Refund policy
Hotpot Queen Refund & Issue Resolution Policy
Last updated: 2026-04-19 Version: 1.0
1. Overview
At Hotpot Queen, we stand behind our products as described in this Refund & Issue Resolution Policy. If your order arrives damaged, incorrect, or there is a product-quality issue, contact us and we will work with you to make it right in accordance with this Refund & Issue Resolution Policy.
Hotpot Queen (a DBA of Nifty Napkin Inc, a Washington corporation) (“Hotpot Queen,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) operates the online store at hotpotqueen.com. This Refund & Issue Resolution Policy applies to orders placed on hotpotqueen.com only. Orders placed through third-party retailers, marketplaces, or distributors are governed by the return and refund policies of those respective sellers.
2. Eligibility and Reporting Window
To be eligible for a remedy under this policy, you must report your issue to us within thirty (30) days of the delivery date shown in your shipping confirmation or carrier tracking record.
To report an issue, email hello@hotpotqueen.com with the following information:
- Your order number
- A description of the issue
- Photos of the product and packaging (include a photo of the shipping label if the issue involves damage in transit)
Providing complete documentation at the time of your initial report helps us review and resolve claims as quickly as possible. Reports received after the thirty (30)-day window may be reviewed on a case-by-case basis but are not guaranteed a remedy under this policy.
3. What Qualifies for a Remedy
The following types of issues are eligible for a remedy under this policy:
Damaged in transit: Visible physical damage to the packaging or product upon arrival. This includes crushed, punctured, or broken packaging, and products that have leaked, shattered, or arrived in a condition that prevents normal use.
Incorrect item: You received the wrong product, wrong flavor, wrong variant, or wrong quantity compared to what you ordered.
Quality issue: Off-flavor, off-color, compromised packaging seal, presence of foreign material, or other defect attributable to a manufacturing or packaging error.
Missing items: One or more items confirmed on your order were not included in the shipment.
Late arrival: Significant delays in transit may be addressed under our Shipping Policy. Late arrival is not an automatic refund trigger under this policy; see our Shipping Policy for applicable standards.
The following are not eligible for a remedy under this policy:
- Change of mind, taste preference, or dissatisfaction with flavor
- Allergic reaction (see Section 11, Allergen and Food-Safety Issues)
- Damage caused after delivery by customer handling, improper storage, or misuse
- Food products that have been opened or consumed, except in cases of a documented quality issue
- Orders received as gifts where the original purchaser cannot be identified
4. Non-Returnable Food Products
Hotpot Queen products are food and are non-returnable once shipped. For food-safety reasons, we do not accept physical returns of food products, regardless of condition.
In most cases, we are able to resolve order issues through photos and documentation without requiring a physical return. If you believe a return is appropriate, please contact us first — do not send products back before receiving return instructions from us.
If we determine that a return is necessary in a specific case — for example, to support investigation of a manufacturing defect — we will provide return instructions and a prepaid shipping label. Products sent back without our prior authorization will not be eligible for a remedy.
5. Remedies
For verified issues, Hotpot Queen will offer at least one of the following remedies, selected based on the nature of the issue, product availability, and customer preference where multiple options are available:
- Replacement of the affected item at no additional cost to you
- Refund to the original payment method used for the purchase
- Store credit applied to your account for use on a future order
Remedies apply to the specific items or issues that qualify under § 3. Where only a portion of an order is affected by a qualifying issue, the remedy is limited to that portion; we do not issue whole-order refunds based on partial dissatisfaction with an unaffected portion of the order. If more than one remedy is available for your situation, we will communicate your options and act on your stated preference.
Store credit. Store credit issued under this Refund Policy does not expire and has no cash redemption value. Store credit is tied to the customer account that received it and is not transferable. Store credit remains honorable even if the specific product line originally purchased is later discontinued.
6. Refund Timing and Method
Issuance. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method used for the purchase. We initiate refund processing within ten (10) business days of issue verification and remedy approval, consistent with Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17538 and applicable state prompt-refund standards.
Bank processing. The time for a refund to appear in your account depends on your payment processor and issuing bank and may take an additional five (5) to ten (10) business days after we initiate the refund. Hotpot Queen does not control this portion of the timeline.
