When will my refund arrive?
A refund has two stages, and knowing which one you are in explains almost everything about how long it is taking.
First we issue the refund. Then your bank posts it to your account. The second part is out of our hands and usually takes 5 to 10 business days from the day we issue it.
So the day you see our email is not the day the money lands. That gap is normal, and it is the single most common reason people write to ask where a refund has got to.
You will get two emails, not one
1. "Your refund has been processed"
Sent the moment we issue the refund. It confirms the amount and the reason, and tells you to expect the money within 5 to 10 business days. At this point the refund has left us and is with your bank.
2. "Your refund has been completed"
Sent later, when the refund actually settles on your card. This one is not on a timer — it goes out when the payment network confirms the money has moved, so it may arrive a few days after the first.
It carries something the first email cannot: a bank reference number, also called an ARN.
What the bank reference number is for
Occasionally a bank will tell a customer they cannot see a refund even though it has been sent. The reference number is what settles that conversation: it identifies the exact transaction, and your bank can use it to trace the money directly rather than taking your word for it.
Keep the second email. If your refund has not appeared after 10 business days, give that number to your bank first — it is faster than anything we can do from our side.
Refunds to Klarna and PayPal do not have a bank reference number. They do not travel over the card networks, so no such number exists. Check your Klarna or PayPal account directly for their own status instead.
When the clock starts
It depends on why you are being refunded.
- A cancelled order, or an item that went out of stock — we issue the refund straight away, so the only wait is your bank's.
- A return — the refund is issued within 5 to 10 business days of the carrier marking your parcel delivered at our warehouse. Your bank's own 5 to 10 business days then follow that. See Returns & Exchanges for the full process.
That second case is worth reading twice: a return has both waits, one after the other, and it starts from the day the parcel reaches us — not the day you posted it.
Sometimes there is no refund to wait for
If we caught the change before your payment was actually taken, there is nothing to send back. Two things can happen instead, and both are good news:
- The payment was cancelled — you were never charged. Any pending amount your bank was holding drops off by itself, usually within a few days.
- The charge was reduced — you are simply billed less. Nothing comes back separately because it never left.
Our email says which of these applied, so if it does not mention a refund amount, that is why.
Refunds that go to store credit
Some refunds are added to your store credit balance instead of your card. That happens when you chose store credit as the outcome, and for anything originally paid for with store credit.
These are the fast ones. The balance updates immediately, there is no bank in the middle and nothing to wait for — you can spend it on your next order right away. See Using your store credit.
If something goes wrong
Refunds occasionally fail on the payment provider's side, usually because a card has expired or been closed. If that happens we email you about it, and your money is not lost — it stays with us until we can get it to you. Our team is alerted automatically and will be in touch within one business day with the next step.
And if your refund still has not arrived after 10 business days and your bank cannot find it with the reference number, please contact us with that number to hand and we will chase it from our side.