Refund Policy

Patient Guide & Code of Conduct: Version [2.0]
Effective Date: [18/08/2025]
Last Updated: [18/08/2025]

Introduction

At Beet Online Healthcare Limited (“Beet Online,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), we strive to provide great service and transparent policies. This Refund Policy explains when and how you can receive a refund for fees paid for our telemedicine services, including one-time consultation fees.. It also covers related issues like appointment cancellations, no-shows, and technical problems during consultations. Our goal is to be fair and in line with Irish and EU consumer protection laws (such as the EU Consumer Rights Directive) while also recognising the nature of medical appointment services.

This Refund Policy is part of our [Terms of Service]. By booking a consultation, you agree to this policy. We encourage you to read it carefully. If you have any questions, please contact our support team at hello@beetonline.ie before making an appointment– we’re happy to clarify anything.

Key principles of our refund approach:

  • We comply with the 14-day cooling-off period for consumer contracts, but note important exceptions for services that have been provided within that period.

  • We aim to accommodate genuine needs to cancel or reschedule, but we also must respect our doctors’ time (a missed appointment could have been someone else’s slot).

  • If we are at fault (technical issues, doctor unavailability), we will make it right – typically through a rescheduled appointment or a full refund for that session.

  • If you are at fault or it’s a last-minute change on your side (like forgetting an appointment), we might not offer a refund for that session, but we consider emergencies on a case-by-case basis.

  • We are committed to resolving issues – if you’re unsatisfied with the outcome of a refund request, we have a support escalation process to ensure your concerns are heard.

This policy covers payments made directly to Beet Online via our platform and payment gateway, Stripe. If your employer, insurance, or another third party paid for your service, the arrangement might differ (but generally, we’d refund the payer or offer credit accordingly through them).

1. Cooling-Off Period (Right of Withdrawal)

Under EU consumer law (Consumer Rights Directive 2011/83/EU) and Irish regulations, you normally have the right to cancel a contract for services within 14 days of entering into it and receive a full refund. This is often referred to as a “cooling-off period” or “right of withdrawal.” Here’s how it applies to our services:

  • One-Time Consultations: If you book a one-time consultation (pay-as-you-go), the service is typically scheduled to occur soon (48h). By explicitly choosing a sooner appointment date (usually within the 14-day window), you are effectively requesting us to begin the service before the cooling-off period expires. According to the law’s exceptions, if a service is fully provided within the 14 days with your consent to start early, you may lose the right to cancel after the service is provided.

    • If you book a consultation and then change your mind before the consultation takes place, you can cancel and request a refund. However, please give us as much notice as possible (see Section 2 on cancellations). If you cancel at least 24 hours before the appointment, we’ll provide a full refund (minus any payment processing fees that we cannot recover, if applicable, though usually there are none or we cover them).

    • If you try to cancel very last-minute (within 24 hours of the scheduled time) or after the consultation was supposed to happen, the cooling-off right may no longer apply because we had set aside the doctor’s time for you (more on missed appointments in Section 3). We reserve the right to refuse a refund in these cases, treating it as a no-show. However, we might offer to reschedule as a courtesy if possible.

    • If the consultation has already occurred, the service is “fully performed”, you do not have a right to withdraw after receiving the service. In practice, we will not refund a completed consultation fee just because you changed your mind about wanting it after the fact.

In summary, we honour the cooling-off period for refunds as long as you haven’t received (or started receiving) the service yet. If you have received part of the service, we’ll provide a partial refund (deducting the value of what you got). If you’ve received the complete service (like a one-off consult), no cooling-off refund is due.

We aim to process any refunds from a valid cancellation within 14 days of you informing us (usually much quicker). The refund will be made to the same payment method you used, unless we arrange otherwise with you.

2. Appointment Cancellations and Rescheduling (Customer Initiated)

We understand that sometimes you might need to cancel or change your appointment. Our policy tries to balance your needs with fairness to our doctors who have reserved that time for you.

  • Free Cancellations (with advance notice): If you decide to cancel or reschedule your consultation, please do so as early as possible. We allow free cancellation or rescheduling up to 24 hours before the scheduled appointment time. Canceling in advance means we can free up that slot for someone else who might need it.

    • If you cancel with at least 24 hours’ notice, you can choose either a full refund of the consultation fee or to have a credit for a future appointment (your choice). Rescheduling with notice doesn’t incur any fee; we’ll simply move your booking to a new time if possible.

    • How to cancel: You can cancel through our platform scheduling interface, or by contacting us at hello@beetonline.ie. The timestamp of your cancellation request email or the action on the platform will determine if it met the 24-hour rule. We will confirm your cancellation and refund/credit details in writing via email.

