Return fraud is knowingly returning something that doesn't qualify for a return. Wardrobing is wearing something and sending it back, and bracketing is ordering two sizes and returning one. They're different problems and only the first is plainly fraud, so a policy that treats them alike will mostly punish people who've done nothing wrong.
How big it is
US retailers told the NRF and Happy Returns in 2025 that 9% of all returns were fraudulent. That's the retailers' own estimate, gathered with a company that sells returns services, so it may lean high, and we don't know of an equally good figure for the UK. But suppose it's exactly right. It still means that about 91 returns in every 100 aren't fraud, and we'd keep that number in front of you while you're writing your policy.
Telling them apart
| What happens | Is it fraud? | What to do | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return fraud | Empty box, swapped item, faked tracking | Yes | Inspect, refuse, keep records, block |
| Wardrobing | Worn to the party, tags tucked in, sent back | Usually a breach of your terms and hard to prove | Security tags, a clear condition rule |
| Bracketing | Two sizes ordered, one kept | No | Help them choose before dispatch |
| Serial returning | Keeps very little, over and over | No | Change the terms they are offered |
Return fraud
The NRF's working definition is returning an item knowing it doesn't qualify under the merchant's policy, and these are the forms it lists.
- Empty box. The parcel arrives with nothing in it, or with something heavy inside to match the weight.
- Label tampering. A fake tracking ID sends the parcel to a similar address, and the carrier's scan triggers the refund.
- Price switching. A cheaper lookalike comes back in place of the item that was bought.
- Overstated quantity. Fewer items come back than the form claims.
- No-proof returns. Goods that were never bought from you are returned for a refund.
The defence is mostly dull, which is good news, as dull things can be written down and handed to a warehouse. Weigh parcels when they arrive. For customers you don't know, don't refund on the carrier's first scan, and for customers you do know, refund quickly, because they've earned it. Check what the form claimed against what came out of the box, and keep photographs when the two don't match. You can share a blocked list across your own channels, but take legal advice before sharing one with anybody else.
Wardrobing
This is the expensive grey area, and it clusters around occasionwear. Say someone buys a £180 dress on a Thursday, wears it to a wedding on the Saturday and posts it back on the Monday with the tags tucked in. You'll have your suspicions, but you can't prove intent from a crease.
You do have rights, however. Under UK rules you can reduce a refund for handling that goes beyond what a shopper could do in a shop, so state a condition rule in your terms and train your warehouse to apply it the same way every time. Security tags on your high-risk lines will do most of the rest, as long as you explain them on the product page, or you'll simply have swapped one kind of complaint for another.
Bracketing and serial returning
Neither of these is fraud, and the people doing them may be among your best customers. A shopper who spends £2,000 a year and returns half of it still spends £1,000 with you, so before you do anything, work out the profit on that customer instead of staring at their return rate. Some high returners are well worth keeping, and a few cost you more than they bring in, and you can't tell which is which without doing the sum.
ASOS now shows each customer a personal return rate and charges above 70% by value. You may or may not like that, but it's at least open about the rule, and we think quietly banning people carries far more risk than simply telling them the terms.
What a tightened policy costs
When L.L.Bean ended its lifetime guarantee in 2018 it blamed abuse by a small number of people, and it got sued and took plenty of unhappy press for its trouble. The rule landed on everyone in order to stop a few.
So aim narrowly. Fraud controls belong in the warehouse and at the refund step, where honest shoppers never see them, whereas friction at the checkout falls on everybody, including the 91.
Where Kept fits, and where it doesn't
Kept isn't a fraud tool. It chooses return offers per basket, so that free returns go where they pay. If you have a fraud problem as we've defined it above, you need warehouse checks and a specialist, and if your problem turns out to be bracketing and high returners, our guide to return fees is the better read.