Why Do Chinese Parents More Often Expect Refunds? What International Schools Should Understand About Chinese Consumer Refund Habits
When communicating with international schools and summer camp operators, Chinese consumers' refund issues are often among the most difficult topics to handle.
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From the camp operator’s perspective, once a family registers, the school may already have started arranging accommodation, teachers, activity materials, meals, insurance, grouping, transport, and staff-to-student ratios. A last-minute cancellation is not simply a matter of “returning money.” It may affect the entire operational plan of the camp.
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From the Chinese consumer’s perspective, however, many parents may still expect some form of refund, replacement, or partial compensation after their plans change, even if they have already read, agreed to, and signed the registration terms. To schools and camp operators, this may look like “not respecting a commitment.” But from the perspective of China’s long-standing consumer protection system, prepaid consumption habits, platform complaint environment, and the practical experience of how businesses handle disputes, this expectation did not appear suddenly and is not merely an issue of individual families. It has been shaped by a long-standing market background.
1. Chinese Consumers Have Long Operated in a Strong Consumer Protection Environment
China’s consumer protection system has long emphasized protecting consumers as the relatively weaker party. In most consumer scenarios, businesses control the information, contract wording, pricing rules, and ability to deliver the service, while consumers are often the less informed party.
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Article 26 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests provides that
Business operators must not use standard terms, notices, statements, or similar methods to exclude or restrict consumer rights, reduce or exempt their own liability, or increase consumer liability in ways that are unfair or unreasonable to consumers; such standard terms, notices, and statements are invalid (National People’s Congress, 2013).
经营者不得以格式条款、通知、声明、店堂告示等方式，作出排除或者限制消费者权利、减轻或者免除经营者责任、加重消费者责任等对消费者不公平、不合理的规定，不得利用格式条款并借助技术手段强制交易。
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The 2024 Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests further strengthen business obligations in prepaid consumption. Article 22 provides that
If a business provides goods or services by collecting prepayments, it shall enter into a written contract with the consumer, stipulating the specific contents of the goods or services, price or fees, method of refund of prepayment, liability for breach of contract, and other matters. ... If the business fails to provide goods or services as agreed, it shall fulfill the agreement or refund the prepayment at the consumer's request (State Council of the People’s Republic of China, 2024).
经营者以收取预付款方式提供商品或者服务的，应当与消费者订立书面合同，约定商品或者服务的具体内容、价款或者费用、预付款退还方式、违约责任等事项。……经营者未按照约定提供商品或者服务的，应当按照消费者的要求履行约定或者退还预付款。
The core purpose of these rules is to prevent consumers from being harmed in prepaid consumption. Over the years, China has seen many prepaid consumption disputes involving gyms, beauty salons, education and training institutions, children’s playgrounds, and similar businesses. Common issues include businesses closing down, disappearing, reducing service quality, changing locations, or failing to deliver what was promised. As a result, law and regulatory practice naturally place strong emphasis on protecting consumers’ rights to services that have been paid for but not yet received.
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This institutional environment has long shaped Chinese consumers’ expectations:
If the service has not yet actually taken place, consumers often believe that they should still have some room for adjustment.
2. “No Refund, No Change” Is Often Difficult to Fully Accept in the Chinese Consumer Market
Many camps are used to stating in their registration terms that once payment has been made, no refund will be given. However, in the Chinese consumer context, wording such as “no refund under any circumstances” can easily be understood as excessively restricting consumer rights.
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The Supreme People’s Court of the People's Republic of China’s (2025) interpretation on civil disputes involving prepaid consumption also states that if a business operator uses standard terms to exclude the consumer’s legal right to terminate the contract or request the return of prepaid funds, the court should support the consumer’s claim that such terms are invalid.
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This does not mean that Chinese law encourages consumers to breach agreements freely. On the contrary, when determining the specific refund amount, courts still need to consider contract performance, costs already incurred by the operator, the fault of both parties, and the principle of fairness. But in actual consumer communication, many consumers more easily remember this part:
“If I have not used the service, why can’t I get a refund?”
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They may not fully understand the other side:
“The provider has already reserved resources for me and may have already incurred real costs.”
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This is one of the most common perception gaps between camps and Chinese parents.
3. Prepaid Consumption Disputes Have Created a Habit of Expecting the “Unused Value” to Be Refundable
Education and training, fitness, beauty, children’s entertainment, and similar industries in China have long relied heavily on prepaid models. Consumers pay first and then use the course or service later, often in installments. Therefore, Chinese consumers are very familiar with the idea that if a service has not been fully used, the unused portion should somehow be refundable, transferable, postponable, or proportionally handled.
