Next will charge customers for some returns

Online fashion retailer Next has announced it will start charging customers a £1 fee (1.14 euros) for returns they make through a courier or through a Hermes Parcel Shop. The collection charge will be applied for each collection, regardless of the number of items collected. Returning items at any of Next’s retail or clearance stores in the UK remains free.

Previously, returns via retail or clearance stores, or via Hemres ParcelShops were free of charge. And for courier collections, the online fashion retailer charged 3.99 pounds if the customer returned the whole order, but it refunded the delivery charge of the same amount.

Starting June 6, a fee is charged

But things have changed. From June 6, the UK retailer will introduce a £1 charge on returns that are made through a courier of a Hermes Parcel Shop. According to eDelivery, this move comes as retailers are looking more and more to push customers into channels that are less expensies for them to operate. That’s why returning items to the Next store will remain free.

‘Most customers returns items via our stores’

“The vast majority of our online customers now make their returns, free of charge, via one of our stores – and Next will continue to promote this service”, a spokesperson told eDelivery. “Next Unlimited was recently introduced, where any number of items can be delivered to, or returned from home for just £20 per year. The £1 per collection fee contributes to the true cost of returning goods to Next from home, no matter how many parcels are returned.”