Online fast fashion brand ASOS has become the latest fashion brand to start charging customers to return clothes. It comes after similar moves by fellow online retailers and PLT and Boohoo. The £3.95 charge for returns will come into effect from October 8 – but ASOS have confirmed that not all customers will be forced to pay.

It will only be for "a small group of UK customers with a "frequently high return rate", the company said. In a statement ASOS confirmed that customers who keep £40 or more of an order will not have to pay to return the rest. They also added that customers who already pay £9.95 a year to be an "ASOS premier" member will only have to keep £15 worth.

The decision by ASOS has sparked outrage on social media, with many loyal customers claiming they had no choice to buy more than one size and return them as their size guide was unreliable. One ASOS customer wrote on social media: "These online stores need to get a grip – people are returning clothes because the sizing is TRASH and we can't try them on before we buy." Another added: "If you don't want returns, open physical stores."

Online retailers have been scrambling to reduce the cost of goods being sent back as sales of clothes from Chinese rivals Shein and Temu increase in popularity.