What Can I Do If a Company Won’t Give Me a Refund?

Not getting what you paid good money for, or not getting anything for that matter, is stressful enough. Being deprived of your refund is the cherry on top (of a disaster). If you’re interested in what to do when this happens and how to request a refund in the first place, read on.

USA Consumer Rights Concerning Refunds

When it comes to any type of refund, the first thing you should do is learn your rights as a consumer. This can be quite confusing because every state may have a different refund law. To make it more complicated, each company can generate its own refund policy, and they can differ in:

• The time you have to return something
• Warranties and returns
• Entitlement to store credit, cash, or exchange

You can check your state on the FindLaw website and become familiar with your rights.

The good news is that the Fair Credit Billing Act was introduced to protect consumers. It states that you can dispute a charge with your bank. This applies to all transactions over $50. You must request chargeback within 60 days from the date of the purchase.

Refund Policies

Different companies have different refund policies. Usually, they are found on their websites under terms and conditions. You might also find useful information in their FAQ section. Sometimes, companies may state that their goods are non-refundable, but you can still request a refund or file a chargeback claim.

Companies’ refund policies can be complicated and hard to find on purpose. They want you to give up the search and settle with what you’ve got. We’ve covered some tricky refund policies to help you out, such as:

• Walmart
• Target
• Best Buy
• Airbnb
• Geico
• Amazon
• British Airways
• Delta Airlines

How Long Does a Company Legally Have To Refund Your Money?

This is one of the most common questions consumers ask. You don’t want to miss your chance, of course. So what is the time limit a company has to give you your money back? You’ve guessed it—it depends.

You usually have to demand a refund between 30 and 60 days, and a chargeback even up to 120 days with some credit cards. Check the difference between refunds and chargebacks, so you know what you’re doing. When it comes to the companies’ time limit, it can range from 20 to 45 days.

How To Demand a Refund

Let’s cover all the options you have when it comes to demanding a refund. First things first—you should check a few things before starting the process:

1. The company’s refund policy in general
2. Whether your product or service is refundable
3. The deadline for the refund request
4. Their contact information

Now that you are up to speed, you can take a look at some of the ways companies let you ask for a refund:

• Contacting them via phone
• Emailing them
• Filling out a refund request form on their website or app
• Visiting the company and asking for a refund In-person

Another thing you can do is send them a refund request letter. By following our advice and our sample refund request letter, you will be able to get one step closer to your money back. The most important pieces of information to include are:

1. Name of the sender
2. Address of the sender and other contact info
3. Date
4. Name of the company
5. Company’s address
6. Details about the purchase
7. Reasons for the refund request

Requesting a Refund—The Easy Way

When all the research and steps are a bit too much to handle, we can swoop in! DoNotPay makes demanding a refund short and simple. Here’s how it works:

1. Go to DoNotPay in your web browser
2. Scroll down to File a Chargeback
3. Click on Get Protected
4. Answer a couple of questions
5. Verify your personal details
6. Submit the request

That’s it! The next steps are on us! We will contact your bank and get things in motion. We can also contact the company directly. You will get an email of confirmation once everything is done, so you can look forward to getting your money back into your account where it belongs.

What To Do If a Company Refuses To Refund You

Once you’ve done your research, taken the necessary action, done your best, and the company denied your refund request, we have some more tricks up our sleeve.

When getting a refund fails, you can turn to getting a chargeback. What is a chargeback? It’s what happens when you contact your bank instead of the seller to get your money back. The bank examines your chargeback reasons and contacts the seller on your behalf. This is where things get complicated—now a third party is involved. There is this long back-and-forth between the company, your bank, and you, and it can last up to 90 days.

You should bear in mind that not every product or service calls for a chargeback, so you might be wasting your time. That’s why DoNotPay’s way to get a chargeback is quick and painless—we’ll do everything in our power to secure your hard-earned money back.

When a Company Refuses Refunds

Now you know your options in terms of demanding a refund, dealing with unclear refund policies, and companies that deny your requests. Let’s recap what you can do:

Is a Company Being Uncooperative? Take Them To Small Claims Court!

Is the company you’re trying to get a refund from being difficult? DoNotPay—the first AI Consumer Champion—can assist and guide you through the process of taking them to small claims court! No company is too big or small—check out our guides on suing:

• AT&T
• Uber
• Verizon
• DirecTV
• Comcast
• CenturyLink
• United Airlines
• Frontier Communications

The American Bar Association honored DoNotPay with the esteemed Louis M. Brown Award for Access in 2020. So, you can be certain you’re in good hands! You can rely on DoNotPay through the whole process.

We’ll help you:

• Draft a demand letter
• Complete court forms and other necessary paperwork
• File your complaint
• Serve the company that is refusing to issue a refund
• Prepare your court statement

DoNotPay—the Perfect Virtual Assistant—Has More To Offer

DoNotPay can make sure you don’t have to waste precious time and money or red-tape and similar problems. That’s why we have compiled a list of common problems people deal with, as well as how to solve them in DoNotPay’s fashion—as fast as possible.

Open DoNotPay in any web browser and start solving problems the DoNotPay way now:

• Fight a parking ticket
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• Solve your credit card issues
• Get a refund from any company
• Sign up for a free trial without any risks
• Retaliate against robocalls
• Find and sign up for clinical trials near you
• Dispute your speeding tickets
• Get protected from harassment or stalking
• Send demand letters to companies or people in small claims court
• Stop text-message spam now
• Deal with your unpaid bills
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• Request a refund or compensation for a canceled or delayed flight
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• Schedule your DMV appointment without a hitch