In order to protect you and your customers from fraud, FastSpring has implemented the following policies and procedures. FastSpring forwards most refund requests to your support contact email so you can work directly with your customers to resolve issues. To proactively mitigate fraud, and reduce chargeback fees, FastSpring applies smart refunds to orders with high risk.

Refund an Order

When you process a full refund on an order, FastSpring refunds the buyer and retains the order fee charged on the original transaction. 

For full refunds, you can also post to the /returns API endpoint. 

1. Log in to the store where the order was processed. In the Order Search field, search for the order. See Searching for Orders for acceptable search queries.
2. Access the order details page. In the Payments and Returns section, click Return / Refund Order.
3. Select the Return Type:
   • Full Return: Refund the price of the full order.
   • Line Item Return: Select one or more items from the original order to fully refund.
   • Partial Amount Refund: Enter the refund amount. FastSpring will calculate applicable taxes based on the value you enter.
4. In the Reason Type drop-down, select the most appropriate reason for the refund.
5. Optionally, enter a Reason Note to provide additional information about the refund. This will be visible to your team and the customer.
6. Under Customer Notification, choose whether or not FastSpring sends an email notification to the customer when you complete the refund.
7. Click Next. Review the details of the return.
   • If the order includes a subscription, the Cancel Related Subscriptions checkbox appears. Selecting this deactivates the subscription. Deselecting this leaved the subscription active.
8. Click Confirm > OK to issue the refund.

Refund Limitations

To comply with liability, FastSpring Support must issue refunds on your behalf for the following circumstances:

• Real-time payment method: AliPay
• Transactions from more than 6 months ago
• Wire Transfers and US checks
• Transactions with an open dispute case
• FastSpring’s risk team determines a high likelihood of fraud.

If your customers request a refund with any of the above conditions, please contact our support team for assistance.

Refund Policy

When our Support team receives a refund request from one of your customers, they direct the customer to your support contact email. That way, your team can work directly with customers and issue refunds from the app. 

You or FastSpring Support can refund credit card transactions up to 6 months after an order. However, PayPal orders must be refunded within 3 months. 

Proactive Refunds

FastSpring proactively issues refunds based on risk analysis and avoidance of chargebacks. The following situations require FastSpring to issue the refund prior to contacting you:

• A customer who paid with a credit card reports a fraudulent charge. If a customer reports that the FastSpring charge on their credit card was fraudulent, our support agents will confirm that it was fraudulent. Then, we will refund their card.
• Our Risk team identified a transaction that was likely fraudulent. The Risk team automatically refunds transactions with high risk to avoid chargebacks. Issuing the refund saves chargeback fees and maintains compliance with payment networks.
• PayPal transactions within the 72 hour time frame. If there is an open dispute case with PayPal regarding a transaction within the last 72 hours, FastSpring will inform your company and provide 48 hours to resolve the issue. Otherwise, we may issue a refund to prevent additional escalation.
• PayPal transactions with an open dispute or claim: If a customer strongly expresses their desire for an immediate refund due to product inconsistencies, FastSpring will issue the refund to avoid further escalation.
• No response to FastSpring support outreach. If support cannot reach you via the primary support email you have noted, we may add a note to an order stating that “If we do not hear back within 48 hours we will be forced to refund this order. Please reply to the customer and cc [email protected].” In situations where we do not hear back, we will refund the order to avoid a chargeback.  To avoid these situations, please reply to outreach from support and ensure that your primary support email is up to date.

Chargebacks

Chargebacks are returns which levy a fee. The bank which issued the credit card initiates a return of funds to the cardholder. The cardholder signs an affidavit with the credit card company claiming that they did not make the purchase. 

As a Merchant of Record, FastSpring is responsible for keeping fraud rates and chargebacks under specific thresholds that card networks set. If a chargeback occurs, FastSpring may block the associated credit card number for 90 days. 

PayPal Chargebacks, Disputes, Claims, and Reversals

If there is an open case with PayPal regarding a transaction within the last 72 hours, FastSpring will inform your company and provide 48 hours to resolve the issue. Otherwise, we may issue a refund to prevent additional escalation. 

PayPal cases include the following:

• Chargebacks: Occurs when a customer contacts their issuing bank, and the bank initiates a chargeback. The issuing bank returns the full amount to the customer and issues a chargeback fee.
• Disputes: Occurs when a PayPal customer expresses dissatisfaction or does not recognize the charge. You or FastSpring have 20 days to resolve the customer’s dispute, and prove to PayPal that the transaction was legitimate. Proof may include invoices, receipts, or other documentation.
• Claims: Occurs after a dispute. You or FastSpring must respond with proof of purchase, usage, or successful product delivery within 10 days. Neither you, nor FastSpring are allowed to communicate with the customer.
• Reversals: Indicate that PayPal has returned the funds to the customer, however they did not apply a chargeback fee.