1. NATURE OF THIS POLICY AND ACCEPTANCE

This Payment & Refund Policy governs, in a separate, complementary, and binding manner, all matters related to fees, prepayments, reservations, no-shows, cancellations, rescheduling, credits, payment disputes, chargebacks, claims related to prepaid services, and any other financial event associated with services offered by Wellness Medical Clinic and Intellimed Nutritional Systems, LLC. This policy shall be interpreted together with the Terms and Conditions, the HIPAA-level Privacy Policy / Notice of Privacy Practices, the Telehealth Consent, the WhatsApp / Messaging Consent, and any other applicable legal document.

By booking an appointment, completing a payment form, entering a payment method, authorizing a charge, selecting an appointment via Calendly, using Stripe, confirming a reservation, or proceeding through any payment or scheduling flow related to the Clinic, THE PATIENT acknowledges having read, understood, and accepted this policy in its entirety. If THE PATIENT does not agree with any of its provisions, they must refrain from completing the reservation or making payment. Use of the booking system and authorization of the charge shall constitute express, informed, voluntary, and legally binding acceptance of this policy.

2. MANDATORY PREPAYMENT AS A CONDITION OF RESERVATION

All appointments, whether in-person, remote, telehealth, initial evaluation, follow-up, clinical orientation, review, coordination, or any other service designated by the Clinic as reservable, require mandatory prepayment as an essential condition for confirming the reservation. The Clinic is not obligated to reserve time, block schedule availability, retain clinical capacity, or allocate professional or administrative resources without prior payment that has been successfully processed and verified.

THE PATIENT acknowledges and agrees that prepayment does not merely represent an “intent” to pay, but rather constitutes immediate consideration for the exclusive allocation of limited clinical time, administrative resources, scheduling coordination, preparation, and the opportunity cost associated with preventing that time slot from being offered to other patients. Accordingly, prepayment is deemed an essential part of the reservation contract and shall be treated in accordance with the strict no-refund policy set forth herein, except where a mandatory, non-waivable law expressly requires otherwise. While the CFPB recognizes certain consumer dispute rights in specific card-payment contexts, this policy is drafted strongly without attempting to waive any non-waivable legal rights.

3. STRICT NO-REFUND POLICY

The Clinic operates under a strict no-refund policy for all prepaid appointments, reservations, evaluations, follow-ups, coordination, blocked clinical time, remote or in-person consultations, administrative charges associated with reservations, and any other service paid in advance. As a general rule, refunds will not be issued for prepaid appointments, regardless of whether the cancellation occurs before or after 48 hours, and this applies to voluntary cancellations, no-shows, inability to attend, preference changes, scheduling conflicts, booking errors by the patient, or any other reason attributable or not attributable to the patient, except only where a mandatory and non-waivable legal rule requires otherwise.

THE PATIENT acknowledges, understands, and certifies that they had a reasonable opportunity to review the Clinic’s policies, including this policy, prior to payment, and that their decision to prepay constitutes express acceptance of the final, non-cancelable, and non-refundable nature of the charge. THE PATIENT further agrees that subjective dissatisfaction, change of mind, unmet expectations, desire to postpone, personal unavailability, calendar errors, transportation issues, preference for another date or modality, or any similar circumstance shall not give rise to any right to a refund. This policy is adopted to protect clinical capacity, prevent losses due to unused scheduling, and discourage opportunistic or bad-faith behavior.

4. CANCELLATIONS: NO REFUNDS AND NO AUTOMATIC RESCHEDULING

All cancellations of prepaid appointments, regardless of timing, shall be governed by the following express general rule: cancellations shall not receive refunds nor automatic rescheduling of the canceled appointment. Cancellation extinguishes the originally reserved time slot but does not obligate the Clinic to return funds, transfer the charge to another date, or maintain any open credit in favor of the patient.

If THE PATIENT wishes to book a new appointment after canceling a prior one, they must prepay again at the time of the new reservation. The Clinic is not obligated to apply prior payments toward a new booking, nor to recognize any “credit,” “balance,” “hold,” “voucher,” or “rebooking promise,” unless the Clinic, at its sole discretion and as an exceptional courtesy, documents such decision in writing without creating any precedent. The governing rule remains: cancellation = no refund; new appointment = new prepayment.

