The product was part of a promotion with no refunds authorized. I’m going to raise a chargeback with my bank How to say no politely in email. To prevent these scenarios from occurring, it is necessary to add a clause that makes discontinued items non-refundable. Naturally we work hard to ensure they are positive. If the photos are inconclusive or if the item is particularly valuable get it in to your office for an inspection (if this is viable). The best way to approach this task is to see where your refund losses are the highest. Don’t fear social media or review site negativity, but do provide a response to it when it’s posted. When drafting a Refund Policy, consider the potential of returns to your store. In its list of items that cannot be returned, it includes those submitted for a refund after the time limit: Amazon takes a unique approach which places refunds on sliding scale based on type of merchandise and condition. Now for the human part, which is demonstrably more volatile. If you want to sell a particular type of merchandise without dealing with any kind of refunds, it is best to mark the items as a final sale. This article does not create an attorney-client relationship, nor is it a solicitation to offer legal advice. When deciding whether to say no to a refund, follow these three practical steps: Check your company’s refund policy. This means that the refund policy should include the fact that, once the warranty or another specified expiration date has passed, you are no longer eligible to refund an item. Collect information. Be concise and give specific reasons and you're less likely to lose faith or receive pushback from a customer. Including this clause will keep you safe if some of your merchandise becomes discontinued by the manufacturer. With a Definition, Examples and Key Challenges, Contact Centre Reports, Surveys and White Papers, How to Write a Good Customer Service Letter - With Examples, Webinar: 5 Clever Ideas to Improve Contact Centre Efficiency. Otherwise, you lack the authority to decline a refund in the first place. When you take this step, people purchasing the goods automatically agree to your terms, knowing that they cannot get a refund on this particular merchandise. Many consumers expect that. Within its extensive Return and Refund Policy, it offers this table to communicate the scale: Joann Fabric and Craft Stores is an online store as well as a brick-and-mortar store in various locations. Keep in mind that the policy will be a deciding factor in whether someone will purchase from you. It’s a binary business decision: damaged or not. If this scenario is not included in the refund policy, businesses can lose profits. Before you write an email rejecting a refund request, consider carefully how you wish to present that correspondence. If you sell consumer goods online, it's a good idea to have a separate Refund or Return Policy to help the terms of this policy stand out. For example, if you specify in the refund policy that items can be returned within 7 days, without including details that damaged goods are not going to be accepted, a customer is eligible to ask for a refund. We cannot please all the people all the time and unless you have bigger more systemic problems resulting in a collapse of service, negative reviews will get pushed into irrelevance by fresher nicer ones. Start by acknowledging the refund request and your steps in determining if it was valid. If you work in retail, you often find a customer knocking on your door for a refund or return. So that’s the admin side of it covered. This is usually performed when businesses are doing a clearance sale for the past season or out of style items. Diligently date and document all the checks you do. We’ve either heard it before or they are words we would use ourselves to get our own way…. Define clauses in the refund policy. Other business models work well with clauses for return & refunds in the Terms & Conditions agreement. Offering refunds is a very good business practice as companies that accept returns from their customers are likely to sell more merchandise. I will always do whatever I can to assist you now or in the future. However, if you include a clause that once the product expires, you do not accept refunds, these types of situations will never occur, and if they do, you will be completely eligible to refuse the refund request. To distance this decision from anything even approaching my opinion I use a form. Indicate that you're grateful for their patronage and you hope they will shop with you again. If your policy states that a person can return an item 2 weeks after the purchase, yet in the meantime, the product expires, you still have to refund the item, thus creating a loss for your business. It needs to include all the scenarios related to the refund process. The allocation of blame for the accident has never been considered, nor would it be. This also shows that you looked into this matter thoughtfully and did not reject the refund request right away. But saying no at the end of a long and taxing conversation is much worse. It’s not. For most products, that deadline requires returns to be submitted for a refund within 14 days of purpose. Freestyle with these examples by all means. Say no quickly. You want your letter to be clear, well written, and contain all applicable reasons for denying the refund. The condition of the product indicates an external force has been applied by a 3rd party. Offering refunds is a great business strategy, as it gives more options to the customers buying a certain product knowing that there's a safety net, being able to get their money back. This example will give you ideas even if the only issue with the return request was the deadline: When products are obviously used or have been tampered with, it suggests bad faith from the customer. Get updates on the latest legal requirements and regulations. Repair centres have been using these for generations. Rather than take a path that compromises goodwill, create a realistic refund policy that likely enjoys consistent enforcement. The return and refund policy does not only serve to protect your business, but it should also provide benefits for your customer. There is absolutely no reason why the modern contact centre can’t too. Make sure to include all of the above-mentioned scenarios in the policy, as it is going to keep you safe from any type of abuse, while also ensuring positive sales profits.