How to handle return (withdrawal) requests

Every TeleportHQ store has a Right of withdrawal page where customers can ask to return products, as EU law requires. When a customer sends a request, you get an email with its reference (for example WDR-3). You then open your live site's admin panel, go to Withdrawal Requests and set the request to Approved, Rejected or Refunded. Changing that status doesn't move any money: to give the money back, refund the order in the editor under Growth → E-Commerce → Orders.

Before you start#

• Your store must be published. The Right of withdrawal page only works on the live site.
• You need the admin panel on your site. Stores built with AI include it. If yours doesn't have one, see How to turn on the admin panel.
• You need an admin account on your site to open the admin panel. See How to open the admin panel on your live site.
• Return requests have no plan limit.

What your customers do#

TeleportHQ creates the Right of withdrawal page (at /right-of-withdrawal) when you turn on the store. Links to it are added to your site's footer, the customer's order details page and the My Orders page. In the editor, the page is named right-of-withdrawal in your pages.

1. The customer enters their Order number (for example ORD-1024) and the Email used for the order, then clicks Find my order.
2. They tick the products they want to return and can add a reason.
3. They tick "I confirm I want to withdraw from the contract for the selected products." and click Submit withdrawal request.
4. They see a reference number and get a confirmation email.

Steps#

1. Find the request#

1. Open the email about the new withdrawal request. It goes to the email address of your TeleportHQ workspace's owner.
2. Open the admin panel on your live site and sign in with your admin account.
3. In the admin sidebar, under COMMERCE, click Withdrawal Requests. The bell at the top (What needs your attention) also counts the Pending Withdrawal Requests.
4. Click the request to see the order, the customer and the products they want to return.

2. Decide and update the status#

1. Check the request against your return policy, for example whether it arrived in time.
2. Change Status to Approved or Rejected.
3. Click Save Changes.
4. Tell the customer your decision, for example by email. TeleportHQ doesn't email them when the status changes.

3. Refund the customer#

1. In the TeleportHQ editor, in the left sidebar, click Growth.
2. Under E-Commerce, click Orders, then click the order from the request in the orders table. Its details open on the right.
3. Click Refund and enter the amount for the returned products. Stores that sell gift cards can also refund it as store credit. See How to refund an order.
4. Update the products' stock by hand when the items come back. Put the items back in stock adds back every item in the order, not only the returned ones, and is only offered for a full refund, so only switch it on when the whole order came back.
5. Back in the admin panel, set the request's Status to Refunded and click Save Changes.

Check that it worked#

• The request shows its new status in Withdrawal Requests.
• After the refund, the order in Growth → E-Commerce → Orders shows Partially Refunded or Refunded, and the customer gets the refund email if your project has an email provider.

Troubleshooting#

The customer sees "We couldn't find an order matching that number and email. Please check both and try again." The order number or email doesn't match. The email can be the billing or the shipping email. Letter case doesn't matter.

The customer sees "No product in this order can be returned any more: a withdrawal request was already submitted for it, or the return period after delivery has ended." Each product can only be requested once, and requests close 14 days after delivery (see Good to know). Handle the existing request, or check when the order was delivered. On a store set up before the return period existed, the message reads "A withdrawal request has already been submitted for every product in this order."

The customer sees "This order only contains digital products, which are exempt from the right of withdrawal." Digital Goods Withdrawal Exemption is on (the default). See Good to know.

The customer sees "This order is a renewal payment of your subscription and cannot be withdrawn." A subscription's renewal payments can't be withdrawn. The customer can cancel the subscription from their account page instead.

"Your request has been recorded. We could not send a confirmation email — please keep your reference number for your records." The request was saved, but the email failed. Check your project's email provider. See Why didn't my customer get an email?.

I didn't get the email about a new request It goes to the workspace owner's email address saved when the store pages were built. If the owner changed later, it still goes to the old address. Check Withdrawal Requests in the admin panel regularly.

Good to know#

• Digital products. In the editor, under E-commerce → the gear (E-Commerce Settings) → Digital products, Digital Goods Withdrawal Exemption is on by default: "Digital goods are exempt from the right of withdrawal (EU): withdrawal requests leave digital lines out." Switch it off to let customers return digital products too, then publish again.

• Requests close 14 days after delivery. The TeleportHQ Right of withdrawal page takes requests until 14 days after the order was delivered: after its last parcel was marked delivered, or, with no parcel recorded, after the order was set to Delivered or Completed. An order that isn't delivered yet can still be returned, a cancelled one included. Check the requests against your own return policy too.
• Stores set up before the 14-day rule keep accepting requests at any time. The return page takes the rule when you regenerate the store's pages, or when you change Digital Goods Withdrawal Exemption. See How to regenerate store pages or turn off e-commerce.
• Whole products only. Customers pick whole order lines, not a quantity. If they return 1 of 2 units, adjust the refund amount yourself.
• Setting Refunded moves no money and doesn't change the order, its stock or its emails.
• The editor doesn't list requests. Return requests appear only in the admin panel, not in Growth → E-Commerce → Orders.
• Add a request by hand in Withdrawal Requests, for example when a customer asks by phone: create one, pick the order and the Products to return, then click Create.
• To stop an order before it ships, use Cancel Order instead.