STRUGGLING Asos has triggered a customer backlash and risked a further sales slump — by introducing a £3.95 returns charge.

The online retailer emailed users yesterday to say they must pay unless they keep £40 of goods from an order.

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Customers on its £9.95 speedy deliveries Premier account only escape if they retain at least £15 worth.

It comes the day after Asos sold a 75 per cent stake in Topshop to boost its balance sheet.

Recent sales are down more than 15 per cent as customers return to high street shops.

Asos’s decision comes after Boohoo, Pretty Little Thing, Zara and H&M began charging returns fees — all lower.

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Asos insisted that the charge under its new “fair use” policy applies only to a “small group of customers with a frequently high returns rate”.

Costs to the firm — higher than most because punters cannot try on before they buy — include transport, steam cleaning and repackaging, sometimes for sale.

But customers are not happy.

Twitter/X user Kaity Barrett posted, “Imagine being told you have to keep X amount of clothes when trying on in store or you’re charged.”

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Another wrote: “Work on your sizing and quality of garments Asos rather than penalising your clientele.”

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