If you need to issue one of your backers with a refund, you can do so through your backer report. Your backer report can be accessed through the creator tools menu to the left of your project page, you can then issue a refund by following the below steps:
- Search for the backer in the report and click on their name
- In the modal* that opens up, click the "Issue a refund" button
- Fill out your personal credit card information (this will be the card that the refund is issued from)
- Then enter the amount you are refunding, whether it is a full or partial refund
*If the backer has left a comment on your successfully funded project page, you will also be able to navigate to the modal by clicking on their name in the comment, followed by the “View pledge” button.
For refunds issued before your project's payout occurs, Kickstarter directly refunds the backer our 5% fee + payment processing fees. You are responsible for covering the cost of fees for any refunds issued after the payout.
If a backer has been issued a full refund, it'll be reflected in your backer report. Their status will be changed to “Dropped” and they’ll no longer be able to post comments, but you can continue to communicate with them through direct messages. If a partial refund has been issued, the backer will remain on the backer report and will still be able to post comments on your project page.
In instances where the backer’s original payment method has expired, or is no longer active, please refer to this article. If you receive an error message when trying to issue a refund, you may need to issue it outside of Kickstarter.
Please note: If a backer has an active dispute filed with their card issuer you will be unable to issue a refund through Kickstarter. We also recommend waiting until an outcome of the dispute has been reached before issuing a refund outside of the Kickstarter platform.
For help understanding disputed charges you can find more information here.