Refunds, disputes and the Stars terms

What it is

Telegram sells Stars as final: it doesn't refund unwanted or accidental purchases. A purchase from a bot or Mini App is different. If it isn't delivered as promised, the developer can return the Stars in full with no penalty, and handling disputes is the developer's job. The rules are in Telegram's Stars terms and, for sellers, the Bot Platform Developer Terms.

How to do it

1. Buyer: open the bot, send /paysupport and describe the problem.
2. Buyer: if a fair refund is refused, open Settings › My Stars, tap the purchase and copy its Transaction ID.
3. Buyer: report it at t.me/BotFather?start=starsdispute.
4. Seller: answer /paysupport quickly and keep /terms that buyers accept before paying.
5. Seller: refund with refundStarPayment and the telegram_payment_charge_id you saved.

Watch out

• Refunds and chargebacks are taken from your bot's balance.
• Ignoring legitimate disputes can cost you debited Stars, the bot's removal, a public SCAM label and your account.
• Payment providers such as Apple can refund a buyer within 21 days, and the Stars may leave your balance.
• Telegram advises against selling things of lasting value that you can't take back after a chargeback.
• For buyers, refunding Star purchases lowers the profile rating: refunded Stars count ten times against it.
• Losing your account forfeits the balance; Stars can't be sold or passed on.

With Gem

A sale made through Gem is refunded with one button in /myprojects → Sell → Sales and refunds: the Stars go back and the badge is removed. Put your refund rules into your project's knowledge: Gem answers buyers with sources on your page and in your groups, and sends the questions it can't answer to you.

Sources

• https://telegram.org/tos/stars
• https://core.telegram.org/bots/payments-stars
• https://telegram.org/tos/bot-developers
• https://telegram.org/faq

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