Customers warned about buying Christmas lights online after half fail safety tests, Which? investigation finds
Consumers have been warned about buying Christmas lights from online marketplaces such as eBay, after Which? found half of those it tested caught fire or risked shocks.
The consumer watchdog said buyers should stick to trusted high street retailers or recognised retailers, after six of 13 lights it looked at failed to meet UK electrical safety standards.
Which? found two sets of lights bought from eBay and AliExpress started to smoke and melt during short circuit tests. The insulation in another set of lights, bought from the online marketplace Wish, also broke down during testing, leaving anyone who came into contact with it at risk of getting a shock.
Which? found other lights bought online had components too close together, or wiring that came apart easily, creating a shock risk.
However, Which? said that all lights it purchased from John Lewis, Argos and Amazon passed their safety tests.
Following the investigation, the watchdog called for tighter rules to make online marketplaces more responsible for the safety of items sold on their sites.
Natalie Hitchins, Which? Head of Home Products and Services, said: “Many of the cheap and seemingly cheerful Christmas lights we’ve tested from online marketplaces simply aren’t safe, and we’ve found some even have the potential to set a tree alight.
“The significantly better performance of products bought from high street retailers exposes just how necessary it is to strengthen consumer protections for online marketplaces. The new government must make safety a priority and put the legal responsibility on marketplaces to prevent unsafe products from being sold on their sites.”
Following the investigation, an eBay spokesperson said: “eBay doesn’t permit the listing of unsafe products. The items have been removed and the sellers advised to contact any buyers with the alert and their return policy.”
AliExpress said: “Customer safety is of paramount importance. We have promptly informed the sellers and removed these listings. Merchants need to comply with all regulations in the markets they sell to.
“We have procedures in place to find listings that infringe our policies and we carry out regular monitoring and take action against sellers when our terms of use are violated.” The Telegraph contacted Wish for comment.
