DM templates · Instagram
Answer refund and return questions in Instagram DMs
Answer a refund or return question with the part of your policy that fits their case, the one thing you need from them, and when they'll get their money. The 14 replies below cover change of mind, faulty and personalised items, refunds that haven't arrived and buyers who mention their bank, along with Meta's timing rules and the EU's rules on online returns.
Updated 6 October 2026 · 14 templates
14 messages to copy
Tap a card to copy the message. Swap anything in braces, like {name}, for your own words before you send it.
“What's your returns policy?”
You can return anything within 30 days of delivery for a full refund, as long as it's unused and in its original packaging. Use the prepaid label in your parcel; the full policy is here: {link}. Is there an order you'd like to send back?
Put the window, the condition and the postage in the first two lines. Between them, they answer most follow-up questions before anyone asks.
Change of mind
That's completely fine. Post it back unused within 30 days of delivery, to the address on this page: {link}. Return postage is yours to cover, and the refund goes out as soon as the parcel reaches us. Tell me here once it's posted and I'll look out for it.
If buyers pay return postage, say so before they buy, not only in the DM. Under EU rules, a seller who didn't mention that cost up front has to cover it.
Doesn't fit: swap or refund
Sorry it didn't fit! I can send the {size} instead, or refund you once it's back, whichever you'd prefer. If it's the swap, tell me the size and I'll set one aside now, so it can't sell out while yours is in the post.
Offer both and let them choose. Setting the new size aside straight away is what makes a swap feel better than a refund.
Faulty or damaged on arrival
I'm sorry, it should never have reached you like that. Could you send a photo of the fault? Then it's your choice: a replacement, or your money back in full, and we'll pay the postage either way.
Never charge postage for a fault. Asking a buyer to pay to return your mistake is how a refund turns into a public complaint.
Personalised or made to order
Because this piece was made to order with your initials, we can't take it back for a change of mind; the product page mentions this too. If anything is wrong with it, though, send me a photo and I'll put it right.
Made-to-order and clearly personalised goods are one of the exceptions to the EU's 14-day right to cancel. A fault is still yours to fix.
Bought in the sale
Yes, sale items follow the same returns policy as everything else: send it back unused within 30 days of delivery and you'll get back exactly what you paid. Shall I send you the returns address?
“Final sale” can't remove the 14-day right to cancel that buyers in the EU have for online orders. Reduced items aren't on the list of exceptions.
Digital download
As the files have already been downloaded, we can't take them back the way we would a parcel. If something's wrong, though, like a file that won't open or content that doesn't match the description, tell me what you're seeing and I'll fix it or refund you.
Under EU rules, starting a download ends the right to cancel only if the buyer expressly agreed to that. Ask for that agreement at checkout, not in a DM afterwards.
Past the return window
Thanks for asking. This order was delivered on {time}, which puts it outside our 30-day return window, so I can't take it back as a change of mind. If something has gone wrong with the item itself, though, tell me what's happening. That's a different matter, and I'd like to help.
A return window is for change of mind. Faults that show up later are a separate question, and in many countries the law gives buyers much longer to raise them.
Return arrived incomplete
Thanks for sending it back. It reached us without the {part}, so I've refunded the item minus {amount} for the missing piece, as our policy explains: {link}. If the {part} turns up, post it on and I'll refund the rest straight away.
Explain any deduction before the money arrives, with a photo if there's room for doubt. A short refund with no explanation is what sends buyers to their bank.
Refund sent
Good news, {name}: your refund of {amount} went out today, back to the card or account you paid with. How quickly it shows up is down to your bank, so if it isn't there within a week, message me and I'll send the payment reference to show them.
Send it on the day the money leaves you. If the buyer last wrote more than 24 hours ago, an automated DM can't carry it, so email it or type it yourself in the app.
“Where's my refund?”
Sorry for the worry. I've checked, and your refund left us on {time}. Some banks take several working days to show it. If it still isn't there by {time}, send me a screenshot of your statement and I'll chase it with our payment provider.
Give the date the money left you. “It's been processed” with no date sounds like a stall, even when it isn't one.
UPI refund, with a safety note
Your refund is on its way back to the UPI ID you paid from. You don't need to do anything to receive it: no PIN, no code, no link to tap. If anyone asks for your UPI PIN to “release” a refund, it isn't us.
Receiving money by UPI never needs a PIN, and fake refund messages ask for one. Saying so before anyone else gets in touch protects your buyer and your name.
Returning a gift
Of course, happy to help with a gift! Send me the order number from the gift note, or the name the order was placed under. Refunds go back to whoever paid, so if you'd rather keep it quiet, I can swap it for another size or colour instead.
Saying where the money goes saves an awkward moment between the person who bought the gift and the person who received it.
When a buyer mentions their bank
I understand, and you're entitled to talk to your bank. Before you do, may I try to fix this? Send me the order number and I'll check exactly where your refund is, then reply here within the hour.
Stay calm and stick to facts. If they dispute the payment, your messages may become evidence, so write each reply as if a stranger will read it.
Set it up in DMFast
Message REFUND, get the returns policy
People ask about refunds in a dozen ways, and DMFast matches whole words, so add REFUNDS, RETURN, RETURNS and EXCHANGE to the same auto-reply. The buyer wrote first, so the policy card goes with the first reply. The order number then goes to a person, who checks the order and sends the money.
Pick direct messages
Connect your Instagram account and add an auto-reply for DMs. It answers messages, not comments.
Set the word: REFUND
Any message with the word REFUND in it gets this answer, in capitals or not.
Paste the message
Add the message shown here and the link card that goes with it.
