Booking & Cancellation Policy

Last updated: 25 July 2026

Our policies are designed to protect both gurus and learners. This page explains, in plain English, how booking and cancellation work across everything you can do on Guruvice — 1:1 sessions, instant sessions, packages, and webinars — along with the fees you pay, how currency conversion works, and how gurus get paid.

This page mirrors the Booking & Cancellation Policy shown inside the Guruvice app. For the full legal agreement, see our Terms of Service.

1. 1:1 Sessions

Booking flow

A learner books a time with a guru. The payment is authorised (held on the card, not yet taken) at that moment, and is captured and released to the guru once the session is completed.

Booking window. A session must be booked at least 24 hours before it starts, and no more than about 6.5 days in advance. The 24-hour floor gives the guru a full 12 hours to accept before the deadline below. The upper limit exists because the card authorisation placed at booking is only valid for a limited period, and the whole booking — start, finish, and payment — has to fit inside it.

Acceptance. A booking is a request until the guru accepts it. The guru must accept at least 12 hours before the start. If they don't, the request is cancelled automatically: the hold is released in full and you are not charged (for a package session, the credit is returned to your package). The guru receives 1 demerit point.

Cancelling a 1:1 session

• More than 12 hours before the start: you can cancel free of charge — the card hold is released in full.
• Within 12 hours of the start: cancellation is not available — the session is committed.

No-shows

A 10-minute grace period applies to both parties.

• Learner doesn't join but the guru does: the session is charged in full and released to the guru, whose time was reserved and held; the learner receives 1 demerit point. For a package session, the credit is used up and the guru is paid for that session.
• Guru doesn't join: the learner is not charged — the hold is released in full (for a package session, the credit is returned and the package validity extended); the guru receives 3 demerit points.
• Neither party joins: there is no charge and no demerit points; for a package session, the credit is returned to the package.

Rescheduling

Self-service rescheduling is not available yet. A confirmed session cannot be moved: to change the time, cancel it (only possible more than 12 hours before the start) and book again. The replacement booking is subject to the standard 24-hour minimum notice, so a same-day alternative may not be available.

2. Instant Sessions

Instant Sessions let a learner request a live call with a guru on the spot, without pre-booking.

How it works

The guru turns on "Ready for Instant" availability → a learner requests an instant call → the guru has 2 minutes to accept → once accepted, both parties have 5 minutes to join → the call runs for the booked duration.

Good to know

• A request goes to the specific guru only — it is not passed to other gurus.
• Once accepted, neither side can cancel — the 5-minute join window simply closes itself if someone can't make it.
• A buffer (default 5 minutes) and a daily limit keep gurus from being overbooked.
• "Ready for Instant" auto-turns-off after 3 consecutive declines, when the daily limit is hit, or after a period of inactivity.

If someone doesn't join

• Guru accepts but doesn't join within 5 minutes: full refund to the learner + 3 demerit points to the guru.
• Guru declines or times out: full refund, no charge.
• Learner doesn't join (guru did): 50% of the rate is charged and 50% refunded; the learner gets 1 demerit point. Instant sessions are the one case where a learner no-show is charged at half rather than in full — the commitment window here is minutes, not days.
• Neither joins: no charge, no demerits.

3. Packages

A package is a pre-purchased set of sessions with a specific guru, usually at a discount.

Payment flow

The learner pays the full package price upfront. The money is held in escrow and released to the guru session-by-session as each session is completed. Each session uses one credit from the package.

Booking your sessions

Package sessions are booked one at a time, in order — you can schedule the next session once the previous one has finished. Each booking also honours the standard 24-hour minimum notice.

Refunds

• Before any session is used: full refund if cancelled within 7 days of purchase.
• Cancelling a single upcoming session (more than 12 hours before): the credit is returned to the package to re-book — it is not refunded as cash.
• Learner no-show on a package session: the credit is used up and the guru is paid for that session — it is not returned, and the package validity is not extended.
• Package expires with unused credits: each unused credit is refunded at the package's per-session price (package total ÷ number of sessions).

