Shopper’s safety at risk from high-end fakes as Which? calls for urgent overhaul of enforcement system

Dangerous Dyson hairdryers and GHD straighteners, rip-off Apple Airpods and fake football shirts are among the counterfeit products sold online that Which? has uncovered, as it calls for an urgent overhaul of Trading Standards.

In June the consumer champion purchased a selection of suspected fake products from online marketplaces eBay, Temu, and Vinted. The products included sought-after items such as a Dyson hairdryer, GHD hair straighteners, Apple AirPods, an England football shirt, Ugg boots, and a Disney ‘Stitch’ toy - all items are made by brands known to be targets for counterfeiters.

For comparison purposes, Which? also bought the genuine products directly from brand websites. Many fake products look almost identical to the genuine items, with differences probably unlikely to be spotted straightaway by an unsuspecting buyer. However, Which? found red flags such as being sold as new and unused on second hand sites, being sold well below market rates, as well as having reviews questioning authenticity.

Which? researchers bought an item advertised as a ‘new’ Dyson Supersonic Hairdryer on second hand marketplace Vinted for £110, despite the genuine item retailing at around £280. When researchers compared the item from Vinted with the one they bought from Dyson’s website they found superficial differences. The colours on the box of the fake were less vivid and the fake hairdryer was about 10 per cent lighter than the real one. There was also a spelling mistake on the casing (Waterr instead of water). 

More worryingly, when Which? sent the suspected fake hairdryer to be inspected by experts at campaigning charity Electrical Safety First, it revealed a significant fire risk due to a fake fuse and a non-compliant plug.

Another fake and dangerous item Which? found was a set of GHD Platinum Plus Straighteners bought from Vinted for £89, which were also advertised as ‘new with tags,’ despite the real thing retailing for £179. Once again researchers found the fake to be lighter (7%) than the genuine article, the logo was a slightly different colour and the fake took longer to heat up and cool down. Further inspection revealed a more sinister issue - a fake fuse, which poses a fire risk, as well as a fake cable, an old-style circuit board and a construction that indicated a risk of the plates becoming live in the event of a fault.

Not all of the items Which? bought were found to be dangerous, but some were still clearly fake and of very poor quality. On eBay Which? found a set of Apple Airpods for £83.92 rather than the retail cost of around £180. The fakes were very light - 44 per cent lighter than their genuine counterpart with a slightly lighter coloured box and cheaper looking moulding. A Which? laboratory listening test revealed they had very poor sound quality.

Also among the poor quality fakes Which? found was an England Nike football shirt being sold on Vinted for £18. Compared to a shirt of  the same style purchased from the England store, the fake had the wrong colour inside stitching, the neck was not straight, the motif was less rigid and it lacked a hologram on the tag to prove its authenticity.

Another suspected fake Which? bought was a pair of Ugg Classic Ultra Mini boots from eBay for £84, £61 cheaper than the real thing from the Ugg Store. The ‘sheepskin’ lining on the fake pair felt very different and not as soft. There wasn’t a hologram on the inside label, and the stitching was different. The sole was thinner, and the moulding squarer with untidier edges.

Which? also found a Disney Stitch toy on Temu being sold for £8.12. When compared to a genuine equivalent purchased from the Disney store for £24, the fake looked very different. The colour was less vivid, the size was much smaller and crucially there was no Disney logo.

In the UK, Trading Standards teams are supposed to enforce consumer protection laws, including those around counterfeit goods sold in shops and online. But data obtained by Which? under the Freedom of Information Act shows that intellectual property and counterfeit work was one of the most commonly deprioritised areas by Trading Standards in Great Britain over the past five years. 

These services, based within local authorities, are in the impossible position of enforcing hundreds of consumer protection and other laws – on the high street and online – but many do not have the capacity to  meet this challenge. The work that they are able to undertake also varies greatly around the country.

Spotting counterfeits can be tricky – and stopping them even more so. Which? is calling for an overhaul of the Trading Standards enforcement system to ensure that it is able to deal with areas of most potential risk, with more scrutiny of local authorities to ensure the effectiveness of these teams, better intelligence sharing and more oversight of consumer protection. This includes more sharing of resources and expertise across Trading Standards teams, as well as with national regulators 

Without clear consequences – and a stronger possibility of getting caught – it’s difficult to see where the deterrent lies for dodgy sellers.

Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy, said:

“It’s shocking that so many dangerous and fake items are being sold online but without strong enforcement, criminals will continue to flood online marketplaces with these products, knowing there is little chance of getting caught.

"Which? is calling on the new Business Secretary to act now and overhaul a consumer enforcement system in crisis. As it stands, the current status quo is putting consumer safety at risk, whilst undermining responsible UK businesses that play by the rules."

