Frequently Asked Questions

F.A.Q's

When dropping off items, you’ll need to complete a form giving your name and contact details, so that we can record your points against your name. Then, whenever you next pop in, you can collect your points from us and spend them in store. Your points are ready from 10am the next working day.

We have to have a combination of points and pounds in all our clothing transactions to help keep New-U  open.  We can’t rely purely on income from the shop to support our charity and have to look elsewhere for other funding sources. Funders often need to see that we, as a charity, have taken steps towards generating our own income before they can offer support. Buying from us, online or from one of our stores (see here for events), helps to sustain the New-U charity so we can continue to help young people into employment and give the wider public the chance to reduce textile waste by swapping preloved clothes.

We accept any women’s or men’s clothing or accessories that are in good wearable condition, undamaged and clean.

We cannot accept, underwear, swimwear (unless new with tags), loungewear (pyjamas), childrenswear, damaged, worn out or unwashed clothing or shoes.

No, all items left in our shops are considered a donation and will not be returned under any circumstances. We believe we offer a fair ‘price’ for all items and follow a guide to ensure we are consistent with pointing.

The better the quality, the higher the points. We have a strict grading system for all incoming items. The value is determined by the brand, quality and condition of each item. There are some lower end brands that we do not stock in our shops, these items will be accepted, if not excessively worn, and will be awarded 2 points each. Damaged, unclean or worn out items will receive no points.

We have so many donations that we are able to select only the very best for the shop floor. Excess stock is stored in stock room and lower value or out of season items are put into our monthly jumble sales to help with fundraising.
We have so many high quality items donated that we can choose only the very best for our shops. Certain supermarket and fast fashion brands are of low quality and value and we have taken the decision to no longer display these on our shop floor. As these items that still have plenty of wear left in them are awarded 2 points. We want to keep them in circulation as wearable items so they will be put into our monthly jumble sales.

Items that are not suitable for swapping or for our monthly jumble sales, will not be awarded points and will be used in our upcycle workshops. This applies to all brands, even designer or high end as we can only offer swap points for wearable items. Sadly, too many items end up in our rag bin simply because they have not been laundered, please make sure you wash all items before bringing them into us.

We accept new, unworn shoes only for our shops.  Any that have been worn, and still have plenty of wear left in them are awarded 2 points. We want to keep them in circulation as wearable items so they will be put into our monthly jumble sales.  This applies to all worn shoes and boots regardless of the brand or original cost.

We’re a small team and we receive a lot of donations every day so have capped donations at 10 per person per day to allow us time to process the clothing and get it out on our shop floor as quickly as possible. If you put more than 10 items in your bag, only the first 10 items taken out will be awarded points.  

Yes of course.  However, you may not receive any points for damaged or excessively worn Items.   Things that are not suitable for swapping or for our monthly jumble sales,  will be used in our upcycle workshops. This applies to all brands, even designer or high end as we can only offer swap points for wearable items. Sadly, too many items end up in our rag bin simply because they have not been laundered, please make sure you wash all items before bringing them into us.

We hope so!  However, there are several reasons why you may not;

–       It could already have been snapped up by another customer

–       Excess stock is stored in our stock room

–       Lower value or out of season items are put into our monthly jumble sales to help with fundraising

We need to raise funds to continue to be able to swap (swapping doesn’t pay the bills!). We also have far more clothing donated than we can physically display in our shops so lower value items and out of season items are put into our monthly jumble sales to help with stock control and fund raising.

No, all items left in our shops are considered a donation and will not be returned under any circumstances. We believe we offer a fair ‘price’ for all items and follow a guide to ensure we are consistent with pointing.

No – we consciously make sure there is a balance. However, the really great items we put in the shop are usually snapped up very quickly! As we update our rails daily, it’s worth making regular visits to our shop.

All items bought from our shop are “sold as seen.”  Please remember we are a pre-loved clothing outlet so some items may have imperfections which should be reflected in the item’s value.  If you want to return an item you will only receive swap points – not a cash/card refund.  

eBay Orders

If you would like to cancel your order before dispatch, you must contact us as soon as you can via help@new-ultd.co.uk (before you’ve received a dispatch notification and within 14 business days of ordering).

