Giant discount retailer Poundworld guilty of selling faulty phone chargers
Giant discount retailer Poundworld has been prosecuted by Carmarthenshire County Council and ordered to pay more than £190,000 in fines and costs after selling thousands of faulty phone charger kits with forged safety test certificates to consumers in the UK. In handing down a written sentence on Monday (December 5, 2016), Judge Richard Williams said Poundworld Retail Ltd failed to exercise due diligence in testing and certifying products it imported into the EU from China, and instead only paid ‘lip service’ to essential testing procedures. More than 72,000 charger kits are known to have been sold by Poundworld at its Discount UK/Bargain Buys stores, but with no evidence to show how many it has successfully recalled, Judge Williams said it was reasonable to presume that a substantial number of them remain in use, presenting a significant material risk of fire or electric shock to consumers. Customers who think they may have bought the kit are now urged to stop using it immediately a...