Sturdy By Design: most-reported complaints
Automated analysis of 354 public Trustpilot reviews published 2020-06-19 to 2026-09-03. TrustScore 4.9 from 8,510 total reviews — see the Trustpilot page. Quick answer: is Sturdy By Design legit? Issues below reflect what reviewers reported, not findings of wrongdoing.
Reviewers most often report that products are not as described, accounting for 47% of the 116 complaints identified. Issues with faulty products were the next most common concern, cited in 24% of complaints. Delivery problems, including failed deliveries and late arrivals, each made up 10% of the reported issues, with both categories showing a rising trend.
How to reach Sturdy By Design
These are the contact details Sturdy By Design publishes on its Trustpilot profile, as of our last check on 2026-09-24 — it publishes no phone number there, email [email protected].
The company claimed its Trustpilot profile on 2020-03-12, uses Trustpilot’s paid features, and last replied to a negative review on 2026-09-03. Trustpilot ranks it 5 of 148 in Sportswear Store. We last checked this profile on 2026-09-24 and found 9 new reviews. These are facts Trustpilot publishes about the profile, as of our last harvest.
Forum footprint: 2 MoneySavingExpert forum discussions mention this company (browse). Roughly 0 of the top, relevance-sorted search results were posted in the last 90 days — an approximate figure by construction, not a true recency count. Recent thread titles: “E: 29/03 Win £145 of super-fun, Sturdy By Design activewear!”, “E: 31/10 Win a $75 book retailer voucher (SW)”.
Elsewhere: 4.6★ on Google (29 reviews)
TrustScore over time
4.9 → 4.9 across 11 census measurements since 2026-08-12. Our own record, independent of Trustpilot’s display.
Reply behaviour over time
Solid: % of negative reviews replied to. Dashed: typical days to reply. Both as reported on this company’s Trustpilot profile, recorded whenever our census re-checked it and a figure had changed — the gaps between points are not equal: 2026-08-15 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-08-18 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-08-21 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-08-24 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-08-27 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-09-05 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-09-08 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-09-11 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-09-14 (100%, 0.0d) · 2026-09-24 (100%, 0.0d).
Severity: 0% of this company’s 116 graded complaints were classified as severe (money lost, an essential service cut off, or a problem unresolved for months). See the harm index.
Reviewers here waited a median of 7.9 days between the experience and publishing their negative review (58 reviews record both dates).
Measured reply time: across 120 negative reviews that received a public reply, the median wait was 0.5 days — the company profile reports an average of under a day.
Reply quality: of 120 company replies to negative reviews analysed, 53% engaged with the specific problem and 12% were generic templates.
7% of its 233 recent 5★ reviews came from accounts that had written only that one review when we captured it (the median across companies is about 39%). A high share is a reason to look closer, not evidence of fake reviews.
Sector benchmark: not as described makes up 47% of this company’s complaints vs a 21% median across 140 ranked companies in its sector.
Review velocity: 375 of this company’s 8,510 Trustpilot reviews (4%) were written in the last 12 months.
What are the most common complaints about Sturdy By Design?
Not as described
55 reports · 47% of complaintssteady“I thought they would be squat proof however they were completely see through.”
The company replied on 2020-07-03: “Hi Jessica, I'm so sorry that you have found the leggings see through. As I'm sure you can see from all the reviews this genuinely isn't the case. Our leggings are guaranteed squatproof providing you…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
2 readers marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“The fabric is thinner than another popular brand and the sizing comes up small”
The company replied on 2023-06-13: “Hi Sharon. Whilst our sizings are based on standard UK sizing we're sorry you found they came up small. You'd have been welcome to exchange them for the next size up had you not found the fabric…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: refund.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“The sizing is way off. I ordered large shorts and large full length leggings.”
The company replied on 2026-05-27: “Hi Angela. I’m sorry to hear you were disappointed with the fit of your order. I’ve checked your account and can see this was your first order with us in around 13 months. During that time, body…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
Faulty product
28 reports · 24% of complaintssteady“Sadly I cannot return them as packaging has gone to recycling (over zealous husband) - trying to sell on!”
The company replied on 2024-12-14: “Hi Emma, I'm sorry to hear that your leggings don't fit. As per our size guides, a size 14 corresponds to a large, while a medium is a size 12 so you’ll need to order a large. You may have also…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Shorts bobbled really bad on first wear”
The company replied on 2022-04-07: “Hi Kelly. As explained in my email to you I’m sorry that you found my response unsatisfactory - I was trying to understand what may have caused the abrasion damage as it doesn’t just occur on its…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“The problem is the seam below the waistband is completely rigid no stretch so it is almost impossible for me to squeeze my hips through it.”
