Sorry, but your hoverboard may not be safe

If you're disappointed that it's 2016 and you still don't have a jet pack, you might have consoled yourself by riding your hoverboard.

Sorry about that, but you'd better pay attention to a notice from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission.

Basically, if you've got a hoverboard more than a couple of months old, you should send it back, including those received as Christmas presents.

The agency announced Wednesday that if you own one of more than half a million hoverboards from 10 companies, you should stop using it immediately and get in touch with the manufacturer with instructions on how to get a refund. Check yours out here: http://bit.ly/29pQ6nr

The only safe hoverboards are those certified by UL, previously known as Underwriters Laboratories, a company that sets safety standards for many consumer products.

The first one of those, the Ninebot model N3M320, didn't go on sale until May 10 of this year.

There have been at least 99 incidents reported where battery packs in hoverboards caught fire or exploded, according to the USPSC. More than 60 hoverboard fires in 20 states resulted in more than $2 million in property damage, according to commission investigations.

"Let me be clear about this," said commission chairman Elliot Kaye. "All of the hoverboard models included in this recall were made with fundamental design flaws that put people at real risk. They were made and sold without a safety standard in place."

Major manufacturers like Swagway and Razor are offering refunds, repairs or replacement hoverboards, depending on the model, Kaye said.

"If you have a hoverboard that is not part of this recall, contact the manufacturer or retailer and demand that they give you your money back," Kaye said.

Most modern electronic devices, from cell phones to cameras, "vaping" devices, tablets and laptop computers, depend on lithium batteries, known for packing a lot of electrical power into a small package.

But damaged or abused batteries have caused many dangerous fires -- Boeing even struggled with lithium battery problems in its new 787 airliner. Airlines ban them because of the hazards and it's actually illegal to transport hoverboards by any means without complying with hazardous materials regulations.

The Hoverboard Industry Alliance, based in China, has remained silent on the issue.

Perhaps they're working on a new product -- jet packs.