How do I approve or decline a refund request from a family?

Families ask for a refund from their account when a refund needs your review: a competition that already started, a registration paid outside the website, any other purchase, or a general question. Those requests land on the Refunds page.

Before you begin

• Owners approve and decline. Other staff can open the page and see the outcome.
• Approving sends the money back through your Stripe account. See How do I connect Stripe?.

Steps

1. Open Refunds under Programs. Requests that need you are first, marked Under review.
2. Read the row: what it is for (the athlete, division and competition, or the purchase), the reason the family wrote, their name and email, and the amount.
3. Choose:
   • Approve: a box explains that the amount goes back to the customer's card through Stripe (or is marked refunded if it was paid another way), that the family is emailed, and, for a competition entry, that the athlete's spot is released. You can add an optional Note to the Customer. Press Approve and refund.
   • Decline: no money moves. Type Why? (Sent to the Customer) and press Decline.
   • Reply: for a general question that is not tied to a purchase. Type Your Reply to the Customer and press Send reply. No money moves; refund any purchase from its own row or in Stripe.

What you'll see

• The row changes to Approved or Declined, with the date and who decided, and your note.
• The family gets an email. For an approved refund it names the amount, says it goes back to the card that paid and usually shows within 5 to 10 business days, and includes your note. For a decline it says you cannot refund it and includes your reason, and invites them to reply if something is wrong.
• Approved refunds also show in Payments.

Troubleshooting

The Approve button is missing. Only owners see it. A row that is already decided shows its outcome instead.

Approving failed. The message from Stripe is shown. Check that your Stripe account is connected and the payment is still refundable, or refund it in your Stripe Dashboard.

There are no requests. The page says No refund requests yet. Requests only appear when a family sends one. See Can a family cancel and get a refund? to see what families can do themselves.