Recipe: write a returns and refunds policy page

Write your rules as a few rough notes. Hermes turns them into a clear policy page for your website, in Portuguese and English. Then ask it, separately, what the law might expect that your notes do not say, with every suggestion clearly marked.

Time needed	10 minutes
You need	A Hermes agent connected to an AI model and your rules as short notes
Result	A policy page in Portuguese and English, saved in returns-policy.md, and a separate list of points to check with your lawyer or accountant

Hermes is not a lawyer

A policy page is a promise to your customers. Hermes can write it clearly and point out possible legal gaps, but it can be wrong about the law. Before you publish, check the page and the suggestions with your accountant, a lawyer or your business association.

1. Write your notes

Write your rules as you would explain them to a new employee: what can be returned, until when, how the money comes back, and how to contact you. Save them in a text file and upload it in FILES → workspace (see Hermes reads a contract for you).

Our test notes, returns-notes.txt:

Notes for our returns and refunds policy (Sunrise Bakery, shop + online orders for collection)
- Fresh food (bread, cakes, pastries) cannot be returned once it leaves the shop.
- If something is wrong with a product (stale, wrong item, damaged), tell us the same day with the receipt or order number. We replace it or give the money back, customer chooses.
- Custom cakes: cancel up to 48 hours before collection = full refund. Less than 48 hours = we keep the 50% deposit.
- Packaged goods (jams, coffee bags, gift boxes): can be returned within 14 days, unopened, with receipt. Money back in the same way they paid.
- Refunds within 5 working days.
- Contact: ola@sunrisebakery.example or at the counter.

2. Ask for the page

In CHAT (we used New chat) we wrote:

Open workspace/returns-notes.txt: my notes for the returns and refunds policy of my bakery. Write a clear policy page for our website from these notes, in European Portuguese and in English, with short headings and simple words. Save it as workspace/returns-policy.md.

While it writes the file, Hermes shows what it adds (the green lines). Then, in the box, it sums up. This time it answered in Portuguese, although we wrote in English and its memory says we want replies in English (we had asked for a Portuguese page, which may be why). It says it used only the facts in our notes, that the email address is an example to replace, and that our notes do not say how to reach us outside the shop (a phone number, for example), and that it did not add anything about that.

The English half of returns-policy.md:

# Returns and Refunds Policy 🇬🇧

**Sunrise Bakery** – shop and online orders for collection in store.

## Fresh food
Fresh bread, cakes and pastries cannot be returned once they leave the shop.

## Is something wrong?
If a product is stale, damaged or not what you ordered, tell us **on the same day**. Bring your receipt or give us your order number.

We will replace the product or give you your money back. You choose.

## Custom cakes
- **Cancel up to 48 hours before collection:** full refund.
- **Cancel less than 48 hours before collection:** we keep the 50% deposit.

## Packaged goods
Jams, coffee bags and gift boxes can be returned:
- within 14 days;
- unopened;
- with the receipt.

We give your money back in the same way you paid.

## Refund time
We refund within **5 working days**.

## Contact
- Email: ola@sunrisebakery.example
- At the counter in the shop

The Portuguese half has the same sections (Comida fresca, Algo não está bem?, Bolos personalizados, Produtos embalados, Prazo do reembolso, Contacto).

3. Ask what may be missing, marked separately

Hermes kept to our notes. But your notes may be missing something the law expects. Ask for that separately, and ask Hermes to mark every point, so its ideas never mix silently with your rules. In the same chat we wrote:

Thanks. Now check the page against Portuguese consumer law for a shop that also takes online orders. Do not change the page. List anything you think is missing or risky, start each point with [SUGGESTION], say which law it comes from and how sure you are. Answer in English.

1. Every point starts with [SUGGESTION], as asked, followed by the law it is based on, the risk and a possible fix.
2. Hermes says how sure it is, and what it did not check.

Hermes made 8 suggestions. In short: the legal guarantee for faulty goods means "tell us the same day" should be a request, not a cut-off; "fresh food cannot be returned" should add "unless it is faulty"; online orders have a 14-day withdrawal right with exceptions (custom cakes, food that spoils, opened sealed goods) that the page should explain; the "unopened, with receipt" rule may be stricter than the law allows for online orders; deposit rules for custom cakes should be shown before the customer pays; the page should mention the complaints book (Livro de Reclamações) and link to the electronic one; it should name out-of-court dispute resolution bodies; and online sales need the full name, address and contact of the seller. It also said that the 5-working-day refund and "refund in the same way they paid" fit the law.

The page itself was not changed. You decide which suggestions to add, ideally with professional advice.

Check that it worked

• Nothing invented in the page. We compared every sentence of both languages with our notes: each one comes from a line of the notes, and no rule, deadline, price or contact was added. The only extra words are the headings.
• Both languages say the same thing. The Portuguese and English sections match point by point (same deadlines: same day, 48 hours, 14 days, 5 working days).
• The suggestions are clearly marked and kept out of the page, as asked.
• The legal points: partly checked. We read two of the cited articles in the official text: DL 84/2021, article 12 (the seller is responsible for faults that appear within three years of delivery) and DL 24/2014, article 17 (no 14-day withdrawal for goods made to the customer's specifications, for goods that spoil quickly, and for sealed goods opened after delivery when they cannot be returned for health or hygiene reasons). Both matched what Hermes wrote. We did not check the other points, such as the fines it quoted. Treat them as questions for a professional.

Make it yours

• Your tone: "Friendly, use 'we' and 'you', no legal words."
• Other pages: delivery terms, booking and cancellation rules, a privacy note for your newsletter.
• More languages: "Also in Spanish." See Translate a menu or price list.
• A short version: "Make a 3-line version to print at the counter."

Common problems

Hermes added rules I never gave

Ask for a clean page and separate suggestions, as in this recipe: "Use only my notes. Put anything else in a separate list, each point starting with [SUGGESTION]." Then compare the page with your notes line by line before publishing.

Hermes answered in another language

It happened to us once in this recipe, when we asked for a page in two languages. Say the language you want for the answer in the message, as we did in step 3 ("Answer in English").

Is the legal advice correct?

Maybe, maybe not. Hermes said itself that it was only partly sure for several points. Use its list as a checklist for your accountant or lawyer, not as the final word.

Next steps

• Recipe: answer customer questions from your own FAQ
• Recipe: Hermes reads a contract for you
• How to ask your agent: tips for good instructions