Buckyballs and Buckycubes Refunds Now Available Through BuckyballsRecall.com; Recall To Refund Will Last Until Jan. 2015

News provided by

U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission

Jul 17, 2014, 12:00 ET

WASHINGTON, July 17, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Owners of Buckyballs and Buckycubes can now obtain refunds. These loose, high powered magnets pose a deadly risk to young children, tweens, and teens, if ingested. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) is urging consumers to immediately stop use of all Buckyballs and Buckycubes and visit BuckyballsRecall.com to request a refund.

Consumers should visit BuckyballsRecall.com, which has an online registration page to file a claim and is active and easy for consumers to use. Consumers may receive a refund no greater than the purchase price of the product, and partial refunds may be provided depending on the number of magnets returned. Consumers will have until January 17, 2015 to submit requests to the Trustee for refunds.

From 2009 to the present, CPSC staff has received numerous incident reports of ingestions involving Buckyballs and Buckycubes, many of which required surgery. This recall is intended to protect children and teenagers from the risk of injury that can occur when more than one magnet is ingested.

This refund program is being managed by a Trustee, who was selected by CPSC staff. The Recall Trust, which is controlled by CPSC, is being funded by Craig Zucker, of Brooklyn, N.Y. Funds provided by Zucker to the Recall Trust have been used to establish the recall website.

In July 2012, CPSC staff filed an administrative complaint against Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, LLC seeking a recall of Buckyballs and Buckycubes. CPSC amended that complaint in May 2013 to add Craig Zucker, individually, after Maxfield and Oberton Holdings was dissolved. CPSC staff and Zucker, individually and as an officer of Maxfield and Oberton Holdings, LLC reached a settlement agreement that includes the recall announced today and ends the legal proceeding. The Commission approved the settlement agreement on May 9, 2014.

It is illegal under federal law for any person to sell, offer for sale, manufacture, distribute in commerce or import into the United States any Buckyballs or Buckycubes.

The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is charged with protecting the public from unreasonable risks of injury or death associated with the use of thousands of types of consumer products under the agency's jurisdiction. Deaths, injuries, and property damage from consumer product incidents cost the nation more than $1 trillion annually. CPSC is committed to protecting consumers and families from products that pose a fire, electrical, chemical or mechanical hazard. CPSC's work to ensure the safety of consumer products - such as toys, cribs, power tools, cigarette lighters and household chemicals – contributed to a decline in the rate of deaths and injuries associated with consumer products over the past 40 years.

Federal law bars any person from selling products subject to a publicly-announced voluntary recall by a manufacturer or a mandatory recall ordered by the Commission.

To report a dangerous product or a product-related injury go online to www.SaferProducts.gov or call CPSC's Hotline at (800) 638-2772 or teletypewriter at (301) 595-7054 for the hearing impaired. Consumers can obtain news release and recall information at www.cpsc.gov, on Twitter @USCPSC or by subscribing to CPSC's free e-mail newsletters.

Photo available at http://www.cpsc.gov/en/Newsroom/News-Releases/2014/Buckyballs-and-Buckycubes-Refunds-Now-Available/

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SOURCE U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission