Warranty claims

A customer’s boots have come apart at the seam. They bought them eight months ago, so your 30-day window closed long before — but that isn’t really a return. It’s a fault, and you’d probably want to do something about it.

Warranty claims are a separate route for exactly this. They ignore your return window entirely.

What decides whether someone’s covered

A warranty policy can apply based on when they ordered, how long the cover lasts, when it was delivered or shipped, where they are, and what the product is — down to specific products, types, tags or SKUs.

That’s checked completely separately from your return policy. An item months out of date for a normal return can still be claimable, which surprises customers and staff in both directions.

When both routes are open

If an item is inside your return window and covered by a warranty, the customer picks which they’re using. Once they’ve picked, the request stays on that route.

Two consequences worth knowing:

• Someone needing a normal return on one item and a warranty claim on another has to submit two requests. You can’t mix them.
• Everything in a single warranty claim has to sit under the same warranty policy, so the approval, replacement and shipping rules stay consistent.

Asking for proof

Warranty policies can require photos, written descriptions, or answers to your own questions before someone can submit.

Use this. A warranty claim is a judgement call, and you can’t make it from a one-line description. Asking for a photo costs an honest customer thirty seconds, and far fewer people claim for things that aren’t really faulty. If you’d rather be more specific — photos only on certain reasons or products — a workflow can do that.

What you can offer

A replacement. Either the same item again or something you’ve chosen as its replacement. It can go on the original order or as a new one, and you choose when that order gets created.

A refund. If the policy allows it. When a claim is refund-only and several refund methods are available, the customer picks.

Store credit. Available when every policy involved in the claim allows it — one that doesn’t will remove the option.

Shop Now. They spend the warranty credit with you, if the policy allows it and the credit rules are met. See Shop Now.

Do they have to send it back?

The policy decides. Either they post it back and get instructions or a label, or they keep it and nothing ships.

Letting people keep faulty goods is often the right call. Broken items have no resale value, so paying to get one back is usually money spent to acquire rubbish. The exception is when you need it for a supplier claim or to work out what went wrong.

When something is being replaced or posted back, the customer may be asked to confirm their address.

Approving claims

Warranty policies can approve automatically or route everything to your team. Your workflows still apply on top — they can force a review, restrict what’s offered, demand evidence, change fees, or send the item somewhere specific.

For most people, warranty claims are worth reviewing by hand. They’re rarer than returns, the amounts tend to be higher, and “is this actually a fault?” isn’t a question software can answer.

Questions people ask

Can someone claim on a warranty after my return window closes?

Yes, and that’s the point. Warranties are checked separately from your return window and don’t expire with it.

A customer has a faulty item and an unwanted one. Can they do both at once?

No — one request stays on one route. They’ll need to submit a normal return for the unwanted item and a warranty claim for the faulty one.

Should I make customers send faulty items back?

Usually not, unless you need it for a supplier claim or to investigate. Broken goods can’t be resold, so the postage is money spent on something you’ll throw away.

Should I require photos?

Yes. It costs an honest customer a few seconds, and it’s the only way your team can decide properly. Far fewer people claim for things that aren’t really faulty.

Why can't my customer add a second item to their claim?

Everything in one warranty claim has to fall under the same warranty policy. If the second item is covered by a different one, it needs its own request.