What would you HONESTLY do in this situation?

If it was an issue that I couldn’t get to a post office or store, I would insist on a prompt collection.

When I feel torn between two courses of action, I ask myself how I would hope someone respond to me. Eg, if it was my business - would I hope that the recipient of my mistake would be honest?

If you can honestly answer that question with a “no”, then keep them. As that is what you would honestly want your customers to do.

The two situations you’ve compared are not the same, not getting in touch and letting the company know is not the same as not receiving an order and the company not responding to your emails, it’s the same as not receiving an order and not contacting the company but then being upset it didn’t arrive. Your scenario is more like if the company notice their mistake and the OP then ignores their emails, obviously in that case if the company notice their mistake and get in touch the OP should respond and work with them to rectify it, but it’s fine for the OP not to actively work to rectify it just as in the scenario you’ve outlined you’re putting the onus on the customer to chase up their order. It’s up to the company to sort out their mistake here.

It doesn’t matter if it’s a large business or a small business, stealing is stealing and if you keep the clothes you’re a thief. Does that sit well with you, because it wouldn’t sit well with me. So to answer your question honestly, I’d contact the seller and let them know about their error.

I would and I admit it. I also have kept duplicate items twice before that I'd bought from M&S and which didn't arrive on time as they insist on using Evri. When the original order didn't turn up I contacted M&S and complained and they sent out a replacement. Few weeks later he original ones arrived so kept them. In my view it's their own stupid fault for using a useless courier like Evri.

Same happened to me but very big bottle of expensive conditioner from a smallish company which was on a really good offer. Never turned up within a couple of weeks. Sent me a new one. Original one arrived a bit later and I let them know and offered to buy it off them at the offer price, save me sending it back. They said to keep it. Honesty pays :)

How did you return them previously?

Nope.

I have had a similar situation. Towards the end of last year I ordered a Christmas present. When it came the box was much bigger than I expected so I assumed they had put in lots of padding. However when I opened it I found the thing I had ordered plus a large expensive toy I definitely hadn't ordered.

I rang the company to see what was going on and they admitted it was a mistake and asked if I could return it if they emailed me a return label. I did and a few days later I got an email of thanks plus a voucher for 10% off a future purpose. I was actually able to use this voucher against another Christmas purchase so honesty paid off.

If you would expect them to believe you if you tell them if there is an item missing from your order, despite it being on the delivery note, which I have experienced, then yes you should contact them if you have received something you haven’t paid for.
I’ve twice been refunded items “ lost in transit” that then turned up both times I contacted the company, one company said keep it the other asked for it back sent me a prepaid note to stick on parcel and I dropped it off at the Post Office the next time I was passing.

I imagine those people who are happy to keep things they haven’t paid for, would not be quite so happy if the things they ordered didn’t arrive and the company didn’t respond to their queries about where the goods were.

It doesn’t matter to me whether it’s £10, or £1000. I’m not comfortable keeping something I haven’t paid for.

I probably wouldn’t do anything as I hate this kind of admin, I often forget to return items even when I don’t want them because I hate having to get in contact with companies. If I still wanted the items I’d just put them aside for a bit and see if the company got in touch and would be prepared to return or pay for them when/ if they noticed their mistake. I’d probably wait until I made my next order and if that went smoothly without the company contacting me I’d crack on and open the items and happily wear them.

A few weeks ago I ordered a few things from M&S and opted to pick the order up from my nearest shop. I picked a date but they hadn't arrived and got an email saying that the order would arrive a couple of days later. Not a problem, I waited and picked the items up. Then I had an email saying I'd been refunded. I tmthought at first I must've been charged twice and the refund was correcting that. I waited to see if that was so and when it became apparent that I'd received the order AND a refund for them, I contacted M&S. They replied and said that it was a glitch at their end and that it was my lucky day! So I had the items for free. I couldn't in all conscience have not tried to rectify it. If it happened again, I'd still be honest.

I take the easiest way of contacting them (generally email, sometimes online account message but only if I will get a copy on the account to screenshot), ask for them to advise me if they would like to collect the item, give a date to hear from them by (normally a month for me but I think legally you only have to do 14 days) and then ignore it unless they respond.

I think every time but once I have been told to keep the extras, annoyingly the once they asked for a return was when they sent a box of 20 items I had ordered 1 of and they would have made great Christmas presents. I said I would return if they sent a label and I might take a week or two to drop at the post office, and then didn't hurry because I was grumpy about it.

Whether I personally keep the thing is a different issue, its normally more than one of something when it happens to me so generally I don't want it and give it to a friend/charity shop. If it happens with the online shop its always nice to get a freeby though (and they have never once said they'll collect, even when it was a bottle of gin!)

This

Definitely would advise them of their mistake. To do otherwise is theft and I'd never be able to use

Who are you to tell other people what they'd do? If you have no reservations about keeping stuff you haven't paid for, you do you, but don't say that other people's moral code aligns with yours.

They'd have to be returned, if I kept them I would never enjoy wearing them knowing I'd had a refund.

They are not free. We all pay for them with increased prices. Same with shoplifting, no retailer is taking on the cost of shrinkage without passing it on to consumers.

Habitat sent me a beautiful bowl and lamp twice - I contacted them and they said to keep them - made great presents that Christmas- honesty works.

I'm a big believer in what goes around comes around. I would tell them as a few months down the line you might be on the losing end of something similar eg not being credited for a return. I had the same thing happen with a book I'd ordered and I sent it back. They sent me a prepaid envelope to send it in.

I would keep them if I wanted them and the company said I can keep them.

But I do know people who would donate them to charity even if they wanted them.

Some people are just like that, honest and good to the core.

I would (and have in the past) genuinely contact them.

The fact you're asking means that you wouldn't enjoy the items even if you did keep them.

A couple of times shops have said just to keep the things but most of the time they send return postage for you to send it back and are normally quite thankful.

Once they sent me a discount as a thank you. The discount was more than the actual item which made no sense. 😂

Although another time, a shop expected me pay to return something and got really arsey when I refused. They even threatened legal action! I replied quoting distance selling (or whatever it is). The next day I got an email with a return label attached with no explanation in the body. I couldn't print it so I emailed them asking them to post it. No reply but a few days later I got a return label in the post with a letter saying that they expect to have received it back within 7 days. No please or thank you. I admit I purposely waited until day 10 to even post it. 🤣 Never heard from them again and needless to say, I won't shop with them anymore. Dicks.

similar thing happened to me once where i received extra goods in an order. i just kept them -- never heard anything more about it

Think I would be the same, especially if I had been ordering 300/400 worth of products from them monthly as the OP says she does

But Phillip Green didn’t take the hit? I worked as an FVM for Arcadia, and prior to that on the shop floor. Our overtime budget was directly linked to our stock loss. Higher stock loss meant fewer hours for the staff, who were on small contact and relied on extra shifts.