Refund Policy

This Refund Policy explains when and how refunds are available on First100Readers. It should be read together with our Terms and Conditions.

1. Author wallet recharges

When you (an author) recharge your wallet through Razorpay, the funds are added to your wallet balance. Refund eligibility depends on what has happened to those funds since:

• Unallocated wallet balance is refundable. Funds that are still sitting in your wallet balance and have not yet been allocated to any book campaign can be refunded on request. Refunds are made to the original payment method through Razorpay.
• Allocated credits are non-refundable. Once you move wallet funds into a specific book's available credit pool, those funds are committed to that campaign and cannot be refunded to your original payment method.
• Automatic return to wallet balance. Allocated credits that remain unconsumed will automatically return to your wallet balance in two situations: (a) when the book reaches its First 100 Readers cap of 100 approved reviews, any remaining available credits are returned to your wallet balance; and (b) when you deallocate credits from a book that still has available (unreserved) credits. Funds that return to wallet balance in this way become refundable again under the "unallocated wallet balance" rule above.
• Reserved credits. Credits that are currently reserved against an active reader claim are not refundable while the claim is pending. If the claim expires or the review is ultimately rejected by an administrator, the reserved credit is released back to the book's available pool.

2. Reader payouts are final

Once a reader's review is approved by an administrator and the corresponding payout is credited to the reader's wallet, that payout is final and non-refundable to the author. The payment is compensation for a service already rendered — an honest review by a real reader — and cannot be reversed.

If a review is later found to violate our Terms (for example, confirmed fraud or coordination), we may suspend the reader's account and forfeit any pending unpaid rewards, but already-paid rewards on prior reviews are not clawed back from the reader.

3. Reader-side refunds

Readers do not pay anything to use the platform, so there is nothing to refund on the reader side. Withdrawal of earned reward balance is handled separately through the payout flow, not through refunds.

4. Duplicate or failed payments

If Razorpay charges you twice for the same recharge, or a payment is captured but does not appear in your wallet, contact us immediately with the Razorpay payment ID. We will verify with Razorpay and either credit your wallet or refund the duplicate charge, whichever applies.

5. How to request a refund

To request a refund of unallocated wallet balance or to report a duplicate charge, contact us at support@first100readers.com or through our contact form with:

• Your registered account email.
• The Razorpay payment ID (from your original payment confirmation).
• The amount and date of the payment.
• A brief reason for the request.

We aim to acknowledge refund requests within 2 business days and to process approved refunds within 7 business days of approval. Razorpay may take an additional 5–7 business days to credit the refund to your original payment method depending on your bank.

6. Chargebacks

If you believe you have been charged incorrectly, please contact us first — we will almost always resolve legitimate issues faster than a bank chargeback. Chargebacks filed without first contacting us may result in temporary suspension of the associated account while the dispute is investigated.

7. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent change.