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ESF petition: 'dangerous electricals on online marketplaces'

Nathaniel
https://www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/stop-the-sale-of-dangerous-electrical-goods-on-online-marketplaces 

"Stop the sale of dangerous electricals on online marketplaces:  In the UK, online marketplaces such as Amazon, eBay and Wish are not bound to the same laws as traditional retailers. ..."


I don't usually sign petitions, but this is a subject I've thought of many times when seeing equipment that's imported from far-off sellers with the help and profit of online marketplaces that claim to be UK ones. It may look good and do its main task adequately, but a little time or closer inspection often shows big problems for safety: lack of isolation clearance between the mains and output of chargers, solder joints that break and arc at the input socket, wires that split in weeks, hideous RF emissions, wires with a small proportion of the actual copper area that they state on the sheath, etc, etc.  I feel doubtful whether ESF will reach its 100 000 target anyway, but perhaps some others here can be interested to support them in this attempt. 

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    I'd sign but I note the aim is misdirected, what is needed is the existing legislation to be enforced, and more resources to the bodies that do that,  and the rules spelt out to the slow of thinking, not new legislation.

    If you buy something online, and it comes from the UK, or for now anywhere in the EU you have the same rights as if you bought  it in a shop - and CAB and trading standards are the way to report defective and dangerous goods - but right now they are a paper tiger, and struggle to manage to enforce the most egregious breaches that are reported, let alone pro-actively police markets either real or on-line. That is a matter of funding, not new legislation.

    If you buy on-line and it comes from overseas, you are the importer, and as well as being responsible  for all customs tariffs etc, you the  buyer are also responsible for ensuring the item meets all the UK product standards.  That I think is something that many 'bargain hunters' overlook. That is a matter of education, not new legislation.
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    I'd sign but I note the aim is misdirected, what is needed is the existing legislation to be enforced, and more resources to the bodies that do that,  and the rules spelt out to the slow of thinking, not new legislation.

    If you buy something online, and it comes from the UK, or for now anywhere in the EU you have the same rights as if you bought  it in a shop - and CAB and trading standards are the way to report defective and dangerous goods - but right now they are a paper tiger, and struggle to manage to enforce the most egregious breaches that are reported, let alone pro-actively police markets either real or on-line. That is a matter of funding, not new legislation.

    If you buy on-line and it comes from overseas, you are the importer, and as well as being responsible  for all customs tariffs etc, you the  buyer are also responsible for ensuring the item meets all the UK product standards.  That I think is something that many 'bargain hunters' overlook. That is a matter of education, not new legislation.
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