Product Safety & Compliance Policy
Product Safety & Compliance Policy
This page explains, in plain English, the safety standards our outdoor extension leads, armoured extension leads, electrical supplies and sofas are built and tested to, the regulations we comply with as a UK retailer, and how to use our products safely. It applies to every product sold by OUTDOOR EXTENSION LEADS, operated by INDOOR & OUTDOOR FURNISHINGS LTD.
We sell products that carry a real electrical safety dimension and products that carry fire-safety obligations, so we take product safety seriously enough to document it properly, not just to tick a compliance box.
This Product Safety & Compliance Policy sets out the certifications and standards our products are built and tested to, product-specific safety information for each of our four ranges — Outdoor Extension Leads, Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads, Electrical Supplies, and Sofas — the manufacturer instructions and liability limits that apply to safe use, our testing and quality-assurance process, and the UK laws and regulations we comply with as a retailer supplying these products to consumers across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
This policy sits alongside, and does not replace, the specific safety instructions, ratings and warnings printed on the product packaging or included with each item. Where an individual product listing or its included instructions give more specific guidance than this page, follow the product-specific instructions.
Every certification below is a standard our products are actually tested and manufactured against — not a badge added for decoration.
CE marking
Our electrical products carry CE marking, confirming they meet the essential health, safety and environmental protection requirements set out in the applicable EU product-safety directives, and UKCA marking where required for the GB market.
IP66 & IP68 ratings
Where a listing states IP66 or IP68, that rating comes from independently defined IEC 60529 ingress-protection testing for dust and water resistance. Section 03 sets out exactly what each rating covers on our products.
BS 7671 compliance
BS 7671 is the IET Wiring Regulations — the UK national standard for the safety of electrical installations. Our extension leads and supplies are designed and assembled to meet it, and we will not sell an electrical product that falls short.
BASEC-approved cable
BASEC is the British Approvals Service for Cables — an independent, UKAS-accredited certification body. Cable carrying BASEC approval has been tested against the relevant British and harmonised European cable standards for construction, insulation and performance.
RCD protection
Products listed as RCD-protected include a built-in Residual Current Device that monitors current flow and cuts power within milliseconds if it detects a leakage to earth — a critical safeguard against electric shock, particularly outdoors.
PAT tested before dispatch
Every electrical product we ship undergoes Portable Appliance Testing before it leaves us, confirming earth continuity, insulation resistance and correct polarity on that individual unit — not a sample from the batch.
IEC standards
Our components and cable construction follow relevant International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards, including IEC 60529 for ingress protection ratings and IEC 60320/60884 family standards for connectors and plugs, as applicable to each product.
Furniture fire-safety label
Our sofas are supplied with fillings and covers meeting UK furniture fire-safety requirements, and each carries the permanent fire-safety label required by law. See Section 08 for full detail.
Ratings and protection features vary by product line and by individual listing. Always check the specific product page and the label on the item you receive, as this table describes the range as a whole.
