Refunds and cancellations
Last updated: 2026-09-30
Your consumer rights
The policies below do not override your statutory rights. Services must be provided as agreed and with reasonable care and skill. If something goes wrong, you may be entitled to repeat performance or an appropriate price reduction, depending on the circumstances. Contact support so we can help resolve the issue with the trainer.
A cancellation charge must be fair and reflect the loss caused by cancellation, taking account of costs saved and any replacement booking. A displayed no-refund policy does not remove rights you have under consumer law.
Some online service purchases carry a 14-day cooling-off right. Exceptions can apply to leisure services booked for a specific date or period; do not assume the same rule applies to an undated session pack. Where a statutory right applies, tell us clearly that you wish to cancel. A proportionate charge for services already supplied may apply if you expressly asked for them to start during the cooling-off period and received the required cancellation information beforehand. We will explain the basis of any deduction.
Simple overview
- Some bookings are confirmed instantly. Others need trainer approval.
- For instant bookings, payment is taken during checkout.
- For approval-based bookings, we may place a temporary authorisation on your card and only take payment if the trainer confirms.
- Respond promptly to requests that need approval. Check the booking status before attending; a pending request is not a confirmed session.
- Your trainer’s cancellation window is shown before you book, so you can see whether your session is refundable.
Void vs refund (what you’ll see in your bank)
Sometimes we place a temporary authorisation hold while a trainer reviews a booking. If the booking is declined or cancelled before payment is taken, the hold is voided. This usually appears as a pending charge that disappears (not a refund).
Your bank controls how quickly a released hold disappears. Contact support if it remains or the booking status is unclear.
If payment has already been taken, we refund it back to the original payment method. Your bank may take a few days to show the money back in your account.
A full refund returns the amount paid for the booking, including any client booking fee. A partial refund returns the amount agreed or required. We do not deduct our Stripe processing costs from a refund owed to you.
Trainer approval deadline
A request must be confirmed before the session starts. If it is declined or expires, any uncaptured card hold needs to be released. Your booking page shows the current status. Contact support if approval fails or your bank and booking status do not agree.
Trainer cancellations
- If a trainer cancels a separately paid session, you are entitled to a full refund unless you agree to an alternative. For a session paid from a pack, the session should be restored; contact support if you cannot use the remaining service.
- A trainer may offer a credit for the same service. You do not have to accept credit instead of a refund you are entitled to; contact support if you prefer that refund.
- If your booking needed approval and the trainer declines before taking payment, you won’t be charged.
- If we placed an authorisation hold, your bank may take a little time to show it has been released.
- Cancel as early as possible.
- Add a short reason so the client understands what happened.
- If appropriate, offer a reschedule: but the client should always have the option of a refund.
- Rebooking credits (same service only) can help clients reschedule without back and forth.
Cancellation windows
Each trainer sets a cancellation window (for example, “free cancellation up to 24 hours before the session”). We show these rules before you pay, and when you cancel we’ll show the refund outcome before you confirm.
“Free cancellation up to 24 hours before the session. After this time, the booking becomes subject to the stated late-cancellation policy.”
Client cancellations
- You’ll normally receive a full refund.
- If payment hasn’t been taken yet (because the booking is still awaiting trainer approval), we release the authorisation rather than issuing a refund.
- Late cancellations follow the trainer’s stated policy, which may provide a full, partial or no refund, subject to the consumer rights explained above.
- In some cases, a trainer may choose to offer a goodwill refund. If you’re unsure, contact Support.
If you do not attend, the trainer’s stated late-cancellation policy applies, subject to your legal rights and the fairness of any charge. Contact support if you believe the outcome is wrong.
Stripe refund timing
We process refunds via Stripe. Once a refund is issued, most banks take around 5–10 business days to show the money back in your account (sometimes faster, sometimes slower).
If no money was taken (a voided hold), you’ll typically just see the pending charge disappear: timing depends on your bank.
Worked examples
- Client books a £45 session.
- Payment is taken immediately.
- Trainer cancels → full refund is issued.
- Client requests a £50 session.
- Payment is authorised (held), but not taken yet.
- Trainer rejects → the hold is voided (nothing is charged).
- Client requests a session that needs approval.
- A temporary hold is placed on the client’s card.
- If the request expires without approval, the hold is released; bank display times vary.
- Trainer has a 24-hour cancellation window.
- Client cancels 48 hours before.
- The booking is refundable (refund or void, depending on whether payment was taken).
- Booking at 10:00 next day.
- Client cancels at 21:00 the night before.
- Within the window → refund follows the trainer’s late-cancellation policy.
Packages (block bookings)
- Cancelling the whole pack is different from cancelling one booked session. Contact support to review the unused balance, the purchase terms and any statutory cancellation rights.
- Completing a session does not remove your rights if it was not provided as agreed or with reasonable care and skill.
- Example: buy a 4-session package, use 1 session → a refund would typically cover the remaining 3 unused sessions (where eligible).
- Early cancellations normally return the session to your package balance.
- Late cancellations/no-shows may not return the session (depending on trainer rules).
Subscriptions (recurring packages)
Some trainers offer subscription packages that renew automatically each week or month. Here's how cancellations and refunds work for subscriptions.
- You can stop renewal at any time from your packages page.
- Stopping renewal takes effect at the end of the current billing period. You keep access to any remaining sessions until then.
- After the period ends, no further charges are taken and no new sessions are issued.
- Sessions are issued each billing period. Unused sessions do not roll over to the next period.
- Choosing not to use available sessions does not normally create a refund entitlement by itself. This does not affect your rights if the service was unavailable, not supplied as agreed, or a statutory cancellation right applies.
Your first 14 days. You have 14 days from the day you first subscribe to cancel and get your money back. To cancel, tell us clearly: email team@matchmytrainer.uk. You can also cancel by giving us any other clear statement. Support handles the cancellation and any refund. If you expressly asked to start using sessions during those 14 days, received the required cancellation information, and you then cancel, we can keep an amount in proportion to the sessions you actually used, worked out against the price you agreed, and we will show you that calculation. If you did not expressly ask us to start during those 14 days, or did not receive the required cancellation information, you pay nothing for the sessions supplied. Any refund due will be made within 14 days of being told.
The cancel button on your packages page stops future renewal charges. It does not automatically issue a cooling-off refund. Contact support so we can handle any refund due. This does not limit your legal cancellation rights.
After the first 14 days. Cancelling takes effect at the end of the current billing period. We do not normally refund part of a period you have already paid for, because you keep your sessions for that period until it ends.
This does not affect your other rights. If the service was not available, was not supplied as agreed, or was not carried out with reasonable care and skill, you may have a right to a repeat performance or a price reduction, whatever the above says. If a subscription payment was taken in error, or something has gone wrong, email team@matchmytrainer.uk and we will review it.
- If a renewal payment fails, your subscription may be marked as past due. Stripe will retry the payment automatically.
- If payment cannot be collected, the subscription may be cancelled and no new sessions will be issued.
Payment failures
If checkout reports a failure, check your booking status and bank before trying again. A pending authorisation is not a completed payment. If money appears to have been taken without a confirmed booking, contact support so we can reconcile it; do not make repeated payments to resolve an unclear status.
Disputes
A dispute (chargeback) happens when a cardholder asks their bank to reverse a payment. If a dispute is raised, we’ll review the booking and payment history and provide evidence where appropriate (for example, booking confirmations and cancellation timestamps).
Need help with a refund, cancellation, or booking issue? Email team@matchmytrainer.uk with:
- the email on your account
- the trainer name
- the booking date/time (or package name)
- a short description of what happened