NEXT plc accusing me of fraud

[Dontbeabitterlemon]

Bought 9 pairs of sandals online, sent all but 1 pair back. Now Next are saying 4 boxes were empty when received. Bizarrely they refunded me for these 4 but not the other 4 and have sent me an email demanding that I cover the cost of these shoes plus £35 for investigation fees.

Aibu to feel completely wronged?!

Obviously when I sent it all shoes were present and accounted for.

You could argue that an online sale (even including return of some items) is cheaper for Next than one in store as no store costs : staff / utilities / cleaning… but the items are sold at the same price.

It would be interesting to know the analysis that has been done on the cost comparisons but I can say for sure that online sales aren't fulfilled by magic elves in dark and dirty caves. You know that warehouses cost money too

Evri are terrible all round, I sent 300 quids worth of grandkids and stepsons Christmas presents with them and they disappeared into thin air

Whilst this may be what you believe, consumer protection law doesn't require you to only order what you intend to keep or for companies to charge a per-item delivery fee.

Whether you think the OP should have ordered 9 pairs of shoes and sent 8 back is irrelevant - that's for Next to decide. And if they then decide to send the returns to landfill, that's not on the OP, that's on Next if they don't eg sell them via ebay like other retailers do.

BUT if they want to offer that sales model, they should not then start accusing their customers of fraud or trying to charge fees that are either not set out at all, or hidden away in their terms and conditions.

The warehouses are needed for the stores sales too, to send stock to individual stores. But yes, more warehouse work for an online order.

No it isn’t because until you see them and try them all on you won’t know for sure. Shops are selling 100s of extra brands now so this is going to happen more. It’s what they want. It is also more environmentally friendly to have one big delivery instead of several smaller.

I've ordered 10 bras from Bravissimo and only intend to keep 3. I don't have a local shop and I want to try different styles so what else am I supposed to do? Keep buying and exchanging? Surely that will cost more in the long run.

2 bras arrived yesterday, same size, same brand. One fits and one doesn't so manufacturers are also to 'blame' if people are ordering many more items than they plan to keep.

Are you intending to keep all pairs for DD? If so, fantastic. If not, you’re taking the piss.

if you could order the one size in a shoe and guarantee it would fit rather than having to order at least two sizes per shoe then that would help. In theory she only ordered 3/4 pairs of shoes. She had a specific outfit to match them with

but maybe the theory of ordering them one at a time and returning them all one at a time would be better 🤔

Personally i don’t really like internet shopping but the shopping experience in shops can be very frustrating

You said that Next should charge a per-item delivery fee if someone returns stuff. My point is that would be illegal. So they really shouldn't do that.

Also the whole point of return rights being enshrined in law is to give people confidence when buying online. If it becomes risky to buy online because of significant return costs, lots of people wouldn't do it. That would ultimately be bad news for retailers like Next (who at the same time as not wanting us to return, are desperately trying to get us to buy stuff). So retailers do benefit from these return rights too (so much so that most companies, including Next, offer return policies which are more generous than what the law requires).

I ordered 6 pairs of jeans this week from next. 3 styles, 2 sizes of each. I was hoping to keep 3 or maybe 2 but have ended up with one. Had the sizing been consistent it would have meant fewer returns, maybe even no returns as I could have just ordered one pair in each of the 3 styles and known that they would fit because of my measurements.

It just doesn't work like that and none of my required sizes were available in any store local to me - I used the stock checker on the website.

Fortunately I can collect and return in store. I tend to use the automated machine thing they have for returns and yes, things definitely do get sent out to other customers.

I don't have to intend to keep all 9 pairs. Your logic doesn't apply to the rest of us.
Got my refund now. So you can shove your karma 😏

Also I spend a significant amount with next, and have for years. This order was unusual in that I did only want 1 pair (Shocking stuff, I know!) Normally I would keep the majority of items ordered. Its swings and roundabouts and Next will have all that customer data to see the bigger picture.

That’s great news!! What did they say?Thanks for posting about this, i buy a lot from next online with the intention of returning some the items. I usually return to store but had considered using evri, bug won’t now

They said precisely NOTHING! No email, no phone call, no apology. Just money back in my account. On the one hand obviously that's the main thing. On the other hand, not sure I'll be shopping online with them again.

Isn't it so much easier for men. Always the same size in trousers more or less. We have to order multiple sizes as it seems to be so random

Agree. It can work in their favour, ordering multiple stuff. I regularly order 3 or 4 items, with the intention of just picking one, but then end up keeping them all.

Hi all,

Looking for advice , I have ordered a lot from next retail online and returned the items via self return portal in store
There was a few items I scanned in error and i was told by a woman in store if not in box they won't record as a return.

Now next have blocked my account, invetsigating me and said its due to refunds on items they haven't received that were scanned at self return.

They won't speak to me until invetsigation is over but I am worried sick that they might take legal action against me. They said its happened with a number of items but I dont have these items.

Anyone experienced this and know what happens next?

I never look at my account but I noticed the did refund me so im happy to pay for these items but as the girl told me in store it won't be recorded I didn't think much of it or even think to check my account. Also why would they record as received in store if they haven't?

What action will next take?

@Tiredmom2323 you'd be better off starting your own thread rather than resurrecting a zombie one.

yes very random to comment on an old thread. Unless you want the original Op specifically

I shop online with NEXT all the time. I once did a return via post and never again as it went missing. I always return to the shop now.

I think returns are siphoned off and sold.

Not everyone is able to travel to a store you know. And not the customers fault if the shoes don't fit or are of poor quality

It was an accident. I was looking for similar stories, came across this and posted rather than put up a new post