Cancellation and Refund Policy

Effective date: October 15 2026

1. Please review before purchasing

Please proceed with registration or membership purchase only after reading and accepting the applicable payment and cancellation terms. If you require a refundable option, or any point is unclear, contact conferences@olcias.com before paying.

OLCIAS's ordinary policy is that registration and membership payments are non-refundable for change of mind, personal non-attendance, unused benefits, postponement, rescheduling, or merger. The exception is permanent organizer cancellation of the paid event or paid presentation without an agreed replacement, together with any refund or remedy required by applicable law. This policy does not waive mandatory consumer rights or lawful payment-dispute rights.

2. Participant cancellations and non-attendance

A participant's inability to attend, changed availability, late arrival, early departure, personal technical failure, or failure to satisfy certificate requirements does not ordinarily qualify for a refund. Speakers must inform OLCIAS promptly of problems and honour confirmed commitments. A backup recording may be considered only with written acceptance; submitting it is not automatic permission to miss a live role.

Transfer or credit requests may be considered where the event terms permit, subject to notice, suitability, capacity, and confirmation. The deadline shown for the purchased event applies; obtain written confirmation before treating a transfer as complete. The same payment is not redeemed twice, and speaker acceptance does not transfer automatically to another person or topic.

3. Conference postponement and merger

OLCIAS may postpone an individual conference no more than twice before arranging its merger into another suitable conference or a newly organized programme. A changed date is communicated through the registered email with available arrangements. A merger is intended to preserve relevant programme value, not to erase a paid obligation.

Postponement or merger does not itself qualify for an ordinary-policy refund, subject to applicable law. Material changes to a speaker's subject fit, duration, or availability must be discussed before replacement participation is confirmed. A permanently undelivered service must not be described as postponed indefinitely to avoid the cancellation exception.

4. Attendee alternative: three conferences within two years

When OLCIAS postpones a conference or public One Live Talk for which an attendee has confirmed registration, the proposed alternative is registration for up to three eligible OLCIAS conferences within two years.

For a clear implementation, the proposed rules are:

Three conference admissions in total for the affected named attendee, including any replacement conference selected.
The two-year period starts on the first postponement-notice date for that booking.
Repeated postponements or merger of the same booking do not create another three-credit allocation.
Attendance credits are personal, non-cash, and do not include speaker places, dedicated talks, consultation time, or publication services.
Each selected conference requires advance registration and eligibility/capacity confirmation.
The original certificate category is preserved: paid or member attendance can qualify after attendance verification; free sponsored access does not acquire a certificate entitlement solely through postponement.
For an affected member registration, the organizer-change allowance is recorded separately; it is not a purchase of a new membership or a multiplication of all annual benefits. The same attendance is not charged to both the replacement credit and normal membership allowance.
An unrelated voluntary cancellation or ordinary no-show does not trigger this organizer-postponement benefit.

OLCIAS confirms the credit and expiry in writing. Where law requires an alternative remedy, a credit is not imposed in place of that remedy without the required agreement. Complimentary registrations and the exception rules above are subject to event conduct and participation requirements.

5. Speaker alternatives and One Live Talk

For a postponed or merged conference, OLCIAS may propose the same presentation in the revised conference, a suitable alternative conference, or a dedicated One Live Talk. Confirm the speaker's consent, scope, timing, and registration treatment in writing.

If a One Live Talk is agreed, allow at least three months from written agreement for preparation, scheduling, and relevant audience outreach. OLCIAS does not guarantee audience size. A separate date must still be agreed; three months is a minimum preparation period, not permission for an indefinite delay.

The substitute fulfils the affected presentation entitlement rather than automatically consuming an unrelated included talk or extra presentation entitlement. If membership timing is affected by the organizer's change, confirm the necessary entitlement extension in writing.