Free plan, no card. Instagram professional accounts and Facebook Pages.
Rules to know
- Automated replies can only go out within 24 hours of the buyer's last message. A refund made days later, once the parcel is back, falls outside that window unless they've written again since.
- After those 24 hours, Meta's human agent tag lets a person, not a bot, answer a support issue such as a refund for up to 7 days after the buyer's last message, in tools that support it.
- A refund complaint left in your comments can get one private reply, sent within 7 days of the comment. Nothing more can follow until the buyer answers it.
- In the EU, people who buy online can usually cancel within 14 days of delivery without giving a reason. Personalised goods, perishables, opened sealed media or software, and downloads started with the buyer's agreement are exceptions.
- Under the same EU rules, buyers usually pay return postage, unless you offered to cover it or didn't tell them about the cost before they bought.
Sources
Turn your policy into one short reply
Most buyers don't read a returns page before they message. They ask in the DM and want the part that applies to them. Cover these five points in your reply, or in the policy card you send, and most refund chats end after one message.
| What they want to know | What your reply should say |
|---|---|
| Can I send it back? | How many days they have, counted from delivery, and the condition it needs to be in. |
| Who pays to post it? | A free label, a flat fee or their own cost. Say it plainly, before they ask. |
| How do I get my money? | Back to the original payment method, and roughly when, once the parcel reaches you. |
| Can I swap it instead? | Whether exchanges are free, and how to hold the new size. |
| What can't be returned? | Your real exceptions, such as personalised pieces or unsealed cosmetics, with the reason. |
Tip: Keep the summary as a saved reply in Instagram, or as the answer to a REFUND keyword. Then everyone on the team quotes the same terms, and nobody promises a refund the policy doesn't offer.
What the law already says
Your policy sits on top of the law where your buyers live, and it can't take away their legal rights. In the EU, someone who buys online can cancel within 14 days of delivery without giving a reason, and the UK has a similar rule. A “no refunds” line in your bio doesn't change that for those buyers. The EU's exceptions include:
- Goods made to order or clearly personalised, such as a necklace with a name on it.
- Perishable goods that go off quickly, such as food or fresh flowers.
- Sealed audio, video or software that the buyer has opened.
- Digital content once the download or stream has started, if the buyer expressly agreed to that.
Faulty goods are a separate matter, with their own rules and much longer time limits, whether or not your change-of-mind window has closed. Outside the EU and UK the rules differ, so check the ones that apply where you sell. This is a summary, not legal advice.
Refunds take days, but the DM window doesn't
A refund usually runs over several days: the buyer asks, posts the parcel, it arrives, you check it and send the money. Meta's 24-hour rule only covers the start. Each time the buyer writes, automated replies get 24 hours. After that, a person can answer support questions for up to 7 days using the human agent tag, and only a message typed in the Instagram app can go out later than that.
| Step | When | Best way to tell them |
|---|---|---|
| They ask about a return | The first chat | A DM, automatic or by hand |
| You approve it | Usually the same day | The same thread, while their 24 hours are open |
| Their parcel reaches you | Days later | Email, or a DM typed by hand |
| The money goes out | Days later | Email with the amount and the reference |
| They ask where it is | Whenever they write | A DM, since their message opens a fresh 24 hours |
Tip: Ask for the email address on the order at the start. It's how you'll reach them when the parcel lands, long after the chat has gone quiet.
Mistakes that turn a refund into a complaint
- Making them ask twice. If the policy has a link, send it with the answer rather than after another question.
- Promising a date your bank or payment provider controls. Say when the money leaves you, not when it will land.
- Asking for a card number, a bank login, a one-time code or a UPI PIN. No refund needs them, and scammers ask for exactly these.
- Arguing under a public comment. One calm line there, then the details in private.
- Treating a fault like a change of mind, with postage and deadlines the buyer shouldn't have to carry.
- Taking money off a refund without explaining why before it arrives.
What to measure
Count refund and return requests for every 100 orders, and note the reason each time: size, fault, late delivery or change of mind. The reason tells you what to fix. Lots of size returns point to the size guide, faults to packing or a supplier, and late deliveries to the courier.
Also track how long refunds take once a return arrives, and how often buyers ask “where's my refund?”. If that question keeps coming, send the confirmation sooner, or say in your policy card how long banks usually take to show the money.
Questions people ask
Do I have to give refunds on orders that come through Instagram?
It depends on where your buyers live and what your policy promises. In the EU, most online orders can be cancelled within 14 days of delivery without a reason, and the UK has a similar rule; other countries set their own. Selling through Instagram doesn't change any of this, so publish a policy that fits the law and stick to it in DMs.
Can I write “no refunds” in my bio?
You can state a policy, but for buyers in the EU and UK it can't remove their legal right to cancel most online orders, or their rights when something arrives faulty. List your genuine exceptions instead, such as personalised or made-to-order pieces, and say why.
Can an auto-reply handle refunds?
It can answer the question, not move the money. A keyword reply can send your policy card and ask for the order number; a person then checks the order and sends the refund. In DMFast, AI replies on the Growth and Business plans can also explain the policy, but only from the business info you write down.
How should I confirm a refund has gone through?
On the day it leaves you, with the amount and the date. If the buyer's last message was more than 24 hours ago, an automated DM can't reach them, so send the confirmation by email or type it yourself in the Instagram app.
What details can I safely ask for?
Only what finds the order: the order number, or the email or phone number used at checkout, plus photos if something arrived damaged. A refund goes back to the original payment method, so a shop never needs a card number, a bank login, a one-time code or a UPI PIN.
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