Shipping costs. Original shipping charges are non-refundable unless the order was cancelled in its entirety before shipment or the issue that qualifies for a remedy is attributable to us (for example, a shipping error or packing defect on our end).
Currency. Refunds are issued in the currency in which the original purchase was made. If exchange-rate fluctuations result in a difference in the refunded amount as compared to the original charge when expressed in a local currency, Hotpot Queen is not responsible for that difference.
Sales tax. Sales tax collected on your original order is refunded along with the product price when a refund is issued, consistent with applicable tax-collection and refund rules.
7. FTC Mail Order Rule Compliance
Hotpot Queen ships eligible orders within the timeframe specified at checkout. If we are unable to ship your order within thirty (30) days of order placement — or within a longer time we have disclosed at checkout — we will notify you and offer you the option to:
agree to a revised shipping date, or
cancel your order and receive a full refund.
This notice and election procedure is in accordance with the FTC Mail Order Rule, 16 CFR § 435.2. If you do not respond to our delay notice within the deadline stated in that notice, we will treat your order as cancelled and issue a full refund to the original payment method within the timeframe required by the FTC Mail Order Rule. Cancellation refunds under this section are issued to the original payment method within ten (10) business days of cancellation confirmation.
8. How to Submit a Claim
To submit a claim under this policy:
- Email hello@hotpotqueen.com with the subject line: Order Issue – [Your Order Number]
- Include your order number, a brief description of the issue, and relevant photos
- We will acknowledge receipt of your claim within three (3) business days
- For verified claims, we will reach out with a remedy proposal within seven (7) business days of our acknowledgment
We may request additional information — such as further photos or packaging details — before approving a remedy. You should respond to any such request within ten (10) business days of our follow-up message. Claims where we have not received a response within that window may be administratively closed, though you may reopen your claim by contacting us again within the original thirty (30)-day reporting window.
9. Denied Claims and Appeals
If we deny your claim, we will provide a brief written explanation by email within the timeline described in Section 8.
How to appeal. You may appeal a denied claim by emailing privacy@hotpotqueen.com with the subject line REFUND APPEAL within thirty (30) days of the denial notice.
Your appeal should include:
- Your original order number
- The date of the denial
- Any additional information or documentation not previously provided
- A specific statement of the remedy you are seeking and the basis for your request
We will acknowledge receipt of your appeal within five (5) business days and respond substantively within fifteen (15) business days of the appeal. An adverse decision on appeal is final under this policy and is subject to the dispute-resolution terms in our Terms of Service, Section 14.
Refund appeals sent to privacy@hotpotqueen.com are operational customer-service communications and are not treated as California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA/CPRA) rights requests. If you intend to submit a CCPA/CPRA rights request, follow the process described in our Privacy Policy.
10. Chargebacks and Payment Disputes
The Fair Credit Billing Act (15 U.S.C. § 1666 et seq.) and similar consumer-protection laws provide you the right to dispute charges with your card issuer. Nothing in this Refund Policy limits that right.
Before initiating a chargeback, we encourage you to contact us at hello@hotpotqueen.com so we can resolve the issue directly and promptly under this Refund Policy.
If you initiate a chargeback, we will cooperate with your card issuer’s inquiry by providing documentation of the transaction, fulfillment, delivery, and any prior communications relevant to the dispute.
Where a full refund or replacement has already been provided for the same order issue and that resolution is documented in writing between you and Hotpot Queen, and a subsequent chargeback is then filed for the same issue, we reserve the right to present that documentation to the card network through the available dispute process and to seek recovery of the amount in dispute through that process. We do not refer such matters to collections agencies. We do not characterize the exercise of statutory dispute rights as fraudulent.
11. Allergen and Food-Safety Issues
Adverse reactions. If you experience an adverse reaction that you believe is related to a Hotpot Queen product, contact us immediately at hello@hotpotqueen.com with your order number and a description of your experience so we can investigate. We are not able to diagnose conditions or provide medical advice; please seek appropriate medical attention if you need it.
Label governs. Ingredient and allergen information is disclosed on the physical product label and, where available, on the product page at hotpotqueen.com. In the event of any discrepancy between online product-page information and the physical label, the physical label governs.