| Product line | IP rating | RCD protection | Intended use | Max load / rating | Environmental conditions |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Outdoor Extension Leads Flex-cable, portable |
IP66 rated sockets and enclosures on every listing in this range | Available on RCD-protected listings; check the individual product title and description — non-RCD versions are clearly marked | Temporary, portable outdoor use: gardens, patios, hot tubs, seasonal lighting, tools | 13A per socket (BS 1363), total load must not exceed 13A / 3,120W on a standard UK ring; confirm on the product label | Rated to resist rain, splashing and dust ingress when connectors are correctly seated and the lead is not left in standing water |
|
Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads Steel-wire-armoured cable |
IP66 rated sockets and enclosures on every listing in this range | Available on RCD-protected listings; check the individual product title and description | Semi-permanent to permanent outdoor power runs: sheds, outbuildings, driveways, building sites, fixed garden installations | 13A per socket (BS 1363); heavier-gauge armoured construction rated for continuous, all-weather duty | Built to withstand ongoing outdoor exposure and greater mechanical stress (being walked or driven over, buried in trunking, snagged) than flex-cable leads, subject to Section 07 |
|
Electrical Supplies Sockets, glands, boxes, plugs |
Varies by item — IP66 (BG outdoor sockets, junction boxes) or IP68 (cable glands); the rating is stated on each listing | Some BG outdoor sockets are available with RCD protection or LED indicator only — check the specific variant | Components for DIY installation or trade use, to be fitted by a competent person in line with BS 7671 | 13A for plugs and standard sockets; gland and junction-box ratings depend on the cable diameter they are specified for | IP66/IP68 components are rated for outdoor exposure once correctly installed and sealed — protection depends entirely on correct fitting |
|
Sofas Fabric, velvet, chenille |
Not applicable — no IP rating applies to upholstered furniture | Not applicable | Indoor domestic living-room use only | Not applicable — see manufacturer weight and assembly guidance on the individual product page | Indoor ambient conditions; keep away from direct heat sources, open flame and prolonged direct sunlight, which can degrade fabric and fillings |
An IP66 rating means a product is protected against powerful water jets from any direction and against dust ingress — it is not rated for submersion. An IP68 rating (used on our cable glands) covers protection against continuous submersion at a specified depth once correctly fitted, but only within that gland assembly, not the whole extension lead. No product in our Outdoor Extension Lead or Armoured Outdoor Extension Lead range is designed to be submerged, left standing in floodwater, or installed underwater unless the specific listing explicitly states otherwise. Connectors must be correctly mated and the lead kept clear of standing water at all times.
How our products must be used
Every product must be installed and used strictly in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions supplied with the item and the rating printed on its label. This includes respecting the stated IP rating, maximum load, socket count, and indoor-versus-outdoor designation.
Misuse, unauthorised modification, or installation that does not follow the supplied instructions — including exceeding the rated load, joining leads end-to-end beyond the manufacturer's specification, or fitting a product outdoors that is designated for indoor use only — will void the product warranty and may create a genuine safety risk.
For any permanent or semi-permanent electrical installation — including hard-wiring an armoured lead into a consumer unit, running cable through a wall, or any work covered by Part P of the Building Regulations — you should consult a qualified, registered electrician. Our products are supplied as components and consumer goods, not as a substitute for professional installation advice.
Never use a lead, plug, socket or gland that is damaged, cracked, has exposed conductors, or shows signs of water ingress inside the enclosure. Disconnect immediately, do not attempt a repair yourself, and contact us or a qualified electrician. Damaged electrical products carry a genuine risk of electric shock or fire.
Our extension leads, including the armoured range, are not suitable for direct burial in the ground or for permanent, unprotected outdoor installation unless the specific listing explicitly states otherwise. Cable buried without correct ducting, depth and protection is a recognised electrical safety hazard and falls outside our products' intended use.
We are not liable for injury, loss or damage arising from misuse, unauthorised modification, improper installation, or use contrary to the supplied instructions or product rating. This does not affect, limit or exclude your statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or the Consumer Protection Act 1987 in respect of products that are faulty, unsafe as supplied, or not as described — see Section 09.
Made to order, tested before dispatch
Our Outdoor Extension Leads and Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads are hand-assembled to order in the UK using BASEC-approved cable, BS 1363 plugs and correctly rated sockets — not picked pre-assembled from generic warehouse stock. Because each lead is cut and wired to your specific order, it is individually checked rather than tested by batch sampling.
Our cable manufacturing specification requires: a correctly rated and fused BS 1363 plug matched to the product's load rating; continuous, unspliced BASEC-approved flex or armoured cable of the gauge specified for that product; and IP66-rated sockets and enclosures correctly sealed at every joint.
Our PAT testing process
Before an electrical product leaves us, it goes through Portable Appliance Testing covering: a visual inspection for damage to the plug, cable, cable grip and enclosure; an earth continuity test confirming a low-resistance earth path; an insulation resistance test confirming no current leakage between live conductors and earth; and a polarity check confirming live, neutral and earth are correctly wired throughout.
A product that does not pass every stage of this process is not dispatched. We keep refining our assembly and testing process based on how customers actually use these leads outdoors, in line with our commitment in Section 03 of our About Us page.
Cut and wired to order using BASEC-approved cable and BS 1363 components.
