The short version
- The free plan is the trial. It isn't time-limited, so you can try the simulator with the United States and Thailand for as long as you like before you pay.
- A refund is only possible if you haven't accessed anything. If you haven't run a simulation, opened a paid playbook or checklist, or downloaded results since the charge, cancel from your Account page within 30 days and that charge is refunded in full straight away. Your paid access ends at the same moment.
- Once you've accessed anything, the whole charge is non-refundable. There are no partial or prorated refunds for the rest of a month or a year, even if you cancel the same day. The only exceptions are listed under "Always refunded" below. Our research is the product, and once you've read it, it has been delivered.
- Cancelling stops future charges. Unless the charge is refunded as above, you keep access until the end of the period you've paid for.
What counts as accessing a paid period
Any of these, after the charge:
- running a simulation;
- opening a paid country's playbook or checklist;
- downloading results, such as the year-by-year ledger.
We keep a record of when these happened (not which countries), so this is a question of fact we can check together.
Always refunded
Whether or not you've used the period:
- a duplicate charge;
- a charge made after you cancelled;
- a billing mistake on our side;
- a period in which the Service was down long enough that you couldn't meaningfully use it.
Renewals
Plans renew automatically until you cancel, and we email you before a yearly plan renews. If a renewal goes through and you haven't accessed anything since, cancel within 30 days and it's refunded the same way. Once you've accessed anything after a renewal, that renewal charge is non-refundable.
How to get a refund
On your Account page, choose Manage billing or cancel, then Cancel subscription. Before anything happens it tells you whether the charge will be refunded. If it will, the refund is issued at once and your paid access ends. Refunds go back to your original card, usually within 5–10 business days.
If you think a charge should be refunded and the Account page says it can't be, email support@theinformedexpat.com from your account's email address with the approximate date of the charge. We aim to reply within 2 business days.
Disputed charges
If you see a charge you don't recognize or think is wrong, please contact us first – we can usually fix it faster than your bank can. If a charge for a period you used is disputed with your bank, we'll share our records with the bank, including when the period was used.
Your legal rights
Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under the law where you live.
If a renewal payment fails
Stripe will retry the payment and email you, and your access continues while it does. Updating your card from your account keeps everything as it is. If the payment still hasn't gone through when the retries end, your plan is cancelled, and your account and plans are deleted 30 days later.