Which? joined with fellow consumer groups across Europe to test 250 products from online marketplaces including Amazon, eBay, AliExpress and Wish – and said two-thirds failed EU safety requirements. Faulty smoke alarms and USB chargers that could ignite have been found among a mass of dangerous products available through popular shopping websites. Despite online marketplaces removing the dangerous items after being informed, some reappeared soon after. 

Researchers say they found safety flaws in everything from toys and children’s clothing, to jewellery and cosmetic products, which were being sold by third-party sellers. 

All of the products selected for testing in the teeth-whitening, carbon monoxide alarm, balloon, smoke alarm and helmet categories were found to be unsafe. 

Now Which? has called on the Government to make online marketplaces legally responsible for ensuring the safety of products sold on their sites. 

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 every day. 

“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.” 

Amazon, AliExpress, Ebay and Wish each responded saying they take safety seriously on their platforms. 

Leading retail giant 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.” 

Ebay said filters automatically blocked up to five million products from entering the marketplace because of safety concerns between October 2018 and October 2019. “We have no tolerance for unsafe, banned, recalled or illegal products on our marketplaces, and it is required in our User Agreement that all sellers comply with the law,” the firm said. 

According to Which?, consumers are more vulnerable because they do not have the same protections as they do when buying from traditional retail outlets. 

They said online marketplaces need greater legal responsibility, and over 70 percent of users agreed. 

The UK had the third largest e-commerce market in the world in 2016. Recent UK governmental figures placed the value of UK e-commerce sales at £586billion in 2017. 

A spokesman for the Office for Product Safety and Standards said: “The Government’s top priority is to keep people safe, which is why the UK has some of the strictest product safety laws in the world. 

“We’ve written to all major online retailers asking them to explain the steps they are taking to ensure dangerous products are not for sale.” 

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