We’ve all seen it before: electronics goods being sold for far cheaper than the retail equivalent. Normally we wouldn’t think twice about buying the cheaper alternative, but a woman has been electrocuted to death in North Gosford, Australia this week, and a rip-off USB charger has been determined to be the root cause. Using a charger that was not compliant with Australian standards, the woman was found with burns to her ears (from headphones) and on her chest (from her laptop); inadequate insulation and an unspecified failure within the charger was said to have caused an arc between the 240 volt input and five volt output.
The Department of Fair Trading is currently investigating the case and a Campsie trader is currently being questioned for selling the victim the alleged, non-compliant USB charger. Again, as many of us know, this isn’t an isolated case as many of us will have knock-off goods purchased in much the same way; some of you might even be using that piece of equipment right now. While this isn’t meant to be a fear-mongering piece, and electrocution isn’t going to befall everyone with rip-off goods, it is a risk and sometimes it’s worth considering whether it’s really worth saving those few dollars.
What do you think about this tragedy and the use of rip-off USB chargers? Has this changed your opinion of buying cheaper goods? Let us know your thoughts.
Source: ABC, SMH (Victoria)
