Return and Refund Policy

Draft for operational verification. The store domain, contact email, and Italy as the intended market were supplied for this draft. The operator’s legal identity, registration and tax status, actual data practices, product catalogue, fulfilment locations, installed apps, advertising pixels, Shopify enhanced-service settings, and cookie configuration have not been independently verified. Conditional descriptions must be checked against the live storefront and verified business records before publication. This document is general compliance drafting and not legal advice for a particular business.

This policy applies to purchases made directly through merquessia.shop. Please read it before placing an order and retain your order confirmation. The voluntary return terms below supplement, and do not replace, rights available under applicable consumer and warranty laws.

1. Thirty-Day Return Period and Italian Withdrawal Rights

We offer a voluntary return-request period of 30 calendar days after delivery for eligible goods. This additional store policy does not replace, shorten, or condition any mandatory right under Italian or European Union law.

For most goods bought online by a consumer, Articles 52 and following of the Italian Consumer Code provide a statutory 14-day right of withdrawal without giving a reason. For a single delivery, the period normally starts when the consumer or a designated third party other than the carrier receives the goods. Special starting rules apply to multiple goods, instalments, and recurring deliveries. A consumer who withdraws in time normally has 14 days after communicating withdrawal to send the goods back.

If legally required withdrawal information was not properly supplied, Article 53 of the Italian Consumer Code can extend the withdrawal period by twelve months after the end of the initial period. Separate legal-conformity remedies under Articles 128–135-septies apply to defective, incorrect, unsafe, or misdescribed goods and are not limited to the voluntary 30-day window.

2. How to Request a Return or Exercise Withdrawal

Email hello@merquessia.shop with the order number, purchaser name, goods concerned, and a clear statement that you wish to withdraw from the contract or request a voluntary return. No prescribed wording is required for statutory withdrawal. We normally acknowledge and review voluntary return requests within 1–3 business days.

For distance contracts concluded through an online interface, Article 54-bis of the Italian Consumer Code requires the live storefront to provide a clearly visible, easily accessible withdrawal function throughout the withdrawal period. It must let the consumer identify the contract, submit an online withdrawal statement, confirm the decision through an unambiguous confirmation control, and receive prompt acknowledgement on a durable medium containing the statement and submission date and time. Email remains an additional valid channel; the online function is not the exclusive route.

Email hello@merquessia.shop for return-routing instructions before sending goods. Contacting us first helps identify the parcel, but a missing internal return number does not extinguish a statutory withdrawal or defect right.

3. Return Shipping and Fees

For a voluntary change-of-mind return, and for statutory withdrawal where direct return costs were properly disclosed before the consumer became bound, the consumer bears the direct cost of returning the goods to the extent permitted by Article 57 of the Italian Consumer Code. We do not charge a restocking fee.

For a valid statutory withdrawal, we reimburse the price and the cost of our least expensive standard outbound delivery option. Standard shipping is normally free, so that delivery component will usually be €0. Additional cost resulting from the consumer’s choice of a more expensive delivery method need not be reimbursed where the law permits.

If goods are defective, damaged on delivery, incorrect, unsafe, or not as agreed, we bear the necessary costs of bringing the goods into conformity, including repair or replacement, as required by Articles 128–135-septies of the Italian Consumer Code. We do not transfer costs caused by our breach or fulfilment error to the customer.

4. Defective, Damaged, Incorrect, or Missing Goods

Goods must meet the subjective and objective conformity requirements of Articles 129 and following of the Italian Consumer Code. Depending on the statutory conditions, a consumer may require repair or replacement without cost and, where those primary remedies are unavailable, disproportionate, not completed within a reasonable time, or otherwise meet the legal conditions, may obtain a proportionate price reduction or termination of the contract. Mandatory sequencing, proportionality rules, and exceptions remain applicable.

For new goods, the seller is generally responsible for a lack of conformity that becomes apparent within two years after delivery. Under Article 135 of the Italian Consumer Code, a lack of conformity appearing within one year after delivery is presumed to have existed at delivery unless that presumption is incompatible with the nature of the goods or defect. An action concerning a defect not fraudulently concealed is generally subject to the statutory twenty-six-month period from delivery. A commercial warranty, packaging preference, manufacturer decision, photograph request, or voluntary return condition does not remove these rights.

Where current European Union or Italian rules create a separate right to repair or manufacturer obligation for qualifying product groups, those rights apply according to their scope, duration, permissible charges, parts and tool duties, and exceptions. This policy does not narrow those rights or represent that every product falls within a particular repair regime.

