Collective Aid Charitable Foundation
Registered charity in England and Wales: 1206028

Effective date: 2 September 2026
Last updated: 2 September 2026

1. About this policy

This Refund, Cancellation and Returns Policy explains how Collective Aid Charitable Foundation ("Collective Aid", "we", "us" or "our") handles:

  • charitable donation refunds;

  • recurring donation cancellations;

  • duplicate or erroneous payments;

  • fraudulent or unauthorised transactions;

  • event and ticket refunds;

  • merchandise returns;

  • refunds for other purchases; and

  • cancellations where required by law.

This policy applies to transactions made directly with Collective Aid or through fundraising and payment platforms used by us. It should be read together with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

2. Charitable donations

A donation to Collective Aid is a voluntary charitable contribution and is not normally a purchase of goods or services. We therefore encourage donors to check the amount and frequency of a donation carefully before confirming payment. However, we recognise that mistakes and exceptional circumstances occur. We will consider refund requests fairly and reasonably in accordance with this policy and applicable law.

3. Requesting a donation refund

You may contact us to request a refund of a donation. Refund requests should be made as soon as reasonably possible and should include:

  • your name;

  • email address used for the donation;

  • date of donation;

  • donation amount;

  • transaction or donation reference, if available; and

  • reason for the refund request.

Requests should be sent via our contact page. We may need to verify the transaction before processing a refund.

4. Circumstances in which we may issue a refund

We may issue a refund where:

  • a donation was made accidentally;

  • an incorrect amount was donated;

  • a donation was duplicated;

  • a recurring donation continued after cancellation due to an administrative or technical error;

  • a transaction was made fraudulently or without the donor's authorisation;

  • a payment was processed incorrectly;

  • a refund is required by applicable law; or

  • we otherwise consider a refund appropriate in the circumstances.

Refunds are considered on a case-by-case basis. Nothing in this policy limits any legal rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

5. Fraudulent or unauthorised transactions

If you believe that a transaction was made without your authorisation, please contact us immediately. We may also ask you to contact your bank or payment provider. We may investigate potentially fraudulent transactions and may provide relevant information to payment providers or authorities where necessary and lawful in accordance with our Finances, Reserves and Anti-Corruption Policy.

6. Duplicate donations

If you have accidentally made the same donation more than once, please contact us. Where we can verify that a duplicate payment occurred, we will normally refund the duplicate transaction.

7. Recurring donations

You may cancel a recurring donation at any time. Cancellation will normally prevent future instalments from being collected but will not automatically refund donations that have already been processed. If a recurring donation was collected after you had successfully cancelled it, please contact us and we will investigate.

8. How refunds are processed

Where possible, refunds will normally be made to the original payment method. If the donation was processed through Fundraise Up, Stripe or another third-party payment provider, the refund may be subject to the processing procedures and timescales of that provider.

Fundraise Up currently states that Stripe refunds usually take approximately 5–10 business days to become available to the supporter, although actual processing times can vary depending on the payment method and financial institution. We cannot guarantee the exact date on which a refunded amount will appear in your bank account.

9. Refund amounts

Unless otherwise required by law or agreed with the donor, a refund will normally cover the amount actually charged for the relevant donation. Where a donor has voluntarily contributed an additional amount to cover transaction or processing costs, the treatment of that amount may depend on the payment platform and the way the transaction was processed.

10. Gift Aid

If you have claimed Gift Aid in relation to a donation that is subsequently refunded, the Gift Aid claim may need to be corrected or withdrawn. Where applicable, we may contact you or make the necessary adjustment to our records.

11. Merchandise

Where Collective Aid sells physical merchandise, purchases are subject to applicable UK consumer protection law. If you receive an item that is:

  • faulty;

  • damaged;

  • materially different from its description; or

  • otherwise subject to a statutory right to a remedy,

please contact us as soon as possible. Where appropriate, we may assess the possibility of a repair, replacement, refund or other remedy in accordance with your legal rights.

12. Merchandise fulfilled by third-party providers

Collective Aid may sell merchandise through third-party ecommerce, print-on-demand or fulfilment providers, including Spreadshirt, rather than directly manufacturing, storing or dispatching the goods ourselves. Where a product is purchased through a Collective Aid merchandise shop operated or fulfilled by a third-party provider:

  • the third-party provider may manufacture, fulfil, package and dispatch the product;

  • the third-party provider may process payment and transaction information;

  • the third-party provider may provide customer service and administer returns, exchanges and refunds on our behalf;

  • the provider's applicable terms and return procedures may apply to the transaction; and

  • Collective Aid may need to share relevant information with the provider in order to fulfil the order or administer a return or refund.

