Refunds after a return: how the 14-day clock really works
Easy read on tying repayments to withdrawal notice, shipment proof, standard delivery charges, and the same payment method.
Studies suggest many fashion shops still explain refund timing wrong on the site. The statutory outer limit is usually pegged to when you heard “I withdraw”, not to when the brown box lands back in your stock room. Educational summary only, not tailored legal advice.
You may wait to click “refund,” but not forever
Often you need only repay after you receive the goods or after the buyer proves they posted them (whichever comes first). Even then, a hard deadline from the law still caps how long you can wait. Plan operations so finance does not discover the rule from an angry regulator.
Send money back the same way it arrived
Paid by PayPal? Refund by PayPal. Bank transfer in? Bank transfer out, unless the buyer clearly agrees to another route without extra cost to them. Pushing store credit when they paid cash-like instruments is a familiar enforcement bruise.
What amount?
For a full cancellation of the order, give back product + your ordinary outbound shipping. The customer normally organises and pays return shipping, but you must have told them that before purchase. If they upgraded to express for fun, you may keep that surcharge. Partial returns adjust the shipping piece (mirror your lawyer’s cheat sheet).
Say it twice: website and terms
Explain refunds in checkout help, not only in PDF terms; shoppers trust you, regulators notice, and chargebacks drop. un-order pairs clean withdrawal messaging with the timestamps you need for audits.
Un Order
What the plugin does
Un Order is a WooCommerce extension that adds the customer-facing withdrawal and stop flows the upcoming EU rules expect: surfaced in My Account and order emails, without editing core templates by hand.
- Withdrawal on orders injected into My Account order pages so shoppers can start a legal withdrawal from a clear button.
- Deadline awareness the function hides when the return window no longer applies.
- Partial returns customers can select individual line items where that is required.
- Email acknowledgement a branded confirmation is sent as soon as they submit.
- Stop for services a separate mode for digital services and subscriptions, same flow, with wording that fits services.