Contact us with the order number and a clear description. Photographs and packaging information are useful where reasonably available, but their absence does not automatically defeat a claim. For non-delivery or a missing item, we investigate fulfilment and carrier evidence without treating a carrier’s internal conclusion as the sole condition for a remedy.

Where repair is performed as the conformity remedy, Article 133(1-bis) of the Italian Consumer Code extends the seller's liability period once by twelve months. Before providing the remedy, we explain the consumer's choice between repair and replacement subject to the statutory conditions and the applicable extension. These protections apply according to the statutory scope and transitional rules.

5. Refund Approval, Statutory Reimbursement, and Timing

Once a refund is approved, the refund will be returned to and credited to the original payment method within 7 calendar days after refund approval. This seven-day commitment includes our processing and the payment provider’s or bank’s posting time. We do not add a separate bank-processing or posting period. If the credit is not visible by that deadline, email hello@merquessia.shop so we can trace and resolve it.

For statutory withdrawal, Article 56 of the Italian Consumer Code separately requires reimbursement without undue delay and generally no later than 14 days after we are informed of the withdrawal. For sales contracts, we may withhold reimbursement until we receive the goods or the consumer supplies evidence of having sent them, whichever occurs first, unless we offered to collect them. Approval or inspection will not be delayed to evade that rule.

We use the same payment method used for the original transaction unless the consumer expressly agrees otherwise, without charging a reimbursement fee. Any shorter mandatory legal deadline takes precedence. The voluntary seven-day post-approval promise does not extend any statutory deadline.

6. Exchanges, Order Cancellation, and Model Withdrawal Information

Exchanges depend on stock. A consumer may instead use any available withdrawal, cure, price-reduction, termination, refund, or damages right. Contact us quickly to request cancellation before dispatch; fulfilment progress does not itself eliminate the statutory right of withdrawal.

Statutory exceptions under Article 59 of the Italian Consumer Code are applied narrowly and only when their conditions and disclosure requirements are met. Examples can include goods made to the consumer's specifications or clearly personalised, rapidly perishable goods, and sealed goods unsuitable for return for health-protection or hygiene reasons after unsealing. An exception to withdrawal does not remove remedies for defects or misdescription.

Withdrawal declaration: A consumer may exercise withdrawal by sending an unambiguous statement to hello@merquessia.shop or by using the statutory online withdrawal function. Identify the goods and order, state the decision to withdraw, and provide an electronic contact for confirmation. No prescribed wording is required. The live storefront must provide the model withdrawal information, form, Article 54-bis function location, and verified operator information required by the Italian Consumer Code before the consumer becomes bound.

7. Calendar Days and Business Days

The voluntary 30-day return-request period, statutory 14-day withdrawal and return periods, and seven-day approved-refund commitment are measured in calendar days. Administrative estimates expressly stated as business days mean Monday through Friday, excluding public holidays applicable at the relevant processing location.

A weekend, holiday, internal review, carrier investigation, or payment-provider delay does not retrospectively change a calendar-day commitment or extend a mandatory remedy. Statutory rules for calculating the final day of a period remain applicable.

8. Proof of Purchase and Authorized Requests

Please provide an order number, confirmation email, receipt, or another reasonable record that allows us to identify a purchase made through merquessia.shop. If you have lost the confirmation, contact us using the email address associated with the order and provide the approximate purchase date and item details. Do not send a complete bank statement when a limited transaction reference will suffice.

A purchaser may authorize another person to help with a return. We may ask for proportionate confirmation before disclosing order information or issuing instructions. A gift recipient can contact us for assistance, but a monetary refund ordinarily goes back to the original payment method rather than a different recipient's account.

9. Condition Assessment for Preference Returns

For the voluntary 30-day change-of-mind option, goods should be unused beyond reasonable inspection, complete, and returned with accessories and protective packaging reasonably needed for safe transit. Statutory withdrawal permits handling necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods.

Under Article 57 of the Italian Consumer Code, a consumer may be liable for diminished value only where the loss results from handling beyond what was necessary to establish the nature, characteristics, and functioning of the goods and the required withdrawal information was provided. Opening packaging alone does not automatically defeat withdrawal. Defect claims are assessed under the statutory conformity rules, not voluntary-return condition rules.

10. Product-Specific Conditions and Exceptions

Voluntary return eligibility may vary by product, but statutory exceptions are limited to those recognised by Article 59 of the Italian Consumer Code and other applicable rules. Any material restriction must be disclosed clearly before purchase. A generic “final sale” statement does not override statutory withdrawal, conformity, safety, or misdescription rights.

