Package Protection

Onward Package Protection covers lost, stolen, and damaged items that fit the following criteria. Review the policies to understand what lost, stolen, and damaged items Onward will cover.

Note: When refunding an item, Onward covers the subtotal of the order. Shipping costs, taxes, and the Onward premium are not included.

When replacing an item, Onward covers the subtotal of the order, the Onward premium, shipping costs, and taxes. Onward does not pay custom/duty fees.

> Lost Items Policies

Packages presumed to be lost

Order issues for packages presumed to be lost by the carrier (where the status is not “delivered”) must be filed no sooner than 5 days after the last tracking update for United States domestic shipments (20 days for international shipments, including Canada unless a Canadian merchant is shipping within Canada in which case the 5 day domestic shipment timeline applies) and within 30 days from the last checkpoint.

Invalid address or delivery barriers

Sometimes carriers cannot deliver the customer’s package due to an invalid address or other unexpected delivery barriers. At this point, the carrier might return the package to the sender/retailer. The customer’s package is not actually lost, and Onward will work with the merchant to either reship the same order or process a new order with the same items. This claim would be considered under our return to sender category.

Only part of the order delivered

If the customer ordered several items in one package but only part of the order arrived and there is no evidence of tampering, Onward does not cover the order issue. The customer will be referred to the retailer.
If a single order is being shipped in multiple packages and one package does not arrive, Onward will cover the order issue and reorder or refund the value of the undelivered package.
If the retailer forgets to ship an item from the customer’s order, the customer needs to reach out to the retailer to have the missing items fulfilled.

Order stuck in customs

Onward cannot cover when a customer’s order is stuck in international borders/customs.
The customer’s next step is to pay the customs fees in order to receive the package.
If Onward replaces something the customer has already paid customs on, under Onward’s discretion, Onward can approve and pay customs the second time.

Order marked as unfulfilled or unshipped

If the customer’s order is marked as unfulfilled or unshipped, the order hasn’t been fulfilled yet by the retailer (retailer could be low on inventory of the items, internal delays with the fulfillment center, etc.).
Onward does not control how quickly the retailer ships the customer’s order. Onward Package Protection is not yet in action because the order has not shipped.

Order issue filed too soon

If the customer is filing an order issue the same day that the package was marked as delivered, at our discretion Onward may ask you to wait 2 business days. Carriers (FedEx, USPS, UPS, DHL, etc.) sometimes prematurely mark the package as delivered while it’s still in transit.

> Stolen Items Policies

Delivered but missing package

Order issues for packages marked “delivered” yet not received are considered by Onward as stolen and must be filed 2 days after “delivery date” but no longer than 15 days to ensure it was not misdelivered or easily found around the premises.
Onward reserves the right to have a police report filed before a stolen claim is approved. We may ask the customer to file this report directly with the police or we may file the report on the customer's behalf.

Delivered to wrong address

If the customer input the correct address at checkout and the package was delivered to the wrong address, Onward considers this as stolen and we will replace the order on behalf of the customer.

> Satisfaction Guarantee Policies

This policy is only applicable on purchases made on merchant stores that are opted-in to Onward’s Satisfaction Guarantee feature which is clearly indicated at the point of purchase.
This policy provides coverage for Quality Issues arising from product usage. Quality Issues are defined according to the type of product.
For durable goods, such as apparel, appliances, bags, electronics, exercise equipment, footwear, furniture, jewelry, textiles and watches, Quality Issues are defined as accidental product damage occurring during normal usage such as tears, rips, stains, drops, punctures, cracks, breaks, mechanical failures and electrical issues.
For consumable goods, such as cleaning products, detergents, drinks, food, makeup, perfumes and supplements, Quality Issues are defined as general dissatisfaction with the quality of the product after use.
Onward will seek to remedy the issue based upon whether the product(s) are durable goods or consumable goods.
For durable goods, Onward may first attempt to repair the product at our expense before either replacing the product or issuing a refund.
For consumable goods, Onward will either replace the products or issue a refund based on the customer’s preference
Any refund issued will be for the full product amount minus the Onward protection fee, applicable taxes, and shipping costs
Claims must be filed within 90 calendar days from the date the package is marked as delivered by the carrier tracking information.
Onward will only cover one of each product in an order (i.e. if you ordered 3 of the same item and are unsatisfied, you will only receive credit for one of the items).
The Onward Satisfaction Guarantee is not intended to replace any warranty issued by the merchant or manufacturer of the product.
The Onward Satisfaction Guarantee does not cover products eligible for a merchant’s return policy.
Onward may, at its sole discretion, require the product(s) to be shipped back to the merchant or other destination to approve a claim.

