Prettylittlething - anyone else FUMING?

[sowhatimangry]

My dd shops online. She frequently uses Prettylittlething, boohoo, asos. She got an email last week (along with hundreds of thousands of other people, it would appear) saying that her account was being deactivated because she returns too many items.

While I think there's a whole host of things unfair with that, my main issue is that for birthdays and Christmas, family members buy her vouchers for this clothing brand. Meaning she's got £80 as her account balance that she can't use.

The account won't let her place any orders so she can't spend it, she's gotten in touch with the customer service who haven't replied (presuming they're swamped with complaints!)

Is there anything we can do?! There's no option to cash out, and get the money back. They have essentially stolen £80 from her. So so frustrating. Maybe we just have to cut our losses and be grateful it wasn't more.

i feel like this is something that will resolve in time? its obviously in the news that this has happened a lot, as you say customer services is swamped right now.

she of course needs to have the amoutn refunded but if you can wait a week its more likely theyll be able to sort it then?

So much more work needs to be done on standardising sizes and making it so much clearer what you're actually buying.

I went on holiday recently - my town centre is absolutely decimated. Literally there is just M&S and Primark and that's it. There is no way to go into town and look at stuff and try things on, feel fabric, see them in person unless I travel 90 mins to London.

So to buy my holiday clothes, I had to buy loads of stuff online. I REALLY struggled to buy things that fit me, particularly swimwear. Everything fit so bad or it looked utterly obscene.

I wanted to get at least 5 pairs of shorts for a 2 week holiday - that was another mission. I'm in-between sizes, so I had to guess what size I wanted as the item descriptions had no size guides or measurements. Of the 6 pairs I ordered, 3 fit perfectly and were kept - one pair of linen shorts was so see through that although they were a good fit, they were unwearable. Another fit was OK while standing up, but as soon as I sat down, it was unbearably uncomfortable, despite being the same size as the others, and the third one (also the same size) didn't even do up and the quality of the fabric was absolutely shocking.

With so much photoshop routinely used in product images, its an absolute guessing game as to whether you'll receive what you expect

I don't think they can do this - but not sure how to advise going about getting the money back.

Money saving site may be useful or BBC moneybox program - if that's broadcasting at minute https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qjnv

Or maybe a consumer advice column in a paper. DH has a lap top that was constantly failing - having to return for repairs as under guarantee and failing soon after or was returned broken few times- got nowhere till he wrote into one and they published letter and got in touch with company they finally replaced the laptop with one that was fine - same model. It must have been costing them going back and forth as well but there model was to repair and repair again.

With so much photoshop routinely used in product images, its an absolute guessing game as to whether you'll receive what you expect

I tend to scour the review section for information but increasingly those are fake or they change the product and sometimes you get caught out and other times see that in the review and have to start dating them - it makes on-line shopping much harder.

Consumers have a right to return items.
Surely the online retailers would be better limiting the number of items purchased by 'returners' in any set period...
I would not let them get away with the £80, it's basically theft??

We need a consumer law to force retailers to standardise sizes, and publish the size of each item in the description.

Anna Timms in the Guardian seems pretty effective too.

Consumers are in a total bind over this model. And it has wrecked the high street. I buy almost nothing online because I really need to try things on, although I do buy on Vinted if I know the brand well or it’s cheap enough to donate to charity if it’s a disaster, and it’s pretty good for me in that I spend very little on clothes now.

Wish shops would just give the garment measurements. Uniqlo does, so I can simply measure eg my own tops or jeans to know how items will fit.

Sizing being too standardised wouldn't be a good thing. If you've got long legs, big boobs, a small waist, a broad back or whatever, you probably know which shops have you profiled as their customer and produce things that are more likely to fit you. Mass produced stuff is never going to fit everyone; ironically, most people aren't the exact same dimensions as the fit models.