  • Late Cancellations (within 24 hours): If you cancel less than 24 hours before your appointment, we consider this a “late cancellation.” This is because it’s often hard for the doctor to fill that slot on short notice. In such cases, we generally do not offer an automatic refund for the missed session.

    • However, we know life happens. If there are extenuating circumstances, please let us know. We handle these on a case-by-case basis. We may offer to reschedule you at no charge, or in some cases, provide a refund or partial refund as a goodwill gesture, especially if it’s a first offense or due to something outside your control.

    • If late cancellations become a pattern, we reserve the right to enforce our no-refund policy strictly, or even charge a “missed appointment fee”(usually the fee is just losing what you paid). We will communicate with you if we notice a pattern to find a solution (maybe reminding you via extra notifications, etc.).

  • No-Shows: If you simply do not attend your scheduled consultation and did not cancel in advance, this is considered a “no-show.” Our policy is that no-shows are not eligible for refund. The doctor will have set aside that time for you, and if you weren’t there, that time (and their availability) was lost. We treat it as the service having been rendered or at least made available to you, even if you chose not to use it.

    • That said, if you contact us after a no-show and there were special circumstances (e.g., you had a sudden emergency or genuinely couldn’t inform us in time), please explain. Per our Terms, we do understand emergencies happen. We might in some cases allow a one-time courtesy reschedule or partial refund even though we’re not obligated to. This is done at our discretion and typically only for true emergencies or unforeseeable events. Repeated no-shows without good reason may result in us declining future bookings from you (or requiring you to pay a deposit that isn’t refundable on no-show, etc.). We really hope to never go there; communication is key.

  • How to Reschedule: If you want to change the time of your appointment rather than cancel outright, you can contact support at hello@beetonline.ie. Rescheduling follows the same time rules: do it at least 24 hours in advance to guarantee the slot. If you reschedule less than 24 hours out, it might be treated as a cancellation of the original and booking of a new one; we might charge for the original if we can’t fill it. Check with support – if the doctor is able to accommodate and no one lost out, we may be lenient.

In short: 24+ hours notice = no penalty, full refund or easy reschedule. Less than 24 hours = likely no refund for that session (especially if you just don’t show up), but we try to be reasonable if something truly beyond your control happened. Our doctors’ time is valuable and we hope you understand that missed appointments could have been offered to others who need care.

(Medical Note: If you missed an appointment, we encourage you to reschedule as soon as possible if you still need care. Don’t let a missed slot deter you from seeking help – just reach out, and we’ll do our best to get you seen at the next available time.)

3. Technical Issues and Service Disruptions

We aim for a seamless telehealth experience, but sometimes technology doesn’t cooperate. Internet glitches, software bugs, or hardware failures can interfere with a consultation. Here’s how we handle such situations:

  • Issues on Our Side (Platform or Practitioner Problems): If a consultation cannot be completed or is significantly impaired due to a problem on our end or the doctor’s end, you will not be charged for that session(or you will receive a full refund for it).

    • Examples: Our video system went down, the doctor’s internet dropped and they couldn’t reconnect, the platform crashed, or the doctor had an emergency and had to cancel last-minute. In these cases, we will first try to reschedule you promptly at no cost (whenever suitable for you). If rescheduling soon isn’t possible or you prefer not to wait, we will issue a full refund for that consultation fee.

    • We take responsibility for technical failures in our system. Even if it’s a third-party service issue (say our video vendor had an outage), that counts as our side for you. We’ll apologize and fix it. Your health is important; if urgent, we may try to arrange a phone call or alternate method immediately, but regardless, we won’t charge for a session that didn’t happen properly due to us.

  • Issues on Your Side: If the problem is on your end (for example, your internet connection was unstable, your device’s microphone wasn’t working, or you failed to log on correctly), we’ll try to work with you to still deliver the service, but our refund policy is a bit different.

    • If it’s a one-time glitch and we can quickly remedy it (like you switch to a phone call and finish the consult, or you resolve the tech issue and rejoin), we’ll consider the session delivered and no refund is needed (since you got the service).

    • If the session truly fails because of your technical issues (e.g., we spent 15 minutes trying to connect and it didn’t work), this might fall under a “missed appointment” on your side. Our doctor might have been waiting and unable to conduct the consult due to your tech trouble. In such a case, we generally do not refund that session fee (since the time was spent). However, we won’t leave you hanging – we will work with you to reschedule another attempt at a reduced cost or even free of charge depending on circumstances. For instance, if it was the first time and clearly unintentional, we might give you a free reschedule. If it becomes a pattern where every time your setup isn’t working and our doctor’s time is wasted, then we may have to charge for those missed times. We will communicate with you to help troubleshoot your setup to prevent repeats.

