Use our free refund demand letter template to request the return of a payment.
Updated September 27, 2023
Written by Ioana Gagiuc | Reviewed by Brooke Davis
A refund demand letter is a formal written request to return money paid for goods or services. This letter is used when a customer is unsatisfied with the transaction and wants to inform the seller about the issue and ask for a refund.
You may also send the letter after you’ve made an informal request for a refund and have not received it or are not pleased with the response from the seller.
If you want to request payment or action from another party before filing a lawsuit in a local small claims court, use our small claims demand letter.
A refund letter must lay out your right to a refund, your reasons for requesting a refund, and how and when you expect the refund to be paid. Your refund letter should be concise, demanding payment, and include relevant information.
The refund demand letter is typically sent before any legal action is taken.
Below is an example of what the body of a refund demand letter should look like. Notice how it sticks to the facts of the case and the order in which those facts are laid out.
You can use this sample letter to create your refund demand letter or our free refund demand letter template, available below.
Dear Ava Suzuki,
This letter formally demands a $500 refund — the total amount paid to Phones Pit on August 10, 2023, for a refurbished Samsung Galaxy S10.
Your company’s refund policy states that if the phone is defective, it may be returned for a full refund. As we discussed in our recent phone conversation, I found the screen cracked, and many controls were unusable when the phone arrived. I have returned the phone and await a refund.
Please refund the balance to the debit card used to purchase by September 5, 2023. A copy of the receipt for the original transaction is attached. If I do not receive payment by this date, I will seek legal remedies and promptly file a consumer complaint with the attorney general’s office.
Sincerely,
Celeste Beaufort
In most cases, if you are unsatisfied with your product or service, there will be some option for you to make a formal request and receive a refund. Follow these steps to send a refund demand letter and consider any potential next steps in demanding your refund.
Before you draft a refund demand letter, check the refund policy. Most companies have some refund policy or warranty. However, a time limit may be within which a refund must be requested.
If that time limit has expired, you may not have a right to a refund. Other companies may have a strict no-refund policy, so look at all the conditions that allow for a refund.
This is why it’s essential to hold on to purchase receipts. You will need to provide proof of purchase. Your receipt will show the exact amount you paid on the date. This will give the business or the state attorney general evidence of your purchase and will help to back up your demand for a refund.
If you made an online purchase, you will likely have an online receipt rather than a physical receipt. Check your spam or trash folders if you don’t immediately find your purchase receipt.
In your refund demand letter, you must provide a reason for the refund:
Your reason for a refund must fit within the terms of the business’s refund policy.
Make sure that you explain how you would like the payment to be refunded. If you made a cash purchase, you may request a check or money order for a refund. The process will be more straightforward if you purchase the item on a credit or debit card.
Ask for payment to be refunded on the same card with which the good or service was purchased and for which you have the original receipt. The business will have a record of this purchase and can make this refund.
Sign the demand letter and send it off. From there, if a refund is not made or if the business does not respond to your written request, you may need to consider further action. This should be laid out in your demand letter, as well.
For example, look at the refund demand letter example above. The sender gives a specific date by which they expect the refund to be paid. She states that she will file a consumer complaint with the state attorney general if it is not paid by that date.
Make sure that you promptly follow through if further action is necessary:
Before writing a demand letter, ensure you have the proper documentation, mainly your purchase receipt. If the refund policy demands a product return, return the product before sending a refund demand letter.
Your letter will need your contact information, the business’s street address, and your contact for the refund. From there, state the amount you want to be refunded, the company’s policy, and your reason for requesting a refund.
In the final paragraphs, you should:
Sign the letter and send it to the recipient by certified mail once the letter is finished. You should request a postal service return receipt confirming that the recipient received the refund demand letter by a specific date.
You can use post office receipts in further legal action to prove that the company received your demand letter but did not refund you.
Below, you can download a free refund demand letter template in PDF or Word format.
