Illegal and potentially dangerous ‘energy-saving’ plugs still widely available

Dangerous ‘energy-saving’ plugs are still widely available through online marketplaces at a time when new laws are being discussed to help prevent the sale of unsafe products, a Which? investigation has found.

The plug-in devices falsely claim to save you money on your electricity bill by ‘stabilising’ voltage and ‘balancing’ electric current to ‘optimise’ the performance of household appliances. In truth, they do nothing of the sort. Yet despite previous investigations by Which?, and a series of government recalls for similar looking devices, they’re still widely available.

We tested eight devices from AliExpress, Amazon, eBay, Shein, Temu and TikTok Shop and found no evidence that they work. Worse, they are so poorly constructed they fail to meet basic electrical safety standards, are potentially dangerous and illegal to sell in the UK. Official government recalls for four similar devices on AliExpress, eBay and Wish in 2022 cited a 'serious risk of fire and electric shock'.

The platforms removed the listings we reported after being contacted by Which?, but despite repeatedly claiming customer safety is a top priority, many identical looking devices were still available weeks later. Our latest investigation shows why more needs to be done to prevent the sale of dangerous products. The government's Product Regulation and Metrology Bill presents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect online shoppers, and give online marketplaces clear legal responsibilities to keep dangerous products off their sites.

Sign our petition to protect online shoppers and join the fight today.

Video: how these devices could put you at risk

Find out what happened when we put these 'energy-saving' boxes to the test in our labs.

Dubious energy-saving claims

All of the so-called electricity-saving boxes we tested falsely claim to reduce your energy bill by cutting your electricity consumption, yet a clutch of one-star reviews on Amazon show it didn’t take long for buyers to call that claim into question:

• One customer complained that it ‘Did absolutely nothing - just a box with a light’.
• Another pointed out: ‘This is nothing but a scam. Amazon should be ashamed of themselves for marketing this item and be more responsible for what they sell.’ 
• One one-star review warned: ‘The only thing these boxes will achieve is a house fire’.

Nearly half of the 33 ratings for this device were one-star, but it appears that wasn’t enough of a red flag for Amazon to take action. The product we bought was even shipped from an Amazon warehouse.

Other dubious claims included a device from AliExpress that quizzically promised to ‘reduce line loss’ and ‘improve’ the power factor. 260 shoppers had bought this AliExpress ‘choice’ product, which was handled and shipped directly by the marketplace. And an eBay seller who’d sold 50 three-packs of ‘smart electricity-saving’ boxes claimed that they use ‘a capacitor system to store electrical energy, allowing it to be released more smoothly’. 

The device was also available on Shein, a China-based marketplace that harbours hopes of floating on the London Stock Exchange, and has a similar business model to Temu. Shein has recently broadened its scope beyond clothing to include a wide range of electronics and other items sold to customers in the UK. Based on this evidence, it could be just as likely to put customers at risk of buying unsafe products as the other marketplaces Which? has exposed. 

Our lab found no evidence that any of the devices could help you reduce your electricity bill in any way.

Find out how to shop safely online and avoid dangerous products.

Potential fire and electric shock risk

Even more concerning are the potential dangers of using these devices in the home. All of the plugs we tested failed to meet electrical equipment safety regulations and are illegal to sell in the UK. 

None of the plugfaces met the UK standard and use non-approved components – faults could be random, even potentially causing a fire. More than half had pins that were too small, not straight or could break off in the socket – in four cases they were easily snapped off, and in four others the earth pin was too small.

Internal tests also found that all contained evidence of lead, which is strictly regulated due to its serious health effects. Plus six were fitted with unmarked, non-standard capacitors (which store electric charge), and all but one had poor quality soldering, indicating that they weren’t manufactured to UK standards.

The Amazon device with more than a dozen one-star ratings lacked a fuse or other protection. Others had fuses but they lacked a manufacturer name or trademark so it was impossible to check if they meet the correct standards.

Although six of the devices had CE markings to indicate compliance with EU safety standards, they were too small, suggesting the products haven’t been designed and manufactured in line with EU rules.

Dodgy adverts on social media platforms

Safety checks from online marketplaces offering these products also appear to have missed numerous adverts and videos for these scam ‘energy-saving’ boxes on social media platforms.

