How to Request a Refund in Two Minutes or Less

iEditorial Note: These blog posts represent the opinion of DoNotPay’s Writers, but each person’s situation and circumstances vary greatly. As a result, you should make sure to do your own independent research. Because everyone is unique, our self-help tools are never guaranteed to help with any specific situation. DoNotPay is not a law firm and is not licensed to practice law. DoNotPay provides a platform for legal information and self-help.

How to Request a Refund for Anything You Regret Buying?

If you purchased a faulty product, booked a ticket for a trip that is not going to happen, or paid for an online service you are never going to use, you might consider filing a refund request with the company in question. This can be a long and complicated process, consisting of a series of steps. If you request a refund with DoNotPay, it can be a five-minute task you can do during your lunch break.

A Step-By-Step Guide to Requesting a Refund From Stores and Online Companies

Stores are not required by federal law to offer you a refund for any product, unless that product is defective. Merchants are also allowed to create their own refund policies, handling the issues of returns and refunds as they wish.

While there is no federal law set in place, many states have laws addressing consumer refunds. In most cases, merchants have to inform the customers either about their refund policy or the fact that they don't offer refunds.

If you are not happy with your purchase and want to request a refund from the merchant, here are the steps you need to take:

  1. Research the Refund Policy of the company
  2. Check if your item is eligible for a refund
  3. Pay attention to the deadlines
  4. Check how you can contact the company
  5. Write a Refund Request Letter
  6. Contact your bank

Does the Store You Purchased From Have a Refund Policy?

Your best option would be to check the policy on returns and refunds before making the purchase. In case you haven't done this already, this will be your first step in getting your money back.

If a company offers refunds, the policy will provide you with the details on:

  • The type of refundable items
  • The deadlines
  • The methods you can use to ask for a refund

Some stores will refund your purchase without any problems, while others might offer a replacement for the item or store credit that you can use for future purchases.

Online platforms sometimes offer refunds for downloadable content, but will often restrict you in terms of how many times you can ask for one. With Fortnite, for example, you only get three refund tokens, which you can use to return items purchased from the Fortnite Item Shop.

Check If Your Item Is Eligible for a Refund

Many stores will offer you a full refund if you’ve purchased a faulty item. If it’s broken or doesn’t work, you’re well within your rights to get your money back. If the damage is caused by something you did, you probably won't be able to return it .

If your digital product has technical problems like server issues, visual glitches, or lagging, you can return it and request a refund from the digital platform in question.

If the technical problems occur because your hardware doesn't meet the requirements, the product cannot be refunded since that is something you are supposed to check before the purchase.

With most gaming platforms, you won't be able to return the game if you played it longer than two hours. If you want to refund a game on Steam, you can do it within two weeks of purchase and up to two hours of playtime.

With airline companies, there are usually both refundable and non-refundable tickets. So if you are looking to cancel a flight with Frontier, Delta, Spirit, United, or American Airlines, you can do it and get a refund under specific conditions.

Pay Attention to the Deadlines to Send Your Refund Request

Many stores have 30- to 60-day limits on returns and exchanges.

Online services have different deadlines. Groupon will allow you to return an item within 30 days of the delivery, while the Humble Bundle has different timeframes for each of their products.

Gaming platforms also vary in their deadlines.

Origin will allow you to return the game only within 24 hours from the first time you played it, while Epic Games lets you return the game and get a full refund within 14 days of purchase.

The Easy Way to Get a Refund! Use DoNotPay to Get Your Money Back From Any Company!

DoNotPay will help you send your refund request within minutes. Here is how to do it:

  1. Open DoNotPay in your
  2. Select the File a Chargeback feature
  3. Provide your bank details to our chatbot
  4. Enter the name of the merchant
  5. Let DoNotPay guide you through the process of building up your case

Once you confirmed all the details, the app will generate a dispute letter and send it directly to your bank. It can send the letter to the merchant as well.

How to Contact the Store or Online Service You Want to Get a Refund From?

If a retail store offers refunds, you can contact them over the phone or visit them in person.

Most online services have a built-in form to request a refund. Forms are usually short and require you to fill in a few details—like your name, phone number, email, and the reason you want to ask for a refund.

If everything else fails, you can always try calling out the company on social media, which is something that often happens with companies that have a terrible customer support system, as Megabus has.

Most businesses offer the option to contact them through their email address as well.

Write a Request a Refund Letter

If you decide to contact the merchant, either through email or regular post, you will need to write a letter requesting a refund.

You can find sample letters for refunding a payment online or create one by yourself.

The Letter Should Include

Your contact information

  • Full name
  • Address
  • Email
  • Phone number

Details about the purchase

  • Name of the product
  • Date of purchase
  • Price
  • Any other information that could be relevant to the merchant

Reasons for returning the product

  • Describe why you are not satisfied with the product
  • Make sure that your reasons are in line with the company refund policy

Contact Your Bank

If you paid with your credit card, you can always contact your bak and initiate a dispute of the transaction. It should work within 60 days of the purchase. The bank will file a dispute directly with the merchant. The details depend on your bank, so make sure to get in touch with them directly.

DoNotPay Can Do Much More Than Show You How to Request a Refund! Check Out These Awesome Features!

DoNotPay is the first AI Consumer Champion in the world that will help you handle various bureaucratic obstacles. Apart from requesting a refund from any company, including Amazon Prime, NordVPN, and Walmart, our app can help you manage your student loans, unemployment insurance, or bill payments.

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