Cancellation and Refunds

The distinction that matters

A temple pays us a subscription fee for the register. Devotees pay the temple an offering or a seva charge. We can refund the first. Only the temple can decide about the second, because the money went into the trust’s own bank account and never into ours.

Cancelling the subscription

A temple or trust may cancel at any time by writing to our office from the contact it registered with us. The register stays open until the end of the period already billed, so no day of the current month is lost.

Cancellation within fifteen days of the first setup, where setup has not yet been completed at the temple, is refunded in full
Cancellation after setup and training have been carried out is refunded for the unused whole months of the billed period, with the completed months and the setup effort retained
Where a trust removes an institution mid-period, the fee for that institution is adjusted against the next renewal
Where we are unable to provide the register for a continuous period of more than seven days for reasons within our control, that period is refunded or added to the term, as the temple prefers

Approved refunds are paid back to the same bank account or instrument the temple paid from, within ten working days of approval. We do not pay refunds in cash.

What is not refunded

Months already completed in the billed period
Taxes already paid over to the authorities, which are refunded only as the law allows
Charges levied by payment partners on online collections, which belong to the partner and not to us
Travel already undertaken for a setup visit the temple cancelled after our people had left

Offerings and seva charges paid by devotees

An offering made to the temple is a matter between the devotee and the temple. The money settles into the trust’s bank account. We do not hold it and cannot return it, and we would not presume to decide whether it should be returned.

Where a devotee believes something went wrong, the temple office is the right place to go, and the register helps the office settle it quickly:

A failed payment where the amount left the devotee’s account but no receipt was issued shows up as an unmatched settlement, so the office can see it the same day
A double payment for the same seva is visible against the same mobile number and slot
A seva that the temple could not perform, because of a closure or a change in timings, is marked as not performed and the office decides on the refund or on a fresh slot
Every refund the temple decides to make is recorded against the original receipt number, so the accounts and the audit trail stay intact

Refunds of offerings are made by the temple from the trust account, in the manner the trustees decide and the applicable rules allow. Where a receipt mentioning tax exemption has already been issued, the office should consider that before refunding, and should take its auditor’s view.

When a seva booking is cancelled

Each temple sets its own rule for seva cancellation, and the register simply enforces whatever rule the temple enters. A common arrangement is a free change of slot up to a day before, and no refund once the sankalpam has been performed.

When a slot is released by a cancellation, it becomes available again on the same calendar at once, so another devotee can take it instead of the slot sitting empty.

How a temple asks for a refund

Write to our office from the registered contact, naming the temple or trust, the period in question and the reason. We reply within three working days with what we can do, in writing, so the trustees have it on record.

If the answer is no, we say why. We would rather give a plain reason than a form reply.