Where merchandise is purchased through a Collective Aid Spreadshop or other Collective Aid merchandise facility operated using Spreadshirt, returns and exchanges may be administered through Spreadshirt's customer-service and returns system. Spreadshirt currently provides a 30-day return guarantee for qualifying products and offers exchange, voucher or refund options subject to the circumstances of the purchase and the applicable product conditions. Spreadshirt also states that its satisfaction guarantee operates in addition to customers' statutory rights. Certain products or orders may be subject to different treatment. For example, Spreadshirt's published information indicates that products personalised by the customer may have different refund arrangements. Where a return or refund relates to a merchandise purchase fulfilled by Spreadshirt, customers should ordinarily follow the return instructions supplied with their order or contact the relevant Spreadshirt customer-service channel. Where Collective Aid is the appropriate party to resolve the matter, we will assist the customer and liaise with Spreadshirt or another relevant provider as reasonably necessary.

Nothing in this policy removes or limits any statutory rights applicable to goods purchased from Collective Aid.

If merchandise arrives:

  • damaged;

  • defective;

  • materially different from its description;

  • incorrectly printed;

  • incorrectly supplied; or

  • otherwise not in conformity with the contract,

please contact us or the relevant fulfilment provider as soon as reasonably possible. We may request photographs or other reasonable evidence to enable us or the fulfilment provider to investigate the issue. Where appropriate, the available remedy may include a replacement, exchange, refund or other remedy required by applicable law.

Where a third-party provider offers a voluntary satisfaction or return guarantee, that guarantee may provide rights in addition to statutory consumer rights. For example, Spreadshirt currently provides a 30-day return guarantee for qualifying merchandise. Where a statutory cancellation or withdrawal right applies, Collective Aid will respect that right regardless of whether the relevant third-party provider's voluntary return policy is more or less generous. Some goods may be exempt from statutory cancellation rights under applicable law.

Where a third-party provider is responsible for fulfilment, returns or refunds, the provider may determine the operational process through which the return or refund is administered. This may include:

  • issuing return instructions;

  • providing a return label;

  • inspecting returned goods;

  • approving a replacement;

  • issuing a voucher;

  • processing a refund; or

  • communicating directly with the customer.

Collective Aid remains committed to assisting customers where appropriate, but cannot guarantee the processing times or operational decisions of an independent third-party provider.

This section also applies, where relevant, to other ecommerce, payment, fulfilment, ticketing or service providers that Collective Aid may use in the future. Where a particular provider has its own applicable customer terms, return policy or refund procedure, those terms will be made available to customers where appropriate. Nothing in this section excludes or restricts rights that consumers have under applicable law.

13. Change-of-mind returns

Where legally applicable, consumers may have cancellation rights in relation to distance purchases. Any such statutory rights will apply regardless of this policy. Where a statutory cancellation right applies, you may be required to notify us within the applicable legal period and return the relevant goods in accordance with the applicable requirements. Certain goods or transactions may be exempt from cancellation rights under applicable law. Where a specific product is subject to different cancellation or return conditions, those conditions will be communicated at the point of sale.

14. Return postage

Where a return is required because goods are faulty, damaged, incorrect or otherwise do not conform to the contract, Collective Aid will handle return costs in accordance with applicable law. Where a return is made because of a change of mind and the law permits us to require the consumer to pay return postage, the applicable return costs may be the responsibility of the purchaser.

15. Event tickets

Event tickets may be subject to event-specific cancellation and refund terms. Unless otherwise stated, tickets are non-refundable once purchased except:

  • where a refund is required by law;

  • where Collective Aid cancels an event;

  • where Collective Aid materially changes an event and applicable law gives the ticket holder a cancellation right; or

  • where Collective Aid expressly agrees to a refund.

If an event is cancelled, we will communicate the available refund or alternative arrangements to ticket holders.

16. Fundraising events

Where a third party organises an event or fundraising activity in support of Collective Aid, the organiser's own ticketing and refund policy may apply. Collective Aid is not responsible for refunds relating to third-party events unless Collective Aid was itself the contracting party for the transaction.

17. Donations made through third parties

Where you donate through a third-party platform, you may also be subject to that platform's terms and refund procedures. Where appropriate, we may ask you to contact the relevant platform directly. However, you may also contact Collective Aid and we will assist where reasonably possible.

18. Chargebacks

We encourage donors to contact us before initiating a chargeback where there is a dispute about a transaction. This allows us to investigate the issue and, where appropriate, resolve it directly. Nothing in this section prevents a donor from exercising any rights they have through their bank, card provider or payment provider.

19. Refund decisions

Collective Aid reserves the right to investigate refund requests and may request reasonable evidence where necessary to establish what happened. We will not unreasonably refuse refunds where a refund is required by law. We may refuse requests that appear fraudulent, abusive or inconsistent with the transaction records available to us.

20. Contact

For a refund, cancellation or return request, please contact:

Collective Aid Charitable Foundation
Registered charity in England and Wales: 1206028
Contact available on our contact page.

Please include your transaction details where available so that we can locate the relevant payment quickly.

Last updated: 2 September 2026