Which? looked at the returns policies of the 20 biggest online fashion retailers and found that 12 do not offer free postal returns.
These return fees – which range from £1.99 to £3.99 – aren’t always made clear early on in the checkout journey, either.
Here, we look at which retailers charge, why free returns are being scrapped and your online return rights.
What do the biggest fashion retailers charge?
With many major online retailers now charging for postal returns, you might think twice before ordering items you're unsure about.
Some fashion retailers have specific fees and processes for returning items, while others state it's up to you to arrange and pay for postage.
The table below outlines what the 20 biggest fashion retailers charge.
Returns policies aren't always upfront
These retailers – many of which used to offer free returns – aren't always as upfront as they could be about their returns fees.
We found that Zara, River Island and New Look outline their fees on product listing pages, but other retailers don't explicitly state that you have to pay for returns anywhere during the checkout process.
They're not alone in this, either. Research by shipping platform Sendcloud found that 64% of UK firms that impose return fees fail to disclose them upfront.
When shopping online, it's worth first checking whether you'll face any returns fees if you do decide to send items back.
MandM Direct told us it's made the cost and returns procedure clearer on its product detail pages following our research.
Read more:Free returns, but only in-store
Apart from Sports Direct – which only accepts online returns by post – all the retailers in our research that have physical stores offer free in-store returns.
However, such policies could discriminate against disabled consumers who might not easily be able to get to these shops.
Retailers that offer free in-store returns must make sure that disabled customers can also benefit from free returns.
Some retailers – including JD Sports, New Look, Next and Zara – told us they'd offer free collections or returns labels for disabled customers who cannot make in-store returns. Matalan says it will find a solution on a case-by-case basis for customers who can't return items in-store.
If you are a disabled customer and cannot easily access a store to make a free return, then you should get in touch with the retailer to ask if they can make an adjustment to allow you to return the item for free via courier or post.
Find out more:Why are more retailers charging?
The number of items being returned has been rising in recent years, and some retailers are taking strong action to deter serial returners and 'wardrobing'.
Wardrobing is where customers order clothes, wear them once (often for social media posts) and then send them back.
Fashion brand Oh Polly recently announced a tiered returns policy whereby customers who return up to 50% of their order are charged £2.99, and those who return more than 90% pay an £8.99 fee. It claimed that it had a choice of either increasing prices for all or only those who make a high number of returns.
PrettyLittleThing has deactivated some customers' accounts due to their 'unusual high returns activity'.
There's also an environmental impact of sending clothes back. Returns contributed an estimated 750,000 tonnes of C02 emissions in 2022, with 23 million returned garments sent to landfill or incinerated, according to the British Fashion Council.
Find out more:Your online return rights
You have a minimum of 14 days from the day you receive your goods to notify the retailer of your return, and a further 14 days to actually send the items back.
The retailer should refund you the cost of your returned items and the standard delivery cost you paid to get the goods sent to you in the first place (sometimes only if you send the full order back).
Find out more:source https://www.which.co.uk/news/article/more-than-half-of-online-fashion-retailers-dont-offer-free-postal-returns-afmn53B2oQRa