Barnes and Noble Recalls 147,000 NOOK Tablet 7 Power Adapters Due To Shock Risk (betanews.com)

BrianFagioli quotes a report from BetaNews: Want to know something shocking? Like, literally shocking? Barnes and Noble is recalling 147,000 faulty NOOK Tablet 7 power adapters due to shock risk. In other words, owners of this tablet could face an electricity related injury when charging it. If you own this tablet, it is important that you stop using the charger immediately. While there is no guarantee that you will be injured, it is not worth the risk. Barnes and Noble will replace the power adapter at no charge. To make up for the inconvenience, the company will also give you a free gift. "Consumers should immediately stop using the recalled power adapters and register online for a free replacement adapter along with a Barnes and Noble $5 gift card. Once registered, consumers will be able to print a pre-paid UPS label to return the recalled adapters to Barnes and Noble. Consumers will receive replacement adapters in the mail. Until a replacement adapter is received, consumers are advised to charge their NOOK Tablet 7 through their computer using a USB cable," says Barnes and Noble. The book-seller also says, "This recall involves the black power adapter sold with the NOOK Tablet 7. The adapter bears markings: model number TPA-95A050100UU, manufacture date 201610. The NOOK Tablet 7 model number BNTV450 is located on the back of the NOOK. Barnes and Noble has received four reports of the power adapter breaking or pulling apart exposing the metal prongs. No injuries have been reported." If you are affected by this recall, you can visit this site and follow the instructions.

Comments

that's

[Anonymous Coward]

SHOCKING!

Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

I mean, power adapters falling apart? Somebody obviously squeezed another cent out of the $0.05 housing, making it impossible to produce quality.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[arth1]

Anyone want to guess where these were made?
There are factories that make power components in both the United States and Europe. But my gut feeling tells me that these were not made there.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I'd be curious to know if it was a design flaw; or somebody pinching pennies hard enough that no QA was done and the workers were being pushed fast enough that some units didn't receive all the assembly steps they were supposed to. 4 reports out of 147,000 seems a little low for some fundamental design issue; but wholly plausible if the correctly assembled ones are just durable enough, and the line is moving fast enough that the ones that pass while the glue is being refilled just don't get glued(or any number of similar mishaps).

Well-built AC adapters tend to be a huge pain in the ass to open, even if you are quite deliberately attempting to do so(especially the ones high-wattage enough that the whole assembly is potted, the least exciting reward for fighting your way through glued and/or ultrasonic welded plastic); so ones that you can open by accident have definitely been cut to the bone; but as an absolute failure rate those numbers aren't terribly high.

More generally: Is it time for vendors of cheapo USB powered/charged devices to just stop pretending to care by including an 'eh, probably won't catch fire' quality adapter in every box; and leave that job either to computers or to separately purchased adapters? On the one hand, I'm not entirely sure that the savings would be passed on to the customer; but on the other, I know that I have rather more USB chargers than I have devices that need them(through a mixture of device attrition and things I only charge from computers or hubs); and that the really cheap AC adapters must cost a nonzero amount of money to include; but are sufficiently untrustworthy that they are of negligible value to me, which seems like a lose/lose situation.

Am I just a nerd with an atypically well stocked junk drawer, or are others glutted with dubiously trustworthy pack-in adapters as well?

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

I have a ton of different 12V adapters that are all interchangeable. I would have been perfectly fine with paying $1 less for each external disk and get adapters separately. I do however think this is not about providing value to the customer, but about reducing support-calls from those unable to understand what a power adapter is and why they need to get one separately. (Yes, many people are that incompetent with regards to technology...) These support-calls may well be more expensive than including power adapters with everything.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

That is not the problem. "Cheaper than possible" will fail just the same if made in the US or Europe, the price-point where the problem starts will just be significantly higher. So making them in the US or Europe would actually be considerably worse.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

Include a remote-detonated explosive charge and it is the perfect tool to fight terrorism!

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[arth1]

Yet, where were they made?

