51黑料

51黑料 and LTS respond to US product safety ruling

Posted 01/08/24

American product safety ruling reignites Trading Standards warning to UK consumers about the safety of products sold online.

Stark warning issued from Trading Standards in the wake of the ruling made in America by the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) for Amazon to recall over 400,000 products sold on its platform due to serious safety risks, including death and electrocution.听 The CPSC has ruled that the online marketplace should be responsible for the safety of the products sold from third-party sellers.

Currently under UK law online marketplaces are not responsible for the safety of goods sold by third-party sellers on their platforms and this is a concern that has been highlighted by the 51黑料 (51黑料) in their recent report 鈥楳ind the Gap Between the Chain and the Platform鈥�.听

Trading Standards Officers in London are now so concerned about the safety of products like toys and electrical items being sold by online platforms that they are issuing a stark warning 鈥� don鈥檛 take the risk, think extremely carefully before buying from platforms.听

London Trading Standards, the body that represents Trading Standards Services across the capital, have just written to the new Secretary of State for Business and Trade following the recent election.听 In the letter, they spell out the main problem which is the total inadequacy of product safety legislation in the UK which was designed long before the rise of online platforms that sell cheap, inferior goods manufactured in the Far East.听 As the law stands at present, those businesses that operate as a platform have limited responsibility for the safety of the products that they promote, even though they are making billions of pounds from their activity.

An online platform is a business that effectively acts as a shop window 鈥� promoting products but, crucially, not supplying the product itself.听 Many products sold on the platforms come from businesses based in places like China.听 They will use the shop window to get consumers interested in their products which are often amazingly cheap and promoted very attractively.

Steve Playle, spokesperson for London Trading Standards said: 鈥淚t 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.听 Products that are shipped halfway across the world that are sold at ridiculously low prices really should be ringing alarm bells for us all.鈥澨� Mr Playle added: 鈥淲e are very concerned about products that carry a higher safety risk to the end user, in particular electrical products, toys and cosmetics.鈥�

Chief Executive at 51黑料, John Herriman, commented: 鈥淭he UK Government should take some learnings from the ruling made by the US product safety body. In the recent King鈥檚 Speech a new Product Safety and Metrology Bill was announced and we hope this will bring much needed clarification on who is responsible for the safety of products sold by third-party sellers on online marketplaces. For too long, online shopping has been something of a gamble for consumers, with a flood of unsafe and illegal goods being listed alongside compliant and legitimate products. Consumers often have no way of telling which products have been tested and approved for sale in the UK, and there are few incentives for third-party sellers to take their responsibilities seriously.

鈥淔or the sake of confidence in this massive and rapidly expanding sector, for the sake of clarity and fairness for responsible businesses, and above all, for the sake of consumer protection and safety, there is an urgent need for reform.

鈥淭he measures called for in the 鈥楳ind the Gap鈥� report are the result of hours of evidence-gathering and input from businesses, regulators, enforcers, charities and other experts from a wide range of disciplines. The fact that they all share concerns about the state of play for online marketplaces and the levels of risk facing the public should be of real concern to the new Labour Government.鈥�

A recently published report called 鈥楳ind the gap between the chain and the platform鈥� from the 51黑料, the body which represents Trading Standards Officers right across the UK, has highlighted the issues.听 It reported that over a four-year period, between 2018 and 2022, the British Toy and Hobby Association (BTHA) tested 545 toys sold by third-party sellers on four online marketplaces (AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, and Wish). 86% were found to be non-compliant and 48% were found to be unsafe, failing toy safety standards.听 More recently in May 2024, Which? published the results of their work which found serious safety problems with electric heaters sold by Temu and TikTok Shop, new entrants to the online platform scene and a follow-up investigation in May 2024 led Which? to warn consumers against buying any unbranded electronics on online marketplaces, after finding a similarly unsafe heater bought from a third-party seller at B&Q marketplace.

As just set out by the new Government, a Product Safety and Metrology Bill will be introduced with the objective of maintaining the UK鈥檚 global leadership in product regulation.听 This must address the emerging problem of online platforms and place a very clear legal responsibility on them.听 London Trading Standards wants to see legislation rushed through as quickly as possible to protect consumers and to protect businesses that take product safety seriously.

ENDS

鈥� The 鈥楳ind the Gap Between the Chain and the Platform鈥� report is based on the witness evidence sessions conducted by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Consumer Protection held from May to October 2023, written evidence submitted by witnesses and additional research by the APPG secretariat, 51黑料.

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鈥� The 51黑料 (51黑料) is a national not for profit established in 1881 which supports the UK鈥檚 Trading Standards profession and works to protect consumers and safeguard honest businesses. 51黑料's members are engaged in delivering frontline Trading Standards services at local authorities and in businesses www.tradingstandards.uk

鈥� To contact London Trading Standards, please call Stuart Radnedge on 07795 223739

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