Refunding a payment

Refunding a payment

CombatScore makes refunds boring on purpose. Most disputes get resolved without lawyers because the path is short and visible to both sides.

If you're an athlete

1. Settings → Memberships → [Gym] → Invoices.
2. Tap the invoice you want refunded.
3. Tap Request refund.
4. Pick a reason from the dropdown and add an optional note.
5. Submit.

The gym owner is notified within seconds. They have to approve or decline within the gym's stated refund window (default 7 days). If they don't act, the refund is approved automatically when the window expires.

The refund window

Set by each gym. Default is 7 days from the charge date; some gyms set it longer (up to 30). Inside the window:

• Refunds are processed automatically by Stripe back to your original payment method.
• 5–10 business days to land on your statement (controlled by your bank, not us).

Outside the window:

• The gym owner can still approve a refund at their discretion.
• They don't have to. Their refund policy is binding.

If you're a gym owner

1. Gym → Members → [Athlete] → Invoices.
2. Tap the invoice.
3. Refund or Refund partial (with an amount).
4. The athlete is notified; Stripe initiates the reversal.

You can also issue an unsolicited refund (no request) the same way. Useful for "they got hurt and missed three weeks" goodwill moves.

Partial refunds

Both athletes and gyms can request/issue partial refunds. The remainder of the charge stays valid. Useful for "you charged me for a 10-class pack and I only used 4."

When Stripe rejects the refund

Rare, but it happens:

• Charge too old. Stripe's hard ceiling is 180 days. After that, refunds must be issued as a separate transfer.
• Bank closed. If the athlete's bank account is closed, Stripe issues a credit back to the gym's Stripe balance and the gym has to mail a check or send a payout via another method.

We'll surface a clear error in either case.

What if the gym never responds?

Two paths:

1. Inside the refund window — the platform auto-approves on day 8 (or whatever the window is). You don't have to do anything.
2. Outside the window — email support@combatscore.app. We'll mediate. We don't have unilateral authority to issue refunds (the money is in the gym's Stripe account), but we can pressure or, in extreme cases, freeze gym onboarding for new athletes.

Failed payments are different

A failed payment isn't a refund — it's a charge that didn't go through in the first place. See Failed payment recovery for what happens then.