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[drinkypoo]

Given the way American automobiles self-disassemble, the whole notion that things are better made in this country is a load of dingo's kidneys. It have have once been true, but now it's a lot of bollocks. MADE IN JAPAN has been the most reliable sign of quality as long as I've been alive, with MADE IN GERMANY right behind it. MADE IN USA is just an amusing footnote. Sometimes that label is stuck on something which appears to have been made out of way too much material to be necessary to do the job, and then I have some faith that it will hold up, but otherwise I am underwhelmed.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[arth1]

Yet, where were they made?

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Your assessment would not at all surprise me(though 'customer confusion' didn't seem to be a problem when the industry somehow decided to make not including a cheap USB cable with most consumer/retail printers the standard; since printer companies don't tend to sell USB cables separately, especially not at Staples and the like, I always wondered if that was driven by retailers being unwilling to carry ultra-low margin, and fairly bulky, printer SKUs unless they were given the chance to sell $35 gold-plated USB cables to actually make money on the purchase); though since I am definitely geekier than average and (while hardly 'wealthy' by a long shot) definitely better-off than the 'my prepaid Android shitphone is my only personal internet access' demographic; I would be curious to know if there are at least certain product categories where that pack-in adapter is genuinely a valuable accessory for the customer.

For me, it definitely isn't(and, if vendors would stop slipping the occasional 'haha, this barrel plug looks just like the others on casual inspection; but doesn't quite fit, sucker!' into 12v devices), I'd be in full agreement with you on 12v adapters as well(most of mine are interchangeable; but I have a few hard cases that have to be specially labelled); I just don't know if this is because I have a mildly deviant quantity of widgets; or because much of the developed world is glutted with extraneous AC adapters. On the subject of 12v, it's too bad that there is no(formal, there are various hacky workarounds you can find from case-mod vendors; and IBM/NCR's "PoweredUSB" proprietary connector extension for 12 and 24v point of sale gear) connection standard for exposing 12v power from a computer's PSU for use by external hardware. This wasn't the purpose of USB; but the fact that basically every computer has a bunch of standardized 5v sockets is a handy side effect. It would be nice if there were something to handle the slightly more demanding external HDDs and similar peripherals in the same way. I understand that USB-C is supposed to save us all at some point in the future; but a simple, keyed, 12v connector could have spared us a lot of wall warts with minimal complexity starting years ago.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

On the subject of 12v, it's too bad that there is no(formal, there are various hacky workarounds you can find from case-mod vendors; and IBM/NCR's "PoweredUSB" proprietary connector extension for 12 and 24v point of sale gear) connection standard for exposing 12v power from a computer's PSU for use by external hardware.

I built one of those. They are a bit more work than you would initially expect. First, they need to be fuse-protected, because having some 50A or so flow on a short-circuit is not a good idea and the plugs are not well protected against being shortened. But the surprising thing is that they need diodes as well to prevent reverse currents, at least if you can connect more than one device. I have this for two, and when I plugged in a second HDD while the first one was running, the momentary voltage-drop from the buffer caps in the second one did cause a stop-start cycle in the first one. A Schottky diode per line fixes that. On the other hand, a fuse+holder is maybe $0.30, and a 10A Schottky diode is $.10 or so per connector. So not really expensive.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

It really does not matter at all. Your question is irrelevant.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

Incidentally, "MADE IN GERMANY" was intended to protect the British market against kitchen steel-wares (mostly knifes) from Solingen that were cheaper than the domestically fabricated. It was intended as a "low quality - stay away" sign that the German manufacturers were forced to add when exporting to Britain. Turns out these German steel-wares were not only cheaper but also a lot better than the British ones and the whole thing tragically backfired because people then sought out the better ones by the "MADE IN GERMANY" label.

Any similarities to what is going to happen to quality when things are made in the US "again" is purely coincidental.

Note: Protectionism does not really work. It merely causes larger problems at a later time.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[arth1]

That's straw man argumentation.
No one here has advocated protectionism.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[arth1]

It really does not matter at all. Your question is irrelevant.

Then stop answering?

