PrettyLittleThing reportedly deactivating accounts of serial returners

Weeks after introducing fees for returns, PrettyLittleThing (PLT) is now seemingly doubling down on its efforts to put a stop to serial refunders, with it now circulating that the fast fashion retailer is believed to be deactivating the accounts of such individuals.

According to an email seen by the BBC, a number of shoppers had been informed that their accounts had been reviewed and ultimately shut down, so they were no longer able to place more orders.

Some of the impacted individuals took to social media to share their dismay at the decision, either questioning the criteria used by PLT to justify the ban or claiming that the company’s “inconsistent” sizing was responsible for the amount of returns.

In the email, PLT issued an apology for any inconvenience before noting that shoppers could still make returns via an online portal.

PLT already faced some backlash for its decision to introduce return fees earlier this month, with those in the UK now expected to pay 1.99 pounds while elsewhere fees amount to up to 14 dollars.

It's a similar approach already taken on by other fast fashion retailers, including Zara and H&M, all of which implemented such policies in order to tackle a spike in online ordering.

Returns themselves can be very expensive for retailers. This is according to retail payment experts at Dojo, who reckon mass market brands are introducing returns fees in order to deter “serial refunders”.