Fraudulent plug-in devices that promise to lower energy bills have been an active consumer con for years. Illegal and even dangerous products continue to inundate online marketplaces in the UK. These devices are accompanied by significant risks, including fire hazards and electrocution. Consumers are still undoubtedly able to find them with just a few clicks on ubiquitous e-commerce platforms.
Specifically, Which? decided to test eight different plug-in energy-saving devices. Their examples span the purchase of these devices procured from all major online marketplaces, including Amazon, eBay, AliExpress, Shein, and Temu. Their results proved that none of these units truly worked. That alone would be cause for grave concern regarding the online safety of these products. That’s especially dangerous when they’re sold as solutions to reduce energy bills.
The UK’s Office for Product Safety & Standards has been proactive, successfully issuing recalls for multiple plug-in devices sold through online marketplaces. These devices created an unreasonable risk of substantial injury to consumers. A 2011 story about the plug-in device has triggered an emergency alert by UK trading standards officers to promote this device that deceptively promised it would save users 40% on their energy bills. These continuing problems expose the ongoing dangers posed by inexpensive, largely untested, unbranded electronics sold on the web.
Despite the good faith efforts of e-commerce platforms to catalog and remove unsafe products from their marketplaces, dangerous items are still available with a simple click. In response, an Amazon spokesperson said the company requires all products to comply with applicable laws and regulations. More importantly, they take proactive steps to guarantee a safer choice for their consumers. These products have been removed. This underscores Amazon’s commitment to providing a secure shopping experience while emphasizing that third-party sellers must adhere to both legal requirements and platform-specific rules.
In a 2022 congressional hearing, a Shein representative was posed questions to explain their product offerings. They said, “We treat product safety with the utmost importance. Upon notice of any claims, Shein instantaneously removes the item(s) from its site as a precautionary measure while the company investigates.” This shows a real commitment on Shein’s part to address safety concerns surrounding its stock.
And yet even with these promises from online retailers, consumers continue to be exposed to harmful devices. The continued availability of all these products on the current market is concerning enough, but what’s even more concerning is the regulatory framework for online sales. Consumer organizations such as Which? continue to sound the alarm about the dangers of purchasing electrical products from unverified sources. They note a significant risk in those that raise general fear or unsupported claims.