Leading safety charity, Electrical Safety First, is delighted the Government has acknowledged the importance of its campaign against dangerous electrical items \u2013 recently highlighted by media headlines around damage caused by white goods such as tumble-dryers and gadgets such as hoverboards.<\/p>\n
At a recent Westminster Hall debate, MPs discussed not only the flood of fakes entering the UK \u2013 particularly through online outlets \u2013 but also the issue of substandard items.<\/p>\n
Minister for Business, Innovation and Skills, Nick Bowles MP, who praised the Charity for its campaign, agreed that more needs to be done to protect consumers in our digital age and that a review into how Trading Standards can address this issue was being undertaken by his department.<\/p>\n
Research by Electrical Safety First found that a quarter of us have knowingly bought a counterfeit item and a third would consider doing so, if it saved money or if they saw no difference to the genuine article. And the situation is worsening due to the rapid growth in fakes available via social media, where sales of counterfeit items increased by 15% in 2014 \u2013 2015 alone.<\/p>\n
Carolyn Harris, MP for Swansea East, who arranged the Westminster Hall debate and whose constituent, Linda Merron, died in a fire caused by a faulty air purifier bought on eBay, highlighted not only the prevalence and danger of counterfeit goods but also the problem of substandard components in electrical items.<\/p>\n
The Charity has also noted the impact of an increasing complex supply chain in relation to substandard items and called for a tightening of the product recall process. Currently, recalls have only a 10 to 20% success rate, leaving millions of potentially lethal products in people\u2019s homes.<\/p>\n
\u201cA fake designer handbag can\u2019t kill you but a fake or substandard electrical item could,” explains Phil Buckle, Director General of Electrical Safety First. “And while counterfeit is not the same as substandard, it isn\u2019t surprising that many fakes ignore safety and technical regulations.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur report, A Shocking Rip-Off<\/i>, the True Cost of Counterfeit Electrical Products, <\/i> found that the key reason fakes are sold so cheaply is that they contain \u2018shortcuts\u2019 \u2013 omitting components entirely, or using substandard ones, which can significantly impact on a product\u2019s safety and functionality. And the increasing sophistication of fake products means that often, the only way to identify them as counterfeit is by checking their internal components \u2013 not something consumers are likely to do!\u201d<\/p>\n
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