Refund policy

As an online Islamic education marketplace, ILM Centre connects students with teachers who may be based in different countries and time zones. This policy therefore sets out the circumstances in which a student may cancel or reschedule a lesson, when a refund may be available, and how refunds are processed.

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that students understand the arrangements before booking lessons or purchasing a subscription, while also providing a fair and consistent approach for students and teachers.

The refund arrangements displayed to a student at the point of booking or purchase will also form part of the applicable terms for that booking or subscription.

Students may cancel a booked lesson and request a refund provided that the cancellation is made at least 24 hours before the scheduled start time of the lesson.

Where the required notice is provided, the lesson may be refunded in accordance with this policy.

Students may also reschedule an existing booked lesson where the request is made at least 6 hours before the scheduled lesson time. A valid rescheduling request does not cause the student to lose the lesson. The existing lesson is simply moved to another available time agreed through the applicable booking arrangements.

Where a student attempts to cancel or reschedule a lesson with less than the required notice, the lesson will normally be treated as used and will not be eligible for a refund or rescheduling.

This includes situations where a student does not attend a booked lesson without providing the required notice.

ILM Centre may use its discretion in exceptional circumstances, as explained later in this policy.

Where a student purchases a monthly subscription that provides a specified number of lessons, the subscription will be managed according to the terms presented at the time of purchase.

Where the student has not booked or used all of the lessons available within the relevant subscription period, the amount relating to lessons that have not been booked may be refundable, subject to the applicable subscription terms.

Unused lessons do not automatically carry forward into the following month.

For example, if a student has a subscription providing eight lessons during a particular month but only books five of those lessons, the three lessons that were not booked may be eligible for a refund. Those three unused lessons will not instead be transferred into the following month's subscription allowance.

Where lessons have already been booked, the normal cancellation and rescheduling rules will apply. A booked lesson that is cancelled without the required notice will normally be treated as used.

A student who has already commenced lessons may still be eligible for a refund for the unused portion of their purchased service, where the circumstances meet the requirements of this policy.

Any refund calculation will take into account lessons that have already been completed or otherwise treated as used.

In general, the refundable amount will be calculated by taking the amount paid for the relevant service and deducting the value of lessons already completed or used, together with any applicable non-refundable fees or transaction charges.

ILM Centre will provide the student with an explanation of the refund calculation where appropriate.

ILM Centre recognises that teachers may occasionally need to cancel a lesson. Where a teacher cancels, particularly at short notice, ILM Centre will work with the student to find a suitable solution.

The student may normally choose between:

• rescheduling the affected lesson with the same teacher;
• receiving a refund for the affected lesson; or
• moving to another suitable teacher, where available, with the appropriate lesson value transferred or refunded.

The same approach may apply where a teacher repeatedly fails to attend scheduled lessons, is unable to continue providing the agreed service, or where ILM Centre is otherwise unable to provide the service that the student has paid for.

ILM Centre will consider the circumstances of each situation and will aim to resolve the matter fairly and with as little disruption to the student's learning as possible.

If ILM Centre is unable to provide a lesson or the agreed service for reasons within ILM Centre's responsibility, the student will be offered an appropriate alternative.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include arranging the lesson with another suitable teacher, rescheduling the lesson, or providing a refund for the affected service.

Students will not normally be expected to pay for a lesson that ILM Centre is unable to provide.

Online learning depends on suitable internet access, devices and communication systems. Technical problems will therefore be considered according to where the problem occurred and whether it materially prevented the lesson from taking place.

Where the problem is caused by ILM Centre or the teacher and the lesson cannot reasonably be delivered, the student may be offered a replacement lesson or refund.

Where a student is unable to attend because of their own internet connection, device, software or other technical problem, the lesson will normally remain subject to the usual cancellation rules.

ILM Centre may consider individual circumstances where a technical problem is substantial, unexpected and outside the student's reasonable control.

Any registration, administration, booking, service or other fees that are clearly displayed to the student at the time of booking or purchase are non-refundable.

This applies even where the student subsequently cancels a lesson or requests a refund for another part of the service.

ILM Centre will make reasonable efforts to ensure that applicable fees are clearly presented before a student completes a booking or payment.

Where a refund is approved, the refundable amount will normally be returned to the original payment method used by the student.

