Spark New Zealand last week announced an immediate product recall of a power back-up that has been issued to approximately 14,000 wireless landline customers during the last 4 months.
Spark has identified that some of the power back-up devices have incorrectly placed wiring due to a manufacturing error. This creates the risk of overheating which may lead to a potential fire risk. While the wireless landline works without it, the power back-up was issued to ensure continuity of service in the event of a power outage.
The recall followed a recent customer report that their power back-up had overheated to the point of smoke emitting from the device. An investigation determined this was likely to be caused by incorrect placement of a wire during the manufacturing process. Other different but concerning wiring inconsistencies were found in a handful of power back-up devices from a sample that were randomly selected and tested.
Tessa Tierney, Product Director, Spark
We are not aware of any fire incidents, or of actual harm being caused to any customers by this manufacturing issue. However, the safety of our customers is paramount, and we are therefore actioning an immediate product recall.