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These cases reinforce a social perception:
If the service has not been fully performed, consumers often have reason to ask for the remaining portion to be handled in some way.
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Although international summer camps are not the same as gym memberships, training courses, or children’s playground cards, in the daily consumption experience of Chinese parents, they all belong to the category of “pay first, receive service later.” Therefore, when family plans change, many parents naturally bring the refund habits of domestic prepaid consumption into overseas summer camp purchases.
4. Online Consumption and “Seven-Day No-Reason Returns” Further Strengthen Refund Expectations
Over the past decade, Chinese consumers have widely used e-commerce and online education products. “Seven-day no-reason returns” have become a very familiar consumer experience. Although not all services are subject to seven-day no-reason returns, the system has deeply influenced consumer psychology.
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Article 25 of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests provides that
When businesses sell goods through the internet, television, telephone, mail order, or other similar means, consumers have the right to return the goods within seven days of receipt without giving a reason. (National People’s Congress, 2013), except for special categories listed by law.
经营者采用网络、电视、电话、邮购等方式销售商品，消费者有权自收到商品之日起七日内退货，且无需说明理由，……
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In some judicial cases, courts have also supported consumers’ application of seven-day no-reason return rules to unused online course products. For example, where a consumer purchased an online course, did not use the course account, and requested a refund within seven days, the court held that the refund request complied with the law (Beijing Haidian District People’s Government, 2025).
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For overseas camps, a summer camp place is usually not an ordinary e-commerce product, and schools often need to bear real operating costs in advance. But for some Chinese consumers, as long as the child has not yet entered the camp, parents may instinctively feel that “the service has not started,” and therefore that there should still be room to withdraw.
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This is why, even when the school has clearly written its refund policy in advance, some parents may still make new requests after payment. The issue is not only whether they have read the terms. Their long-formed consumer experience makes them feel that “the terms may still be negotiable.”
5. Businesses’ Long-Term Practice of “Taking a Small Loss” Has Also Reinforced the Habit of Pressuring for Refunds
In addition to law and consumer habits, there is another important but often overlooked factor: in the Chinese market, many businesses facing refund disputes often choose to “take a small loss and settle the matter.”
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The reason is practical. For businesses, the loss from one customer may be far smaller than the long-term damage caused by complaints, negative reviews, or social media exposure. China has many review platforms, social media channels, short-video platforms, WeChat, Red Notes, complaint platforms, local service platforms, and public review platforms. For education, parent-child, travel, and camp products, a negative story, once spread, may affect the trust of many future potential customers.
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Therefore, even when domestic businesses feel that a consumer’s request is not reasonable, they may still choose partial refunds, postponement, compensation, course changes, or extra services to avoid escalation. Over time, this market interaction has created an informal “experience rule”:
If consumers keep complaining, posting negative reviews, or exposing the issue, the business will probably eventually give in.
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Not all consumers behave this way, of course, but this experience has influenced some consumer behavior. Some may not take contract terms very seriously before purchase, because they believe that if a problem arises later, there will still be room for further negotiation through communication, complaints, negative reviews, or platform intervention.
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For overseas schools, this logic can be very difficult to understand. Schools may think: if the terms were clearly written and the parents confirmed them, the commitment should be respected. But for some Chinese consumers, signing the terms does not necessarily mean “the discussion is over.” It feels more like: “If there is no problem, the terms apply; if there is a problem, we can still negotiate.”
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This is one of the deeper cultural and market differences behind cross-border summer camp refund disputes.
6. How International Schools and Camps Can Respond
All these factors have shaped Chinese consumers’ refund psychology in education and camp-related products.
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For international schools and camps, the costs after registration are real. Therefore, a reasonable refund mechanism should not be “parents can get a full refund whenever they want,” nor should it be “no refund under any circumstances.” A more practical direction is to find a balance between consumer expectations and the operational certainty of the camp.
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For Chinese families, what is usually easier to accept is not an absolutely strict “no refund, no change” policy, but clear, layered, and explainable rules.
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(1) Do Not Only Say “No Refund”; Explain Why
If the terms only say “no refund,” many Chinese parents may feel that the school is simply protecting itself. A better approach is to explain the reasons:
places are limited, and the school needs to lock in teachers and grouping in advance;
accommodation, meals, transport, and activity materials may be arranged in advance;
last-minute cancellation affects student-teacher ratios and the experience of other students;
the school needs to allocate safety and service resources in advance.
Even so, parents still may not accept it, but they will more easily understand that the school is not “refusing refund on purpose,” but that costs have already been incurred.
