Refund Policy

Scope: This Refund & Cancellation Policy explains how cancellations and refunds are handled for services and events booked through EquiLink. It applies to transactions between riders (or other customers) and service providers or event organizers that are facilitated via the EquiLink Platform. This includes, for example, riding lesson bookings, training or veterinary service appointments, clinic/workshop registrations, competition entries, and event ticket purchases made in-app. By making a booking and purchase on EquiLink, you agree to this policy. Business users (providers/organizers) also agree to abide by these terms for cancellations and refunds, ensuring a fair experience for all parties. Note: This policy does not cover subscription purchases (like Business+ or Premium subscriptions) or listing boost purchases – those are generally non-refundable except as required by law, as described in the Terms of Service or Business Agreement. This policy focuses on consumer bookings and purchases of services/events/products.

Our goal is to foster trust in our marketplace by providing clarity on when you can expect a refund and any associated conditions. We strive to balance the needs of riders (who may need flexibility) with the needs of service providers and organizers (who plan for appointments and incur costs). Please read carefully:

1. General Cancellation by Rider/Attendee (Customer-Initiated Cancellations)

If you booked a service or event and need to cancel, the amount of refund you are entitled to depends on when you cancel and any specific terms set by the provider or organizer:

• Standard 48-Hour Full Refund Window (Services): For services (like lessons, farrier visits, or training sessions) we allow free cancellation with a full refund if it is done at least 48 hours before the scheduled start time. Cancelling in advance allows the provider to re-fill the slot. If you cancel 48 hours or more before the service start, you will receive a 100% refund of what you paid, including any EquiLink fees. The refund will be issued to your original payment method.
• Partial and Late Cancellations (Services): If you cancel between 24 and 48 hours before the scheduled start time, you are entitled to a 50% refund. If you cancel less than 24 hours before the scheduled start (for example, 10 hours before a lesson), the payment is non-refundable. The provider may keep the payment (minus EquiLink fees) to account for their reserved time. We recognize that emergencies can happen — if you have a special circumstance (such as sudden illness or accident), please contact both the provider and EquiLink support. In those cases, the provider may choose to offer a refund beyond the standard policy or allow a reschedule. By default, however, cancellations made less than 24 hours before a service are non-refundable from the platform's perspective. EquiLink will not automatically issue refunds for these, but we will facilitate one if the provider agrees or in exceptional cases at our discretion.
• No-Show (Services): If you (the rider) do not show up to a scheduled service and did not cancel in advance, this is treated similar to a late cancellation – no refund is due. The provider will receive the payout as if the service occurred, since they set aside that time. We advise all users to communicate and cancel if you cannot attend, to be courteous and possibly avoid being charged when something can be worked out.
• Events (Tickets/Entries): Events such as shows, competitions, or clinics often involve upfront costs for organizers, so refund rules for event tickets and entries depend on the organizer's policy:
  • Organizers are encouraged to clearly state their refund and cancellation terms in the event listing. EquiLink will honor the organizer's stated policy.
  • If no refund policy is stated in the event listing, tickets and entries are treated as non-refundable by default. However, we understand that unexpected situations can arise. In such cases, EquiLink may help mediate between you and the organizer to reach a fair resolution, though refunds are not guaranteed.
  • No-show at an event: If you simply don't attend and didn't cancel, that is not eligible for refund. The organizer likely held a spot for you which went unused.
• Digital Products (Guides, Downloads): Digital products are delivered immediately after purchase and are non-refundable once accessed or downloaded. If you have technical issues accessing your purchase, contact EquiLink support for help.
• Products (External Retail Links): If you buy a product through an external link (for example, a brand's own store), that seller's refund and return policy will apply, not EquiLink's.

2. Provider/Organizer Cancellations (and No-Shows)

If the service provider or event organizer cancels a booking (or fails to show up / deliver the service as promised), the customer is entitled to a full refund, regardless of timing.

• Provider Cancellation: The provider might cancel due to illness, emergency, weather (for outdoor events), or other reasons. They should do this through the EquiLink system so you get notified and the refund can be processed. When a provider or organizer cancels a confirmed booking, EquiLink will automatically initiate a 100% refund to the customer, including any fees. You can expect the money back on your original payment method within about 5-10 business days (processing times may vary by bank). We encourage providers to communicate with their clients and possibly offer to reschedule, but as the customer, you have the right to a refund if you prefer.
• Provider No-Show / Service Not Delivered: If you show up for an appointment or event and the provider/organizer is not present or refuses service, that is treated as a cancellation by them. Please report the incident to EquiLink support. We will verify what happened (we may reach out to the provider for their side) and then issue you a full refund. Providers who no-show or cancel last minute may face penalties on our platform (like automatic bad review or suspension for repeated incidents) because we aim to maintain reliability.
• Event Cancellation or Significant Change: If an event is canceled entirely by the organizer (e.g., a show is called off due to low entries or external factors), all ticket holders/entrants will be given full refunds. If an event is significantly changed (like date or venue change) and you cannot attend the new schedule, you can request a full refund as well. Organizers should notify attendees through EquiLink or directly, but you can also contact EquiLink for assistance if you haven't heard and suspect an event is canceled. We will ensure refunds are processed in such cases.

