E-commerce Refund Approved but Not Credited: Trace It and Recover It

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Direct answer: If the platform says your refund is “approved”, “processed” or “completed” but the money has not reached your bank, the refund is almost always sitting on a reference number that you can chase. Ask the seller or platform for the ARN (Acquirer Reference Number) or the UTR of the refund transaction. With that number, the payment gateway and your bank can trace exactly where the money is. If the platform refuses the ARN or stalls, send a written demand to its grievance officer, register the complaint on the National Consumer Helpline (1915), and file on e-Daakhil if it still does not pay. The whole dispute turns on one fact, where the approved refund actually went.

A returned-item refund on a grocery or electronics app often shows “refund completed” on the app while your bank shows nothing. This is not necessarily a lie. A refund can be approved at the platform end yet fail or get stuck at the gateway or the bank, for example because the original card or UPI handle has changed, or because it was credited to a wallet you did not check. The ARN is what lets you tell the difference.

This is the single most useful thing you can ask for. The ARN is a unique reference the card network or gateway assigns to a refund. The UTR does the same for a bank transfer or UPI refund.

• Ask the platform's support, in writing, for the ARN or UTR of the refund, the date it was initiated, the destination (card, UPI handle, bank account or wallet), and the amount.
• Note any internal “refund ID” the app shows, but insist on the ARN or UTR, because that is the number your bank can actually trace.

Once you have it, you have moved the problem from “the app says done” to “here is the exact transaction, please locate it”.

1. Check the right destination. A refund usually goes back to the original payment method. If you paid by a card that has since been reissued, or a UPI handle you no longer use, or a wallet, the money may be sitting where you are not looking. Check the card statement, the UPI app history, and any platform wallet.
2. Take the ARN to your bank. Give your bank the ARN or UTR and the refund date and ask it to trace the credit. Banks can usually locate an ARN within a few working days and tell you whether it has landed, bounced, or is pending.
3. If the card was closed or reissued. A refund to a closed card normally routes back to the linked account or is returned to the merchant. Ask the platform whether the refund bounced and, if so, request it be reissued to a working account by NEFT.

• Order number, return ID, and the date the refund was “approved”.
• The refund-approved screenshot or email, and the stated refund mode.
• The ARN or UTR of the refund, once obtained.
• Bank statement or card statement for the window after the refund date.
• UPI app transaction history if the refund was to UPI.
• Your written request to support and its reply, with the ticket number.
• A one-page chronology with dates.

If the platform will not give the ARN, gives a wrong one, or the bank confirms nothing landed, escalate in writing.

• Grievance officer. Every e-commerce entity must publish a grievance officer under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. The officer must acknowledge within forty-eight hours and resolve within one month. Demand either the ARN with a trace, or re-credit of the refund to a working account.
• National Consumer Helpline. Call 1915 or use the NCH portal or app. Quote the order, the refund-approved date, and the missing ARN.
• e-Daakhil. If it still does not pay, file on edaakhil.nic.in before the consumer commission, claiming the refund amount plus compensation for deficiency in service.

To
The Grievance Officer
[Name of E-commerce Platform]
[Address from the Grievance Redressal page]

Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

Subject: Refund shown as approved but not credited, order [number]

Respected Sir / Madam,

1. I returned / cancelled order [number] dated [date]. Your app shows
   the refund of Rs [amount] as "approved / completed" on [date].

2. The amount has not reached my bank account / card / UPI. My bank
   statement for [date range] shows no such credit (Annexure A).

3. I request you to provide, in writing, the ARN or UTR of this
   refund, the date initiated, the destination account or instrument,
   and confirmation of whether it succeeded, bounced or is pending.

4. If the refund bounced or went to a closed instrument, please
   re-credit Rs [amount] by NEFT to:
   Account holder: [Name] | Account: [Number] | IFSC: [IFSC]

5. Under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020, kindly
   acknowledge within 48 hours and resolve within one month, failing
   which I will approach the National Consumer Helpline (1915) and
   file before the Consumer Commission through e-Daakhil.

Yours faithfully,
[Name] | [Email] | [Mobile]

Enclosures: A bank/card statement, B refund-approved screenshot,
C return confirmation for order [number].

Meena returned a mixer-grinder on an electronics marketplace and the app showed “refund completed, Rs 4,199” three days later. Her bank showed nothing for two weeks. She wrote to support asking only for the ARN. The reply gave an ARN and said the refund went to the card ending 4417. That card had been reissued after a fraud block, ending 9920. She took the ARN to her bank, which confirmed the refund had bounced back to the merchant. She then wrote to the grievance officer, attached the ARN and the bank's note, and asked for re-credit by NEFT. The money came in nine days. The ARN turned a circular argument into a one-line fact.

RTI under the Right to Information Act, 2005 applies to public authorities, not to a private marketplace, its payment gateway, or your private bank. You cannot file an RTI to force a refund. RTI helps only narrowly, for example to ask a government consumer grievance body, through its Central Public Information Officer, about the status of a complaint you already lodged there. For the refund itself, use the ARN trace, the grievance officer, NCH and e-Daakhil. See how to file RTI online only if a public body holds a record you need, and first and second appeals if such an RTI is ignored.

• Accepting “refund completed” without the ARN. The ARN is the only number your bank can trace.
• Looking only at one account. Refunds follow the original method; check the old card, UPI, and any wallet.
• Calling instead of writing. A written ticket starts the grievance clock; a call leaves no trail.
• Ignoring a reissued card. A refund to a closed card bounces; ask for re-credit by NEFT.
• Trying RTI against the platform or your bank. Neither answers RTI for a private refund.

An ARN, or Acquirer Reference Number, is a unique code the card network assigns to a refund. With it, your bank can locate the refund exactly and tell you whether it landed, bounced or is pending. Without it, you are arguing about a status, not tracing money.

Often neither. The refund may have been approved at the platform end but stuck or bounced at the gateway or bank, for example to a reissued card or an old UPI handle. Get the ARN, find the destination, and check that exact account.

Use the timeline the platform stated for your refund mode. If that window has passed and the ARN shows the refund as completed but your bank shows nothing, treat it as a real dispute and escalate to the grievance officer.

A refund to a closed or reissued card usually bounces back to the merchant. Ask the platform to confirm the bounce using the ARN and to re-credit the amount to a working account by NEFT, giving your account number and IFSC in writing.

NCH (1915) takes the matter up with the company and often gets movement, but it is a facilitation desk, not a court. If the company still refuses, the binding remedy is a consumer complaint on e-Daakhil before the commission.

Yes. On e-Daakhil you can claim the refund plus compensation for deficiency in service and the inconvenience of chasing your own money. A clean ARN trace and a dated paper trail make such a claim much stronger.

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Download the approved-but-not-credited refund trace checklist (PDF).