Which? finds dozens of ‘dangerous’ ladders online after trader was seriously injured by fall from product bought on Amazon
Which? researchers have uncovered 100 dangerous ladders, all sharing similar or identical designs, for sale in the UK across 21 online marketplaces. As part of this investigation, the consumer champion spoke to Joffrey Bogemans, who bought one of these ladders from Amazon Marketplace.
Joffrey told Which? that he was working on a fire alarm at a commercial premises when the telescopic ladder he was using suddenly snapped. Joffrey fell 4.5 metres onto a concrete floor; he survived the fall, but it could have been fatal. Joffrey has still not fully recovered and his injuries have had a lasting effect on his livelihood and wellbeing.
The fall left him with broken ribs as well as damage to his pelvis, wrist and ankle. Joffrey also suffered a cut foot and has continuing lung discomfort. He was unable to work for eight weeks as a result and could only return gradually on a reduced basis after that, which led to significant loss of income.
Joffrey said he felt confident buying this product on Amazon Marketplace because the seller falsely claimed it met the product safety standard EN 131. Despite this, neither the seller nor Amazon accepted liability, so Joffrey began a lengthy legal process which is still ongoing.
The seller did not appear to have have liability insurance which means that even if Joffrey wins his legal case, there is no guarantee that they have the financial resources to pay out. The listing was removed, but the seller is still active on Amazon and has listings for similar ladders.
When approached for comment, Amazon did not comment on Joffrey's case but told us that it requires all products listed on Amazon Marketplace "to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies" and that it proactively monitors its store for safety alerts and product recalls and removes relevant products and contacts those who purchased them.
Which? believes that Joffrey’s case is symptomatic of product safety issues on online marketplaces across the board. For instance, The Ladder Association bought 14 ladders in March 2025 from third party sellers on online platforms, including B&Q marketplace, and found that every single one failed safety tests.
As in Joffrey’s case, 86 per cent of the ladders which failed their tests were fraudulently marked or marketed as conforming with the relevant safety standard. By contrast, all four of the ladders bought from B&Q directly, rather than third party sellers on its platform, passed the Ladder Association’s tests.
The consumer champion believes preventing consumers being exposed to such widespread hazards would be no great challenge for platforms with the resources and technical capabilities of Amazon and other online retail giants. For example, Which? was able to build an image recognition tool using publicly available technology that found hundreds of products matching official warnings from the Office for Product Safety and Standards and yet were still being sold on these platforms.
In 2015, a tragic death involving a telescopic ladder prompted the publication of a Prevention of Future deaths report. More than 10 years later, hundreds of dangerous telescopic ladders that appear identical to official safety alerts are still for sale to UK consumers thanks to the persistent failure of online marketplaces to exercise due diligence and prevent dangerous products from reaching consumers, despite their claims that safety is a top priority.
Innocent lives will be at risk every day that online marketplaces are let off the hook for allowing dodgy third-party sellers to operate unchecked.
Sue Davies, Which? Head of Consumer Protection Policy, said:
“Cases like this reveal the life-altering consequences of dangerous products that Amazon and other online marketplaces can and should prevent from ever reaching consumers. Lives will be at risk until online marketplaces are truly held accountable.
“The government must urgently prioritise secondary legislation under the Product Regulation and Metrology Act to 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.”
-ENDS-
Joffrey Bogemans, FOLOUP Founder, said:
“The effects of the accident remain ongoing and I continue to experience physical limitations and psychological impact associated with working at height.
“The incident has significantly affected my livelihood, ultimately leading to the closure of my electrical business. While legal proceedings are progressing, the financial and professional consequences are still being addressed.”
-ENDS-
Notes to Editors
On 15 March Which? is uniting with consumer groups across the globe for World Consumer Rights Day to call for its 2026 theme of Safe Products, Confident Consumers.
EN 131 is the recognised and expected safety standard for ladders sold in the UK.
Imagery:
Methodology:
Which? developed a tool to match a variety of products for sale with those flagged as dangerous by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS). In September, Which? used it to find nearly 800 being sold to UK consumers that were similar or identical to products in alerts published by the OPSS between August 2024 and August 2025. As part of this investigation, Which? Identified 142 dangerous telescopic ladders. Which? followed this up in January and found 100 further instances of ladders with similar or identical designs.
Right of replies:
An AliExpress spokesperson said:
“AliExpress takes customer safety and product compliance extremely seriously. All third-party sellers on our platform are required to comply with applicable laws as well as AliExpress’s strict policies and standards. We act swiftly to remove non-compliant listings and suspend or terminate seller accounts that violate—or attempt to circumvent—these requirements.
“The products flagged by Which? have already been removed from the UK market. In response, we have activated enhanced proactive detection measures within our risk control system to identify and remove identical and similar non-compliant products.
“Our approach combines automated filtering with manual monitoring. This includes regularly scanning official product recall notices to detect and delist matching items. When new information about a potentially recalled product emerges, we investigate immediately and take appropriate action—such as removing listings—if violations are confirmed. Where a sold item is verified as identical to a recalled product, we notify affected customers in accordance with guidance from the relevant regulatory authorities.”
An Amazon spokesperson said:
"We require all products offered in our store to comply with applicable laws, regulations, and Amazon policies, and we proactively monitor our store for safety alerts and product recalls and remove relevant products and email customers who purchased them.
“Safety alerts are specific to an individual products' unique characteristics, including brand name, model number or design features, and our initial findings show that nearly all of the vast majority of products highlighted by Which? 's research do not fall under the scope of these alerts.
“Two of the items flagged by Which? have been removed and we will further refine our controls.”
A B&Q spokesperson said:
“We take the safety of products sold by sellers at B&Q Marketplace very seriously and proactively check to ensure that no products that are the subject of a product recall are offered for sale.”
An eBay spokesperson said:
“Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We have reviewed the listings identified by Which? and have taken action where required, including removing items and notifying buyers where appropriate.
“We work diligently to prevent and remove unsafe product listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms, AI supported monitoring by in-house specialists, and close partnerships with regulators. These measures prevent millions of potentially unsafe products from being listed each year.”
A Shein spokesperson said:
“SHEIN has robust measures in place to prevent illegal and unsafe items from being listed on our platform, and we continuously strengthen these safeguards. These controls begin before any seller is permitted to join the SHEIN Marketplace. This process helps to prevent non-compliant listings from reaching consumers. Once listed, products remain subject to ongoing monitoring and post-listing reviews.
“SHEIN also partners with internationally-recognised product safety and quality testing agencies, including Bureau Veritas, Intertek, SGS, and TÜV SÜD, to support our efforts to keep non-compliant products off our sites. Where a seller is found to be non-compliant or in violation of our requirements, SHEIN takes appropriate enforcement action. In this instance, warnings have been issued to the relevant vendors, and they will be subject to heightened scrutiny going forward."
A Temu spokesperson said:
"Temu monitors product recall and safety alerts issued by OPSS and other regulatory authorities to identify and remove unsafe products. Following our review of the products identified, we found that they are not covered by OPSS recalls. The flagged products have different features, specifications, or are from different manufacturers than the recalled items referenced in the alerts.
We have integrated OPSS recall information into our seller training program to help third-party sellers stay informed of safety requirements. We stand ready to take down any product suspected of having safety concerns for review."
About Which?
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