6 Oct 2014

Bubble bursts for GrabOne

8:17 pm on 6 October 2014

Online retailer GrabOne has been fined $40,000 for selling unsafe bubble machines, after failing to recall them when a customer reported receiving a shock from one.

Auckland woman Sheree Kennedy complained to the company after being shocked last year.

GrabOne did not recall the product, or notify other purchasers, until after WorkSafe New Zealand tested the machines and deemed them dangerous more than a month later.

WorkSafe found they did not have enough insulation between live wires and the water used to make the bubbles.

The company pleaded guilty to selling an unsafe appliance and not taking action to protect customers when it appeared in the North Shore District Court.

WorkSafe said GrabOne sold 439 of the bubble machines.