Refund Policy
ScienceXperts eTutoring Programme
Version 1.2 | Last updated: 01 August 2026 | Effective date: 01 August 2026
Summary
If we do not deliver what you paid for, you get your money back.
If you cancel within 7 days of signing up online, before sessions start, you get everything back. If you cancel a prepaid package partway through with proper notice, you get the unused portion back, less a small fair charge.
Refunds are paid within 10 business days where possible, and always within 30 days, to the payment method you used.
1. What this policy covers
This policy explains when ScienceXperts eTutoring pays money back, how to ask for a refund, and how long it takes to reach you. It works together with our Cancellation Policy, which explains how to cancel sessions, subscriptions and packages in the first place, and it applies equally to group and one-on-one tutoring. We have written it to give you at least the rights you already hold under the Consumer Protection Act and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, and nothing in it takes those rights away from you.
2. When you qualify for a refund
2.1 Full refund
You qualify for a full refund of the amounts concerned if any of the following applies to you:
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You cancelled within 7 days of signing up online, and no sessions had been delivered yet. This is the statutory cooling-off right, and it includes the registration fee.
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We, or your assigned tutor, failed to deliver any of the sessions you paid for.
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Your tutor ended the tutoring relationship after delivering one session or fewer.
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You were billed after giving a valid cancellation notice, or you were billed twice for the same thing. These we refund automatically as soon as we spot them or you tell us, and no forms are needed.
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A session or booking could not be honoured because of the death or hospitalisation of the learner. In this situation no cancellation fee of any kind applies, and we handle the matter with the care it deserves.
2.2 Partial refund
You qualify for a partial refund if any of the following applies:
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You cancelled a prepaid package partway through with the required 20 business days notice. We refund the unused balance less a fair cancellation charge, worked out as described in section 3.4 of the Cancellation Policy. The charge is assessed individually, it is normally just a R150 administration fee for group packages, and it will never exceed 10% of the unused balance or one month’s fee, whichever is lower.
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Sessions were repeatedly not delivered as scheduled, or a serious problem with the quality of the service was not put right after you raised it with us. In that case we refund a fair portion of the fees for the affected period.
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We ended your subscription for reasons other than a breach of our Terms of Service. We then refund all of your unused prepaid fees.
2.3 No refund
To be fair to our tutors and to every other family in the programme, refunds are not given in the following situations:
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Sessions the learner missed or joined too late, which are treated as no-shows under the Cancellation Policy. The make-up session rules apply instead, so the value is not simply lost.
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Sessions cancelled with less than 24 hours notice, subject to the goodwill and emergency exceptions in the Cancellation Policy.
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The remainder of a paid billing month already underway when you cancel. Tutoring and access to lessons and recordings continue to the end of that paid period, and billing then stops. Your billing month runs from your chosen billing date, as explained in section 3.2 of the Cancellation Policy.
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The registration fee, once assessment, matching and onboarding have been completed, except during the cooling-off period.
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Late payment fees.
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A change of mind after the cooling-off period, where all sessions were delivered as agreed.
3. How to ask for a refund
Step 1. Get in touch with us on WhatsApp at 067 248 6493 or by email at sciencexpertstutoring@gmail.com. If your refund flows from a cancellation, you can request both at the same time, because the cancellation form includes a refund request option. You never have to wait for one process to finish before the other begins.
Step 2. Complete the short refund request form we send you. It helps us to have the learner’s full name, the package or subscription concerned, and a brief description of the reason for your request.
Step 3. We assess your request against section 2 above and send you a written decision, with reasons, within 10 business days.
Step 4. Approved refunds are paid within 10 business days of the decision where possible, and in every case within 30 days of your cancellation or request. Refunds go back to the payment method you originally used. If you would prefer account credit instead, that option is always open to you, but the choice is entirely yours. We will never force credit on you where money is due.
4. Late payments
If a monthly payment is not received by the due date, a once-off late payment fee of R60 is added to your account. It covers the administrative cost of following up on the payment, nothing more. The fee is charged once per missed payment cycle, never repeatedly on the same overdue amount, and it is not refundable. The outstanding fees and the late fee both need to be settled for tutoring to continue. If an account stays unpaid, we simply suspend access rather than pile on further charges, because adding fees to a family already struggling to pay helps nobody.
5. Chargebacks
If you believe a payment was taken in error, please talk to us before opening a chargeback with your bank or Paystack/Other subscription service we use. Genuine errors are refunded in full and quickly, and speaking to us first is almost always the faster route. If a chargeback is opened on a payment that was validly due, we may pass on the actual fee the payment provider charges us, and we may suspend the account until the matter is resolved.
6. If you disagree with our decision
Every refund decision comes with written reasons, so you will always know exactly why we decided the way we did. If you disagree, simply reply and ask for the decision to be reviewed by management, and we will respond within 5 business days. If after that we still cannot reach an agreement, you are welcome to refer the dispute to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud at www.cgso.org.za. The Ombud’s service is free, and we cooperate fully with it.
7. Contact
For any refund questions, reach us at sciencexpertstutoring@gmail.com or on WhatsApp at 067 248 6493. We are happy to help.