Staying safe on ClosetSwipe

Last updated 9 August 2026

Most of buying and selling second-hand goes fine. This page covers how we protect you when it does not, and the few habits that keep you out of trouble.

How your money is protected

Every purchase includes buyer protection, paid for by the 50p plus 5% fee added at checkout. Here is what it actually buys you.

Evidence means one of exactly two things: a carrier delivery scan, or you confirming receipt yourself in the app.

This matters because it means a seller cannot get paid simply by waiting. If an item never arrives, the money does not go to them. It comes back to you.

Buying safely

• Keep everything in the app. Pay through ClosetSwipe and message through ClosetSwipe. A payment sent by bank transfer, PayPal friends and family, or any other route has no protection at all, and we cannot help you recover it.
• Read the description, not just the photos. Ask the seller if anything is unclear. Condition, measurements and flaws are worth checking before you buy, not after.
• Check the item the day it arrives. Inside 48 hours of delivery we are still holding the money, so a refund is straightforward. You can still report a problem for up to 14 days, but by then the seller has usually been paid and a refund becomes much less likely. Opening the parcel promptly is the single best thing you can do to protect yourself.
• Be wary of anyone who wants to move off the app. That is the single most common sign of a scam, and it is against our terms.

Selling safely

• Use the label we give you. The tracking on that label is what proves you sent the item, and it is what releases your money. Posting another way leaves you unable to prove delivery.
• Describe flaws honestly. Most disputes come from a difference between the photos and the item, and an honest description is the best protection you have.
• Post promptly. Buyers who are kept waiting are the ones who raise problems.

We do not do meet-ups

ClosetSwipe is delivery only. Every item is posted with a tracked label, and there is no option to collect in person. If someone asks you to meet them to hand an item over, or to pay them outside the app, that is against our terms and it is a common way people get scammed. Report it to us instead. Anything arranged that way has no buyer protection, no record, and nothing we can do about it afterwards.

Protecting your account

Use a password you do not use anywhere else. We will never ask you for your password, your card details or a verification code, and anyone who does is not us. If you think someone else has got into your account, email us immediately.

Counterfeits

Selling fakes is not allowed, and it is illegal. If you receive an item you believe is counterfeit, report it and do not confirm receipt. If you are not certain a piece is genuine, do not list it as though it is.

If something goes wrong, report it early

The timing matters more than anything else you can control:

• Within 48 hours of delivery. We are still holding the payment, so if we uphold your report the refund is straightforward.
• Up to 14 days after delivery. Still worth reporting and we will still look at it, but the seller has usually been paid by then, so a refund comes out of ClosetSwipe rather than held funds. We will ask for clearer evidence and a refund is less likely. Where something has clearly gone wrong, we would still rather put it right.
• After 14 days. We are usually unable to refund, because the transaction is settled and the evidence has gone. Report it anyway if it looks like fraud, because we still act on the account.

Reporting a problem

You can report a listing, a user or an order from inside the app, and that is the fastest route because it attaches the order and the messages automatically. Anything you report is only visible to us.

For anything urgent, or anything you would rather not put in the app, email support@closetswipe.co.uk.

If you believe a crime has been committed, report it to Action Fraud at actionfraud.police.uk or call 101. We will co-operate with any police investigation.