Dangerous phone chargers for sale on online marketplaces

Dangerous phone chargers that could give users electric shocks, cause house fires or explode are widely available to buy through leading online marketplaces, new Which? research can reveal.

We bought 15 USB phone chargers from online marketplaces and tested them for electrical safety to determine whether they were safe to use and could be sold in the UK legally. 

Nine chargers bought from Amazon (including Amazon Haul), AliExpress, B&Q Marketplace, Debenhams and eBay so badly manufactured that anyone using them was at risk of receiving an electric shock. And eight of the chargers also posed a fire and explosion risk, too.

All fifteen of the chargers bought from online marketplace sellers - including two from Shein and Temu - were also missing key information on the packaging, the charger itself or in the documentation provided. It’s this and the electric shock, fire and explosion risk that means every one of these dangerous and/or poorly built chargers can’t be sold in the UK legally.

We've tested a range of phone chargers for safety issues and found models that were safe to use: see our guide on how to buy the best fast charger for details. 

Counterfeit 'Apple' and 'Samsung' chargers found on eBay

Two of the chargers we bought and tested from eBay sellers have all the hallmarks of being counterfeit.

We bought this ‘Apple’ USB-C 35W Power Adaptor charger for £11.99, it was listed as a genuine Apple product and we found it on eBay after searching for chargers and filtering the results by brand and then by new products.  

The box is marked with the famous Apple logo, but everything we saw in our tests suggests that this is a cheap and dangerous fake.

It failed all of our electrical safety tests with arcing being heard after 10 seconds of our electrical strength test. This is where current jumps between two parts of the electrical circuit, which could cause a fire, lead the product to explode or give anyone using it an electric shock.

When we opened the case we found a lump of modelling clay, which we believe was used to give the charger a more weighty, robust and genuine feel. 

There was a spelling mistake on the charger itself, and both it and the documents provided with it were missing required information such as the UK importer’s postal address. It appears to be counterfeit and dangerous and should be avoided.

One customer who bought the fake 'Apple' charger posted on the listing to say that it had overloaded and ruined their iPad and phone, both of which have stopped charging.

We also think a charger listed on eBay as being from 'Samsung' for £6.99 is likely to be counterfeit. While being electrically safe, the product was delivered without packaging or a manual and can’t be sold in the UK legally. And these aren’t the only eBay-sold chargers that we’re concerned about.

Two more unbranded phone chargers bought from eBay sellers for £2.10 and £2.80 both posed a fire and explosion risk and could give users an electric shock. The distances between parts of the circuits were too small, which could lead to arcing, and the plug pins were too short. For both of these chargers and another from eBay, the packaging, product markings or instructions were all missing information required for them to be sold in the UK legally. 

A phone charger on Amazon Haul could start a fire

Our investigation led us to Amazon’s low-cost platform Amazon Haul, where we bought and tested a USB-C charger for £6.99 that was both dangerous and dodgy. The unbranded charger failed our electrical safety tests and was a shock and fire risk for anybody using it. And the packaging, markings and instructions provided were all missing required information.

When we cracked the charger open we found a metal weight inside that had been added to give this otherwise lightweight charger a feeling of robustness. 

Another Amazon Haul-bought unbranded charger was also found to be dangerous. The distance between the pins and the outside edge of the plugface was too small, making the charger an electric shock risk.

Two further unbranded chargers bought from Amazon for £2.99 and £3.99 passed our electrical safety tests, but all four of the chargers we bought from Amazon and Amazon Haul were missing key packaging, markings and documentation. None can be sold in the UK legally.

Dangerous chargers bought from B&Q and Debenhams

It’s not just the marketplaces that have been around for decades where we found dangerous chargers. The 2-1 Super Fast Charger (£10.99) bought from a seller on B&Q marketplace failed all of our electrical safety tests and has the potential to explode, cause a fire or to give users an electric shock.

Parts of the circuitry were too close together and when we stress-tested its insulation and robustness, it stopped working immediately. Also, it's badly manufacturerd with two of the charger’s pins being too thick, which could damage a mains socket.

The Dual Port 35W charger (£9.99) we tested from Debenhams marketplace was just as bad, failing all of our electrical safety tests and being every bit as dangerous. And just like the seemingly fake Apple charger, when we opened it up we found it to be weighted down with modelling clay, to make it feel more substantial.

The packaging, markings and documentation provided with both chargers failed to provide the information required. Neither can be sold in the UK legally.

More dodgy chargers found on AliExpress, Temu and Shein

Two chargers bought from sellers on AliExpress for £1.30 and £5.69 could be dangerous for anyone using them. Parts of the electrical circuitry were too close together on both, presenting the potential for an explosion, fire or an electric shock. Both chargers also stopped working when we stress-tested them in our high voltage test. The plug face on the yellow charger was too small to meet the requirements of the plugface standard. And both chargers came with insufficient packaging, product markings and documentation. 

Chargers bought from sellers on Temu and Shein passed our safety tests, but both were missing required markings on the product, including details of the UK importer. None of the four chargers can be sold legally in the UK.

How we tested phone chargers  

We bought phone chargers from leading online marketplaces to check that they were safe to use and that they could be sold in the UK legally. 

• Creepage & clearance distances – we checked that the minimum safe separation distances between parts of the circuit required by the standard are present in all of the products.
• Electrical strength test – we tested whether the product can withstand the minimum test voltages required by the standard before flashover or breakdown occurs. The standards we tested to are BS62368, BS60950 and BS60335-2-29.
• Plugface and pins check  - the products are checked against a BS1363 plug gauge which measures the pins and compares to the upper and lower required limits. The plug face is also measured to make sure it's wide enough to be safe. 
• Packaging, product markings and documentation – we checked that the legally required marks, warnings and information are present and correct on the packaging, the product and the documents provided with it.

