Refund Policy

About This Policy

This Refund Policy explains BMEssentia's position on refunds for all payment types across all user categories. It applies to subscriptions (BMEssentia, BMEssentia Premium and Medical City only), the free trial, the one-time Medical City licence and its instalment plan, the Update Pass, tutoring cohort enrollments, and institutional licensing, across the website, the Platform, Medical City and the App. It is written in plain language so you know exactly where you stand before you pay.

This policy works alongside BMEssentia's Terms and Conditions. In the event of any conflict between this Refund Policy and the Terms and Conditions, the Terms and Conditions prevail. This policy does not limit any rights you may have under the consumer protection laws of your jurisdiction.

SECTION 1: INDIVIDUAL PLANS AND PURCHASES

1.1 General Position

All BMEssentia individual subscriptions (BMEssentia, BMEssentia Premium and Medical City only, whether billed monthly, quarterly or annually) are non-refundable once the billing period has begun, except as set out in Section 1.4 and Section 8. BMEssentia may, at its discretion, make a goodwill refund or credit in individual cases; doing so does not create a right to the same outcome in other cases. This means from the moment your payment is processed and your subscription is activated, no refund is available for that billing period regardless of how much of the period you use.

1.2 What "Billing Period Has Begun" Means

Your billing period begins the moment your payment is successfully processed. It does not begin when you first log in or when you first access content. Payment processing is the trigger. If you pay and immediately decide you no longer want access, the billing period has already begun and no refund is available.

1.3 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings on www.bmessentia.com or by contacting team@bmessentia.net. Cancellation stops future billing. It does not trigger a refund for the current billing period. You retain full access until the end of the period you have paid for. After that your access stops and your subscription does not renew. If your plan includes Medical City, Medical City stops working at the end of the paid period; your progress is kept and resumes if you subscribe again with the same account.

1.4 EU and UK Users: 14-Day Cooling-Off Period

Under EU Directive 2011/83/EU (as amended by Directive (EU) 2019/2161) and the UK Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, consumers in the European Union and the United Kingdom have a 14-day right to withdraw from contracts concluded online. For digital content that is not supplied on a tangible medium, such as access to BMEssentia content and the Medical City download, this right is lost once supply has begun with the consumer's prior express consent and acknowledgement that the right is lost, and BMEssentia has confirmed that consent on a durable medium. BMEssentia supplies all paid access as digital content supplied immediately: subscriptions to BMEssentia, BMEssentia Premium and Medical City only, the one-time Medical City licence and the Update Pass. Because the 7-day free trial needs no payment card, every customer can try BMEssentia fully before paying.

BMEssentia therefore asks every EU and UK consumer to confirm one of the following at checkout, before payment is processed. The wording shown depends on what you are buying:

If an EU or UK consumer pays but does not access any content (or, for the one-time licence, does not start the download or activation; for the Update Pass, does not download a covered update) within the 14-day period, they retain the right to withdraw and receive a full refund by sending written notice of withdrawal to team@bmessentia.net with the subject line "Withdrawal Notice" within those 14 days. The 14 days run from the day the paid contract is concluded; if you start with a free trial, they run from the day you choose a paid plan, not from the start of the trial. BMEssentia will refund valid withdrawals within 14 days of receiving the notice, using the original payment method. After 14 days, or once access, download or activation has begun (whichever is earlier), the withdrawal right is extinguished.

1.5 Platform Outage Credit

If BMEssentia experiences a verified platform outage that prevents access to the platform for more than 72 consecutive hours due to a technical failure on BMEssentia's side, not caused by your device, your internet connection, or a third-party service outside BMEssentia's control, BMEssentia will apply a pro-rated credit to your next billing cycle equivalent to the proportion of your billing period during which access was unavailable.

This credit is applied automatically where BMEssentia confirms the outage. It is a credit against future billing and is not a cash refund. If you do not have a future billing cycle because you have cancelled, the credit is forfeited. To request a credit for a platform outage contact team@bmessentia.net with the dates and times during which you were unable to access the platform.

1.6 What Is Not Refundable

No refund is available for any of the following:

• Dissatisfaction with the content, teaching style, or platform features
• Failure to use the platform during a paid billing period
• Changing your mind after payment is processed
• Content being updated, changed, or removed from the platform
• Account suspension or termination resulting from a violation of the Terms and Conditions or Acceptable Use Policy
• Technical issues caused by your own device, browser, internet connection, or software
• Failure to cancel before an auto-renewal date

1.7 Free Trial

The 7-day free trial requires no payment card and is never charged, so there is nothing to refund. If you choose a paid plan during or after the trial, the rules in this Section apply to that paid plan from the day you pay.

