Payments, Cancellations & Refunds

1. Platform subscriptions

A Gather HQs subscriber site starts with a 14-day no-card trial. The trial does not automatically charge anyone. A paid subscription begins only when the subscriber administrator deliberately chooses the monthly or yearly plan and completes Stripe Checkout.

• Renewal: the selected $20 monthly or $220 yearly plan renews automatically until canceled.
• Cancellation: the subscriber administrator can cancel through the Stripe-hosted billing portal linked from the dashboard. Cancellation normally takes effect at the end of the current paid period.
• Access after cancellation: the site ordinarily remains available through the period already paid for, subject to security, fraud, abuse, or legal restrictions.
• Refunds: platform subscription charges are non-refundable and are not prorated for partial periods except when required by law or when Gather HQs states otherwise in writing.
• Billing errors: report a duplicate, incorrect, or unauthorized platform charge promptly to the support address below. We may request information needed to verify the account and transaction.
• Failed payments: Stripe may retry a failed charge. Gather HQs may provide a grace period, then restrict or suspend the site if the balance remains unpaid.

Canceling a platform subscription does not automatically delete subscriber data. See Data Retention & Deletion.

2. Event tickets and membership dues

Event tickets and recurring membership dues are sold by the subscriber group through its connected Stripe account. The subscriber—not Gather HQs—sets the event, membership benefits, prices, cancellation terms, and refund promises and is responsible for honoring them and complying with applicable law.

• Contact the subscriber group using the contact information on its site for ticket, event, or membership questions.
• A canceled or postponed event does not create an automatic Gather HQs refund. The subscriber must decide and issue any refund required by its policy or law.
• Refunds may be full or partial. They are submitted in the subscriber’s connected Stripe account and remain subject to Stripe processing and final status.
• Stripe processing fees may not be returned to the subscriber. When Gather HQs collected an application fee on a ticket order, the platform is configured to return that fee proportionally with a successful refund.
• Membership cancellation is managed by the subscriber and its connected Stripe account. Ending future renewal does not necessarily refund a period already paid for.

3. Platform and provider fees

Gather HQs currently deducts a 3.00% application fee from paid event-ticket proceeds. It is not added as a separate attendee surcharge. Stripe processing and other provider fees may also apply to the subscriber. During the current pilot configuration, Gather HQs does not deduct an application fee from membership dues.

Any price, fee, or renewal change must be presented before it applies when required by law. Taxes, assessments, and reporting obligations are the responsibility of the party legally required to handle them.

4. Disputes and chargebacks

Before disputing an event or membership charge, contact the subscriber group and allow a reasonable opportunity to address the issue. A bank or card-network dispute is handled through Stripe and the subscriber’s connected account. Gather HQs may preserve transaction, communication, attendance, and refund records and provide them to Stripe, the subscriber, financial institutions, or authorities as permitted by law.

Submitting false information, seeking both a refund and a chargeback for the same amount, or abusing the dispute process may result in account or transaction restrictions and may be reported where lawful.

5. Rights that cannot be waived

This policy does not limit a refund, cancellation, chargeback, cooling-off period, or other consumer right that cannot lawfully be waived. If a displayed event policy conflicts with mandatory law, the mandatory law controls.