Investigation. Allergen-related and food-safety complaints are investigated independently of any medical or clinical assessment. Where a complaint is verified, our response may include a remedy under this policy, a label review, or reporting to relevant regulatory authorities. Investigation of a complaint is separate from and does not constitute medical advice.
12. Gift Orders
Gift orders are eligible for remedies under this policy. Where the purchaser and the gift recipient are different individuals, we will generally coordinate the remedy with the original purchaser (the payer on the order), unless the purchaser has provided written authorization for us to coordinate directly with the recipient. To authorize a recipient to act on an order, the purchaser should contact us at hello@hotpotqueen.com.
13. Fraud and Abuse Prevention
To protect our customers and our business, Hotpot Queen reserves the right to deny, limit, or revoke remedies in cases of documented fraud or documented pattern abuse. For these purposes:
- “Documented fraud” means a claim that is demonstrably false based on objective evidence available to Hotpot Queen (such as a claim of damage on a product that photographic and carrier-scan evidence shows was delivered intact).
- “Documented pattern abuse” means more than two (2) remedy claims from a single customer or household in any rolling twelve (12)-month period where the claims are not substantiated by carrier or fulfillment documentation of fault.
Decisions on fraud or abuse denials are subject to the appeal process in § 9. A denial under this section is not a permanent account limitation; it applies only to the specific claim at issue.
14. Consumer-Protection Notices
California residents may have additional rights under the Consumers Legal Remedies Act (CLRA, Cal. Civ. Code § 1750 et seq.), the Unfair Competition Law (UCL, Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 17200 et seq.), and the California Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Law (Cal. Health & Safety Code § 109875 et seq.). Nothing in this Refund Policy limits any right or remedy available to California residents under applicable consumer-protection law that cannot be waived or limited by contract.
To submit a CLRA demand or UCL notice, send written notice to: Nifty Napkin Inc (DBA Hotpot Queen), 522 W Riverside Ave Ste 8149, Spokane, WA 99201, with a copy by email to legal@hotpotqueen.com. We will respond within the timeframe required by applicable law.
To preserve your rights under Cal. Civ. Code § 1782 (the CLRA 30-day pre-suit demand requirement), CLRA demand notices must be sent by certified or registered mail, return receipt requested, to the mailing address in § 17.
Canadian residents may have additional rights under the Canadian Consumer Packaging and Labelling Act, the Canadian Competition Act (R.S.C. 1985, c. C-34), and applicable provincial consumer-protection legislation (including Quebec’s Consumer Protection Act, CQLR c P-40.1). This Refund Policy does not limit any right or remedy available to Canadian residents under applicable consumer-protection law.
15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution
This Refund Policy is governed by the laws of Washington State, subject to the CCPA/UCL/CLRA/TCPA savings clause in our Terms of Service, Section 13.
Any dispute arising under or relating to this Refund Policy is subject to Section 14 of our Terms of Service (Dispute Resolution), including the binding individual arbitration agreement, public-injunctive-relief carve-out, and class-action waiver provisions set forth therein. Arbitration opt-out rights under Terms of Service Section 14.6 apply to disputes arising under this Refund Policy to the same extent as disputes arising under the Terms of Service.
Before initiating arbitration, you must use the pre-arbitration informal resolution process described in Terms of Service Section 14.5. Written notice for purposes of that section may be sent to legal@hotpotqueen.com.
Our Terms of Service are available at https://hotpotqueen.com/policies/terms-of-service.
16. Changes to This Refund Policy
We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. Changes become effective on the “Last updated” date shown at the top of this document. Your continued purchase of products from hotpotqueen.com after that date constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.
Material changes to the dispute-resolution terms in Section 15 of this Refund Policy — including any change that affects your arbitration rights, opt-out rights, or class-action waiver — are subject to the affirmative re-consent rule in Terms of Service Section 20.
17. Contact Us
Nifty Napkin Inc (DBA Hotpot Queen) 522 W Riverside Ave Ste 8149 Spokane, WA 99201
Order issues and refund requests: hello@hotpotqueen.com
Refund appeals and privacy matters: privacy@hotpotqueen.com
Legal notices and dispute correspondence: legal@hotpotqueen.com