This Refund Policy should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions, particularly Sections 5–8, which it expands on. Where there's any conflict, the specific provisions below apply to refund requests.
1. Your 14-Day Cancellation Right
If you're a consumer booking from within the UK, you generally have the right to cancel within 14 days of your booking confirmation, under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, and receive a full refund.
This right is affected if:
- You've asked us or our delivery partner to begin the service before the 14 days are up (for example, registering you with an awarding body) — in which case we may deduct a reasonable amount for the work already done.
- You've been issued login credentials for an online course and accessed the course materials — once accessed, this part of the service is treated as delivered, and this portion is non-refundable, consistent with digital content rules under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
To cancel within this period, contact us at support@construction-skills.com stating your booking reference and that you wish to cancel.
2. NVQ and Portfolio-Based Qualifications
- A deposit is generally required at the time of booking, with the balance due at a stage confirmed to you before you book (e.g. on registration with the awarding body).
- If your assessor determines you don't have sufficient relevant experience to proceed with the qualification (see Terms and Conditions, Section 5), your deposit will be refunded less:
- The registration cost already incurred with the awarding body, and
- An administration fee of 25% of the deposit
- Once you've been registered with the awarding body and the qualification process has begun, fees paid to cover that registration and any assessment work already undertaken are non-refundable, as this cost is incurred by us with the awarding body on your behalf and is not something we can recover once spent.
- If you fail to complete your NVQ within the timeframe set out in our Terms and Conditions (Section 6) and the course is treated as void, no refund is due for fees already spent on registration or assessment to that point.
3. Fixed-Length Courses (e.g. HS&E Test Prep, SSSTS, SMSTS)
- If you cancel more than 5 working days before your scheduled test/course date, you'll receive a full refund, less any non-recoverable third-party booking fee already paid on your behalf (e.g. a test centre slot fee).
- If you cancel within 5 working days of your scheduled date, a cancellation charge may apply, since a slot has been reserved on your behalf and may not be re-sellable at short notice. We'll confirm the applicable charge to you at the time of booking.
- If you don't attend your scheduled test/course without prior notice ("no-show"), no refund is due.
- If you attend but are refused entry because you didn't bring the correct original ID used at registration (see our Terms and Conditions, Section 7), no refund is due — this is treated the same as a no-show, since the slot has still been used and cannot be resold.
4. Online Courses
- Once your login credentials have been issued and you have accessed the online course platform, this part of the service is treated as delivered and is non-refundable.
- General course materials and content remain accessible for 90 days from your start date. If not completed within this period, the course will be considered void, and you'll need to make a fresh booking (at the applicable price at that time) to regain access.
- TLM Level 1 online courses have an additional, separate constraint: once your final exam link is issued, it is valid for 5 days only, set by TLM as the awarding body — this is not something we control or can extend. We'll make this clearly visible at the point your exam link is issued, not buried in these terms, so you have a fair chance to plan around it. If your TLM exam link expires unused, a re-issue fee may apply — confirm this with us before booking a TLM Level 1 course if timing is a concern for you.
- If you pause partway through and later wish to resume after the course has expired under the 90-day rule above, this will be treated as a new order.
We are unable to offer a refund where:
- You state you found the course content too difficult, after purchase
- You state your device or system was not suitable for the course, after purchase
- You did not attempt to raise a technical issue with us before requesting a refund — we're always happy to help troubleshoot access issues first
- Your TLM exam link expired because you did not complete it within the 5-day window after issue, provided we gave you reasonable notice of that window at the time it was issued
5. If We or Our Delivery Partner Cancel
If your course, test, or assessment is cancelled by us or by our delivery partner/awarding body (rather than by you), and you don't wish to accept an alternative date, you'll receive a full refund of the amount paid for that specific service.
We are not responsible for, and will not compensate you for, other costs you may incur as a result (such as travel, accommodation, or loss of earnings due to time taken off work), except where required by law.
6. CSCS Card Application Assistance
Where our service is limited to assisting with a CSCS card application (rather than a course or test), this is generally not a refundable service once we've begun processing your application, since costs and effort are incurred on your behalf as soon as work starts. We may, at our discretion, offer a full or partial refund in exceptional circumstances — for example, where an error on our part has caused the delay or issue.
We are not responsible for delays or issues caused by errors that are yours rather than ours — for example, missing your scheduled test, bringing invalid ID, failing a test, or booking the wrong type of test or card. These situations do not entitle you to a refund.
7. Payment Errors
If you believe you've been charged incorrectly — for example, charged twice for the same booking, or charged the wrong amount — contact us immediately at support@construction-skills.com. We will investigate and refund any confirmed error in full, regardless of any other terms in this policy, since this is a correction of our mistake rather than a standard cancellation.
8. Employer/Group Bookings
For bookings made by an employer on behalf of multiple learners, refund terms may vary and will be confirmed in writing at the time of booking, given the different cancellation/rescheduling arrangements typically involved in group training. Where nothing else is agreed in writing, the individual learner terms above apply per learner booked.
9. How Refunds Are Processed
- Approved refunds will be made to the original payment method used at the time of booking.
- We aim to process approved refunds within 14 working days of confirming the refund is due.
10. Requesting a Refund
Contact us at support@construction-skills.com or 0330 094 7015 with your booking reference and the reason for your request. We'll confirm what, if anything, is refundable based on the stage your booking has reached, per this policy.