Illegal and dangerous plug

Apr 15, 2024

Dangerous electric heaters sold on Amazon, eBay and Wish are being promoted by fake reviews on Amazon and dodgy ads, at a time when consumers are seeking alternative, energy-efficient ways to heat their homes.

We sent 10 plug-in mini heaters bought from the online marketplaces to be tested at our product safety lab. All of them failed and are illegal to sell in the UK.

Four plug-in mini heaters presented a risk of fire, with one model sold by Amazon Warehouse using counterfeit fuses that could even cause an explosion. Ads were found on social media and local news sites advertising these dangerous heaters to consumers, and we even uncovered evidence of sellers attempting to manipulate customers into buying on Amazon and eBay with tactics such as fake reviews

With hundreds of similar looking heaters still seen for sale across marketplaces, consumers should be extremely wary when shopping for these types of products.

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Find out why these cheap electric heaters failed our tests, and the clever tactics sellers use to promote them.

While all of the heaters are illegal to be sold in the UK, there were a few models that stood out in our tests as posing a significant risk to users.

Listed product name on Amazon Lesvtu Electric Portable Plug in Heater-Low Energy Mini Plug in Wall Heater with Adjustable Thermostat and 12H Timer Led Display, Energy Efficient Small Ceramic Fan Heater for Office Home Room Bathroom

Counterfeit fuses, which didn’t contain the required ballast to stabilise the electrical current, had been used in the plug for the heater we tested and so posed a risk of electric shock, fire or even explosion. The internal and external build quality was poor, including problems with the plug failing to lock in place.

In fact, half of the one star reviews left for this product on Amazon (left since 24 November 2022) reported that the plug had melted after using it for a short time. Some even included images of the damage caused, clearly visible to Amazon and its customers. We haven’t examined those products, but this may also be due to counterfeit fuses being used.

This style of heater is available from a variety of sources, but the one we bought came from Amazon Warehouse. Amazon claims to thoroughly check the quality of each item it sells through this part of the business, but our lab found several issues even with the packaging on this heater, including missing the markings required by law and an image on the box showing the product being used in a bathroom – despite this not being allowed in the UK without the appropriate two-pin plug.

Read our guide to the best electric heaters for your home, where our tests reveal which heat the fastest, and how much they cost to run.

Listed product name on eBay Plug In Wall Heater 500W Mini Electric Space Portable Digital Timer Ceramic Heat

During our testing of this heater, the heating element melted the plastic surround holding it in place. Our lab reported that it had subsequently slipped down within the product, creating another area of melting. It was also touching the outer grill, meaning touching the heater could result in electric shock or burns, and that leaving it running could pose a fire risk.

We found issues with both the internal and external build quality. The grill at the front of the heater could be easily pulled away and the plug also posed a risk of electric shock.

We tested several versions of this heater sold by Amazon, eBay and Wish – all of which failed. Trading Standards also issued a recall notice for a model sold by eBay that appears to be identical.

Listed product name on eBay Plug In Wall Heater Portable Mini Electric Fan 900W Space Warmer with Remote UK

The internal construction of this product was so poor that it poses a risk of fire or electric shock. Internal wires were badly soldered directly on to a circuit board (image below), while another circuit board was just loose within the product.

We also had concerns with the plug – it had a US-style plug, and there was a UK adaptor in the box. But the UK adaptor had no fuse in it and didn’t meet the UK standard for design either, posing a further risk of electric shock.

A recent investigation into illegal Christmas lights bought from online marketplaces shows how important it is to shop carefully online.

Sadly, these heaters are not buried out of view in the depths of the online marketplaces – in fact, you may well have seen them advertised online. We spotted several on suspicious looking review sites that appear as sponsored ads at the top of Google search. And once we’d searched for a plug-in mini heater, similar adverts quickly began appearing on local news sites and on social media, including Facebook and YouTube.

The adverts would link through to sites where you can purchase the products, but on investigation we found that the adverts for the different ‘brands’ of mini heater redirected you to the same site. A suspicious loop that suggested not everything was above board.

And it’s not just the dodgy sellers behind the adverts or the safety concerns that are an issue. The Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently banned four ads for plug-in mini heaters due to misleading energy-saving claims.

The ads implied that the products would save consumers money while quickly and efficiently heating a room. But the Energy Saving Trust pointed out that gas is currently cheaper than electricity, and that it’s more efficient to heat a room with one radiator than with a plug in mini-heater.

Read our guide on how to avoid dangerous products online for more tips on staying safe.

We found evidence of ‘review merging’ on Amazon on one of the plug in heaters we tested, and on others that appeared identical to those on test.

This is a practice sellers use to boost the number of reviews on a listing – using positive reviews for other products to up their own star rating and manipulate customers into buying, and an example of how Amazon’s seller tools can be ‘gamed’ to inflate product listings and in this case, promote products that are actually dangerous.

When we bought a mini heater that appeared to be branded as Cuqoo it had 894 ratings. Among the reviews were images of a completely different product – a traditional looking corded fan heater. These reviews were live for more than a month. At the time of writing, the listing had just 15 ratings. Weirdly, when the product arrived at Which?’s lab it was actually labelled Elpine rather than Cuqoo. Cuqoo has since told Which? that it used to sell Elpine products but has discontinued them.

When we returned to check one of the heaters we bought on eBay, the listing had been altered by the seller. It was no longer for a plug-in heater, but a super bright LED torch. The eBay item number was the same and the sale history showed that it had been live since 5 December.

