Your customer refund rights under federal law are narrower than most shoppers assume. There is no general federal rule forcing a store to take back a non-defective item because you changed your mind. Federal statutes do guarantee refunds in four specific situations: when a seller ships late or not at all, when you bought at your door or a temporary location, when the charge on your card is wrong or the goods never arrived, and when a company mails you something you never ordered. Everything else runs on the merchant’s own posted policy and, in some states, on a state law that fills the gap when no policy is posted.
When Federal Law Actually Requires a Refund
If the product works, matches the description, and arrived on time, federal law generally leaves the refund question to the store. That policy might give you 30 days, 15 days, store credit only, or nothing at all, and none of it is illegal.
Federal refund rights kick in under narrower circumstances. The seller shipped late or never shipped. The sale happened at your home or a temporary location like a hotel conference room. Your card was charged for something you never received or something materially different from what was advertised. Or a company mailed you merchandise you never ordered. Each of these has its own rule, its own deadlines, and its own procedure.
Late or Missing Shipments: The FTC Mail Order Rule
The Federal Trade Commission’s Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Rule (16 CFR Part 435) is the main federal regulation covering remote purchases of physical goods. A seller must have a reasonable basis to believe it can ship your order within the timeframe stated at checkout. If no shipping date is promised, the default is 30 days from when the seller receives your completed order.1eCFR. 16 CFR Part 435 – Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise
When the seller realizes it can’t meet that deadline, it has to notify you with a revised shipping date and offer you a clear choice: agree to wait or cancel for a full refund. If the seller misses the revised date too, it has to ask for your consent again. Your silence is not consent. At that point the seller must automatically cancel and refund the order.1eCFR. 16 CFR Part 435 – Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise
Refund speed depends on how you paid. Cash, check, or money order payments must be refunded within seven working days of cancellation. Credit card payments must be credited within one billing cycle.1eCFR. 16 CFR Part 435 – Mail, Internet, or Telephone Order Merchandise Violating the rule can cost a merchant up to $53,088 per violation, adjusted annually for inflation.2Federal Register. Adjustments to Civil Penalty Amounts
Door-to-Door and Off-Site Sales: The Cooling-Off Rule
If someone sold you goods or services at your home, at a hotel conference room, or from a booth at a fairground, the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule (16 CFR Part 429) gives you three business days to cancel for any reason. No defect required. The rule applies to purchases of $25 or more made at your residence, and $130 or more at other temporary locations.3eCFR. 16 CFR Part 429 – Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations
The seller has to give you a cancellation form at the time of sale. To cancel, sign and date that form and mail or deliver it to the seller before midnight of the third business day. Sundays and federal holidays don’t count. Once the seller receives your notice, it has 10 business days to refund all payments, return any trade-in property, and cancel any financing paperwork.3eCFR. 16 CFR Part 429 – Rule Concerning Cooling-Off Period for Sales Made at Homes or at Certain Other Locations
Several categories fall outside the rule:
- Real estate, insurance, and securities, which are governed by their own cancellation rights.
- Purchases where you first visited the seller’s permanent retail location and negotiated there. A later home visit to close the deal is not covered.
- Emergency repairs you called someone to your home to perform, though any add-on sales during that visit are covered.
- Purely mail or phone transactions with no in-person contact before delivery. The Mail Order Rule likely covers those instead.
Merchandise You Never Ordered
If a company ships you something you didn’t order, you owe nothing. Federal law treats unordered merchandise as a gift. You can keep it, throw it away, or give it away, and the sender cannot legally bill you or send collection notices for it.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 39 – 3009 Mailing of Unordered Merchandise
This does not cover items sent by mistake as part of a legitimate order, such as receiving two of something you ordered one of. It also doesn’t apply to free samples clearly marked as such, or merchandise sent by charities soliciting donations. The rule targets the practice of shipping products people never asked for and then demanding payment.
When the Merchant Won’t Pay: Credit Card Disputes
When a merchant refuses your refund request, ignores it, or never delivers the goods, your credit card is your second line of defense. The Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA) lets you dispute charges for goods that were never delivered, arrived materially different from what was agreed, or were billed in the wrong amount.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – 1666 Correction of Billing Errors
To open a dispute, send written notice to your card issuer within 60 days of the statement date showing the charge. The notice needs your name, account number, the dollar amount in question, and why you believe there’s an error. Send it to the billing inquiries address on your statement, not the payment address. Those are often different.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – 1666 Correction of Billing Errors
Once the issuer receives your notice, it must acknowledge within 30 days and resolve the dispute within two complete billing cycles, capped at 90 days. During the investigation, the issuer cannot try to collect the disputed amount or report it as delinquent.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – 1666 Correction of Billing Errors
One important limit. The FCBA does not cover quality disputes where you accepted the goods. If you bought a jacket, received the right jacket, and don’t like the fabric, that’s not a billing error under federal law. The dispute right is strongest when the item was never delivered, was substantially different from the description, or the merchant charged you for something you cancelled.6Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. 12 CFR Part 1026.13 – Billing Error Resolution
Debit Card Disputes Work Differently
Debit cards have their own dispute process under the Electronic Fund Transfer Act, and the protections are meaningfully different. You still have 60 days from the statement date to report an error, but the timeline and your exposure differ.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. United States Code Title 15 – 1693f Error Resolution
Your bank must investigate within 10 business days of receiving your notice. If it needs more time, it can extend the investigation to 45 days, but only if it provisionally credits your account within those first 10 business days. That provisional credit gives you access to the disputed funds while the review continues.8eCFR. 12 CFR 1005.11 – Procedures for Resolving Errors
The practical difference matters. With a credit card dispute, the money was never actually withdrawn from your bank account. You’re disputing a line on a bill. With a debit card, the cash left your account the moment you swiped. If the bank doesn’t provisionally credit you, you’re out that money for the full investigation period. That’s why consumer advocates generally recommend credit cards for larger purchases when possible.
Everything Else Is the Store’s Policy
Outside the situations above, the merchant’s posted return policy governs. That includes the length of the return window, whether you get cash back or store credit, and whether a restocking fee applies. Restocking fees of 10 to 25 percent are common on categories like electronics or large appliances, and no federal law prohibits them. Several states, however, require merchants to disclose these fees before the sale. If a restocking fee appears on your refund that was never mentioned at checkout or on the receipt, your state consumer protection office may be able to help you dispute it.
Refunds almost always go back through the original payment method. That prevents fraud, but it also means paying with a gift card usually forecloses getting cash back. If the original card was closed or replaced, contact your bank. The issuer can typically reroute the credit to your current account.
When No Return Policy Is Posted
A number of states require merchants to conspicuously post their return and refund policies at the point of sale, on the receipt, or near the store entrance. The consequence for failing to post one varies. In some states, a merchant with no posted policy must accept returns within a set window, commonly 20 to 30 days. In others the consumer is entitled to a full refund with no stated deadline. Roughly a dozen states have specific statutes on this point.
Practical takeaway: check for a posted return policy before buying, especially at smaller or independent retailers. If no policy is visible anywhere — not on the receipt, not at the register, not on the website — you may have stronger return rights than the merchant realizes. Your state attorney general’s office or consumer protection division can tell you the specific rules where you live.