Disappointed by WANDRD – EU customers, know your rights
I recently ordered a PRVKE V3 21L MultiCam Black Photo Bundle from wandrd.eu (the EU-facing site of the US brand WANDRD), with shipping from their Dutch warehouse. Unfortunately, the backpack turned out to be incompatible with my gear, so I requested a return within the legal 14-day window. According to EU Directive 2011/83 and reinforced by the Rome I and Rome II Regulations, sellers — even if based outside the EU — must comply with mandatory EU consumer rights when selling to EU customers. This includes the obligation to refund all payments received, including the original shipping cost, when a customer exercises the right of withdrawal (Article 13(1)). WANDRD’s return policy explicitly excludes the refund of outbound shipping (€9.95), which directly contradicts this EU legal requirement. I accepted to pay the return shipping myself (€36), even though it was quite expensive, because EU rules allow sellers to leave that cost to the consumer. But refusing to refund the original shipping wasn’t acceptable — not because of the amount, but because it's a matter of principle and legal consumer rights. After a polite request and then a PayPal dispute, they eventually refunded the €9.95 — but only as a “one-time exception.” Before doing so, they sent me a message warning that if I didn’t cancel the dispute, it would be treated as “fraudulent activity,” and that I would be banned from shopping with them again. Honestly, I found this message intimidating — it felt like an attempt to pressure me into dropping the claim, even though I was simply exercising my legal rights as a consumer. In the end, they did ban me, despite the fact that I acted respectfully and stayed within my rights the entire time. I’ve always liked WANDRD’s brand and their products, but this experience was genuinely disappointing. If you're a customer in the EU, be aware that even brands with a good reputation might not fully respect your rights unless you stand your ground — and sometimes, you’ll pay the price for doing so.