Every first-time membership purchase at Le Magasin Littéraire includes a risk-free trial period. Within 7 days of your initial purchase, you can request a full refund with no questions asked and no explanation required.
This 7-day satisfaction guarantee applies exclusively to first-time membership purchases. It does not extend to renewals of existing memberships, whether automatic renewals at the end of your billing period or manual renewals after letting a membership lapse. The logic here is straightforward: by the time your membership renews, you’ve already experienced the platform and made an informed decision to continue. Similarly, the guarantee doesn’t apply to tier upgrades or downgrades—if you’re a Reader upgrading to Supporter or a Supporter downgrading to Reader, you’re already a member familiar with our service, so the introductory trial period doesn’t apply to these changes.
After the 7-day window closes, memberships become non-refundable under normal circumstances. This policy reflects the nature of digital content and the resources we allocate based on membership commitments. Unlike physical products you can return, digital access to our entire archive begins the moment you subscribe. Writers receive compensation based on your engagement with their work, editorial curation happens based on our member count, and operational decisions rest on the stability of our membership base. After a full week of access, you’ve had ample opportunity to evaluate whether Le Magasin Littéraire meets your expectations.
We strongly encourage anyone uncertain about subscribing to explore our Free tier first. Guest accounts can sample selected content, get a feel for our editorial voice and the quality of work we publish, and make an informed decision about whether a paid membership represents good value for them. The Free tier exists precisely so you don’t need to spend money to discover what we’re about.
Beyond the 7-day guarantee, we do issue refunds in specific extraordinary circumstances that prevent you from receiving the service you paid for. If technical issues render our platform completely inaccessible for seven or more consecutive days, we’ll issue a pro-rated refund for the period of non-service—but only if you reported the issue during the affected period and worked with our support team to attempt resolution. Similarly, critical features that are non-functional and prevent meaningful use of your membership may warrant pro-rated refunds, as might data loss affecting your account that we cannot recover.
Billing errors always receive immediate attention and correction. If you’ve been charged twice for the same membership period, billed for the wrong tier, experienced processing errors beyond your control, or received unauthorized charges after canceling your membership, we’ll refund the erroneous charge in full and correct your billing going forward. These situations represent failures on our end, and we take full responsibility for making them right.
Platform-initiated cancellations—whether because Le Magasin Littéraire discontinues service entirely, we terminate your account due to our own error, or we eliminate a membership tier you’re subscribed to—entitle you to a pro-rated refund for any unused portion of your membership period. We provide as much advance notice as possible in these scenarios, recognizing that the disruption isn’t your choice.
What we won’t issue refunds for after the 7-day period includes change of mind (which the guarantee or Free tier sampling should address), general dissatisfaction with content (subjective and addressed by the trial period), failure to cancel before automatic renewal (your responsibility to manage), not using the membership benefits you paid for (your choice not to engage), violations of our account sharing policies or Terms of Service (which void your membership privileges), and tier changes whether upgrades or downgrades (no partial refunds when you switch between membership levels).
Workshops represent a different commitment than memberships because they involve scheduled sessions, limited enrollment, and instructor preparation that happens specifically for registered participants. Our refund policy for workshops reflects these realities while still providing reasonable flexibility when your plans change.
If you need to withdraw more than 14 days before a workshop begins, you’ll receive a full refund minus a $25 processing fee that covers the administrative costs of enrollment and withdrawal. Alternatively, you can transfer your registration to any future workshop we offer with no processing fee, which gives you more flexibility if you still want to participate but the timing doesn’t work out. This policy recognizes that circumstances change while ensuring that last-minute cancellations close to the workshop start date don’t leave instructors and other participants in difficult positions.
Between 7 and 14 days before the workshop starts, you can still withdraw but will receive only a 50% refund because we’re closer to the start date and may have difficulty filling your spot. You retain the option to receive full credit toward a future workshop instead, which means you don’t lose the value of your registration even if you can’t make this particular session.
Less than 7 days before a workshop begins, we cannot offer monetary refunds because the workshop is imminent and the instructor has completed preparation specifically accounting for your enrollment. We may allow a one-time transfer to a future workshop subject to availability, but this is a courtesy rather than a guaranteed right, and we cannot always accommodate these last-minute changes.
Once a workshop has started—even if it’s just the first session of a multi-week series—no refunds are available under any circumstances. This applies whether or not you actually attend sessions, decide the content isn’t right for you after experiencing the first session, or encounter scheduling conflicts that prevent your participation. The instructor has delivered the service, and other participants have engaged with you as part of the cohort, making refunds impractical at that point.
