How to Reply to a Refund Request

Refund requests aren’t attacks — they’re decisions in progress. The reply determines whether you keep the money, the customer, both, or neither.

Decide your outcome before you type

Are you granting it, offering an alternative, or declining? A reply that hedges between all three reads as evasive. Check your policy and the customer’s history first, then write toward one clear outcome.

If granting: be gracious and fast

A grudging refund buys you nothing — the money’s gone either way, so spend the goodwill. ‘Refund processed today, you’ll see it in 3–5 working days’ plus a genuine ‘sorry it wasn’t right’ turns a defector into someone who might return.

If declining: policy plus alternative

Cite the specific policy plainly, then immediately offer what you can do — exchange, credit, repair. A no with a door open keeps the relationship; a bare no writes the one-star review for them.

Example Reply You Can Adapt

Hi Mark, thanks for letting us know the course wasn’t what you expected. Our policy covers refunds within 14 days and you’re inside that window, so I’ve processed it in full today — expect it in 3–5 working days. If you’d like, I can also point you to the intermediate version, which sounds closer to what you were after. Either way, appreciate you trying us.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do UK customers have a legal right to refunds?

For online purchases, UK consumers generally have a 14-day cooling-off period under consumer contract regulations, with exceptions (personalised goods, opened digital content). Know which rules apply to your product before you write the reply.

Should I ask why they want a refund?

One light question is fine and the answer is gold for your product — but never make answering feel like a condition of getting the money.

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