Two-thirds of items bought online fail safety standards, Which? investigation reveals
TWO-thirds of items bought on online marketplaces including eBay and Wish failed safety standards in a consumer study.
They included smoke alarms that did not work, fairy lights that could give an electric shock and a power bank that melted.
Which? and equivalent groups across Europe tested 250 products.
Researchers found safety flaws in everything from toys and children’s clothes, to jewellery and cosmetics, all from third-party sellers.
And in categories for teeth-whitening, carbon monoxide alarms, balloons, smoke alarms and helmets, all the products failed testing.
The sites, also including AliExpress and Amazon marketplace, removed the dangerous items after being told of the issues but some of them reappeared soon after.
Which? wants the Government to make online marketplaces legally responsible for the safety of products sold through their sites.
The consumer group’s Neena Bhati said: “These platforms have failed to get a grip on this despite years of warnings, and so the Government must now step in to make online marketplaces responsible for ensuring the safety of the products sold.”
eBay said its filters automatically blocked five million listings from October 2018 to October 2019 on safety grounds.
It added: “It is required in our User Agreement that all sellers comply with the law.”
Amazon said: “These are isolated incidents that do not reflect the fantastic products and customer experience provided by millions of small businesses selling in our store.”
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