Illegal weapons and age-restricted items sold without checks on Temu
Illegal weapons and age-restricted items without age checks are being sold by third-party sellers on hugely popular new online marketplace Temu.
We discovered weapons such as a baton and folding knives, which we believe to be illegal, as well as age-restricted items such as axes and knives being sold with no apparent age checks taking place.
You can face legal consequences if caught with, or caught selling, one of the age-restricted items underage or the illegal weapons. But we found them for sale on Temu easily, throwing into question whether checks for such goods carried out by online marketplaces are fit for purpose.
Our guide on how to avoid fake and dangerous products online outlines other dangers you should steer clear of.
Illegal weapons including knives for sale
The illegal weapons we found listed for sale on Temu started at £6.48 and included two folding knives, two knives disguised as keyrings, a survival knife and a baton.
Several of the weapons were listed as ‘self-defence’ items and ‘portable knives’, and we were able to spot them easily on Temu by searching for terms including: ‘weapons’, ‘hidden knives’ and ‘hidden weapons’.
We believe the items are illegal to own, including in a private home, because they are specified as banned weapons by law, including under the Criminal Justice Act (Offensive Weapons) Order 1988. Anyone caught with one could face arrest and a prison sentence. The sale of such weapons means they could also end up in the wrong hands.
We believe they are illegal to sell, too. Government guidance on the law states it is 'an offence for any person to manufacture, sell or hire, offer for sale or hire, expose or have in his possession for the purpose of sale or hire' any banned weapon.
The weapons we were able to uncover only demonstrate a snapshot of the scale of the issue of potentially illegal items on Temu. But the three listings that claimed to show the number of products sold had hit almost 102,000 sales combined at the time of review.
Lack of control over age-restricted items
Our research uncovered a selection of products that legally need to be age-restricted and cannot be sold to anyone under 18.
We were able to set up several accounts on Temu without being asked for a date of birth, order seven age-restricted items and have them delivered without any age verification taking place at any stage. This could have been carried out upon signing up to Temu, when the orders were placed, or when the items were dropped off on the doorstep of the delivery address we used.
The purchases we made, which started at just £4.48, included five knives and two axes, all of which we believe cannot be sold to anyone under 18 under Section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988.
A few of the items we bought were also delivered with inaccurate labelling. For instance, one product was labelled as a knife for preparing vegetables, when it was listed on Temu as an axe.
The six listings that claimed to state the number of products sold had hit over 21,000 sales at the time of review. This is particularly concerning given the potential for the sale of such items to children to fuel knife or weapon-led crime.
And given Temu is heavily promoted on social media platforms such as TikTok, one of the most popular online platforms amongst children, we believe there is a chance it is being seen by these groups.
Stricter rules needed for online marketplaces
Richard Carr is a former senior Merseyside police detective turned lecturer in policing at Liverpool John Moores University, and has experience in investigating violent crime. He told us that certain weapons have been made illegal to help reduce the potential harm that can come from them.
When we shared our evidence with Carr, he agreed with our assessment that the weapons found for sale on Temu could be illegal, and said that in his view, online marketplaces facilitating the sales of these could also be ‘potentially perpetuating harm in communities’.
Carr also agreed that we had uncovered listings for items that should require age checks. He said: ‘Section 141A of the Criminal Justice Act 1988 makes it an offence to sell bladed articles to anyone under the age of 18 years, and I would always expect some sense of due diligence by sellers of such items to satisfy themselves that those buying these products are above the age of 18.’
Caroline Liggins, a top knife crime lawyer and head of the youth team at Hodge Jones & Allen, told us Temu in her view is ‘providing a platform for the sale of illegal items and knives and will be making a profit from the sale of [them]’.
She said Temu and organisations like it ‘must bear greater responsibility for ensuring restrictions on the sale of knives to young people are effective. Public safety must come before profits.’
Liggins added there ‘should be stricter rules for selling knives online’ and believes doing so is the ‘only way’ to eradicate the issue of knives being so readily available for young people to potentially buy online. ‘It’s really shocking how cheap the items are on Temu too – they are pocket money prices. It’s a free for all at the moment.’
How did Temu respond?
When Which? presented our findings to Temu, a spokesperson for the platform said: ‘Temu is committed to complying fully with relevant rules and regulations in all of the markets that we operate in, and we take all reports of violations very seriously.
‘After receiving a complaint of a person under 18 purchasing a bladed article from our platform, we immediately removed all related product listings. We also initiated a comprehensive investigation and review of our processes to further strengthen our safeguards and prevent similar cases from occurring again.’
Temu takes UK market by storm
Temu has exploded onto the online marketplace scene over the last year, creating a buzz by combining referrals, social media and a gamified way of shopping. It claims to have over 25m products in its catalogue, including clothes, technology, homeware, cosmetics and toys.
Although it was only launched in September 2022, it has quickly become one of the most popular online marketplaces in the UK and beyond, recording close to 38.8m downloads worldwide in August 2023, and was the most downloaded app in the UK for the year to August.
The products are listed by third-party sellers and shipped directly from the manufacturers or producers in China to shoppers. As an ecommerce firm delivering to the West, Temu is exempt from export duties in China, and it almost always escapes UK import duty as it only applies to orders worth at least £135.
- Find out more: what is Temu and is it safe to buy from?
What do shoppers think about Temu?
When we asked members to share their experiences with Temu, many told us theirs was positive, citing cheap prices as one of the key reasons why it appeals.
A Which? member shared that although the quality of the items she has purchased from Temu ‘isn’t the best’, she feels the price is acceptable for what she bought. Others said it was the ‘cheap prices’ that brought them to shop on Temu, or were ‘really tempted by the low prices’.
However, others expressed concerns about their experience with Temu, with some sharing that they believe they have come across counterfeit items, and another telling us that they returned two products for a refund but only got reimbursed for one.
- Find out more: what are my shopping rights on an online marketplace?
Which? calls for tougher rules on online marketplaces
Although online marketplaces are legally obliged to remove any illegal content once they become aware of it, Which? believes they should do much more to ensure illegal and unsafe products don’t reach shoppers in the first place.
Online marketplaces should be more proactive in preventing the sale of illegal weapons and age-restricted items without age checks taking place on their platforms. This can be done by conducting more checks of their platforms to recognise and remove illegal content more quickly.
We strongly support the government's proposals regarding the UK product safety review. These would place new duties on online marketplaces, including requirements for proactive checks on third-party sellers, for monitoring and scrutinising listings, and taking appropriate action to prevent the sale of illegal and unsafe items.
We also support the proposals to introduce a duty for new business models, particularly online marketplaces, to collaborate with enforcement bodies.
Sue Davies, Which? head of consumer protection policy, said: 'Temu has had a surge in popularity in the last 12 months but our research shows that it appears to be allowing illegal weapons, including folding knives and batons, and age-restricted products to be made easily available to shoppers using its platform.
'Problems with dangerous products are only going to get worse if new tech giants like Temu continue to be held to weaker standards than high-street retailers.
'The online marketplace needs to improve its checks, monitoring and takedown processes, and ensure third-party sellers cannot list these dangerous items – particularly to young people under the age of 18.'
- Find out more: how new internet safety rules will protect you
News, deals and stuff the manuals don't tell you. Sign up for our Tech newsletter, it's free monthly.
