1. Who is responsible for a sale
The participating merchant is the seller and merchant of record for the goods or services purchased. TapEP provides the software layer around the merchant payment-request journey and does not become the seller simply because a payment is initiated through TapEP.
2. Cancellations
Cancellation rights depend on the goods or services purchased, the merchant’s own terms and any rights that apply under UK consumer law. A customer who wants to cancel an order or service should contact the participating merchant using the contact details supplied by that merchant.
Participating merchants are expected to present clear cancellation terms appropriate to what they sell and to comply with applicable consumer-protection requirements.
3. Refund requests
Refund requests should normally be made directly to the participating merchant. The merchant is responsible for reviewing the request, deciding the appropriate outcome under its terms and applicable law, and initiating any approved refund through its payment-processing arrangements.
Where a payment was processed through Stripe, an approved refund is expected to be returned through Stripe to the original payment method, subject to Stripe, card-network and bank processing times. TapEP does not hold the customer’s payment and does not manually send customer money between parties.
4. Refund timing
The time for an approved refund to appear can vary depending on the payment method, Stripe, the relevant card network and the customer’s bank. The participating merchant should provide the customer with appropriate confirmation once it has initiated a refund.
5. Partial refunds
A participating merchant may issue a partial refund where appropriate for the underlying sale and permitted by applicable law. The merchant remains responsible for explaining the amount and basis of any partial refund to the customer.
6. Disputes and chargebacks
If a customer does not recognise a payment or believes a payment issue has not been resolved, the customer should first contact the participating merchant where appropriate. Customers may also have rights to raise a dispute with their card issuer or payment provider. The merchant remains responsible for responding to payment disputes and supplying relevant evidence through its Stripe arrangements.
7. TapEP technology fee
The TapEP technology fee is charged to the participating merchant and is separate from the customer’s rights against that merchant. Treatment of TapEP’s merchant technology fee following a refund or dispute is a commercial matter between TapEP and the participating merchant and does not reduce any refund amount that the customer is legally or contractually entitled to receive from the merchant.
8. Merchant policy requirements
Before a participating merchant can use production payment functionality, TapEP intends to require the merchant to provide accurate business information and maintain customer-facing terms appropriate to its products or services, including delivery or fulfilment information and refund or cancellation terms where relevant.
9. Contacting TapEP
If a customer has difficulty identifying the participating merchant connected with a TapEP payment journey, they can contact support@tapep.co.uk. TapEP may help identify the relevant merchant or payment reference, but the merchant remains responsible for the underlying sale and refund decision.