‘Serious concerns’ raised over sale of unsafe ladders

The Ladder Association has raised “serious concerns” that unsafe and potentially dangerous ladders are being sold online to UK builders and consumers.

In research commissioned by the association, 70 per cent of the commercially available multiple-purpose ladders tested did not to meet “minimum safety requirements”.

The products that failed the tests, carried out in partnership with the independent Test and Research Centre, included the top three listed on Amazon and eBay.

Products from B&Q, Ladders UK Direct and Toolstation passed the testing.

The reasons that products were unsafe or did not comply included buckling when a load was placed on them, or instability due to having too small a base width.

The Ladder Association said many of the products that failed the testing were labelled as being compliant with the relevant safety standard (EN131) when they were not. But it is difficult to hold some online sellers to account because they are “virtually anonymous”, said the association.

“While Trading Standards can investigate and take appropriate enforcement action against UK-based businesses, those operating outside the UK do not exist in current product-safety law,” it explained.

The association called for “urgent action” from the UK government to make regulatory changes to hold suppliers and online platforms accountable for the products they sell.

Executive director Peter Bennett said the testing showed that a “significant number of ladders available on the market – and sold by the country’s biggest online platforms – fall well below basic safety requirements”.

“If the seller does not care and has no threat of legal consequence due to being virtually anonymous and based overseas, our current legal framework is allowing people’s lives to be put at risk,” he added. “This must stop.”

The Ladder Association membership includes manufacturers, rental companies and training providers.