Can chargebacks be considered valid on a non-tangible product - such as psychological sessions?

A business that provides emotional and psychological support and charges per hour - what is the legal ground for a chargeback if the product is not only intangible but also does not and can not guarantee a relief? We have a pretty elaborate disclaimer - but still - i'd like to know, since we're dealing with people on various ranges of emotional duress - is there any serious claim for a chargeback? Tnx !!!

I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not going to address the "legal ground for a chargeback" that you were looking for. Perhaps somebody else around here is a lawyer, or perhaps has dealt with a similar enough field that they can comment about that.

Keep in mind that for what I say, I'm coming from a software and digital goods world. Perhaps my experience doesn't directly apply to your situation.

Now that I've got two disclaimers out of the way, let me say what I want to say. :D

If a customer feels like they want their money back, I'd just give it to them. In nearly every case that I've seen, even if a person is dissatisfied with a product or service, they won't usually ask for their money back. They usually chalk it up to a lesson learned and move on.

If somebody is asking for their money back, they must have been really dissatisfied with what they got. Don't take it too personally. Some people get overexcited about things. Others just like stirring up trouble.

Of course, this ought to come with some limitations. For starters, I wouldn't take them back as a customer again, after you refunded their money. If they pass on it, they pass on it forever.

Second, if this has been a recurring thing over months (weekly sessions or something) I'd consider giving them their money back for the last session, or with a 30 day limitation or something. That way you protect yourself from somebody demanding so much money back that it puts you out of business. For me personally, I don't count the money as mine to spend until that limit is reached.

The reality is, responding to an upset customer with their money back tends to defuse the situation. If you don't, they'll likely go on to complain to everybody they know, and may try to destroy your reputation online as well. If you give them their money back, they'll probably be done. They might even come away with a positive feeling towards you and what you're doing.

If you do this and you're systematically getting lots of people asking for their money back, you'd obviously have to take a look at what you might be doing wrong.

In most situations, chargebacks should be pretty rare. The (non-tangible) value you get from leaving your (former) customers as happy as possible is worth the financial setback. Just make sure you set some limitations on how far back it can go and then move on to find other customers.