1.8 Medical City One-Time Licence and Instalments

The one-time Medical City licence ($599, or 3 monthly payments of $209) is non-refundable once the licence has been delivered, meaning once the download or activation of Medical City has begun, except under Section 1.4 and Section 8. If BMEssentia refunds a licence payment in full (for example a duplicate charge, or where the law requires it), the licence is withdrawn and Medical City stops working on that licence. With the instalment plan, the three payments together are the price of one licence: stopping payment does not cancel the purchase, an unpaid instalment may lead to the licence being suspended until it is paid, and instalments already paid are not refunded because later instalments are not paid.

1.9 Update Pass

The Update Pass ($99 per year) renews yearly until you cancel it. You can cancel at any time; cancellation stops the next renewal and does not refund the current year, except under Section 1.4 and Section 8. Without an active Update Pass your Medical City licence keeps working on the latest version you were entitled to.

1.10 Upgrades and Plan Changes

When you upgrade (for example from monthly to annual billing, or from BMEssentia to BMEssentia Premium), the unused value of your current billing period is credited toward the new plan. This credit is not a cash refund and cannot be paid out.

SECTION 2: TUTORING COHORT ENROLLMENTS

Tutoring cohort enrollments are governed by different refund rules because they involve a third party, the tutor, and a structured 30-day cohort with fixed sessions. The rules below apply to students enrolling in tutoring cohorts.

2.1 No Refund Once a Cohort Has Begun

Once a tutoring cohort has started: meaning Day 1 has passed and the cohort is running, no refund is available to an enrolled student for any reason other than tutor cancellation as described in Section 2.3. This applies to both full cohort enrollments and mid-cycle enrollments.

2.2 Minimum Enrollment Not Reached: Full Refund

Every tutoring cohort requires a minimum of 3 enrolled students to launch. If the upcoming cohort has fewer than 3 students enrolled by Day 28 of the current cohort cycle and the tutor elects to cancel rather than delay, BMEssentia will issue a full refund to all students enrolled in the upcoming cohort within 5 business days of the cancellation decision. No action is required from the student to receive this refund.

2.3 Tutor Cancels Mid-Cohort: Pro-Rated Refund

If a tutor cancels a cohort after it has begun: meaning at least one session has been delivered, BMEssentia will issue a pro-rated refund to all enrolled students for the sessions that have not yet been delivered. The refund is calculated as follows:

Pro-rated refunds are processed by BMEssentia within 5 business days of the cohort cancellation being confirmed. The tutor is responsible for the refund amount which is recovered from any pending earnings owed to the tutor by BMEssentia.

2.4 BMEssentia Suspends a Tutor Mid-Cohort

If BMEssentia suspends or removes a tutor during an active cohort, enrolled students will be offered either a replacement tutor to complete the remaining sessions or a full pro-rated refund for the remaining sessions. Students will be contacted by BMEssentia within 2 hours of the suspension and given the choice. BMEssentia processes the chosen outcome within 5 business days.

2.5 What Is Not Refundable for Tutoring

• Dissatisfaction with the tutor's teaching style where all sessions were delivered as scheduled
• Missing sessions as a student: no refund is available because you did not attend
• Cohort delay under the Day 28 minimum enrollment rule where the tutor elects to delay rather than cancel
• Mid-cycle enrollment fees once the student has joined a running cohort

SECTION 3: INSTITUTIONAL LICENSES

3.1 No Refund After Activation

All institutional license payments are non-refundable once the license is activated. Activation occurs when BMEssentia configures the institutional environment and provisions the licensed seats following payment confirmation. From that point the full contract value is earned regardless of how many seats are used or how much of the contract period remains at any given time.

3.2 BMEssentia Terminates Without Cause

If BMEssentia terminates an institutional license without cause, meaning for reasons unrelated to any breach by the institution, BMEssentia will issue a pro-rated refund for the unused portion of the paid contract period. The refund is calculated based on the number of full days remaining in the contract period from the termination date. BMEssentia will process this refund within 14 days of the termination date.

3.3 Institution Terminates Early

If the institution chooses to terminate the license before the contract end date for any reason other than a material breach by BMEssentia, no refund is available for the remaining contract period. Early termination by the institution does not trigger a refund obligation.

