PLT faces more backlash after sharing why it banned shoppers who returned clothes

PLT faced major backlash from customers last week

PrettyLittleThing (PLT) has seen further backlash after it tried to explain why it introduced its new controversial returns policy.

The online fast fashion retailer recently closed the accounts of some customers due to the number of times they returned purchases. PLT, which is owned by Boohoo, sent an email to those affected by the move last week which told them their accounts were being deactivated after reviewing their "unusual high returns activity".

The move meant the account affected could no longer place orders through the retailer. One of the major criticisms of the move was that accounts were deactivated for people who paid the £9.99 fee to access PLT's "Royalty" scheme for unlimited deliveries in the UK for a year. PLT also did not explain the criteria it used to makeits decisions.

Shoppers blasted the retailer on social media with many noting that the sizing for the company was "completely off" which meant they needed to return items more frequently. On X - formerly Twitter - user said: "I’m sorry @OfficialPLT - I can’t help your clothes sizes are a joke and are awful quality!! Can I have my £9.99 next day delivery fee back then please? #plt #prettylittlething". Another said: "Getting banned from ordering on PLT was not on my 2024 bingo card. But make better clothing, use better quality fabrics, think about your sizing and pay garment workers properly and maybe I wouldn’t have to return everything."

The retailer recently tried to explain its reasons for the move in a post on X and announced it would issue refunds for outstanding gift cards and store credit, as well as £9.99 to closed accounts.

The company said: "We have noticed an extremely high returns rate from a small pool of customers who have demonstrated behaviours that were inconsistent with what we experience with the rest of our customer base. The actions taken are not designed to limit our customers who do need to return or deter them from returning, it was taken to address a small proportion of customers who have a high returns rate." PLT added it does not plan to close any further accounts.

Some customers were not happy with the response, with one posting on X: "This is bullsh*t my last return was December 2023... and of course, you turned off the comments." Another added that they had only made four returns over the last year saying: "4 returns a year is apparently 'extremely high' absolute joke of a company! The fact you have turned off the comments speaks volumes."

A spokesperson for PLT told the Mirror: “Where we notice unusual patterns of activity on customer accounts, we do investigate. In some incidences, this results in us applying our terms and conditions and this type of action would only affect a tiny percentage of our customer base."