Fitbit Wristband Falls to its Knees and Faces Lawsuit

Fitbit Wristbands on Recall

When government is involved on your business, it is a sign of bad storm heading your way.  Several weeks after the company undertook its own recall of the product, the federal Consumer Product Safety Commission has recalled 1 million of the devices in the U.S. after receiving nearly 10,000 complaints from consumers.

The specific bracelets involved in the recall are the Fitbit Force bands with model numbers FB402BK, FB402BKS, FB402SL and FB402SLS. As we’ve reported before, the materials used in the product were resulting in contact dermatitis for many users, sometimes leaving nasty, itchy rashes on their skin.  Furthemore, The lawsuit was filed Monday in a California state court in San Diego. It alleges that the company misled California consumers by failing to disclose in its marketing materials that there was a possibility for allergic reactions to the materials in the fitness wristbands. In all, Fitbit says it has sold more than 1 million of these devices.

Those who have a recalled Fitbit but have not already done so, can get a full refund from the company by calling (888) 656-6381 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET daily. The CPSC and Fitbit also say you can go to Fitbit.gov and click on the “Recall/Safety Info” button on the bottom right of the homepage, but right now that only results in users downloading a Word document with the same information available from the CPSC recall page.

In a statement to Huffington Post, which published a story on Monday as well, Fitbit issued a public apology to customers who have experienced skin problems on the wrists where they’ve worn the force.

 

We are looking into reports from a very limited number of Fitbit Force users who have been experiencing skin irritation, possibly as a result of an allergy to nickel, an element of surgical-grade stainless steel used in the device.

We suggest that consumers experiencing any irritation discontinue using the product and contact Fitbit at force@fitbit.com if they have additional questions. Customers may also contact Fitbit for an immediate refund or replacement with a different Fitbit product.

We are sorry that even a few consumers have experienced these problems and assure you that we are looking at ways to modify the product so that anyone can wear the Fitbit Force comfortably. We will continue to update our customers with the latest information.