Refunds

01  Why there is no cooling-off period

Every paid guide is digital content supplied without a tangible medium. Delivery begins the instant your payment clears, which is the point of buying one.

In the European Union, the rule is article 16(1)(m) of Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2161. It removes the right of withdrawal for digital content not supplied on a tangible medium. Three things must be true:

• performance has begun;
• the buyer gave prior express consent to it beginning;
• the buyer acknowledged that this consent costs them the right of withdrawal.

Checkout asks you to accept these terms before it takes your money. That acceptance carries both the consent and the acknowledgement.

In France, the same rule is article L221-28, 13° of the Code de la consommation. The fourteen-day period at article L221-18 therefore does not run for these purchases.

In the United Kingdom, regulation 37(1) of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 has the same effect.

Everywhere else, including Hong Kong, there is no statutory cooling-off period at all. Hong Kong law gives no general right to cancel a distance contract. We are a Hong Kong company.

If that consent was not properly taken at your checkout, the exception does not apply. Your withdrawal right then stands. Say so and we will honour it rather than argue.

02  What we do not exclude, and cannot

Losing the right to change your mind is not the same as losing the right to get what you paid for. The conformity guarantee is separate. It is mandatory, and nothing on this page limits it.

In the European Union, Directive (EU) 2019/770 governs contracts for the supply of digital content. It requires that content to match its description, to be fit for purpose, and to be of the quality a buyer may reasonably expect.

In France this is the garantie légale de conformité, at articles L224-25-1 and following of the Code de la consommation. It gives you the right to have the content brought into conformity. Failing that, you may have the price reduced, or end the contract and be repaid. Any clause purporting to waive it is void.

In the United Kingdom, sections 34 to 36 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015 require digital content to be of satisfactory quality, fit for purpose and as described. Section 47 makes those terms non-excludable.

In Hong Kong, the Supply of Services (Implied Terms) Ordinance (Cap. 457) implies reasonable care and skill. The Trade Descriptions Ordinance (Cap. 362) makes a false trade description an offence.

03  So, when do we refund?

We refund, or replace the file, where:

• the file will not download or will not open, and we cannot fix it;
• you received the wrong guide or an incomplete one;
• the guide is materially not what the page described when you bought it;
• you were charged more than once for the same purchase;
• the purchase was not made by you.

We do not refund because a guide told you something you did not want to hear. Nor because you had already decided, nor because you finished reading it. Half of each guide is reasons not to go. That is the product working, not failing.

A guide describes the position at its edition date. A rule changing after you bought is not a conformity failure, and not grounds for a refund. The date is on the cover for exactly this reason.

04  How to raise one

You have two routes, and you may use either.

Ask us. Write to [email protected] from the address you bought with, or quote the order reference from your receipt. Say what went wrong. We aim to answer within two working days. This is the better route for anything about the guide itself.

Or ask Link. Stripe is the seller and runs support for the transaction through Link. You can reach it from your receipt, or from link.com, where your order history also lives.

Stripe can refund you without our agreement. As merchant of record it may refund you within sixty days of the purchase, at its own discretion. That includes where we have not answered it within forty-eight hours. We say so because it is true and because it works in your favour. We would still rather hear the problem ourselves and fix it.

However a refund is granted, the money returns to the card or account you paid with, including any VAT or sales tax collected. Your bank then takes a further five to ten working days. That part is outside our control.

05  Corrections

If a figure is wrong, tell us at [email protected] and point at the claim, with a source if you have one. Corrections that matter are re-issued to everyone who owns that edition rather than quietly patched. That is a fix, not a refund, and there is no time limit on it.

06  Contact

[email protected] for anything on this page. For a card, billing or invoice question, Link is usually faster. Those details are on your receipt.