Okuzeka
Customer Service vocabulary · Refunds, Returns & Compensation

Refund

Meaning in customer service, with examples

/ˈriːfʌnd/nounCore term

In customer service, refund means: Money that is paid back to a customer, for example because they returned a product, cancelled a service or were charged by mistake.

In Turkish: para iadesi, geri ödeme, iade

How it is used

Companies process, issue or approve a refund; a customer gets a full or partial refund. As a verb it is often stressed on the second syllable: "We will refund the amount within five working days." Refunds usually go back to the original payment method.

Example sentences

  1. Your refund has been processed and should appear on your card in 3 to 5 working days.

  2. We can offer you a partial refund because one item arrived damaged.

Common collocations

  • full refund
  • partial refund
  • process a refund
  • issue a refund
  • refund request
  • returnTo send or take a product back to the seller, usually because it is faulty, wrong or no longer wanted.
  • exchangeGiving back a product and receiving a different one in its place, for example another size, another colour or a working unit.
  • store creditAn amount of money that a shop gives a customer to spend on future purchases there, instead of paying cash back to their card.
  • chargebackA reversal of a card payment that happens when a customer disputes a transaction with their bank or card provider.
  • return policyA company's rules about whether, when and how customers can return products, and what they receive back.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Refunds, Returns & Compensation

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: