Refund Policy

This page explains when we refund, when we give credit instead, and what is not refundable. It forms part of our Terms & Conditions.

1. Try before you pay

Every student gets a free 45-minute assessment before you pay anything — your chance to meet the coach, see a class, and confirm the right level. Nothing is charged, so there is nothing to refund.

2. What your fee pays for

Your fee reserves a place: a seat in a cohort, a coach assigned to your child, and time slots held for you. We commit that capacity as soon as your enrolment is confirmed and cannot resell it once a period has started.

It buys access to the scheduled classes — not a guaranteed rating or tournament result. Progress depends a great deal on practice between lessons, so slower-than-hoped improvement is not a reason for a refund.

3. Changing your mind

If you have a legal right to cancel — parents in the UK and EU have 14 days from signing up — that right applies in full and nothing here removes it.

For classes it works like this: booking or attending a session in that period means you are asking us to start straight away. If you then cancel, we refund what you paid minus the classes already delivered or held for you, and minus anything in section 8. Once the classes have been fully delivered, the right to cancel no longer applies.

4. Monthly plans

• Cancel any time before your next billing date, in the portal or in writing. Billing stops and you keep the classes already paid for.
• Once a month has started, that month's fee is not refundable — the coach and slots are already reserved.
• We do not refund part-months, or a renewal that went through because a cancellation was not submitted in time. Your renewal date is always in the portal.

5. Term and annual plans

Longer plans cost less per class because you commit to a term, so they are not refundable once the term starts. If you cannot continue, tell us in writing before the term ends and we will convert unused classes into a credit, calculated after re-pricing the classes you used at our standard rate.

6. Missed classes and rescheduling

• Reschedule with at least 24 hours' notice in the portal or by emailing support@toruschess.com, subject to coach availability. It is a courtesy, not an entitlement, and limited to a reasonable number each period.
• Classes cancelled with less than 24 hours' notice, and classes your child does not attend, count as delivered — not refundable or creditable.
• Arriving late does not extend the class, and the lost time is not refundable.

7. If we cancel a class

If we cancel — a coach is unwell, our systems fail, anything on our side — you choose a replacement class or a credit. If we cannot deliver a replacement within 30 days and you would rather not take credit, we refund that class. The rest of this policy does not limit this.

8. What we cannot refund

Amounts: classes already delivered, missed or cancelled late; any one-off enrolment fee once onboarding is done; payment processing and currency conversion charges our provider keeps; worksheets or certificates already issued; and promotional credits, discounts and referral bonuses, which have no cash value. Where you had a discounted rate, refunds are worked out after re-pricing the classes you used at our standard rate.

Reasons: these are understandable but are not failures on our side, so we offer rescheduling or credit rather than a refund — changing your mind or your child losing interest; moving, travelling or a change of time zone; school, exam or sports clashes; problems with your own device or internet; disappointment with rating results (see section 2); or wanting a different coach where we have offered a reasonable alternative.

9. If something goes wrong in class

If a fault on our side costs more than 15 minutes of teaching time, we will give you a make-up class or a pro-rated credit. Please tell us within 7 days so we can check our records — after that we cannot verify what happened. This does not cover your own connection or device.

If you are unhappy with the coaching, tell us early. Most concerns are solved with a change of coach, level or format at no cost, and we would like that chance before you ask for a refund.

10. Difficult circumstances

Life happens. With documented medical emergency, serious illness or bereavement affecting you or your child, we will pause the account and hold unused classes as credit without the usual time limit. We may also refund outside this policy as a goodwill gesture, decided case by case — it does not set a precedent.

11. Credits

Credits sit on your account, can be used for any programme or any child in your family, and last 12 months. They have no cash value and cannot be exchanged for a refund.

12. How to ask for a refund or credit

1. Email contact@toruschess.com from the address on your account, with your child's name, the invoice reference and what has happened.
2. Please ask in writing — mentioning it to a coach mid-class does not reach the right people — within 30 days of the payment, unless you have a legal right that says otherwise.
3. We reply within 2 working days and decide within 10.
4. Approved refunds go back to the original payment method within 5–10 working days. How fast your bank posts it is up to them.

13. If you disagree with a charge

Please talk to us first — if we have made a mistake we will put it right quickly. Going to your bank before contacting us stops us resolving it directly, and where classes were delivered as described we will defend the dispute with our booking and attendance records.

14. Your legal rights and changes

Nothing here removes rights you have under the consumer law of your own country, and if any part of this policy cannot be enforced where you live, the rest still applies.

We may update this policy. The version in force when you paid is the one that governs that payment.

Torus Chess Academy
contact@toruschess.com