When a pram or pushchair turns out to be unsafe, responsibility does not sit only with the manufacturer. The Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) guidance on the General Product Safety Regulations 2005 sets duties for distributors, which includes ordinary retailers, as well as producers and importers. This guide summarises that GOV.UK guidance, dated December 2024, for pram retailers and their customers. It applies to Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) only. In Northern Ireland, the guidance says the 2005 Regulations were replaced on 13 December 2024 by the EU General Product Safety Regulation 2023/988, which is not covered here. For why prams carry no CE or UKCA mark see the GPSR explainer.
Who counts as a distributor
OPSS defines a distributor as any professional in the Great Britain supply chain whose activity does not affect the safety properties of a product. A high-street or online pram retailer that sells another company’s product is the typical example. The Regulations apply to products intended for, or likely to be used by, consumers, including those supplied to them in the course of a service.
The guidance says the other category, producer, covers a manufacturer established in the United Kingdom, an importer of products made outside the UK, someone presenting themselves as the manufacturer by affixing their name or trademark, and someone who reconditions the product. It also includes other supply chain professionals so far as their activities may affect safety properties. A shop that brings in its own-brand pram from overseas, or that reconditions used pushchairs for resale, therefore faces producer duties.
The retailer’s duties
The guidance lists these obligations for distributors:
- Due care. A distributor must help ensure only safe products are supplied and must not supply a product it knows, or as a professional ought to know, is dangerous.
- Recalled stock. OPSS gives the example that if a product has been recalled, distributors must not supply any they may still have in stock.
- Passing on information. Distributors should pass on information about the risks a product poses.
- Traceability. A distributor should be able to show traceability of what it supplies, keeping documents that show from whom the goods were purchased.
- Cooperation. Distributors must cooperate with enforcement authorities on request, including supplying information on the product, its supply and the risk, and joining corrective action or recalls.
- Notification. If a distributor knows that a product it has supplied is unsafe, it must notify an enforcement authority in writing about the risks and the action taken. In Great Britain this will normally be the local Trading Standards authority.
What producers and importers must do
OPSS says producers must make sure a product is safe before placing it on the market, give consumers the information needed to assess risks that are not obvious, and allow traceability by marking, where reasonable, the producer’s name and address and a product reference or batch on the product or its packaging. They must also monitor marketed products, which can include sample testing and keeping a register of safety complaints, and keep distributors informed of the results.
For a time-limited period, importers who cannot reasonably mark each product may instead make the importer’s address available through shipping documents, the invoice to the GB customer, or the outer packaging label. OPSS says this option may not be used after 31 December 2027.
Standards and the presumption of safety
The Regulations state that a product conforming to a voluntary national standard of the United Kingdom, as determined and published by the Secretary of State, is presumed safe as far as the risks and categories of risk covered by that standard are concerned. This is a presumption about the risks the standard covers. It does not mean a product cannot still be found unsafe in another respect.
Enforcement powers and penalties
Local Trading Standards authorities have a duty to enforce the Regulations for consumer goods, and the Secretary of State can also enforce them. OPSS lists suspension notices, which temporarily stop supply while tests are done, requirements to mark or warn, withdrawal notices to stop supply of a dangerous product, and recall notices where it is already with consumers. A recall notice can be served only where other corrective actions are insufficient.
A person committing an offence under the Regulations may face a penalty. According to the guidance, penalties can include a fine of up to £20,000, a prison sentence of up to 12 months or both for the most serious offences, and the court may order unsafe goods to be forfeited.
What this means for buyers
A shop selling a recalled pram that is still in its stock is a matter for Trading Standards. The site’s guides to checking pram recalls and reporting an unsafe pram explain how to check a model and who to contact. The guide to buying on an online marketplace covers checks when the seller is not a high-street shop.
FAQs
Does a shop need to keep purchase records?
The OPSS guidance says a distributor should be able to show traceability and keep documentation showing from whom goods were purchased.
Is a retailer allowed to sell up remaining recalled prams?
No. The guidance says that if a product has been recalled, distributors must not supply any they still hold.
Who enforces these rules in Great Britain?
Local Trading Standards authorities have the duty to enforce the Regulations for consumer goods, and the Secretary of State has enforcement powers.
The bottom line
In Great Britain a pram retailer must act with due care, keep records showing where stock came from, cooperate with Trading Standards, and never supply a product it knows or ought to know is dangerous, including recalled stock. Retailers who import, recondition or put their own name on a product take on the wider producer duties. Penalties for the most serious offences include fines of up to £20,000 and up to 12 months in prison. Northern Ireland follows different rules. This is general information, not legal advice.
Sources
- General Product Safety Regulations 2005: Great Britain, December 2024 (gov.uk)