Refund Policy

Last updated: 21 May 2026 · Version 2.0

We believe the best way to know whether AL1 Tutor is right for your child is to try it. That's why every new subscription starts with a 7-day free trial — no charge until day 8. This page explains how refunds work after that, and how we handle the small number of edge cases.

The short version

Try Essential or Elite free for 7 days — cancel any time before day 8 and you won't be charged. After that, subscriptions are not refundable for the current month, but you can cancel renewals to avoid future charges. Top-up credits are non-refundable once used. If our AI fails to generate something you paid credits for, we refund the credits automatically.

The 7-Day Free Trial — Our Primary "Money-Back" Path
Subscription Refunds After the Trial
Top-up Credit Refunds
Failed AI Generations — Automatic Credit Refunds
Pro-Ration on Upgrades and Downgrades
Stripe Disputes & Chargebacks
How to Request a Refund
Singapore Consumer Protection

1. The 7-Day Free Trial — Our Primary "Money-Back" Path

Every new Essential or Elite subscription starts with a 7-day free trial. During the trial:

Your card is authorised by Stripe but not charged.
You receive a trial credit grant (50 credits for Essential, 100 credits for Elite) so you can meaningfully evaluate the service.
You have access to the full feature set of your chosen tier.
You may cancel at any time from your Billing settings.

On day 8:

If you have not cancelled, your card is charged and your first paid month begins.
If you have cancelled, no charge is ever made. Your tier reverts to Foundation. Trial credits expire.

The free trial is the way we let you decide, risk-free, whether AL1 Tutor is right for your family. Because of this, we do not also offer a separate "money-back guarantee" on the first paid month. We believe the trial is the more honest version of the same promise.

One trial per identity, lifetime

The free trial is offered once per identity. We use a combination of your Singapore mobile number, payment method fingerprint, email address, and device hash to detect repeat trials. If any of these match a previous trial — regardless of whether you cancelled before or after the trial ended — your new subscription will begin as a paid subscription from day one, with no trial. This rule applies even if you create a new account with different details. See Section 5 of our Terms of Service for full details.

2. Subscription Refunds After the Trial

Once your free trial converts to a paid subscription on day 8, the following applies:

The first month, and every subsequent month, is non-refundable once the charge has been processed.
You may cancel future renewals at any time via your Billing settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current paid period. You retain access to your tier until that date.
Cancellation does not produce a pro-rata refund of the current paid month.
Unused subscription credits at the end of the cycle are forfeited. They do not roll over.

Exceptional refund requests

We may, at our sole discretion, issue an exceptional refund of a paid subscription month if:

the service was materially unavailable for an extended period due to our fault (e.g. a multi-day outage);
you were charged in error (e.g. a billing system bug);
compassionate circumstances apply (e.g. bereavement, serious illness) and the subscription was clearly not used after the qualifying event.

Exceptional refund requests should be sent to [email protected] with a brief explanation. We will respond within five (5) business days.

3. Top-up Credit Refunds

Top-up credits are purchased on a one-time basis (currently available in $5, $15, $50, and $1,000 bundles).

Top-up credits never expire and are not subject to weekly or monthly caps.
Top-up purchases are non-refundable once any credit from the purchase has been spent.
If you have purchased a top-up and have spent zero credits from it, you may request a refund within 7 days of purchase by emailing [email protected]. Approval is at our discretion and considered on a case-by-case basis.
Top-up credits are not eligible for the referral discount.

4. Failed AI Generations — Automatic Credit Refunds

Some actions on AL1 Tutor involve substantial computation — most notably the Custom Mock Exam feature, which synthesises a full practice paper. These actions consume a fixed number of credits when initiated.

If a generation fails server-side — for example, due to an upstream AI provider error, timeout, or an internal validation failure — your credits are automatically refunded in full. You do not need to contact us. This applies whether the failure occurs at the start, middle, or end of generation. We follow an "all-or-nothing" pricing model: you are charged only on successful completion of the full output.

If you experience a failed generation that did not result in an automatic refund, please email [email protected] with the date, time, and approximate context of the failure, and we will investigate and credit you manually.

5. Pro-Ration on Upgrades and Downgrades

When you change tiers mid-cycle:

Essential → Elite (upgrade): The upgrade takes effect immediately. Stripe automatically pro-rates the remainder of your Essential cycle as credit toward your Elite invoice. You are charged the difference. You receive additional pro-rated Elite credits for the remainder of the current cycle.
Elite → Essential (downgrade): The downgrade takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle. You continue to receive Elite credits and access for the remainder of the current cycle. No refund of the difference is issued.
Cancel paid tier → Foundation: You continue to access your paid tier until the end of the current billing cycle. After that, your account drops to Foundation. Any unused subscription credits at the time of cancellation are forfeited at cycle end.

6. Stripe Disputes & Chargebacks

If you believe a charge is incorrect — for example, you don't recognise it, you were charged after cancellation, or the amount is wrong — please contact us at [email protected] before raising a dispute with your bank. We can usually resolve billing errors within one or two business days.

Initiating a chargeback through your bank or card issuer without first contacting us imposes administrative and financial costs on Etiglo. While we respect your right to dispute charges through your card issuer, we reserve the right to suspend or terminate the account associated with a chargeback while the dispute is being investigated, and to recover documented costs incurred in responding to fraudulent or vexatious chargebacks.

7. How to Request a Refund

Email [email protected] from the email address registered to your account.
Include: the date and amount of the charge in question, the reason for your request, and any relevant context (e.g. screenshots of an error message).
We will respond within five (5) business days with a decision.
If approved, the refund will be issued via Stripe to your original payment method, typically arriving in 5–10 business days depending on your bank.

8. Singapore Consumer Protection

Nothing in this Refund Policy excludes or restricts any non-excludable consumer protection rights you have under Singapore law, including under the Consumer Protection (Fair Trading) Act (Cap. 52A) and the Sale of Goods Act, where applicable. Where this Refund Policy conflicts with non-excludable consumer rights, those rights take precedence.

The Singapore Small Claims Tribunals (under the Small Claims Tribunals Act, 1984) can adjudicate consumer disputes up to S$20,000 (or such other prevailing threshold). The Consumer Association of Singapore (CASE) is the recognised consumer body and can be contacted at case.org.sg for assistance with consumer disputes.