ASOS Is Under Fire For ‘Banning’ Customers Who Complain About Their Items Going Missing

ASOS is coming under fire for freezing the accounts of customers who complain about their purchases going missing.

TOWIE star Lucy Mecklenburgh hit out at the retailer over the weekend after they failed to deliver an expensive birthday gift for her boyfriend, CBB’s Ryan Thomas.

She shared a screengrab of her email from ASOS Customer Service on Twitter, which read:

After an assessment of your account, we’ve made the decision to not issue a refund for your item. It’s very rare for items to go missing and ASOS have therefore made the decision to not accept any further orders from you.

So not only did they not deliver an expensive item that was a bday present for my bf, they won’t refund me or ever let me order again. And I’m a VERY regular customer! @ASOS @ASOS_HeretoHelp cheers Callum from customer care 👍🏼🖕🏽 pic.twitter.com/ciwBrOWva5

— Lucy Mecklenburgh (@lucy_meck) October 7, 2018

Several people responding to Lucy’s complaint said the same thing had happened to them – in one case, the customer received a refund “after nearly a month of fighting” but is still forbidden from ordering again.

Another Twitter user said the retailer “refused to investigate” after her order was delivered to the wrong address.

So why would this happen? It could be that ASOS suspected fraud; it’s not uncommon for online shoppers to pretend their purchase didn’t arrive, then claim a refund while keeping the item.

In Ireland, as in the UK, you have a right to a refund if the goods are not delivered within 30 days of the date of purchase. According to the Competition and Consumer Protection Commission, you’re also entitled to a refund if you needed the item delivered by a certain date (for example, if you ordered a dress for a wedding and it did not arrive on time):

If you informed the business at the time of purchase that delivery by or on a specified date was essential, then you are also entitled to cancel the contract if the business has stated clearly that they cannot or will not deliver the item. Where the contract is cancelled, the business has to refund you any money that you have paid for the item within 14 days.

If you’re not refunded within that time frame, your bank or credit card company may agree to reverse the transaction for you (which is what ASOS invited Lucy to do).

ASOS, for their part, told Metro that they’re “working with Lucy” to figure out what happened in this case.

• Asos
• TOWIE