Fake Apple chargers almost all dangerous, warns Trading Standards

An 'Apple' charger for under £1 is unsafe? Shocking!

Almost all 'unofficial' Apple chargers are sub-standard and dangerous, Trading Standards has warned.

Many will have been put off by the high price of Apple's official chargers and have been tempted to buy a cheap alternative than can cost just 99p. While these options might be cheaper, Trading Standards has warned that you're getting what you pay for, after 99 per cent of 'fake' Apple chargers failed to pass its basic safety tests.

The consumer advice outfit earlier this year bought up 400 fake Apple chargers and found that 397 of them failed to pack enough insulation to protect users' against electric shocks.

Leon Livermore, the chief executive of Chartered Trading Standards Institute, urged consumers to buy official kit with the warning that fake peripherals are so unsafe that they could be life threatening.

"It might cost a few pounds more, but counterfeit and second-hand goods are an unknown entity that could cost you your home or even your life, or the life of a loved-one," he said.

Baroness Lucy Neville-Rolfe, minister of state for energy and intellectual property at the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, added: "The government is committed to promoting consumer awareness of the dangers of buying counterfeit goods and encouraging consumers to choose legitimate goods and services, which helps honest traders.

"We will continue working closely with our partners to build respect for IP [intellectual property] in line with our enforcement strategy published earlier this year."

This warning comes after Apple earlier this year fired a lawsuit at Amazon for allegedly selling counterfeit Apple kit, including chargers and earbuds.

In a document, Apple wrote: "The safety of Apple's customers is of paramount importance to Apple, and Apple devotes significant resources to ensuring its power products meet industry safety standards and are subjected to rigorous testing for safety and reliability."