Why are there refunds I didn't initiate?

  • Updated

Since Patreon only provides the venue upon which transactions between users are made, we do not issue refunds on behalf of creators.

If a patron wants to request a refund, they’ll need to contact the creator to do so. Creators can issue refunds from their Patron Relationship Manager (RM). Here’s our guide to refunding a patron, if you need assistance with that.

Once a refund is issued, it can take up to 10 business days to process. 

Refunds I didn’t initiate are listed as “Refunded by Patreon” 

There are instances in which an automated refund might take place due to fraudulent activity. These are considered fraudulent refunds and will be listed as “Refunded by Patreon” in the RM, under your patron’s payment history.

When a patron is suspected of fraudulent activity, their account is disabled and the funds from their pledges are returned to the cardholder if we do not hear back from them within 10 days of the notice. 

What is a failed refund?

A failed refund can occur if you attempt to refund a patron without having funds in your account balance. It can also occur if there was a technical error on our end. You’ll find these failed refunds as refunds of £0 in the Refunds CSV download. You have the ability to reattempt a failed refund at any point from your RM.

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