of China http://saa.org.cn/cn/index.php 

Upon checking our Australian SAA website I found: ALERT: Fraudulent Use of SAA Name in China. 

Genuine SAA Website in Australia: http://www.saaapprovals.com.au/

So pretty much all Self Balancing Scooters / Hoverboards that are being imported from China with SAA approval / RCM Symbol is actually a Counterfeit.

I contacted multiple manufacturers (approx 30 company's) in China asking them if there products are SAA Approved with Australian Regulatory Compliance?

Out of 30 company's only 1 replied stating that they are actually in the process of paying $6750USD for SAA Approval and RCM.. 

The other 29 company's said they can print the RCM and SAA on the Scooter / Hoverboard and Charger so it will not be Seized in Customs.

So take caution in Buying any branded or unbranded hoverboard / self balancing scooter as they are printing fake RCM and SAA labels.