This Refund Policy applies to every publication support package, service and add-on purchased from Scholars Publication. It forms part of our Terms & Conditions, and by placing an order you accept both. Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights as a consumer under UK law.
1. Our commitment
We are paid to do work — editing, formatting, journal selection, submission and correspondence — not to sell an outcome we cannot control. Our position on refunds follows from that: if we have not done the work, you get your money back. If we have done the work, the fee covers it. Where an outcome falls short because of something we got wrong, we fix it at our cost.
2. What this policy covers
This policy covers fees paid directly to Scholars Publication, including the Stellar Pack, the Stellar Plus Pack, individual services and any add-ons. It does not cover money you pay directly to a journal, publisher or third party — see section 8.
Consultations, quotations and journal shortlists are provided free of charge before you pay anything, so you can decide whether to proceed with full information.
3. Full refunds
You are entitled to a 100% refund of the fees you paid us if any of the following applies:
- You cancel within 14 days of payment and before we have started work on your project.
- We have not assigned a consultant or begun work within 14 days of payment, and you no longer wish to continue.
- We cancel or cannot deliver the service for a reason on our side — for example, we cannot source a suitable specialist in your discipline.
- You were charged in error, or charged twice, for the same service.
- We fail to deliver an agreed milestone more than 30 days past the agreed date, for reasons within our control, and you choose to cancel rather than accept a revised schedule.
Where you cancel within 14 days but work has already begun at your request, we will refund the fee less the value of the work already delivered, as set out in section 4.
4. Partial refunds
Once work has started, refunds are calculated against the stage the project has reached. As a guide:
| Stage reached when you cancel | Refund of fees paid to us |
|---|---|
| Paid, consultant not yet assigned, no work started | 100% |
| Consultant assigned, journal shortlist delivered, editing not started | 75% |
| Editing, formatting or manuscript preparation in progress | 50% |
| Edited manuscript delivered to you, not yet submitted | 25% |
| Manuscript submitted to a journal on your instruction | No refund — see section 5 |
These percentages are our standard basis of assessment. If the actual work completed is materially less than the stage suggests, we will refund more. We will always send you a written breakdown of how a partial refund was calculated.
5. When a refund is not available
Refunds are not available in the following circumstances:
- The manuscript has been submitted to a journal on your instruction, or has been accepted or published.
- The work has been completed and delivered in line with the agreed scope, and you have changed your mind.
- A journal rejects the manuscript on academic grounds — originality, significance, methodology, scope fit or the outcome of peer review. See section 6 for what we do instead.
- You do not respond to your consultant, or do not supply required files, revisions or approvals, for 60 days or more, and the project lapses.
- You supplied inaccurate information, plagiarised or previously published material, fabricated data, or work you were not entitled to submit.
- You withdrew the manuscript from a journal yourself, or submitted the same manuscript elsewhere at the same time, contrary to publisher policy.
- A delay is caused by the journal, the publisher, peer reviewers, or events outside our reasonable control.
- The service was supplied free of charge, or as a bonus or goodwill credit.
6. If a journal rejects your paper
Rejection is a normal part of academic publishing, and no consultancy can guarantee acceptance. Editorial decisions belong to the journal alone. So instead of a refund, a rejection triggers work that you do not pay for again:
- We review the editor’s and reviewers’ comments with you at no cost.
- We revise and reformat the manuscript to address the feedback, within the scope of your original package.
- We reselect a suitable journal and resubmit at no additional service fee, up to the number of submissions included in your package.
Desk rejections that occur because we submitted to a journal outside the agreed scope, or formatted the paper incorrectly, are our error — those resubmissions are always free and do not count against your package allowance.
7. Our money-back guarantee
Where your package is sold with a money-back guarantee, it means this: if, after every submission attempt included in your package has been exhausted, your manuscript has not been accepted by a suitable indexed journal, you may choose either
- a refund of the service fees you paid us for that package, less any third-party costs already paid on your behalf under section 8; or
- a credit of equal value against another service.
The guarantee applies provided you responded to your consultant’s requests within a reasonable time, approved revisions, did not withdraw the manuscript, and the work you supplied was original and complete. Claims must be made within 60 days of the final rejection.
8. Third-party and journal fees
The following are non-refundable once incurred, because the money has left us and gone to someone else:
- Article processing charges (APCs), open-access fees, submission fees and page or colour charges paid to a journal or publisher.
- Expedited or priority handling fees, where the expedited work has been performed.
- Third-party similarity or plagiarism report fees, translation fees and professional illustration fees already delivered.
- Bank transfer charges, currency conversion losses and payment gateway fees.
We will always tell you before incurring a third-party cost on your behalf, and we will pass on any refund we manage to recover from that third party.
9. Duplicate or incorrect payments
If you are charged twice, charged the wrong amount, or charged for a service you did not order, tell us and we will refund the difference in full. Duplicate payments are refunded within 5 working days of being confirmed, with no deduction.
10. How to request a refund
Send an email to info@scholars-publication.com with the subject line “Refund request”, including:
- your full name and the email address used for the order;
- your invoice or order number and the date of payment;
- the manuscript title or project reference;
- the reason for the request, and any supporting correspondence.
We acknowledge every request within 2 working days and give a written decision within 10 working days. If we decline, we will explain which part of this policy applies and how you can escalate the matter to a senior manager.
11. How long refunds take
Approved refunds are issued within 10 working days of approval, to the original payment method. Bank and card providers usually take a further 5–10 working days to show the money in your account; international bank transfers can take longer. We cannot refund to a different account or card from the one used to pay, except where the original method is closed and you provide proof.
12. Chargebacks and disputes
Please raise any concern with us before contacting your bank. A chargeback filed while a project is in progress or a refund request is under review may result in suspension of work on your manuscript until the dispute is resolved. We will provide the payment provider with full records of the work delivered.
13. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. The version that applies to your order is the one published on the date you paid, and we will keep prior versions available on request. Changes are never applied retrospectively to reduce a refund you were already entitled to.
14. Contact us
- Email: info@scholars-publication.com
- Phone / WhatsApp: +44 7575 822382
- Address: Scholars Publication, London, United Kingdom