Can you get a refund on an online course?
Course platforms often bury refund windows and “guarantee” conditions in fine print. Answer six questions and get a real score on your case — free, in 90 seconds.
Already sure of your case? Write your refund request free. No documents needed.
Why course refunds get denied
Most course refund denials come down to one of three things: you're past the platform's refund window, you've watched more than their completion cap, or the “guarantee” had conditions that weren't made clear upfront. None of these are necessarily the end of the story — they're just the reasons a script gave you “no.”
Regulators have specifically gone after this last pattern. In April 2026, the FTC settled with the online course seller Publishing.com for $1.5 million over, among other things, a “no questions asked” money-back guarantee that in practice came with conditions buried in the fine print, making refunds hard to actually collect. It's part of a wider pattern: the FTC has pursued similar cases against other course and coaching sellers for advertising guarantees or income claims that didn't hold up once a customer tried to use them.
That history matters for your case because a guarantee with hidden conditions isn't just disappointing — regulators treat it as a form of deceptive advertising. If the course's marketing promised something the terms quietly took back, that gap is worth pointing to directly, rather than accepting the first “you didn't qualify” response.
None of this guarantees your refund. What it does mean is that if the guarantee you were sold isn't the guarantee you're now being held to, you're not the first person to run into that, and it's a documented pattern regulators take seriously.
“I enrolled in an online course during a live-launch push and the ‘30-day guarantee’ turned out to have conditions nobody mentioned upfront. Jon helped me point to the specific promise that wasn’t kept. Refunded within a week.”
What happens after your score
You only pay if the score says there's something worth pursuing.
Get your score
Free, instantly. Including an honest "don't bother" if that's the answer.
Send your evidence
Receipt, emails, screenshots, and whatever the merchant told you.
Nothing goes out unchecked
Not a template. If it's weaker than your score suggested, you're refunded.
You send the request
In your own name, to the merchant. You stay in control throughout.
What we handle
WORTH CHECKING
- Undisclosed guarantee conditions
- Billing errors on a course platform
- Cancellations that weren't processed
- Course materially different from what was advertised
NOT A FIT
- You finished the course and simply changed your mind
Sources
This isn't legal advice — it's background on the policies and rules involved. Always check the current terms of the platform or lender you're dealing with.
Other refund situations
Different purchase, same six-question score. Pick the closest case.
Charged twice, or billed after you cancelled?
Duplicate charges and failed cancellations are some of the clearest refund cases there are.
A kid got into your account?
“All sales are final” isn't always the last word on unauthorized purchases.
Auto-denied for “too much playtime”?
If the time on record doesn't reflect actual play, that's worth making a case over.
Find out where you stand
Six questions. Ninety seconds. No email, no payment to see your score. $8 if you want the request written — refunded either way.