The company replied on 2026-09-03: “Thank you for your feedback, Kathryn. I’m sorry you were disappointed with the fit of your leggings. As you mention that you are a size 10/12 but deliberately chose a Small because you prefer a snug…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: a replacement.
Delivery failed
12 reports · 10% of complaintsrising since 2023-11“Payment was taken and I had an email to say had been shipped. Then another email refunding my money as not in stock?!”
The company replied on 2021-12-03: “Hi Carol. Again as per our very apologetic email I apologise again that the item you ordered was out of stock. We are only a very small family company and don’t yet have the funds or technology for…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: refund.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“I have not received my parcel very dissapointing.”
The company replied on 2025-09-26: “Hi Carol. I’ve just emailed you this. Hi Carol I’ve just been notified of a bad review stating you haven’t received your order I note you also haven’t attempted to contacted me beforehand to find out…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
“I haven’t received my gift voucher for £50 when will I?”
The company replied on 2023-12-15: “Hi. It’s a virtual gift voucher that will have been emailed straight away to the email address you gave on the order. Please email me to sort asap [email protected] thanks xxx **Thanks for…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
Delivery late
11 reports · 10% of complaintsrising since 2023-11“nearly a month later still not received my order”
The company replied on 2023-03-27: “Hi Karen. I’m sorry to see you’ve posted this. As we seem to have established today you’ve actually not entered your address correctly in your order which will be why you haven’t received it. If you…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Have not received it yet”
The company replied on 2020-07-02: “Hi Janice. Yes the postal system worldwide is running a lot slower than usual due to the global pandemic crisis. It does explain al this on our website when you ordered. Perhaps pop us an email to…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Took ages to arrive.”
The company replied on 2026-03-16: “Hi Victoria Thank you for your feedback, and I’m really pleased to hear you liked the prints. Just to clarify for anyone reading, one of the items in this order was a pre-order item, which has a…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
Support unhelpful
6 reports · 5% of complaintsrising since 2023-11“I was told it was likely me who has changed size not the leggings”
The company replied on 2023-03-13: “Hi Helen. Following on from our emails, I appreciate you are annoyed that despite having ordered a pair of medium leggings over 2 years ago that the medium is now no longer the right size for you. We…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
2 readers marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Sadly I cannot return them as packaging has gone to recycling (over zealous husband) - trying to sell on!”
The company replied on 2024-12-14: “Hi Emma, I'm sorry to hear that your leggings don't fit. As per our size guides, a size 14 corresponds to a large, while a medium is a size 12 so you’ll need to order a large. You may have also…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“Shorts bobbled really bad on first wear”
The company replied on 2022-04-07: “Hi Kelly. As explained in my email to you I’m sorry that you found my response unsatisfactory - I was trying to understand what may have caused the abrasion damage as it doesn’t just occur on its…”
Our classifier read this reply as a template response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
Support unreachable
4 reports · 3% of complaintsfalling“3 emails sent - not a reply to one of them and no contact to say that my goods have been received and a refund is on its way.”
The company replied on 2021-12-23: “HI Ria, thanks for your review, it has allowed us to look into this and all your emails have been picked up by our spam filter. I'm ever so sorry but that will be why we didn't receive them. I have…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
1 reader marked this review helpful on Trustpilot.
“I didn’t get a reply and had missed the return window.”
The company replied on 2023-02-25: “Hi Rosie. I’m so sorry I’ve just checked and we never received an email from you. I’ll send you one now and hopefully you can reply and we can get your exchange underway x *EDIT* just found that you…”
Our classifier read this reply as a substantive response.
It promised: to make contact.
“the drawstring in the leggings came out after first wash”
The company replied on 2021-03-23: “Hi Emma, sorry to see you are having some issues. The bra crop tops are advertised as low to medium support bra crop tops, they are in no way sold as supportive structured sports bras, its all in the…”
Our classifier read this reply as a deflection.
Method: reviews are classified into a fixed complaint taxonomy by an automated reader; every category shown is backed by at least two verbatim quotes from distinct reviews. Trends are computed from dated review counts only. Negative reviews are deliberately over-sampled for evidence depth; headline percentages use an unbiased recent sample only. Report updated 2026-09-07.