All about refunds (chargebacks, cancellations) & right of withdrawal

There are two types of refunds: chargebacks and cancellations. Both result in your money being refunded. However, the two variants differ in detail by quite a bit. This article will help you understand how they work and what they cost. To explain cancellations, we will also explain the right of withdrawal.

Cancellations are when you or your buyers want to undo a transaction.

In most European countries, for example, there is a 14-day right of withdrawal. Within this period, buyers can generally withdraw from the purchase. This means that the money has to be paid back and at the same time the buyer loses access to the product.

A right of withdrawal can often be excluded for digital products, since the respective products can be fully used and reproduced from the time of purchase. However, such exclusion should be explicit and accepted by the customer.

With Tentary, an exclusion of the right of withdrawal for digital products is automatically displayed during the checkout process and must be accepted by the buyer before payment. Thus, in this case, you are not obliged to comply with a request for cancellation. Products that are assigned to the categories Workshop, Event and Webinar are excluded from this, since the actual product or service is provided later (no notice of exclusion of the right of withdrawal is displayed in the purchase process).

Recommendation: While there are legal regulations for withdrawal periods that you must adhere to, many sellers also offer a voluntary right of return in the first few days after a purchase as a gesture of goodwill. This can help maintain a good relationship with your community.

To cancel a payment, log into your Tentary account and navigate to the orders page. Click on the orange arrow to open the details of the particular order you wish to cancel.

In the "Actions" section, you should see the "Refund purchase" button. If you click this button, the entire transaction will be reversed. The buyer will get their full money back to the previously used payment method and access to the product will be blocked. In addition, we will send the buyer an e-mail with information about the refund.

Cancellations are possible up to a maximum of 180 days after the purchase date. If this period is exceeded, no button to cancel will be displayed.

The transaction fee of Tentary will be fully refunded when the refund is initiated through your Tentary account. If the refund is triggered in your Stripe or PayPal account, it is possible that the transaction fee from Tentary will not be refunded (we have no control in this case). There are no additional fees for refunds. 

Note, however, that Stripe does not refund payment processing fees. PayPal will refund the variable fees for the original payment processing, but might keep any fixed fees.

In rare cases, buyers may instruct their bank to reverse a charge. This is especially possible with direct debit and credit cards. Banks check such requests thoroughly beforehand (there must be a valid reason for the reversal) and reverse a transaction in case of a positive decision.

Should this occur, Stripe or PayPal will contact you and inform you about such a chargeback case. You then have the option to dispute a case.

If a chargeback is ultimately successful, you will be charged additional fees by Stripe and PayPal.

Successful chargebacks are subject to fees charged by Stripe and PayPal. There are no fees from Tentary.

Chargeback fee at Stripe: $15 ( read more at Stripe)

Chargeback fee at PayPal: $16 ( more at PayPal)

Note: We do not give legal advice. If you are unsure which rules apply to you and your products, seek professional legal help.