Before buying · when it arrives · after buying

A safer purchase is a sequence of small checks.

Know the seller, identify the exact product, read the warnings, search safety notices and keep enough evidence to act if something goes wrong.

Start with the facts Get Whistle Unsafe Products ↗

Understand

Turn caution into a practical routine

Safer shopping continues after checkout. Compare the delivered product with the listing, keep the receipt and instructions, register eligible products and follow any recall action precisely.

Before

Check the seller, product identifiers, warnings, condition, returns route and current safety notices.

Arrival

Compare the product, accessories, labels and instructions with what the listing promised.

After

Keep proof of purchase, register eligible products and stop using an item when a notice or fault requires it.

Check

A five-minute safer-shopping habit

Use these prompts to build a reliable account. Do not take risks, recreate a failure, dismantle a suspect product or expose private payment information just to collect evidence.

Pause at the seller

Confirm who is responsible for the sale and where reliable contact details are shown.

Search exact identifiers

Use the brand, model, batch or barcode—not just a photograph—to check safety notices.

Keep the evidence

Save the listing, order, receipt and seller messages before a problem changes the trail.

Inspect on arrival

If the product, charger, instructions, labels or condition do not match the listing, do not use it until the difference is clarified; contact the seller or marketplace.

Act

When a check becomes a concern

If a product fails, causes harm or appears dangerous, preserve evidence only where safe and report it. Use Whistle for the live listing signal, then follow the shared FOLO-UP form's current prompts for the wider concern.

Important: A FOLO-UP report or Whistle flag is a listing signal submitted for evidence capture and controlled human review. It is not confirmation that a product or seller is unsafe, illegal, counterfeit, non-compliant or recalled.

FOLO-UP does not replace emergency or official reporting.

Immediate danger, fire or serious injury: move to safety and call 999.
Product-safety or suspected illegal-product concern: use the appropriate official route as well as FOLO-UP.
Scam or money lost: contact the bank or card provider immediately, then Report Fraud in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, or Police Scotland.
Ordinary fault, refund or cancellation: contact the seller or marketplace and use a consumer-rights route.

Open the FOLO-UP report form ↗

FOLO-UP public-safety tools

See the signal. Check the record. Report the concern.

Sources

Check the primary source.

The official guidance supports traceability, recall checking, safe use and appropriate reporting. An empty search is not proof of safety.

Source list and page content last reviewed 22 September 2026.