eBay will remove all black spot/patch CO indicators from sale or advertisement, after a request to do so by the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG).

APPCOG wrote to the online marketplace last month (June) requesting it “to take immediate action to prevent any further ads from being listed in the future. This is because these alarms do not work and give a false sense of security to home occupiers.”

After receiving the letter, the sale of black spot detectors was urgently reviewed by eBay’s Prohibited and Restricted Items team, in accordance with eBay’s Product Safety Policy. Alasdair McGowan, head of Public Affairs and director of Government Relations at eBay UK, has now confirmed that all listings of black spot detectors will be removed and that eBay UK will:
• Update its filters to flag these products if they are listed in future ads, and
• Conduct manual sweeps to remove current ads for of black spot and patch carbon CO detectors.

Barry Sheerman MP says: “The APPCOG parliamentary members and myself are delighted to hear that any listings of black spot/patch indicator carbon monoxide detectors will be removed from sale or advertisement in accordance with eBay’s Product Safety Policy. I would like to express my thanks, and that of APPCOG, to Mr McGowan and the Prohibited and Restricted Items team for taking such swift action on this important consumer safety issue.”

eBay’s decision to act will protect more people from the deadly risk posed by carbon monoxide poisoning. The government plans to expand the requirements for CO alarms so that it will be essential for landlords install an alarm with an audible or alerting indication in order to keep their tenants safe.

Amazon has already taken steps to remove patch CO detectors from its platform.