5. CANCELLATIONS BEFORE OR AFTER 48 HOURS

To eliminate any ambiguity, the Clinic’s policy is as follows: no refunds shall be provided for appointments canceled either before or after 48 hours. The reference to 48 hours may be used operationally for internal scheduling or administrative courtesy purposes, but it does not create any automatic right to a refund, credit, or transfer of payment to another date.

Accordingly, even if THE PATIENT provides notice more than 48 hours in advance, the payment remains final and non-refundable. If the Clinic allows any administrative accommodation, such action shall be discretionary and shall not create any future obligation or general modification of this policy. The reference to 48 hours must not be interpreted as a general refund exception, but rather as an internal parameter that does not alter the overarching rule of non-refundability.

6. NO-SHOW POLICY

A no-show shall be considered any situation in which THE PATIENT does not appear for the scheduled appointment, does not connect in a timely manner to the remote session, arrives late to the extent that care becomes impracticable, abandons the process without completing the session, fails to respond to reasonable contact attempts at the time of the appointment, or fails to comply with essential prior requirements that prevent the use of the reserved clinical slot. In any of these scenarios, THE PATIENT shall forfeit the full amount paid.

THE PATIENT acknowledges that a no-show generates a real loss of clinical time, availability, administrative resources, and opportunity to provide care to other patients; therefore, the full retention of the prepayment in such cases constitutes a commercially reasonable measure and not an improper penalty. A no-show shall not entitle the patient to a refund, free rescheduling, or partial or full credit. Any subsequent reservation shall require a new prepayment and shall be subject to availability and to the reasonable discretion of the Clinic.

7. RESCHEDULING: ONLY WITH NEW PREPAYMENT

The Clinic does not recognize an automatic right of the patient to reschedule previously booked appointments using the same payment already made. Unless expressly agreed in writing and authorized by the Clinic in a specific case, to reschedule an appointment the patient must prepay again for the next visit. This rule applies to cancellations, no-shows, substantial lateness, patient-side telehealth failures, or any other circumstance that makes it impossible to provide care within the originally reserved slot.

THE PATIENT acknowledges and agrees that rescheduling implies a new allocation of schedule, a new blocking of clinical capacity, and a new administrative organization, which is why the Clinic is not obligated to “move” a previously lost or canceled slot at no cost. If the Clinic, as a courtesy and in exceptional cases, allows rescheduling without a new prepayment or under special conditions, this shall not constitute precedent, waiver of rights, or permanent modification of this policy, and may be revoked for future cases at its sole discretion.

8. PAYMENTS PROCESSED THROUGH STRIPE AND/OR THIRD-PARTY SYSTEMS

Payments for appointments or services may be processed through Stripe, Calendly integrations, gateways, card processors, digital wallets, or other third-party technology providers reasonably used by the Clinic. THE PATIENT acknowledges that the use of such providers does not alter the non-refundable nature of the prepayment nor convert the charge into a provisional, revocable, or unilaterally cancelable transaction solely because it was processed electronically.

The Clinic may retain transaction identifiers, timestamps, IP records, confirmations, authorization logs, booking confirmations, scheduling captures, messages, and other evidence related to payments and reservations for purposes of compliance, audit, fraud prevention, chargeback response, collection, arbitration, litigation, or legal defense. THE PATIENT agrees that such documentation may be used as prima facie evidence of valid authorization, acceptance of this policy, and use of the booking system.

9. MANDATORY PRIOR CONTACT WITH THE CLINIC BEFORE ANY DISPUTE

As a material condition of this policy, THE PATIENT agrees that, before initiating any claim with Stripe, their bank, card issuer, payment network, wallet, or any third party related to the processing of the charge, they must first contact the Clinic through the Contact Us form, identify the specific charge, present their claim in detail, and allow the Clinic a reasonable period to evaluate and respond. Although federal law may grant consumers certain dispute mechanisms with issuers in specific cases, an internal policy requiring prior contact remains valid as a contractual condition and as defensive evidence, provided it is not presented as an absolute elimination of non-waivable legal rights.

