Warning about counterfeit electrical products

The topic of counterfeiting of consumer goods has been in the headlines for several years now - largely thanks to lobbies from powerful global brands. The fact is that the same production of Fake goods in the Electrical Distribution equipment market goes largely unreported; but potentially has far greater consequences.

If a fake Nike T-shirt fades prematurely it is annoying but no more than that. If a counterfeit circuit breaker fails, it could literally kill someone.

We have seen fake products arriving, mostly from the Far East, that are seriously and potentially life threatening - and these have come into our possession in the UK. In the worst example, we found an MCB (miniature circuit breaker) that had no protective components at all within it. A single copper braid breached the two poles - effectively rendering the device as nothing more than a potentially dangerous switch!

The worry is that counterfeit products enter the UK marketplace in a variety of guises. There are three obvious ways in which goods are imported: as grey imports (not technically illegal, but rarely with manufacturers' warranties); legal or illegal copies that perform less well than the legitimate originals; and the downright dangerous fakes that make no attempt to even provide a degree of electrical safety at all. It is worth noting that even the fakes carry the CE and EN standard mark so this is clearly no guarantee of buying a genuine product in this instance

The call is therefore for everyone in the trade - wholesalers and stockists; contractors and electricians - to check very carefully the origins of any equipment they purchase. They will do well to consider that it is they, the suppliers and installers, who carry the legal responsibility if a counterfeit product fails - it is certainly not the manufacturer whose goods have been copied.

Schneider Electric advises that its products should always be purchased from a reputable and authorised distributor. Remember, cheap fakes could lead to the highest possible price being paid - a life.