Fire risk e-bike chargers still on sale

Potentially dangerous device chargers are still on sale on eBay and Amazon.

Chargers for e-bikes which have been classed as a ‘fire risk’ and can cause electric shocks are still on sale on major websites including eBay and Amazon.

A Guardian investigation along with the charity Electrical Safety First (ESF), has found low-cost devices, several with substandard, unfused plugs are still on sale on major websites.

Chief executive of ESF Lesley Rudd 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.”

In March, at a block of flats in Tower Hamlets in London, 1 man died and 17 were made homeless after a food delivery man’s charging e-bike caught fire.

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.”

Amazon has since removed the devices while eBay has said: “We always contact anyone who has recently bought an item removed for product safety reasons … If an unsafe product does make it on to the site, we swiftly remove it and provide product safety education to the sellers to prevent relisting.”