Which? discovered that ten of the twelve sets of Christmas tree lights it tested were not permitted to be sold in the UK. One set of lights was so poorly constructed that operating it could result in an electric shock risk as well as a fire hazard.
A consumer group has discovered that Christmas lights purchased from internet marketplaces are often sold illegally and put customers at risk of electric shocks or burns.
Christmas tree lights that cost £15 or less were tested and purchased from AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, and Wish online marketplaces. It was discovered that 10 of the 12 sets of lights purchased did not comply with the Electrical Equipment (Safety) regulations and could not be used.
Concerns about more individuals switching to less expensive lights in an effort to save money are rising under the crisis of rising living costs, but doing so carries risk.
These most recent findings support Which? calls’s for increased legal responsibility for online marketplaces to stop the sale of dangerous and illegal goods on their websites.
One set of lights purchased from a Wish seller was so poorly constructed that it may have caused a fire and presented a risk of electric shock to anyone using it. The cord, control box, and plug on the £13 Fairy LED string lights were defective.
The white control box’s construction was so poor that a child could simply tear it apart, revealing reachable wires that could be pulled out by hand with little force.
The product was also advertised as being waterproof, but Which? disassembled it and examined the parts and found no proof of this.
Another set of lights that I paid £13.23 for from a vendor on AliExpress were so shoddy made that anyone using them could get an electric shock.
Which? discovered that the transformer’s creepage and clearance distances—the distance between the live and neutral sections of the circuit board—did not meet the minimum standards. This indicates that the lights put consumers at risk for electric shock.
There were various issues with the packaging, markings, and paperwork that were provided, and the plug’s pins were excessively short. The lights finally went out during Whichelectrical ?’s strength test.
The sale of these lights is prohibited in the UK as they are harmful.
All four websites claimed to have taken the items discovered to be for sale on their platforms and in violation of the law.
Wish issued the following statement: “Product safety is Wish’s first priority, and we have policies in place that clearly forbid the listing or sale of goods on our platform that are in violation of local or other applicable laws, rules, and/or safety standards.
Holiday lights
“We took fast action to remove these harmful items from our platform as soon as we learned they were placed there and we monitored certain other identical merchant postings.”
Only two of the 12 sets of lights—one from Amazon and one from eBay—passed every test.
Both websites claimed to take security “extremely seriously.”
An Amazon representative said: “We regularly monitor our store so customers can shop with confidence. We have proactive safeguards in place to prevent non-compliant items from being listed.”
Ebay continued, “Our tight collaboration with stakeholders and regulators is a key component of our global product safety strategy for maintaining the security of our platform. Authorities from all around the world can report listings of harmful products through our Regulatory Portal to get them removed right away.
“Cheap Christmas lights could be tempting for many of us trying to save money amid the cost of living crisis,” said Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy. “However, our latest research shows consumers could be putting themselves in danger due to online marketplaces.”
“In order to effectively protect individuals, the government must hold online marketplaces accountable for harmful and unlawful goods supplied through their websites.”
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