Energy bills rose again this week, with the typical household price-cap figure increasing by 4% to £1,723 a year.

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So it is hardly surprising that people are searching online for anything that promises to reduce their electricity costs.

But some of the supposed solutions are far more worrying than the problem.

Electrical Safety First has tested 13 cheap plug-in “energy-saving” devices being sold online, including through major marketplaces. Every single one failed basic safety checks, two actually exploded during testing.

Here’s the extraordinary part: investigators say none of the products contained the components necessary to provide the advertised energy savings, and some could potentially increase electricity consumption.

Consumers weren’t just being sold something that........

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