By Patrick Avenell
SYDNEY and CALIFORNIA: Polycom, a company which specializes in conferencing hardware and solutions, has announced a worldwide voluntary recall of battery packs for SoundStation2W wireless conference phones. According to the ACCC, “the cells used in the battery packs are substandard and possibly counterfeit.”
The ACCC is also reporting that in some instances in the US, the battery packs have overheated and caused damage to the conferencing systems and the properties they service. Furthermore, Polycom have issued a warning, stating that the battery packs pose a burn or fire hazard.
The affected battery packs are any included in products, or bought as replacements, between 1 December 2007 and 2 May 2008. These batteries have a black or white plastic coating with a label reading “RECHARGABLE Li-ion BATTERY”.
Australian customers are advised to remove the battery pack from the products immediately and not to use them with any other product. Replacement batteries can be provided by contacting Polycom by phone or internet.
Polycom’s US website dates the recall at 6 June 2008. Interestingly, Australian Polycom reseller eVideo director Jackie Morgan told Current.com.au that their organization was notified “well before” this date. Current.com.au attempted to substantiate and clarify this anomaly, but no other resellers were prepared to comment.
Morgan continued to say that only eVideo warehouse stock is likely to be affected by this recall. The only inconvenience for consumers should be delayed orders, as Polycom replace these batteries.
Polycom has indicated that approximately 8,300 battery packs are affected.