Visual check of plug, cable, cable grip, socket housing and seals.
Earth continuity, insulation resistance and polarity confirmed on that unit.
Only units that pass every stage are packed and shipped to you.
As a UK retailer of electrical goods and furniture, several distinct pieces of legislation apply to what we sell and how we sell it. Here is what applies, and how we meet it.
Places a legal duty on us to place only safe products on the market, to provide clear safety information, and to act if a safety issue is identified. Every product we sell is assessed against this duty before listing.
Implements the UK's low-voltage electrical safety requirements. Our extension leads and electrical supplies are marked in line with UK product safety marking requirements (UKCA and/or CE, as applicable to the item) and meet the essential safety requirements this regulation sets out.
UK plugs supplied on our leads are correctly moulded or fitted 13A BS 1363 plugs, fitted with a fuse of the correct rating for the product, and manufactured to conform to the relevant British Standard.
BS 7671 is the UK standard our leads are built to meet, covered in Section 02. The Electricity at Work Regulations 1989 place duties on anyone using or maintaining electrical systems in a work context to prevent danger — relevant if you use our leads on a building site, at work, or for trade purposes.
Part P of the Building Regulations covers notifiable electrical work in dwellings in England and Wales, such as permanently wiring an armoured lead into a consumer unit or new circuit. This kind of installation work should be carried out or certified by a competent, registered electrician. See Section 10 for how this differs across the UK's nations.
If you plan to use our extension leads to distribute power at an event, market stall, or temporary outdoor installation, BS 7909 sets out good practice for the design, installation and testing of temporary electrical systems. Our leads can form part of such a system but must be used within their individual rating and inspected in line with BS 7909 guidance for that use.
Gives consumers a route to claim compensation for damage caused by a defective product, independent of any contract. This sits alongside, and does not replace, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 described in Section 09.
Electrical products reaching end of life should be recycled through your local council's WEEE collection point or a retailer take-back scheme, not general household waste.
Our sofas are supplied with fillings and covers that meet UK furniture fire-safety requirements and carry the permanent fire-safety label required by law — please do not remove this label, as it is a legal requirement to keep it attached. See Section 08.
Standard flex-cable leads — temporary & portable
Our Outdoor Extension Leads (flex cable) are designed for temporary, portable outdoor power: running a lead out to the garden for the afternoon, powering seasonal lights, or plugging in tools for a job. They are not designed or rated to be left permanently connected outdoors, buried, or built into a fixed installation. Disconnect and store them when not in active use, and inspect the plug, cable and connectors before every use.
Armoured leads — semi-permanent to permanent
Our Armoured Outdoor Extension Leads use steel-wire-armoured cable specifically built for semi-permanent and permanent outdoor power runs — sheds, outbuildings, driveway lighting, or a fixed garden circuit. Even so, "permanent installation" in the sense of hard-wiring the lead into your consumer unit or running it through a wall or underground duct is notifiable work under Part P (or the equivalent devolved regulation) and should be carried out or signed off by a qualified, registered electrician. As supplied, our armoured leads are plug-and-socket products; converting one into a fixed wiring installation is outside our products' as-supplied use and outside the scope of the manufacturer warranty unless carried out correctly by a competent person.
Fire retardancy
Every sofa we sell is supplied with fillings (including foam and fibre fillings) and cover fabrics that meet the ignition-resistance requirements of the Furniture and Furnishings (Fire) (Safety) Regulations 1988, as amended. Each sofa carries the permanent fire-safety label required by law, stating compliance and giving filling material information — this label must not be removed, as doing so is itself a breach of the regulations.
Component sourcing & construction
We choose sofa frames, foams and fabrics against the same standard we apply to our electrical products: durable, correctly sourced components and accurate listing information, so what arrives matches the size, material and colour shown at checkout. Assembly instructions and care guidance are included with the product; please follow them, particularly for any self-assembly legs, fixings or sofa-bed mechanisms, to avoid instability or injury.
Nothing in this Product Safety & Compliance Policy limits or removes rights you already have by law.