How to shop safely for phone chargers

To help you to buy phone chargers you can trust, here are our tips.

• Buy a recognised brand from a well known retailer or direct from the manufacturer - when we tested well known brands of phone charger all of them passed our electrical safety tests and none posed a safety risk to anyone using them. 
• CE or UKCA mark - look for the CE mark or the UKCA mark. The markings indicate that the charger meets all the legal requirements needed to be sold in this country. CE and UKCA mean the same, but without one or other of them, the charger can’t be sold legally in the UK.
• Look for the UK importer’s details - when chargers are made outside the UK, details of the company importing them should be on the packaging or the product itself. If you can’t find them, you might have a dodgy charger on your hands.
• Be wary of very cheap big-brand chargers - they could be fake. The seemingly fake and dangerous ‘Apple’ charger we tested was bought for £6.99, a genuine Apple charger will be around £20. 

Discover chargers that passed our tests and are safe to use in our guide on how to buy the best fast charger.

Why Which? is calling for tough laws to clamp down on unsafe products

We first let marketplaces know that they were selling dangerous chargers in 2019, and this investigation is just the latest evidence of dangerous products being sold through online marketplaces that Which? testing has highlighted. 

That's why we're campaigning alongside a coalition of safety groups and responsible UK businesses for tough new laws to hold these platforms to the same standards as high street retailers. 

On Tuesday 2 June 2026, Which? handed in a petition with more than 150,000 signatures to the Department of Business and Trade minister Kate Dearden calling for the government to regulate online marketplaces and fine them for breaches.

The Product Regulation and Metrology Act, adopted in July 2025, enables the Secretary of State to impose product safety requirements on online marketplaces through secondary legislation, but these have been delayed. The government urgently needs to use these powers to ensure that products such as carcinogenic balloons are prevented from reaching people in the UK.

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy, said: 'Badly designed electricals like these can have life-altering - even fatal - consequences. Online marketplaces have known about the danger of knock off chargers for the better part of a decade, but consumers continue to be placed at risk.

'The government must urgently use the new powers it has under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to update product safety legislation and impose a clear legal duty on online marketplaces for ensuring the safety of products sold through their third-party sellers, with tough enforcement for those that fall short.

'By making online marketplaces legally responsible for unsafe products, the government can set a world-leading standard for product safety in the digital age.'

What the platforms said about the latest safety issues

We shared our findings with the marketplaces that we bought the dangerous chargers from. Following our research, all 15 of the products that failed our tests and or compliance checks have now been removed from sale by the platforms listing them.

• AliExpress - AliExpress takes product safety very seriously, and we have strict rules and policies in place to ensure a safe online shopping environment. We have removed both identified products: one was taken down via proactive monitoring early this May, the other was removed immediately upon your report; and same takedown actions were already made for any that are identical to these products as well. We will inform affected UK consumers of the risks and support refund requests. We have put mechanisms in place to maintain proactive monitoring and prevent similar non-compliant items from being listed. We remain dedicated to working with regulators to ensure marketplace safety.
• Amazon - Customer safety is a top priority at Amazon and we have partnered with Electrical Safety First to provide customers with easy-to-understand expert tips on charging devices safely. We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations, Amazon policies, and we monitor for product safety concerns. We’ve removed the highlighted items. We proactively monitor our store for safety alerts and product recalls and remove relevant products and email customers who purchased them. If we discover a product was undetected by our automated checks, we address the issue immediately and refine our controls. If customers have concerns about an item they’ve purchased, we encourage them to contact our Customer Service directly so we can investigate and help resolve their issue.
• B&Q - We take the safety of products sold by sellers at B&Q Marketplace very seriously and proactively check to ensure no products subject to an OPSS recall are offered for sale.
• Debenhams - We take product safety and compliance extremely seriously. The product in question was listed by a third-party seller through our marketplace. As soon as we were made aware of the potential safety issue, we immediately removed this product from our website. We are contacting the small number of customers who purchased this product to inform them of the issue and to issue full refunds.While the product was sold by an independent third-party seller, we expect all marketplace partners to adhere to our listing policies and relevant safety standards, and we are working with them to understand how this occurred.
• Ebay - We can confirm that all of the items listed in this investigation had already been removed by eBay's standard safety measures prior to Which? sharing them with us. We are also reviewing the accounts of the reported sellers for other similar items, before taking the appropriate action. Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay, and we take this issue very seriously. "We work diligently to prevent and remove unsafe listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms, AI-supported monitoring by in-house specialists, and close partnerships with regulators. These measures helped to prevent 21 million potentially unsafe listings from appearing on eBay in 2025.
• Shein - Shein takes product safety very seriously and is committed to offering safe and reliable products to customers. As soon as we were informed of the findings, out of an abundance of caution, we immediately initiated our standard safety protocol and delisted this product while we investigated. While we note that while the device itself was found to be compliant with applicable safety standards, we require all sellers to ensure that products include the correct labelling, documentation and regulatory information required in the markets where they are sold. In this case, we are requiring the seller to review similar products and associated listings to ensure ongoing compliance across our platform. We are also continuing to screen for similar listings as part of our broader compliance processes.
• Temu - The seller provided a certified CE-LVD report and a UK Plug Test Report as part of our pre-listing compliance check, which is consistent with the product passing Which?'s safety tests. On receipt of Which?'s notice, we removed the listing pending a review of packaging, product markings and documentation against UK requirements. The listing will not be reinstated until it is fully compliant. As a precaution, we are also removing identical and substantially similar listings pending the same review.

Which? is campaigning for stricter rules to prevent the sale of unsafe products. Sign our petition to protect online shoppers