One thing that would help is shops not trying to be all things to all people and actually profiling customers. They used to do this and that was the biggest reason for sizing inconsistency; Top Shop was sizing for teenage girls who tend to be slimmer, Jane Norman was sizing for older women who tended to have a different shape. Since you knew which shops were for you, you could usually find your people. Nowadays...

This is a huge reason why BonMarche did so well even though nobody admits to shopping there. It found a niche and a clear customer and catered to them.

I'm a little surprised at the emphasis that has been placed in this thread on what online returns cost retailers. The online shopping model of businesses like PrettyLittleThing is designed to save on the cost of having high street stores!

What customers want is to try stuff on before they buy, but having a store where customers can do so creates massive overheads for the business in the form of rent, energy, increased staffing costs, security, insurance, maintenance and so on. Even longstanding high street clothing brands like Next and M&S are trying to economise on this by shutting stores across the UK, and encouraging the customers who've lost their local store to switch to online shopping instead.

They cannot have it both ways. Either customers need a store to try things on in, or customers will bulk buy multiple sizes and colours in order to return the ill-fitting items. The OP's daughter is absolutely not "taking the piss".

I would be reminding them of the distance selling laws. Subject to various exemptions and time limits, customers can cancel a contract during a cooling-off period and can ask for a refund for paid-for goods. Consumers are allowed a minimum 14-day period to test the products and if unsuitable for any reason can return them at their own expense for a full refund of the purchase price. This sounds like a breach of these rules and I would keep on at them for a refund of the £80. If they refuse, investigate the small claims court because it sounds like you have a good case.

I recently had my NEXT delivery saver subscription cancelled without explanation. It turned out that it was because I was buying too much for it to be cost effective for them. Needless to say account closed, I now shop elsewhere and NEXT have lost a customer.

Of course it’s understandable. And nothing to do with greed. Especially when sizes vary so much even in the same style. If a business is fully online with no option to try in store then what else are people supposed to do?

And don’t get me started on the fact that once you’re over a size 18, they don’t even stock sizes in store so you couldn’t do a changing room try on.

I’ve been to a couple of weddings recently. I ordered 10 dresses. And returned 9. 10 dresses in 5 styles, each in two sizes. The one I ended up keeping was a size 24 that fit perfectly. A couple of the others were the same dress in a different colour/pattern yet the 24s in those were huge on me and I would have had to keep the 22 if I’d gone for one of those colours. The other two were different styles completely - again, one the 24 fit and the 22 was too small and the other the 22 fit. What other options do I (and others) have?!

I don’t shop at PLT but, like I say, if a complany is online then they either get more consistent sizing or they have to expect this more often.

Isn’t that the point of online shopping? How else do you try things on?!

they’ve pushed us from the high street to order everything online.

Wish shops would just give the garment measurements.

Bought some pj on-line at supermarket for my teens - it's a two hour walk or two buses and delivery charge is cheaper than buses.

DS gave sizes in cm/inches - DD2 was all women's clothes sizes - did track down and it took some doing their size chart and got right size. Got here DS fit well DD2 was way too big so bottoms fell down though she kept them and just put some tucks in herself.

So yes would have been better - less work for me -if DD2 had been in cm/inches still not sure though Id actually be able to trust it.

Yes, and to not clamp the clothes at the back when being photographed, giving the illusion of a different fit

This. As I mentioned upthread, Next introduced a delivery saver subscription for online customers. Mine has now been withdrawn as it appears I’m having too many items delivered for it to be cost effective for Next. They do indeed appear to want it both ways. Profit is king, often to the detriment of the customer. I no longer shop at Next either online or instore.

I tend to scour the review section for information but increasingly those are fake or they change the product and sometimes you get caught out and other times see that in the review and have to start dating them - it makes on-line shopping much harder.

Absolutely @SmileyHappyPeopleInTheSun

The issue is that it's actually incredibly easy for retailers to add in user generated content, such as reviews, photos sourced directly from social media handles (especially if the person has tagged the brand), as well as better images and detailed product descriptions. If they choose not to do that, then its on them.

