UK Retailers Found Violating Consumer Law Over Failed Refunds, Which? Reveals

A recent investigation by Which? reveals that major retailers are violating consumer protection laws by failing to issue proper refunds for returned goods.

Numerous prominent UK online retailers routinely neglected to reimburse shipping expenses when customers returned unwanted items, while others completely failed to refund the purchase price.

The consumer advocacy group Which? deployed 12 mystery shoppers across Great Britain to purchase over 200 items from 17 major online retailers during June and July.

These shoppers subsequently returned their purchases via post—the most prevalent return method—and meticulously tracked the entire process, from the cost of sending the item back to whether they received the appropriate refund.

John Lewis ranked first, with shoppers lauding the retailer for keeping them informed at every stage of the returns process. This strong performance made it the first retailer to earn Which?’s new “Recommended Provider for Returns” status.

Conversely, clothing and homeware retailer Matalan ranked at the bottom, failing to properly refund customers in multiple instances.

Matalan does not offer free returns and only refunded the product cost to seven of Which?’s 12 mystery shoppers. None of them received a refund for their original delivery fee.

In one instance, a shopper returned an item priced at £3.99. Having initially paid £3 for delivery and an additional £2.99 for the return, they were left £9.98 out of pocket when no refund was issued, despite only being entitled to lose the £2.99 return cost.

One mystery shopper remarked: “There is a returns label in the bag, but it is so faded that the instructions are illegible.”

A Matalan spokesperson stated: “We want returns to be straightforward for our customers and take our refund obligations seriously. We have requested the transaction details behind Which?’s findings so we can understand and investigate the individual cases raised.”

Reena Sewraz, retail editor at Which?, added: “Returning an online purchase should not 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 noted that retailers “must take responsibility for getting their returns processes right”, emphasizing that shoppers “should not be forced to bear the cost of retailers’ mistakes”.

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, online shoppers generally have the right to change their minds and cancel an order within 14 days of receiving it, followed by an additional 14 days to return the goods. Retailers must typically issue a refund within 14 days of receiving the returned item, though certain products—such as personalized items and those with a hygiene seal—are exempt.

While retailers can require customers to cover the cost of returning unwanted goods, they must also refund the standard delivery charge originally paid. Customers are not entitled to a refund for any additional premium paid for expedited delivery.

River Island and Sports Direct failed to refund the original delivery fee in any of the cases evaluated by Which?—despite retailers being legally obligated to reimburse standard delivery charges when customers exercise their statutory right to cancel an online purchase.

A Sports Direct spokesperson stated: “Unfortunately, we are unable to provide any meaningful comment on the ‘mystery shopper’ claims.”

“Despite requesting the basic order details from Which? to understand what happened or did not happen with the specific transactions, they refused to supply the necessary information. We naturally seek to address genuine customer concerns.”

River Island has been approached for comment.

Both retailers also charge customers to return unwanted goods. Although retailers are permitted to do this, the combination of return fees and missing delivery refunds left Which?’s mystery shoppers significantly out of pocket.

The investigation also uncovered failures to refund the cost of the goods themselves. Pets at Home only refunded six of Which?’s 12 mystery shoppers for the products they had returned.

A Pets at Home spokesperson said: “We regularly review our policies and website information to ensure customers have access to clear and accessible guidance on our terms and conditions. As always, if customers have any questions or concerns, we encourage them to contact us directly.”

These findings raise fresh questions about how effectively leading retailers are complying with consumer protection rules, leaving customers at risk of losing money when returning unwanted online purchases.

Which? noted that some retailers, such as M&S, did not qualify for the mystery shop because they did not offer postal returns on online purchases under £10 for guest checkouts—instead requiring in-store returns.

Argos also did not offer postal returns and was similarly excluded from the investigation.

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