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[freeze128]

American automobiles are made in Mexico.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Khyber]

"On the subject of 12v, it's too bad that there is no(formal, there are various hacky workarounds you can find from case-mod vendors; and IBM/NCR's "PoweredUSB [wikipedia.org]" proprietary connector extension for 12 and 24v point of sale gear) connection standard for exposing 12v power from a computer's PSU for use by external hardware."

Well, there's plenty of that, actually. You do know they make 12V car lighter coils for your 5 1/4" drive bay (and they've made them for years.) I have them installed in almost every computer I own. Easy-peasy 12V breakout with a 10A fuse inline.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[gweihir]

No, it is pointing out some historical facts and protectionism is most certainly how "MADE IN GERMANY" came to pass.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Anonymous Coward]

People like you are priceless.. where would the internet be without you and your clear focus?

I have two cars. one made in japan and one made in the USA.

want to guess which one has been to the shop more? Want to guess which one is on its FOURTH set of wheel bearings and which is on the original set even thought it is actually a year older and used far more often?

How does a family car need 4 sets of wheel bearings while another family car has more miles and the original set?

So what, this crappy product was probably made in china (they are the worlds manufacturing house after all)..

Some good stuff is made there if you have proper QA.. some good stuff is made in the USA, as is a lot of crap as well.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Anonymous Coward]

I bought a tablet from B&N a couple of years ago.
Never again.
When the power supply failed, I discovered it had an odd ball sized barrel connector.
It was clearly intended to force users into a second purchase from B&N.
This is the same type of predatory logic that Apple uses.
They have crossed both off my shopping list.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[drinkypoo]

American automobiles are made in Mexico.

And many Japanese cars are made in America. My preference is for Japanese cars built in Japan, or German cars built in Germany. Same for tools, in the same order, as well.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[LeftCoastThinker]

Actually, for the last 15 years or so US quality has steadily risen, because the only way to compete and offset the higher costs of producing in the US is to have significantly higher quality than China. I can justify having a saw made in the US if it will last me 5 years as opposed to the cheaper overseas stuff that falls apart in a year or two.

As far as cars, at least for Ford, ever since their total model up redesign in the late 90s, the quality has been pretty good. I own 3 Ford trucks all over 10 years old, purchased both new and used, and I have had to change the fuel pump and MAF in one (18 years old now, hey I should buy it a beer!) and the window lift motor in the other (12 years old), otherwise it has been oil changes and tires for all that time. Quality seems pretty high to me. I also had a Chevy sedan for 18 years, but I had to change the water pump, struts, upper and lower control arm bushings, steering linkage knuckles,electric radiator fan, door lock cylinder, ignition cylinder, drive shaft linkages, and alternator among other things. When it turned 25 I sent it to the junkyard because everything else was falling apart.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[david_thornley]

I believe the current Nook Tablets are made by Samsung, if that helps.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Anonymous Coward]

That is their prior, higher-priced line of (color) tablets, although it seems they are still being sold in B&N stores I visit. These new ones are definitely cheaper - i.e. lower-price/featured/quality - and made by someone else.

RO

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Anonymous Coward]

Just ask anyone who has Sears Craftsman hand tools from years ago compared to more recent ones made in China: far less durable now.

RO

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[AaronW]

The sad part is that years ago when my father worked for Unisys (The same company that patented GIF) he added a barrel connector to one of the PC board blanks in the back to provide 12v power. Unisys patented it.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[drinkypoo]

Just ask anyone who has Sears Craftsman hand tools from years ago compared to more recent ones made in China: far less durable now.

