Blog Details

Author - Associate Shereen Abdin

The terms and conditions is a crucial part of any website, in providing awareness to the customers in terms of finance, refund, returns, and privacy policies. The terms of conditions must be well presented to the customer to achieve good customer service. It is important to enlist the terms and conditions on the website, to help customers with useful information, before purchasing on the specific website.

For example, some website owners like to keep the return policy as 30 days while the others prefer 15 days. This differs for each website owner, but essential to mention in the terms of the contract for better visibility to customers.

Returns

Items acceptable for return are reckoned to be done within 30 days, after which return will not be applicable. To process your return, proof of invoice is required at the time of return.

Example of a Return Policy

"We accept a 30-day Return Policy- Provided the products are unused and, cover the timeframe of within 30 days of purchase. Please ensure the original tags of the product is unremoved". However, some products are not eligible for a return like software and gift cards. These items are marked non-returnable in the order details page of the product. Please note that before ordering, as we do not accept returns in such case.

Refunds

Once the website receives the product in good condition from the customer, an email is sent to the mail id of the customer on this. The website also displays the status as return picked up/received. Then the refund is either approved or rejected by the website. If approved, status displays as Refund Approved and, a credit is automatically reverted to your bank account, which will reflect in the bank within the specified time.

Delayed Refunds

There are some exceptional cases, where the refund is provided by the website, but the bank has not issued it to the customer. In such a scenario, the customer has to check with his bank first. He can either log in to net banking or check the statement for the month. If still not received the refund, please reach the website's customer care to assist with the pending refund information. This may be due to the processing time taken. So, it is better to get it verified with the concerned bank.

A return or refund is not applicable for items purchased during sale.

Lost Items

This happens when your product says it is delivered but did not reach you due to some issues. These may include shipping errors or someone has misplaced it while delivering it. In such cases, the status of the order in your website displays as product delivered. You need to register a complaint with the customer care of the website and, an enquiry goes on this. The product is marked lost and, the refund provided to the customer, according to the website policies.

Privacy

The privacy policy of a website refers to any personal information obtained from the customer. This must be maintained securely and, mandatorily be a part of the terms and conditions section on a website.

Details like name of the customer, address, phone number, and email address are valued as Personal information, details like gender, location, bank account, and financial information are valued as sensitive information, and the website is responsible for protecting it carefully.

The website must also include a disclaimer to the customers stating that these privacy policies are bound to change anytime and, customers need to visit the website frequently to be informed.

Conclusion

To conclude, each website runs on different types of TOC's and, other policies discussed above. But, it is essential to provide all the related information on the website to create a substantial customer base. A website with well-defined policies draws the customers as it creates more faith in the site and makes them invest more on such sites. This transparency is critical in running a successful business and, keeps you on par with customer expectations.