How do I write a refund policy that cuts disputes?

A refund policy cuts disputes only when the customer saw it before paying. State the refund window, the refund method and who pays return shipping in one short sentence beside the pay button, and keep a dated copy, because the bank's dispute window runs far longer than yours.

Why does a footer refund policy not protect you?

A policy that lives only in the footer protects the customer's right to their money and does little for your right to be believed. When a customer disputes a charge, the bank wants to know what that customer was shown on the day they paid.

The policy that holds up in a dispute is short enough to remember. It states the window, the method and the shipping cost all in the same place. Open your own checkout today and check whether all three appear before the pay button.

How long can a customer dispute after your return window closes?

The customer's bank can dispute goods or services that were not as described for up to 120 days from the processing date or from the date the customer received them. That rule sits in Table 11-106 of the Visa Core Rules, edition of 18 April 2026. A 14-day return window ends long before the bank's window does.

Customers who miss your deadline do not stop wanting the money. The bank is the one party whose deadline they have not missed.

Cancellations follow a related rule. Reason code 13.7 is Visa's code for cancelled merchandise or services. For these claims the issuer, meaning the customer's bank, waits 15 days from the return or cancellation before disputing, and the dispute can follow within 120 days of the processing date (Table 11-131).

A policy that asks for the goods back with a tracking number, and promises a refund date, gives you a dated record that sits inside that 15-day wait. A vague policy produces a return that nobody can date.

What do EU and UK rules require?

In the EU a customer buying at a distance has 14 days to withdraw without giving a reason. That customer pays the return postage unless the seller offers to cover it or failed to say that the customer would pay.

UK sellers must tell customers that they can cancel up to 14 days after delivery. If the seller does not say so, the period stretches to 12 months.

A merchant who ships abroad and keeps one US-style policy is running a legal risk and a dispute risk with the same missing sentence. If you sell to EU or UK customers, add the 14-day right and the postage rule to the policy they see.

What should the policy say at checkout?

Put a single sentence beside the pay button that states the window, the refund method and who pays return shipping, and link it to the full policy.

Who pays shipping is the line customers misread most often. State it in the policy and again on the returns page, with the amount, so a normal return does not turn into a complaint to the bank.

Keep a dated copy of the policy text for each period it applied. A response to the bank has to show what the customer was shown on the day of purchase, and a policy page edited last week cannot do that. The rest of the file is set out in the records worth keeping before any dispute.

A merchant who refunds outside the window for one customer and refuses the next has two policies. Log every exception with its date and reason.

Takeaway: what to do this week

1. Add one sentence beside the pay button. State the refund window, the refund method and who pays return shipping, and link to the full policy.
2. Save a dated copy of the policy. Keep the text for each period it applied, so a response can show what the customer saw on the day of purchase.
3. Ask for a tracking number on every return. Promise a refund date too, so each return carries a date inside Visa's 15-day wait.
4. Log every exception. Record the date and the reason whenever you refund outside the window.

Sources: European Commission, Your Europe, "Returning goods" (page last checked 28 April 2026); GOV.UK, "Online and distance selling for businesses"; Visa Core Rules (18 April 2026), Table 11-106; Visa Core Rules (18 April 2026), Table 11-131. All checked 24 October 2026.