The one exception to all these limitations is if Le Magasin Littéraire cancels a workshop. If we initiate cancellation for any reason—insufficient enrollment, instructor unavailability, or any other factor on our end—you receive an automatic full refund with no processing fees. Alternatively, you can choose to receive credit for any future workshop, which you might prefer if you were particularly interested in the topic and want to wait for us to schedule it again. We provide as much advance notice as possible when canceling workshops, recognizing the inconvenience this causes registered participants.
Contest entry fees follow a simple principle: once the entry period closes and judging begins, all fees become non-refundable. The judging process represents significant work by our editorial team and external judges who read every submission carefully, provide feedback where applicable, and deliberate to select winners. Once that process starts, we’ve committed the resources your entry fee funds, making refunds impossible.
Before the entry deadline, however, you retain full flexibility. If you decide to withdraw your entry for any reason—you’re unhappy with your submission, circumstances have changed, or you simply change your mind—you can request a full refund by emailing contests@lemagasinlitteraire.com before the entry period closes. We process these refunds promptly with no questions asked and no processing fees.
If Le Magasin Littéraire cancels a contest before completion, we automatically refund all entry fees in full. You also have the option to receive credit toward any future contest we hold, which might appeal to you if you were particularly interested in that contest’s theme or prize. Contest cancellations are rare, but if they occur, we ensure no participant loses money for a competition that didn’t happen.
Writers who publish with Le Magasin Littéraire sometimes also hold memberships, and it’s important to understand that these are separate financial relationships. Your membership fees—if you choose to maintain a membership while also publishing with us—are not refundable just because you’re also receiving compensation for your published work. Earnings calculated through our engagement-based compensation model are not refunds you can request; they’re payments you earn based on reader engagement with your work. If you don’t meet quarterly payment minimums, that doesn’t entitle you to a membership refund; it simply means your earnings roll over to the next quarter as detailed in our Compensation & Membership Policy.
Disputes about compensation calculations are handled separately from refund requests and follow the process outlined in our Compensation & Membership Policy, which includes transparency about engagement metrics, clear explanation of calculation methodologies, and a formal appeal process if you believe your compensation was calculated incorrectly.
Chargebacks—when you ask your bank or credit card company to reverse a charge—represent a serious breach of our member agreement and trigger immediate consequences. If you initiate a chargeback, we suspend your account immediately and conduct an investigation to understand why you went directly to your bank rather than contacting us. If our investigation determines the chargeback was unjustified—meaning you had recourse through our refund policy or support channels but chose to bypass them—we permanently terminate your account, pursue collection of the amount owed plus any fees your chargeback caused us to incur, and ban you from any future service eligibility.
This strict policy exists because chargebacks cost us significant processing fees, damage our relationship with payment processors, and are frequently used as a form of fraud where people consume digital content and then dispute the charge to avoid payment. We’re a small literary platform operating on thin margins; fraudulent chargebacks can genuinely harm our ability to compensate writers and maintain the service.
Chargebacks—when you ask your bank or credit card company to reverse a charge—represent a serious breach of our member agreement and trigger immediate consequences. If you initiate a chargeback, we suspend your account immediately and conduct an investigation to understand why you went directly to your bank rather than contacting us. If our investigation determines the chargeback was unjustified—meaning you had recourse through our refund policy or support channels but chose to bypass them—we permanently terminate your account, pursue collection of the amount owed plus any fees your chargeback caused us to incur, and ban you from any future service eligibility.
This strict policy exists because chargebacks incur significant processing fees, damage our relationship with payment processors, and are frequently used as a form of fraud when individuals consume digital content and then dispute the charge to avoid payment. We’re a small literary platform operating on thin margins; fraudulent chargebacks can genuinely harm our ability to compensate writers and maintain the service.
The proper procedure is always to contact support@lemagasinlitteraire.com before initiating any chargeback. We respond to legitimate billing concerns quickly and fairly. If you’ve been wrongly charged, we’ll refund you. If there’s a misunderstanding about what you signed up for or what you’re being charged for, we’ll explain and often find a solution that works for both of us. The vast majority of situations that might lead someone to consider a chargeback can be resolved much more quickly and amicably through direct communication.
To request a refund under the 7-day satisfaction guarantee for first-time memberships, email refunds@lemagasinlitteraire.com within 7 days of your initial purchase with “Refund Request – [Your Name]” as the subject line. Include your name and the email address associated with your account, your membership tier, the date and amount of the charge you’re requesting a refund for, and a brief note that you’re exercising the 7-day guarantee. We process these requests immediately with no questions asked and no lengthy review process.
For other refund scenarios—technical issues, billing errors, extraordinary circumstances—you must submit your request within 7 days of the charge or issue occurring, with some exceptions. Ongoing technical issues must be reported within 7 days of when the issue started, even if it continues beyond that. Billing errors can be reported within 30 days because it sometimes takes people time to notice duplicate charges or incorrect amounts. Unauthorized charges after you’ve canceled your membership can be reported within 60 days, recognizing that people don’t always check statements immediately.
