In short. When an online refund is not received, raise a written complaint with the platform's grievance officer, which must acknowledge it within 48 hours and resolve it within a month. If it is not resolved, file a consumer complaint under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 against the platform and seller, online on e-Jagriti, at the District Commission where you live, within two years. No fee is payable up to ₹5 lakh.
Refund disputes with online platforms follow a familiar pattern. The return is picked up, the app shows "refund initiated", and weeks later nothing has arrived. Chat agents promise a callback, tickets close automatically, and the seller and the platform each say the other is responsible. Most of these disputes can be resolved without a case if you escalate in the right order and in writing. When they cannot, the consumer commission is built for exactly this kind of claim.
This post is about refunds for goods and services bought online in India. Flight and travel refunds have their own rules, covered in flight cancellation, lost baggage and travel refunds. If you paid a fake website or a seller who has vanished, the problem may be fraud rather than a refund dispute, which we deal with further down.
- Rules
- Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020
- Platform's deadline
- Acknowledge in 48 hours, resolve within one month
- Where to file
- District Commission where you live, online on e-Jagriti
- Fee
- None where the amount paid is up to ₹5 lakh
- Time limit
- 2 years from the cause of action (s.69)
- Against whom
- The platform and the seller, usually both
Who owes you the refund: the platform or the seller?
Often both, and you should treat both as responsible. The E-Commerce Rules distinguish two models. In the inventory model, the platform owns the goods and sells them to you, so it is the seller and is directly liable. In the marketplace model, the platform provides the website or app and independent sellers list their goods. Most large platforms in India run marketplaces, at least on paper.
Marketplace platforms usually argue that they are only intermediaries, protected by section 79 of the Information Technology Act. That protection is conditional. The Rules require a marketplace to follow its own duties: display seller details, run a grievance system, ensure sellers give accurate information, and process refunds. Consumer commissions have repeatedly refused to let a platform walk away where it took the payment, controlled the return pickup, issued the refund status or made promises in its own name.
The seller is liable for defective, wrong or counterfeit goods and for honouring returns. Under the Rules a marketplace seller cannot refuse to take back goods, or refuse a refund, where the goods are defective, deficient, spurious, not as described, or delivered late beyond the stated date, except for delays caused by force majeure. Name both the seller and the platform in any complaint, and take the seller's name and address from the order page, where the platform must display it.
What the E-Commerce Rules require from platforms
The Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules 2020 apply to every platform selling goods or services to consumers in India, including foreign platforms. Each platform must appoint a grievance officer, show the officer's name and contact details on its website, acknowledge a consumer's complaint within 48 hours and redress it within one month from receipt. A marketplace must also give a ticket number for each complaint so you can track it.
On refunds, a platform must effect payments towards accepted refund requests within a reasonable time, in line with RBI rules and other applicable law. A platform cannot impose cancellation charges on you unless it bears similar charges when it cancels an order unilaterally. It must not manipulate prices, post fake reviews or use misleading interfaces.
These duties matter in practice because they set the timeline. Once you have written to the grievance officer and a month has passed without resolution, you have a clear, documented failure to point to. That is a far better position than a series of chat transcripts with agents who closed your ticket.
Where is your refund stuck? Who to chase and what to ask for
| Situation | Who to chase | What to ask for |
|---|---|---|
| Return picked up, refund not credited | Platform first, then seller | Proof of pickup, date of refund initiation, bank reference number |
| Order cancelled before dispatch, money not back | Platform | Cancellation confirmation and refund reference |
| Payment debited but order shows failed | Your bank or card issuer, and the platform | Transaction ID; reversal under RBI failed-transaction rules |
| Refund shows "processed" but not in account | Your bank, with the platform's reference | ARN for card refunds, RRN or UTR for UPI and bank transfers |
| Wrong or damaged product, return refused | Seller and platform | Reason for refusal in writing, quality check report |
| Cash-on-delivery order, refund only to wallet | Platform | Refund to your bank account if you did not agree to wallet credit |
| Seller has stopped responding or shut down | Platform | Refund from the platform, which took the payment |
Refund shows "processed" but the money has not arrived
Once a platform says the refund is processed, ask it for the reference number that identifies the refund in the banking system. For card refunds this is usually an ARN (acquirer reference number); for UPI and bank transfers, an RRN or UTR. With that number, your bank can trace the credit. Without it, the bank and the platform will keep pointing at each other.
