Cancellation Policy

1. What this policy covers

This policy applies to telehealth consultations you book through Bitter Cup with a Bitter Cup practitioner, including the initial consultation ($99, 45 minutes on Zoom). By ticking the cancellation box when you pay, you agree to the version of this policy in effect at that time.

2. Booking and payment

• When your practitioner offers you a time, we hold it for 24 hours. If you don't pay in that time, the time is released and nothing is charged.
• Your appointment is confirmed only once payment goes through. We email you a receipt.
• Your Zoom link appears in My Account 20 minutes before your visit. We never send it by email.

3. How to cancel or change your time

• Cancel in My Account: open Overview, then Cancel appointment. The time you cancel is the time recorded there.
• If you cancel at least 24 hours before your visit, we refund the amount you paid automatically, minus the card processing fee (see section 9).
• To move to a different time, cancel at least 24 hours before and request a new time. Before you've paid, you can use Ask for a different time instead.

4. Late cancellations and missed visits

• We don't refund cancellations made less than 24 hours before your visit. Your practitioner has set that time aside for you and can't usually fill it at short notice.
• If you haven't joined within 15 minutes of the start time, the visit counts as missed and isn't refunded.
• If you join late, your visit still ends at its scheduled time.

5. Where you need to be

Our practitioners are licensed in California, so you must be physically in California for the whole visit. Your practitioner will confirm your name, date of birth and location at the start. If you're outside California, they have to end the visit, and it counts as a late cancellation.

6. If telehealth isn't right for you

If your practitioner decides at the start of the visit that your concern needs in-person or emergency care instead, they'll tell you why and end the consultation. In that case we refund the full amount you paid, with nothing deducted.

7. Technical problems

• If the visit can't take place because of a problem with Bitter Cup or Zoom, we'll offer you a new time or a full refund, with nothing deducted.
• If the connection drops, your practitioner will try to reconnect for up to 10 minutes. If you can't reconnect because of a problem on your side, we'll offer one new time at no extra charge.
• Please test your camera and microphone before your visit.

8. If we cancel

If your practitioner has to cancel or can't attend, we'll tell you as soon as we can. You can choose a full refund, with nothing deducted, or a new time with the same practitioner.

9. Refunds

• Card processing fee. When you cancel at least 24 hours ahead, we deduct the fee our payment processor, Stripe, charged on your payment. Stripe doesn't return this fee to us when we refund. For US cards it's 2.9% of the amount paid plus $0.30: $3.17 on a $99 payment, so you get back $95.83. Cards issued outside the US, and payments needing currency conversion, carry a higher fee, and we deduct the amount Stripe actually charged. Your refund confirmation shows the exact figure.
• We never deduct the fee when we cancel, when the visit can't happen because of a problem on our side, or when your practitioner decides telehealth isn't right for you.
• Refunds go back to the card or payment method you paid with. We can't send them anywhere else.
• They usually show up within 5–10 business days, depending on your bank.
• We refund the amount you actually paid. If you used a promotion code, the code isn't reissued and has no cash value.

10. Exceptions

If something serious stops you from attending, such as a medical emergency or a death in the family, contact us. We may waive the fee at our discretion. This doesn't change the policy for future bookings.

11. Not for emergencies

Bitter Cup is not an emergency service. If you think you're having a medical emergency, call 911 or go to the nearest emergency room. Don't wait for your consultation.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy. We'll post the new version here with its effective date. The version you agreed to when you paid applies to that booking.