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Exploding hair curlers, fakes, untested electrical items & refunds blocked – the toxic side of TikTok Shop
“Glad I was there to hear it go bang, could’ve been a lot worse.”
PACKED full of seemingly endless bargains, fans of TikTok shop claim it's the future of shopping.
Clothes, gadgets and even toilet rolls are available after a few quick clicks.
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But the platform has been dogged by allegations of “scams” - with some customers complaining the goods they've received are either faulty, fake - or they don't arrive at all.
The giant, which has a staggering 23.4million users a month, has hailed its online marketplace as a “new shopping culture sending products [...] flying off the shelves”.
But Oli Townsend, assistant deals editor at MoneySavingExpert, says: “You can't trust every deal you see. You’ll be presented with thousands of deals and flash offers, and while many of its users have scored a bargain, it’s important to remember it’s a marketplace where anyone can set up shop, so don’t assume every seller is legitimate.”
Within moments of scanning TikTok Shop we are inundated with a mix of celebrities, and selling scores of random products.
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Across the site as a whole, some items are impossibly cheap. and suspiciously so, given concerns raised about counterfeit and faulty items available.
One minute there's a of Geordie Shore’s promoting a “must-have” jumpsuit and Love Island’s flogging bows.
The , it’s clips plugging 24-packs of loo roll for 94p, pick ‘n’ mix boxes for £1, and a huge cutlery set for £11.99, all of which are no doubt legitimate.
But across the site as a whole, some items are impossibly cheap and suspiciously so, given concerns raised about counterfeit and faulty items available.
conglomerate is understood to be amongst those worried about fakes. The firm - which owns brands including Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior, Givenchy - is reportedly in discussions with on a plan for limiting counterfeit products sold on the app.
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Selling fake replicas of an authentic product is forbidden according to TikTok Shop.
Less than five minutes in, we spot a “flash sale” advertising a smartphone for just £32.99.
An 80ml bottle of what is said to be designer Carolina Herrera’s Good Girl perfume - which retails on the high street at around £85 - is just £10.20 on the platform.
A moisturiser purported to be by Bobbi Brown is on sale for £3.46 in a “new customer deal” - a product that normally retails for around £12.
Selling fake replicas of an authentic product is forbidden according to TikTok Shop. They say it has developed “proactive detection tools” that constantly work to identify counterfeits and identify 93% of intellectual property violations before products are ever listed.
But Trading Standards has previously warned that the fast-moving developments on online marketplaces can make it difficult for platforms to crack down.
And shoppers themselves are sharing warnings over alleged counterfeits, scams and faulty items on the platform.
In one clip a user claims a “tik tok scammer in the uk” is giving out “fake tracking numbers” on air conditioners that he claims don’t arrive.
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Another British shopper posts a video of herself wearing a “Mooslover unitard” she had bought from the app which she says turned out to be “fake”. She claims her purchase is made of nylon rather than elastic and has no official branding on it.
Fuming, she adds: “This hasn’t got a logo on it and if it did it would say ‘sh*te’.”
Worryingly, there are also scores of cheap electrical items, including hair curlers for £33, a portable heater for £9.99 and an electric blanket available for just £15.90.
While they may be legitimate bargains, such rock bottom prices are nestled amongst fears that consumers may be at risk of buying dangerous electrical products that have not been produced in line with standards for sale in the UK.
Online marketplaces like TikTok Shop are not currently required by to check the safety of products sold on their sites, in the same way traditional high street retailers are.
In one shocking case reported to MoneySavingExpert, a shopper named Annie told how a hair curler she bought via the app “exploded” while plugged in and switched off.
The lack of legal obligations on online marketplace platforms leaves shoppers grossly unprotected.
Lesley Rudd, Electrical Safety First
She revealed how the curler “burnt a hole in my carpet [and] dressing table”, adding that she had got a full refund.
“Glad I was there to hear it go bang, could’ve been a lot worse,” she said.
And Lesley Rudd, chief executive of Electrical Safety First, says: “The lack of legal obligations on online marketplace platforms leaves shoppers grossly unprotected.
“We have campaigned relentlessly for change and urge the Government to impose legal obligations, like those already in place for our well-known high street retailers.
“This would make online marketplaces take reasonable steps to ensure goods sold via their platforms are safe.”
Since launching in 2021, TikTok Shop has helped turn the platform - which takes around 5% commission in sales - into a destination for online .
A poll by market firm Savanta found last year that UK respondents under 26 used it to make 19 purchases per year – more than through or .
