💸 Refund Policy for Plan Upgrades

Overview

When a customer upgrades their plan mid-cycle, we need to handle refund requests with consistency, fairness, and retention in mind. This article outlines our internal policy for refunding one-time upgrade charges when the customer is later billed for the full plan renewal.

🎯 Typical Upgrade Scenario

1. Customer is on a lower-tier plan (e.g. $30/month)
2. They upgrade to a higher-tier plan (e.g. $80/month) before their billing cycle ends
3. We charge a one-time fee for the difference (80−30 = $50) to upgrade immediately
4. At the start of the next billing cycle, the system charges the full $80 again

This can lead to confusion or double-payment concerns if not clearly communicated.

📌 Refund Policy

✅ Full Refund of Upgrade Fee ($50)

Refund the full upgrade fee if:

• The upgrade was performed toward the end of the billing cycle (e.g. last days of the month), and
• The customer did not receive a meaningful benefit before their next renewal, and
• The customer expresses confusion, dissatisfaction, or a request for refund

💡 Always favor customer retention over strict proration in these cases.

⚖️ Prorated Refund (Optional, Rare)

If customer requests a partial refund, and the upgrade clearly delivered value (e.g. multiple days of usage, reports generated, etc.), we may offer a prorated refund.

Example Calculation:

If they upgraded on June 30, and the plan renewed on July 7, that's 7 days used.

• 80plan→80plan→2.67/day
• 7 days = $18.69 used
• Refund = 50−50−18.69 = $31.31

📎 Use this if customer explicitly asks for partial refund, or if usage was high.

🧠 Internal Guidance

• Always check upgrade date and renewal date
• Check usage history if needed
• If in doubt, default to full refund unless the upgrade clearly delivered high value
• Add a note like:
  "Full $50 refund approved for customer retention – upgrade overlap with July renewal."

💬 Customer Message Template

Hi [Customer Name],

We’ve reviewed your account and noticed you were charged an upgrade fee just before your plan renewed. To ensure a fair outcome and support your continued use of our service, we’ve refunded the full $50 upgrade fee.

You should see this reflected in your account shortly. Let us know if you have any further questions.

Warm Regards,
[Your Name]

🔒 Notes

• All refunds must be also be notified in Slack # html2pdfrocket-support.
• Use tag upgrade-refund for internal tracking.