Illegal car seats that pose potentially lethal risks to young children are being widely sold despite being identified over a decade ago, a new investigation has revealed.
Online marketplaces including eBay, Shein, Little Dreams, ManoMano, and Wish all had listings for the illegal seats, consumer champion Which? found, over ten years after its first investigation into the issue.
These seats are cheaply made, often not complying with UK safety regulations and are therefore illegal to sell in the country. Issues include thin seats, which do not raise the child’s height enough, and no central release function to easily remove them in case of a crash.
Many of the offending products also have no side impact protection, required to prevent the child’s head from hitting the side of the car. This safety feature can be life-saving, preventing head trauma in the event of a crash.
When the dangers of these knock-off products were first revealed in 2014, car seat manufacturer Britax used one to show the effect of a 30mph impact. The test saw the crash dummy – the size of a three-year-old child – hurled through the window screen as the seat straps came loose.
The main draw of these products is that they are often much cheaper than regular car seats, making them much more attractive as many parents struggle with the cost of living. Which? found that prices ranged from £12.50 to just under £40, far below the average price of genuine products which start at around £80.
New product safety laws were introduced by the government earlier this year, but Which? says it must go further and ensure online marketplaces are subject to greater responsibility for products sold on their platforms.
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said: “It is appalling that these deadly car seats are reappearing on online marketplaces more than a decade after Which? first exposed them, but it is not surprising.
“Children’s lives will be at risk, with less affluent households most likely to be affected, until online marketplaces are forced to take responsibility for the listing of these cheap but deadly car seats.
“The Product Regulation and Metrology Act is a welcome start for strengthening product safety laws, but secondary regulations are needed to impose clear legal responsibilities on online marketplaces, with tough enforcement for those that fall short.”
The consumer champion says parents who need to buy a baby or child car seat should always follow these guidelines:
- Check that the car seat has a label with either ECE R44-03, ECE R44-04 or ECE R129, which shows that it is legal to be sold on the UK market.
- Buy car seats from a retailer who can provide advice and help fit the car seat.
- Never buy a second-hand car seat, since it is impossible to tell whether it has been in any crashes just by looking at it. There could be internal damage, which could compromise the structural safety and isn’t obvious from the outside.
- Car seats should come with instructions that are written in clear English.
- If a car seat seems extremely cheap, the price is probably too good to be true.
An eBay spokesperson said: “Consumer safety is a top priority for eBay. We work diligently to prevent prohibited listings through seller compliance audits, block filter algorithms for unsafe items, and AI supported monitoring by in-house specialists, who work closely with regulators and Trading Standards. We swiftly removed these listings and notified buyers, and we continue to strengthen our preventative measures.”
A spokesperson for Shein said: “Shein takes product safety very seriously and is committed to offering safe and reliable products to its customers. In this case, the product had been mislabelled by the third-party seller.
“Upon being notified, Shein immediately removed it from the site. SHEIN vendors are required to comply with SHEIN’s code of conduct and stringent safety standards and must also abide by the relevant laws and regulations of the markets where we operate.
“Shein has taken action against the seller of the product according to the penalties set out in our guidelines.”
Little Dreams did not provide comment, but said they would review the product in question, remove the listing from their website, and conduct a thorough internal investigation.
Wish and ManoMano did not respond to requests for comment.