    • Tips: To avoid issues, test your internet and device beforehand. Use a reliable connection (Wi-Fi or wired). If something goes wrong, contact us immediately – sometimes our support can assist in real-time (like giving you a phone dial-in if video fails).

  • Partial Sessions: If a technical issue interrupts a consultation partway through, we’ll evaluate case by case. If, for example, you were 75% through and it cut off, the doctor might have enough info to provide advice via chat or reschedule a short follow-up to complete it. We may not consider that a full failed session. On the other hand, if it cut off in 2 minutes, that’s basically a failed consult and we’d treat it as such (reschedule or refund). We try to be fair: we want you to get what you paid for, which is a proper consultation.

    • In partial cases, we may offer a partial refund if appropriate (though usually rescheduling to complete is easier). Or we might give a credit for a short follow-up at no cost. The aim is you ultimately receive the medical advice you needed, without paying extra due to tech hiccups.

  • Our Commitment: “If the fault was ours, you’re not on the hook; if the fault was yours, we’ll still try to help.”We also promise transparency: if a widespread outage happened, we’ll inform all affected users proactively and outline next steps (auto-refunds or rebooking). We won’t make you chase us in those situations.

(We’re continually improving our tech to minimize these issues. We appreciate your patience when they occur. Please always reach out to support if you experience a technical problem – even if it seems minor, we want to know and assist.)

4. Refund Process and How to Request

If you believe you are entitled to a refund or would like to request one, here is what to do and what to expect:

  • How to Request a Refund: Contact us as soon as possible at hello@beetonline.ie with your request. Please include details like the email associated with your account, the appointment date/time in question, and the reason for requesting a refund.

  • Investigation and Response: We take each refund request seriously. Our team will review the details against our system logs (appointment records, cancellation timestamps, notes from the practitioner about any incident, etc.). We aim to respond to your request within 2 business days (often sooner). The response will let you know if the refund is approved, partially approved, or denied, and the reasoning. Sometimes we might ask for additional information (for example, if you said you had a medical emergency and couldn’t attend, we may not require proof, but any context helps us be empathetic in decision).

  • Fairness and Legal Compliance: As mentioned, we align with legal obligations on refunds. This means we won’t refuse a refund that you’re legally entitled to (like within cooling-off if unused, etc.).

  • Method of Refund: Approved refunds will be processed to the original payment method you used. So if you paid by credit card, the refund goes back to that card, etc. This is to protect you (so we’re not sending money to a different account than where it came from) and to streamline the process. If for some reason the original method can’t accept a refund (card expired, etc.), we’ll work with you on an alternative (store credit, or bank transfer, etc.).

  • Refund Timing: Once approved, we will initiate the refund promptly. Depending on payment provider: credit/debit card refunds typically take 5-10 business days to appear in your account (some banks are faster). We’ll issue it via our payment processor (e.g., Stripe) and they have their own processing time. If you don’t see it after 10 days, please let us know and also check with your bank. We’ll provide a refund transaction reference if needed to help trace it.

  • Full vs Partial Refunds: In cases outlined, you might get a partial refund (e.g.,the session was cut short due to technical issues). We will clearly communicate the amount and how it was calculated. If you think we calculated wrong, tell us – we’ll double-check. We want you to feel confident that you got what you paid for or got back what you didn’t use.

  • Alternative Resolution: Sometimes, instead of a refund, you might prefer (or we might offer) an alternative: giving you a free extra session, or account credit. We’ll only do this if it’s agreeable to you. For example, if you missed an appointment, we might say “we can’t refund the missed one, but we’ll give you your next consultation free of charge to make up for it.” If you’re okay with that, we’ll arrange it. Credits or free services are typically offered as a courtesy or when cash refund doesn’t strictly apply but we still want to keep you happy. These don’t affect your statutory rights – you can insist on the refund when entitled.

  • Documentation: We will email you confirmation of any refund or credit. It will state the amount and the expected timeline. Keep this for your records. If a refund is denied, we will also email you explaining why (e.g., “According to our logs, the doctor waited for 10 minutes and you did not show. As per our policy, we cannot refund this session.”). If you then have additional info, feel free to reply and we’ll consider it. We aim for dialogue, not a hard no without listening.

Our support team is empowered to handle most refund cases. If a case is unusual or involves a large amount, they might escalate to a manager or the DPO (if privacy related) or other relevant person. We might also consult the attending doctor for their input on what happened in a session (especially if medical dissatisfaction is claimed). But we won’t make you jump through hoops – one request from you starts the process on our end and we’ll handle the internal follow-ups.

