What is a website refund policy?

Sometimes called a “website returns policy,” a website refund policy is a legal document you put on your site that describes what a dissatisfied customer must do to get a refund for a product or service he has purchased from you – it’s a policy that reduces risk for prospective purchasers and creates trust when you honor requests made under the policy by unhappy customers.
This policy provides information, such as your email address and mailing address, for making refund requests. In other words, the document also explains how to contact you to request a refund and any additional requirements or limitations on getting a refund. For example, you could require a receipt in order to get a refund, require a restocking fee for physical goods that are returned to you. Or you might limit the refund period to 60 days after purchase.

Why is a website refund policy important?

Your website’s returns policy is important because you want to handle unhappy customers rather than have them complain about you online in social media, on review sites, or even sue you. If you promptly handle a request made under your website refund policy, you help keep a good reputation for your business on the Internet. And, of course, you will prevent many potential lawsuits by dissatisfied customers.
In some cases, the customer will be so happy with the way you handled the refund request, that they will buy from you again or even recommend you to friends. Of course, there are people who will try to cheat you, but consider that a cost of doing business online or offline. Remember that it is better to honor your returns/refund policy, even if you think someone is cheating you by making a refund request, than it is to have a reputation for not keeping your word, getting smeared in social media, sued by a customer, or even having the government investigate you for not honoring a refund request.

How do you create a website refund policy?

You can pay a qualified Internet lawyer to prepare a customized returns policy for you - the lawyer’s fee can exceed $500 just for this one legal document. You should expect to pay professional legal fees for this service because lawyers don’t work for free.
What if you can’t afford to pay a lawyer? There’s also an affordable way to easily create your own website refund policy in just a few minutes: Website Legal Forms Generator software.