Cancellation & Refund Policy

1.1. Users pay nothing to TrueHostel

• Searching, browsing and contacting Property Owners is free.
• TrueHostel charges Users no booking fee, convenience fee or registration charge.
• Because Users pay us nothing, there is nothing for us to refund to a User.

Rent, deposits, meal charges and any other amounts are paid directly to the Property Owner. Any refund of those amounts is a matter between the User and the Property Owner.

2.2. Property Owner payments are non-refundable

Subscription fees, renewal fees and Featured listing fees, together with the GST and platform fee charged on them, are non-refundable.

By completing a payment you accept that no refund will be made, including where:

• you change your mind after paying;
• you do not use, or stop using, the Platform during the paid period;
• you delist, sell or close your property before the period ends;
• you receive fewer enquiries or bookings than you expected;
• you buy a plan while your free trial is still running;
• your account or Listing is suspended or removed for breach of the Terms and Conditions;
• the Platform is temporarily unavailable or affected by a technical issue.

No partial or pro-rated refund is made for any unused part of a paid period. Unused time is not carried forward, except that if you buy a new plan while an existing one is still active, the new months are added to the existing end date.

Before you pay, use the 1-month free trial to decide whether the Platform suits you.

3.3. Failed or duplicate transactions

This policy covers payments for a service we provided. It does not let us keep money taken by mistake. If your account was debited but the payment failed, or you were charged twice for the same purchase, the extra amount is reversed to your original payment method. This is a correction of a payment error, not a refund.

• Most such debits are reversed automatically by your bank or the payment gateway within 5 to 7 working days.
• If it has not reached you by then, write to [email protected] with the date, amount and transaction ID, and we will trace it with the payment aggregator.
• Reversals are made to the original payment method only, in Indian Rupees.

4.4. Subscription plans and prices

Hostel Partners begin with a free trial of 1 month. After that, each property needs its own paid subscription:

Prices are exclusive of GST and a 3% platform fee, both added at checkout. The optional Featured listing costs ₹500 a month. All of these are non-refundable, as set out in section 2.

GST is charged on subscription fees at 18%. A tax invoice is issued to the GSTIN on file; input tax credit depends on your own registration status.

5.5. Arrangements between Users and Property Owners

TrueHostel is only a listing directory. We do not:

• handle any payment from Users;
• hold booking deposits or security money;
• process refunds of rent, deposits or other charges;
• resolve payment disputes between Users and Property Owners.

Cancellations of a stay, and any refund of rent or deposit, are agreed directly between the User and the Property Owner.

6.6. Disputed and fraudulent transactions

Because Users never pay TrueHostel, anyone asking you to pay us to confirm or hold a booking is not acting for us. Do not pay, and report it to [email protected].

If you believe a subscription payment was taken from you fraudulently, report it to us and to your bank immediately. Under Reserve Bank of India directions on customer liability in unauthorised electronic banking transactions, prompt reporting to your bank significantly limits your liability, so do not delay that step.

We will cooperate with your bank and the payment aggregator in any chargeback investigation. Where a chargeback is raised for a period that was actually provided, we may contest it and may suspend the related Listings pending resolution.

7.7. If you are not satisfied

Complaints about payments go first to [email protected]. If your complaint is not resolved, escalate it to our Grievance Officer at [email protected].

Consumer complaints are acknowledged within 48 hours and redressed within one month of receipt, as required by Rule 4(5) of the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020. Complaints about content or platform conduct are acknowledged within 24 hours and disposed of within 15 days under Rule 3(2)(a) of the IT Intermediary Guidelines, 2021.

Full contact details for the Grievance Officer are in the Terms and Conditions. You may also approach the appropriate Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, or the National Consumer Helpline, at any time.