Why buying safe products matters

Many fires involving e-bikes and e-scooters have been linked to:

Buying safe, compliant products from reputable sellers can significantly reduce these risks.

What are counterfeit or unsafe products?

Counterfeit or unsafe products are items that:

These products may look similar to genuine items but may not include important safety protections built into approved batteries or chargers.

In some cases, counterfeit chargers or batteries have been linked to overheating and fires.

Lithium-ion batteries and chargers are designed to work together.

Using an incompatible charger can deliver the wrong amount of power to a battery. This can cause the battery to:

Overcharging or overheating a lithium-ion battery can significantly increase the risk of fire.

For this reason, you should always use the charger recommended by the manufacturer.

To reduce risks, it is best to buy products from reputable retailers or manufacturers.

This may include:

Buying from trusted sellers makes it more likely that products:

Lithium-ion batteries degrade over time and may become damaged through use.

When buying second-hand batteries, it can be difficult to know:

A battery that has been damaged or degraded may be more likely to fail or overheat.

For safety reasons, it is usually better to buy new batteries from reputable sources.

Some warning signs that a battery or charger may be unsafe include:

unusually low prices compared with other products
missing safety markings (CE or UKCA markings) or certification labels - but beware of counterfeit markings and labels
poor packaging or missing instructions
products sold without clear manufacturer details

If a deal looks too good to be true, it may indicate the product is counterfeit or unsafe.