I'll admit for years, i avoided River Island, feeling that at 40 I was far too old for them. But I was genuinely stunned recently when I looked at their website and saw images of models of different sizes - with boobs and curves and looking similar to me. I look at sites like DP and Oasis, and their models are all 5ft11, size 8 - and all in really weird poses so it's impossible to even try and imagine what those same outfits would look like on a 5ft 4 tubby woman!

Do Amazon do this? I return loads and have never had an issue. I always select the 'credit my account' option maybe that helps.

I better be careful if this is a thing for more together brands. I have boys and their feet size changes overnight as teenagers. I use the Nike website a lot for trainers and football boots as you can always find a discount and they make returns really easy. I often buy 6 or 8 pairs at a time (3 or 4 different sizes with half sizes for 2 kids for example). I have to say Nike have always been great and make online shopping a pleasure, I hope they dont do this!

Trying on clothes for half an hour costs a lot of extra money. In order for someone to try them on, the company must have a physical shop. To reach the number of customers they currently reach with online shopping, they need a large network of shops. These shops take up more room than a warehouse as stock needs to be displayed. If they want to have all items available that can be purchased online, the shop would also need to be very large. Shops are also likely to cost more in terms of rent/purchase price than warehouses for online shopping as they need to be conveniently located. A much higher ratio of staff per item sold is also required.

The reason many shops either have a physical and online model or an online only model is because they can reduce or eliminate the costs associated with physical shops.

Obviously the environmental impact of online shopping is a completely different story but to suggest the costs of trying on in a shop is cheaper than buying and returning online is not accurate. Obviously the company does need to minimise their costs and if some customers are not profitable in the medium to long term, then it makes financial sense not to do business with them.

That said, I think the situation with the OP's dd is ridiculous. Her dd should have been given a warning initially and if they then decided to suspend her account, any credit should have been refunded.

That said, I think the situation with the OP's dd is ridiculous. Her dd should have been given a warning initially and if they then decided to suspend her account, any credit should have been refunded.

From what I've read online, it seems to be absolutely thousands of people affected. There were some people in the papers saying they had made one return this year and their account was deleted. So PLT seem to have been a bit trigger happy!

I often worry about getting these emails from M&S for my work clothes. I am awkwardly in between sizes and really need things to cover my chest, but don’t want it to be huge/misshapen on me. I feel so self conscious and child like when things are ill-fitting but I just don’t have a ‘straight’/definite size.

My local M&S never have any of the things I like in stock in the shop. I agree with PP that places like pretty little thing save so much on not having physical shops, that’s their business model and they need a better way of dealing with things than just banning people surely.

A purchaser can send something back by law under the Distance Selling Regulations, which is why PLT seem to have suspended accounts. You can't send something back if you weren't allowed to buy it in the first place...

I would think they'd be on questionable ground by keeping credits, from a PR point of view alone even if the small print permits it.

This, absolutely. Also BBC Radio 4 have some great consumer programmes, You and Yours will be all over this, they did a big piece about a garden centre back in Covid and I FINALLY got my plants (dead, but still).

Keep pushing and make a lot of noise.

I look at sites like DP and Oasis, and their models are all 5ft11, size 8 - and all in really weird poses so it's impossible to even try and imagine what those same outfits would look like on a 5ft 4 tubby woman!

The weird pose thing is so annoying, as is that stupid lens that makes feet look massive and heads look tiny. Also when they wear things in a weird way. How is seeing a jumper half tucked in helpful? Who tucks in jumpers? I want to see how long it is, how it hangs. How does seeing someone doing lunges in jeans help? How am I supposed to see the cut of trousers properly when they're tucked into boots? How can I tell how a dress hangs when they've paired it with a tight belt (sold separately)? How am I supposed to work out the fit of a t shite when the model has a jumper tied around her waist?