> Free Return Policies

Onward’s Free Returns policy applies solely to purchases utilizing our package protection service and made from merchant stores participating in Onward's Free Returns feature . Participation is clearly indicated at the point of purchase.
Should a customer initiate a return through a participating merchant store, Onward takes responsibility for all return shipping costs, ensuring zero burden on the customer.
To process returns, customers must adhere to the merchant's specific return guidelines. These guidelines cover a range of aspects including return timeframe, shipping label procurement, return address verification, and authorized carrier or drop-off locations.
It's imperative to follow these guidelines accurately; failing to do so may result in Onward declining coverage of return shipping costs.
If a merchant requires upfront payment for return shipping, planning to reimburse the customer later, Onward will either reimburse the customer directly or collaborate with the merchant to ensure prompt reimbursement.
Any reimbursement for return shipping costs from Onward can only proceed upon receiving confirmation from the merchant about the receipt of the returned product(s).

> Wrong Item Policies

If you received an item different from what you purchased, Onward will cover the reshipment of the correct item.
Documentation: Onward will require further evidence such as photographs, videos, or any other proof to confirm that the delivered item is not what was ordered.
Accidental Orders: Please note that Onward does not cover cases where you accidentally ordered the wrong item. In such cases, you should contact the retailer for resolution.

> Returned to Sender

In some cases, a package’s delivery can fail due to factors such as invalid address, failure to sign, or at the discretion of the shipping company and these packages are generally marked returned to sender as they are sent back to the original merchant.
If the tracking information confirms the returned to sender designation, Onward will cover the reshipment of these packages at no further cost to you.

> General Policies

Input wrong address

If the customer entered the wrong address at the time of order, Onward does not cover this.
The customer needs to reach out to the retailer to remedy the incorrect address.

Quality control

If the customer is unsatisfied with their product, Onward is not a product replacement plan and the order issue cannot be approved unless the specific merchant has an agreement under the happiness guarantee of Onward.
The customer needs to reach out to the retailer. This request may be covered under the retailer’s return policy.

Too late to file

Onward can action an order issue that is filed within the bounds of our domestic/international timeline policy. If an order issue is filed outside of this timeline, Onward will deny the order issue according to these policies:
Order issues for packages marked “delivered” yet not received and where there is no evidence of “porch piracy” must be made 2 days after “delivery date” but no longer than 15 days to ensure it was not misdelivered or easily found around the premises.
Order issues for packages presumed to be lost by the carrier (where the status is not “delivered”) must be filed no sooner than 7 days after the scheduled delivery date for United States domestic shipments (20 days for international shipments, including Canada unless a Canadian merchant is shipping within Canada in which case the 7 day domestic shipment timeline applies) and within 30 days from the last checkpoint.

Expedited shipping hasn’t arrived

If the customer’s package is delayed for whatever reason, Onward will not cover it.
Carriers update their website with expected delays due to inclement weather or other barriers to expected delivery.
If the customer paid for expedited shipping but the package arrives outside of the expected window, Onward will not cover it.

Payment installment companies

For payment installments (Sezzle, Afterpay, etc.), it is the customer’s responsibility to pay the payment installment company directly.
Once Onward refunds the customer for their order, the customer must pay their installments to the payment installment company directly.

No tracking information

Onward reserves the right to deny order issues where no tracking number/information is available. In these instances, Onward will reach out to the retailer to see if one can be provided.

Package in Pre-Shipment

Onward reserves the right to deny order issues where package tracking is marked as “pre-shipment”.

Non-sanctioned shipping address

Onward is based in the United States of America. Due to shipping policies in the US, Onward will not cover order issues for items shipped to countries that are not sanctioned by the US. List available here

Closed order issues

If a customer does not respond within 5 days, Onward will automatically close the order issues. Customers can open the order issues back up by responding to the original thread.

Didn’t want Onward

If the customer’s package has not shipped, Onward can refund the Onward premium.
If the item has shipped, Onward is already protecting the package and cannot refund the customer.

Checkout requires ID verification

Onward doesn’t upload our employee’s proof of ID to replace the customer’s order.
If the customer ordered from a store that requires the extra ID verification step, Onward can offer the customer a refund instead to protect each party’s identity.

For any inquiries, get in touch at help@useonward.com