If your event collects payments through the ClearEvent Platform, ClearEvent requires that you specify a clear refund policy. It is the sole responsibility of the Event Organizer to refund payments collected by an event to a participant when necessary.
A clear and fair refund policy is key to ensuring that your event minimizes the chances of receiving credit card charge backs and disputes from event participants that have purchased event access, goods or services from your event. Setting a fair refund policy means that you'll be more likely to attract participants to your event.
We understand that event refund policies can vary greatly. It's even possible that, within the same event, you may wish to have different refund policies.
Setting a Refund Policy for Forms:
Refund policies can be defined for each registration form that you create. To set a refund policy:
Open the Event Manager App and go to the Forms section.
Choose the registration form that you would like to set a Refund Policy form for and click the Edit (pencil) button to open the Form Designer.
From the Form Designer, select the Settings tab.
Scroll down to the Refund Policy field. Enter a refund or event cancellation policy into this field. See below for examples you can use as a starting point.
Setting a Refund Policy for Tickets:
A refund policy can be defined for all tickets. To set a refund policy:
Open the Event Manager App and go to the Tickets section.
Choose the Settings tab.
Scroll down to the Refund Policy field. Enter a refund or event cancellation policy into this field. See below for examples you can use as a starting point. This will apply to all tickets sold for the event.
Refund Policy Guidelines:
At a minimum, if selling Tickets or for each Registration Form you create that charges a fee to register, or that sells products, must have a refund policy that meets the following minimum requirements:
Minimum Refund Policy Requirements:
If your event accepts payments, you must ensure you meet the following refund requirements.
An event may have a "No Refund" policy, but the refund policy must still offer a full refund to the participant or make good in situations where the event has been canceled, or there was a complete failure to deliver the advertised goods & services that were purchased by the participant.
If refunds are permitted, the refund policy must include instructions that describe how to officially request a refund, any refund deadlines, and any required event contact details. We recommend that you ask for all refund requests to be submitted in writing via email to the event.
If refunds are permitted, the refund policy must define a time frame that refund requests will be responded to, which must not exceed five (5) business days after the request is received.
If refunds are permitted and refund and/or cancellation fees are charged, any costs associated with the refund must be clearly described in the event's refund policy. It's important that event participants understand the cost associated with requesting a refund to avoid disputes.
Any refund policy must be in accordance with all applicable local, state, provincial, and other laws, rules & regulations, including all requirements set forth by any Card Schemes or payment methods.
An event refund policy should not be materially changed once it has been published and payments have been received.
Please note that if a refund policy is not set, or does not meet all of the minimum requirements defined above, ClearEvent reserves the right to modify your event refund policy so that it meets our minimum refund policy requirements.
Additional Refund Policy Considerations:
If an event does not allow refunds, an event should consider providing alternatives to refund requests to help avoid credit card chargebacks and disputes. Alternatives may include giving credit towards a rescheduled event date or allowing another person to attend instead of the original purchaser.
It's also a good idea to put a time limit on any credit an event may extend to prevent the refund credit from being held indefinitely. Any such time limit should be included in the refund policy.
Example Refund Policies
Below are some examples you may wish to use as a starting point for your own event refund policy. Please note that the example refund policies below are provided for general information purposes only and do not constitute legal or other professional advice or an opinion of any kind. To ensure sufficient coverage, Organizers are advised to seek independent legal advice regarding their event refund policies.
Refund Policy Type | Refund Policy Example |
No Refund | All sales are non-refundable. If the event is rescheduled, all purchases will be honored for the next event date. If the event is canceled, all purchases will be refunded in full. |
No Refund (transfer allowed) | All sales are non-refundable. If the event is rescheduled, all purchases will be honored for the next event date. If you cannot attend the rescheduled event, you may transfer your purchase to another person. If the event is canceled, all purchases will be refunded in full. |
Full Refund | Refunds will be issued in full for refund requests received on or before {Date}. After {Date}, no refunds will be issued. If the event is rescheduled, all purchases will be honored for the rescheduled event date or may be refunded in full. If the event is canceled, all purchases will be refunded in full. After submitting your refund request in writing by email to {Email}, please allow up to five (5) business days to process your refund request. |
Partial Refund (with processing fee) | Partial refunds will be issued for refund requests received on or before {Date}. A ${Amount} processing fee will be deducted from all refunded amounts. After {Date}, no refunds will be issued. If the event is rescheduled, all purchases will be honored for the rescheduled event date or may be refunded in full. If the event is canceled, all purchases will be refunded in full. After submitting your refund request in writing by email to {Email}, please allow up to five (5) business days to process your refund request. |
Refunds Process
If an Event Organizer fails to honor a refund request that an Event Participant believes is owed to them under the published refund policy, the Event Participant may contact ClearEvent to request that a refund be issued. ClearEvent will process any request within 30 business days and will review the evidence available and the circumstances of the refund request in order to determine if a refund is due in accordance with the applicable event refund policy. If ClearEvent determines that a refund is due under the terms of the event refund policy, ClearEvent may (if possible) issue a refund on behalf of the event under the terms of the refund policy. Please note that due to limitations with ClearEvent's payment processor (Stripe), ClearEvent may require the cooperation of the Event Organizer to issue this refund.
Stripe Processing Charges
For Stripe accounts created after Sept 14th, 2017, the Stripe Processing Charge is non-refundable. The event will be responsible for covering these fees when issuing a full refund. For all newly created Stripe accounts, this will now be the default refund behavior.
For Stripe accounts created prior to Sept 14th, 2017, the Stripe Processing Charge will be refunded. For full refunds, the Stripe Processing Charge will be completely refunded. For partial refunds, the amount Stripe refunds is based on the partial refund amount entered.
ClearEvent Service Charges
ClearEvent Service Charges are non-refundable and must always be covered by the event.