_Last updated: [DATE]_
## Overview
Every transaction on Hashtags Studios flows through Stripe. Refunds are issued to the original payment method in AED and typically appear in 5–10 business days depending on your bank or card issuer. Where a refund is granted, the platform service fee that was added at checkout is refunded together with the principal. This policy is governed by UAE consumer-protection law (Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection and its Executive Regulations) and is read together with our Terms of Service.
A single, consistent principle runs through everything below: **if the seller is at fault (non-delivery, host cancellation, materially-not-as-described), you are refunded 100%, regardless of the listing's cancellation policy or any window.** Buyer-initiated changes of mind are governed by the cancellation policy attached to the specific listing.
## Listing cancellation policies (services, rentable products, bookings)
Each listing carries one of three published cancellation policies. You see the policy on the listing before you pay, and the policy in force is snapshotted onto your order at checkout so it cannot change retroactively. Refunds are calculated against the order's gross amount and the scheduled fulfilment moment ("scheduled date"):
| Policy | Full refund | 50% refund | No refund |
|---|---|---|---|
| **FLEXIBLE** | 24 hours or more before the scheduled date | — | inside the final 24 hours |
| **MODERATE** (default) | more than 7 days before | from 7 days down to 3 days before | inside the final 3 days |
| **STRICT** | more than 14 days before | — | inside the final 14 days |
For an item with no scheduled fulfilment moment (instant / un-dated), FLEXIBLE listings are fully refundable on cancel and MODERATE / STRICT listings are non-refundable. Bundles inherit the **strictest** cancellation policy of any item they contain.
These windows apply to buyer-initiated cancellations only. Seller fault always overrides to a 100% refund (see Overview).
## Bookings + direct offers
| Scenario | Refund |
|---|---|
| Talent declines a PENDING booking / offer | 100% of any deposit refunded automatically |
| Client cancels a PENDING booking / offer (before talent accepts) | 100% of any deposit refunded automatically |
| Booking deposit never funded and request expires | nothing was charged; no refund needed |
| Client cancels an ACCEPTED booking | refunded per the listing's cancellation policy window above |
| Talent / seller cancels an ACCEPTED booking, or fails to deliver | 100% refunded to client (seller fault) |
| Admin resolves a dispute in favour of the CLIENT | full or partial refund per ruling; any released payout is clawed back |
| Admin resolves a dispute in favour of the TALENT | no refund; payout released |
A **20% deposit** is collected at the point a talent accepts a direct selection (job-posting flows collect a **10%** deposit). The remaining balance is captured at completion. Talent and provider payouts settle via Stripe Connect transfer only after the silent-flag confirmation window below has passed.
## The 48-hour silent-flag confirmation window
When work is delivered, the buyer has a **48-hour silent-flag window** to raise a problem (flag the booking / open a dispute) before the seller's payout is released. If you take no action within those 48 hours, the booking is treated as accepted and a cron job releases the escrowed payout to the seller's Connect account. Once the window closes and the payout is released, a refund can no longer be processed automatically — you must open a dispute and admin will review it. The same 48-hour silent-flag window applies to magazine-article purchases.
## Services + rentable products
| Scenario | Refund |
|---|---|
| Buyer confirms delivery, or the 48h silent-flag window passes with no flag | no refund; payout released |
| Buyer flags / disputes within the 48h window | order held; admin reviews and rules |
| Provider fails to deliver within the agreed window | full refund, processed automatically when the expiry cron runs |
| Buyer cancels before fulfilment | refunded per the listing's cancellation policy (table above) |
Rentable products follow the service flow, with the scheduled date measured as the rental start / return date.
## Courses
A learner may refund a course enrollment when **either** condition is met: the course has **not yet started**, **or** you are **within 48 hours of enrolling**. Outside both of those (digital good, already commenced), course purchases are **non-refundable**. A successful course refund reverses the original Stripe charge, marks the order REFUNDED, and revokes the enrollment. Free-course unenrollment is instant and involves no payment.
## Magazine subscriptions
Magazine all-access subscriptions are recurring Stripe subscriptions billed monthly. You can **cancel at any time**; cancellation takes effect as **cancel-at-period-end** — your access continues until the end of the period you have already paid for, and you are not billed again. Part-months are not pro-rated or refunded. Individual one-off magazine-article purchases follow the 48-hour silent-flag window above.
## Packages + plan subscriptions
The BASIC_FREE plan is free. Paid plans (PRIVILEGE, HEALTHY, SOCIAL, BUSINESS_NETWORKING, VIP, EXCLUSIVE, ELITE) are billed via Stripe subscription against your package tier (BASIC / LIFESTYLE / PRESTIGE / LUXURY). Paid plans are **non-refundable once activated**, except where the platform is unable to deliver the promised feature set — in which case admin can issue a manual refund on review. You can cancel at any time; access continues until the end of the paid period (cancel-at-period-end).
## Competitions
Entry fees are refunded automatically when:
- The competition is cancelled by admin before entry close.
- Your entry is rejected at submission moderation for a reason outside your control (technical error, ineligibility we should have caught earlier).
Entry fees are **not refundable** once your entry is accepted and the competition runs. Prizes are paid out via Stripe Connect to winners' verified accounts within 14 days of the winners announcement.
## Events
Event tickets:
| Scenario | Refund |
|---|---|
| Event cancelled by organiser | 100% refunded automatically |
| Event postponed | Ticket holders may request refund within 7 days; otherwise ticket carries over |
| Customer cancels before sales-close | Full refund minus the non-refundable processing fee |
| Customer cancels after sales-close | No refund (ticket can be transferred to another attendee if the event organiser allows) |
When a host cancels or reschedules an event or competition, the refund cascades automatically to **all** affected ticket-holders / entrants. Partial event-ticket refunds (e.g. a downgraded tier) are issued idempotently to the original payment method.
## Talent representation — no refund on exit
Representation between a talent and an agency is a relationship, not a purchased good. Ending a representation contract — by the talent or by the agency — is **always free and carries no refund obligation in either direction**. There is no exit fee, no buyout owed by the talent, and no clawback of commission already earned on completed work. Because nothing is "purchased" to be returned, **there is no refund associated with leaving representation.** See Trust & Safety for the full Talent Sovereignty commitments (20% commission cap, no lifetime lock, no-fee notice-period exit).
## How to request a refund
1. Open the affected transaction at `/dashboard/[your-area]/transactions` and use the **Request refund** action, **or**
2. Email contact@hashtags.studios with the transaction ID and the reason.
Admin-MODERATOR or admin-FULL reviews refund requests at `/admin/refunds`. Decisions are notified by in-app notification + email.
## Disputes
When a refund cannot be processed automatically (e.g. buyer alleges undelivered service, talent alleges client no-show), either party can open a structured dispute from the transaction page. Filing a dispute atomically freezes the escrowed funds so neither side can move them while the case is open. Admin mediates by reviewing the booking timeline, message history, and any submitted evidence, then rules to refund the buyer, release to the seller, or split. The losing party may file a single appeal (within the resolved state) with a written narrative; if an appeal is upheld, any payout already released is clawed back and the corrected refund is issued. Resolution typically lands within 3–5 business days.
## Stripe chargebacks
If you file a chargeback with your card issuer instead of opening a platform dispute, your account is automatically frozen until the chargeback is resolved with Stripe. Chargebacks should be a last resort.
## Contact
Refund questions: contact@hashtags.studios (or via /contacts).
This content can be updated live by an admin from /admin/settings (key: legal.refund).
