Refund policy

We want you to be happy with your Common Thread London order. This policy explains how returns, cancellations and refunds work, and sits alongside your statutory rights as a consumer under UK law. Nothing here limits or removes any right you have that cannot lawfully be excluded.
Effective date: 30 August 2026. This policy applies to orders placed on or after this date.

1. Your 30-day return window
You have 30 calendar days from the day after your order is delivered to request a return. Where the items in one order are delivered separately, the window begins the day after you receive the final item.
This covers returns for any reason, size or fit, colour or appearance, style or personal preference, an item simply not suiting you, or a general change of mind. You do not have to give a reason. After telling us you wish to return, please send the goods back without undue delay. Requests made after the 30-day window cannot be accepted for non-faulty goods.
Separately, and in addition to this policy, you have a statutory right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 to cancel within 14 days of receiving your order. This 30-day window is offered on top of that statutory right and does not reduce it.

2. How to start a return
Email support@commonthreadlondon.com with your full name, your order number, the item or items concerned, and a clear statement that you wish to return them. We will then confirm the return instructions and the correct return address. Items sent back without first contacting us cannot be processed until identified, which may delay your refund.

3. Two-stage condition assessment
All returns are subject to a two-stage assessment of the item's condition.
Stage one - preliminary email review. Before sending an item, we ask you to email clear photographs, or a short continuous video, showing the front and back of the item, the current condition of the fabric, all original tags, any hygiene seal, the size and product label, the original packaging, and any fault or damage you are reporting. This helps us document the reported condition and direct you to the correct return address. It is a preliminary step only: it is not final approval of a refund and does not replace the physical inspection. Not sending photographs will not invalidate a return requested in time, but the goods will still undergo the full physical inspection below.
Stage two - physical inspection. Once your return reaches our designated fulfilment centre it is inspected and documented. The inspection may include verifying the item, size and colour against your order; checking all tags and hygiene seals; comparing the item with its recorded condition before dispatch; examining the fabric, seams, fastenings, lining, collar, cuffs and hem; and checking for stretching or distortion, make-up, deodorant, fragrance, smoke or other odours, food or liquid marks, hair or lint, and any sign of washing, pressing, wear or alteration. Returns may be photographed during inspection for quality-control and fraud-prevention purposes, handled in line with our Privacy Policy. The final condition decision is normally based on this physical inspection.

4. Reasonable inspection and trying-on
You may handle and try on an item only as far as you reasonably would in a shop, briefly and carefully, indoors, to check its appearance, fit and function. The following goes beyond that and may reduce the value of the goods: wearing an item outdoors, socially, to work or to an event; wearing it for an extended period or for photographs beyond a brief fitting; removing tags and then wearing it; washing, pressing or altering it; or exposing it to make-up, fragrance, deodorant, smoke, food or pets.

5. Diminished value and refund deductions
Under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 you are liable for any reduction in the value of the goods caused by handling beyond what is necessary to establish their nature, characteristics and functioning. Where such handling has reduced an item's value, we may make a lawful deduction from your refund reflecting the actual loss, for example the cost of cleaning or specialist treatment, repair, replacing missing packaging or components, or the reduction needed to resell the item as used or imperfect. Where documented wear, damage, contamination or alteration leaves an item with no reasonable resale value, the deduction may equal the item's full price where legally justified. We do not apply an automatic restocking fee; any deduction is tied to the item's documented condition. Where a refund is reduced we will explain why and, where appropriate, provide supporting evidence.

6. Tags, packaging and hygiene seals
Returned items should have all original tags attached, all components included, any hygiene seal intact, and the original packaging where reasonably possible. Missing tags or damaged packaging will not automatically remove your statutory rights, but may be taken into account when assessing whether an item was handled beyond what was necessary and whether its value has been reduced. Where sealed goods cannot be returned for hygiene reasons once unsealed, the statutory hygiene exception may apply.

7. Return address and fulfilment location
After the preliminary email review we will give you the designated return address and any packaging or customs instructions. The return location may be a UK address or an international fulfilment centre, and Common Thread London selects the appropriate location for each case based on the item and order. Please use only the address we provide; sending goods elsewhere may delay inspection and your refund. Our registered office is not a returns address, please do not send goods there unless we expressly ask you to.

8. Return shipping cost
For a non-faulty return, including one based on size, fit, preference or change of mind, you are responsible for the direct cost of returning the goods. Where Common Thread London provides or arranges the return service, a flat £10 return-shipping charge applies and may be deducted from your refund; we will tell you before you send the item. This charge is for return transport only and is not an administration or restocking fee. It is the same whether we designate a UK or an international return location. If we expressly authorise you to arrange your own return, you pay the carrier directly, use a tracked service and keep proof of postage; in that case the £10 charge is not also deducted. No return-shipping charge applies where we are legally responsible for the cost of return, that is, for faulty, damaged, incorrectly supplied or misdescribed goods.