I don't have to ask anyone, I am an avid yard sailor and I have a pretty fair assortment of the old stuff and the newer stuff. I've got one of the old 1/2" drive ratchets, for example, which is probably three times nicer than the new one I've got as well. But you know what's nicer than either one? A new one from Harbor Freight, which is also made in China.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

I had forgotten about those; but you are correct about them existing. It's a pity that the cigarette-lighter socket, while entrenched for historical reasons; has got to be one of the more ridiculous power connectors to have ever approached mass market use.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[fuzzyfuzzyfungus]

Good to know. I've been poking at the idea of trying to purge my environment of wall warts and line lumps by moving AC-DC conversion duties to a single high efficiency PSU in a case with a whole bunch of front panel connectors; but (in addition to bells and whistles like load monitoring) I'm trying to avoid any unforeseen issues that would either set things on fire or damage equipment. I knew fuses were a good plan; but I'll definitely have to take note of the diode consideration.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[drinkypoo]

I own 3 Ford trucks all over 10 years old, purchased both new and used, and I have had to change the fuel pump and MAF in one (18 years old now, hey I should buy it a beer!) and the window lift motor in the other (12 years old), otherwise it has been oil changes and tires for all that time. Quality seems pretty high to me.

My 1992 F250 7.3 IDI died the death of cavitation because the engine is an overbored piece of shit. But the truck is just annoyingly designed in general. e-Brake broke, that's sort of a chronic Ford problem. The carrier bearing is crap. The successor is intentionally obfuscated so that scanning it and whatnot is a PITA. Had to rebuild the steering column, replace the steering box, rebuild the steering pump, replace one brake caliper, both hubs failed. Front axle leaks, badly. Rear spring stacks separated and had to be re-pinned. And this was just a work truck, never mug bogged or anything. We've got a 2000 Astro. It's had both the engine and trans rebuilt. Fuel pump failed three times so far that I know of. GM discontinued most of the parts and the ones they still have cost a million billion dollars. It might as well be a fucking Mercedes.

All this is just anecdotal bullshit though, my couple of cars are irrelevant. Just look at the surveys. Every little thing just disintegrates on American cars, the fit and finish is still shit (panel gaps ftw) and the interior is still garbage even in Caddys.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[LeftCoastThinker]

Then it appears that you are agreeing with me? Your Ford was pre-redesign, based on a design from the early 80s(?) if I recall, back when US auto manufacturers didn't give a shit about quality and were focused on fuel economy and cutting cost because Toyota hadn't eaten their lunch yet. The redesign of the truck lines happened in 96 for the F series trucks (from what I remember) and 98 for their Ranger series. The Mustangs were also ground up redesigned around that time as well, and many of those are still on the road.

From my experience and observation, GM has not had very good quality for a long time, but parts aren't hard to find. I have had pretty good luck using Amazon for car parts and they are pretty competitive.

My advice is to junk your Astro and F250 and pick up a nice 2000 or later F250 and Explorer/Expedition for less than the repairs will cost next time something breaks. Thats what I did with my Chevy.

Re:Another instance of "cheaper than possible"

[Coren22]

What tablet? Do you have a picture?

All of the B&N tablets I have ever seen had micro-USB, so there is no odd ball sized barrel connector possible as they are standard connectors.

trying to force smart electricity into dumb electr

[Anonymous Coward]

instead dumb electricity
its not going to work

A clear example of bad design.

[LordHighExecutioner]

Equipment designed to electrocute the owner should then self destroy by battery explosion, so that no evidence is left to investigators.

When I was working in an electronics OEM

[fubarrr]

When I was working in an electronics OEM, I witnessed such tendency: the bigger and more reputable the buyer brand is, the more hellbent they are on the most ridiculous cost saving measures.

Conversations like one below was happening pretty much with all an every American buyer

"-how thin can you make the plastic on this part?

- 0.8mm but I would really would not recommend that...

- guy interrupts, "can you make it thinner than 0.8?"

- yes, but...

- Amazon idiot interrupts again, "how much will it save us per piece?"

That was a sourcing project for the first Amazon ebook reader wallwart. We also did the cover and sleeve cases for them.

We did things that were to bigger extent more stupid than bad on extent of material scale: putting diodes in parallel, doing wire fuses, using leds in a diode role, making cases out of PLA or even crappier plastics, intentionally using recycled li-ion cells, aluminium wiring and stuff like that... All on explicit demand of a customer.

The biggest ever saving any client had through any of those measures was 6.36 US cents per piece.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[drinkypoo]

When I was working in an electronics OEM, I witnessed such tendency: the bigger and more reputable the buyer brand is, the more hellbent they are on the most ridiculous cost saving measures.

Heh "they". It's really one guy (or gal, I suppose), whoever is in charge of the project and stands to take home a fat bonus if he cuts costs to the bone. The execs back home don't really care if that particular project happens at the absolute lowest cost, so long as in general their sycophants are attempting to make that happen. They can always get a new sycophant.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[Anonymous Coward]

10 Million Units x 6.36 cents = $636,000 additional profit.

That is enough to make sure the VP gets his yearly bonus. That is the only reason it is done that way.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[Khyber]

"using leds in a diode role"

This is actually far more useful than you'd imagine. I make all of my rectifiers out of LEDs now days, as I get a visual indicator of whether or not it's working entirely (You can see whether you're getting the full waveform without an oscope.) Parallel diodes? That's for redundancy in case one fails. Wire fuses are no biggie, and aluminum wiring is fine if you aren't doing some stupid high-amperage application.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[bws111]

You left out some critical information:

Did the product perform as the customer required?
Did the product have a defect rate that the customer found acceptable?

If the answer to those questions is 'yes', then why exactly was saving 6.36 cents wrong?

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[tlhIngan]

This is actually far more useful than you'd imagine. I make all of my rectifiers out of LEDs now days, as I get a visual indicator of whether or not it's working entirely (You can see whether you're getting the full waveform without an oscope.) Parallel diodes? That's for redundancy in case one fails. Wire fuses are no biggie, and aluminum wiring is fine if you aren't doing some stupid high-amperage application.

Well, in not all cases where LEDs are used do they glow. Doesn't mean they don't have useful diode properties though.

As for paralleling diodes, that's never for redundancy - diodes have a tendency to either fail open or fail shorted (basically the semiconductor gets too hot and melts). If they're parallel then it's because the current carrying capacity of one is insufficient for the application. Though you usually need balancing resistors because inevitably one will carry a higher current and potentially exceed its ratings.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[Falos]

It's the Not My Ass contributing to the parent Race To The Bottom.

Even engineers that know better are stuck being more immediately concerned with our beloved Metrics Quotas Deadlines Assessment circles than a vaguely distant and inconsequential pool of customers dealing with the fallout.

I can sit here for weeks trying to research a near/impossible way to gain another 3 grams, or I can say fuck it and just use a regular, "unvalved" component. I get paid more, go home sooner, lined up for promotions, as opposed to brass up my ass because I had a naive wish to Get It Right over Get It Done.

Wait, no, I'm contracted, I'm not even on staff. By the time the recall hits, I'll have a new phone number. The fine print only requires I meet spec. So here's my part of the collective "lol DWI #yolo" to the collective human race, as pressured by upstairs/management/shareholders.

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[Anonymous Coward]

You have now described Apple's courage to limit the number of ports across their product lines.

_

Re:When I was working in an electronics OEM

[Anonymous Coward]

YOU left out crucial info in your questions:
>Did the product perform as the customer required?
>Did the product have a defect rate that the customer found acceptable?

If the 'customer' is the product designer/Amazon... then hell yes they'll find errors acceptable.
If the customer is the consuming public hell no, not with electrical products. Why? Faulty a/c adapters are a known cause of household death.

Look pal, "working" and "continue to work safely for years" are two different things.
The poster described shortcuts to an electrical power adapter. Such shortcuts are known hazards. KNOWN!

In a mirrored question, if an expert in air-logistics-spreadsheets decided they could save $20 by placing you in the heated cargo hold of a plane, as it made more fiscal sense to them and because got you there all the same... would you question their savings? I mean you can still have free wifi and a self-serve box of peanuts and your feet do touch the ground again ... so again by all fiscal measures it's even better than flying with the rest of humanity, right?

Re: trying to force smart electricity into dumb el

[Anonymous Coward]

huh?

And Macbook Pro?

