Electrical safety experts have found thousands of dangerous travel adaptors for sale on popular online marketplaces, warning holidaymakers to avoid them. Electrical Safety First (ESF) tested 14 products from AliExpress, Amazon Marketplace, eBay, and TikTok Shop, and all failed to meet safety standards.
All tested adaptors failed safety checks
ESF's product safety engineer Giuseppe Capanna told Metro that people using these adaptors would be at risk of electric shock or electrocution. 'Travel adaptors are often something people pick up at the last minute before going away, which makes them an easy target for unscrupulous sellers looking to make a quick buck,' he said. 'They cut corners by using cheap, poor-quality materials and making false claims, all while putting people's safety at risk.'
Testers bought eight universal and six basic travel adaptors from marketplaces they suspected were unsafe. All of the since-removed adaptors were unbranded, with no notable model numbers.
Universal adaptors posed multiple risks
Given the risk of blowing a fuse or overheating, adaptors can only be sold if just one set of plug pins is shown, so a user cannot touch the electrical bits. Yet six of the eight universal travel adaptors tested allowed more than one set of prongs to be extended while in use. This means the user could come into contact with 240 volts of electricity – if touched with wet hands, the shock could be fatal.
Additionally, six adaptors boasted 'surge protection', designed to absorb voltage from power trips to protect devices, despite not having it.
Basic adaptors were fire hazards
All the basic adaptors were fire risks as they had oversized pin holes, missing fuses, or lacked safety shutters to hide internal parts. One of them had more than 1,000 reviews on Amazon and was flagged as an 'Amazon's Choice' – a 'highly-rated, well-priced product'. However, reviews seen by Metro painted a different picture. 'Almost burnt down my home using this,' read a one-star review posted in 2023. 'Charger destroyed the appliance I was using with the battery highly swollen and smoking.' Another review posted in April said the plug adaptor 'fell apart' in their hands. 'Imagine if I had attempted to use this and for it to fall open while inserted in a socket,' they added, 'I would have been electrocuted.'
Consumer groups and regulators respond
Sue Davies, head of consumer protection policy at Which?, told Metro that the consumer watchdog has similarly found faulty phone chargers for sale on popular e-commerce websites. 'Badly designed electricals can have life-altering – even fatal – consequences,' she said. 'It's appalling that online marketplaces continue to fail to prevent dangerous products from reaching consumers, despite countless warnings.'
The Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy told Metro that platforms need to 'act' to stop unsafe products being listed to begin with. 'We take action to remove unsafe items from sale and hold online marketplaces to account,' it added.
Products removed from sale
The marketplaces have removed the products ESF flagged from sale. AliExpress said that safety is the platform's 'top priority' and has issued a recall. 'We have also launched a wider review of universal travel adaptor listings where all plug pins are shown extended at the same time,' the Chinese e-commerce platform added. Amazon took similar action, stressing that all products must comply with local laws. 'We proactively monitor our store for safety alerts and product recalls and remove relevant products and email customers who purchased them,' it added. A spokesperson for eBay also said the offending adaptors have been removed. 'At eBay, we combine technology, AI-supported monitoring and specialist teams to help maintain a safe and trusted marketplace,' they said. 'We also work closely with regulators to monitor for unsafe products and enhance our prevention efforts. Together, these proactive measures have prevented millions of potentially unsafe items from being listed every year.' TikTok uses similar filters and moderation and has removed products and associated videos.
What to look out for with travel adaptors
ESF advises consumers to avoid adaptors with multiple pins extendable at once, visible internal parts through socket holes, or spelling and grammar errors on packaging. Only one set of plug pins should be shown at a time.
