Fake phone chargers sold by online can cause electrocution, Which? warns

Faulty phone chargers are being sold online by major retailers, consumer watchdog Which? has warned.

Which? researchers bought 15 USB phone chargers from seven online marketplaces and tested them to determine whether they were safe and legal to sell in the UK.

Nine of the chargers, bought from Amazon, including Amazon Haul, as well as AliExpress, B&Q Marketplace, and Debenhams Marketplace, were so badly manufactured that anyone using them was at risk of being electrocuted, they found.

Eight of the chargers also posed fire and explosion risks.

All 15 of the chargers Which? bought were missing key information on the packaging, the charger itself or in the documentation provided, which should have prevented them from being legally sold in the UK.

One of the chargers, sold as an ‘Apple’ USB-C 35W Power Adaptor charger for £11.99 on eBay and marked with the Apple logo, was found to be a dangerous fake.

Researchers opened the charger’s case and found a lump of modelling clay inside, which they believe was used to give the charger a more weighty, robust and genuine feel.

One customer who bought the charger posted on the listing to say that it had overloaded and ruined their iPad and phone, both of which had stopped charging.

Head of Consumer Protection Policy at Which?, Sue Davies, has warned that badly designed electricals can have 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,” she said.

Davies has called on the government to update product safety legislation and impose tougher regulations on retailers.

“By making online marketplaces legally responsible for unsafe products, the Government can set a world-leading standard for product safety in the digital age.”

All the retailers involved said they had removed the listings in question, either proactively or as a result of Which?’s findings.