United States — consumer-law refund rights

Overview

The U.S. has no general federal "change-of-mind" cooling-off right for digital downloads. Your real leverage is the store’s policy, a federal chargeback right (FCBA), unauthorized/minor-purchase reversal through your card issuer, and your state Attorney General’s consumer-protection office.

Key points

• No federal cooling-off period for digital goods (unlike the EU’s 14-day right) — refunds mostly depend on store policy
• Fair Credit Billing Act (FCBA): dispute a charge with your card issuer within 60 days of the statement it first appeared on (covers "not as described" and unauthorized charges)
• Unauthorized or minor purchases: reverse the charge through your issuer; for under-13 spend, COPPA plus issuer rules support a refund
• Every state has a UDAP / "Little FTC Act" and an Attorney General consumer-protection office that can act on deceptive or misdescribed digital purchases
• Small-claims court is a last-resort lever for refused refunds above the store’s policy (limits vary by state, $2,500–$25,000)

How this interacts with platform policy

U.S. store refund windows (Steam/Xbox 14-day/2-hour, etc.) are policies, not laws. When a policy denial is wrong — a faulty game, a misdescription, or an unauthorized/minor charge — the FCBA chargeback right and your state AG’s UDAP statute sit on top of the policy. Exhaust the platform’s appeal first (chargebacks can restrict accounts), then use the federal dispute window or file a state complaint. See your state page for the AG office, UDAP citation, and small-claims limit.