Card refunds can take several working days to appear, and sometimes appear as a credit on the next statement rather than in the current balance. Check the full statement before escalating. If the bank confirms it has received the refund but not credited it, the dispute is now with the bank, and a delay there can be a deficiency in banking service; see bank deficiency in service and the consumer court.
A different situation is a failed transaction, where your account was debited but the order never went through. RBI's framework on failed transactions fixes turnaround times for automatic reversal, depending on the payment channel (for UPI, generally the next working day), and requires the bank or payment system operator to pay compensation of ₹100 per day of delay beyond that. Raise this with your bank, citing the transaction ID and date.
How to escalate an unpaid refund, step by step
Follow this order. Each step creates a record, and skipping straight to a legal notice usually wastes a week.
Save the evidence
Screenshot the order page, the product listing as it appeared, the seller's name, the return pickup confirmation and every refund status update. Save emails and SMS as well. Do this before the platform's app changes or your order history is archived.
Raise a ticket and get the number
Use the platform's help section and get a written ticket number. Keep chat transcripts, and ask the agent to email a summary. If the ticket closes without resolution, reopen it and note the date.
Write to the grievance officer
Find the grievance officer's details on the platform's website, usually on the grievance or contact page. Email a short complaint with the order number, amounts, dates, ticket numbers and the refund you want. The 48-hour acknowledgement and one-month resolution period run from here.
Use the National Consumer Helpline
Register a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline by calling 1915 or through its online portal. Many large platforms work with the helpline and respond to its dockets quickly. It costs nothing, but it does not stop the two-year limitation period.
Consider a chargeback
If you paid by credit or debit card and the goods were not delivered or not as described, ask your card issuer about a chargeback. Card networks set their own time limits, often a few months from the transaction, so do this early.
Send a legal notice
A short notice by email to the platform's grievance officer and registered office, and to the seller, stating the facts and giving 15 days to refund with interest, often settles the matter. It also sets up the consumer complaint.
File a consumer complaint online
If none of this works, file before the District Commission where you live, on the e-Jagriti portal. Name the platform and the seller, attach the evidence and claim the refund, interest, compensation and costs.
What to write in your email to the grievance officer
Keep it short and factual, and make it easy for someone who has never seen your order to act on it. Put the order number and the amount in the subject line. In the body, give the date of the order, what went wrong, the date of cancellation or return pickup, the refund status shown in the app, every ticket number with its date, and exactly what you want: the refund of a stated amount to the original payment method by a stated date.
Attach the screenshots and the pickup receipt rather than describing them. Avoid long accounts of your frustration and threats of viral posts; they slow the reply rather than speed it. End by noting that you are writing under the E-Commerce Rules and expect acknowledgement within 48 hours and resolution within one month.
Send it from the email address linked to your account, and keep a copy in a folder with everything else about the order. If you receive an automated reply, keep that too, because it fixes the date the platform received your grievance.
Late delivery or no delivery at all
Where an order shows "delivered" but never reached you, act the same day. Report it on the platform, ask for the courier's proof of delivery (the delivery photograph, the signature or the OTP log), and check with neighbours, guards or the building's reception. If the proof of delivery shows someone else or a different address, that is strong evidence for your refund.
Where delivery is simply late beyond the date promised at checkout, the Rules allow you to refuse or return the goods and claim a refund, unless the delay was caused by force majeure. If you needed the item by a particular date, for example for a wedding or an exam, say so in your complaint and keep the screenshot of the promised delivery date. Compensation for the consequences of a late delivery is possible, but you have to show that the platform knew or should have known the date mattered.
Does the National Consumer Helpline actually help?
Often, yes, for refund disputes against large platforms. The National Consumer Helpline, run under the Department of Consumer Affairs, forwards grievances to companies that have joined its convergence programme, and many e-commerce companies have. Your grievance gets a docket number and goes to a team at the company that is usually more senior than the chat agents.
