Key facts
- Leading UK retailers are failing to provide correct refunds for returned goods, violating consumer law, Which? found.
- Some retailers did not refund the cost of the goods themselves, while others failed to reimburse original delivery costs.
- John Lewis was recognized for its transparent returns process.
- Matalan refunded the product cost to only seven of 12 mystery shoppers and none received a refund for delivery fees.
- River Island and Sports Direct failed to refund original delivery fees in all tested cases.
- Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, retailers must generally refund customers within 14 days of receiving returned items and refund standard delivery charges.
Leading UK retailers are breaking the law by failing to properly refund customers for returned goods, a Which? investigation has found. Some of the UK’s biggest online shops routinely failed to reimburse delivery costs when customers returned unwanted purchases, while others failed to refund the cost of the goods themselves.
The consumer champion, Which?, sent 12 mystery shoppers across Great Britain to buy more than 200 items from 17 big online retailers in June and July. The shoppers then returned their purchases by post and tracked the entire process, from the cost of returning an item to whether they received the correct refund.
John Lewis came out on top, with shoppers praising the retailer for keeping them informed at every stage of the returns process. Its strong performance has seen it become the first retailer to receive Which?’s new recommended provider for returns status. But at the other end of the table was clothing and homeware retail chain Matalan, which failed to refund customers properly in a series of cases. Matalan does not offer free returns, and refunded the cost of the returned product to just seven of Which?’s 12 mystery shoppers. None received a refund for their original delivery fee.
River Island and Sports Direct failed to refund the original delivery fee in any of the cases tested by Which?, despite retailers being legally required to reimburse standard delivery charges when customers exercise their statutory right to cancel an online purchase. Both retailers also charge customers to return unwanted goods. The combination of return charges and missing delivery refunds left Which?’s shoppers significantly out of pocket.
Pets at Home refunded just six of Which?’s 12 mystery shoppers for products they had returned. A Sports Direct spokesperson stated that the company could not provide comment without specific order details, and River Island has been approached for comment.
Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, said: “Returning an online purchase shouldn’t be a battle to get your money back. Yet leading retailers are breaking the law by failing to give shoppers the refunds they are entitled to.” She added that retailers “need to take responsibility for getting their returns processes right”, and shoppers “shouldn’t be left to foot the bill for retailers’ mistakes”.
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, online shoppers generally have the right to change their mind and cancel an order within 14 days of receiving it, with a further 14 days to return the goods. Retailers must normally refund the customer within 14 days of receiving the returned item, although some products are exempt. Retailers can make customers pay the cost of returning unwanted goods, but they must also refund the standard delivery charge originally paid.