# Refund Policy

> When a paid vote is refunded, when it is not, and what happens to a mobile money payment that fails or times out.

Last updated: 3 November 2026  
Canonical: https://crownvotes.com/legal/refund-policy

> **Draft — pending legal review.** This document has not yet been reviewed by a lawyer and is not in force.

This policy explains when Crown Votes refunds money paid for votes. It is part
of the [Terms of Use](/legal/terms).

## 1. The short version

| What happened | What you get |
| --- | --- |
| Your votes counted | **No refund.** A paid vote is final once it counts. |
| The payment failed, was declined or timed out | No votes are added, and normally you are not charged. If money did leave your account, see section 3. |
| You were charged twice for one purchase | The extra charge is refunded. |
| You were charged but your votes never counted | A refund. |
| Your vote was held for review | It is reviewed: it either counts, or the payment is refunded. Not automatic. |
| The pageant was cancelled after you bought votes | A refund for those votes. |
| A free vote | No refund: free votes have no monetary value. |

## 2. Paid votes are final once they count

When you buy votes, you get exactly what you paid for the moment the payment
is confirmed: the votes count for the contestant you chose. For that reason,
**we do not refund votes that have counted**, including when:

- you changed your mind, or meant to vote for a different contestant;
- your contestant did not win, or was eliminated;
- the organizer applied the pageant's own rules to decide the result.

Counted votes cannot be moved to another contestant or another pageant.

## 3. Failed and timed-out payments

A payment is only taken when you approve it on your phone and your mobile
money operator confirms it.

- If the payment **fails, is declined or times out**, no votes are added, and
  a failed payment should not charge you.
- If money left your account but the payment failed, contact us with the
  transaction reference and we will check it with the operator.
- If a payment is still being confirmed, wait for the result before trying
  again. Paying a second time while the first is pending is the most common
  cause of a double charge.

## 4. When we refund

We refund the amount charged when:

- **You were charged twice** for one intended purchase.
- **You were charged but the votes never counted**, for example because of a
  fault on our side.
- **We decide to refund a held vote.** Votes that fail a fraud check are held
  and reviewed. After review, a held vote is either counted as normal, or we
  refund the payment to the number that paid. This is a decision made on
  review, not an automatic step, and a held vote that is counted is not
  refunded. A vote is never both counted and refunded.
- **The pageant was cancelled** after you bought votes for it.

## 5. How to ask for a refund

Write to support@crownvotes.com with:

- the mobile money number you paid with;
- the date, time and amount of the payment;
- the transaction reference from your mobile money confirmation message;
- the pageant and contestant you voted for.

We check every request against the payment records before approving it.
Refunds are reviewed by our team before they are sent.

## 6. How refunds are paid

Refunds are paid by mobile money **to the number that was charged**, never to
a different number, unless you show us that the original number has changed
hands (for example after a SIM replacement). We refund the amount you paid;
we never refund more than was charged for the votes concerned.

## 7. Free votes

Free votes are not purchased and have no monetary value. They cannot be
refunded, exchanged or converted into paid votes or cash.

## 8. Your other rights

This policy does not take away any right you have under Ugandan law. If you
are unhappy with how we handled a refund request, write to
legal@crownvotes.com.