Amazon & ebay remove unsafe items

Amazon and ebay have agreed a Product Safety Pledge to remove unsafe items from sale within two days of being notified. They’ll also introduce a system letting customers report dangerous products, and respond within five days.

The retailers have signed up to the European Commission’s (EC) Rapid Alert System, which tells large retailers across the continent which non-food items have been classified unsafe. They will also take measures to prevent sellers re-listing banned goods, including training them about how to comply with the EU’S safety laws.

Two other online stores also signed up to the Rapid Alert System: Aliexpress and Rakuten-france.

The pledge is a “voluntary commitment”, although the EC will “assess the progress made on the commitments every six months”. Under current European law there is no deadline for removing unsafe goods.

EU Commissioner Vera Jourová, who looks after consumer law, said the public “should be just as safe when they buy online, as when they buy in a shop”.

It’s hoped the measure will reduce the risk of customers being hurt by dangerous products, particularly electrical goods. In June, research from the charity Electrical Safety First showed that 1 in 7 people have suffered financial loss or injury caused by a counterfeit electrical item bought online (see ‘Question of the Fortnight’, Issue 530).

The charity welcomed the introduction of “a clear time limit” to remove dangerous goods, but called for further measures including forcing websites to warn sellers when they’ve bought a fake product.