Dodgy electric blankets sold at AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish fail Which? tests

Electric blankets, heated throws and heated shawls are a low-cost way to keep warm when the temperature drops. But we were shocked to discover a range of issues with the majority we bought from a range of online marketplaces, and three in particular posed an electric shock risk for anybody using them. 

These three electric blankets came with unsafe two-pin European plugs and dangerous UK adaptors. They cost between £13 and £21 and we bought them from AliExpress.

In total, more than 80% of the electric blankets, throws and shawls we tested from Amazon, AliExpress, eBay and Wish shouldn’t be sold legally in the UK due to problems with their shoddy build quality, packaging, markings and instructions. Only two electric blankets out of the 11 passed all of our tests. 

Carry on reading for the full results, plus the telltale signs that indicate whether there may be an issue with your electric blanket.

Stay safe: read our top tips to avoid dangerous and fake products when shopping online

The results of our electric blanket tests

Only three of the electric blankets, throws and shawls passed our build quality tests.

On one of the products from Wish (number 10 in the table below), the electric wires could easily be pulled out and with little force.

With one electric blanket bought from a seller on AliExpress (number 6 below), the wires connecting the controller to the mains were simply twisted together and covered in sealant, which served to hide the second-rate connection.

Surprisingly, nine of the products we assessed failed to include either a UKCA mark or a CE mark, which is valid until the end of 2024. 

Both marks exist to show that a product complies with environmental, health and safety standards. If it's missing, alarm bells should ring. See our advice below explaining this in more detail and the signs to look out for which might indicate your electric blanket is dangerous.

While we found many problems when assessing them in our lab, all of the products passed our performance tests, were resistant to moisture and heated up safely.

Take a look at our table below to compare how the electric blankets, heated throws and heated shawls fared in our lab tests and assessments. 

Looking for the best electric blankets and heated throws? Find out which impressed in our tests

The most dangerous electric blankets from our tests

Electric blanket thicker heater body warmer, AliExpress – £13

The plug provided was the European two-pin variety. It came with a cheap and nasty UK adaptor with pins much too close to the edge of the plug. It’s this that presents the electric shock problem. 

As with most of the electric blankets we tested, the build quality was terrible, all of the standard safety warnings were missing and half of the instructions weren't given in English.

Electric blanket 220v body warmer, bought through AliExpress – £21

This electric blanket was just as bad as its AliExpress stablemate, above. Our tests revealed a dangerous product with a problem cable, fuse and plug. 

Again, it came with a two-pin plug and poor-quality UK adaptor designed so badly that you risk an electric shock simply by plugging it in.

The instructions were only partially in English, it came with no safety warnings and build quality was poor throughout. 

220V Heated electric sheet, bought through AliExpress – £13

This electric blanket was just as bad in every way as the other rogue AliExpress blankets and appeared to be very similar to the electric blanket 220V body warmer above.

We found a dodgy and dangerous UK three-pin plug adapter that could lead to users getting an electric shock. 

The build quality and wiring was substandard and components were held in position by solder alone, rather than being more solidly attached to the control box. 

The best electric blankets from our tests

These two electric blankets we bought from Amazon marketplace and eBay passed all of our tests. 

1Above double size heated blanket, bought through Amazon – £27

This double electric blanket passed all of our tests and importantly was very well built and electrically safe. 

It came with all of the required markings, safety information and instructions and it passed all of our tests and assessments.

Electric heated throw, bought through eBay – £16

Everything was right about this electric heated throw, bought from a seller on eBay. Safety warnings and instructions were all present and correct.

We found no problems with the build quality, it was electrically safe in our tests and the plug, cable and fuse all met the required standards and the markings (for example, the CE mark).

Watch out for this electric blanket issue

Our tests didn't just uncover build quality issues. We also found the surface area that actually provides heat on some of the electric blankets, throws and shawls was tiny in comparison to the size of the product, which is pretty disappointing.

For the USB heated blanket throw (£16, eBay), the heated section comprised just 17% of the product’s total area and was roughly the size of a sheet of A4 paper.

The warm bit of the Cenlang heated shawl, blanket and throw (£13, Amazon) and the electric heated blanket poncho (£16, eBay) was even smaller, measuring just over 5% of the total area and closer to the size of a sheet of A5 paper.