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(2) Design Layered Refund Rules, Refund Handling Fees, or Alternative Solutions
For the Chinese market, layered rules are often easier to accept than an absolute “no refund” policy. Schools can design several clear options in advance:
partial refund may be allowed within a certain period after registration;
any non-medical cancellation may be subject to a fixed refund handling fee or administration fee;
close to the camp start date, no refund may be allowed, but replacement of the student can be attempted;
medical reasons may be handled specially with formal documentation;
the place may be deferred to the next year or another camp session;
non-medical cancellation may deduct costs already incurred, such as payment fees, accommodation booking costs, administrative processing costs, and activity material costs;
if agents or the parents themselves successfully find a replacement student, part of the fee may be refunded or converted into future credit after deducting handling fees or incurred costs.
The key point is: a refund handling fee should not be presented as a punishment, but as a real cost that has already been incurred.
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For example, schools can state in their terms:
“If a cancellation is accepted, an administration / cancellation handling fee will be deducted to cover the administrative work, payment processing, exchange rate costs, accommodation coordination, and the cost of holding the place for the student.”
This makes it easier for parents to understand that the school is not deducting money arbitrarily, but that real costs have already arisen after registration.
The handling fee should preferably be stated clearly in advance, for example: a fixed amount, or a percentage, or a staged amount based on cancellation timing.
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This kind of mechanism is easier to accept than “no refund under any circumstances,” while also better protecting school operations than “refund whenever requested.”
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The core principle can be summarized as:
Some flexibility can be offered, but flexibility must have a cost; family changes can be understood, but the school’s already-incurred operating costs must also be respected.
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(3) Move the Rules Earlier and Require Active Parent Confirmation
As a recruitment agent, VE repeatedly reminded parents of different camps’ refund policies in registration forms since 2019. We have further required parents to hand-sign key terms in our own system since 2026. Such practices are very necessary. Schools can also require agents to complete several key confirmations during the registration process. These confirmations cannot eliminate all disputes, but they can significantly reduce misunderstandings.
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(4) Allow Agents to Intervene Before a Dispute Escalates
If a family cancels at the last minute, the school may allow the agent to communicate first. The agent can try to:
help find a replacement student;
explain the school’s costs to the family;
coordinate deferral;
explain the reasonableness of partial deductions and refund handling fees;
prevent the dispute from escalating into complaints or negative publicity.
For cross-border summer camps, agents are not only sales channels, but also cultural translators and risk buffers.
Conclusion: Understand the Difference and Design the Mechanism
Chinese consumers’ refund expectations come from a combination of long-standing consumer protection systems, prepaid consumption disputes, e-commerce return habits, education and training market experience, and the market inertia created by businesses making concessions under complaint and review pressure.
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At the same time, the operating costs of schools and camps must also be respected. A camp is not an ordinary product. Places, accommodation, teachers, safety management, and activity resources all need to be arranged in advance.
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Therefore, we suggest that what international schools and camps could do is not simply to loosen refund rules, nor to insist on a rigid no-refund policy, but to design a set of rules that Chinese families can better understand: advance notice, active confirmation, layered handling, alternative solutions, reasonable refund handling fees, and channel intervention.
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This can help Chinese parents understand the meaning of “commitment,” while also helping schools reduce unnecessary refund pressure and operational risk.
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In the long run, a clear, transparent, and explainable refund mechanism is not only a risk-control tool, but also an important part of building trust with Chinese families.
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References
Beijing Haidian District People’s Government. (2025, March 28). 【以案释法】网课未使用遭拒退？法院：适用七天无理由退货 [Legal case explanation: Online course unused but refund refused? Court: Seven-day no-reason return applies]. https://www.bjhr.gov.cn/zt/qwpf/yasf/202503/t20250328_4048790.html
National People’s Congress. (2013). 中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法 [Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests]. https://fw.scjgj.sh.gov.cn/alc/law/11/1/20240117133417.html
State Council of the People’s Republic of China. (2024, March 15). 中华人民共和国消费者权益保护法实施条例 [Regulations for the Implementation of the Law of the People’s Republic of China on the Protection of Consumer Rights and Interests]. https://www.mee.gov.cn/zcwj/gwywj/202403/t20240320_1068830.shtml
Supreme People’s Court of the People’s Republic of China. (2024). 关于审理预付式消费民事纠纷案件适用法律若干问题的解释 [Interpretation on several issues concerning the application of law in the trial of civil disputes involving prepaid consumption]. http://gongbao.court.gov.cn/Details/415add6e9c15736f2fbd871bdb1538.html
