Returns management software that holds the fraud before the refund and sends every item to the lane that recovers the most
Fraud held before the refund; every item sent to the lane that recovers the most.
See one case, screen by screen ↓Software that takes a return from the customer's request to a decided refund and an item sent somewhere useful: policy, inspection, fraud checks and disposition in one place. Returns Management adds seven agents that apply your policy, compare the photos with the dock scan, check the returned serial against the one shipped and price five lanes, for the returns lead to approve every denial and every refund above the threshold.
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Every return is three decisions made by different people in different systems. May this customer return it — the window, the condition rules, EU, UK and US law? Is this the item we sold, in the condition claimed — the customer's photos, the dock scan, the serial on the plate? And what do we do with it — refund, restock, repair, send it back to the supplier, or deny? The customer's photos sit in the returns portal, the shipped serial in the warehouse system, the dock scan on a handheld and the policy in a PDF. The evidence never meets.
So the refund goes out on the carrier scan to meet the refund clock — in the EU, 14 days from the customer's withdrawal — and a used unit returned in place of the new one is refunded before anyone reads its plate. Items are restocked or scrapped by habit rather than by price, defects the supplier should pay for are refunded by the brand, and a denial without evidence the customer can see becomes a complaint or a chargeback.
Estimated split, in hours, for one return that needs a person — a fraud signal, a denial or a refund above the threshold — by hand and with the solution.
Seven agents check the policy, the photos, the serial and the price of every lane; the returns lead approves every denial.
Kestrel & Vane Home, the consumer business of Kestrel & Vane Group, runs a returns centre in Columbus, Ohio. On Wednesday 14 October, RMA-55103 — an AirPro V8 cordless vacuum, returned for a $429.00 refund because it “doesn't hold a charge” — reaches Dock 3. Here is what happens next, screen by screen, in the working solution.
Marisol approves refunds above $250 and every denial. Her morning page says the agents read 412 requests overnight and decided 371 within policy. 41 need her — 9 fraud holds, 7 denials, 12 refunds over $250, 8 where the condition differs, 5 supplier returns — the oldest waiting 31 of 48 hours. The first one to decide is already at the top.
Start here: “RMA-55103: the AirPro V8 that came back is not the one we sent.”
Tomasz scans the unit. The plate reads SN-V8-90217; the order shipped SN-V8-88410. The screen tells him to set it aside in cage Q-2 and keep the packaging, not to restock it. The checklist shows 412 charge cycles at 61% battery health, scuffs and hair on the brush bar, and the Condition agent proposes grade D from his photos and the customer's.
“This is not the unit we shipped. … Put it in cage Q-2 and keep the packaging; loss prevention has the case.”
The Intake agent reads the request and order KV-W-7781204. The Policy agent finds day 17 of 30, inside the window, and over $250, so it goes to the returns lead. The Condition agent compares three photos with the dock scan; the Fraud agent checks the serial, the history and linked accounts and holds the refund at score 91 against a hold line of 70. The Policy agent then re-reads the plate and the scan on its own and agrees, the Value agent prices five lanes, the Letters agent drafts the letter, and the run stops at the returns lead.
“Each agent reads the records itself; a second agent re-reads anything adverse without seeing the first answer.”
Marisol opens the return. The listing photo, the customer's photo of a clean bin and the dock scan sit side by side, with the two serials beside them. Refunding costs −$391.00: $429.00 paid for a unit we did not sell, less $38.00 from the recycler. Restock, repair and the supplier are closed, each saying why — the unit was sold 19 months ago, outside agreement VA-2207's 12 months. Deny costs the $14.20 label to send it back.
“Deny the refund and send the unit back · protects $429.00.”
Before she decides, Marisol asks. The Fraud agent answers from the order history and the warranty record: since the account opened in February 2024 he has bought two AirPro V8s — the one he returned in July, RMA-51877, and this order's SN-V8-88410. SN-V8-90217 was sold by a partner store in March 2025 and registered to someone else. If he sends a receipt for that unit, the hold lifts.
The agent offers one next step — “Ask him for the receipt” — and does nothing until she clicks.
