# Example: Refund request outside policy — declined, alternative offered **Scenario:** A long-standing customer is angry. She wants a refund on an item bought fourteen months ago. The written policy allows returns for 60 days. The item is still covered by a two-year manufacturer warranty. The owner forwards the email and says "answer this one, she's a good customer." This is the harder case. The reply says no, and it still has to keep the customer. --- ## Customer email (forwarded) > **Subject:** This is ridiculous > > I have bought from you for four years and spent thousands. The stand mixer I got from you has started making a grinding noise and now it barely turns. I want my money back. I am not paying to fix something that should not have broken in the first place. > > — Deb Whitaker --- ## Step 2 — PayPal lookup result Found 1 transaction matching deb.whitaker@email.com: - **Transaction ID:** PP-5512-XXXX - **Amount:** USD 329.00 - **Date:** 2025-05-14 (14 months ago) - **Status:** Completed - **Refund issued:** No --- ## Step 3 — HubSpot lookup result Contact found: Deb Whitaker (deb.whitaker@email.com) - Lifecycle stage: Customer - Prior orders: 11 - Notes: "Repeat customer since 2022. Referred two others." --- ## Step 4 — Policy check (the step that decides this reply) Read before drafting: - **Refund policy:** returns and refunds accepted within 60 days of purchase, item unused or defective on arrival. Fourteen months is well outside it. - **Help-centre article "Appliance warranty claims":** stand mixers carry a two-year manufacturer warranty covering motor and gearbox failure. The business files the claim on the customer's behalf; the manufacturer ships a repair or a replacement unit. So: the refund she asked for is not available, and a real remedy that costs her nothing is. **What not to do here.** Do not draft a refund because she is a good customer and the email is angry. Eleven orders is a reason to handle her carefully, not a reason to invent an exception the owner never wrote. If the owner wants to make an exception, that is the owner's call, made after reading the draft. --- ## Step 5 — Draft reply (presented to owner for review) > **Subject:** Re: This is ridiculous > > Hi Deb, > > A grinding motor at fourteen months is not what should happen, and I'm sorry you're dealing with it. > > Straight answer on the refund: our returns window is 60 days, so I can't refund the mixer. What I can do is better than it sounds — that model has a two-year manufacturer warranty that covers exactly this, motor and gearbox. I file the claim for you, you don't pay anything, and they either repair it or send a replacement unit. > > If you can send me a short video of the noise it's making, I'll open the claim today. Usual turnaround is about two weeks. > > [Owner name] > > *[Note: Refund declined per the 60-day policy. Warranty claim offered per the appliance warranty article. If you want to make an exception for her, tell me and I'll redraft.]* Three things the draft does: it says no early and plainly, it gives the reason once without apologising for the policy twice, and it lands on the thing she can actually do next. --- ## Step 6 — Owner reviews The owner replies: "Good. Send it, and if the claim gets denied I'll eat the repair cost." That second half is a new commitment the owner just made. It does not go in this email — it goes in the notes, so it is there if the claim is denied. --- ## Step 7 — Refund approval prompt Skipped. No refund is being issued, so no refund prompt is shown. Never show a refund confirmation for a declined request; it invites an accidental yes. --- ## Step 8 — Send + HubSpot note Reply sent via Gmail. HubSpot note logged on Deb Whitaker's contact: > "Ticket Deflector — 2026-07-27: Refund requested on PP-5512-XXXX (USD 329, 14 months old). Declined — outside 60-day window. Offered manufacturer warranty claim (motor/gearbox, 2-year). Awaiting video from customer. Owner has agreed to cover repair cost personally if the warranty claim is denied." --- ## Step 9 — Report > Reply sent to Deb Whitaker · Refund declined, outside the 60-day window · Warranty claim offered, waiting on her video · HubSpot note logged, including your offer to cover the repair if the claim fails.