Question about Raspberry Pi PoE+ HAT

I don't use the USB either, so I can't answer that from my own experience.
The HAT has this imprint on the board: Raspberry Pi PoE-HAT (r) Raspberry Pi 2018.
The version described in an article at Heise with the USB problem has a different imprint.

I've been using 2 of them for about 6 months and haven't noticed any problems yet.