BABY toys and smoke alarms are among the hundreds of items found to have been sold online despite failing safety tests, according to new research.
Which? and consumer groups across Europe tested products from websites including Amazon Marketplace, eBay, AliExpress and Wish.
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Researchers claim a staggering 90 per cent of the baby toys they looked at were not safe for children to play with.
They also say they found fire alarms that didn’t detect smoke, as well as Carbon Monoxide detectors that failed to pick up deadly CO.
USB chargers that could cause fire were also being sold online, on top of a power bank that melted during testing.
As well as this, safety tests revealed kids’ clothes that were choking hazards and cosmetics being sold without their ingredients listed.
Your rights if you’ve bought a faulty product
UNDER the Consumer Rights Act, everything you buy must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described
That means products shouldn’t be faulty or damaged when you recieve them, must be fit for the purpose they are supplied for and must be as described.
You have 30 days to complain to the retailer – this date could be the date you bought the item or the day it was delivered to you, whichever is later.
If it has been more than 30 days, you can ask the retailer to repair or replace the item within six months of purchase.
You have the right to complain about a faulty product for up to six years, but after the first six months you have to prove a fault was present when you took ownership or goods.
These consumer rights are separate from product guaruntees or warranty – check the terms and conditions of such agreements before you contact the retailer.
For more advise about how to complain, or what to do if the retailer refused to help, contact the consumer ombudsman on 020 3540 8063 or visit their website.
Out of the 250 items they investigated, Which? and their researchers says two-thirds failed EU safety requirements.
Online marketplaces aren’t currently responsible for the safety of the products sold through their sites.
Under the General Product Safety Regulations 2005, this falls down to the producers and, if outside of the UK, the importers.
This means consumers are generally reliant on the seller to ensure their product is safe to use.
Which? hasn’t revealed which items it looked at from each retailer but said they were bought from the cheap end of the price range.
Neena Bhati, head of campaigns at Which?, said: “Online marketplaces have quickly become a popular way for people to shop online and yet Which? testing has repeatedly exposed how large numbers of dangerous products are sold on these sites everyday.
“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 on their sites.”
AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish each said they take product safety seriously.
Amazon told The Sun: “Sellers are responsible for meeting Amazon’s high bar for product quality and we may remove and take legal action against those who do not.
“These are isolated incidents that do not reflect the fantastic products and customer experience provided by millions of small businesses selling in our store.”
eBay told us the listings highlighted in the Which? report have been removed from their website.
A spokesperson added: “We have no tolerance for unsafe, banned, recalled, or illegal products on our marketplaces.
“It is required in our User Agreement that all sellers comply with the law.”
The Sun contacted both AliExpress and Wish for comment but we’ve yet to hear back from either company.
AliExpress told Which?: “We have strong processes and technology in place to help prevent the listing of any products that violate our policies, such as proactively screening for and taking down any non-compliant listings.”
While Wish told the consumer group: “In the rare instance where a product falls below those standards and sufficient evidence is provided, we take the appropriate action to remove the items as swiftly as possible.”
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