Your refund request should include your name and account email address, your membership tier and subscription type, the specific date and amount you’re requesting a refund for, a clear explanation of why you’re requesting the refund and which policy provision you believe applies, and any supporting documentation that helps us evaluate your request such as screenshots of error messages, correspondence with support about technical issues, or evidence of billing errors.
We provide an initial response to all refund requests within 3 business days, acknowledging receipt and letting you know what additional information we might need. A decision on your request comes within 10 business days. If we deny your request and you believe that decision was incorrect, you can appeal within 14 days of receiving the denial by providing additional documentation, explaining why the decision should be reconsidered, or clarifying aspects of your situation that might not have been clear in your original request.
Our evaluation considers multiple factors including the specific reason for your request and how it aligns with our policy provisions, your account history and usage patterns, whether you’ve complied with relevant policies like reporting issues promptly or attempting to resolve problems through support, the documentation you’ve provided to support your request, and any platform circumstances that might affect the situation such as known technical issues during the period in question.
Appeal reviews are conducted by a different team member than the person who made the initial decision, ensuring fresh eyes and perspectives on your situation. We complete appeal reviews within 14 days and provide a detailed explanation of the final decision. Decisions after appeal review are final—we don’t have additional layers of internal appeals beyond that point.
When we approve a refund, we process it within 5 business days of approval. The refund then takes an additional 5-10 business days to appear in your account, depending on your bank or credit card company’s processing timeline. This means you should expect the full cycle from approval to money in your account to take 10-15 business days in most cases.
Refunds always return to your original payment method. We cannot redirect refunds to a different credit card, bank account, or payment service than the one you used for the original purchase, due to various payment processor requirements and the potential for fraud risk.
You’ll receive email confirmation when we process your refund, including a transaction ID you can use to track the refund with your bank or payment provider if it doesn’t appear in your account within the expected timeframe. If you don’t receive this confirmation email or if the refund doesn’t appear after 15 business days, contact refunds@lemagasinlitteraire.com so we can investigate.
Pro-rated refunds apply only in the extraordinary circumstances outlined earlier: technical issues preventing platform access for extended periods, platform-initiated cancellations of service or membership tiers, and special circumstances like medical emergencies, military deployment, or death of the member. The calculation method bases the daily rate on your annual membership cost divided by 365 days, then multiplies that rate by the number of days you couldn’t access the service or the number of unused days remaining in your membership period. Processing fees of $10-25 may apply to pro-rated refunds to cover the administrative work involved.
For example, if you hold an annual Supporter membership at $250 and our platform experiences a technical outage that makes it completely inaccessible for 15 consecutive days mid-year, we’d calculate your pro-rated refund by dividing $250 by 365 days ($0.68 per day) and multiplying by the 15 days of outage ($10.20 refund). This ensures you’re only paying for the service you actually received while acknowledging that the base rate you chose was annual rather than daily.
It’s worth emphasizing again that the 7-day satisfaction guarantee provides a full refund for first-time membership purchases with no pro-rating, no processing fees, and no complicated calculations. Pro-rated refunds are a separate mechanism for addressing ongoing memberships affected by extraordinary circumstances.
Life brings unexpected challenges, and while our general refund policy protects the sustainability of our platform and fair compensation for writers, we recognize that exceptional situations warrant compassionate consideration. If you’re facing serious illness, family emergency, or significant hardship that makes continuing your membership impossible or inappropriate, contact support@lemagasinlitteraire.com with a detailed explanation of your circumstances. We review these situations case-by-case and may offer pro-rated refunds, membership freezes that pause your billing while maintaining your account for when you’re ready to return, or extended deadlines if you’ve committed to an annual membership but circumstances have changed dramatically.
We may request documentation to verify extraordinary circumstances, not because we doubt your honesty but because we need to maintain consistent standards and prevent abuse of compassionate exceptions. This documentation might include medical records for serious illness, deployment orders for military situations, or death certificates when a family member requests refund of a deceased member’s unused membership period.
Active duty military deployment receives special consideration. If you’re deployed and will lack meaningful access to our platform, we provide either a full refund for the unused portion of your membership or a membership freeze for the deployment duration, with proof of deployment required. When you return from deployment, we reactivate your membership at the tier and rate you had before, honoring your service with this flexibility.
If a member passes away, family members or estate representatives can contact us with a death certificate to receive a full refund for any unused portion of an annual membership. We handle these requests with sensitivity and efficiency, recognizing the many difficult tasks families face in such circumstances.