The helpline cannot order anyone to pay. It is a pre-litigation step that resolves a large share of simple refund cases, and it produces a written record of the company's response. If the company replies with a refusal, that reply becomes evidence in your complaint. Keep the docket number and all updates.
When is it worth filing a consumer complaint over a refund?
File when the platform's one-month window has passed, the helpline has not resolved it, and the amount or the principle matters enough to you. There is no fee where the amount paid is up to ₹5 lakh, which covers most online orders, and the complaint can be filed online and, in many commissions, followed by video hearing. You can appear yourself.
Be realistic about time. Even a simple refund complaint can take many months to a year or more in a District Commission, and you will spend time drafting and attending hearings. For a ₹1,500 order, many people decide the helpline and a chargeback are enough. For a ₹60,000 phone or a pattern of refunds being withheld, a complaint makes sense, and commissions routinely add compensation and costs to the refund.
Filing often produces the refund within weeks. Once a platform's legal team receives notice from a commission, many refund disputes are settled before the first hearing. If that happens, record the settlement in writing and ask the commission to close the complaint on that basis, or withdraw it once the money is in your account.
Which commission, and can you file from your own city?
You can file where you live or work for gain, under section 34(2) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019. This was one of the main changes from the old law, and it is important for online shopping, because the platform may be registered in Bengaluru and the seller in Surat. A buyer in Dwarka files before the District Commission with jurisdiction over Dwarka.
The District Commission hears cases where the amount paid is up to ₹50 lakh, which covers almost every online purchase. See pecuniary limits of the consumer commissions for the rare larger order, and filing a consumer complaint online on e-Jagriti for the portal itself.
A made-up example: the laptop that came back as "tampered"
Here's a made-up example. Priya, who lives in Dwarka, orders a laptop for ₹68,000 from a seller on a large marketplace and pays by credit card. The box that arrives contains an older model with a different processor. She records the unboxing on her phone, raises a return the same day, and the courier picks it up three days later. A week later the app shows "return rejected: product tampered" and no refund.
Her tickets are closed twice with the same message. She emails the grievance officer with the order number, the listing screenshot, the unboxing video and the pickup receipt, and registers a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline. The platform replies that the seller's quality check found the seal broken and the matter is between her and the seller. A month passes.
She sends a legal notice to the platform and the seller, then files a complaint on e-Jagriti before the District Commission covering Dwarka, claiming the ₹68,000 with interest, compensation and costs. Her evidence is strong: the listing shows one model, the video shows another being unboxed with the seal intact, and the platform controlled the return pickup and the refund decision. The platform will argue it is only an intermediary. The commission will decide on the evidence, but a case like this is also the kind that platforms often settle once notice is served.
Unboxing videos, screenshots and electronic evidence
Online shopping disputes are proved almost entirely through electronic records: screenshots of the listing, the order page, chats, emails, SMS, and unboxing videos. Keep the original files on the device where they were created, and back them up. Do not crop or edit the video; if you need a short clip for the complaint, make a copy and keep the original untouched.
A point Advocate B.K. Singh often makes to clients in e-commerce disputes is that the screenshot of the product listing taken on the day of purchase is the most important piece of evidence, and the one most people do not have. Listings change, sellers edit descriptions after complaints, and platforms remove pages. If you are buying anything expensive, take that screenshot before you pay.
Consumer commissions are less formal about evidence than criminal courts, but when the other side disputes a recording, a certificate under section 63 of the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (the old section 65B certificate) identifying the device and how the record was produced helps. Our post on electronic evidence and the section 63 BSA certificate explains the format.
Fake, counterfeit or used products sold as new
If you received a counterfeit branded product, a refurbished item sold as new, or a product with tampered serial numbers, the seller has sold goods that are spurious and not as described. The Rules require a marketplace seller to take such goods back and refund you, and the platform has its own duty to ensure sellers do not misrepresent what they sell.
