Refund Procedure

This Procedure for Refund of Payments (the “Procedure”) is an integral part of the ThanksForDonation Terms of Service (https://thanksfordonation.com/offer) and sets out how requests regarding refunds, erroneous charges, incomplete transactions, duplicate charges and chargebacks are handled on the Platform. Capitalised terms have the meaning given to them in the Terms of Service.

The Company acts as the Author’s paying agent: it collects Supporter Payments on behalf of Authors and remits them to Authors. Refunds of Author’s Fees are a matter between the Author and the Supporter under the relevant Service Contract; the Company facilitates the process in accordance with this Procedure. By making a payment, the Supporter confirms that they have read and accept this Procedure.

1. Support Payments (tips)

1.1. A Support Payment is by its nature voluntary, unconditional and unsolicited. It is not a payment for any Content, goods or services, is not a charitable donation, and is not a distance purchase from the Company or the Author. Accordingly, statutory “cooling-off” or withdrawal mechanisms applicable to distance sales of goods and services do not apply to Support Payments. Support Payments are final and non-refundable, including in the event that the Supporter is dissatisfied with the Author’s activity.

1.2. The following are not, by themselves, grounds for a refund of a Support Payment: a change of mind after successful payment; dissatisfaction with the Author’s content or activity; the absence of a reply from the Author; the non-display or delayed display of a message or notification; a typo in the nickname or message; selecting the wrong Author by the Supporter’s mistake; moderation (hiding or deletion) of a message; or temporary unavailability of the Author’s page after payment.

1.3. The Company may review a request concerning a Support Payment in the following exceptional cases: (a) duplicate charging of the same operation for a technical reason, supported by bank documents or statements; (b) funds were charged but, according to the Payment Provider, the transaction is not confirmed as successful (it was cancelled or failed) and is refundable under the Payment Provider’s rules; (c) a technical failure on the side of the Company or the Payment Provider, confirmed upon review, as a result of which funds were charged without proper completion of the operation; (d) a payment made without the authorisation of the payment instrument holder (unauthorised transaction), confirmed by the issuing bank or the Payment Provider; and (e) other cases expressly required by mandatory applicable law.

1.4. If a refund is approved, it is made via the Payment Provider by the same method used for the payment (or another method under the Payment Provider’s rules). If the amount has already been remitted to the Author, the Company may recover the amount from the Author’s balance or future remittances under the Author Agreement; where recovery is not possible, a refund to the Supporter may be unavailable.

2. Payments for Author’s Content (where such functionality is available)

2.1. The Supporter has the right to send to the Company, at legal@thanksfordonation.com or through another channel indicated by the Company, a request for a refund of an Author’s Fee paid for access to Author’s Content within five (5) calendar days from the date of being granted access to the Author’s Content.

2.2. The Supporter’s request for a refund of an Author’s Fee is subject to consideration if the Supporter specifies in the request specific violations committed by the Author in connection with the provision of the Author’s Content, including: (i) absence of the Author’s Content in the Platform interface on the page whose content corresponds to the description; (ii) the Author’s Content does not match the description posted on the Platform, which does not allow the Supporter to use the Author’s Content for its intended purpose; or (iii) inability to access the Author’s Content due to a failure of the Platform’s function to provide access through the fault of the Author.

2.3. The Supporter’s request for a refund is redirected by the Company to the relevant Author. Within three (3) calendar days from the date of receipt of the request, the Author shall eliminate the violation indicated by the Supporter, or agree to refund the Supporter, or send the Company objections to the Supporter’s request.

2.4. If the Author files objections to the Supporter’s request, the Company considers the Supporter’s request and the Author’s objections within ten (10) business days of receipt of the Author’s objections and decides on the validity or invalidity of the Supporter’s claims at its sole discretion in accordance with the Terms of Service.

2.5. If the Author rectifies the breach within the period specified in clause 2.3, the Author shall be deemed to have provided the Supporter access to the Author’s Content in full and within the prescribed period, and in this case the Author’s Fee shall not be refunded.

2.6. If the Author agrees to refund the payment or does not take any action as provided by clause 2.3, the Company shall refund the payment to the Supporter after deducting the bank and Payment Provider commissions charged on the payment received from the Supporter. The Company’s Fee is by its nature non-refundable.

2.7. Supporters may request a refund of an Author’s Fee exclusively from the Author, not from the Company; the Company only facilitates the refund as the Author’s paying agent.

3. How to submit a request

3.1. Submit a request to legal@thanksfordonation.com, via the contact form at https://thanksfordonation.com/, or through another channel indicated by the Company.

3.2. Include: the date and approximate time of the payment; the amount and currency; the nickname used; the link to the Author’s page; the payment method; the payment identifier (if known); a description of the problem; and supporting materials (a bank statement or certificate, screenshots).

3.3. The Company may request additional information needed for verification. Failure to provide the information within a reasonable time may result in denial of the request.

3.4. The initial response and review period is generally up to ten (10) business days after a complete set of information is received. The period may be extended where verification depends on the Payment Provider, the issuing bank, the Author or other third parties.

4. Possible outcomes

4.1. Following review, the Company may: deny the request; initiate a refund or cancellation via the Payment Provider (if available); propose an alternative resolution; or correct the internal accounting in case of a technical crediting error.

4.2. If approved, a refund is made by the same method used for payment, or another method under the Payment Provider’s rules. The arrival time depends on the Supporter’s bank and payment systems and may take from several days to several settlement cycles.

4.3. Fees already charged by banks, payment networks and Payment Providers may be non-refundable.

4.4. If the amount has already been remitted to the Author, a refund to the Supporter may be unavailable or may require separate settlement between the Author and the Supporter. The Company does not guarantee a refund in such cases.

5. Chargebacks and bank disputes

5.1. The Supporter may contact their issuing bank under the bank’s procedures. However, in respect of Support Payments, a chargeback initiated without grounds under this Procedure may be contested by the Company and the Payment Provider with evidence of the voluntary nature of the payment and its proper processing by the Platform.

5.2. Upon a chargeback or payment dispute, the Company may: freeze the related amounts on the Author’s balance; request explanations from the Author and the Supporter; and provide the Payment Provider with evidence of the payment and its processing.

5.3. If the dispute is lost and amounts are debited from the Company, the corresponding amounts and any fines may be recovered from the Author’s balance and/or future remittances, or otherwise as permitted by law and the Author Agreement.

5.4. Systematic unjustified chargebacks, or the use of chargebacks instead of the procedure set out in this document, may be treated as abuse and may result in restriction of access to the Platform.

6. Incomplete payments

6.1. If a payment was not completed (cancelled, declined or failed), the Platform informs the Supporter via the corresponding page. In that case, funds are generally not charged, or the charge is automatically reversed under the Payment Provider’s rules.

6.2. If the Supporter still sees a hold or charge in their banking application, they should wait for the operation’s final status (the hold may be released by the bank automatically) and, if the charge remains, follow the procedure in Section 3, attaching a bank statement.

7. Final provisions

7.1. The Company may update this Procedure by publishing a new version at https://thanksfordonation.com/refund with the “Last updated” date. Continued use of the Platform after publication constitutes acceptance of the new version.

7.2. Only the English version of this document has legal effect; translations are provided for convenience only.

7.3. Matters not covered by this Procedure are governed by the Terms of Service, the Author Agreement and the rules of the Payment Providers.