How to respond to a return or refund request: 5 steps, 10 templates and the legal deadlines

To answer a return or refund request well, confirm it in writing the same day, tell the customer exactly how to send the item back and who pays postage, and say when the money will arrive. If you sell to UK or EU customers, the clock is set by law: they have 14 days from delivery to cancel, and you have 14 days to refund, including the original standard delivery charge. In the UK that refund clock starts when the goods or proof of postage reach you. Below is a 5-step process, 10 reply templates for chat and email, and the rules your replies need to respect.

Return, refund, exchange or fault: name it first

Most messy return conversations start with the wrong label. "I want to send it back" can mean four different things, and each one follows a different rule.

The EU's own consumer site says it plainly: for change-of-mind returns the buyer pays postage unless the seller offered to pay or didn't mention the cost, and "the cost of returning a defective product is the responsibility of the trader" (Your Europe, checked October 2026).

Ask one question if the message is unclear: "Is anything wrong with the item, or would you just prefer not to keep it?" It saves a week of back and forth.

The rules your replies must respect (UK and EU)

For UK customers the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 apply; EU countries follow the same model from Directive 2011/83/EU. In short:

• Window: 14 days, starting the day after the goods reach the customer.
• How they cancel: with a form or "any other clear statement" of the decision (reg. 32). A clear chat message counts. Treat it as the cancellation, not as small talk.
• Sending it back: the customer has 14 days after telling you.
• Refund: within 14 days of getting the goods back or proof they were sent, whichever comes first. Include the original delivery charge, up to the price of your cheapest standard option. Use the same payment method.
• Deductions: only for loss in value caused by handling beyond what a shop would allow.
• If you never told them about the right to cancel: the window can stretch by up to 12 months.
• EU only, since 19 June 2026: online shops must offer a "withdraw from contract here" function, a confirmation step, and an acknowledgement of receipt on a durable medium with the date and time (Hogan Lovells, May 2026). Your live chat does not replace that function. It sits next to it.

Selling elsewhere? Use the same process with your own policy's numbers and check local law. This is not legal advice.

The 5-step process

1. Name the request. Change of mind, fault, wrong item or exchange.
2. Check the window. Delivery date plus 14 days for UK/EU change-of-mind returns. Note exceptions such as personalised or perishable goods.
3. Confirm it in writing, the same day. Repeat the order number, the items and the date you received the request. This is your record if there is a dispute, and it is what an anxious customer wants to see.
4. Send the return instructions. Address or label, who pays postage, how to pack it, and the date it should be sent by.
5. Refund and say so. Amount, payment method and when it will show up.

Steps 3 and 4 can be one message. Step 5 is a second message, and it is the one most shops forget to send.

10 reply templates

Replace the [brackets]. Each one fits a chat window on a phone; the email version can be the same text with a greeting and signature.

1. Confirming a change-of-mind return

Hi [Name], thanks for letting us know. I've registered your return for order [#1234] ([item]) today, [date]. You don't need to fill in anything else. Next step below.

2. Return instructions, free return

Here's your prepaid label: [link]. Pack the item in its original box if you still have it and drop it at any [carrier] point by [date]. Your refund of [£58.00] goes back to your [card] within [5] working days of the parcel reaching us.

3. Return instructions, customer pays postage

Please send the item to [address] by [date]. As our returns page explains, postage for change-of-mind returns is paid by you, so a tracked service is a good idea. We'll refund [£58.00], including the original delivery charge, as soon as it arrives or you send us proof of postage.

4. Outside the window

I'm sorry, order [#1234] was delivered on [date], so the 14-day return window closed on [date]. If something is wrong with the item, tell me what's happening and I'll look at it straight away, because faults are handled separately.

Don't send this if you never informed the customer about the right to cancel. Then the window may still be open.

5. Item that can't be returned

This one is [made to your measurements / a sealed hygiene item that has been opened], so it's not covered by the 14-day return right. If it's faulty, that's different, and we'll sort it out.

