Unsafe Electrical Items being sold on Ebay

The_Deep

I recently bought a pair of speakers for my PC on Ebay. They have a two pin plug which a Trading Standards Officer has told me does not conform to E.U. safety regulations, He also thinks that the three pin adaptor supplied may be dangerous. The speakers have no CE mark. The pair I bought burnt out after two days, and are now with Trading Standards for evaluation.

I have warned the seller and eBay about this, yet the item is still being offered for sale. I am not allowed to post details of the seller, but I can say thast his T&C diminish one's statutory rights.

If case anyone is tempted to say that they were cheap, I would point out that Tesco and Asda sell kettles and irons for less, but they are unlikely to elctrocute one.

Is it not time eBay raised its game and put its house in order.

whatyadoinsucka

The_Deep wrote: »

They have a two pin plug which a Trading Standards Officer has told me does not conform to E.U. safety regulations

i'm sure half of europe use two pin plugs..
have you been in touch with ebay

the seller also states clearly
" International 2-Pin to UK 240v mains adaptor included. "
which under my thinking means an adaptor is supplied for a reason

molerat

Items with non-uk plugs must be supplied with a conversion plug.

A conversion plug is not an adaptor; see definitions as set out in regulation 3.
Regulation 12(2)(b) requires the conversion plug to be fitted to the electrical
equipment, so as to enclose the non-UK plug and to be designed so that it may only be removed by use of a tool.

A shaver adaptor will not suffice.

The_Deep

That half of Europe uses two pin plugs is not in dispute. Also, I was fully aware that an adaptor came witht he product. Neither of these are at issue. The issues here are

1. A two pin plug was attached and the TSO has expressed surprise

2. The adaptor supplied was, according to the TSO, almost certainly dangerous. The seller has had a previous complaint about this adaptor

3. Yes, I have been in touch with eBay, see second para of the OP, they are apparently not interested in either their members' safety, or their statutory rights.

Mistral001

The deep

Ebay sellers still have to abide by contractural law and sale of goods act etc if the item is new. Thus you should report faults to the seller and give them the opportunity to repair it replace it or give a refund.

Did you do this?

bris

I don't see much wrong with the listing, most cheap Chinese tat comes with a European two pin plug and a UK adapter. Maybe you just bought a bad set, ask the seller for a remedy.
Did you know you can just cut off the two pin plug and put a UK one on? This would do away with the adapter. (please don't do this if you don't know how to wire a plug)
I fail to see why the TSO was surprised by the fact that it has a two pin plug attached, doesn't he know the rest of Europe use the two pin system. There is no way he can say this does not conform to E.U regulations without first having it proffesionaly tested, which he will not be qualified to do, this also goes for the adapter.

The_Deep

Yes Mistral I did, but he was unfamiliar with Distance Selling regulations, ignored Soga, in breach of eBay's T & C, and accused me of cheating him. I got so fed up with his attitude that I took the speakers to Trading Standards. I hope that they throw the book at him.

RFW

The_Deep wrote: »

Is it not time eBay raised its game and put its house in order.

Short of vetting every seller and checking items they sell what would you expect Ebay to do.
They have pretty stringent measures to stop sellers who receive complaints through the correct channels.
Have you left feedback and detailed seller ratings? Bad seller ratings and feedback percentages will see them off site fairly rapidly if others are affected.

The_Deep

Yes, I have done everything I possibly could to draw attention to not only the sellers lack of credibility, but also the safety issues surrounding these speakers.

I have reported it twice to eBay. The item is still on sale.

I am now hoping that someone from eBay monitors these fora and pulls this item before someone dies.

Mistral001

The Deep

Looks like you have done what you can. You have reported to the seller the fact that there is a fault with the item (ie. it stopped working after two days) and you have reported the fact that the seller is not willing to do anything about the fault to ebay and you have left negative feedback.

If Trading Standards find a built-in fault with this product, that could lead to someone getting physically hurt then action can be taken to get it the product recalled, whether it is being sold on ebay or Tescos. I would leave all the judgements about what went wrong with the speakers until after Trading Standards get back to you.

soolin

The_Deep wrote: »

Yes, I have done everything I possibly could to draw attention to not only the sellers lack of credibility, but also the safety issues surrounding these speakers.

I have reported it twice to eBay. The item is still on sale.

I am now hoping that someone from eBay monitors these fora and pulls this item before someone dies.

No one from ebay monitors this forum at all, if they do then they never do anything about the myriad of problems people have.