A small transaction or processing fee may be deducted from the refund. The amount of this charge may vary depending on the value of the transaction and the payment method or payment provider involved.

Any applicable charge will be taken into account when the refund is processed.

The non-refundable fees described in this policy are separate from any applicable refund transaction charge.

Approved refunds will normally be returned to the payment method originally used for the transaction.

ILM Centre may need to obtain or confirm information from the relevant payment provider before a refund can be completed. Once a refund has been authorised and processed by ILM Centre, the time taken for the funds to appear in the student's account may depend on the student's bank, card provider or payment service.

Where a payment provider has its own processing requirements, these may affect the date on which the student receives the funds.

ILM Centre will not normally provide a refund to a different payment method unless there is a legitimate reason for doing so and the alternative method can be appropriately verified.

Because ILM Centre may provide services to students and teachers internationally, payments may be made in different currencies or processed through international payment providers.

Where a refund is issued, the amount returned may differ slightly from the amount originally charged to the student's bank account because of currency conversion, exchange-rate movements or charges applied by a bank or payment provider.

ILM Centre cannot normally be responsible for exchange-rate differences or charges imposed independently by a student's bank or payment provider.

ILM Centre understands that circumstances can arise that could not reasonably have been anticipated when a lesson was booked.

Where a student is unable to attend or continue lessons because of exceptional circumstances, ILM Centre may, at its discretion, consider an alternative arrangement even where the normal cancellation period has not been met.

Examples may include serious family emergencies, bereavement, significant unexpected disruption or other circumstances that ILM Centre considers sufficiently serious to justify an exception.

Providing an exception in one situation does not create an automatic entitlement to an exception in future circumstances.

ILM Centre may request reasonable information about the circumstances where this is necessary to make a fair decision, while avoiding unnecessary requests for sensitive personal information.

If a student no longer wishes to continue with a particular teacher, ILM Centre will, where appropriate, try to assist the student in finding another suitable teacher.

Where the student has prepaid for lessons that have not been used, the available options will depend on the circumstances and the terms applicable to the student's purchase.

Where ILM Centre or the teacher is responsible for the change, the student will normally be offered the choice of an appropriate replacement arrangement or a refund for the affected unused service.

ILM Centre aims to operate a fair refund system and expects students to use the cancellation and refund arrangements honestly.

Repeated attempts to obtain refunds for lessons that have been attended, completed or cancelled outside the applicable notice period may be investigated.

Where ILM Centre identifies suspected misuse of the refund process, it may delay consideration of a refund while the circumstances are reviewed and may take appropriate action in accordance with its terms and conditions.

This does not prevent a student from raising a genuine complaint or requesting that an individual circumstance be reviewed.

A student wishing to request a refund should contact ILM Centre through the appropriate customer support or booking channel and provide sufficient information for the relevant transaction or lesson to be identified.

Where possible, the request should include:

• the student's name and account details;
• the relevant lesson, subscription or booking;
• the date of the lesson or payment;
• the reason for the refund request; and
• any other information reasonably required to assess the request.

ILM Centre will review the request against the applicable refund terms and will communicate the outcome to the student.

Where a refund request does not meet the normal requirements of this policy, ILM Centre may still review the circumstances and determine whether an exception is appropriate.

If a student disagrees with a refund decision, they may raise the matter with ILM Centre so that the circumstances can be reviewed.

ILM Centre will aim to deal with refund concerns fairly, consistently and within a reasonable period.

Nothing in this policy is intended to remove or restrict any rights a student may have under applicable consumer protection or other mandatory laws in the country where those rights apply.

Students should review the price, cancellation arrangements, subscription terms and any applicable fees displayed before completing a booking or purchase.

The terms presented at the time of booking may contain additional information that applies to the particular service purchased.

Where there is a specific term attached to a particular service, subscription or booking, that term will be considered alongside this Refund Policy.

ILM Centre will periodically review this policy to ensure that it remains appropriate for the way the organisation operates and continues to provide clear and fair arrangements for students and teachers.

The policy may be updated where there are changes to ILM Centre's services, payment arrangements, booking systems or applicable legal requirements.

The current version of the policy will apply to bookings and purchases made after its effective date, subject to any rights or terms that apply to earlier transactions.