Customer service
Returns and exchanges in your online store: who decides what
Returns and exchanges in an online store: what Portuguese law sets, what is store policy and what the agent handles alone. A ShopGuru guide.
"I want to return this" reaches an online store written the same way, but it can mean three things with different rules: a change of mind, a defect or a size that doesn't fit. Handling returns and exchanges starts by telling these cases apart, because each has its own deadline and its own rule on who pays for shipping. That split decides what goes ahead without your team and what needs their decision.
Article summary
- A returns and exchanges request in an online store usually falls into one of three cases: a change of mind, a defect or an exchange for convenience.
- For online purchases in Portugal, the customer has 14 days to withdraw without giving a reason, counted from the day they receive the order.
- Once the store knows the customer has withdrawn, it has 14 days to refund them, and if it misses that deadline the law requires it to pay back double.
- A defect that shows up within three years of delivery is covered by the legal guarantee, and in the first 30 days the customer can ask straight away for a replacement or a refund.
- Exchanging a size after the legal period is not an obligation: it is store policy, with whatever deadlines and conditions the store chooses.
- The ShopGuru agent identifies the case, checks the deadlines and asks for photos of a defect, and it can open the return and send the shipping label without waiting for your team, if the store gives it that autonomy level.
- Refusing a request, accepting an exception to the policy or refunding above a limit are your team's decisions, and the conversation reaches them with a summary and a suggested action.
Four requests that start with "I want to return this"
An example, with a fictional kitchenware store. On a Monday morning, the inbox holds four requests that use the same words:
- A customer received a food processor 5 days ago and changed her mind.
- A customer says the electric kettle stopped heating after 3 weeks.
- Another customer received a 28 cm frying pan 20 days ago and actually needs the 24.
- A customer no longer wants the chopping board he had engraved with the family name.
For the person buying, it is all a return. For the store, these are four situations with different deadlines and costs, and giving them all the same answer is the shortest route to getting at least two of them wrong.
What the law sets for online returns and exchanges
Portugal's Decree-Law 24/2014, which transposes Directive 2011/83/EU, gives the customer 14 days to withdraw from the purchase without stating a reason. The period runs from the day the customer, or someone they name other than the carrier, takes possession of the order.
Once it is informed of the withdrawal, the store has 14 days to refund, including delivery costs up to the cheapest delivery option. It may hold the refund until it receives the product or proof that it was sent. If it misses the deadline, it must pay back double within 15 working days.
The cost of sending the product back falls on the customer, if the store told them so before the purchase. The law leaves out, among others, personalised goods, goods that spoil quickly and goods sealed for hygiene reasons that the customer has opened.
A defect follows a different regime. Under Decree-Law 84/2021, the store is liable for any lack of conformity that shows up within three years of delivery. If the defect appears in the first 30 days, the customer can ask straight away for a replacement or a refund.
Exchanging the frying pan on day 20 is not in either of these laws. It only exists if the store's policy provides for it.
"The law settles changes of mind and defects. Exchanging a size is the store's call, and it should be written down." ShopGuru
A WhatsApp message can start the clock
The customer doesn't need the withdrawal form. The law accepts any unequivocal statement in the customer's own words, made by letter, by phone, by sending the product back or by any other means that can serve as proof. A WhatsApp message saying "I want to return the food processor" may count as that statement. That is our reading of Article 11, not legal advice.
The 14 days to refund generally run from the moment the store is informed of the withdrawal. So they can start with a message on Sunday night, not on the Monday when someone on your team reads it.
That is why we take a clear position: the first reply to a return request should not wait for your team. Confirming the request arrived, logging the date and explaining the next steps involve no decision at all, and that gap is where the store gains or loses days. The reasoning is the same as for after-hours customer service.
There is also a new EU rule: Directive (EU) 2023/2673 requires online stores to offer a function for withdrawing from the contract on the site itself, and Member States must apply it from 19 June 2026. As of this article we have not found its transposition into Portuguese law, and it is worth checking the status in the Diário da República.
What the agent handles on its own in returns and exchanges
Back to the four requests, with the fictional store's policy accepting exchanges up to 30 days.
| Request | Rule that applies | What the agent does on its own | When it goes to your team |
|---|---|---|---|
| Food processor, day 5 | Right of withdrawal, 14 days | Confirms the request, opens the return and sends the label | If the refund is above the store's limit |
| Kettle broken in week 3 | Guarantee, with rejection up to 30 days | Asks for photos and records the customer's choice between replacement and refund | If there is doubt about the defect or the refund is above the limit |
| 28 cm pan for a 24, day 20 | Store's exchange policy | Checks stock and opens the exchange | If the exchange falls outside the policy period |
| Engraved chopping board | Exception for personalised goods | Explains the rule without promising anything | The decision is your team's |
Each type of action has an autonomy level chosen by the merchant: does it alone, asks for approval or never does. Opening a return within the deadline can sit in "does it alone", an exchange outside the deadline in "asks for approval" and accepting the return of a personalised product in "never does".
Limits fine-tune the autonomy level: in the example store, a refund up to €50 goes ahead on its own and anything above asks for approval. On day one, every action with a real effect asks for approval, and your team moves them to "does it alone" one at a time.
"Opening a return within the deadline is not a decision. Refusing one is." ShopGuru
What should stay with your team
Refusing a request on the grounds of a legal exception, accepting an exchange on day 45 or judging from photos whether a product was used beyond normal handling are judgement calls, not written rules. On a withdrawal, the law allows the customer to be held liable for loss of value when they handled the product beyond what was needed to inspect it, but that assessment needs someone with a name.
For the kettle, the handover reaches your team like this:
- Request: kettle stopped heating 21 days after delivery; the customer chooses a €64.90 refund.
- Already done: 2 photos received, return opened, label sent and customer told that your team will confirm by Tuesday at 12pm.
- Why it goes to your team: the refund is above the €50 limit.
- Suggested action: approve the refund when the kettle arrives or the customer shows proof of shipping.
Your team approves or declines, and the record keeps a name and a time.
What return requests say about your store
If several customers send back the 28 cm pan because they expected a different size, the likely problem sits before the purchase: in a product page that doesn't answer customers' questions. Return reasons go into the store report.
"Every return for the wrong size is a question that went unanswered before the purchase." ShopGuru
Frequently asked questions
Does the customer have to use the withdrawal form?
No. The law accepts the model form annexed to Decree-Law 24/2014 or any other unequivocal statement. It is up to the customer to prove they withdrew in time, so the store should keep a record of the conversation.
Can the store charge for return shipping?
On a withdrawal, yes, if it told the customer before the purchase; otherwise the cost is the store's. Under the guarantee, repair or replacement is free for the customer and shipping the product is at the store's expense.
What happens if the customer writes after the 14 days?
The agent explains what the store's returns and exchanges policy allows. A defect goes through the guarantee and a request for an exception goes to your team. If the store did not inform the customer of the right of withdrawal, the period is extended by 12 months.
Where to start
The first step is to write the returns and exchanges policy with the three cases kept apart, and to decide who handles each step. That's what we do in a first 30-minute call with a ShopGuru engineer. Book a call.
About this article
Written by ShopGuru's engineers. Published on 2 October 2026. The store, the customers, the products and the amounts in the examples are fictional. The deadlines come from Articles 10 to 17 of Portuguese Decree-Law 24/2014 and Articles 12 to 20 of Decree-Law 84/2021, as in force on the date of publication, and apply to purchases made by consumers. This article is for information only and is not legal advice.