3.4 Termination for Cause

If BMEssentia terminates an institutional license for cause: meaning due to a material breach by the institution such as seat sharing, unauthorized redistribution, or failure to pay, no refund is issued for any portion of the contract period. The full contract value is forfeited.

3.5 Non-Renewal

An institution that chooses not to renew its license at the end of the contract period is not entitled to any refund. The license simply expires at the contract end date and all access ceases.

SECTION 4: FOUNDING MEMBERS

Founding members receive complimentary platform access under the BMEssentia Founding Members Program. No payment is made by founding members for their access period. As no payment is made, no refund is applicable under any circumstance. If a founding member's complimentary access is revoked due to a violation of the Terms and Conditions or Acceptable Use Policy, no compensation is owed.

SECTION 5: CHARGEBACKS AND PAYMENT DISPUTES

A chargeback is when you ask your bank or card provider to reverse a payment you made to BMEssentia. BMEssentia takes chargebacks seriously and treats fraudulent chargebacks as a material breach of the Terms and Conditions.

If you file a chargeback that BMEssentia determines to be fraudulent or unjustified, the following will occur:

• Your account will be terminated immediately and permanently
• All platform access will be revoked without notice
• BMEssentia will contest the chargeback with your bank and provide all relevant evidence including your account activity, content accessed, and acceptance of this Refund Policy
• The amount owed plus all associated chargeback fees will be pursued through collection and legal action where necessary
• You will be permanently banned from creating a new BMEssentia account

BMEssentia maintains detailed records of all user activity, content accessed, and policy acceptances for the purpose of contesting fraudulent chargebacks. These records are provided to payment processors and card networks as evidence in chargeback disputes.

SECTION 6: HOW TO REQUEST A REFUND

If you believe you are entitled to a refund under this policy, contact BMEssentia as follows:

Individual subscribers

Email team@bmessentia.net with the subject line "Refund Request." Include your full name, the email address registered to your account, your subscription plan, the date of the payment in question, and the reason for your request. BMEssentia will acknowledge your request within 48 business hours and respond with a decision within 5 business days.

EU and UK users exercising 14-day withdrawal right

Email team@bmessentia.net with the subject line "Withdrawal Notice" within 14 days of your purchase date and before accessing any platform content. Include your full name, registered email address, and the date of purchase. BMEssentia will confirm receipt within 48 hours and process the refund within 14 days of your withdrawal notice.

Tutoring cohort refunds

Tutoring cohort refunds are processed automatically by BMEssentia where applicable, you do not need to request them. If you believe you are entitled to a tutoring refund that has not been processed, contact specialistnetworksupport@bmessentia.com with your cohort details and the reason for your request.

Institutional license refunds

Institutional refund requests must be submitted in writing by the designated administrator to institutionalsupport@bmessentia.com with the subject line "Refund Request." Include the institution name, contract reference number, and the reason for the request. BMEssentia will respond within 5 business days.

SECTION 7: REFUND SUMMARY

Use this table as a quick reference. For the full rules applicable to your situation refer to the relevant section above.

SECTION 8: CONSUMER RIGHTS

This Refund Policy does not limit any statutory rights you have under the consumer protection laws of your jurisdiction. Where applicable law grants you rights that cannot be excluded by contract, those rights are preserved. BMEssentia will always comply with its legal obligations under applicable consumer protection law.

Specifically:

• EU users retain rights under EU Directive 2011/83/EU on Consumer Rights subject to the digital content waiver described in Section 1.4
• UK users retain rights under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 and Consumer Rights Act 2015 subject to the digital content waiver described in Section 1.4
• UAE users retain rights under UAE Federal Law No. 15 of 2020 on Consumer Protection
• Users in other jurisdictions retain any rights granted to them under applicable local consumer protection law

If you are unsure whether you have a right to a refund under the law of your jurisdiction, contact team@bmessentia.net and BMEssentia will assess your request in good faith.

SECTION 9: CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

BMEssentia may update this Refund Policy at any time. Material changes will be communicated by email to your registered address and by notice on the platform before they take effect. Changes to this policy do not affect refund rights for payments already made before the change takes effect.

SECTION 10: CONTACT

• General refund requests: team@bmessentia.net (subject line "Refund Request")
• EU/UK withdrawal notices: team@bmessentia.net
• Tutoring refunds: specialistnetworksupport@bmessentia.com
• Institutional refunds: institutionalsupport@bmessentia.com
• Website: www.bmessentia.com

BMEssentia LLC-FZ, Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Response time: BMEssentia aims to respond to all refund inquiries within 48 business hours.