Fury as major UK retailer hikes return fees to staggering £10 | UK | News
A major online retailer in the UK has introduced new fees for returns, prompting some customers to complain. Online shopping has exploded in the last few years and many have suggested this could be contributing to the struggles on the high street. But many Brits see it as an economical and quick way to buy what they’re looking for. ASOS is one of the most popular online fashion retailers in the UK, known for its wide range of products and fast delivery.
ASOS customers are now being charged £9.90 for delivery after the retailer made a major change to its returns rules. The policy has been updated to apply to high-yield customers and those who keep less than £40 of their original purchase. Customers who send back more than 80% of items across five or more orders will now have to pay an extra £3.95 handling fee on top of delivery costs. This means customers returning too many items could face delivery costs of almost £10.
ASOS has confirmed that those with high return rates will have to pay £9.90 for next day delivery. They can expect to pay £8.45 for standard delivery within three to five working days.
Meanwhile, frequent returners looking for Prompt/Evening Delivery face staggering delivery charges of £15.90. The £3.95 is then applied to those shoppers who later decide to return an item and cover the cost of sending it back.
Social media users reacted to this change. One TikTok user said: “ASOS used to be top notch but now it sucks. Their customer service is terrible and this new return rate thing is evil.”
“I understand they want to reduce returns, but if you’re online, that’s something they need to handle.”
ASOS customers were previously used to the policy allowing them to return items for free within 14 days of purchase. But the popular online retailer said its new “fair use” policy aims to restrict frequent returns.
Customers will be able to see in the application what their prices will be. There is also a section that notifies them as soon as rates return to normal.
The company’s fair use policy reads: “Our Fair Use Policy exists to ensure that we can continue to offer free returns to the vast majority of our customers.
“For the small group of customers who take actions that make it consistently unsustainable to provide free returns, we deduct and withhold a refund of £3.95 per package returned to help cover the cost of returning goods to us. In extreme cases, we will also add an additional handling fee of £3.95, charged separately from our normal delivery costs.”
The Daily Express has contacted ASOS for comment.
