Forum Moderators: buckworks
I can easily refund what the customer has already paid, but it is going to be at the customers expense to return an item. They will surely want to be reimbursed for this.
I can only refund what they have paid - not more (I use Worldpay).
In the past I've just refunded a customer when they've not been happy with an item and allowed them to keep it to save getting in this situation!
If they asked for an exchange, I would refund their shipping charges into their credit card account.
If they asked for a refund, I would tell them that it is not possible to refund more than they pay for, but would be happy to deduct their cost from their next order.
Anything else, you should pay. (Most of my policies say within 30 days)
Our return policy is:
Returns
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* Customer didn't like item for whatever reason - they pay for return shipping, and I don't refund their original shipping.
* Item is defective - I'll refund the original cost plus shipping, and send a pre-paid return mailer with the no-cost replacement piece.
Exchanges
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* Customer didn't like item for whatever reason and wants to exchange it for a different item. They pay for return postage, I don't credit their original shipping in their exchange value, and they pay shipping on the exchange to them.
* Customer likes item, but it wasn't the right size. They pay for return postage to me, but I don't charge them postage for the exchange.
But you only have to refund the full cost of the item. You do not have to refund the cost the customer incurred to return the item, nor do you have to refund the delivery charge agreed to in the original order.
So to refund the customer their carriage expenses is debatable.
If a product is faulty or we sent the wrong product, I will usually refund their carriage costs as long as they accept the replacement offered. If they ordered the wrong goods, then I expect the customer to pay for the return costs (after all, it was their fault and it will cost me twice the carriage to get the correct goods to them and it may not be an item that sells very often - some of my stock is over one year old from customer returns and now I will have to honour any one year guarantee myself on these products as my suppliers will not).
I usually say that if an item is chosen wrong or no longer wanted, they pay the return postage (I send the item out originally at no charge to them, and so this cancels that out)
If the item is faulty and they want a refund then I can't refund postage, and with the one exception above, no one has minded.
If the item is faulty and they want a replacement, I'll pop it in the envelope or refund their card.
Just thought I'd share that with you.
In the situation where the customer has changed their mind, then I will expect them to pay any return shipping costs.
If they asked for a refund, I would tell them that it is not possible to refund more than they pay for, but would be happy to deduct their cost from their next order.
Hmmm, I'm not sure if a customer would be happy if I told them that!
The other day I had to send someone a cheque becuase the item was faulty and he insiste on a refund.
Yeah, this is what I think I'll have to do, but to be honest, this will look a bit strange to the customer...
I do use a courier company (Business Post - I'm in the UK), but to arrange for them to collect a return item is rediculously expensive - worked out £20 or so!
Up until now, I have just told people to keep the item to avoid this hastle!
In my case, sending a cheque will hopefully be a one off. My items are quite small and we use royal mail. Postage costs rarely go over 60p, and are usually only 28p. People just swallow the cost if an item is faulty as it isnt worth quibbling over that amount.
But Using business post will obviously mean that shipping costs are higher. Probably because you are sending bigger items than me (I say probably, I mean Definately)
Is there anyway you could include a return postage label with an item? I dont know how likely that is with a carrier since, like you say they will charge you £20 for pick up.
Just a thought: Would it be possible to send them a pre-paid Royal Mail Special delivery enevlope/delivery slip. Special delivery has been quite reasonable in my experience and delivery is certainly fast.
If you have a FedEx or UPS account, you can print a pre-paid return label from your account and mail it to to the customer.
When possible, why not email a PDF of the label? Granted, I have a Mac and it's easy (and free) to "print" to a PDF. That way you don't have the postal delay and costs.
