Refund on AliExpress: how to get it and what to do if not received

To go to the AliExpress returns and refunds section click here.

Here's everything you need to know about AliExpress refunds: when you can claim them, how to ask for them, how long they take to arrive, why they sometimes don't arrive and what to do if AliExpress doesn't refund your money.

How to request a refund on AliExpress

There are different stages of your order in which you can request a refund on AliExpress.

When the order has not been shipped yet

Main article: Canceling an order on AliExpress

If you have just placed an order and have changed your mind, then there is still time to cancel the order.

Just go to this page, find your order and click on “Cancel order”.

At this stage you have the right to cancel the order without the seller being able to refuse, but even if you cancel immediately, AliExpress will process the payment and it will take a few days to refund it back to you.

When payment of the order has been confirmed

If payment has already been confirmed, do this:

1. Enter this page.
2. Search for the order.
3. Click on “Cancel order” and as a reason put “Other reasons”.
4. Enter here and write to the seller: explain why you are cancelling and ask him to please accept.

In this step, the seller is not obliged to accept the cancellation, so make sure you explain your reasons well.

When the order has been shipped

When the order has already been shipped, the only way to receive a refund is if you do not receive the order, or if you receive it but it does not match the description.

We discuss both cases below:

When you have not received the order

If your order is taking longer than expected to arrive, be aware of the order protection period (60 days from shipment).

This is important because as soon as this period ends, AliExpress will automatically mark the order as delivered and you will no longer be able to claim.

If the estimated delivery date arrives and you have not received the order, follow these steps:

1. If it is a certified shipment and you have tracking, click here, copy the code and check on a tracking website where the order is.
2. If you don't have tracking, click here and ask the seller “where is my order”.
3. If you don't get an answer in a couple of days, click here and click on “Open dispute”.

You have the specific steps to open a dispute in the article Open dispute in AliExpress.

When the order does not match the description

If the product you receive does not match the description, open a dispute here and you will get your money back.

Here are some examples:

• The product is broken or dented.
• It does not work.
• The color is not the one you ordered.
• Parts are missing.
• The size does not correspond to the measurements of the description.

Depending on the case you will receive a full refund (more serious cases) or a partial refund (for small mistakes in size, wrong color, etc).

Important: unless the product has a free return, the best option is always to ask for a full refund (you can do it here).

If you ask for the product to be exchanged, the shipping costs are your responsibility, and these are sometimes more expensive than the product itself.

“Refund processing”: how long does it take?

It is very important to understand that the refunding process of your money is not immediate, it takes a few days. From the moment the refund is issued on AliExpress, the money will be received within 3 to 20 working days, depending on the bank.

This period of 3 to 20 days starts when the platform has processed the refund, which translates to when you see the three orange dots completed in the refund status.

You can see these orange dots by clicking here and clicking on the order: you will see the date on which each stage has been completed, and you will be able to calculate if a long time has passed or if the refund is still being processed.

During sales or Christmas, the refund process may take a little longer than usual.

How to know if your money has been refunded

But if you have doubts about whether the refund has been processed or what is the status of the refund, there is a way to know, in detail, what the status of our request is. You have to go to your order list, look at the details of your order and look for the tab “Payment” or also called “Finance”.

You will be able to see if the refund process has been initiated or if it has already been completed. In the mobile application, you will have to do the same: go to the details of the order and click on “information about refunds”. You will find the same information as you would do in the browser.

The most interesting thing is that if you have paid by card, at the end of the refund process, in this same section the ARN code that identifies your card transactions will appear. It is a unique number. If you do not find the refund of your money, check with your bank the operation by providing them with this code.

AliExpress is not refunding me

You are waiting for a refund and the money still hasn't arrived, what can you do?

To start, check the status of your refund by clicking here and checking the “Payment” tab. If it hasn't been long enough, wait a few more days.

But after several days, if you haven't received your money, the easiest solution is to check the ARN code we told you about earlier. With this number, you can check with your bank to see if you have actually received the money.

Another recommendation is to take a good look at the latest movements of your card, as often the refund appears the same day the purchase was made so it can go unnoticed, especially if you buy a lot on AliExpress.

Finally, if none of this works, you will have to contact AliExpress through their social media or through the customer service chat that you can access by clicking here.

First, you will be assisted by the EVA robot but if it doesn't answer your questions, they will pass you to an agent.

I received an incomplete refund

AliExpress only allows you to pay in US dollars and Euros. You can still choose other local currencies, but it is usually a conversion made by the page itself to make it easier for you to know the price of the products.

At the time of purchase, the entity with which you make the payment will make a currency exchange from dollars to your local currency. Foreign exchange and other bank fees may apply to this transaction.

When you receive a refund, your bank will not refund the fees applied, so the amount will be less than what you were originally charged. To verify that the AliExpress refund has been made for the ordered amount, you can request the details of this transaction from your bank.

Where will I receive the money if I paid with credit card, PayPal…?

You will receive the money through the same payment method you used. Since the most used payment method in AliExpress is by credit or debit card, the money will be sent to us as another movement within the card, but with a positive symbol, which indicates that it is a refund.

If you have changed your card or cancelled the previous one, you should talk to your bank. Normally, the money will arrive to the associated bank account or to the new card. AliExpress cannot change the destination account for the refund as it violates security rules.

Here you have the details of where you will receive the refund according to the payment method:

• Paypal: refunded to the original payment account.
• Credit and debit card: the money will arrive to the same card.
• AliPay: the money will appear as balance in your account.

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