Return instructions email templates for online shops
Once a return is agreed, customers want the steps in order. This reply gives the label or address, the drop-off options and the refund timing, so the parcel arrives with the right reference and you don't get a "did you get it?" email.
Template
Subject: How to return your order {order_number}
Subject: Return instructions: order {order_number}
Subject: Your returns label
- {first_name}
- The customer's first name. Hobson fills this from the conversation.
- {order_number}
- The Shopify order number. Hobson fills this from the matched order.
- {return_reference}
- A reference to put inside the parcel, such as the order number or an RMA number.
- {return_label_url}
- A link to the prepaid returns label or QR code.
- {return_address}
- Your full returns address, including postcode.
- {return_postage_terms}
- Who pays return postage, such as "free" or "at your cost, as stated in our returns policy".
- {drop_off_point}
- Where to drop the parcel, such as "a Post Office", "an Evri ParcelShop" or "an InPost locker".
- {refund_days}
- How many working days after arrival you refund, such as 3.
- {agent_first_name}
- The first name of the teammate sending the reply. Hobson fills this.
- {workspace}
- Your shop name. Hobson fills this.
When to use it
- You have agreed a return and need to tell the customer how to send it.
- The customer asks "how do I send it back?".
- You are sending a prepaid label from your carrier or returns app.
UK consumer law
For change-of-mind returns under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, the customer has 14 days from telling you to send the goods back, and you must refund within 14 days of receiving them or proof of postage. They pay return postage only if you said so before purchase. For faulty or wrong items, you cover the return cost. This is a general guide, not legal advice.
How to use it
- 1
Create the return
Set up the return in Shopify or your returns app so the label and reference match the order.
- 2
Pick the right version
Use the formal version for customers posting to your address themselves, and the friendly or brief one when you are sending a prepaid label.
- 3
Fill in the drop-off
Name the actual drop-off network for your label, such as Royal Mail, Evri or InPost, so customers do not go to the wrong shop.
- 4
Confirm on arrival
Tell the customer when the parcel arrives. It stops most "have you got it?" emails.
Common mistakes
- Sending a label for one carrier and telling the customer to go to another.
- Leaving out a reference, so the parcel arrives with no way to match it to an order.
- Not saying who pays postage, which leads to arguments when the refund is short.
- Going quiet between the parcel arriving and the refund.
What they usually ask next
When will I get my refund? Refund request within 14 days
Related templates
All returns and refunds templates- Refund request within 14 daysReply templates for change-of-mind refund requests inside the 14-day UK cancellation period: how to send it back, what gets refunded and when the money arrives.
- Exchange requestReply templates for size and colour exchanges: check stock, hold the new item, and choose whether to send it now or once the return arrives. Friendly, formal, brief.
- Wrong item receivedReply templates for when a customer gets the wrong item: apologise, send the right one, and arrange a free return or let them keep it. Friendly, formal and brief.