The approval shows what she is signing: lane Deny, refund $0, label back $14.20, 7 agent steps, 3 photos, serial differs. She keeps the proposed reason code — D3, item returned is not the item sold — confirms she has read the evidence and the agents' reasons, and signs as Marisol Reyes, Returns Lead.
“I have read the evidence and the agents' reasons. Sign as Marisol Reyes, Returns Lead.”
The Letters agent has drafted the letter in plain English: the serial we sent on 21 September, the serial we received on 14 October, a photo of the label, policy section 4.2, the unit sent back at our cost, and how to appeal within 14 days with a receipt. Tone can be plain, warmer or shorter, in English, Spanish or German. The word “fraud” is not in it.
“The denial itself waits for your approval in the lane sorter; the letter goes when both are approved.”
The case goes to Priya. The score of 91 is broken into its signals, each with its source: the serial differs from the one shipped (+48), that serial was sold to another person in 2025 (+18), 412 charge cycles 22 days after delivery (+14), 4 returns in 120 days for $1,512 (+8), and clean photos from the customer but a worn unit at the dock (+3). The history shows RMA-51877, an AirPro V8 refunded in July before inspection. No other accounts share his address, card or device.
Priya confirms the hold, or clears it and releases the refund — with a reason code either way.
While the vacuum was being decided, the Supplier agent batched 14 Brava Pro espresso machines that leaked at the same steam valve seam this month into one claim to Corvane Appliance Manufacturing: $4,452.00 at a landed cost of $318.00 each, under VA-2291 §8.3. Each unit carries its photos, dock scan and the customer's report, and the draft asks for a quality review under §8.5.
Lena approves and sends it; the claim is tracked from Drafted to Sent, Authorized, Shipped and Credited.
RMA-55087, a FreshSeal filter pack at $16.90, was ordered in the wrong size. A label and handling would cost $16.20 against a resale value of $7.10, so the customer keeps it and is refunded under policy §5.4. It is under the $250 threshold with no adverse outcome, so the agents decided it within policy — one of the 371 — and anyone can still open it and review it.
“Decided by the agents within policy · under the $250 threshold and no adverse outcome, so no approval needed (§5.1).”
The same return, seen by five of the people who carry it — what their day looked like, and what it looks like now.
Seven agents check the policy, the photos, the serial and the price of every lane; the returns lead approves every denial.
Reads web portal, email, store and trade EDI requests; finds the order, item, serial and reason; lists what is missing and drafts the request to the customer.
Applies the return window, condition rules, exclusions and EU, UK and US rules, citing the clause — and does the independent second read before any hold or denial.
Compares the customer's photos with the listing photos and the dock scan, reads the battery diagnostic and proposes a grade from A to D.
Checks the returned serial against the shipped serial and the warranty registrations, the return history, linked accounts, the carton weight for empty boxes, and wear on the unit.
Prices each lane for the item — refund, salvage, label, labour, parts, resale, supplier credit — and picks the one that costs least, including keep-it refunds.
Batches defect returns by vendor agreement clause, drafts the claim with the evidence for each unit, and tracks the authorization and the credit.
Drafts the customer's letter in plain words with what was received, the evidence and the policy clause, and an appeal path — in English, Spanish or German.
Approves refunds over $250 and every denial, with a reason code. The agents propose; a named person decides.
Ask the agents about a return, a hold or a lane — or tell them what to do. Every answer points to its record.
Could he have bought two?
Not this unit. Since the account opened in February 2024 he has bought two AirPro V8s: the one he returned in July (RMA-51877) and this order's SN-V8-88410. SN-V8-90217 was sold by a partner store in March 2025 and registered to J. Marlow, not to him. If he sends a receipt for that unit, I lift the hold.
Why deny, not refund?
Refunding pays $429.00 for a unit we did not sell; the recycler gives $38.00, so −$391.00. Denying costs the $14.20 label to send his unit back. Policy closes the other three lanes.
Show me the July return
RMA-51877, 24 July: an AirPro V8 refunded $429 at carrier scan, before inspection. Its unit was graded D on 29 July, but its serial was not compared with the shipped one — that check started on 1 September. I have added it to Priya's case.