Although every effort to prevent dispatch will be made upon receiving your request, it may not be possible to halt dispatch. One reason for this may be that the shipment process has progressed too far to stop because we have already prepared your order for dispatch.

We are a small charity and returns cost us money, so we would ask you to contact us via the eBay before opening up a ‘ return request’ with eBay. We don’t offer free postage for returns and we will not pay you any postage costs, or other associated costs, involved in returning a product if you have changed your mind. If you believe your product is not as described, please message us via eBay in the first instance to begin the return process. We always try to respond within 48 hours and will work with you to find a mutually acceptable solution. If a return is the only solution, and you wish to cancel (return) your order after it has been dispatched, you must notify us within 14 business days (Mon-Fri) of receiving your product by contacting us via eBay. You will have 14 business days to return the item to us after you have notified us you will be returning the item. You must include your name, order number, email address and delivery address within your parcel.
All returns (cancellations after dispatch) must be returned in person to our Norwich store on level 2 of the Castle Quarter or sent to:
ONLINE RETURNS, New-U Ltd, 75 Castle Quarter, Norwich, Norfolk, NR1 3DD.
We do not offer a free returns service and you are responsible for choosing an appropriate postage type (such as a tracked service). If the item does not reach us at the address above we may not process a return.
We may also not process your return if: Your product doesn’t reach us within 14 days of your notification email. You fail to contact us within 14 days of receiving your item from us. Your parcel does not include your name, order number, email address and delivery address within your parcel.

Once your return is received and inspected, we will notify you that we have received your returned item. If our cancelation/return terms (above) have been followed correctly, we will refund you within 14 business days via the original payment method. You will be notified that the item has been received. Either in the same message or separately, we will notify you of the approval or rejection of your refund.

If you are approved, then your refund will be processed, and a credit will automatically be applied to your credit card or original method of payment. Although the refund will be processed within 14 business days, it may take longer to show on your account.

If you haven’t received a refund yet, first check your bank account again. We should appear as New-U Enterprises on statements. It may take a few working days for a refund to show on your account. When checking your statement/online banking, please bear in mind that we do not refund the original postage cost (or return costs) if you cancelled your order after dispatch. If you cannot see the refund, and have waited a few working days for it to show, please contact your card company, it may take some time before your refund is officially posted and they should be able to advise you. There is often some processing time before a refund is displayed. If you’ve done all of this and you still have not received your refund, please contact us at hello@new-ultd.co.uk.
We don’t offer exchanges. Please see details above regarding returns/cancellations
If you are the recipient of a gift bought from us that you do not wish to keep, please contact the purchaser of the item. We are only able to communicate with the purchaser regarding their order (due to data protection restrictions) and need to receive direct contact from them if a return needs to be initiated.
You will be responsible for paying your own shipping costs for returning your item if you have changed your mind. If you feel the item is not as described, please contact help@new-ultd.co.uk Shipping costs are non-refundable. If you receive a refund for a returned item, (a cancellation after dispatch) where you had changed your mind, the of cost of original shipping will not be returned.
We will re-use packaging/bags/boxes supplied to us in our Norwich store whenever possible. Although we’re working to make our packaging as environmentally friendly as we can, we have to seriously consider the costs involved as we are small charity. Please let us know what you think of the packaging used for your order on hello@new-ultd.co.uk
Our standard postage type is Royal Mail 2nd Class, which usually takes around 3-5 working days for delivery following dispatch. We’ll let you know when your order’s been sent and give you an estimated delivery period. As Royal Mail doesn’t gurantee delivery dates, we can only offer an estimate.
All orders will be despatched within 10 days of payment, and most will be sent within 3-5 working days (our working days are Tue-Sat). When your order’s on the way we’ll notify you. If you’ve selected collect from store, it should be ready to pick up around 3-5 working days after ordering. We’ll notify you when it’s ready for collection.

We’ll notify you when your item is ready to collect. You’ll need to bring your order number with you and some photo ID (such as a passport or driving licence photo card).

As the items we sell online are stored in a stockroom, not in our shop, we are unable to allow customers to try on any items before purchase. You are very welcome, however, to use our changing room to try on an item you have purchased from us online and have collected in store.

Still have questions?

If your query was not answered above, please get in touch on hello@new-ultd.co.uk