Refund Policy

1. The short version

“Digital content is non-refundable once accessed” is a common line. We would rather not run a business that way — if you paid and did not get something worth the money, that is our problem, not yours.

2. What this covers

• Covered: a Paralight Pass you bought yourself through a payment channel on this site (currently listed at US$19; one-time purchase, valid for life, not a subscription).
• Not covered: access granted manually by us — beta access, contributor thank-yous, giveaways. You paid nothing, so there is nothing to refund; if you no longer want it, just tell us and we will remove it.
• Not covered: anything you booked on a third-party platform you reached from a link here. Cancellations and refunds for those are handled by that platform; we cannot refund them for you.
• Note: as of the effective date of this policy, online payment is not switched on yet. This policy applies automatically from the moment it is.

3. The 14-day no-questions window

Within 14 calendar days of payment, you can ask for a full refund provided that:

• you have exported no more than 3 PDFs or pocket cards; and
• you have unlocked no more than 5 place profiles in full.

These two limits are not there to trip you up — they are the standard way digital-content refunds work. Downloading an entire one-time-purchase library and then refunding it is just taking the content for free. Anyone who bought, had a proper look and decided it was not for them will be nowhere near these numbers.

Requests outside the window or above those limits still get a human read — for instance if the content clearly did not match what the page promised, or a fault on our side stopped you using it, or you have another fair reason. We do not promise a refund in those cases, but we do promise to actually look.

4. When we cannot refund

• Accounts closed for serious or repeated breach of the Terms — bulk scraping, reselling content, circumventing the paywall, account sharing;
• Refund abuse: buying and refunding repeatedly, or asking again after a refund has already been issued to the same account or payment method;
• Where you cannot use the service for reasons on your side rather than a fault on ours (network environment, incompatible device, bought by mistake). Note that a mistaken purchase is refundable anyway inside the window — this exception only bites after it;
• Orders that belong to a third-party platform (see section 2).

5. How to ask for a refund

1. Email [TBD] with “Refund request” in the subject line.
2. Include the email address you bought with, the order or transaction reference, and roughly when you bought it. A reason is welcome but not required.
3. We acknowledge within 2 business days and tell you whether the refund runs through us or through the payment provider.
4. Once the refund is issued, Pass access ends. Your account, saves and trips are untouched — you can keep using the free site.

6. Where the money goes back, and when

Refunds always go back the way they came, to the account you paid from. We do not refund in cash, credit or by transfer to a different account. The route depends on how you paid:

• Paid via Paddle (Paddle acts as Merchant of Record, i.e. the seller of record): Paddle processes the refund. You can contact Paddle buyer support directly — there is a link in your receipt email — or come to us and we will raise it with them.
• Paid via PayPal: we issue the refund from our PayPal account, back to your PayPal balance or original card.
• Paid via WeChat Pay or Alipay: returned to the paying account or bank card.

We normally issue refunds immediately once approved. How long it takes to land depends on the payment provider and your bank — usually 3 to 10 business days, sometimes longer for cross-border cards. We refund what you actually paid; if currency movement makes the credited amount differ slightly, that is the provider’s conversion and outside our control.

7. Double charges, failed payments, access not granted

These are faults, not refund requests. We fix them fast, and the window and limits in section 3 do not apply:

• Charged twice: we return the extra in full, no questions.
• Charged but no access: we grant access first. If you would rather not have it, you get a full refund.
• Payment failed but your bank shows a hold: that is usually a pre-authorisation and releases itself. If it is still there after 7 days, write to us and we will help chase it.

8. Chargebacks and payment disputes

If you raise a chargeback or dispute directly with your bank or payment provider, Pass access is withdrawn as soon as we are notified and stays withdrawn until the dispute is resolved.

Genuinely, though: email us first. This route is usually faster than a chargeback and leaves no dispute record against your payment account. If we fail to reply within the time we promised, of course you are free to go the chargeback route.

9. If we shut the service down

“Valid for life” lasts as long as the service runs. If we decide to close Paralight, we will announce it in advance, give you a reasonable window to export your content, and proactively refund in full anyone who bought within 14 days before the announcement. Earlier purchases are not refunded automatically, but if you feel you did not get the value you paid for, write to us and we will look at it case by case.

10. Contact

Refunds and billing: [TBD]. Everything else is on the contact page. This policy applies alongside section 7 of the Terms of Service; where they conflict, this page governs.