Fashion brand PrettyLittleThing (PLT) is attracting publicity again with its clampdown on serial product returners facing consumer criticism.

The value-focused Boohoo Group-owned brand has been deactivating some customers linked to the number of times they’ve returned purchases, according to reports. It follows the group’s move earlier this month to follow the wider trend to scrap free returns.

In an e-mail seen by the BBC, PLT shoppers have been told that their accounts had been reviewed and closed and they won’t be able to place any further orders.

Some of those affected have used social media to criticise the policy, either claiming they’d only made one return so far this year, or suggesting they would return fewer items if the firm was more consistent in its sizing of clothing items.

PLT didn’t respond to the BBC’s request for comment.

One customer posting on X, highlighted the problem that retailers without physical stores are always going to face a higher level of returns. On TikTok, videos of shoppers questioning why their accounts have been suspended have also received hundreds of likes.

An unhappy customer said she paid the £9.99 fee to access PLT’s ‘Royalty’ scheme for unlimited deliveries in the UK for a year, but has been told that with her account being deactivated, the company won’t give her a refund or partial refund.

Fashion retail giants such as Zara, Uniqlo and Next already charge for online returns, while OhPolly recently introduced a policy where the greater the amount of an order returned, the higher the return fee.

Such companies have also been clamping down on people they identify as serial returners and have also come in for some criticism from customers who feel they’ve been unfairly treated.

It’s an ongoing problem for online only retailers, particularly at the lower end of the price scale, with shoppers having no chance of being able to try anything on before they purchase.