Membership Refund Policy and Procedure

• This document outlines the policy and procedures for refunding membership fees, including standard processes and exceptions.

Policy Overview

• New memberships are eligible for a full refund within 14 days of purchase.
• DE (Deutschland/Germany) memberships are eligible for a partial refund of unused months after the first year, with 30 days' notice.
• The policy includes new memberships, trials, promotions, and repeat purchasers.
• The policy excludes renewals, except in DE under specific conditions.

Standard Refund Procedure

• Attempt to retain the member using retention training skills before processing a refund.
• Document the reason for every refund request, even if denied.
• A $1 trial can be refunded within 14 days if requested.
• Open a ticket using either Edit Account or New Call.
• If the refund is not eligible, inform the member of their continued access until the end of the term and offer to turn off auto-renewal.

Steps for Eligible Refunds

• Select the Membership Refund Request Notes template and provide detailed reasons for the refund request.
• Select the Refund Membership Fee action.
• Choose the Refund Reason that best matches the member's explanation.
• For DE refunds, the pro-rata checkbox should remain unchecked for first-year, 14-day refunds.
• Select the Refund Membership Fee button to process the refund.
• Close the interaction with the member.

Exceptions to the Policy

• Exceptions include death of the account holder, double purchase, technical errors, and underage use of the website.

Death of Account Holder

• Refunds are only applicable to the account holder's account.
• The refund must be processed back to the original payment method.
• Purchases can be moved from the deceased's account to another account holder's account following the Double Purchase - Same Account Holder procedure after the refund.
• Validate both the email and zip/post code of the account holder.

Double Purchase - Same Account Holder

• Refunds are permitted when the same person owns both accounts.
• There are no timeframe restrictions for double purchase refunds.
• Account holder must validate both email addresses.
• Accounts can be combined instead of issuing a refund; the lower status account is deleted, and its purchases/membership are moved to the higher status account.
• Open a ticket on both email accounts.
• Verify that the billing address is identical on both accounts.

Double Purchase - Same Household, Different Account Holders

• Refunds are allowed if the billing addresses are the same.
• Only the caller's account can be refunded.
• Open a ticket using either Edit Account or New Call.
• Validate that the billing address is the same on both accounts.

Refund or Combine a Different Account

• If the caller wants to refund the other account holder's account, an email from that account holder is required, granting permission to refund or combine the accounts.
• Send the "Membership/My Account – Permission to Refund or Combine Accounts" email template.

Email Template Details

• The subject of the email is "Your request to refund or combine someone else’s account".
• The email requests include the account email address, a statement giving permission to refund or combine the account, the email address to transfer account purchases to, and the ticket reference number.

Email Received Giving Permission

• Locate the original ticket where the request was made.
• Add cross-references to both tickets.
• To refund, refund the membership fee on the account for which permission was received.
• To combine accounts, change the email on the account to be deleted to the other account holder's email.
• Email both account holders to confirm completion.

Technical Errors

• Document all steps taken by the user to recreate the issue.
• Ask the member if they took screenshots.
• If the issue can be recreated, proceed with the refund.
• If the issue cannot be recreated, escalate to a supervisor.
• Advise the member of the refund time, or allow 3-5 business days to research.

Underage Use of Website

• If a membership was intentionally purchased by someone under 18, a refund can be issued due to inappropriate site use, per the terms and conditions.

Discretionary Situations

• Discretionary situations should be assigned to a supervisor for review with the Travelzoo Team and are not guaranteed refunds.
• Consider the severity, frequency, and negative impact on the member’s perception of Travelzoo membership.
• Long-term illness or injury (including pregnancy) preventing membership use should be assigned to a supervisor (do not promise a refund).

Case Studies

• "Of Sound Mind" Ticket: A member with mental health issues was unaware of the membership purchase and requested a refund, which was approved.
• "Alzheimer's" Ticket: A member's daughter requested a refund due to her mother's condition, which prevented travel, and a discretionary refund was issued.
• Extreme quality issues that impact the member’s perception of membership, result in multiple negative experiences with no good ones, and/or recur multiple times (3 or more) quality for a review.

Issue Types

• Paid Membership – Refund Issued
• Paid Membership – Refund Denied

Refund Reason

• Not specified