Ask the brand's customer care to confirm in writing that the serial number or IMEI is not genuine or was sold elsewhere; that letter is strong evidence. Your consumer complaint can claim the refund and compensation. Selling counterfeit goods may also involve trademark infringement and cheating, but for your refund, the consumer route is usually enough.
"No refund" policies, hidden charges and dark patterns
A platform's or seller's "no return, no refund" policy does not override the law. Where goods are defective, deficient, spurious or not as described, the seller must take them back regardless of the listing's return policy. A policy that says otherwise for defective goods is unenforceable to that extent and may itself be an unfair trade practice.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority issued guidelines in 2023 on dark patterns, the interface tricks that push consumers into paying more or consenting to things they did not intend: false urgency, adding items to the basket without consent, subscription traps that are easy to join and hard to cancel, and drip pricing where charges appear only at checkout. If your refund problem began with a charge you never knowingly agreed to, that is relevant. See misleading advertisements and complaints to the CCPA for how the authority acts on such practices.
Refunds for services bought online
The same Rules cover services sold online: hotel bookings, event tickets, online courses, subscriptions, home services and repairs booked through apps. Refund disputes here usually turn on the cancellation terms shown at the time of booking and whether the service was actually provided. Screenshot the terms when you book.
Where a service provider cancels, the platform cannot keep your money or force a credit voucher on you unless you agreed to it. Where you cancel, the refund depends on the cancellation terms, but a term that keeps the entire amount for a cancellation made well in advance may be challenged as unfair. Course and coaching refunds have their own issues, covered in coaching or college fee refund through consumer court.
Is it a fraud rather than a refund dispute?
Some "refund" problems are frauds. A website that copies a known brand, an Instagram or WhatsApp seller who takes UPI payment and blocks you, or a caller who offers to "process your refund" and asks for an OTP or a screen-sharing app: these are cyber frauds, not consumer disputes. A consumer complaint is of little use against someone you cannot identify.
Report a fraud at once on the national cybercrime helpline 1930 or at cybercrime.gov.in, because quick reporting is what gives a chance of the money being held in the recipient's account. Then inform your bank. Our post on reporting a UPI fraud and recovering money sets out the steps, and our cyber crime practice page explains the police side.
Mistakes that make refund disputes harder
- Relying only on chat. Chat agents close tickets. An email to the grievance officer creates a record with a fixed deadline.
- Not recording the unboxing. For expensive items, a continuous unboxing video from sealed box to product answers most "tampered" or "used" defences.
- Accepting wallet credit by default. If you paid from your bank account or card, you can ask for the refund to the original payment method.
- Missing the chargeback window. Card networks have time limits. Ask your issuer early, even while the platform is still "processing".
- Suing only the platform or only the seller. Name both, so neither can escape by blaming the other.
- Sharing OTPs with "refund" callers. No genuine platform needs your OTP, PIN or a screen-sharing app to send you a refund.
Evidence to keep for an e-commerce complaint
The order
- Screenshot of the product listing as it appeared
- Order confirmation email and invoice
- Seller's name and address from the order page
- Payment proof: card statement, UPI or bank reference
The problem
- Unboxing video and photos of the product received
- Return request, pickup receipt and courier details
- Refund status screenshots with dates
- Brand's letter on serial number or authenticity, if relevant
Your follow-up
- Ticket numbers and chat transcripts
- Email to the grievance officer and any reply
- National Consumer Helpline docket number
- Legal notice and proof of delivery
What can the commission order in a refund case?
The commission can order the refund of the amount paid, interest on it from the date it should have been paid, compensation for the harassment and inconvenience, and the costs of the complaint. It can also direct the seller to take back the goods or replace them. In serious cases involving a deliberate practice affecting many consumers, it can award punitive damages, though this is uncommon in individual refund cases.
Compensation in refund cases is usually modest, scaled to the amount and the conduct. The real value of a complaint is often that it moves the dispute from a chat queue to a legal team that can authorise payment. If the order is not complied with, you can file for execution; see enforcing a consumer commission order.