THE PATIENT acknowledges that the existence of this policy and this prior procedure does not eliminate any mandatory rights that federal law may grant in specific situations, but it does impose a contractual duty to act in good faith and not to promote premature, false, incomplete, or malicious disputes. Failure to comply with this prior contact requirement may be invoked by the Clinic as a contractual breach, bad faith, improper interference with the commercial relationship, or evidence of reckless conduct in any subsequent proceeding.

10. ANTI-CHARGEBACK POLICY

THE PATIENT acknowledges, understands, and agrees that they shall not initiate, promote, authorize, or permit chargebacks, payment reversals, retrieval requests, refund disputes, or claims of unauthorized transactions with respect to charges that were validly authorized and subject to this policy, except solely to the extent that applicable law provides a specific remedy that cannot be lawfully waived. The FTC has pursued deceptive practices intended to improperly prevent chargebacks, which confirms that the strongest and safest approach is to combat false or abusive chargebacks, not to attempt to eliminate non-waivable legal rights.

THE PATIENT further agrees that they will not falsely claim “fraud,” “unauthorized charge,” “service not received,” or “merchant misconduct” when they have voluntarily booked, authorized the payment method, received confirmation, blocked schedule availability, or activated the service process. Disagreement with the no-refund policy, voluntary cancellation, no-show, subjective dissatisfaction, or a desire to recover money do not constitute a legitimate basis for a claim of bank fraud. Any dispute submitted in a false, misleading, or materially incomplete manner may give rise to contractual and legal remedies in favor of the Clinic.

11. CONSEQUENCES OF IMPROPER DISPUTES OR FRAUDULENT CHARGEBACKS

If THE PATIENT initiates an improper chargeback or dispute in violation of this policy, the Clinic may suspend or cancel future appointments, deny new reservations, block access to systems, refuse administrative services, restrict access to non-essential digital processes, refer the account to collections, and seek recovery of the disputed amount, plus all reasonably incurred costs associated with defending the dispute.

Such costs may include chargeback fees, dispute fees, banking costs, administrative costs, investigation expenses, evidence preparation costs, legally permitted interest, attorneys’ fees, and arbitration or litigation expenses.

THE PATIENT acknowledges that a false or malicious chargeback may cause real economic, operational, and reputational harm to the Clinic, including impacts on its merchant account, dispute ratios, and ability to process payments. Accordingly, the Clinic may pursue damages, attorneys’ fees, injunctive relief, and any other remedies available at law or in equity where it determines that a dispute was fraudulent, reckless, abusive, or inconsistent with the patient’s actual authorization and use of the system.

12. NO REFUNDS FOR SUBJECTIVE DISSATISFACTION OR OUTCOMES

THE PATIENT acknowledges that payments made to the Clinic for reserved appointments and clinical time are not refundable merely because the patient changes their mind, feels dissatisfied with the modality, prefers a different schedule, fails to complete the appointment, disagrees with a policy, does not achieve personal expectations, or subjectively believes the service did not meet their aspirations.

Subjective expectations, personal impressions, or perceived lack of results do not alter the economic nature of the reservation nor convert a final payment into a refundable one.

No refunds shall be issued based on claims related to “expected outcomes” of treatment, weight management, metabolic health, follow-up, eligibility, or telehealth services. The Clinic does not guarantee specific results, and any discrepancy between subjective expectations and clinical or administrative reality does not render a valid prepayment recoverable.

All such claims remain subject to the Terms and Conditions, including provisions regarding no guarantee of results, limitation of liability, and applicable dispute mechanisms.

13. PATIENT ERRORS IN BOOKING OR PAYMENT

THE PATIENT is solely responsible for carefully reviewing the date, time, service type, modality, contact information, email address, phone number, time zone (if applicable), and all other information entered prior to completing a reservation or authorizing payment.

Errors made by the patient, including selecting the wrong service, booking the wrong time, entering incorrect information, or choosing an unintended modality, shall not obligate the Clinic to issue any refund, credit, or correction without charge.

The Clinic may, at its sole discretion, assist administratively in correcting certain material errors where operationally feasible and where such correction does not adversely affect scheduling or contractual positioning. However, such assistance does not create any general obligation or precedent. The governing rule remains that the patient assumes the risk of errors made during booking or payment, and any adjustment shall be subject exclusively to the Clinic’s discretion.