9. Original delivery charge
Standard UK delivery is free on every order, so there is normally no delivery charge to refund. If you did pay any delivery charge and you cancel the whole order within the statutory 14-day cancellation period, we will refund the cost of our standard delivery, as required by law; if you chose a more expensive express or premium service, we refund only the cost of our least expensive standard delivery. A delivery charge is not normally refunded where only part of an order is returned or where you request a voluntary exchange. This does not affect any delivery refund legally due for faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed goods.

10. Sale, clearance and promotional items
Sale, clearance and promotional items may be returned within the same 30-day window, subject to the condition and inspection requirements in this policy; sale items showing wear or reduced value may attract a lawful deduction. Faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed sale items keep their full statutory protection. Describing an item as "sale" or "final sale" does not remove rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

11. Refunds
Where legally permitted, we may withhold your refund until we have received the returned goods or you have supplied satisfactory proof that you have sent them back, whichever is earlier. Any refund due is issued without undue delay once the return is approved, and in any event within the statutory deadline that applies. Refunds are made to your original payment method unless otherwise agreed; your bank or card provider may need extra time to post it. A refund may reflect permitted deductions for diminished value, the £10 arranged return-shipping charge on an eligible non-faulty return, and any premium delivery cost above standard delivery.

12. Faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed items
Please check your order promptly on arrival. To help us investigate quickly, we ask you to report any visible damage, fault or incorrect item within seven days with clear photographs or video where possible, this request does not restrict your statutory rights. Where a genuine fault, transit damage, incorrect item or material misdescription is established, we will provide the remedy required by law, which may be a repair, replacement, price reduction or refund, and we will cover the necessary return postage. Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, goods must be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. An item that simply does not fit or suit you is not faulty where it matches its description and published measurements. We may inspect a claimed fault to determine whether it results from a manufacturing issue, normal wear, accidental damage, misuse, incorrect care, or alteration.

13. Non-returnable items
Subject to your statutory rights, we cannot accept returns of personalised or made-to-order goods, gift cards, sealed hygiene-sensitive items once the seal is removed, goods damaged through misuse, washing or alteration, goods not purchased from Common Thread London, and any substitute or different item sent back in place of the goods purchased. Faulty, damaged, incorrect or misdescribed goods keep their statutory protection.

14. Exchanges
We do not guarantee direct exchanges. Where we agree to one, it depends on stock, must fall within the 30-day return window, requires the original item to meet the condition requirements above, and does not extend your statutory cancellation period; you bear the cost of returning a non-faulty item and any additional delivery charge on the replacement. The quickest way to get a different size or piece is to return the original and place a new order.

15. Incorrect, empty or fraudulent returns
Every return is matched to your order and product records. No refund is issued for an empty parcel, a different or substituted item, missing goods, deliberately altered return documentation, or goods not originally supplied by Common Thread London. Evidence relating to suspected return fraud may be retained and used to defend payment claims or take other lawful action. This does not affect genuine statutory claims.

16. Incorrect addresses, refused or uncollected parcels
You are responsible for giving a complete and accurate delivery address. Where an order is returned to us because the address was wrong or incomplete, delivery was refused without a valid cancellation, or the parcel was not collected, any refund may be reduced only by the direct, reasonable and evidenced costs we are legally entitled to recover. This does not apply where the failed delivery was caused by us or our carrier.

17. Cancelling before dispatch
If you wish to cancel before dispatch, email support@commonthreadlondon.com as soon as possible. We will try to stop fulfilment but cannot guarantee it once processing has begun. Where we cancel in time, all payments including any delivery charge are refunded; where the parcel has already been dispatched, the standard return process applies.

18. Your statutory rights and complaints
This policy is offered in addition to, and does not affect, your statutory rights under UK consumer law, including your right to cancel under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and your rights in respect of faulty goods under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. If you are unhappy with how we have handled a return, please contact us first and we will try to resolve it. You can also get free, impartial advice from Citizens Advice at citizensadvice.org.uk or the consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133.

19. Contact
Common Thread London is a trading name of HE4L LTD (Company No. 16250783).
71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom.
Email: support@commonthreadlondon.com
Monday to Friday, 09:00-17:00 GMT. We aim to respond within 24 hours.
Our registered office is not a returns address, please contact us for the designated return address.