What you should do if you own any of these electric blankets

If you think you own a product that’s failed our tests and assessments and that can’t legally be sold in the UK, you should approach the seller you bought them to ask for a refund.

We have asked AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish to contact all customers that have bought these products to offer refunds.

Find out how to get a refund, repair or replacement if you've bought a faulty product

How to check if your electric blanket is dangerous

It’s hard to tell if a product is electrically unsafe just from looking at it. If problems do exist, they’ll often be hidden away inside. 

But there are some telltale signs to look for to help you work out whether your blanket is safe to use or not.

• Packaging This should show information about the manufacturer, the importer, how to dispose of the products and a UKCA or CE mark. The two products that passed all of our tests were professionally packed in carry cases with handles, with both displaying all of the required information. The rest came in plastic bags with no other information.
• Instructions Instructions should be in English and explain how to use and how to maintain the blankets. They should contain safety instructions and any relevant warnings – for example, to not use the blankets when wet, guidance on washing them and the warning sign showing that electric blankets shouldn’t be used by very young children. Products failing our tests came with no instructions or instructions not in English with all standard safety warnings missing.
• Markings Look for the UKCA or CE mark on the packaging and the product itself as well as the WEEE disposal logo. And again look for a safety warning and washing instruction labels on the product. If these are missing, the product can't be legally sold in the UK and could be substandard in other ways, too.
• Plugs The plug should be a UK three-pin plug. If the product comes with any other kind of plug and an adaptor, this is a cause for concern. All three blankets we tested that came with the wrong plug and an adaptor posed an electric shock risk to anybody using them.
• Loose wires Look for wires that don’t seem to be safely secured. If anything looks wrong or if you can see the insulation on the wires themselves poking out of the plug or the cable, stop using your electric blanket.  

How we safety test electric blankets, heated throws and heated shawls

In November and December 2022 we tested 11 electric blankets, heated throws and heated shawls bought from sellers listed on AliExpress, Amazon and eBay and Wish.

We assessed the packaging, markings and documentation for each product. We looked at the build quality (external and internal) and we tested them for electrical safety and moisture resistance.

Which? says… 

Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, says: 'Electric blankets have surged in popularity as people look to save money during the cost of living crisis, but our latest research shows that buying these products cheaply from online marketplaces can put your safety at risk. 

'The government must give online marketplaces greater legal responsibility for unsafe and illegal products sold on their sites so that consumers are no longer put at unnecessary risk of harm.' 

What do the online marketplaces say? 

We shared our findings with the four online marketplaces the electric blankets, throws and shawls were being sold through and the sellers listing them. 

Since raising our concerns with them, AliExpress, Amazon, eBay and Wish have removed the nine products which failed our tests and assessments from sale.

Amazon told us: 'We take safety and compliance very seriously and businesses are required to comply with all UK laws and regulations, as well as Amazon’s policies. When appropriate we remove a product from the store, reach out to sellers, manufacturers, and government agencies for additional information, or take other actions. 

'If customers have concerns about an item they’ve purchased, we encourage them to contact us directly so we can investigate and take appropriate action. We have removed any products with non-compliant labelling.'

In response to our findings AliExpress said: 'The items identified as part of the investigation by Which? have been removed. As a third-party marketplace, AliExpress does not take custody of the goods being sold. 

'We work hard to ensure that consumers are protected on our platform and have in place policies that all our third-party sellers must comply with to create a safe shopping environment.'

eBay told us: 'We take the safety of our users very seriously, and we have removed the listings that Which? flagged to us. We have also searched the site for any similar listings which may be of risk. We use automatic block filters to try to prevent these products from being listed. These filters block millions of listings every year and are updated on a regular basis. 

'On the rare occasion that an unsafe product does make it on to site, we swiftly remove it and provide product safety education to the sellers to prevent relisting. We also work closely with stakeholders and regulators to maintain our global product safety strategy for keeping our platform safe. Our Regulatory Portal also enables authorities from around the world to report listings of unsafe products, such as those flagged by Which?, for swift removal.’ 

Wish told us: ‘Product safety is a top priority for Wish. Each of the listings highlighted within this report have been removed from our European platform, as they clearly violate local laws and safety standards. We are also monitoring for any identical or similar listings and will take any further appropriate action.

As we went to press, none of the sellers of the products provided a comment for publication.