Refund and Cancellation Policy

Effective Date: March 15, 2026
Version: 1.0
Entity: DOCWO SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
Registered Office: Building No. 5/257A8, Suite No. 162 B, Heiley Offices, Basement Floor, Pallath Square, Kalamassery, Ernakulam, Kanayannur, Kerala, India, 683104
Contact: billing@docwo.com | support@docwo.com | +91 99614 53665

1. Overview and Commercial Rationale

This Refund and Cancellation Policy ("Policy") forms an integral part of our Terms and Conditions of Service and governs all appointment bookings, cancellations, rescheduling, and payment refund requests initiated on the Docwo platform, operated by DOCWO SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED ("Docwo").

In medical practice, doctor schedules and clinic consulting hours are scarce, highly specialized professional resources. When an appointment is confirmed, that dedicated slot and queue token are reserved exclusively for you, preventing other patients in need of medical care from booking that time. Therefore, this Policy establishes a fair, transparent, and balanced structure aligning the operational realities of healthcare delivery with consumer protection standards under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.

2. Cancellation and Refund Matrix

The following table reflects the exact, automated calculation logic implemented across the Docwo platform:

Cancellation Scenario	Eligibility Criteria	Refund Entitlement	Deductions / Retention
Patient Cancellation (3 Hours or More)	Cancelled 3 or more hours before session start time; Full Payment made	80% of Consultation Fee	20% retained (Payment gateway, bank charges & slot reservation fee)
Patient Cancellation (Less Than 3 Hours)	Cancelled less than 3 hours before session start time	0% Refund (No Refund)	100% forfeited due to inability to reallocate medical slot
Doctor / Clinic Cancellation	Doctor unavailable, medical emergency, clinic closure	100% Full Refund	0% deduction (Full payment refunded to patient)
Platform System Cancellation	System error, double-booking, force majeure closure	100% Full Refund	0% deduction
Patient No-Show (Absent)	Patient fails to arrive or check-in when token is called	0% Refund (No Refund)	100% forfeited
Token / Partial Advance Bookings	Slot held with partial token deposit	0% Refund (No Refund)	Token deposit is non-refundable upon patient cancellation

3. Detailed Cancellation Rules

3.1 Patient-Initiated Cancellations

The 3-Hour Window: The session start time is calculated using the clinic's local timezone. The system server timestamp recorded at the moment the cancellation request is processed constitutes the final, conclusive proof of timing.
Advance Cancellations (3 Hours or More): If you cancel your confirmed appointment at least three (3) full hours prior to the scheduled session start time, you will receive an eighty percent (80%) refund of the medical consultation fee paid. The remaining twenty percent (20%) is retained by Docwo to offset third-party payment gateway costs (Razorpay), banking interchange fees, and administrative slot reservation costs.
Short-Notice Cancellations (Less Than 3 Hours): If you cancel within less than three (3) hours of the session start time, no refund shall be payable (0%). Under medical operational norms, doctors cannot backfill empty consultation slots on short notice.
Token / Partial Payment Bookings: Where an appointment was confirmed via a partial token reservation fee rather than full payment, such token fee is non-refundable upon patient cancellation regardless of timing.

3.2 Doctor or Clinic-Initiated Cancellations

Healthcare practitioners may occasionally encounter urgent hospital emergencies, emergency surgeries, or acute illness that prevent them from conducting scheduled OPD sessions.

If a Clinic or Doctor cancels your appointment, or marks a session as suspended, you will receive a 100% full refund of the entire consultation fee paid.
Alternatively, you may opt to accept a free rescheduling to the Doctor's next available OPD session without additional payment.

3.3 Patient No-Show / Absenteeism

If you fail to present yourself at the Clinic or fail to complete physical check-in before your token number has elapsed or the session concludes:

The Clinic staff or Doctor will mark your appointment status as "No-Show" or "Absent".
No refund, credit, or rescheduling shall be provided for patient no-shows.

4. Platform Convenience Fees

Docwo levies a nominal Platform Convenience Fee on appointments booked through the Platform. This fee covers digital infrastructure, queue synchronization, server costs, and SMS/push notification dispatch.
Platform Convenience Fees are strictly non-refundable once an appointment booking has been confirmed, as the digital allocation service is performed instantaneously upon checkout.

5. Refund Disbursement Mechanics and Turnaround Time

5.1 Automated Processing

When a valid cancellation qualifies for a refund, the refund is automatically initiated through our secure payment processing system. The refund command is committed at the same time as the cancellation to ensure no eligible refund is missed.

5.2 Banking Clearing Timeline

Gateway Initiation: Refunds are initiated through Razorpay within twenty-four (24) hours of cancellation.
Credit to Original Payment Source: In accordance with standard Reserve Bank of India (RBI) clearing cycles and National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) settlement protocols:
- UPI Transactions: Typically credited within 24 to 48 hours.
- Debit / Credit Cards & Net Banking: Typically credited within 5 to 7 banking business days.
Source Account Mandate: Refunds cannot be disbursed in physical cash, cheques, or transferred to third-party accounts. All funds return strictly to the original card, UPI ID, or bank account utilized at checkout.

6. Payment Failures, Double Debits, and Chargebacks

6.1 Payment Debited but Appointment Not Confirmed

If money is debited from your bank account or UPI app, but network latency causes the checkout screen to indicate a failure or timeout:

Do not initiate multiple duplicate payments.
Our payment reconciliation system automatically verifies transaction status at regular intervals.
If an orphaned captured payment is confirmed without a corresponding slot, our system initiates an automated 100% refund within 24 hours.

6.2 Fraudulent Disputes and Chargebacks

If a user initiates an illegitimate chargeback or banking dispute after attending a medical consultation or cancelling outside the permitted refund window:

Docwo reserves the right to present immutable server audit trails (including IP logs, OTP verifications, check-in scan logs, and clinical notes) to the acquiring bank and payment network to defend against the dispute.
Any user engaging in repeated, fraudulent chargeback activity shall face immediate, permanent termination of their Docwo account.

7. Appointment Rescheduling Policy

Permitted Rescheduling Window: You may reschedule a confirmed appointment to a future open slot with the same Doctor and Clinic up to three (3) hours before the scheduled session start time at no additional platform charge.
Short-Notice Rescheduling (Less Than 3 Hours): Rescheduling requests made within less than three (3) hours of session start are treated as short-notice cancellations and require booking a new slot.
Limit on Rescheduling: To prevent slot hoarding, each appointment may be rescheduled a maximum of two (2) times.

8. Contact Billing and Grievance Escalations

If your refund has not reflected in your bank account after seven (7) banking business days, or if you believe an incorrect deduction occurred, please contact our dedicated billing support team with your Appointment ID and Razorpay Payment ID:

Department: Billing & Refund Grievance Desk
Company: DOCWO SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED
Office Address: Building No. 5/257A8, Suite No. 162 B, Heiley Offices, Basement Floor, Pallath Square, Kalamassery, Ernakulam, Kanayannur, Kerala, India, 683104
Email: billing@docwo.com / support@docwo.com
Phone Helpline: +91 99614 53665 (Mon–Sat, 10:00 AM – 6:00 PM IST)