I bought clothes from a UK website but was told I had to return them to China

I bought clothes online from a website back in October and saw on its return policy that I would have to pay for the return costs if the clothing was not suitable.

When the clothing arrived, some items were of good quality and others not so much with one in particular only fit for the bin.

I therefore wanted to return some items and could see there was a ‘return to’ address in Middlesex, so I expected to have to return them there.

However, after contacting customer services, the company asked that I return the clothing to China, as this is where their return centre is. Is it acceptable to expect a UK customer to return clothing to China when it doesn’t state this on their website?

Sending back items you don’t want can be a pain – especially if they have to be returned abroad

Grace Gausden, This is Money, replies: Unfortunately, you found that some of the clothes you bought from an online clothing website were not of good quality and wanted to return them.

Initially you thought you had purchased from a UK website but on closer inspection, it seems to be an international site based abroad.  

Before buying anything, you said you had already checked the returns policy – as you always do – to confirm what you would have to do should that be the case.

However, after contacting the firm to arrange a return, you were told that it would have to be returned to China.

Obviously, this would incur high delivery charges due to the distance the clothes would be travelling.

Aside from the cost, it could also get lost along the way, meaning it may be easier to keep the clothes all along – unless they were of a very high value.

However, it might be worth paying for tracked delivery from a courier. 

Although it will be more expensive, it will help you know where your parcel is at any given moment. 

Customers buying from a UK website will get a 14 day cooling off period, by law, meaning you can return in that time.

The cooling-off period starts the day after you receive your order, and there doesn’t need to be anything wrong with the item for you to get a refund.

You need to tell the seller you don’t want the item within 14 days of receiving it. Once you’ve told the seller, you’ve got another 14 days to actually send the item back.

When buying from a non-UK company, you will probably still get a cooling off period but it is important to check before you buy· 

It is also worth noting that a .co.uk website doesn’t necessarily mean the company is based in the UK. 

When shopping online, it is important to check a websites return policy to see if it will cost

When you buy direct from an overseas website, whatever the contract says, you may have difficulty in enforcing it/sorting out a problem. 

Protection via your payment method, such as chargeback, is likely to be the most practical way to resolve these issues.

They will ask for evidence that you have attempted to resolve the issue with the trader, but once they have received evidence, the majority will refund the amount you paid. If you paid by PayPal, then you will have to follow their dispute process. 

The seller must always tell the customer who has to pay for the return when they bought the item. If they didn’t tell you, they will have to refund your postage costs.

When returning the package, it doesn’t have to be in its original packaging, but it must be packaged in a way that means it doesn’t get damaged. 

Sylvia Rook of Trading Standards replies: Selling on the internet in the UK is governed principally by a piece of law called the Consumer Contracts Regulations (CCR) 2013.  

One of the requirements of the regulations is that a website should give clear information about the geographical address of the trader and, if different, the geographical address of their place of business. 

Many of the websites which sell cheap and attractive goods may give a UK address but, if they are actually based in China, they would also have to give the address in China in order to comply with the law. If the trader gives a UK registered limited company name and address then they have to comply with all UK laws.

When buying online, consumers have rights in addition to those they have when buying in a shop, and the online retailer is required to make those rights clear.  

A UK address on a website does not necessarily mean the business is based in the UK, this may be just a registered office with no staff who can deal with issues, and they may therefore require that goods are returned to China at a very high cost.

It can be difficult to know what reviews to trust online as many are not actually genuine 

Any rights given to the consumer by the CCRS are additional to the normal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which say that all goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for their purpose, and as described. 

If the items which are received are of poor quality, or are not as described on the website, then the consumer is entitled to a full refund, and should not have to pay for the cost of returning them. 

In addition, if all the legal information required by the CCRs is not provided, then the consumer should be entitled to recover any costs they incur as a result of this.

There are a number of companies who tend to advertise via ‘pop-up’ adverts on social media pages and who are based abroad, and trading standards receive complaints about such things as long delays in delivery or non-delivery, the poor quality of items which may also be misdescribed and the inability to get complaints resolved. 

It is very difficult for trading standards to take any enforcement action with a business based overseas. 

If you see an advert for an item which appears via a pop-up advert, and you have never heard of the company, do your research before making a purchase. 

If you put the business name into a search engine, you may see some glowing reviews but remember that these may not be genuine reviewers, so read them carefully, in particular looking for grammatical errors, and wording which might indicate that the reviewer is not in the UK. 

Scam companies may buy fake reviews to make them look good, so always be suspicious, especially if all of the reviews give five stars. 

Read the terms and conditions carefully – if there is a UK address, but it says the address is not for returns, and there is no other address, be aware that you might incur substantial costs returning an item for a change of mind and you may end up in a dispute with an overseas entity. 

If you are unhappy with an item purchased for one of these sites, your first course is to email the address given. 

It is likely that you will be told that you have to pay the return costs to China, regardless of whether you have changed your mind or whether there is an issue with the goods, and you may well be told that you cannot have a refund without returning the goods. 

It is important that you make it clear in your emails the issue you have with the goods, and why you are asking for a refund and keep copies of all of these emails. 

If the website gives a UK address, you should also send a letter to this address, using a signed for service so you know if/when it has been received, and give a reasonable time for a response. 

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk