Returns policy changed - PLT and losing money

[gem90xo]

I have just gone to return an order from Pretty Little Thing worth over £250 and the returns portal wouldn’t let me. When I spoke to someone in customer service they advised that the returns policy changed from 28 days to 14 days in February. It was been 28 days for years and this seems extremely unfair given that they didn’t notify customers about this via email (I goggled to double check, in case I may have missed the email).

I’ve asked for them to make an exception but they are not budging. Do I have a leg to stand on? Apparently this is legal (when asking chat GPT) but could be unfair / misleading under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.

has anyone been in a situation like this before? Do you think I will have any luck claiming back via my bank / credit card if PLT don’t help? I’ve never done this before.

most of the items are the same and just multiple sizes as they’re sizing is so off!

I have also just found out a week ago that I’m pregnant so this is even more frustrating as I can’t afford to lose over £250.

I would be grateful for any advice.

Thank you

This is a very rude and insensitive statement to make when you don’t know someone’s circumstances in leading up to now? This also has zero relevance to my actual post and question.

What a sad and miserable person you are to take the time out to try and make someone feel bad (which you haven’t succeeded at all), as if you are catching me out somehow.

I think it's really cheeky ordering multiple sizes and then sending them back. No wonder retailers are cracking down on this. Have you got a track record of multiple returns. Sounds like it.

Thank you - you’d have think I’d committed a crime from some of these replies 😂 it was literally a case of 4 outfits in 2 different sizes and for a holiday which came to the total I would hardly call this excessive and not something I do on a weekly basis, not that I need to justify it

I'm annoyed for you OP. £250 is a hell of a lot of money and especially when you are pregnant and need every penny. I would not assume any company only has a 14 day return policy I thought it was always 28 days. I guess there is nothing else you can do now, chalk it up to experience, try to re sell for near retail value and never shop there again.

I'm finding lots of places now charge for a return so I've stopped buying from them. I will be more careful now myself to check every return policy before buying from anywhere.

I always buy multiple sizes to try on too. The sizing every where is so inconsistent and you never know if you are going to like something until you've tried it on. I don't understand why these companies have a problem with this. ASOS for example made a 1.16 billion profit last year so are hardly losing money from people returning stuff.

& to those saying the returned clothing ends up in landfills? I thought it could be resold? I don't see why it couldn't be relisted on the website?

Letting people know means notifying them by an email, which I didn’t receive and after asking them direct they also admitted that there was no nonfiction of this sent to customers (so the people on here saying they received an email quite clearly didn’t).

Asos did something similar last year but they DID let their customers know. There is a difference

Online retailers often make a loss on postage so they are cutting down on people over ordering and then returning. This has been well documented for a few years now. Yes it is annoying but understandable really as a business model, particularly for cheap, fast fashion.

Thank you - agreed and I can see that many companies may make this change soon too, but they should let their customers know and then that is ok in my opinion. I will try and recover some of the cost by selling online if I can.

I’ll definitely be checking in the future too!

There will still be an up to 28 day return policy but you have to notify them in the first 14 days you want to do a return and then have 14 days after that to return the items. The issue was with not starting the return quickly enough.

So we need to go back to shops and changing rooms then.

So? She can return the clothes for ANY reason, doesn't fit, doesn't suit, changed her fucking mind, found a nicer outfit elsewhere, needs the money for something else? It's all fine. WHY she wants to return the stuff is not the issue.

Thanks queen - agreed that literally wasn’t what I was asking!! There are some strange and miserable people on here 🙃

I’m on team PLT.

No one needs 28 days to decide if they want to keep something or not. 2 weeks to try something on and decide if they like it or not is perfectly acceptable, plus another 2 weeks to return. More than fair!!

Although I do agree an email notifying customers of this change would of been beneficial

Yep this is all I meant. 14 days is fine but to change it after years without notifying customers seems like they are trying to catch people out

Can you please explain why on earth you think this is cheeky??? How else are you supposed to find the right size?

@gem90xo it might be pointless but also you wouldn't lose anything by contacting them on their Facebook page or suchlike.

My DD unwittingly let a subscription roll over for something she couldn't use unless she paid the company even more money. I found on their website they absolutely don't do refunds for this particular thing. And the 'chat' told me the same.

Although DD is at fault for not acting on the reminder email she received saying the sub was soon due, I contacted them via their FB page, got a human and a refund 'on this occasion'. It was a big company too so worth a shot with a sob story OP.

Fast Fashion is an environmental disaster … as well as only being feasible by paying low wages, with virtual no workers rights.

Nobody could need a cheap outfit that much, that they leave thier morals at the door.

If the retailer doesn’t have physical stores, how else are you supposed to check which size fits?