Refund Policy

This Refund Policy applies to payments made through or in connection with the Platform, including Platform fees, subscription fees, vendor booking payments, cash gifts, donation contributions, registry contributions, service charges and other payment-related amounts where applicable.

This Policy does not exclude or limit any rights that may not lawfully be excluded under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 or any other applicable law. Where the law requires a refund, cancellation, reversal or remedy, Gatherlane will apply the law.

3.2 Payment gateway and processing rules

Payments may be processed by a third-party payment gateway. Refunds, reversals, failed payments and chargebacks may be subject to the payment gateway's rules, bank processing times, fraud checks, payment method limits and transaction charges.

Gatherlane does not store full card numbers, CVV numbers or online banking login details. Any refund will normally be made to the original payment method unless the payment gateway or applicable law requires another method.

3.3 Platform subscriptions and digital services

• If a user purchases a paid digital Platform service, the user may be entitled to cancel or obtain a refund where required by ECTA, the CPA or another applicable law.
• Subject to applicable law, fees for a digital service may become non-refundable once the service has been activated, substantially performed, used to create or publish an event page, or otherwise made available with the user's consent.
• Monthly or recurring subscriptions may be cancelled for the next billing period through the account settings or support channel. Amounts already paid for the current billing period are not automatically refundable unless the law requires otherwise or Gatherlane agrees in writing.
• Annual or longer plans should have a clear cancellation method.

3.4 Gifts, donations and registry contributions

Cash gifts, donation contributions and registry contributions are generally treated as voluntary contributions to the relevant Event Owner or nominated recipient, not as purchases of goods or services from Gatherlane. Unless required by law or approved under this Policy, they are generally not refundable after successful processing or payout.

Gatherlane may consider a refund or reversal where there is a duplicate payment, obvious input error, unauthorised transaction, suspected fraud, failed event page, payment gateway error, legal requirement, chargeback, or written approval from the Event Owner before payout. Platform fees, gateway fees and bank charges may be non-refundable unless the law requires otherwise.

3.5 Vendor bookings and vendor services

Refunds relating to vendor goods or services are primarily governed by the Vendor's own terms, the booking terms agreed with the Event Owner or Guest, and applicable consumer law. Gatherlane may facilitate payment, communication or support, but the Vendor remains responsible for delivering the goods or services and dealing with service-related refunds, cancellations, defects, non-performance and complaints unless Gatherlane is legally responsible.

Where the CPA applies, cancellation fees must be reasonable and any refund policy must be fair and lawful. Vendors must not impose refund terms that unlawfully remove consumer rights.

3.6 Failed payments, duplicate payments and errors

• If a payment fails, no booking, gift, donation or paid service is confirmed until the payment is successfully authorised and recorded.
• If a duplicate payment or obvious payment error occurs, the payer should contact Gatherlane as soon as possible with the payment reference, payer name, email address, amount, date and proof of payment.
• Approved duplicate or error refunds may be reduced by non-recoverable gateway or bank charges where the law allows.
• Refunds may take several business days to reflect depending on the payment method, gateway and bank.

3.7 Event cancellation or postponement

If an event is cancelled or postponed, refunds relating to the event page subscription, vendor bookings, gifts, donations, registry contributions or other payments will be handled according to the relevant terms, payment status, payout status, payment gateway rules, Vendor policies and applicable law.

Event Owners must promptly update Guests and Vendors where an event is cancelled, postponed, relocated or materially changed. Event Owners must not continue to request or receive contributions if doing so would be misleading or unlawful.

3.8 Chargebacks, reversals and fraud checks

If a payment is disputed, reversed, charged back, flagged for fraud or subject to a bank or gateway investigation, Gatherlane may suspend the relevant transaction, delay payouts, request supporting documents, reverse credits, recover amounts paid out, restrict accounts or take other reasonable steps to protect users and comply with law and payment provider rules.

If an Event Owner or Vendor has already received funds that are later reversed, charged back or refunded, that Event Owner or Vendor must repay the relevant amount and any lawful associated fees on demand.

