difficult-clientSay a client ordered something and I’ve failed to deliver the product/service. Of course, both me and my client agree that my client should get a refund.
This seems pretty straightforward, however, my client demands that his refund is in the current currency rate. For example:
The client bought a product from me for $1 but the currency USD has increased by $1 (not very realistic of course). Should I refund $1 or $2? What’s the right of the client? And how does the legal system work when it comes to these kind of issues?
I agree with @Fernando that as a rule of thumb, you should refund at purchase price. But given that it’s a difficult client, and that you haven’t a written policy on this, you should consider refunding him at current value and consider it a PR investment.
After resolving this issue you should add to your terms and conditions info that any refund will be issued at purchasing price.
Standard practice is to refund at the purchased price. It will also irritate customers to get anything less than a full refund even if you tell them it is for inflationary purposes.
Unless the currency system you are in has exorbitant inflation this shouldn’t be something you devote much time to.
Refund the money in full and consider it a great investment. Use it to ask yourself why did this customer want the refund? What can I do better to avoid this next time?
As far as the legal system, that is something I am sure is specific to different areas. Consider adding location information and information about the product if you want a more accurate response to that portion of the question.
Depends on local business best practices, I would say.
If all your local transactions are, for some reason, priced in US Dollars (even if paid in your local currency), then it makes sense to adjust for currency variation.
If your inflation rate is huge, then it makes sense to adjust for money value.
If neither is true, makes little sense.
Do note that if one of the above is true for your region, there might be laws or regulations ruling over this sort of issue.
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