[Anonymous Coward]

Still waiting for the recall of their power adaptors. They shock up to 90V: https://www.youtube.com/watch?t=1&v=3n1U1ZJNBt8

Fix Spyware issue, too?

[Anonymous Coward]

How about getting rid of the ADUPS spyware, once and for all, while they are at it?

http://www.zdnet.com/article/barnes-noble-pulls-nook-tablet-7-inch-from-sale-due-to-faulty-charger/

RO

Why do you need to send the POS back?

[krelvin]

Seriously, they know I bought one of the devices. Why do I need to take my time to package the thing and send it back.
Just send me a replacement. The SN of the unit is registered and you have to provide that to get the replacement.

But they want me to print out a shipping label, package the old defective DO NOT USE one back.

Re: Why do you need to send the POS back?

[Anonymous Coward]

To guarantee it is no longer out there being used. If it is a shock hazard they would still be liable.

Some context

[Schnapple]

I bought one of these at launch, as I was looking for a cheap Android tablet that wasn't total garbage. Since B&N seems to be willing to take a hit or sell it at break-even in order to promote their Nook ecosystem, it's actually a really good tablet considering the price. It's basically a stock Android 6.0 tablet with Nook apps installed and Google Play, unlike Amazon's entry which is stuck with FireOS.

That said, to be clear, this is basically a relabeled off-brand tablet. In adb it shows up as "Southerntelecom". I'm willing to bet this same basic tablet is available for a few dollars more without the Nook logo on the back.

All of this to say that it's maybe less likely that B&N wanted to pinch pennies on the charger and more that the charger was a cheap POS to begin with because the whole gimmick with this tablet is that it's cheap. It may be why that issue with ADUPS showed up a while back (they have since patched it out). B&N sells cases for it at $22.99, nearly half the cost of the tablet itself.

Not All Bad

[Anonymous Coward]

Saving material is green. Whether plastic or metal, less energy has to be spent on extraction, processing, transportation, and less trash is generated. Using lower quality materials wherever possible is also green.

Lowering costs creates wealth (higher purchasing power) and should be encouraged as long as it is does not endanger lives.

Diodes in parallel is conceptually bad because they do not share current evenly. However, if a 80%/20% current sharing is sufficient to get you the design margin after allowing for manufacturing tolerances, you've solved a problem cheaply.

LEDs in a diode role sounds strange but if it solves the problem, why not? I admire the ingenuity.

Crappier plastics sound bad, but it is an aesthetic issue or a durability issue? Sometimes, I've used the same plastic everywhere because it saved me time. This was a good approach when the engineering time dominated the total cost (NRE + material cost * units sold). As the quantities increased, more engineering effort to reduce costs was worthwhile. If we can save 100M people $6.36, we have added $636M to the economy.

Wire or trace fuses should be okay as long as there is a control to test them (you can test the resistance and figure out if it sized right) in the production line. If the likelihood of failure is small, there is no point burdening everyone with a cost of recovering from something that will happen to say .01% of the population, especially if you're not managing line voltage.

Recycled li-ion cells sound bad, but if you don't need 100% of the capacity and are going to charge them slowly and they can be certified to be safe through some process, then why not? Why create more junk on the planet when the specs don't demand it?

Aluminum wiring - again, if you don't need the high current, why spend more energy to extract copper when aluminum is more abundant?

And yes, people should get bonuses if they save money. If you figure out a way to save everyone $10 because you are going to make 1% of that, more power to you, especially if that comes from conservation (cheaper materials, more abundant materials, easily extracted materials, excess capacity components). If you're cheating physics - more power to you! I only have a problem with it if you're cheating people.

Re:Not All Bad

[Anonymous Coward]

You sound like someone who actually understands manufacturing and engineering. What are you doing on here?

WTF B&N - UPS shipping label?!?

[Anonymous Coward]

You mean BN sends my new hardback by UPS Sure Post, but will pay UPS rates to send a worthless charger back to them?!?

This is

[Anonymous Coward]

quite Shocking!