The short version. A donation is a voluntary gift, not a purchase. Once received it is final and non-refundable, except for a verified duplicate charge or a system error on our side reported within 7 days. Chargebacks and complaints raised without first contacting us will be contested.
Scope
This policy applies to every contribution to Paws of Hope by any route: this website, a payment gateway (Razorpay), a payment link, UPI ID or QR code, NEFT, RTGS, IMPS or other bank transfer, cheque or demand draft, or any donation link shared on WhatsApp, social media or in a campaign. Donations are received by the registered charitable organisation named in the footer of this website. Donating means you accept this policy.
1. Nature of a donation
A donation supports the charitable work of rescuing, treating, feeding, sterilising, sheltering and rehoming animals. It does not buy goods, services, membership, a subscription or any guaranteed result. A receipt is an acknowledgement, not an invoice, and does not create a right to a refund, reversal or chargeback.
2. No refunds, with narrow exceptions
Subject to applicable law and lawful directions from a competent authority, a completed donation is final, voluntary and irrevocable. We do not refund because you changed your mind, entered the wrong amount, later say the donation was unintended, disagree with how we work or spend, made a UPI or bank transfer yourself, donated after seeing a post, advertisement, QR code or message, or filed a complaint with a bank, gateway or cyber cell without first giving us the transaction details. Funds are committed quickly to treatment, food, medicines and transport and cannot be held aside or reversed on request.
3. Duplicate charge or system error
If you intended one donation but were charged more than once because of a gateway or system fault, and the duplicate shows in gateway or bank records, we will refund the extra amount. Email help@pawsofhope.in within 7 calendar days with your name, the phone or email used, the amounts and dates, the UTR or payment reference, a statement screenshot and a brief explanation. Verified refunds are processed within a reasonable period, subject to gateway and bank timelines. Deliberate separate donations and multiple transfers you initiated yourself are not covered.
4. Direct UPI, QR and bank transfers
We publish payment details so that people can donate. A UPI or bank transfer is initiated and authorised by the sender in their own banking app; we cannot intercept it, warn you, or ask for confirmation before it lands. Money sent to our official payment details is therefore a voluntary donation under this policy and is not refundable because the sender later changes their account of events.
5. Misuse by third parties and false complaints
Occasionally unrelated people misuse a charity's public payment details, persuading others to donate and then to complain. We are not responsible for statements made by anyone outside our team. If you were misled, send us the third party's details (name, number, screenshots, recordings, complaint acknowledgement) and we will cooperate with any lawful bank, gateway or police investigation. A complaint on its own does not entitle anyone to a refund. We will contest false, malicious or bad-faith complaints with transaction logs and consent evidence, may report misuse of complaint mechanisms, and may seek to recover losses, costs and legal expenses they cause.
6. Unauthorised-payment claims
If you believe your card, UPI or bank account was used without your consent, report it to your bank and to the cybercrime authorities immediately. We will supply transaction records, payment page details and correspondence to any lawful enquiry. We cannot ourselves determine whether an OTP or PIN was shared or whether fraud happened outside our systems; any reversal must follow verification by the bank, gateway, police, court or other competent authority. Until then, the amount remains a donation received through an official channel.
7. Chargebacks and disputes
Where a chargeback or dispute follows a voluntary donation, we will respond with this policy, the donation page records, gateway logs, the details you entered, receipt records and evidence that you initiated the payment. We may recover gateway or bank charges, penalties, account-freeze losses and other costs caused by a false or bad-faith dispute.
8. Recurring gifts
A monthly or recurring gift authorises periodic deductions from your chosen payment method. To stop future deductions, email help@pawsofhope.in with your name, phone number and subscription or payment reference. We acknowledge within 48 hours and cancel before the next cycle. Amounts already received stay non-refundable except under section 3.
9. Payment gateways
Online donations run through third-party gateways whose terms apply alongside this policy. A donation completes only after you confirm the amount on the gateway's checkout, which records your informed consent. We are not liable for gateway or bank failures, delays or double debits; report them to the gateway and to us so we can help.
10. Your confirmations
- You donate voluntarily and are authorised to use the payment method.
- You checked the amount before approving the payment.
- You understand the donation is a gift, not a purchase, and is non-refundable except under section 3.
- You understand funds may be used for rescue, treatment, feeding, sterilisation, shelter, staff, compliance and administration.
- You accept our privacy policy.
- You will not file a false or misleading bank, cyber or payment complaint after donating.
11. Use of funds
Donations may be spent on emergency rescue, veterinary care and surgery, medicines and vaccines, feeding, shelter and foster costs, transport and ambulance, sterilisation and vaccination programmes, salaries of field and support staff, and the fundraising, payment, accounting, audit, compliance and technology costs of running the initiative. Unless a restriction is agreed with us in writing, we allocate gifts to the greatest need.
12. Receipts and 80G
A receipt goes to your registered email after a successful donation. Donations may be eligible for deduction under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, subject to the Income Tax Department's conditions and the registration status of the registered entity at the time of donation. Provide an accurate name, PAN, address, email and phone if you want them on the receipt; errors can delay or prevent issuance. A receipt never creates a refund right.
13. Grievances
- Grievance officer
- Chandransh Khinchi
- help@pawsofhope.in
- Address & phone
- See the registered entity details in the footer.
Grievances are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within 30 days. A good-faith review does not guarantee a refund.
14. Law and remedies
Indian law governs this policy. Subject to applicable law, disputes fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts at Ajmer, Rajasthan, India. We reserve every remedy the law provides against false complaints, malicious chargebacks, misuse of cybercrime or banking complaint channels, wrongful account-freeze requests, defamation and harassment.
15. Updates
This policy may be updated at any time; the current version is always the one published on this page. Donating after an update means you accept it.