6. Permanent cancellation and refund exception

If OLCIAS permanently cancels a separately paid event and no replacement is agreed, the amount paid for that undelivered registration is eligible for refund. If OLCIAS permanently withdraws a separately paid speaker presentation without an agreed replacement, the amount paid for the undelivered presentation service is eligible for refund. Delivered services and separately priced components must be identified transparently; cancellation of one session does not automatically cancel all delivered event services.

For bundled memberships, cancellation of one included event or presentation does not automatically qualify for a full subscription refund. OLCIAS must assess the affected unused component, remaining delivered/available benefits, any accepted replacement, and mandatory rights. Any allocation used must be disclosed and reasonable, not invented as an undisclosed forfeiture after cancellation.

An abstract decline, failure to obtain a moderation role, journal rejection, or expert-network non-approval is not permanent cancellation of an already confirmed paid service; these benefits are expressly subject to independent review. This distinction does not excuse misleading sales representations.

7. One Live Talk changes

Organizer postponement of a public talk triggers the attendee alternative described above. Speaker unavailability may lead to a revised date or another agreed arrangement. If the entire paid talk is permanently cancelled without an agreed substitute, the applicable cancellation exception applies. A speaker's failure to attend is assessed against what OLCIAS actually delivers, not automatically used to declare all customer rights void.

8. Membership expiry, extensions, and renewal

Unused benefits do not automatically roll over or qualify for a refund. Email contact@olcias.com for individual consideration of an extension, preferably before expiry. State the plan, registered email, remaining benefits, and reason. OLCIAS considers relevance, programme availability, and circumstances and may approve an extension at its discretion; approval and revised expiry must be in writing.

Discretionary extensions do not replace remedies required for OLCIAS's failure to deliver. An extension request does not automatically stop recurring charges or change renewal dates. Where a plan renews, cancel future renewal through the available account method or support according to the purchase terms. Renewal cancellation and a refund request are different actions.

9. Removal for misconduct

OLCIAS may remove or restrict participants for reasonable conduct violations, including harassment, abuse, disruption, impersonation, or privacy breaches. Such removal does not ordinarily qualify for refund, subject to mandatory law. OLCIAS may offer complimentary registration at a future event if suitable, but this is discretionary, not a right or guaranteed remedy.

10. Expert consultations

Conference postponement and three-event credits do not automatically apply to private consultations. Before payment, the booking must disclose client cancellation, notice, rescheduling, no-show, technical-failure, expert cancellation, and refund arrangements. Do not pay until these are clear.

If OLCIAS or the expert permanently cannot deliver a paid session and no replacement is agreed, the undelivered session is eligible for an appropriate refund. Expert fees, client platform fees, and payment processing must be distinguished before payment. A Community member's platform-fee benefit does not make expert time free. Mandatory rights continue to apply.

11. Journal and author services

Editorial rejection does not itself create a membership refund. Publication waivers are conditional benefits, not a purchase of acceptance. Separately purchased editing, formatting, or other author services have their own disclosed scope and cancellation terms. If OLCIAS permanently cannot deliver a paid author service, the undelivered part is eligible for an appropriate refund subject to applicable law. Do not assume conference credits apply to manuscript services.

12. How to request assessment

Email conferences@olcias.com with the purchase reference, registered email, event/service, payment date, and reason. For unused-membership extension requests use contact@olcias.com. Do not send complete card details or sensitive records in the initial enquiry. OLCIAS may request proportionate evidence and will explain the decision and calculation where relevant.

Approved refunds are normally returned to the original payment route where available and permitted. The confirmation will identify the amount and expected processing timetable; provider processing and currency treatment may affect receipt. No fixed processing deadline is promised here without an adopted operational standard. Mandatory amounts or deadlines must be honoured. Payment-dispute and regulatory rights are not prohibited.

13. Policy application

Read the version supplied at purchase together with specific event/booking terms. Later changes do not retroactively remove existing rights. Indian and other applicable mandatory protections prevail over conflicting clauses. If you have questions, please contact OLCIAS before purchase.