Safety warning over outdoor electric products bought from online marketplaces

Consumers are being warned about fire and electric shock risks from electric BBQs and outdoor lighting bought through online marketplaces including eBay and Amazon, following a new year-long investigation.

Consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First said almost all the products it tested had failed to meet safety standards.

The study looked at products, also including electric water heaters, sold on a variety of major online marketplaces such as Temu, Amazon Marketplace, eBay, and Wish.

The charity found that all but one of the 26 outdoor electrical products tested over a year-long period posed a risk of electric shock.

Furthermore, 46% of those tested had both a risk of fire and electric shock.

The dangers were found to stem from products fitted with substandard plugs and counterfeit fuses, the charity said.

Others failed to prevent water ingress, which meant people were exposed to the risk of electric shock when using a device that got wet – which included products such as outdoor heaters and lighting which were often left outside through the summer months.

One water immersion heater, which could be used for paddling pools, caught fire when not submerged, the charity said.

Similar or identical products had since been removed from all the online marketplaces following the investigation.

Lesley Rudd, chief executive of Electrical Safety First, said consumers were being put in “danger” by products that “pose a severe risk”.

“The persistence of dangerous products on online marketplaces, even after removal, points to a major problem that urgently needs addressing,” she said.

Ms Rudd said there needed to be a “total overhaul” of product safety laws so that online marketplaces took more responsibility for the safety of items sold on their website.

“We are warning shoppers that just because something is sold as ‘outdoor safe’, this does not guarantee the product meets the necessary safety standards to be used outside safely,” she said.

“We urge people to be cautious and to stick to reputable high-street retailers where you can shop with more confidence that the product you’re buying is safe.”

A spokesperson for eBay said it used block filter algorithms to prevent unsafe products being listed and blocked “millions of listings every year”, as well removing and alerting buyers of unsafe products that do get listed.

Temu said it was “committed” to meeting online shopping laws, adding: “We require proper documentation, conduct spot checks, and continuously monitor our platform to address any issues promptly, ensuring consumers can shop with confidence.”

Wish also said it proactively removed listings that fell short of safety standards, adding: “In the rare instances where products fall foul of our policies, we act quickly to remove those products and take any necessary action.”

An Amazon spokesperson said: “Safety is a top priority at Amazon and we want customers to shop with confidence on our stores.

“We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations and we monitor for product safety concerns.

“We have removed these products pending further investigation.”