What to do this week
- Screenshot the order, listing, seller details and every refund status update
- Email the platform's grievance officer with order number, amount, dates and ticket numbers
- Register a grievance with the National Consumer Helpline (1915 or its portal)
- Ask your card issuer about a chargeback if you paid by card
- If the platform says the refund is processed, ask for the ARN, RRN or UTR and give it to your bank
- Keep the original unboxing video and photos untouched and backed up
- Diary the date one month after your grievance email, when the platform's deadline expires
Getting help with a stuck refund
Most refund disputes end at the grievance officer or the helpline. The ones that do not are usually either high-value orders, cases where the seller claims the product was tampered with, or platforms that keep closing tickets. Those are the cases where a legal notice and a well-drafted consumer complaint change the outcome. Our page on consumer protection law explains the commissions more broadly.
If you want an advocate to look at the order trail and tell you whether a notice or a complaint makes sense, the team of Advocate B.K. Singh at B.K. Singh & Associates can review it. Send the details through our online enquiry form.
Frequently asked questions
How long does an e-commerce company have to give my refund?
The E-Commerce Rules require the platform to acknowledge your complaint within 48 hours and resolve it within one month. Accepted refunds must be paid within a reasonable time in line with RBI rules. Card refunds can take several working days to reach your account after they are processed.
Can I file a consumer complaint against an online shopping site?
Yes. Online platforms and sellers are covered by the Consumer Protection Act 2019 and the E-Commerce Rules 2020. You can file before the District Commission where you live, online on the e-Jagriti portal, naming both the platform and the seller.
Is the marketplace liable if the seller does not refund?
Platforms argue they are only intermediaries, but that protection depends on following their own duties under the Rules. Where the platform took the payment, ran the return and controlled the refund, commissions have often held it liable along with the seller. Always name both.
What is the National Consumer Helpline number?
The National Consumer Helpline can be reached on 1915, and grievances can also be registered through its online portal. It forwards your complaint to the company and tracks the response. It is free but cannot order payment, and it does not stop the limitation period.
Can the seller refuse a return because of its no-return policy?
Not for goods that are defective, deficient, spurious, not as described or delivered late. The E-Commerce Rules require the seller to take these back and refund you. A no-return policy can apply to a change of mind, but not to a defect.
What is an ARN number for a refund?
An ARN (acquirer reference number) identifies a card refund in the card network, so your bank can trace it. For UPI or bank transfers, the equivalent is an RRN or UTR. Ask the platform for this number whenever it says your refund is processed but you have not received it.
Do I need a lawyer to file a consumer complaint for a refund?
No, you can file and appear yourself, and many people do for small refunds. A lawyer helps where the amount is large, the platform disputes the facts, or you want a notice drafted that brings settlement. The commission does not penalise you for appearing in person.
Is there a fee for a consumer complaint about an online refund?
No fee is payable where the amount paid is up to ₹5 lakh, which covers most online purchases. You still need to prepare copies and attend hearings, physically or by video where the commission allows. Above ₹5 lakh, a fee applies on a slab scale.
What if the platform gives the refund only as wallet credit?
If you paid from your bank account or card and did not choose wallet credit, ask for the refund to the original payment method. Many platforms allow a transfer from wallet to bank if you insist in writing. For cash-on-delivery orders, ask for a bank transfer if you do not want wallet credit.
Can I get compensation as well as my refund?
Yes. The commission can award interest on the refund, compensation for harassment and the costs of the complaint. Compensation in individual refund cases is usually modest, scaled to the amount and how the company behaved.
What if the online seller was a fake website?
Then it is a cyber fraud, not a consumer dispute. Report it immediately on 1930 or cybercrime.gov.in and inform your bank, because speed improves the chance of the money being held. A consumer complaint does not help against someone who cannot be identified.
How long do I have to file a complaint about a refund?
Two years from the date the cause of action arose, which is usually when the refund was due or was refused. Do not wait that long, because evidence on the app disappears and card chargeback windows close in months. A late complaint needs an application for condonation of delay.
Written and reviewed at B.K. Singh & Associates
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M., with more than twenty years of practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district courts and tribunals across Delhi NCR. This article explains the general law as of 24 October 2026; it is not legal advice on your facts.