Troubleshooting | Customer Says Their Refund Hasn't Arrived
You refunded, they see nothing. Where refunds go, how long they really take, and how to prove it was sent.
The refund left your store but the customer sees nothing — the most-misunderstood support ticket in ecommerce. Here's the anatomy.
How refunds actually travel
You issue the refund — the order records it on its activity timeline immediately. That entry is your proof it was sent.
The card network processes it back to the original payment method. This leg takes typically 3–5 working days, sometimes up to 10 depending on the bank. Nobody can speed this up — not you, not us, not the customer's bank's phone agent.
It appears on their statement. Some banks show it as a pending credit before it posts.
Confirm the refund exists: order → activity timeline → refund entry with amount and date. Quote both to the customer.
Confirm where it went: refunds return to the original payment method — a card they since cancelled still receives it (the bank routes it to their account).
Give the honest window: “up to 10 working days depending on your bank”.
Answering the customer
When it's genuinely stuck
Past ten working days with nothing: the customer contacts their bank with the refund date and amount. If the bank finds nothing, contact support with the order number and refund timestamp — a network trace reference exists for exactly this case.
Preventing the ticket
The refund confirmation email (automatic) plus one line in your returns policy — “refunds reach your bank within 3–10 working days” — prevents most of these conversations.
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