Knowledge Base › Customer › Flag customers who have had refunded orders in the past
Refund History

How to flag customers with past refunds in WooCommerce

Flag customers who have had refunded orders in the past

Badges orders from customers who have at least one previously refunded order, giving your team a heads-up about potential refund risk before fulfilment.

Customer warning
The problem

Customers with a refund history may be higher risk for returns or disputes. Without a flag, your team has no quick way to see past refund behaviour when processing a new order.

The solution

OrderBadger can automatically flag customers who have a history of refunded orders.

Who this is for

Stores with significant return/refund rates - fashion, electronics, and any business where repeat refunders impact margins and operational costs.

At a glance
Registered customers only At least one previous refunded order Counts all refund types equally Passive badge, no inbox routing Badge: Refund History (red)
People also search for
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How it works

Adds a Refund History badge to orders from registered customers who have at least one previously refunded order. This gives your team an early warning about potential refund risk.

Double-check product descriptions match the items being shipped. Consider adding extra packaging protection or a personalised note. For serial refunders, review the order more carefully before dispatch.

Rule template

Plain English rule Customer has had at least one refunded order in the past

Write this (or something similar) in the OrderBadger rule builder. The AI compiler turns it into executable logic automatically.

Make it yours

Adjust thresholds
  • Change 'at least one refunded order' to 'at least £3 refunded orders' to focus on serial refunders rather than anyone with a single past return.
Add or remove conditions
  • Add 'and order total is over £100' to only flag refund-risk customers when the order value is high enough to justify the extra attention. Customer has had at least one refunded order in the past and order total is over £100
  • Add 'and customer has 5 or more previous paid orders' to combine refund history with established-customer status, highlighting loyal buyers who have started returning more. Customer has had at least one refunded order in the past and customer has 5 or more previous paid orders

Badge preview

Default: Refund History

When this rule matches

Customer 1 Previous Refund
Guest: no
Customer has 1 previous refunded order, meeting the 'at least one' condition.
Customer 3 Previous Refunds
Guest: no
Customer has 3 previous refunded orders, well above the minimum threshold.

When this rule does not match

Customer 0 Refunds
Guest: no
Customer has zero previous refunds, so the condition is not met.
Guest Checkout Null Refunds
Guest: yes
Guest checkout has no customer account, so previous_refund_count is null and cannot satisfy the condition.

Good to know

  • Guest checkouts are excluded - refund history tracking requires a registered customer account.
  • The count includes all refunded orders regardless of reason. It does not distinguish between buyer remorse, defective product, or shipping damage.
  • Partial refunds on otherwise completed orders may or may not be counted depending on WooCommerce order status.

Frequently asked questions

  • Does a partial refund count toward the refund history?
    It depends on the WooCommerce order status. If the order status was changed to 'refunded', it is counted. Partial refunds on orders that remain in 'completed' status may not be included.
  • Will guest checkouts ever show this badge?
    No. Refund history requires a registered customer account to track previous orders. Guest checkouts have no linkable history and will never trigger this rule.
  • Can I set a higher threshold, like 3 or more refunds?
    Yes. Edit the rule text to specify a higher number (e.g. 'at least £3 refunded orders') and recompile. The current rule fires on any customer with one or more refunds.

Related rules

How to recognise VIP customers by lifetime spend in WooCommerce How to identify first-time buyers in WooCommerce How to identify high-spend customers before refunds in WooCommerce

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