Illegal and potentially dangerous ‘eco plugs’ still widely available – Which?

Illegal and potentially dangerous scam “eco plugs” are still widely available to buy on online marketplaces, an investigation has found.

The so-called energy-saving devices have been the subject of multiple government recalls, while Which? testing found no evidence that they worked.

The plugs claim to save customers money on their electricity bills by ‘stabilising’ voltage and ‘balancing’ electric current to ‘optimise’ the performance of household appliances.

However, Which? testing of eight of the devices bought from AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Shein, Temu and TikTok Shop found they failed basic electrical safety standards, meaning they are illegal and potentially dangerous.

Which? said the platforms all removed the listings it reported to them, but many identical-looking devices were still available weeks later.

In 2022, researchers tested near-identical devices from Amazon and eBay twice and reported them to the platforms, which then delisted them.

The Office for Product Safety and Standards officially recalled four similar devices on AliExpress, eBay and Wish in 2022, citing a “serious risk of fire and electric shock”.

One buyer who reviewed a device bought on Amazon said it was “nothing but a scam” and that the company “should be ashamed of themselves for marketing this item and be more responsible for what they sell”.

Another one-star review warned that the “only thing these boxes will achieve is a house fire”.

One device available on AliExpress promised to “reduce” line loss and “improve” power factor.

An eBay seller who had sold 50 three-packs of “smart electricity-saving” boxes claimed that they use “a capacitor system to store electrical energy, allowing it to be released more smoothly”.

Shein sold and shipped a device named as a “Magic Electricity-Saving Box”.

Which? said most of the items its researchers investigated had poor quality soldering, contained too much lead – which is tightly regulated because of potential health side effects – and had unmarked non-standard capacitors indicating they were not manufactured in the UK and therefore potentially unsafe.

Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said: “It’s incredibly concerning to see that these scam eco-plugs are still widely available on many online marketplaces, despite the fact that they are illegal and potentially a danger to their users.

“Sadly, it’s not surprising that these dangerous items have reappeared on major online marketplaces. It fits the pattern we’ve seen following countless Which? investigations and is yet more evidence of why change is needed.

“The government’s Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to give online marketplaces a clear legal responsibility for ensuring dangerous products don’t make their way onto their sites – with tough enforcement action against those that fall short.”

An Amazon spokesman said: “Safety is a top priority at Amazon and we want customers to shop with confidence on our stores.

“We require all products to comply with applicable laws and regulations and we take action to maintain a safe selection for our customers.

“These products have been removed.”

An eBay spokeswoman said: “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We take a proactive approach to keeping our site safe that, among other measures, includes auditing compliance documentation from sellers.

“Both listings from which Which? did the test purchases were subject to our audits. Because the sellers did not provide sufficient documentation, we had already removed the two listings before Which? informed us that the products are unsafe.

“In addition to these audits, eBay uses block filter algorithms aimed at preventing unsafe and prohibited listings, and regular monitoring by our in-house specialists, supported by AI. If we find an unsafe product, we remove it immediately.

“Our regulatory portal also enables authorities from around the world to report listings, and unsafe items are automatically removed within two hours.”

A spokeswoman for Shein said: “Shein takes product safety very seriously and is committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. Upon learning of any claims, Shein immediately removes the item(s) from its site as a precaution while the company investigates.”

AliExpress said: “AliExpress takes product safety very seriously, and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment.

“Third-party sellers who list items for sale on our marketplace must comply with the law and with our platform rules and policies. The listings of the product that failed Which?’s test have been removed.

“Also, we have conducted the verification and removed the similar products that have been identified to be problematic.”

A spokesman for Temu said: “Temu takes a multi-pronged approach to product monitoring and requires traders to meet the safety standards of the markets they are selling to.

“In this specific case, our proactive monitoring had flagged the product and removed it from our platform before your email.”

TikTok did not provide a comment for publication.