What would clear this hold?
A receipt for SN-V8-90217 in his name, or proof that we shipped that unit to him. Without it, the evidence holds: two agents read the plate the same way.
13 screens from the working solution, on its sample data. Pick one to see it large.
The agents work from your policy, read clause by clause. The thresholds are settings, saved as versions that wait for approval.
| Setting | Default | Choose from |
|---|---|---|
| Return window | 30 days from delivery | From your policy (RP-4 §2.1); a new policy version is loaded and read again |
| Holiday extension | Bought 1 Nov–24 Dec → return by 31 Jan | From your policy, with its clause |
| Excluded items | Opened hygiene, custom or engraved, final sale | From your policy (§3.4); goodwill exceptions are a person's call |
| Refunds above this go to the returns lead | $250 | Any amount; saved as a new version for approval |
| Hold a refund at fraud score | 70 of 100 | A score out of 100; saved as a new version for approval |
| Keep it when the item costs under | $25 | Any amount; also applies when the return costs more than the resale value (§5.4) |
| Second read before any hold or denial | Always on | Cannot be switched off |
| Refund clocks and alerts | Internal 48 h · US card refunds alert on day 5 of 7 working days · EU refunds on day 10 of 14 | Bell · Email · Bell and email · Chat · Bell, email and chat |
Every figure is labelled: a target the solution is built to, an estimate, a typical published result, or a proven one.
“demo” = seen in the working solution, on its sample returns data · “target” = the design goal, measured in the live solution · “estimated” = our estimate · “typical” = published figures (NRF and Happy Returns, 2025 Retail Returns Landscape — $849.9B returned, 15.8% of sales, retailers' estimate that 9% of returns are fraudulent). EU refund within 14 days of withdrawal: Directive 2011/83/EU art. 13; UK 30-day right to reject: Consumer Rights Act 2015 s.22. The 7-working-day US card refund clock is the sample policy's setting. Kestrel & Vane Group, and the people, customers, suppliers and products named on this page, are fictional — characters and sample data in the working solution.
Software that takes a return from the customer's request to a decided refund and an item sent somewhere useful: policy, inspection, fraud checks and disposition in one place. Returns Management adds seven agents that apply your policy, compare the photos with the dock scan, check the returned serial against the one shipped and price five lanes, for the returns lead to approve every denial and every refund above the threshold.
From the item, not only from shopper behaviour. The Fraud agent compares the serial on the returned unit with the one the order shipped and with warranty registrations, and checks the return history, linked accounts, carton weight for empty boxes and signs of wear. Every signal is cited, and no refund is held unless a second agent, reading the evidence on its own, agrees.
The Value agent prices each lane for the specific item — refund and salvage, restock and resale, repair parts and labour, supplier credit, or deny and the label back — and proposes the one that costs least. Lanes the policy closes say why. When returning an item costs more than it is worth, it proposes a keep-it refund.
Yes. Requests arrive from the web portal, email, stores, phone and trade EDI 180. In the working solution a trade customer's 24-drill return is split into lines and checked line by line — 22 in policy, 2 held — and supplier defects are batched into claims under each vendor agreement.
Yes. Every return shows its refund clock against your internal limit — 48 hours in the working solution. The alerts are settings: there, a US card refund alerts on day 5 of the policy's 7 working days and an EU refund on day 10 of 14, by bell, email or chat.
Yes. The agents decide only within policy and under your threshold. The returns lead approves every refund above it and every denial, with a reason code; agents never move money, send a letter or claim, or block a customer on their own, and every step is on a tamper-evident audit trail.
Yes. The agents read your return policy clause by clause and cite it. The approval threshold, fraud hold score, keep-it amount, rules, roles and notifications are settings, and every change is saved as a version that waits for approval.
The Agentic Solution Engine builds and deploys it from your requirements and documents — your return policy, vendor agreements, letter templates and a sample of past returns — and it goes live once every quality gate has passed. Before go-live, past returns are replayed so you see how often the agents agree with your team.
Policy changes reach every article in a day, and the bot never answers from a stale page.
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1-min demoWe'll run Returns Management on a sample of your own past returns and your return policy.