How to manage your return requests

Purpose: Discover how to use the Return request feature to manage your return process easily.

What is a Return request?

Return Requests allow you to decide whether a customer can return a product by approving or rejecting their return request before a return label is created.

Why use a Return request?

• This feature allows you to efficiently manage your returns and reduce unnecessary returns from your clients, saving time and costs.
• By providing transparent reasons for return rejections, you also build trust with your clients.

Set up your Return request

1. In your Sendcloud account, navigate to Returns > Return portal > Additional settings
2. Check the option Manually approve and reject returns
   
    
3. Configure your return rules to gain control over which specific return you want to review
4. Click on Save

Manage your Return requests

Once you have enabled the Return request feature, you can easily oversee all incoming return requests in the new dedicated Return requests tab and process them.
The number on this new tab shows the number of pending requests. 

You can choose to:

• Approve or reject a request by clicking on the checkmark or the cross-check icon.
• Filter out your return requests using the return rules

Approve a return request

1. You can choose to approve with or without a shipping label. 
   For example, If the product is too damaged to be worth returning, you can choose to approve the refund without requiring the customer to send it back.
   Note: If you choose to approve the return request with a shipping label, the label-created tracking email will be sent to your client, with the return label attached. You can customize your tracking emails in the panel. If you choose to approve without a shipping label, your client will receive a generic email stating that their request has been approved and they do not have to ship the parcel back.
2. You can choose to refund the return fee to your client.

Once you approve the return request, you will see it in the Incoming Returns tab, and it will disappear from the Return Request tab.

Reject a return request

1. When you choose to reject the return request, you can provide a reason to justify the rejection to your client and a detailed explanation.
   
2. If your client already paid the return fee, then it will be automatically refunded to them.

Once you reject the return request, it will remain in the Return Request tab.

Use your Return rules

Using your return rules, you can automatically approve or reject some return requests. This will save you time and effort in processing return requests since you won't have to manually approve or reject each request every time.

Here are two examples of return rules you can create:

• IF Return reason IS NOT “product damaged” OR “Wrong product sent”
  THEN Disable Return request

• IF From country is Netherlands
  THEN Disable Return request

Check out our article on Return rules for more.

How does it work for your client?

When you enable the Return request, your client will go through your return portal, but they won't receive a return label. As an option, your client will be able to upload one image per product so that you can see what is wrong with it. This can help you choose to approve or reject the return.

Once you have approved or rejected the return request, your client will receive an email with your decision and the instructions to follow in case of approval. 

If you have rejected the return request, your client will receive the rejecting email and see the explanation as shown below:

Related articles: 

→ Return rules

→ How do I set up my Return portal?

→ Charge customers for a return fee via the Return portal

→ Process your return shipments