A stark warning has been issued regarding potentially lethal phone chargers sold by major retailers including B&Q, Debenhams, Amazon, and eBay, as well as on AliExpress. Consumer group Which? has raised alarms that these chargers could explode, cause fires, or deliver electric shocks to users.
Which? Investigation Reveals Serious Risks
Which? purchased 15 USB phone chargers from seven online marketplaces and subjected them to safety tests. The results were alarming: nine chargers posed a serious risk of electric shock, and eight of those also presented a danger of fire and explosion.
Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, stated: "Badly designed electricals like these can have life-altering – even fatal – consequences. Online marketplaces have known about the danger of knock-off chargers for the better part of a decade, but consumers continue to be placed at risk."
Call for Government Action
Which? is urging the Labour Party government to take immediate action. A petition with over 150,000 signatures has been sent to the Department of Business and Trade minister, calling for stricter regulation of online marketplaces and fines for breaches. Davies emphasized: "The government must urgently use the new powers it has under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to update product safety legislation and impose a clear legal duty on online marketplaces for ensuring the safety of products sold through their third-party sellers."
Retailers Respond
In response to the findings, several retailers have taken action. An AliExpress spokesperson said: "We have removed both identified products... We will inform affected UK consumers of the risks and support refund requests." Amazon stated: "Customer safety is a top priority... We’ve removed the highlighted items." B&Q noted: "We take the safety of products sold by sellers at B&Q Marketplace very seriously." Debenhams commented: "As soon as we were made aware of the potential safety issue, we immediately removed this product from our website." eBay confirmed: "All of the items listed in this investigation had already been removed by eBay’s standard safety measures." Shein and Temu also reported removing the products pending further investigation.
Consumer Advice
Which? advises consumers to avoid using chargers that show signs of poor build quality, such as loose connections or excessive heat during use. They recommend purchasing chargers from reputable brands and official retailers to minimize risk.
