E-bike chargers that pose a risk of fire and electric shock have been found on sale on Amazon, eBay and Wish.com amid a sharp rise in blazes associated with battery-powered bicycles and scooters.
More than a dozen low-cost devices, several with substandard, unfused plugs, were on offer on all three websites, a Guardian investigation with the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF) found.
Fire brigades have warned incompatible chargers paired with the wrong lithium ion batteries are a key source of e-bike and e-scooter fires that can quickly become catastrophic. Since 2020, eight people have been killed and at least 190 injured by e-bike and e-scooter fires in the UK.
A snapshot investigation this month revealed 15 different chargers being offered on Amazon, eBay and Wish.com by British and Chinese sellers that were likely to breach UK safety regulations. Several have clover-shaped plugs that increase the risk of an electric shock. Technicians opened the plugs bought on Amazon and eBay and found they had no fuse.
View image in fullscreenAn e-bike battery charger bought from Amazon, which was unfused. Photograph: Supplied
Responding to the investigation, London fire brigade’s deputy commissioner Dom Ellis said the risk of significant fires was increasing as sales of e-bikes and scooters grew. He urged the public to “always use the correct charger and buy an official one from a reputable seller”.
On Monday, 25 firefighters were called out to a house fire in Newham, east London, caused by an e-bike that had been left on to charge. In March, a man died and 17 were left homeless when a food courier’s charging e-bike battery combusted in an overcrowded flat in Tower Hamlets, east London.
The National Fire Chiefs Council said: “When these batteries and chargers fail, they do so with ferocity and because the fires develop so rapidly, the situation can quickly become incredibly serious.”
Lesley Rudd, the chief executive of ESF, said: “Online marketplaces are failing to get to grips with substandard and dangerous products on their platforms. None of the charging devices we found should have been on sale to the public.”
The online retailers were warned last September by ESF to remove sellers who offered the devices and did so at the time. After being approached by the Guardian this week, all three websites withdrew the latest chargers identified.
Devices removed from Wish.com included a scooter charger from China that was on sale for just £5.36. The website launched “an extensive sweep for any similar and identical listings” and said it had informed affected customers.
Amazon removed five chargers, all imported from China with clover-shaped plugs, most of which originated from Guangdong province, a big electronics manufacturing hub. It said safety was “a top priority” and that it required all products to “comply with applicable laws and regulations”.
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An Amazon spokesperson said: “We will remove any similar products with non-compliant clover-shaped plugs that we find listed. If customers have concerns about an item they’ve purchased, we encourage them to contact us directly so we can investigate and take appropriate action.”
Ebay, which advertised three devices that ESF said were non-compliant for less than £20 each, said it was already “strengthening our processes to tackle this issue”, adding: “We always contact anyone who has recently bought an item removed for product safety reasons.”
A spokesperson for eBay said keeping users safe was the company’s “top priority”.
“We always contact anyone who has recently bought an item removed for product safety reasons … If an unsafe product does make it on to site, we swiftly remove it and provide product safety education to the sellers to prevent relisting.”
A spokesperson for Wish.com said: “Merchants trading on our platform are required to adhere to local laws and safety standards, wherever their goods are sold … We are informing any impacted customers, and will take any further action as appropriate.”