While the eBay listing doesn’t have any product reviews, it makes the product appear popular and potentially legitimate when it’s sold in high numbers. The number of sold items for this listing was 174, but it’s not clear what the split is between mini heaters and the torch. According to the seller’s profile, they have sold 560,000 items on eBay and currently has more than 680 for sale.

We reported our findings to Amazon and it told us: ‘Safety is a top priority at Amazon and we require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws and regulations.’

It said that two products were removed in December, including one in relation to safety concerns, and that it has proactively removed similar items and introduced measures to prevent new products going on sale. It said that customers with concerns about an item purchased should contact them directly, so they can investigate and take action.

Amazon didn't comment specifically on the findings for the dangerous product bought directly through Amazon Warehouse.

While we were conducting our testing, Trading Standards issued a recall notice for a portable electric heater that appears to be identical to several of the models in our test. In late December last year, we also alerted eBay to one of the models in our testing – the Plug In Wall Heater 500W – to let the platform know about our dangerous findings.

When we searched eBay in early January, we found that this style of mini heater had largely disappeared, appearing to be swift action by the marketplace.

But when we checked again on 18 and 19 January, we found several similar looking heaters had appeared. One was listed on 3 January, with 124 sold in two weeks. A follow-up check by Which? on 27 January showed listings selling identical looking models, with one listing alone showing 389 had been bought.

This wasn’t the only one of these heaters being sold via eBay. Several of these same heaters appeared in the sponsored items box at the bottom of the listing. We checked four listings and found that a further 270 had been sold, all since the recall was issued.

eBay told us: ‘We take the safety of our users very seriously. We had already removed three of the five listings that Which? flagged to us. One of the two remaining listings is selling a different product and the other one has already ended.’

eBay said it uses ‘block filter algorithms’ aimed at preventing unsafe products from being listed, and that these filters blocked 4.8m listings in 2022 and are updated on a regular basis. It said that it works closely with stakeholders and regulators to keep the platform safe, and ‘on the rare occasion an unsafe product does make it on to site, we swiftly remove it and provide product safety education to the sellers to prevent relisting’.

However, at the time of writing, there were still many models being sold on eBay that appear identical to the dangerous and illegal heaters from our tests.

We reported our findings to Wish and it told us: ‘Product safety is a top priority for Wish. The listing highlighted by Which? Has been removed from our European platform and we are monitoring for any identical or similar listings. We will take further action as appropriate.’

Google was asked for comment but had not provided one at the time of writing.

Cuqoo told Which? that the product we bought is not a Cuqoo branded plug-in mini heater, but is an Elpine branded product. It told Which? that it used to sell Elpine products through its Amazon store but has since discontinued these.

Elpine was asked for comment but had not provided one at the time of writing.

Plug-in mini heaters

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A large collection of images displayed on this page are available at https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/illegal-and-dangerous-plug-in-mini-heaters-for-sale-on-online-marketplaces-a8pu66r0ZAlG

If you think you own one of the plug-in mini heaters pictured in the gallery above, you should approach the seller and platform you bought it from to ask for a refund.

If you’ve received a recall notice from any seller or platform, stop using the product immediately and follow the instructions in the email.

It’s hard to tell if a product is electrically unsafe just from looking at it – if problems do exist, they will often be hidden away inside. But as with shopping for any type of electronic device on online marketplaces, bear in mind the following advice:

Markings A UKCA or CE marking on the packaging and the product, as well as the WEEE disposal logo, should offer peace of mind. UKCA or CE markings show that the manufacturer has checked that the product meets all relevant health, safety and environmental requirements and complies with the law. However, Which? has found instances where these have been faked, so make sure you check the other telltale signs here as well.

Packaging As well as a UKCA or CE mark, packaging should show information about the manufacturer, the importer and how to dispose of the products.

Instructions They should be in English and explain how to use and how to maintain the heaters. They should contain safety instructions and any relevant warnings, as well as the details of the EU or UK importer. Products failing Which? tests came with no instructions or with all standard safety warnings and importer details missing.

Plugs The plug should be a UK three-pin plug. If the product comes with any other kind of plug and an adaptor, alarm bells should start to ring. It's also worth noting that the markings mentioned above are also required for all plugs.

Loose wires Look for wires that do not seem to be safely secured. If anything looks wrong, then stop using your heater.

The government needs to clamp down on the current frightening gap in the product safety regime. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) has been looking into this for a considerable amount of time – despite Which? testing repeatedly highlighting unsafe products on marketplaces. It now needs to publish the result of its review and follow up urgently with decisive action so that online marketplaces legally have to take responsibility for preventing unsafe products from being offered by sellers, remove them swiftly if they're found and prevent them from reappearing.

More broadly, the government must now step in with laws giving regulators and other bodies the powers they need to actually make online platforms take responsibility for the serious consumer harms on their sites.

It's essential that the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumer (DMCC) Bill is introduced without delay in order to update consumer protection law to ensure major platforms take the steps necessary to tackle fake reviews.

Rocio Concha, Which? director of policy and advocacy, said: 'Our latest research has uncovered plug-in mini heaters that are illegal and could cause serious harm to consumers – showing the clear failures of online platforms to eradicate dangerous products, fake reviews and dodgy adverts combining to promote dangerous products that end up in people’s homes.

'The government must urgently act to strengthen product safety, including giving online marketplaces greater legal responsibility for unsafe products sold on their sites so that consumers are far better protected. The OPSS needs to publish the results of its long overdue product safety review and quickly address this enormous gap in protections that is putting people unnecessarily at risk.

'Self-regulation of online platforms is simply not working. These platforms are choosing to put in place inadequate protections leaving consumers at risk of severe harm. The government must give these platforms greater responsibility to protect people online.'

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