-ENDS-

Notes to editors:

• Which? has campaigned for years for the Product Regulation and Metrology Act (PRaM Act), which recently received Royal Assent. 
• Following this crucial first step, Which? is calling for secondary regulations to impose a clear and robust duty on online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe products - this must be backed up by strong penalties and rigorous enforcement. 
• Until online marketplaces are held legally responsible for allowing
• third parties to sell unsafe products on their sites, it seems unlikely that this pattern will change. 
• Trading Standards in Crisis: rebuilding an effective and accountable consumer enforcement system - Which?
• Trading Standards resources and activities - Which?

Research: 

Electrical Safety First findings:

• Experts inspected electrical products, including a hairdryer and straighteners.
• Both the hairdryer and hair straighteners had fake fuses, posing a major fire risk.
• Hairdryer plug pins were too short for British Standard.
• Straighteners used an older type of circuit board.
• Giuseppe Capanna of Electrical Safety First warned of major safety risks, especially if used with wet hands, and highlighted that genuine products use higher quality components and are tested.
• Counterfeit sellers are putting lives at risk by using cheaper components.

Headphone testing:

• Fake Apple AirPods had "very bad" sound quality, with almost no bass and a large midrange peak.
• Noise cancellation did not work effectively on fake AirPods.
• Fake AirPods would not meet Apple's quality control standards.
• Maximum volume and battery life were relatively similar between real and fake AirPods (234 minutes for real, 223 for fakes).
• Wider risks of counterfeits:

Fake Toys: Can have weak seams, easily accessible button batteries, breakable parts, dangerous dyes, banned chemicals (some linked to cancer), and flammable materials.

• Fake Fashion: Can contain dangerous levels of arsenic, cadmium, phthalates, and lead.
• Phil Lewis from the Anti-Counterfeiting Group stated criminals prioritize shortcuts and cheap, dangerous materials (toxic dyes, carcinogens, sub-standard electrical parts that often explode) over consumer safety.
• Even seemingly safe clothing and footwear can contain toxic colour stabilizers and fall apart easily.
• Funding organized crime:

Buying counterfeits is not a victimless crime.

• Counterfeits are often linked to other criminal activities, including child labor, fraud, prostitution, modern slavery, illegal drugs, trafficking, and terrorism.
• Illegal drugs and weapons are often transported alongside counterfeits on the same illicit trade routes.
• Example: Police in Manchester seized 30,000 fake items in 2022.Worrying trends include counterfeits in cosmetics, car parts, batteries, spare parts, fertilizers, food, and pharmaceuticals.

Legality of buying fakes:

• People buy counterfeits either knowingly (3 in 10) or unknowingly (1 in 6).
• Unintentional purchases are most common for toys, clothing, footwear, sports, and electricals (2023 Intellectual Property Office survey).
• Buying counterfeits is not illegal for the consumer, but those making them break intellectual property or trademark laws (civil or criminal matters).

Right of replies:

A Disney spokesperson said: 

“We protect our intellectual property rights vigorously and take reports of suspected infringements very seriously. We encourage consumers to always buy authentic products from trusted retailers.”

A Dyson Spokesperson said: 

“Dyson products are the result of decades of research, development and testing to ensure performance, quality, and safety. Just because a product looks like a Dyson, it doesn’t mean it works or performs like a Dyson. Though these counterfeit products can look almost identical to the genuine article, the external appearance is where the similarity ends. They are manufactured in inferior environments that compromise on quality and safety. It is unsurprising that consumers who have been duped into buying counterfeit products do not enjoy the same performance and quality as with a genuine Dyson product.”

An eBay spokesperson said:

“Counterfeit items are strictly prohibited on eBay. We take this issue seriously, and proactively prevent millions of prohibited listings every year through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms, and AI-supported monitoring by our team of in-house specialists. eBay promptly removes reported listings and takes action against sellers who list counterfeit items. However, Which?’s research is not based on a representative sample, and does not fairly or accurately reflect eBay’s marketplace.”

A Temu spokesperson said:

“Thank you for bringing this to our attention. We reviewed the matter and immediately removed the listing.

“Temu takes intellectual property rights seriously, protecting thousands of brands through automated and manual reviews. Our policies prohibit infringement, and are enforced through listing removal, suspension, and, when necessary, seller account termination.

“We have recently become a member of the International Trademark Association (INTA) and signed an MoU with the International AntiCounterfeiting Coalition (IACC) to deepen collaboration on intellectual property protection and expand efforts to combat online counterfeiting.”

A Vinted Spokesperson said: 

“Selling counterfeit items is strictly prohibited on Vinted and we’re committed to fighting this issue. We have policies in place to protect our members and encourage them to report any account which may be violating our guidelines, so that we can take appropriate action.”

About Which?

Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.