14. TECHNICAL FAILURES, FORCE MAJEURE, OR CLINIC-ATTRIBUTABLE ERRORS

If an appointment cannot be conducted solely due to a material failure attributable to the Clinic, a technical issue within its reasonable control, or any circumstance that makes performance of the reserved time impossible for reasons not attributable to the patient, the Clinic may, at its sole discretion, reschedule the appointment, issue an internal credit, or provide another commercially reasonable solution.

This discretionary authority shall not be interpreted as a general obligation to issue refunds in all such cases.

In events of force majeure, including but not limited to third-party failures, power outages, internet disruptions, platform outages, governmental actions, natural disasters, emergencies, or any circumstance beyond the Clinic’s reasonable control, the Clinic may respond by rescheduling, temporarily suspending services, or implementing any other prudent measure it deems appropriate, without giving rise to a refund obligation.

15. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

To the maximum extent permitted by the laws of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico and applicable federal law, any claim related to payments, non-refunds, no-shows, cancellations, rescheduling, booking errors, Stripe, payment processors, chargebacks, retrieval requests, card disputes, or enforcement of this policy shall also be subject to the limitations of liability established in the Clinic’s Terms and Conditions, including any valid monetary caps and the exclusion of indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages.

THE PATIENT expressly acknowledges that this Payment & Refund Policy constitutes a material allocation of economic risk between the parties and that the Clinic relies on it to manage scheduling, allocate resources, and protect its operations from opportunistic cancellations, no-shows, and improper disputes. Accordingly, THE PATIENT agrees that this policy shall be interpreted broadly, in a commercially reasonable manner, and in favor of its maximum enforceability permitted by law.

16. INDEMNIFICATION AND COLLECTION COSTS

THE PATIENT agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Clinic, Intellimed Nutritional Systems, LLC, and its directors, officers, physicians, employees, contractors, agents, and affiliates from and against any losses, costs, investigations, claims, chargebacks, disputes, administrative expenses, banking costs, attorneys’ fees, and other damages arising from: false payment information; unauthorized use of third-party accounts; fraudulent chargebacks; malicious disputes; booking fraud; provision of incorrect contact information; or any conduct by the patient that exposes the Clinic to unnecessary cost or liability.

This indemnification obligation shall survive cancellation of the appointment, termination of the relationship, closure of the patient file, or expiration of the reserved session. The Clinic may seek recovery not only of the disputed principal amount but also all reasonably related costs of defense and recovery, through extrajudicial, arbitral, or judicial means as permitted by applicable governing documents.

17. EXPRESS ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND ACCEPTANCE BY THE PATIENT

By making a prepayment, booking an appointment, using Stripe, authorizing a charge, or proceeding through any payment or scheduling flow with Wellness Medical Clinic, THE PATIENT expressly acknowledges, understands, and agrees that:
(1) prepayment is mandatory;
(2) all prepaid appointments are generally non-refundable;
(3) a no-show results in total forfeiture of the amount paid;
(4) cancellations do not entitle the patient to a refund or automatic rescheduling; and
(5) any new appointment after cancellation or loss of the reserved slot requires new prepayment.

THE PATIENT further agrees not to request refunds as though a general contractual right to reimbursement exists, and not to initiate false disputes, improper chargebacks, or misleading claims of fraud regarding charges they voluntarily authorized. Continuation of the payment or booking process constitutes express, informed, and binding acceptance of this policy.

18. UPDATES, INTERPRETATION, AND SURVIVAL

The Clinic may update this policy to reflect operational, technological, regulatory, payment processor, scheduling, or commercial defense changes, and the version in effect at the time of the relevant booking shall govern, unless applicable law requires otherwise. The Clinic may also integrate this policy into checkboxes, consent mechanisms, booking interfaces, Stripe messaging, email confirmations, or automated communications to reinforce evidence of acceptance.

Provisions related to non-refundability, anti-chargeback enforcement, collection costs, indemnification, limitation of liability, evidence preservation, commercially reasonable interpretation, and other compatible protections shall survive cancellation of the appointment, expiration of the reserved time, completion of the payment process, or termination of the relationship between the parties, to the maximum extent permitted by law.