Highlands and Islands MSP Jamie Halcro Johnston has backed calls by consumer safety charity Electrical Safety First for people to be careful when purchasing electrical gifts online this Christmas.
The warnings come after research, which has been published during this week’s Electrical Safety Week (23rd-29th November), has repeatedly found unsafe electrical goods for sale online, including on some of the most popular sites such as Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Wish.com. The research also shows that three out of five consumers in Scotland will be shopping online for what they see as ‘safer’ Christmas shopping.
Mr Halcro Johnston said: “So many people now shop online and it has become easier for people to unwittingly purchase dangerous electrical products from third party sellers via online marketplaces.
“It’s concerning that Electrical Safety First’s investigations have repeatedly found unsafe electricals for sale online, including on Amazon Marketplace, eBay and Wish.com. Their research indicates that over 20% are planning to buy an electrical item as a gift this Christmas – yet it has previously found that in the UK three out of five fake electricals are purchased online, with a third of buyers experiencing major problems with the item.
“That’s why I’m joining with Electrical Safety First to urge my constituents to reduce their chances of buying dangerous electricals by sticking to the websites of known manufacturers or retailers, and to be very careful if needing to buy from third party sellers online.
“Christmas is an expensive time of year and the pandemic has made this year harder than any other. But it’s still important that folk are careful of where they buy electrical products from and one way of doing that is to stick to the online stories of well-known and trusted retailers”.
For more advice on how to shop safe this Christmas visit: www.electricalsafetyfirst.org.uk/spotthefake
