The buyer must be careful when ordering electrical equipment from online stores.
When looking for a charger, you may want to look into some backgrounds. Adobe Stock / AOP
The Finnish Safety and Chemicals Agency Tukes says that it has ordered companies to remove more than 70 dangerous electrical equipment from the market last year. According to a Tukes release, the biggest safety deficiencies were in chargers, transformers and various LED luminaires.
In 2021, Tukes tested 364 electrical devices, based on which 72 devices were withdrawn from the market. Of these, 26 were the most seriously hazardous equipment that importers were required to collect back from users. In 2020, 90 devices were withdrawn from the market, of which 19 were recalled. According to Tukes, the products posed a risk of electric shock or fire.
According to Tukes, the lists of hazardous and defective electrical equipment emphasize the same product groups from year to year: LED luminaires, chargers and transformers. However, muscle care hammers and submersible pumps were also found among the dangerous products.
– About 25% of the electrical equipment tested last year proved to be so dangerous or defective that its sale had to be restricted by various prohibition decisions. For companies with minor defects, comments are made to the responsible companies asking them to rectify the deficiencies found in the tests at the latest in the following production batches, electrical product safety expert Seppo Niemi says in a press release.
Tukes says that control is especially focused on online stores, as more and more people purchase their devices online. Tukes researches the offerings of online stores and searches for and procures products based on the advertisements it receives.
– Consumers are buying more electrical equipment from online stores outside Finland and the EU. The competence of Finnish or European authorities does not extend to these online stores. A consumer who buys products from outside the EU will have to bear the consequences if the product proves to be dangerous or causes harm, Niemi says.
Tukes points out that the responsibility for the safety of electrical equipment lies with the importer, manufacturer and seller. Products are not inspected in advance, although most Finns think so based on a Tukes survey. Mandatory pre-inspection of electrical equipment ended more than 25 years ago with the EU.
I supported pages you will see lists of dangerous products.