Boohoo has announced that it will become the latest retailer to start charging shoppers for returning items.
Joining what is a growing list of companies, which now includes Uniqlo, Next, and Zara, online Manchester-based fast fashion retailer Boohoo has revealed that shoppers will now be charged a fee for returning items, reports Retail Week.
Customers will now have to pay £1.99 when they send unwanted goods back, and the cost will be deducted from the amount they are refunded.
Boohoo has said its decision to begin charging for returns comes amid the rising cost of shipping, and also after online shopping boomed during the COVID-19 pandemic and has continued to remain popular since.
The nature of online shopping often sees customers buy, and then more likely to return items bought online than they would in store – which raises costs for retailers.
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Boohoo has started charging shoppers £1.99 to return items / Credit: Boohoo
A 2020 study by the consultancy KPMG also found that up to half of clothing bought online is returned to some retailers, with the whole operation estimated to cost businesses about £7 billion a year.
Confirming the decision to begin charging customers for returns, a spokesperson for Boohoo said: “As the cost of shipping has increased, we’ve had to look at where we can adapt without compromising what our customers love most – the convenience of shopping with us and the great value that our brands offer.
“This has meant that we will be applying a charge of £1.99 to returns, so that we can continue to offer great prices and products and do this in a more sustainable way.”
The retailer its decision to begin charging for returns comes amid the rising cost of shipping / Credit: Boohoo
The charging for returns also comes after the retailer – which also owns brands including Debenhams, PrettyLittleThing, Dorothy Perkins, Wallis, and Burton – warned back in May it was likely going to be forced to put up clothing prices this year as it was needing to cut back on its sales and profit expectations.
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The retailer also hinted then that customers were returning more unwanted items than ever before post-pandemic.
Retail analysts said other retailers are now likely to follow suit in charging for returns.
Featured Image – Boohoo
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Millions of UK workers to get pay rises from today as National Living and Minimum Wage increases
Emily Sergeant
Millions of workers across the UK are set to begin receiving substantial pay rises from today.
After the Government announced back in November that it would take the recommendations made by the Low Pay Commission, and increase both the National Minimum Wage and National Living Wage, those changes have now come into force in a bid to ensure people on lower incomes are ‘properly rewarded’ for their work.
If you’re unfamiliar with the Low Pay Commission, it’s an independent body made up of employers, trade unions, and experts whose role is to advise the Government on the minimum wage.
As mentioned, the rate recommendations introduced today were agreed unanimously by the Commission.
This means that the living wage, for eligible workers who are aged 21 and over, has now risen by 4.1% from today to £12.71 an hour.
For a full-time worker, that means a pay increase of £900 a year.
Millions of workers in the UK are getting pay rises from today / Credit: John Kakuk (via Unsplash) | Pexels
The National Minimum Wage rate for workers aged 18 to 20-year-olds has also increased today by 8.5% to £10.85 an hour, and then for 16 to 17-year-olds, and those on apprenticeships, the rate has increased by 6% to £8 an hour.
“The recommendations we made last autumn sought to balance the need to protect the economy and labour market, whilst providing a real-terms increase for the lowest-paid members of society,” commented Baroness Philippa Stroud, who is Chair of the Low Pay Commission.
“A lot has changed since we gave our advice to the Government last autumn, and we are now beginning to gather evidence for recommendations later this year.
“The current economic uncertainty makes it essential that the Commission hears from those affected by the minimum wage and builds consensus for evidence-based recommendations.
Workers aged 21 and over are now legally entitled to the National Living Wage after the age threshold for the highest rate was lowered from 23 in 2024.
National Minimum Wage rates are available to workers aged 16 upwards.
Featured Image – Israel Andrade (via Unsplash)
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Delays on M60 continue after man dies falling from bridge near Trafford Centre
Daisy Jackson
A man has tragically died after falling from a bridge on the M60, near the Trafford Centre.
Police closed the motorway in both directions at around 10am this morning as they responded to the concern for welfare.
The man was on Barton Bridge on the M60, but tragically fell and passed away at the scene.
The motorway was shut anti-clockwise between junction 12 for the M602 and junction 10, and on the clockwise carriageway between junction 9 and 11, with a huge diversion in place.
Although the motorway has reopened as the afternoon has worn on, disruption is ‘likely’ to continue for several hours yet.
National Highways is reporting up to two miles of congestion on the M60 around Barton Bridge.
In a statement released earlier today, a GMP spokesperson said: “Officers are currently responding to a concern for welfare on Barton Bridge on the M60, reported at around 9:40am today (Tuesday 31 March).
“The M60 remains closed in both directions while emergency services are in attendance. Significant delays are expected and drivers are advised to avoid the area where possible.”
GMP later added: “Earlier today, officers responded to a concern for welfare on Barton Bridge on the M60. The man sadly fell from the bridge and passed away at the scene.
“The road remains closed while enquiries continue. Please avoid the area and plan alternative routes where possible as disruption is likely to continue for the rest of the day.”
Emily Sergeant -
13th July 2022 