3.9 How to request a refund

Refund requests must be sent to support@gatherlane.events with the subject line "Refund Request". The request should include the payer's name, email address, event name, transaction reference, amount, date, payment method, reason for the request and any supporting documents.

Gatherlane may require identity verification, payment proof, Event Owner approval, Vendor feedback or payment gateway confirmation before processing a refund. Gatherlane aims to assess refund requests within a reasonable period, but payment gateway and bank timelines may apply.

3.10 No tax or donation certificate

Unless expressly stated in writing by a registered and authorised organisation, gift or donation contributions made through the Platform do not constitute tax-deductible charitable donations and Gatherlane does not issue section 18A tax certificates or equivalent charitable receipts.

Company Details

Schedule: Current Commercial Terms

This schedule sets out Gatherlane's current operational figures for refunds and cancellations, referenced by the clauses above. It is informational and may be updated by Gatherlane from time to time as permitted under Section 3 above; the governing legal terms remain those set out in Sections 3.1–3.10.

Event Tier Purchases

When you purchase an Event Tier (Silver, Gold, Platinum or Diamond) and publish your event, the tier fee is non-refundable as a general rule, because publication immediately provides access to the Platform's infrastructure, invitation delivery, guest management tools and other tier benefits. If your event has not yet been published, you may request a full refund within 24 hours of purchase by contacting support@gatherlane.events; after 24 hours and before publication, refund requests are assessed case-by-case at Gatherlane's discretion. Gatherlane may, at its discretion, issue a partial or full goodwill refund or Platform credit in exceptional circumstances such as a significant Platform outage. If a payment is processed but the tier is not activated due to a confirmed technical failure on Gatherlane's part, Gatherlane will activate the tier or issue a full refund within 5 business days.

Tier upgrades and Add-Ons

Payments to upgrade an event to a higher tier are non-refundable once applied; downgrades resulting in a partial refund are not offered. Add-Ons (WhatsApp invitation packs, WhatsApp reminder packs, extra storage blocks, AI Unlock, Custom Domain) are non-refundable once activated or consumed:

• WhatsApp send packs: non-refundable once any send in the pack has been used; unused sends may be credited as a goodwill gesture at Gatherlane's discretion.
• Extra storage: non-refundable once allocated to an event.
• AI Unlock: non-refundable once the AI feature has been accessed.
• Custom Domain: non-refundable once the domain has been connected and SSL provisioned.

Event ticket purchases

Ticket refund policies for individual events are set by the Event Owner, not Gatherlane. Guests should review the refund terms on the event page before purchasing. Gatherlane facilitates payment processing and is not responsible for issuing ticket refunds except: (a) where required by applicable consumer protection law; (b) where the event is cancelled by the Event Owner and no refund has been issued; or (c) where a technical failure on Gatherlane's part caused a duplicate charge. If an Event Owner cancels a ticketed event and fails to refund purchasers within 14 days, Guests may submit a refund claim to support@gatherlane.events; Gatherlane will investigate and may issue refunds from the Event Owner's held funds, subject to available balance. Archiving, rescheduling or modifying an event does not automatically trigger a refund obligation.

Vendor booking cancellation matrix

Refunds relating to Vendor Bookings follow the cancellation matrix below and the Vendor Agreement. Gatherlane holds the booking payment until after the event and distributes it according to the applicable rule.

Refunds for Vendor Booking cancellations are credited to the original payment method within 7–14 business days, subject to Paystack's processing timelines.

Promotional discounts

Promotional discounts applied at checkout have no cash value and are not refundable. If a refund is issued on a transaction where a discount was applied, the refund reflects the actual amount paid after the discount.

Processing timelines and currency

Gatherlane aims to respond to all refund requests within 5 business days. Approved refunds are processed within 7–14 business days, depending on your bank and Paystack's processing timeline. Refunds are issued in the same currency as the original transaction. Gatherlane is not responsible for exchange rate differences or foreign transaction fees applied by your bank or card issuer.