Refunds & Cancellations

Because Vocabest is a marketplace of independent teachers, lessons are booked in advance and paid through Stripe. The rules below are designed to be fair to both students and teachers, and to give you a refund when a lesson does not happen as expected.

• Cancel from your bookings dashboard whenever you can; the earlier, the better.
• If a teacher cancels or does not show up, you are protected.
• Approved refunds are returned to your original payment method via Stripe.

Every student gets one free introductory consultation with a teacher of their choice. Because it is free, there is nothing to refund.

• You can cancel or reschedule a free consultation at any time before it starts.
• If a free consultation does not take place because the teacher cancelled or did not attend, your free-consultation entitlement remains available to use with another teacher.

You can cancel a paid lesson from your bookings dashboard. Whether you receive a refund depends on how far ahead you cancel:

• More than 24 hours before the lesson: you are eligible for a full refund.
• Within 24 hours of the lesson: the lesson may be non-refundable, because the teacher has reserved the time. We may still offer a credit or partial refund in genuine emergencies, contact us.
• Rescheduling: where a teacher offers it, moving a lesson to a new agreed time avoids cancellation altogether and keeps your payment applied to the rescheduled lesson.

Specific notice windows may vary by teacher and will be shown on the booking; the booking terms take precedence where they differ from the defaults above.

If a teacher cancels your paid lesson, or fails to join within a reasonable time of the start (typically within the first 10 minutes), you are fully protected:

• You receive a full refund to your original payment method, or
• You can rebook the lesson with the same or another teacher at no extra cost.

Teachers who repeatedly cancel or miss lessons may have their accounts reviewed or restricted under our Terms of Use.

If you do not attend a paid lesson and did not cancel within the allowed window, the lesson is generally treated as delivered and is non-refundable, since the teacher held the time for you. If something genuinely went wrong, say a technical failure on our side, contact us at support@vocabest.com and we will look into it.

Where a refund is approved:

• Refunds are issued through Stripe to your original payment method. We do not refund to a different card or account.
• Once we initiate a refund, it typically reaches your account within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank or card issuer.
• Refunds return the lesson price. Any third-party charges that are non-refundable will be noted where applicable.
• Nothing in this policy limits any mandatory refund or cancellation rights you have as a consumer under EEA or local law.

If you are unhappy with a lesson or a charge, please contact us first at support@vocabest.com and most issues are resolved quickly. We may review the booking, the lesson record, and any relevant information to reach a fair outcome.

• Raising a bank chargeback before contacting us can delay resolution; we’d rather sort it out with you directly.
• EEA consumers can also use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform.

Need help with a cancellation or refund? Email support@vocabest.comwith your booking details and we’ll take care of it.