There’s even a hashtag beloved by those who shop on the app - ‘TikTok Made Me Buy It’ - which has 6.4million posts.
Selling on the app has generated “thousands” of pounds in sales for the company and brought “hundreds” of new customers."
James Francis, Mozillion
It is easy to become a seller. A would-be merchant simply has to show two forms of ID, submit bank details and documents about their , await approval and and they’re ready to sell.
The marketplace has been hugely beneficial for some businesses, such as Mozillion, which has been an approved TikTok Seller for mobile phones since November.
Selling on the app has generated “thousands” of pounds in sales for the company and brought “hundreds” of new customers, says James Francis, Sales Director for Mozillion.
He explains: “It gives you instant access to an audience or community of shoppers that otherwise you’d have to spend many months, years even building up yourself for your own website.
If a product turns out to be faulty users are entitled to a full refund in most cases, up to 30 days after the product is delivered.
“On TikTok, sellers get to not only showcase their products, but the people behind those products [and] businesses too – creating a unique with potential customers that few other selling platforms offer.”
But he admits it comes with drawbacks: “You’re relying on a third-party platform to bring you customers so ultimately the platform is in control.”
If a product turns out to be faulty users are entitled to a full refund in most cases, up to 30 days after the product is delivered. However, there are concerns over rules that allow merchants to quit the app 90 days after their last order is complete.
TikTok's terms state that “the seller is still responsible for performing all of its obligations to buyers post-termination.”
But, as MoneySavingExpert’s blog points out: “If the seller has completely closed its shop and left the app, there's no way to get in touch with it.”
We found reports of users who claimed merchants going AWOL without sending purchased products.
One British shopper tweeted that their delivery had never arrived, saying: “It looks like a as the tracking shows it was delivered to an address two hours away on the GPS .
“I have asked the seller lots of times for a refund & they are not replying! I do not know how to take this further.”
Another user shared a video warning of “cancelled orders zero refunds” on bubble guns that were on sale for less than £10 via the app.
“TikTok may facilitate communications between Merchants and Buyers [...] but TikTok is not a party to any such dispute and has no obligation to do so.”
TikTok terms of use
A third claimed they had ordered and paid for an item from TikTok shop but received no update and the purchase had not appeared on his orders.
Such complaints could pose an issue for buyers. As TikTok Shop does not directly sell the products - it isn't obliged to resolve disputes between a shopper and merchant.
Its Terms of Use and Sale state: “TikTok may facilitate communications between Merchants and Buyers [...] but TikTok is not a party to any such dispute and has no obligation to do so.”
The app is full of influencers chatting with followers on TikTok Live, limited “flash sales” for viewers to instantly purchase items - a modern take on shopping channels..
One live video features a man demonstrating a selection of products.
“We’ve got a couple of you looking at the Edifier wireless earbuds,” he says. Within seconds details of a flash sale crop up, showing that these very earphones have been slashed from £34 down to just £9.99 for a limited time.
Oli Townsend, assistant deals editor at MoneySavingExpert has tips to help consumers avoid scams on TikTok Shop.
“Be especially careful when buying electrical goods as there’s no law stating electricals on TikTok Shop must be safety checked,” he says.
“Its limited policing means scammers do use it, so watch out for 'too good to be true' ads or items that could be counterfeit.
“Don’t get drawn in by the urgency of a flash sale and limited stock.
“Always compare elsewhere to check the price is right, ensure you check other buyers' experiences with the seller to get a better idea of the quality of product and service you'll receive and make sure you pay on plastic to give yourself valuable consumer protection.”
Read MoneySavingExpert’s full guide on using TikTok Shop.
There’s no suggestion that these are counterfeit goods, but MoneySavingExpert warned that flash sales and talk of limited stock “give a sense of urgency and can pressure you into buying items you may not need.”
“It's important not to get caught up in this and to research if it is a good deal, and something you need and can afford, before you buy,” its blog on using TikTok Shop suggests.
Other users who simply want to watch fun on TikTok without buying anything have complained about the sales tactics used on the app.
As one put it: “I’m starting to get really annoyed by how almost every other video [...] is someone over hyping a product from the Shop feature to try to get it to go and make a lot of commissions.
“It’s great that it’s a new avenue for creators to make , but I find myself scrolling less and less because I know pretty much every video is just trying to get me to buy some random thing.”
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A spokesperson for TikTok said: “TikTok Shop enables our community to seamlessly purchase trending products from merchants and creators, all without leaving the platform.
"We have robust policies and processes to protect customers, and we will take action against products and accounts found to violate these policies."
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