5. Special Cases: Dissatisfaction or Quality Concerns

We hope you’re satisfied with the care you receive. However, if you are unhappy with the consultation itself (for example, you feel the doctor didn’t address your concern properly, or was unprofessional), you might request consideration for a refund or another consultation. Here’s how we handle that:

  • Medical Dissatisfaction: Medical services can be subjective. While we cannot guarantee a particular outcome (and not getting a desired prescription or note isn’t grounds for a refund if the doctor deemed it not appropriate), we do care about your experience. If you feel you didn’t get value from the consultation due to the doctor’s actions (or lack thereof), please tell us. We will review the case.

    • We might offer you a follow-up consultation with a different doctor (if available) at no charge, so you get a second opinion or the issue is addressed properly. Often, that’s the best solution – you still need care, and we want to provide it.

    • In some cases, we might give a partial or full refund if, upon review, we agree that the service fell short of our standards. For instance, if a doctor ended the call prematurely without reason or you experienced rudeness or a clear mistake. We then handle that internally with the practitioner.

    • Please note that we do not generally refund simply because a doctor’s clinical judgment didn’t align with what you hoped (e.g., they didn’t prescribe an antibiotic because they felt it wasn’t needed). We trust our doctors to make evidence-based decisions. We encourage discussing any concerns with the doctor during the consultation. If you still disagree, a second opinion might be more appropriate than a financial refund. That said, if something was truly handled incorrectly, we will make amends, including a refund if warranted.

  • Service Not Provided as Described: If anything we promised wasn’t delivered (e.g., “consultation will be 15 minutes” but the doctor cut it to 5 without reason), let us know. We either provide the missing piece or adjust charges accordingly. Honouring what was advertised is important; any failure might merit a partial refund or credit. We follow our [Terms of Service] for service standards, and this policy for remedy.

  • Complaint Process: If you lodge a formal complaint about service quality, our patient support and medical director will review it. We might ask for your consultation notes or permission to review the recording if one exists (some telehealth systems allow recording with consent – otherwise we rely on notes and your account). We will make a fair determination. Refund can be one outcome of a complaint resolution, but so can other solutions like a redo consult, an apology and explanation, etc. We abide by any statutory obligations to resolve consumer complaints.

  • Chargebacks: We kindly request that you attempt to resolve any payment disputes with us directly by following the steps above, rather than immediately filing a chargeback with your bank. If we see a chargeback, we’ll reach out to you to understand the issue as well. Unauthorised chargebacks might result in suspension of the account until resolved (to prevent continued service without payment). We much prefer open communication – we’re confident any legitimate dispute can be resolved amicably without involving the card network. Plus, it’s usually faster to get a resolution via us than through a bank dispute process.

  • Medical Emergency Exception: If something severe happened that prevented you from using our service or needing a refund (like you ended up hospitalized and that’s why you missed or couldn’t cancel, etc.), we handle that with utmost understanding. Just inform us when you or someone on your behalf can. We won’t quibble over the timeline in such scenarios; health comes first. In some cases, we will request documentation as proof.

6. Additional Terms and Contact Information

  • This Policy and Terms: This Refund Policy is incorporated into our Terms of Service. If there’s any conflict between this and what’s in the Terms, generally this policy provides more specific guidance regarding refunds. We strive for consistency, though. This policy does not affect your statutory rights – those always hold (e.g., rights under consumer law, which in Ireland could include the Sale of Goods and Supply of Services Act as well for service quality, etc.).

  • Changes to Policy: We may update this Refund Policy occasionally (for example, if we introduce new services or need different terms). We’ll notify users of significant changes (like via email or a notice on our site) and update the effective date. The current version will be available on our website. If you continue using the service after a change, it implies acceptance of the new terms regarding future purchases. For any booking made before a policy change, the policy at the time of booking will apply for that booking’s refund terms.

  • Law and Jurisdiction: This policy is governed by Irish law. Any disputes will generally be handled as per our Terms (which likely point to Irish courts, after attempting resolution). We really hope to never have a legal dispute over refunds and will do our best to resolve it directly.

  • Support and Escalation: If you are not satisfied with how your refund request or complaint was handled by our frontline support, you can ask for escalation. And as mentioned, you can always seek external help (like a consumer protection body or the Small Claims if relevant), but we aim to solve it well before it gets that far.

Contact for Billing/Refund Issues:

  • Email: hello@beetonline.ie (for general support and refund requests)

We will respond as promptly as possible. Please include any relevant info so we can help you faster.

Thank you for trusting Beet Online for your healthcare needs. We value you as a patient/customer, and we want you to have peace of mind, not just in receiving care but also in how your payments and potential refunds are handled. We have your back, and we’re committed to fairness and transparency every step of the way.