Returns and refunds

In short: Process returns the normal Shopify way and you refund the items only, which is correct. You only ever pay the delivery fee back if you deliberately tick "Refund shipping", so leave it unticked unless you have a reason.

At a glance

When you refund a STREET order in Shopify, the standard flow refunds the items only. That is the right outcome.

There is a separate "Refund shipping" checkbox. It is off by default. If you tick it, the delivery fee comes out of your own pocket, not the customer's. In most cases there is no reason to touch it.

Your two valid choices on every return

Every return comes down to one decision:

1. Click through as normal. Refund the items only. Recommended. This is what the default flow does. You do nothing special.
2. Tick "Refund shipping" on purpose. Only for a genuine customer-service reason (faulty item, looking after a good customer). You absorb the delivery fee when you do this. That is a fair call to make, as long as you are making it on purpose.

How a return works in Shopify

1. Open the order in your Shopify admin.
2. Choose Return items and select what is coming back.
3. Choose Process return, which opens the refund window.
4. In that window, the Refund shipping checkbox is unticked, which is the outcome you want.
5. Confirm the refund. The customer gets the item price back. The delivery fee is not touched.

That is the whole job. You do not need to do anything else.

The "You owe customer £X" message

After a partial refund, the order page may show a banner like "You owe customer £9.99".

This is cosmetic. It is Shopify showing you the delivery fee it did not refund. No money is actually owed and nothing is stuck. You can leave it. The return is already complete.

Watch out there is no need to tick "Refund shipping" to clear this banner. That is the one action that turns a harmless message into real money leaving your account, so it is best left alone unless you genuinely mean to refund the delivery. The banner itself can simply be ignored.

Why the delivery fee is not yours to give back

On a STREET order, the delivery fee is not your earnings. It is the cost of the rider who delivered the order, and STREET bills you for that separately to cover it. The fee only shows up in your Shopify takings because of how the checkout has to work behind the scenes.

So if you refund the delivery fee to the customer, you pay for that delivery twice: once to STREET (already settled, cannot be reversed) and once back to the customer. The whole fee is your loss.

Worked example. A customer returns a £48.00 item with £9.99 delivery.

• Default flow (recommended): refund £48.00. The customer gets their item money back. You are square.
• You tick "Refund shipping": refund £57.99. The customer gets £57.99. You are £9.99 down, because STREET has already billed you for that delivery and it is not coming back.

When to tick "Refund shipping" on purpose

Sometimes refunding the delivery fee is the right thing to do. For example:

• The item arrived faulty or not as described and you want to make it right.
• A valued customer had a poor experience and you want to keep them.

In those cases, tick it knowingly. Just understand the delivery fee is money you are choosing to give. If you tick it and immediately regret it, contact STREET support (see Get Help) and we will talk it through.

The one case where the customer is owed the delivery fee

If a customer cancels a whole order for change of mind within 14 days of receiving it and sends everything back, UK consumer law (the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013) says the seller refunds the basic delivery charge as well as the goods. On a STREET order the seller is you, so in that one case tick "Refund shipping" on purpose. STREET has still paid the rider and still bills you for that delivery; that is the cost of the sale falling through, the same as it would on your own website.

This does not apply to a partial return (one item out of several comes back), to a change of mind after the 14 days, or to a return under your own longer policy. Those follow the default: items only.

Customers are told in the STREET app, before they pay and on their order screen, that the delivery fee is not refunded once the order is on its way and that returns and refunds are handled by you, with a link to your returns policy. Keep that policy link filled in on your STREET listing so they land in the right place.

FAQ

How long do customers have to return? Your own return window and policy apply, the same as any other Shopify order. Set this in your Shopify settings.

What about a partial return, where only one item of several comes back? Same rules. Refund the returned item only. Leave shipping unticked.

A customer is cancelling the whole order and sending everything back. Do I refund the delivery? If it is within 14 days of them receiving it, yes: consumer law puts the basic delivery refund on you as the seller. Tick "Refund shipping" for that return. See the section above.

The item was faulty. Should I refund delivery? That is your call. It is a reasonable goodwill gesture. Just tick "Refund shipping" knowing the fee comes from you.

Who pays for the customer to send the item back? That is covered by your own return policy, the same as your other Shopify sales. STREET's delivery fee is about the original outbound delivery, which is the only part this page is about.

Still unsure? Refund the items only and leave shipping alone. That is correct for almost every return. When in doubt, do the default.