The DTI has been saying this since 2023. The Internet Transactions Act made it binding law in June 2025. Most buyers still don’t know either.
You’ve been there. The package arrives dented, the item is broken, or what came out of the box is clearly not what you ordered. You want to return it. Then you see the notice: “No video, no refund.”
So you either scramble to find footage you didn’t think to record, or you quietly absorb the loss and move on. Most people do the latter.
Here’s what the law actually says: the defective product is your evidence. You don’t need footage of yourself opening a box to claim an online refund. That requirement has always been illegal, and sellers who still enforce it are now operating under a regulatory framework with sharper teeth than before.
The Online Refund Rule That’s Been on the Books for Years
The DTI’s position on “no video, no refund” policies goes back to at least early 2024, when the agency publicly confirmed that requiring an unboxing video as a precondition for returns violates Republic Act 7394, the Consumer Act of the Philippines. Under RA 7394, a consumer who receives a defective item is entitled to return it and may also request a replacement, full refund, or repair. None of those remedies are contingent on video documentation.
DTI Trade Undersecretary Ruth Castelo put it plainly: the defective product itself is the evidence. Sellers cannot make the process harder for buyers simply to reduce complaint volume.
The argument for these policies was always thin. Unboxing videos protect sellers from fraudulent claims, which is legitimate. But that protection exists for the seller’s benefit, not as a legal precondition for your right to an online refund. The law does not require you to prove your innocence before you can exercise a consumer right.
What the Internet Transactions Act Changed
The Internet Transactions Act of 2023 (Republic Act No. 11967) took full effect on June 20, 2025, after an 18-month transitory period given to online platforms and sellers to comply. That window is closed.
Under the ITA, online consumers have the right to pursue repair, replacement, or online refund in cases of defect, malfunction, or loss that is not their fault. If you opt for a replacement or refund, the seller retrieves the original item at no cost to you.
Platforms are required to process and review a return or refund request within a maximum of seven calendar days. Sellers who fail to meet this are exposed to administrative fines, and repeat platform violators face penalties of up to two percent of gross sales under the law.
The practical implication: this is no longer just a DTI policy position. It is codified, fully enforced, and violations carry a paper trail that goes directly to the agency.
How to Actually File a Complaint
If a seller refuses your online refund request without a valid basis, the process is more accessible than most buyers assume.
Start with the platform’s internal dispute mechanism. Under the ITA, you are required to exhaust the platform’s internal redress process first. If the issue remains unresolved after seven calendar days, that mechanism is considered exhausted and you may file directly with the DTI.
The DTI’s Consumer Complaints Assistance and Resolution System, known as CAReS, is a digital portal for filing and tracking complaints. In 2024, the Mediation Division resolved over 33,000 consumer complaints with no pending backlog, covering defective goods, online purchases, and e-commerce disputes.
You can also file through the DTI’s e-Consumer app or visit the nearest DTI office. Mediation is scheduled within ten days of filing, with a resolution target of sixty days.
The Behavior Gap That Keeps This Policy Alive
The legal reality and the everyday experience of online shopping in this country are still far apart. Sellers continue to post “no video, no refund” notices because most buyers comply. Platforms allow it because enforcement complaints are low. And enforcement complaints are low because most buyers don’t know they have a legal right to an online refund without the video.
This is not a complicated regulatory grey area. The Consumer Act has protected buyers from exactly this kind of condition since 1992. The ITA reinforced and extended it to cover digital commerce specifically. The only thing that keeps the unboxing requirement alive as a practical barrier is the assumption that fighting it isn’t worth the effort.
That calculus changes when you know the complaint process takes less time than you’d expect, costs nothing, and has a seven-calendar-day clock that platforms are legally required to observe. Your online refund doesn’t depend on footage. It never did.
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