Do American laws allow amd to charge reasonable handling charges on the return (if it happens) before issuing a refund?
Different states have different laws, but several class action law suits have resulted in large monetary judgments against some very large companies who charged unjustifiably high 'shipping and handling' or 'shipping and processing' fees. The DMA (Direct Marketing Association) has guidelines (for US sellers) on how to set shipping and processing fees that can help them stay out of trouble and avoid law suits over unfair practices.
Oh, I just re-read your question and it was about the return, not the original sale. Again, states have different laws and all seems to boil down to the posted policies. (one reference: https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/return-policies-and-refunds.html) (another reference: https://consumer.findlaw.com/consumer-transactions/customer-returns-and-refund-laws-by-state.html)
But what I find most interesting can be found in this article: https://www.commercehub.com/e-commerce-returns-refunds-best-practice-guide/
Apparently, easy return policies lead to increased business. Note that although Zappos most valuable customers have a 50% return rate, once they changed their return policies to make it easier for a customer to do returns, their sales shot up 457%. So the bottom line for Zappos (shoe sales, my husband really like Zappos shoes, btw) is that their return policy has more than paid for itself in increased sales.
But, more to the point I think, rather than does US law allow... one could ask the opposite, does US law DIS-allow... No, US law does not dis-allow charging reasonable handling. Restocking fees are a fairly common practice, which irritates me, but as long as it's clearly posted in the return policy in whatever state where I purchase, it is legal. If I agree to the policy, I don't have a leg to stand on in court to sue for unfair restocking fees (per many lawsuit judgements in the past.)
Did you know that any seller in the US or AUS that sells into the UK is obligated to comply with UK laws? If you have a business and sell through Etsy or a website your products should be EU compliant if you offer sales there. And vice versa - its one of the reasons we dont sell to US and why its so hard to insurance to cover goods sold over there
Yes, that is true, and rightly so, may I add. And it's one of the reasons why some companies complain about EU regulations. But it's part of doing business globally. If a company doesn't like the regulations/laws within the global market, then they should determine if they really want to sell globally.
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