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Free letter templates

Refund, repair or replacement letter template

For faulty goods, or services not done with care and skill, when the business won’t put it right.

  • Free, no sign-up
  • Written as you type
  • PDF, or posted for you

General information, not legal advice. These templates follow what Australian regulators, legal aid commissions and community legal centres publish, checked on 26 October 2026. They can’t know your situation. If a lot is at stake, or a deadline or court case is running, talk to a lawyer, your state’s legal aid commission or a community legal centre first. Unopost isn’t a law firm.

Your details

Printed at the top of the letter, and used as the return address if we post it.

So they can reply without posting a letter.

Who it’s to

A business’s registered or postal address is on its invoices, its website or ABN Lookup.

A business’s legal name is on its invoices or receipts.

What you bought
What went wrong

When it started, what you’ve done about it, and what the business said.

A major failure is one that would have stopped a reasonable person buying it, is substantially unfit for its purpose and can’t easily be fixed, is significantly different from its description, or is unsafe.

Reasonable, foreseeable losses can be claimed too. Leave blank if there are none.

Usually the state you live in, or bought it in.

Copies only: keep your originals.

About this letter

Under the Australian Consumer Law, goods and services come with consumer guarantees that no store policy, warranty or “no refunds” sign can take away. When something fails them, you’re entitled to a remedy from the business that sold it to you.

If asking in person or by email hasn’t worked, a letter that names the guarantees, says what you want and gives a date to reply is the step consumer agencies ask you to take before they get involved.

Your rights in short

  • The consumer guarantees cover goods and services bought for personal or household use, and anything costing up to $100,000. They have no fixed end date: they last as long as is reasonable for what you bought.
  • For a major failure of goods, you choose: return them for a refund or a replacement, or keep them with compensation for their drop in value. You lose the right to return them if you wait too long, or they were damaged after delivery.
  • For a major failure of a service, you choose: cancel, and get back what you paid for work not yet done, or keep it with compensation for its drop in value.
  • For a minor failure, the business chooses whether to repair, replace or refund, but must do it within a reasonable time.
  • You deal with the business that sold it to you. It can’t send you to the manufacturer.
  • You don’t need the original packaging, but you do need proof of purchase: a receipt, invoice, order confirmation or bank statement.
  • Change of mind isn’t covered. A sign saying “no refunds for change of mind” is fine; one saying “no refunds” at all is misleading.

What not to say

  • Don’t call it a major failure unless it fits one of the tests. If you aren’t sure, choose “not sure”: the letter then asks for a repair, replacement or refund.
  • Don’t threaten bad reviews or social media posts unless they pay. That can be seen as improper pressure, and you can still leave an honest review whatever happens.
  • Don’t say the ACCC will prosecute them. The ACCC doesn’t take up individual complaints; your state’s consumer agency does.

If they don’t put it right

  • Lodge a complaint with your state’s consumer protection agency: NSW Fair Trading, Consumer Affairs Victoria, the Queensland Office of Fair Trading, Consumer Protection WA, Consumer and Business Services in South Australia, Consumer, Building and Occupational Services in Tasmania, Access Canberra or NT Consumer Affairs. Most will contact the business for you, free.
  • Apply to your state’s tribunal or court: NCAT (up to $100,000), VCAT (no fixed limit), QCAT, ACAT or NTCAT (each up to $25,000), or the Magistrates Court in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania. A tribunal can’t hear a claim against an individual or sole trader who lives in another state.
  • Bought from a private seller or at an auction? The consumer guarantees may not apply. Get advice.
  • If you paid by card and the business won’t respond, ask your bank about a chargeback.

Questions

Can a store refuse a refund for a faulty product?

Not for a major failure: then you can return it and choose a refund or a replacement. For a minor failure the store can choose to repair or replace instead of refunding, but it must fix the problem within a reasonable time. It can refuse a refund for change of mind.

Does the consumer guarantee end when the warranty does?

No. A manufacturer’s warranty or extended warranty is extra. The consumer guarantees last for as long as is reasonable for the product, its price and how it was used, which can be longer than the warranty.

What’s the difference between a major and a minor failure?

A failure is major if a reasonable consumer wouldn’t have bought it knowing about the problem, if it’s significantly different from its description, if it’s substantially unfit for its purpose and can’t easily be fixed, or if it’s unsafe. Anything else is minor.

How long should I give the business to reply?

The law says “a reasonable time”, without a number of days. Fourteen days is a common, fair deadline for a written reply, and the template lets you choose 7 to 28.

What if I bought it for my business?

You are still a consumer if the goods or services cost $100,000 or less, or are a kind ordinarily bought for personal or household use. Some limits apply to goods bought to resell or to use up in making other goods.

Where this comes from

Checked on 26 October 2026. Laws and limits change: check the source before you rely on a figure.

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