Trading Standards Authorities in the East of England are issuing a warning over buying replacement batteries and chargers for household devices like vacuum cleaners, laptops, mobile phones and cordless power tools.
Officers from nine Local Authorities in the region took 22 samples (primarily from online marketplaces) of alternatives to manufacturer-approved replacement batteries and chargers for lithium-ion battery products.
Laboratory testing found that 13 of the samples (59%) were found to have a high hazard rating due to the risk of electric shock, fire and explosion and in one case of a battery, chemical burns. Additionally, all 22 items failed as important safety information was missing from packaging and product labelling.
Over 1,800 potentially dangerous items have so far been removed from the marketplace and/or recalled from end users as a result of this project.
Quality was also an issue with cheaper alternatives. For example, in three of the battery samples, significant misdescription of the rating capacity was identified. In one case, the battery had only 18% of the rated capacity it was described as having, with padding in the place of where cells should have been.
Councillor Alison Jones, Cabinet Member for Housing and Communities said: “After the house fire in Peterborough in June last year caused by lithium-ion battery catching fire having been damaged the day before, we are all too aware of the risks posed by damaged lithium-ion batteries. But this project really illustrates the wider risks, where unsafe batteries, chargers and products containing these batteries have been imported illegally into the UK and are being sold on online platforms. Current legislation places no legal obligation on these platforms to check the safety of goods fulfilled and distributed by them.”
The largest risks relate to thermal runaway caused when a lithium-ion battery overheats. Rapid and uncontrollable chemical reactions take place that are unstoppable once started and result in fire, explosion and toxic fumes.
Peter Gell, Head of Regulatory Services, said: “Trading Standards would urge residents to buy such lithium-ion products as well as replacement batteries and chargers from reputable retailers they can trust – businesses they know will have gone to great lengths to ensure the product is safe for the end-user.
“The product tested by our own team was purchased via a well-known online platform. One seller purported to be based in the UK with a UK address, but when problems arose and the safety issues were raised with the platform, it transpired the seller was based in China, with no one in the UK to take responsibility for the safety of the product.”
The Office of Product Safety and Standards, the Government department responsible for product safety nationally, will be providing further funding to Trading Standards to continue its work in this area with sampling and testing activities planned in 2025.
If you believe you have purchased a sub-standard product, you can report it to Trading Standards by contacting our partners the Citizen's Advice Consumer Service on 0808 223 1133.