Cancellations

Cancellation by the volunteer

IVS understands that cancellations do happen and will always try to support you to find an alternative placement. Acceptance of our refund policy is a condition of your application. We assume that you will be interested in the choices you put down, so only apply for projects that you will accept a place on. In all cases of cancellation/non-acceptance, you will continue to be a member of IVS for 12 months from your date of joining.

Your payment to IVS is made up of 2 parts:

1. the yearly Membership Fee: £15
2. the Project Registration (variable), inclusive of an admin fee (£25)

In all cases, your membership fee will be retained by IVS as well as a non-refundable admin charge of £25.

• Cancellations should be received up to four weeks before the start date of the project in writing or by email: outgoing@ivsgb.org.
• If you cancel within the four-week timescale you will receive a refund of 50% after the £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee have been deducted.
• If you cancel after the four-week timescale you will lose your entire fee. A refund will only be considered in the case of sickness and upon receipt of a medical certificate.
• Once you have confirmed and been accepted on your project it is not possible to change your mind. This would be treated as a cancellation and the above timescales would apply.

We strongly recommend that you apply to your volunteering experience with plenty of time (at least four weeks prior departure), to avoid incurring any money loss in case of cancellations or changes of circumstances.

Please note: for SCI short-term projects (“workcamps”) we strongly recommend that you select at least one additional project as a second choice you will accept a place on if your first choice becomes unavailable/is fully booked. You can choose up to six alternative projects. In case your first choice becomes full or unavailable for any reason and you choose not to accept a place on or not to process one of your alternative choices, you will lose the entire registration fee. A refund will only be considered in the case of sickness and upon receipt of a medical certificate.

• If you only choose one project (“workcamp”) please be aware that this project may already be full. In this instance we will retain £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee and we will not be able to find any alternative placements.
• Applications should be done at least 4 weeks prior to the project start date. On occasion we may be able to accept last-minute applications if done 2 weeks prior to the project start date. However, in that instance you accept that if you or the host cancel your project you will loose the entire fee as IVS will not be able to find you an alternative placement in such a short time.
• Please note that all projects require a police background check and this can take several weeks to complete, if you do not already have a valid one. If you apply late and do not have enough time to fulfill the paperwork requirements before departure please be aware that you may not be able to take part in the project. In this instance we may retain £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee. Police background costs are not payable to IVS therefore IVS will not be able to refund any of these costs in case of cancellations.

Cancellation by the organisation

Cancellations by the host do not happen very often and IVS is not liable for cancellation decisions made by the host partners. Under certain circumstances, for example increased security risk in the host country, IVS reserves the right to withdraw any project. In both eventualities, IVS will do everything we can to find you an alternative placement.

• If your project is cancelled by the host organisation IVS will endeavour to find you an alternative placement. If you are unable to or choose not to accept the alternative project, you will receive a refund of 50% of the registration fee after the £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee have been deducted.
• If an alternative placement cannot be found you will receive a full refund minus the £25 administration fee and the £15 membership fee.

Other

• IVS cannot be held responsible for refunding volunteers for any financial loss due to the project being cancelled. For example, travel costs, visa, vaccinations, police background check, etc.
• In the case of bereavement, hospitalisation or other special circumstances a discretionary refund will be made upon production of relevant documentation.
• If all projects are full and/or you are not able to accept any alternative, you will be refunded the registration fee after the £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee have been deducted. If you are not accepted to any of the projects you have put as choices in your application (providing you have put at least 2 choices), and/or you are not able to accept any alternative, you will be refunded the registration after the £15 membership fee and £25 administration fee have been deducted. The refund must be claimed within a year of booking. ”
• IVS retains the right to refuse participation in its volunteering programmes and activities to anyone declaring false information on their application form and attached documentation (e.g. criminal self-declaration form), not making the required payment, or otherwise failing to meet the application requirements. As a membership organisation, if you provide us with details which you know to be false when applying for IVS’ membership and volunteering opportunities, we reserve the right to terminate your membership and retain a proportion of the money paid to cover any reasonable costs incurred in the processing of your membership and application.
• For cancellations of UK-based projects, IVS cannot be held responsible for refunding volunteers of any associated financial loss due to the project being cancelled. For example: travel, visa, vaccinations, police background check costs, etc.

This policy is in place from the 1st May 2017. Last review date 1st March 2018.