Refund Policy

1. Overview

This policy explains how billing, cancellation, and refunds work for the two kinds of payment made on PeopleOnly: reader subscriptions to a creator (including institution subscriptions), and advertiser Platform Campaign budgets. It should be read alongside our Terms of Service (see sections 9 and 10), which this page expands on rather than replaces.

All payments on PeopleOnly are processed by Paddle, our merchant of record. Paddle handles billing, card processing, tax, and payment security. PeopleOnly never stores your card details.

2. Reader subscriptions to a creator

Creator subscription tiers, prices, and billing frequency are set by the creator you subscribe to. Subscriptions renew automatically each billing period until cancelled.

You may cancel at any time from your subscription settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period; you keep access until then, and you will not be charged again. We do not offer refunds for the unused portion of a paid billing period when you cancel partway through it.

3. Institution subscriptions

Institution subscriptions (Basic, Standard, and Premium tiers) follow the identical billing and cancellation model as reader subscriptions above: automatic monthly renewal, cancel any time, no refund for the unused portion of a paid period once cancelled.

4. Advertiser Platform Campaigns

When you submit a Platform Campaign, you pay your full campaign budget upfront via Paddle, before PeopleOnly reviews it. Your campaign is not visible to our review team, and does not run, until that payment is confirmed.

If PeopleOnly rejects your campaign at review, you receive an automatic full refund of the entire budget you paid, issued via Paddle. No action is required on your part.

Once a campaign is approved and running, its budget is debited only as it is actually spent: each ad impression debits a small, fixed amount from the remaining budget. Budget already spent on served impressions is non-refundable. We do not currently offer a self-service way to cancel a running campaign and reclaim its remaining, unspent budget. If you need to stop a running campaign early, contact us using the details in section 6, and we will assess your request on a case-by-case basis.

5. Billing errors, duplicate charges, and disputes

If you believe you were charged in error (for example, a duplicate charge, a charge after you believe you already cancelled, or unauthorised use of your payment method), contact us and we will investigate promptly. Genuine billing errors are refunded in full regardless of the policies above, which govern ordinary cancellations, not mistakes.

As our merchant of record, Paddle also handles payment disputes and chargebacks raised directly with your bank or card provider, under Paddle's own terms and processes.

6. How to request a refund

Email support@peopleonly.io with your account email and a description of the issue. We aim to respond within a few business days.