Consumer Rights Act 2015
Goods you buy from us must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. If a product is faulty or unsafe as supplied, you have a short-term right to reject it for a full refund within 30 days of delivery. Between 30 days and six months, you're entitled to a repair or replacement first; if that fails, a refund or price reduction follows. This applies across all four of our product ranges.
Consumer Protection Act 1987
If a defective product causes damage or injury, this Act gives you a route to claim compensation independent of your contract with us. This exists alongside, not instead of, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
General Product Safety obligations
We are legally required to only supply safe products and to act on genuine safety concerns. If you believe a product you've bought from us has a safety defect, contact us immediately using the details in Section 12 — we treat every report seriously and will investigate promptly.
How this interacts with our other policies
This Product Safety & Compliance Policy works alongside our Return & Refund Policy, Shipping Policy and Terms of Service. Where those policies go further than the legal minimum, that is an enhancement, never a reduction, of your statutory rights. Faulty or unsafe goods are always covered by your statutory rights regardless of any other exclusion described elsewhere on our site — including the made-to-order exclusion referenced in our Return & Refund Policy.
We currently ship to UK addresses only. Product safety standards (BS 7671, CE/UKCA marking, BASEC, PAT testing) apply identically across the whole of the UK — what differs by nation is how permanent electrical installation work is regulated and certified.
Permanent or notifiable electrical installation work in dwellings — such as hard-wiring an armoured extension lead into a consumer unit or new circuit — falls under Part P of the Building Regulations 2010 (England). This work should be carried out by a competent, registered electrician (for example, someone registered with a Competent Person Scheme such as NICEIC or NAPIT) or independently certified, and in some cases notified to Building Control. Our products are supplied as consumer goods for use as instructed; converting an armoured lead into fixed wiring is work that should be done by a qualified person under this framework.
Wales has its own Building Regulations, administered separately from England since 2014, though Part P-equivalent requirements for notifiable electrical work in dwellings continue to apply. As in England, permanent electrical installation work should be carried out or certified by a competent, registered electrician, and building control requirements should be checked with your Local Authority Building Control or an Approved Inspector before undertaking notifiable work.
Scotland regulates building work, including electrical installation, under the Building (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Building (Scotland) Regulations 2004 — a different framework from Part P in England and Wales, though the safety intent is equivalent. Electrical installation work in Scotland is typically self-certified through an approved certification scheme (such as SELECT or NICEIC) or must be verified by your Local Authority Building Standards department. If you plan to convert an armoured lead into a permanent installation in Scotland, check current certification requirements with a registered electrician before starting work.
Northern Ireland regulates building work under the Building Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2012, enforced by local council Building Control, rather than the Part P system used in England and Wales. Permanent electrical installation work should still be carried out or certified by a competent, registered electrician, with any necessary Building Control approval obtained from your local council before or during the work.
In every nation, the products themselves — cable, plugs, sockets and IP-rated enclosures — are manufactured and tested to the same UK-wide standards described in Sections 02 and 06. It is only the certification route for permanent installation work that differs by nation.
If you believe any product you've purchased from us has a safety fault, has arrived damaged, or behaves unexpectedly — a socket that feels warm, a lead that trips an RCD repeatedly, a sofa frame that flexes unusually — stop using it immediately, disconnect any electrical product from the mains, and contact us straight away using the details in Section 12.
We investigate every safety report, and where appropriate we will arrange a replacement, refund, or further action in line with our obligations under the General Product Safety Regulations and the Consumer Protection Act 1987. Please keep the product and any packaging available, as we may need to inspect it.
- Trading as
- OUTDOOR EXTENSION LEADS
- Registered as
- INDOOR & OUTDOOR FURNISHINGS LTD
- Company No.
- 16845629 (England & Wales)
- Registered office
- 3rd Floor, 86-90 Paul Street, London, England, EC2A 4NE, United Kingdom
Related policies referenced on this page:
Terms of Service
Legal Notice
Privacy Policy
Return & Refund Policy
Shipping Policy
Support hours (Greenwich Mean Time, London):
- Monday – Friday09:00 – 17:00
- Saturday10:00 – 16:00
- SundayClosed
We aim to respond to all enquiries, including safety reports, within one business day.
Last updated / effective: 3 September 2026.