Major UK Online Retailers Broke Refund Rules, Which? Finds

Leading UK online retailers broke the law by failing to properly refund customers for returned goods, according to a Which? investigation published on 15 September 2026. The Guardian

Which? sent 12 mystery shoppers across Great Britain to buy more than 200 items from 17 big online retailers. They shopped in June and July and returned the purchases by post.

Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, online shoppers can generally cancel within 14 days of receipt, then have 14 more days to return the goods. Retailers must normally refund within 14 days of receiving the return. The refund must include the standard delivery charge, but not any premium paid for faster delivery.

John Lewis ranked top. Shoppers said it kept them informed at every stage. It became the first retailer to receive Which?'s new recommended provider for returns status.

Matalan, which does not offer free returns, refunded the product cost to only 7 of the 12 shoppers and the original delivery fee to none of the 12. In one case cited by Which?, a shopper who bought a £3.99 item, paid £3 for delivery and £2.99 to return it, got no refund and lost £9.98. River Island and Sports Direct failed to refund the original delivery fee in any case tested. Pets at Home refunded only 6 of the 12 shoppers for returned products.

Customers using this legal right need give no reason, and retailers cannot deduct fees from the refund owed. GOV.UK There is no legal right to return goods bought in a physical shop unless faulty. If goods are misrepresented or do not work, the retailer must cover return costs.

In the United States, 59% of retailers offer so-called returnless returns policies, with a typical return costing about $30 and returns accounting for 16.5% of total retail sales. Reuters

The broader context here is compliance cost versus consumer trust. Distance-selling rules are precise, like a packing checklist, yet hard to run at scale. That strain does not alter the legal duty, but it pinpoints where Which? found failures, around delivery charges and small refunds. For enforcers, Which? offers a testable sample. For boards, the question is whether systems repay standard delivery automatically and meet the 14-day clock.