3. How to Cancel and Request Refunds

• Cancelling via the App: If you need to cancel a booking, please use the built-in cancellation function in the EquiLink app. Go to your bookings section, select the specific booking, and choose "Cancel." The app will inform you of any refund eligibility (for example, it might say "Full refund if canceled now" or "No automatic refund, you may be charged a cancellation fee" based on timing). Confirm the cancellation. This is the fastest way to free up the slot and trigger any refund.
• Contacting Support: If for some reason you cannot cancel through the app (technical issues, or the event date has passed but you believe you deserve a refund due to an issue), you can contact EquiLink customer support at support@equilink.com. Provide your booking details (date, service/event, parties involved) and explain the situation. We will review and assist. Note that if you're reaching out after the fact (e.g., "I went to the lesson but the trainer was a no-show"), we may require some evidence or confirmation from the provider. We encourage prompt reporting – ideally within 24-48 hours of the incident – so we can resolve it fairly. Delayed claims might be harder to verify, but we will do our best.
• Refund Timeline: When a refund is approved (whether due to your timely cancellation or a provider cancellation or a support-mediated resolution), we will process it promptly. Typically, once processed on our end, the refund will be credited to your original payment method within 5-10 business days. Some payment methods (like credit cards) may even show the refund within 2-3 days, while others (debit cards or international payments) might take longer. If you used Apple Pay or Google Pay, the refund still goes back to the card or account linked to those services. If you don't see the refund after 10 days, please contact your bank or us.
  • Important: If a significant time has passed (e.g., over 60-90 days since the original transaction), the refund might not be able to go back to the card due to network rules. In such rare cases, we will work with you on an alternative method (like sending it to a bank account or via PayPal). But normally, it goes right back to the source.
• Special Circumstances: If something outside these standard rules occurs – say a horse falls ill last minute and both rider and provider mutually agree to cancel – we encourage both parties to document that agreement via the EquiLink messaging (so we have a record). EquiLink can then process a refund without penalty in mutual-agreement cases. Similarly, if weather forces cancellation of a lesson (thunderstorms making riding unsafe), typically the provider should cancel so you get a refund or a rescheduled date. We try to accommodate fairness during unforeseeable events (weather, emergencies) – our support team can override policies when both parties agree or in extreme conditions (like natural disasters, etc.). We call these "Extenuating Circumstances," and we handle them case-by-case, aiming not to penalize either side for true emergencies.

4. Non-Refundable Situations (Summary)

To avoid doubt, here are scenarios where you generally will not receive a refund:

• You cancel a service booking at the last minute (inside the 24-hour window) without an approved extenuating reason.
• You don't show up for a lesson or appointment.
• You purchased a non-refundable item (for example, digital products or events with no specified policy).
• The service or event was rendered substantially as described, but you were dissatisfied with the quality (e.g., you attended a clinic but didn't enjoy it or felt the teaching was not good). In general, subjective dissatisfaction is not grounds for a refund if the service was delivered. However, we encourage you to rate and review honestly on the platform to give feedback. If the experience was truly misrepresented or something seriously went wrong, contact support – we handle serious complaints (like a completely different service delivered than advertised, or safety issues) separately, potentially as a breach of our terms by the provider, which could result in a refund or credit as a goodwill gesture.
• You were removed from an event or service due to violating rules or misconduct. For instance, if you attend a clinic and are asked to leave for unsafe behavior or not following instructions, you may not be refunded for the remainder.

5. Provider/Organizer Responsibilities in Refunds

This section is more for the businesses:

• If you are a service provider, by using EquiLink you agree to honor the refund conditions above. When a rider cancels in time, you should not expect payout (EquiLink will reclaim the payment to refund the rider). If a rider cancels late or no-shows, you generally keep the payout. We handle the payment flows accordingly.
• Do not issue off-platform refunds for EquiLink bookings. All payments and refunds should go through the platform to ensure records and to avoid confusion (plus it ensures we adjust the service fee appropriately). If you feel a rider deserves an exception refund outside policy, contact EquiLink support – we can issue a refund on your behalf (and possibly not charge you the fee for that portion if it's a genuine goodwill case).
• Event organizers should clearly state any refund terms in the event listing. EquiLink will display those to users at booking and will enforce them as long as they're reasonable (they should not be drastically unfair; we may review and ask you to adjust if, say, you put "no refunds ever for any reason" which might conflict with consumer laws or platform fairness).
• Payout Reversals: If a refund is issued after you've already been paid out (for example, an event is canceled after money was transferred to you), EquiLink will reclaim that amount. Normally, we will deduct the refunded amount from your next payout(s). If that's not possible, we may charge your payout account or invoice you for the amount. By using EquiLink, you agree that we have the right to recover refunds to fulfill our promise to users.
• Chargebacks: If a user goes to their bank/credit card and forces a chargeback for a payment, we will handle that through Stripe. It's better if issues come through us (as we've outlined) because chargebacks incur fees and can affect your standing. If a chargeback happens, we may reach out to you for info. In general, if you delivered the service as per policy, we'll contest the chargeback. If the user was justified (like you no-showed), we might not contest it and you effectively gave up that payment (and we may charge you any chargeback fee assessed by Stripe). This is rare if we follow refund policies, but just to note.

6. Contact and Dispute Resolution

We aim for clarity, but if you have a dispute about a refund or cancellation that isn't resolved via the automated process, please contact EquiLink support (either through the app's Help section or email support@equilink.com). We will mediate between you and the other party if needed. We have final discretion to make fair decisions, for example, granting a refund despite policy if we find special circumstances, or conversely, denying a refund if we suspect abuse of the system.

If you are a consumer in certain jurisdictions, you may have additional rights to cancel purchases within a cooling-off period (for example, EU consumers may have 14 days to withdraw from some contracts). However, please note that for services scheduled on specific dates (like event tickets or lessons on a set date), consumer protection law often exempts those from the standard 14-day withdrawal because they are time-bound services. Nonetheless, we will respect any mandatory consumer rights applicable.

We hope this policy gives you confidence when booking through EquiLink. We want you to feel secure that you can get your money back in legitimate cases, while also respecting our providers' time and effort. If anything is unclear, reach out to us – we're here to help.

Happy riding and enjoy the events, services and products on EquiLink!