Major fashion brand loved by Brits bans thousands of customers 'with immediate effect'

Thousands of ASOS customers are facing account closures as the online fashion giant takes a tough stance on those abusing one company policy. The company has begun informing customers that their accounts have been shut down with "immediate effect".

The move comes as ASOS enforces its Fair Use Policy, with emails being sent out to those who are said to have violated the terms. On social media platform X, one shopper expressed their dismay: "Account closed for consistent breaches of their [ASOS] Fair Use policy when I haven't returned anything since October."

Another baffled customer shared: " I haven't shopped with ASOS in over a year and I still get an email telling me my account is being closed." A third customer lamented: "ASOS have really hurt me today closing my account what did I do?"

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One customer, feeling unfairly treated, remarked: "I've made three orders in the last six months and from those orders sent back only one pair of jeans," adding, "This is a joke, I've been a loyal customer for years and now you close my account", reports Birmingham Live.

An ASOS spokesperson defended the decision, stating: "We recently closed the accounts of a small group of customers whose shopping activity has consistently fallen outside our Fair Use policy." They further justified the action by saying: "This helps us maintain our commitment to offering free returns to all customers across all core markets."

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The new policy is an escalation of ASOS's commitment to cracking down on returns. In September 2024, the company angered customers when it implemented a fee for certain returns. The September rule meant customers who were deemed to have a "frequently high return rate" were hit with a charge for not keeping a certain amount of their order.

Such customers had £3.95 deducted from their refund if they keep less than £40 worth of items. At the time, ASOS has not shared what constituted a high return rate, but claimed "nothing's changed" for the majority of its customers.

"We’re making this change so that we can continue offering free returns to all our customers," the company told the BBC. "For a small group of UK customers with a frequently high return rate whose shopping habits make offering them unconditional free returns unsustainable, they can still get free returns when they keep £40 or more of their order."

The retailer said customers signed up to ASOS Premier will get free returns if they keep at least £15 of their order.

The recent crackdown also coincides with the launch of ASOS's new summer campaign - Summer, styled by ASOS - which aims to capture the essence of summer style by amalgamating the season's loudest trends in fashion, beauty, and culture.

Livvy Thompson, Head of Marketing at ASOS, stated: "Summer, styled by ASOS is a bold celebration of summer style. We're bringing fashion, beauty, and culture together in a fresh and immersive way - a true reflection of what our customers love about this season.

"This campaign is about more than just shopping; it's about bringing the summer energy to London, creating unforgettable moments and inspiring our community to show up as their most confident, expressive selves."