Refund and exception brief

Use this whenever a customer asks for money back, a credit, or a rule to be bent.

State the facts

Give the customer, plan, billing dates, amounts charged, what they asked for in their own words, and the ticket id. Add what the account record shows: usage, outages or bugs that touched them, and past credits. Mark any fact you could not verify.

Compare with policy

Quote the refund or exception policy that applies, with its source and date. Say plainly whether the request falls inside or outside it and why. If no written policy covers the case, say so rather than guessing one.

Options for the approver

Lay out two or three options, for example:

• follow the policy as written;
• a partial refund or credit, with the amount;
• the full request.

For each give the cost, the precedent it sets, and any chargeback or legal deadline. Name the approver and the date a decision is needed.

Never promise a refund, credit, or exception to the customer before the approver decides. Do not issue money or change billing yourself; draft only.