SaferProducts incident

Failure type

Fire / ignition

Incident narrative

SaferProducts.gov consumer incident report 20200612-0FA54-2147371753. Severity: Incident, No Injury. Product: GreenWorks STF307 (Cordless powered lawn string trimmer, GreenWorks model STF307). Incident: I purchased a Greenworks cordless string trimmer in new condition from eBay. The box was unopened, everything inside had never been used (all bags sealed with original tape; all items unassembled and no dirt; no parts bags opened). The string trimmer is battery operated and comes with a battery and a battery charging base. The charging base has a manufacturing defect in the electrical plug causing neutral prong to be askew and pointing out at an odd angle. This was not bent after manufacturing but was bent first and then molded into the black plastic of a standard two-prong electrical plug. I contacted GreenWorks customer service and they refused to replace it since I bought it on eBay. I explained it could be a safety issue and that the item was CSA listed and that they should take this opportunity to understand whether other consumers were affected. The tech refused and again stated their policy that they would not replace the dangerous part. I did not attempt to plug it into my outlet but other customers may have tried to use it anyway which could represent an electrical safety issue (such as a short circuit) which could cause electroshock to a person or fire damage to property.