ASOS Fair Use Policy - How are we all doing?

[Foxblue]

Lighthearted - but 2 months on from when I received the email from ASOS saying they'd now charge you if you didn't keep anything from an order, I'm curious if it's changed anyone else's order habits!

A little context here:

• Been using ASOS since it's inception, Premier customer, would estimate that 80% of wardrobe was bought via ASOS even if it wasn't ASOS brand.
• I have lost weight over the last couple of years, so am trying to slowly replace essentially an entire wardrobe, and am big of bust and long of torso... anyone similar will know the pain!
• Im trying to be really strict on what pieces I bring into my wardrobe and keep after years of overconsumption.
• My preference is to shop Vinted, but after a few too many misses on sizing, there's certain items where it makes more financial sense to buy new, so im not losing ££ over the postage costs (even if i do resell the item).

This meant I was ordering a LOT from ASOS. Probably weekly. And as we know, sizing consistency and quality has taken a real plunge.

So I've gone from an order a week, to 1 order in two months. Which, great, given that I absolutely hold my hands up that I was probably only keeping 1 in every 5 items due to sizing/quality issues. It's better for the planet that I'm not putting in constant orders, it's better for ASOS that they aren't paying out on delivery for me not to keep anything, better for my wallet, as I've spent less - but I'm guessing that last one might be something that may become a problem for ASOS if its the same for lots of people?

So I'm curious - has it brought about any change for anyone else?

I have pretty much stopped ordering from them altogether as their quality is too unreliable. Also, I have always avoided asos brand, but now they've come up so so many made-up brands that in reality are still just asos, that I lose patience trying to find something.

I’m ordering way less !!
I used to order every week !!
what I am doing thou is ordering socks and small items so I keep those so I don’t get charged to deliver back !!
asos is going to go bust soon I reckon

I stopped ordering all together. The quality and sizing was never consistent so I was always sending things back

Ooh interesting it's had the same effect on others, I wonder if the money they would have made stacks up against the money they were losing in postage costs etc?
It's so frustrating, they used to make stuff with a bit of decent quality with interesting colours etc, now everything is backless and made of polyester.

I've not ordered anything since the email. I reckon I'd have done at least 3 orders in that time and kept a fair bit, but it's not worth the risk of things not fitting now.

I've never ordered from ASOS, but I do have a question about this. Given that customers ordering at a distance have a statutory right to reject and must then be refunded, how can they do this legally? Is it just like those companies which say that their sales items are "final sale only" or that they don't refund original postage costs, despite not having the right to do so in law, so that they rely on it being a pain for you to try to enforce your consumer rights?

So essentially they are pitching it as charging you for returns postage (again, it's sort of fair enough really)

"However, as part of a small group of customers with a frequently high returns rate, you’ll now only get Free Returns when you keep £15 or more from your order. If you keep less than £15 from your order, we’ll deduct £3.95 from your refund. The vast majority of customers will still receive Free Returns on all orders."

I stopped ordering and cancelled my premier delivery. As others have said - inconsistent sizing and quality. At least if I have to return to Zara or H&M I can do it instore and avoid the charge

I think it's mainly to stop influencers buying stuff to do try ons and returning it all .

I haven't ordered at all. I had an order that I very nearly pressed buy on, but sat on it until I talked myself out of it. They've pissed me off with it, insinuating that it's my shopping habits that are the problem, not their inconsistent sizing, mixture of quality and lack of measurements on their listings. If a medium is a size 12-14 according to their site, I am wearing a size 14 item, yet their large is too small for me, that is a problem with their description.

Like you OP, I've lost weight too and went to order a large amount of clothes to try on (with the hope of keeping a lot) as not sure what size I am now. I got a message when about to order to say I'd have to keep at least £40 worth or the £3.95 would be deducted. Didn't order any of it!

How did you cancel your premier delivery? I want to cancel mine too but can't work out how!

Same!!

I never ordered from them again. I have a long body and find that 3/4 of styles I try on don’t fit well.

I've ordered way less. I cancelled my premier a few days after getting the email. I used to order quite regularly but the styles at the mo are horrible. I have an event coming up and unfortunately as they are one of a few places that do actual Tall ranges, I had to place an order. Kept one dress, returned a few other options. Sizing is still bonkers. The dress I kept I'd ordered in a 10, 12 and 14. I'm a standard size 14, occasionally a 12 on top but I just had a feeling so got a 10 as well, luckily as it turns out. The 10 fitted, the rest were like shapeless sacks. The dress was only £14 though so even with the returns charge I'm ok with that! I likely won't be ordering anything else for ages now.

People ordering 6 things when they have either no intention of keeping anything (just to make tictocs unpacking or whatever) or only keeping one thing as they had no intention of keeping 6 dresses or whatever has meant they had to clamp down on it. Were you really buying something every week or were you ordering and returning nearly everything? I only order a quantity of things i actually might buy, returning very little, consequently I still get free returns on the rare occasion I'm returning both the items I purchased

You just speak with customer services.

This isn’t true - loads of non-influencers with a mundane purchase history ie regular people were caught up in this.

I understand what they’re doing and why but I do feel that it’s a bit unfair on someone like me. I do return a lot of things (although don’t order very often) but like so many others, the only reason I order a lot is because of inconsistency of sizing. It’s just not as simple as ordering one dress and knowing it will fit. Online clothes shopping only works because of the ability to try diff sizes and send the wrong ones back. It’s literally the equivalent of trying on in a changing room. Having said that, I haven’t had to pay anything yet though as I’ve kept more than £15 of the only order I’ve made since this policy.

Yeah, I cancelled my premier subscription and haven’t ordered anything from them since I received the fair use email.

@Anonymousess of course it's for eveyone but the orders and returns have increased massively since the instagram try ons have increased

I got a refund of my premium delivery subscription and stopped engaging with ASOS. It wasn’t intentional - I have placed the one order with them since.

However generally speaking, my shopping habits have changed. Not having the delivery subscription has meant I no longer buy last minute outfits or factor ASOS into my decision-making. Before, I would heavily rely on ASOS prior to any work/social event and would pencil in time to order and browse their options and new in. I don’t do this anymore.

I am buying a lot less. On occasion, I have ordered clothes from Zara and PLT, both had exactly what I needed with a fuss-free returns policy. I find that I’m not having to laboriously browse their offerings like I did with ASOS - there’s less low quality options to wade through and less duplication. It’s just been less time intensive than with other retailers.

I’m also more inclined to go shopping in person now - and look better for it.

As products should be sold as described isn't this a legal issue, a dress sold as a 14 and is too big surely that's not as described.

A lot of companies charge for returns now. And some companies close people's accounts if they return too much. Companies also can't sell returned items as new unless they meet certain criteria so they're covering their backs and losses.

I used to work in a department store, you'd be surprised at the amount of items that we used to get returned that had so obviously been worn.

I think there’s a misconception about influencer culture on MN sometimes. ASOS collaborates with influencers, so not everyone who hauls ASOS products does it personally.

ASOS offers free clothes to both established and low-follower influencers. Promoting their platform and goods benefits ASOS after all, so chances are people you’ve seen are working with ASOS.

I’m only basing this off my own experiences though. I know people who are influencers in real life and they wouldn’t be posting anything they aren’t getting paid for! lol