Even where withdrawal is excluded—for example, for genuinely personalised goods or qualifying sealed hygiene goods after unsealing—the consumer retains all applicable remedies if the goods are defective, unsafe, incorrectly supplied, or not as agreed.

11. Return Routing and Package Identification

Please first contact hello@merquessia.shop so we can record the request and provide return-routing instructions. Include the order number and purchaser name inside the package or as otherwise instructed. Prior approval is not a condition of a valid statutory withdrawal or defect claim.

Do not include unrelated products, payment cards, cash, or identity documents in the parcel. If a return is already on its way without prior contact, notify us promptly; a missing authorization reference does not automatically invalidate a statutory remedy.

12. Packing, Tracking, and Return Transit

Use packaging appropriate to the product and protect loose components so they are not damaged during transportation. Remove or cover obsolete shipping labels to avoid misrouting. A tracked service is recommended for a return you arrange yourself, and you should retain the dispatch receipt until the matter is resolved.

If we provide a prepaid label, follow its carrier and service instructions and ask us for help if it does not work. Where you independently select the return carrier, a loss during return transit will be assessed using the shipment evidence and applicable law. We do not reject a return solely because a carrier's online tracking page is incomplete when other reliable delivery evidence exists.

13. Inspection and Disputed Return Decisions

We assess voluntary returns, statutory withdrawals, and conformity claims under their separate legal standards. We explain any refusal, deduction, proposed cure, or remedy and identify the factual basis. An internal decision does not prevent the consumer from using an applicable Italian or EU alternative dispute-resolution body, contacting the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM), another competent authority, a consumer association, or a court with jurisdiction.

We do not make statutory remedies conditional on original packaging, a manufacturer’s approval, a carrier admission, or an internal return number. Evidence requests must be proportionate to the issue and to information reasonably available to the consumer.

14. Refund Amounts, Discounts, and Bundles

Refunds reflect the amount actually paid for returned goods, allocated discounts, and any delivery amount required by law. For bundle promotions, a refund may be calculated using the disclosed allocation or the value of retained goods, but never so as to impose a hidden penalty or reduce a statutory entitlement.

Where only part of an order is cancelled, the standard outbound delivery refund may depend on whether the original delivery cost would have been the same for the retained goods. Approved lawful deductions are itemised. Gift cards or promotional credits are refunded according to their valid terms unless mandatory law requires another result.

15. Payment Method and Refund Traceability

Refunds are issued to the original payment method unless the customer expressly agrees otherwise. We keep transaction references needed to trace the refund and will provide available confirmation on request. We do not request full payment-card numbers by email.

If a refund is not credited within 7 calendar days after approval, email hello@merquessia.shop. We will promptly investigate with the payment provider. The seven-day period already includes provider posting time and is not followed by an additional waiting period.

16. International Returns and Government Charges

Customers returning goods across a customs border should use a traceable method and accurately describe the parcel as returned merchandise where appropriate. The customer is responsible for direct change-of-mind return costs where lawfully disclosed; we bear costs required because goods are defective or we made a fulfilment error.

Import VAT, customs duties, or charges paid directly to an authority may be governed by that authority’s refund procedure. We will provide reasonably available transaction information to support a claim. Nothing in this section reduces mandatory rights or permits an undisclosed deduction.

17. Safety Issues and Products That Should Not Be Used

If a product appears unsafe, stop using it where appropriate and contact us with a description of the concern. Do not attempt a repair solely to qualify for a return. If ordinary shipping would be unsafe, ask for suitable instructions before sending the item; some damaged goods may require special handling rather than an ordinary parcel label.

A product-safety issue will be handled according to its circumstances and applicable obligations. The voluntary 30-day period does not override a recall remedy or other mandatory protection. We will not require continued use, disposal of evidence, or an unnecessarily hazardous return method as a condition of reviewing the concern.

18. Delivery Problems, Chargebacks, and Duplicate Credits

Contact us about non-delivery, damage, or an incorrect order so we can investigate and offer the appropriate remedy. Customers remain free to use a lawful card-provider dispute or court remedy; contacting us first is encouraged but is not a waiver or mandatory exhaustion requirement.

A customer must not retain duplicate recovery for the same loss. If both a store refund and a payment-provider credit are issued, the parties should cooperate to correct the duplication. This does not delay a refund that is already legally due.

19. Contact for Returns and Refunds

Store: merquessia.shop

Website: https://merquessia.shop

Email: hello@merquessia.shop

Please include the order number and a concise description of the request. Email is the primary customer-service and returns channel stated in this draft.