Voluntary cancellation of your membership works differently from refunds. You can cancel at any time through your account settings or by emailing support@lemagasinlitteraire.com, and there are no penalties or fees for canceling. However, you don’t receive a refund for your current billing period—you’ve already received access to the service for that period, and it continues until the period ends. After cancellation, you can rejoin anytime you choose, with no restrictions or penalties for having previously canceled.
Failed payment situations lead to automatic account downgrades rather than refunds. If your payment method fails at renewal and we cannot process the charge after reasonable retry attempts, we downgrade your account to the Free tier after 7 days. No refund is issued because no payment was successfully collected. You can reactivate your paid membership at any time by updating your payment method.
Purchases made through third-party platforms like Apple App Store, Google Play Store, or other resellers fall under those platforms’ refund policies rather than ours. We have no ability to process refunds for third-party purchases because we never received the payment directly—it went to Apple, Google, or whichever reseller you used. Refund requests for these purchases must go through the platform where you made the purchase, following their specific procedures and policies.
All memberships are priced in Canadian dollars (CAD), and refunds are issued in CAD regardless of where you’re located. Your bank handles currency conversion if you pay in a different currency, and exchange rate fluctuations between when you paid and when you receive the refund are not our responsibility. Similarly, any international transaction fees your bank charges are not refundable—they represent costs imposed by your financial institution rather than charges from Le Magasin Littéraire.
If we deny your refund request and you wish to pursue the matter further, you can escalate through external dispute resolution mechanisms. Canadian users can contact their credit card issuer’s dispute department or file complaints with consumer protection offices in their province. International users have access to credit card dispute processes and relevant consumer protection authorities in their jurisdictions. We prefer to resolve disputes directly and encourage you to exhaust our internal appeal process first, but we acknowledge your right to seek external recourse if you believe we’ve treated you unfairly.
We reserve the right to deny refunds when evidence suggests abuse of our refund policies or fraudulent intent. Patterns of repeated refund requests across multiple membership periods suggest someone is exploiting the 7-day guarantee to access content without paying. Accounts showing extensive usage—dozens of pieces read, hours of engagement time, active participation in comments—immediately before a refund request raise questions about whether the request is made in good faith. Detected fraudulent activity of any kind, violations of our Terms of Service, and chargeback fraud all disqualify accounts from refund eligibility.
Suspicious activity may result not just in denied refunds but in permanent account termination, bans from any future service with Le Magasin Littéraire, and legal action if we can confirm fraud has occurred. We’re a small platform built on trust between readers, writers, and our editorial team. People who exploit that trust to steal content or defraud the system threaten our ability to compensate writers fairly and maintain the quality service our honest members deserve.
This Refund Policy may be updated periodically to reflect changes in our service offerings, legal requirements, or operational practices. Material changes—those affecting your rights, the availability of refunds, or the procedures for requesting them—receive 30 days’ advance notice via email to all members and prominent website announcements. Minor clarifications or administrative updates are reflected simply by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy. The current version is always available at https://lemagasinlitteraire.com/refund-policy, and we recommend reviewing it periodically.
Policy changes apply to purchases made after the effective date of the change. For existing members, changes take effect at your next renewal, with the advance notice period ensuring you understand what you’re agreeing to when your membership renews under the updated policy.
For refund requests, email refunds@lemagasinlitteraire.com. For general questions about this policy or about billing and membership matters, contact support@lemagasinlitteraire.com. If you need to appeal a denied refund request, email appeals@lemagasinlitteraire.com. Our mailing address for formal written correspondence is Le Magasin Littéraire, Refunds Department, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
Item | Refundable? | Conditions | Timeframe |
|---|---|---|---|
First-Time Membership | Yes | 7-day satisfaction guarantee | Within 7 days of purchase |
Membership (after 7 days) | No | Except extraordinary circumstances | N/A |
Renewal | No | Not covered by the 7-day guarantee | N/A |
Workshop | Yes (before start) | 14+ days = full, 7-14 days = 50% | Before workshop begins |
Workshop (started) | No | N/A | N/A |
Contest Entry | Yes (before close) | Before deadline only | Before the entry period ends |
Contest Entry (closed) | No | N/A | N/A |
Technical Issues | Yes | 7+ days outage, pro-rated | Report within 7 days |
Billing Errors | Yes | Duplicate/incorrect charges | Within 30 days |
Tier Change | No | Not refundable | N/A |
For questions about this AI Policy:
Refund Requests: refunds@lemagasinlitteraire.com
General Questions: support@lemagasinlitteraire.com
Appeal a Denied Refund Request: appeals@lemagasinlitteraire.com
By purchasing a membership, workshop, or contest entry, you acknowledge understanding and acceptance of this Refund Policy.