Safety socket covers are dangerous

[baldelectrician]

I posted this elsewhere but it does not get enough coverage

As some of you may know I carry out electrical safety checks as part of my business and there is a campaign in the electrical industry to make people aware of the dangers of these so called safety devices which put children at risk.


I have contacted several well known brands and received responses.

The site www.fatallyflawed.org.uk/ has details on this.

The NHS in England, Wales and Scotland issued a directive instructing these to be removed from use in all NHS premises as well as doctors and GP surgeries.

www.cas.dh.gov.uk/ViewandAcknowledgment/ViewAlert.aspx?AlertID=102494

The socket manufacturers association (BEMA) also advise these should not be used www.beama.org.uk/resourceLibrary/beama-position-paper-on-socket-outlet-covers.html

I note you have MK sockets in your centre-you should be advised that MK support the BEMA guidance and are of the opinion that these socket covers should not be used on their sockets – Hager (another quality manufacturer) state the same.

IKEA have removed them from sale as they deem them unsafe.

So far I have contacted the following businesses:
Maplin- they have a low stock and will not be reordering them in - so partial good result (although they could take the less than 60 they have left all over the UK and bin them)


B&Q -
Standard holding response- no action
Thank you for your email dated 12.08.17, please accept our apologies for the delay in my response.

We appreciate the information you have given us in relation to our product 03621325. Your comments and feedback will be took on board, logged and passed over to our Quality department where they can investigate further into this.

B&Q always welcome feedback from our customers regarding any of our products or services and we are very grateful that you have taken the time and trouble to bring this matter to our attention.

Thank you for contacting B&Q.

If I can be of any further assistance to you please do not hesitate to contact us.


Mothercare- reply effectively brushing off the concern




Please see the below response I have received from our buying team:


It is understandable that the NHS would ban the covers as they have a lot of sockets that are not always in view of staff who have other matters to attend to. Our covers are designed for in house use where the parent would almost always be present. Since we started selling the covers and to date there have been no complaints of injuries etc that you would expect if the product was in fact ‘unsafe’. Whilst Mr McLintock may feel the product is unsafe there is no data to back this up. Safety is of paramount importance to Mothercare and we would not knowingly sell any product we knew to be unsafe. We will continue to monitor returns/reviews on this item going forward.


Please also see the response from our supplier:
Our UK Plug Socket Covers are designed to solely PREVENT a small child inserting sharp or small objects into a plug socket / electrical outlet. They are designed to cover the socket, hiding the socket to REDUCE any temptation for a child to play or investigate or insert any objects into the electrical outlet. They aesthetically hide the holes of the outlet and provide peace of mind to parents.


The worst response was Tesco- the guy called (his name was Keir D...) to read a statement and said he would not have any conversation other than the pre-prepared statement.






Hello ...


As discussed on the phone this is our reply to the issue you raised.


“Thank you for your concern, I’m sorry for the delay in responding, I wanted to make sure we looked into this properly for you as we take child safety very seriously. Our range of socket covers, both from Tesco and our online Partners, are designed to give the option of this feature for those who may wish to use them. All covers sold by Tesco are from recognized brands who take pride in ensuring their products are manufactured to a high standard of quality and safety.”


Thanks


Tesco Customer Service


The Tesco one was basically the worse. No response to the actual concerns raised- I asked him if the socket covers were safe which British standard they met, he refused to have any more conversation and that was that


I am quite disappointed in Tesco as I thought they were better than this.

[SerfTerf]

Not enough coverage?

You must be joking.

[UnconventionalWarfare]

It obviously doesnt get enough coverage since they are still widely used throughout the country. So whats your point Terf.

[SerfTerf]

It's mentioned every three minutes on MN.

[SerfTerf]

(And it usually ends in a row.)

[DancingLedge]

Why are socket covers dangerous?

[UnconventionalWarfare]

Don't comply with any electrical standard as such they often don't meet the pin sizing requirements that a BS1363 this can lead to damage to the internals of a socket over time. They also defeat the inbuilt shutter mechanism of sockets they are inserted in which can lead to live parts becoming accessible. The links in the op have far more information. Quality sockets are a much better alternative to these unregulated covers. Hager for example require the simultaneous insertion of all the pins to activate the shutter mechanism.

[johnd2]

Yes I fitted mk sockets throughout my place as they're ridiculously cheap (unless you have 10 in each room... Oops) and very good design.
Ask anyone who grew up outside UK/Europe and most people have had shocks off plugs while inserting them or metal in the receptacle, but in the UK it's only people complaining about standing on the pins...
The other danger is multi way adaptors that follow a loophole that means you can insert the earth pin upside down and defeat the shutters that way. So watch what multi ways you give your kids.

[PigletJohn]

the retailers and manufacturers of these silly devices are cynically profiting from the ignorance and fear of their customers, which they encourage with their adverts and shop displays.

Shame on Mothercare and Tesco in particular. People thought they were trustworthy. Obviously not.

Who knows what other scams they are running?