Overview
- Which? bought 15 USB phone chargers and published its findings on Tuesday after laboratory tests showed nine chargers posed an immediate electrocution risk and eight presented fire or explosion hazards.
- The dangerous items came from major online platforms, including Amazon (and Amazon Haul), eBay, B&Q Marketplace, Debenhams Marketplace and AliExpress, while chargers from Temu and Shein passed electrical tests but lacked legally required UK importer details.
- All 15 chargers lacked required markings or importer information, a legal requirement in the UK that means their sale should have been prevented.
- Retailers named in the investigation said they removed the specific listings highlighted by Which? but consumer groups say takedowns are reactive and not a systemic fix.
- Electrical Safety First and Which? warned that counterfeiters use tricks such as adding metal weights or modelling clay to fakes to mimic genuine products, and they are urging the government to use the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to impose a statutory duty and stronger enforcement on online marketplaces to protect shoppers.