Why a return changes your cashback
Your cashback is a share of the commission the store pays us for your order. Stores pay that commission only on orders customers keep, so when an order is returned or cancelled, there is no commission to share and the cashback on it is reversed. The same happens if a store reduces or refuses the commission for another reason, such as a broken offer rule.
What happens at each stage
- Still pending: the cashback is removed, and the order shows as cancelled in your history.
- Confirmed but not yet withdrawn: the amount is deducted from your confirmed balance.
- Already paid out to you: we do not ask for it back. We absorb it.
Why cashback waits before it confirms
A store pays no commission on an order that is returned or cancelled, so it waits until returns are no longer possible before it confirms one. We only release cashback we have actually received, so we can always pay it - we would rather quote an honest three months than a hopeful one and miss it.
That is why cashback confirms once the retailer has paid us for your order, usually about three months. Because of the wait, cashback is rarely taken back once it has confirmed.
Exchanges and returning part of an order
How an exchange, or returning only some items, affects the commission is up to each store. The cashback follows what the store reports to us. Each store's page on CashBharo lists the terms we know about, and the store's own policy has the detail.
Ordering with the plan to return
Orders placed with the intention of returning them are treated as abuse. The cashback on them is cancelled, and the account may be closed. Returning something you genuinely do not want is fine: you simply do not get cashback on it.
The full rules are in sections 5 and 10 of the Cashback Terms.