Validity & extensions

• Each package has a validity period set by the guru; unused credits expire at the end of it.
• A guru may grant a validity extension at their discretion.
• If a guru misses or cancels a session, the package validity is automatically extended (+72h for a guru no-show; +48h if the guru rejects the booking, cancels it, or misses the 12-hour acceptance deadline) so the lost time isn't taken from the learner.

4. Webinars

A webinar is a one-to-many live session hosted by a guru, with learners attending as participants.

Registration & confirmation

The guru sets a minimum number of attendees. Payment is held when a learner registers. Around 12 hours before the start, the webinar auto-confirms if the minimum is met (and all holds are charged), or the guru can manually confirm with fewer attendees before then. If the minimum isn't met, the webinar is auto-cancelled, no one is charged, and every hold is released.

Registration stays open until 5 minutes before the start. The 12-hour mark is a viability checkpoint — it decides whether the webinar runs — not a registration deadline. If you register after the webinar has been confirmed, your card is charged immediately rather than held, because the webinar is already going ahead. As with every webinar registration, it cannot be cancelled once made.

Cancellation rules

• Learners cannot cancel a webinar registration once booked — this gives the guru a confirmed headcount. You are refunded only if the webinar is auto-cancelled for not meeting the minimum number of attendees, or is cancelled by the guru.
• Guru cancels: all registrants are fully refunded; the guru may receive demerit points.
• Guru no-show on a confirmed webinar: all registrants fully refunded + 3 demerit points to the guru.
• Learner registers but doesn't attend: the seat is forfeited (no refund) + 1 demerit point.

5. Reliability & Demerits

Demerit points reflect missed commitments over a rolling 60-day window. They feed a reliability score — they are not a punishment system, and there is no automatic suspension.

How the score works: it starts at 100% and each point lowers it by 3% (e.g. one missed session = 3 points = 91%). It never drops below 10%, and older events fall off after 60 days as you keep showing up reliably. New users see "Building reputation" until they've completed enough sessions for a meaningful score.

6. Fees & What You Pay

What the learner pays

At checkout the learner pays the guru's price plus a small service fee, shown transparently before payment:

• Same-currency booking: 1.6% platform fee + 3.4% payment processing + a small fixed fee.
• Cross-currency booking: 2.5% platform fee + 4.5% processing & conversion + a small fixed fee.

The fixed fee depends on currency (e.g. S$0.50, $0.30, £0.20, ₹3.00).

What the guru receives

The guru is paid their set price minus a platform commission: 5% for 1:1 sessions, instant sessions and packages, or 9% for webinars. Payment-processing fees are not deducted from the guru — they're covered by the service fee the learner paid.

7. Currency & Exchange

• Supported currencies today: Singapore Dollar (SGD), Indian Rupee (INR), US Dollar (USD) and British Pound (GBP).
• Learners are charged in their own local currency — there's no surprise conversion by your card issuer.
• For cross-currency bookings, Guruvice converts the price using live Wise exchange rates plus a 2% buffer to cover rate movement between checkout and settlement. The rate used is shown before you pay.

8. Getting Paid (Gurus)

• Earnings from a completed session become available for payout after a 4-day window (so any refunds can settle first).
• Once your available balance reaches the minimum for your currency (S$100, ₹3,000, $100 or £100), you can request a payout.
• Payout requests are reviewed and approved by the Guruvice team, then sent via Wise to your bank or local rail (PayNow in Singapore, UPI in India, bank transfer elsewhere).
• The Wise transfer fee is absorbed by Guruvice — you receive your full net earnings in your currency.

Refund processing

Refunds are returned to the original payment method. When a card was only placed on hold (e.g. a guru no-show or a cancellation before the session), the hold is simply released — no charge is ever taken. Card refunds typically appear within 5–10 business days, subject to your bank. Contact us at contact@guruvice.com if you don't see it after that.