This policy applies to counselling provided by Chris Brotherton t/a Men’s Therapy UK, a sole trader practice based in Southport, Merseyside. Appointments are reserved specifically for you, so it explains what happens when plans change - and what you get back if they do. Nothing here limits your statutory rights.
Your personalised working agreement confirms the chosen format, timetable and payment arrangements before you sign. There are no automatic renewals.
Session credits
Payment secures the times we agree
We agree dates and times first, verbally or in writing. Payment is made in advance by bank transfer, and cleared payment is what secures those appointments. Payments are not taken through the website and nothing is set up to recur. Until payment is received I may not be able to hold a proposed appointment.
Each paid appointment becomes one credit
One credit pays for one conversation of the duration you booked. Credits are personal to you and cannot be transferred or sold.
You can book one conversation at a time or choose a plan paid in advance. Your working agreement records the number of conversations, their length and the agreed arrangements. The refund section below explains what happens if you stop.
Your booking period
PAYG credits are available for 6 months from the first conversation covered by that payment. The 30-day plan is scheduled within 30 days of the first full conversation. Intensive and maintenance appointments follow the dates agreed in your working agreement. I confirm the dates in writing. Where practical I will also remind you before the end of that period.
Each PAYG payment runs its own 6 months. If you book more sessions later, that payment starts its own period from the first session it covers - it does not inherit a clock that started before you decided to continue.
If illness, disability, bereavement, my own unavailability or another significant circumstance prevents reasonable use, contact me before the date where possible and I will consider a fair extension. The end of the booking period does not remove your statutory rights, and it does not automatically turn payment for a session you never had into my income - unused payment is handled under the refunds below.
Pausing
Pauses can be agreed with at least 48 hours’ notice. We discuss any change to the agreed plan timetable. The PAYG credit period continues during a pause.
Moving or cancelling a session
With at least 48 hours’ notice
Your credit stays available and we agree another time within the applicable booking period. You may ask for a refund of that credit instead.
With less than 48 hours’ notice, or if you do not attend
The appointment may use one credit, because the time was reserved for you and may not reasonably be filled at short notice. If I do fill it with another client, I will restore the credit or refund its value, so that I am not paid twice for the same hour. Emergencies and exceptional circumstances are considered fairly.
If I cancel
You are not charged. The credit stays available and I will offer another appointment. If no suitable alternative can be agreed, you may ask for a refund of that credit.
Stopping, and what you get back
You may stop at any time and you do not have to give a reason. There is no administration fee. How the refund is worked out depends on how you paid, so the two are set out separately below. Whichever applies, your statutory rights are additional to all of this - see your 14-day cancellation right.
Unused appointments
For conversations booked individually, I refund unused appointments at the amount paid for them. Completed conversations and appointments properly chargeable under the cancellation terms are excluded.
Prepaid plans
The working agreement explains the deductions for completed conversations and properly chargeable appointments before you sign and pay. I refund the remaining balance. Stopping early cannot create an additional debt, and any recalculation is capped at the payment already received. For maintenance, unused conversations are refunded at the amount paid for each conversation in that booking.
Your statutory cancellation rights apply in addition to these terms. Where the statutory calculation and the agreed early-stop calculation differ, you receive whichever outcome is more favourable to you.
I confirm the calculation in writing and return any refund by bank transfer without undue delay. I may need to verify the destination account first. If I end the work for a professional, health or practical reason, I will refund unused credit and consider referral or transition arrangements.
Your 14-day cancellation right
Where we make this agreement online, by telephone or away from my business premises, consumer law will usually give you 14 days to cancel without giving a reason. Nothing in the sections above removes this right.
If you cancel before any work starts, I refund the payment in full.
If you expressly ask me to start during the 14-day period and then cancel, I may charge for what has already been supplied. That amount is worked out in proportion to what you have actually received, measured against the full price agreed for the service. It is not necessarily the same as the early-stop calculation set out above, and where the two differ you get whichever leaves you better off. I will set out the figure and how I reached it in writing. Refunds are made no later than 14 days after I receive your notice.
To cancel, email chris@menstherapy.uk. I will acknowledge it in writing.
General terms
- Payment is by bank transfer in advance. Payments are not taken through the website and nothing recurs.
- Sessions begin once the relevant payment has cleared.
- Repeated cancellations or missed appointments may lead us to review whether therapy should pause or end. That is never a reason to withhold a refund otherwise due.
- Invoices are available on request.
- Bank transfer details are provided on your invoice or by email on request.
Questions
To move or cancel a session, email chris@menstherapy.uk. For questions about the policy itself, email chris@menstherapy.uk.
By engaging in counselling with Men’s Therapy UK, you acknowledge that this policy has been provided and that you accept these terms. Nothing in it limits your statutory rights.