Summary: This article outlines how to manage refund requests for ThemeForest and CodeCanyon authors. If you’re an author from another marketplace, it is unlikely you’ll be dealing with refund requests or disputes, so this information is most relevant for Theme, Web and Code authors.
Managing Refund Requests
There might be any number of reasons why a customer feels like they are entitled to a refund.
Customers can submit a refund request through the refund request form. In the majority of cases for Theme, Web and Code items, when a refund request is submitted it goes to the author of the item for approval. On submission, customers will receive an email with a link to raise a dispute if they don’t hear from you within 5 days.
- Authors are notified of the pending refund requests.
- The refund request is a shared page with both author and customer views.
- Authors and customers can discuss the request if necessary through the comment functionality.
- Authors have access to a refund tab within their dashboard to view open and closed refund requests.
- A dashboard notification panel provides a summary of all open and new refund requests.
How do I get notified of a refund request?
Authors are notified of the pending refund request by email and the Author Dashboard. Refund requests can be managed from the Refunds Tab where new requests and unread comments are clearly labelled. You have five days to respond to a refund request. You can use this time to provide support or look for alternative solutions in an attempt to resolve any issues.
A notifications panel on the Author Dashboard will tell you how many open, and new refund requests you have at any time, as well as any new refund comments from your customers.
How do I view the refund request?
Authors can find information on the request by selecting the item name. The refund request is a shared page with both author and customer views. The current state of the request is clearly labelled on the left-hand side.
Can I chat with the customer?
Authors and customers can discuss the request if necessary through the comment functionality with the other party notified by email when a comment is submitted. We recommend keeping all refund discussions on-site so that Envato has access in case of a dispute.
Once the author has enough information to make their decision they can approve or decline the request.
Please note: When responding to a refund request you must follow the Envato Refund Policy.
If your item is marked as supported, you must follow the Item Support Policy.
As of Oct 2nd 2023 we have updated the refund rules and introduced new time limits for customers to request a refund. If their product purchase was made over 180 days ago (ThemeForest and CodeCanyon supported items) or over 30 days ago (ThemeForest and CodeCanyon unsupported items, AudioJungle, VideoHive, GraphicRiver, PhotoDune, 3DOcean items) they will not be eligible for a refund.
Approving a refund
Approving a request will notify the customer and create a ticket with Envato Help to process the refund. Once the refund is processed the customer’s rights to use, download and rate the item will be revoked with any existing ratings/reviews removed.
Declining a refund
Declining a refund request will notify the customer and close the refund request. The customer will have an opportunity to raise a dispute at this point if they disagree with the decision.
Raising a dispute
Customers can raise a dispute if the refund request is declined or if the request has not been actioned within 5 days. Customers can access the dispute form through the refund request link in any of the correspondence. Raising a dispute will create a ticket with Envato Help asking them to investigate the claim. Once a dispute has been raised the author will no longer be able to action the request.
We will investigate all disputes and may reopen a previously closed refund in order to resolve a dispute.
In order to resolve a dispute, we may ask for more information from you or the customer.
We will;
- Review all information provided.
- Attempt to engage you to provide support within our Item Support guidelines.
- Make a fair decision based on our author, customer, and refund.
- Pass the refund onto you if you are legally obliged to provide it.
If we need to contact you or a customer for further information and we don’t receive a response within five days, we will make a decision based on information we have available.
Rating Removal
Once a refund has been issued for an item, the rating for the item will also be removed. If a customer has purchased more than 1 license for the same item, the rating will be removed only when the last remaining item has been refunded.
Envato’s Role
We ask customers to communicate openly with you as soon as they experience an issue with their item. There are some issues which may be out of your control and in those cases, we direct customers to our Help Team.
When handling refund requests for items purchased on ThemeForest and CodeCanyon, the typical inquiries we receive are:
- Problems with making payments and completing purchases.
Types of inquiries you may receive are:
- The item is broken, malfunctioning or not as described.
- Mistaken Purchases.
- Problems with item support.
There may be times when we will decide to refund a customer using our discretion (i.e. we are not legally obliged to do so). In these cases, we will cover the cost of the refund.
For refunds on Markets aside from ThemeForest and CodeCanyon, the refund request is sent directly to us.