How do I get a refund?

Refund success depends mostly on process. A clear written request stating the fault, the outcome you want and a reasonable deadline succeeds far more often than an angry phone call, largely because it creates a record that escalation can rest on.

What you'll need

• Order confirmation or receipt
• Photos of the fault (optional)
• Payment record (optional)

Step by step

1. Work out which of two situations you are in.Faulty or not as described is a much stronger position than changed your mind. Both are worth pursuing; the arguments differ.
2. Contact the seller in writing, not by phone.Email or the site's message system. A written record is what every subsequent step relies on.
3. State the facts, then the outcome you want, then a deadline.What you bought, when, what is wrong, and 'I would like a full refund within 14 days'. Keep it brief and unemotional.
4. Attach evidence.Photos of the fault, the order confirmation, screenshots of what was advertised versus what arrived.
5. Escalate through their formal complaints process if refused.Ask for it explicitly. Formal complaints are handled by different people to first-line support, and outcomes often differ.
6. Use your payment protection.Credit card purchases over a certain value carry statutory protection; debit card payments can often be reversed through chargeback; PayPal has its own dispute process. Each has time limits, so do not delay.
7. Escalate to an ombudsman or regulator if one covers the sector.Financial services, energy, telecoms and travel all have schemes. They are free to use and their decisions bind the company.
8. Keep every message in one place.A single email thread or folder. Escalation always asks for the history, and reconstructing it later is painful.

Tips

• Naming the specific protection you intend to use — chargeback, a named ombudsman — often produces a different answer immediately.
• Be specific about the outcome. 'I want a refund of £Y by [date]' is actionable; 'this is unacceptable' is not.
• Keep the tone factual even when you are furious. Politeness costs nothing and demonstrably gets better results from the person reading it.

Common mistakes

• Only ever phoning — There is no record, and every escalation route asks for written evidence of what was said and when.
• Waiting to see if it resolves itself — Chargeback and card protections have strict time limits, and missing them removes your strongest option.
• Accepting the first no — First-line staff often have no authority to refund. The formal complaints stage is handled by people who do.

Questions people ask