Wisconsin BBB warns consumers of online hoverboard retailer
MILWAUKEE -- Poor product quality and unresponsive customer service from a Wisconsin hoverboard company won’t fly with the Better Business Bureau (BBB), which is warning online shoppers about Hoverboards.com.
The company, which uses a UPS Store located in Appleton, Wis. as an address, has received 29 complaints since February 2018, including 15 since the beginning of 2019. The BBB has not received a response from the company to most of those complaints, which has resulted in an F rating, the lowest on BBB’s scale. In addition, the BBB has received 7 negative customer reviews.
Complainants have come from 19 states: Alabama, Florida, Georgia (4), Illinois, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina (2), New York, Ohio (3), Oregon (2), Pennsylvania (2), South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington (3) and Wisconsin.
These complaints allege that the company’s products don’t work, the products are expensive to ship back to the business, and the business is unresponsive to customers’ communications. Most of the complainants lost between $150-$200.
A Shreveport, LA woman wrote: “I received my hoverboard and within two days noticed the charging port was starting to disconnect. Immediately contacted customer support with no response. Weeks (have) passed still no help! I've talked to someone every day with a different excuse. Someone from upper management (is) supposed to call me back every time I call and I never received the call. Currently I am calling everyday! I have mailed my hoverboard back to them to be fixed. 4 weeks have passed! At this point I want my money back!! This is now stealing! Keeping my hoverboard and my money! Not only did I pay for the hoverboard but I spent $35 on shipping to send it back to be repaired!!.”
“In many cases, parents and grandparents purchased these products from Hoverboard.com as a gift for family members who were disappointed that their new hoverboard didn’t work properly,” says Jim Temmer, president/CEO of BBB Serving Wisconsin. “Poor product quality and poor customer service are simply unacceptable.”
Additionally, the company has not responded to two requests by the BBB to substantiate the claims found on its website that it’s the “#1 Awarded Hoverboard for Safety and Reliability" and "largest UL2272 Certified Hoverboard retailer." Reputable companies should be able to substantiate advertised certifications and superlative claims, but Hoverboards.com did not.
The company also did not respond to BBB’s request in October 2018 to address a pattern of complaints from consumers, who said that Hoverboards.com has been unresponsive to their concerns and that shipping fees are very high. In addition, it has not responded to BBB requests for basic, general information.
To file a BBB complaint against Hoverboards.com, go to www.bbb.org/complaints.
In addition, BBB offers these tips for hassle-free online shopping: