UK Plugs and Sockets Regulations

[ericmark]

I am sure we have all fallen foul of the internet product. Or the item bought at a rally, fair, or car boot sale.

In my case it was an inverter rated at 3kW run with 6kW peak and it seems the power sharing on the FET's was some what lacking with no detection if one of the blade type car fuses feeding each FET was to blow so although worked well with small items once the washing machine was plugged in then blue smoke was seen.

The problem was in returning the unit. Although UK law says they must pay the carriage try forcing a firm based in China to comply with that. Also customs duties would have not expected to be charged duty to return an item for repair but I was.

However being honest when one sees a 3kW inverter for £140 one has to expect there may be a problem. It cost £70 to return it under guarantee. In future I will not buy large heavy expensive items direct from China.

These are not ideal but they do work. They do support the unit far better than the standard shaver adaptor.

 

[GarethH]

how about these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Euro-Pin-Converter-Plug-Adapter/dp/B000NJ30QO

 

[Monkeh]

how about these:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Euro-Pin-Converter-Plug-Adapter/dp/B000NJ30QO[/QUOTE]

Dodgy, unreliable things.

 

[Paul_C]

You're being ridiculous.

Of course. But as I said earlier, I don't really think that Amazon et al should be held responsible for facilitating the transaction between two other parties any more than the bank should be held responsible for facilitating it by providing the means by which payment was made or any more than an internet service provider should be held responsible for providing the means by which the order was placed or the post office held responsible for delivering it.

Ultimately, if you really want to stop this junk from being sold by way of Amazon, eBay, etc. then probably the only way would be to just impose a complete ban on the import of the stuff from China. But then surely that importation is already illegal when we're talking about goods which carry counterfeit approval markings? So does that mean that Customs & Excise is not doing its job properly by allowing it through? Should they be scrutinizing stuff arriving from China more closely to check that the approvals are what they claim to be? If that's not feasible, then I really can't see any practical way of stopping it short of imposing a complete ban on the importation of electrical equipment from China, genuine or not.

 

[bernardgreen]

any more than the bank should be held responsible for facilitating it by providing the means by which payment was made

Banks have to operate procedures to detect money laundering. Pay a large suim of cash into your account and they are likely to ask to see photographioc evidence of identity even if they personally know you.

if you really want to stop this junk from being sold by way of Amazon, eBay, etc. then probably the only way would be to just impose a complete ban on the import of the stuff from China.

Make it illegal to be in possession of counterfeit material. Similar laws apply to the ownership and use of a stolen car that was bought in good faith by someone who did not know it as stolen.

Educating the public that cheap invariable means shoddy and possibly dangerous might reduce the trade a bit but too many are too greedy to heed such education.

 

[JohnW2]

any more than the bank should be held responsible for facilitating it by providing the means by which payment was made

Banks have to operate procedures to detect money laundering. Pay a large suim of cash into your account and they are likely to ask to see photographioc evidence of identity even if they personally know you.

Very true, but in analogy to what we're talking about, a large number of tiny transactions could also represent a money laudering exercise - but it is accepted that banks could not be expected to operate procedures to satisfy themselves that every tiny deposit is 'legitimate'!

Kind Regards, John.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

But as I said earlier, I don't really think that Amazon et al should be held responsible for facilitating the transaction between two other parties any more than the bank should be held responsible for facilitating it by providing the means by which payment was made or any more than an internet service provider should be held responsible for providing the means by which the order was placed or the post office held responsible for delivering it.

But Amazon are doing more than that.

They are taking these sellers on as their customers.

They are providing the entire infrastructure to allow them to operate.

They are putting them forward as sellers under the Amazon brand.

A better analogy with a bank would be them putting their customers in contact with financial advisers in return for a fee but not expecting to have any responsibility for whether they were directing their customers to unqualified/unregistered advisers.

 

[Paul_C]

Make it illegal to be in possession of counterfeit material. Similar laws apply to the ownership and use of a stolen car that was bought in good faith by someone who did not know it as stolen.

And a statute making the mere possession of counterfeit material a crime would be just as unfair as the one which makes the unknowing possession of a stolen car a crime. It is totally wrong to penalize a completely innocent person who acted in good faith and had no idea that the item was stolen or counterfeit.

Educating the public that cheap invariable means shoddy and possibly dangerous might reduce the trade a bit but too many are too greedy to heed such education.

Short of that complete ban on the importation of the goods, that is where I believe the answer lies - Education. Get people to realize that electrical stuff made in China is mostly complete junk which is often not fit for purpose and in many cases dangerous.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

Get people to realize that electrical stuff made in China is mostly complete junk which is often not fit for purpose and in many cases dangerous.

But almost everything we buy is made in China.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Perhaps we could make it ourselves.

Oh - silly me.

Perhaps we could get Germany to make it.

 

[Paul_C]

Just why have we sold out to China by importing all this cheap garbage in such vast quantities?

 

[EFLImpudence]

Just why have we sold out to China by importing all this cheap garbage in such vast quantities?

You will have to ask greedy people like Dyson.

 

[DetlefSchmitz]

The Chinese seem to have a number of advantages over European companies. They seem to be able to buy electronic components at a fraction of the price, they seem to have arrangements with organisations like Royal Mail to send items from China at the same price as within the UK, and of course they have none of the problems of waste disposal regulations, EMC regulations etc which are threatening to drag UK business under.

The reason seems to be that China is now commercially powerful and we just have to knuckle under.

I'd like to see a return to manufacturing in the UK. We may need to work for less initially though.

 

[NewOrder]

Recently bought an MK outlet, that had MADE IN THE UK written on it. The quality to be fair didn't seem any better to the usual Chineese crap you get from places like Wilko though.

 

[JohnW2]

And a statute making the mere possession of counterfeit material a crime would be just as unfair ....

Quite ridiculous, in fact. It is in the nature of good counterfeits that even experts sometimes cannot agree whether they are real or fake, so I'm sure that no Statute could appear which relied on the average man in the street having such powers. To knowingly be in possession of counterfeit goods would, of course, be a different matter - although usually pretty difficult to prove!

.... as the one which makes the unknowing possession of a stolen car a crime.

I really don't think it is, or could be (same reason as above), a crime. I'm also far from sure that it's necessarily the case that someone who buys a stolen car (or anything else, come to that) unknowingly, and in good faith, necessarily loses those goods - I'm pretty sure I've heard of cases in which ownership of a car has been 'legitimised' by some process in such cases. I'll have to refer to the legal member of my family about that one!

Kind Regards, John.