London Trading Standards (LTS) has expressed serious concerns about the safety of products being sold on online marketplaces, and is warning consumers to consider the risks involved in buying items such as toys and electrical goods online.
LTS spokesperson Steve Playle said: “It is a pretty drastic step for us to take to warn consumers so bluntly to think carefully before buying from online platforms, but we really have no choice. Products that are shipped halfway across the world that are sold at ridiculously low prices really should be ringing alarm bells for us all.
“We are very concerned about products that carry a higher safety risk to the end user, in particular electrical products, toys and cosmetics.”
In a letter to Jonathan Reynolds MP, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, LTS has highlighted a lack of meaningful product safety legislation to protect online shoppers in the UK. Under current rules – which were designed before the dramatic rise in popularity of online retail – businesses that operate as online marketplaces have limited responsibility for the safety of the products that they promote on their platforms, even though they make billions of pounds from selling them.
Many of the products for sale on online platforms are manufactured in China and other East Asian countries, and do not comply with UK safety standards.
In its recent ‘Mind the gap between the chain and the platform’ report, CTSI has highlighted widespread problems with the safety of products being sold online, and called for a windfall tax on online marketplaces to support product safety enforcement.
Between 2018 and 2022, the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) tested 545 toys sold by third-party sellers on four online marketplaces, and found 86% to be non-compliant and 48% to be unsafe. Consumer group Which? has also identified serious safety problems with electric heaters sold by Temu and TikTok Shop, and recently warned consumers against buying any unbranded electronics on online marketplaces after finding an unsafe heater sold by a third-party seller on B&Q marketplace.
Along with CTSI, LTS is calling for the Government’s new Product Safety and Metrology Bill to place clear responsibilities on online marketplaces. LTS said it wants to see legislation implemented as quickly as possible to protect consumers and support businesses that take product safety seriously.