We found more than a dozen different adverts in a single month on Facebook and Instagram. Among them is a dodgy website we’ve reported on before, similarly claiming their plug-in device reduces household electricity bills by ‘improving the flow of power throughout the home’. Some online reviewers complained that they were charged for the item more than once when they bought it, and one customer said they bought ElectraSavvy’s product for £35, but ended up having £285 taken from their account. ElectraSavvy did not respond to our request for comment.

Another device claiming to ‘manage’ your energy intake was called the ‘Elon Musk ESaverWatt’ and marketed via a dedicated Facebook group. One disgruntled member said the seller was a ‘scammer’, adding: ‘It doesn’t work. I spent money on it… my electric bill went up.’ Some of these groups linked to a product available on Amazon UK - Pro Power Saver by Elon-Musk.

A seller on TikTok Shop was also capitalising on the US businessman’s name. Their ‘Pro Power Saver by Elon-Musk 2024 New Stop Watt Energy Saving Device’  claimed to use ‘advanced technology’. 

We also counted more than a hundred promotional videos for these plug-in devices on TikTok, including posts with thousands of likes and hundreds of shares.

Unsafe scam devices prove tough new laws are needed

These findings are the latest in a long series of investigations that show the checks and measures in place on online marketplaces to prevent the sale of unsafe, illegal products are still woefully inadequate. Despite the previous Which? investigations and government recalls, we were easily able to find more than 50 for sale on both Amazon and eBay, plus dozens more on AliExpress, Wish, OnBuy and Fruugo.

Worse still, half of the so-called electricity-saving boxes that we’ve just tested had the same model number (SD008) as two recalled by the Office for Product Safety and Standards in 2022 for presenting ‘a serious risk of fire and electric shock’. 

One of the regulator’s recall notices was for a device from eBay, but we were able to buy a near-identical product with exactly the same model number from them almost three years later. 

In 2022, eBay told us that it ‘closely monitor[s] UK, EU and US product safety databases and when unsafe products are added to these databases, we ban them from our site and update our block filters, which aim to prevent them from being relisted.' Our investigation suggests eBay’s monitoring system, along with others, is inadequate.

Removing specific listings for recalled products is not sufficient to keep consumers safe. Our product safety tests have repeatedly shown how similar or identical-looking products can also be unsafe, leading us to call for customers to avoid all unbranded electronics on online marketplaces.

The latest findings underline exactly why tough new laws are urgently needed to make marketplaces responsible for the products on their platforms. We're calling for the government’s Product Regulation and Metrology Bill to be strengthened to ensure that these new laws give online marketplaces clear legal responsibilities for keeping dangerous products off their sites, backed up by tough enforcement, including heavy fines, when businesses fall short.

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

'It’s incredibly concerning to see that these scam eco-plugs are still widely available on many online marketplaces, despite the fact that they are illegal and potentially a danger to their users. 

'Sadly, it’s not surprising that these dangerous items have reappeared on major online marketplaces. It fits the pattern we’ve seen following countless Which? investigations and is yet more evidence of why change is needed. 

'The government’s Product Regulation and Metrology Bill must be strengthened to give online marketplaces a clear legal responsibility for ensuring dangerous products don’t make their way onto their sites - with tough enforcement action against those that fall short.'

Online marketplaces respond

We reached out to the platforms with our findings. All removed the listings we sent them, based on the products we purchased. But many identical looking plugs were still available on Amazon, eBay, and AliExpress over three weeks after they were notified of the dangers. 

eBay said that ‘safety is a top priority’, that it takes a proactive approach including regular audits, and had removed the two listings before Which? Informed them. However, we were still able to find multiple similar looking devices for sale on the platform.

SHEIN ‘takes product safety very seriously’ and removed the items as a precaution while it investigates. It told us that all vendors are required to comply with its code of conduct, and relevant laws of the countries they operate in.

Ali Express ‘takes product safety very seriously’ and has strict rules to ensure a safe online shopping environment, including third party sellers complying with the law and its policies. The items Which? reported have been removed.

Temu said it requires traders to meet the safety standards of the markets they are selling to, and in this case its proactive monitoring had flagged the product and removed it from our platform before it heard from Which?.

Amazon said ‘safety is a top priority’ and that it requires all products to comply with applicable laws and regulations. It confirmed the products had been removed.

Tiktok removed the product for violating its policies around Electricals and Electronics, and said the safety of its customers is of the utmost priority. It said it has strict measures in place to ensure safety standards.

Which? is campaigning for stricter rules to prevent the sale of unsafe products. Sign our petition to protect online shoppers: which.co.uk/ProtectOnlineShoppers