6. Parcel received, refund on its way

Your return arrived today. I've refunded [£58.00] to the [card ending 4421]. Depending on your bank it shows up in [3–5] working days.

7. Refund delayed: waiting for the parcel

We haven't received the parcel yet. If you send me a photo of the postage receipt, I'll start your refund today instead of waiting for it to arrive.

8. Item came back used or damaged

The [jacket] came back with [a stain on the sleeve], so we can't resell it at full price. We've refunded [£45.00] of [£58.00]; the [£13.00] difference reflects the reduced value. Photos are attached. If you see it differently, reply here and I'll take another look.

9. Faulty item

I'm sorry it [stopped charging after a week]. That's on us. Here is a free return label: [link]. Would you prefer a replacement or a refund? Either way, you won't pay postage.

10. Offering an exchange (never instead of the refund)

Of course. If you'd like the [42] instead, I can reserve it now and send it as soon as the [41] is on its way back. If you'd rather have your money back, that's fine too. Just say which.

For late or lost orders, see our where is my order templates. If the customer is upset, the complaint reply method helps.

Example: a shoe shop, Tuesday afternoon

A small UK store selling running shoes gets this in the Messenger:

Customer: Hi, the trail shoes I got on Saturday are too small. Can I send them back?

Shop: Hi Priya, yes. I've registered the return for order #4471 today, 14 October. Here's the prepaid label: [link]. Drop it at any InPost locker by 28 October. Want the half size up instead? I can hold a pair for you.

Customer: Just the refund please.

Shop: No problem. £89.00 goes back to your Visa once the parcel arrives or you send me the drop-off receipt.

Two messages, one decision for the customer, nothing left open. Four days later, template 6 closes it.

When not to handle returns in chat

• As your only cancellation route in the EU. Since 19 June 2026 you need the separate withdrawal function in your shop. Chat is an extra, friendlier door.
• When the customer wants to argue a deduction. Move it to email or a ticket, attach photos and keep the record in one place.
• When you can't see the order. "Let me check" followed by silence is worse than "I'll reply by email within 24 hours".

Setting it up in Shopxare

• Write the policy once. Put your return policy in a help center article. Are AI answers from help center articles and your site's returns and shipping pages, so "how long do I have to return this?" gets your real answer at 2 a.m.
• Send real disputes to a person. In Are AI → Settings, add refunds and damaged items to "topics that always go to a person".
• Save the 10 templates. In Settings → Saved replies, add them and type / in the inbox to insert one. {{contact.name | there}} fills in the name, with a fallback (saved replies). More ready-made texts: 24 canned responses.
• Tag and route returns. A workflow with the condition "message text" containing "return" or "refund" can add a return tag and assign the conversation to the person who handles them.
• Keep the paper trail. Returns that come in by email land in the same inbox as tickets, so the chat confirmation and the email refund notice sit in one history.
• Look up the order. With data connectors, Are AI can look up information in your own systems, such as the delivery date it needs for step 2.

Shopxare is free, no credit card. Install the Messenger, paste templates 1 and 2 into saved replies, and your next return takes one minute.

FAQ

How long does an online store have to refund a return?

In the UK and EU, 14 days. In the UK the clock starts when you get the goods back or the customer shows proof of postage, whichever comes first.

Do I have to refund the delivery charge?

Yes, the original delivery charge, up to the cost of your cheapest standard option. The return postage is the customer's if you told them before the sale, unless the item is faulty.

Does a chat message count as a cancellation?

Under UK rules, any clear statement of the decision to cancel counts, so a clear chat message does. Confirm it in writing straight away.

Can I refuse a return after 14 days?

For a change-of-mind return, yes, if you informed the customer of the right to cancel. If you didn't, the window can extend by up to 12 months. Faulty goods are handled under separate rules.

What should a refund confirmation message include?

The amount, the payment method it goes back to, and when it should show up. One or two sentences is enough.