Letters you can send: ask for proof, and ask for your money back
This site keeps telling you to ask in writing. This page hands you the words. Below are two letters you can copy, change to fit your situation, and send. The first goes to a seller before you pay, and asks for the kind of proof you can check yourself. The second goes after you have paid, if what you got does not match what was sold. They are starting points, not legal advice, and the stronger your specific facts, the better they work.
Keep two habits with both. Send by email or message so there is a dated record, and stick to facts you can show rather than how you feel. A calm, specific letter is harder to brush off than an angry one.
Before you pay: ask for proof#
Send this when a sales page is long on confidence and short on anything you can verify. It puts the seller's own claims to the test, politely, and a good one will answer it.
Dear [seller or company name],
Before I decide whether to buy [the programme or course], I would like to see some evidence I can check independently. I ask every seller I am considering the same questions, so this is not about you in particular.
Could you please send me:
- The name of the company that runs this programme, and where its registration or accounts can be checked publicly.
- Two or three former clients in a position similar to mine who have agreed to speak to me, so I can ask them directly.
- A realistic picture of results: of the people who bought this in the last year or so, roughly what share reached the outcome shown in your advertising, and what happened to those who did not.
- Your refund policy in writing, including what applies once the course has started.
I am ready to move quickly once I have seen these. Thank you.
[Your name]
What a good reply looks like: real answers, offered without friction. What tells you to walk away: a refusal, a non-answer, a push to "just book a call," or pressure to decide before you have seen anything you can verify. The reasoning behind this letter is on the one test.
After you pay: ask for your money back#
Send this if the course or coaching was not as described, or was never properly delivered. Name what was promised, name what arrived, and set a deadline. Then start your card dispute at the same time rather than waiting for the seller to reply.
Dear [seller or company name],
On [date] I paid [amount] for [the programme or course]. I am writing to request a full refund, because what was delivered does not match what was described when I bought it.
[In one or two sentences, state plainly what was promised and what was actually provided. Stick to facts you can show: the wording of the sales page, what was missing, what did not work.]
Please treat this as a formal request for a refund of [amount], and reply in writing within [14] days. If we cannot resolve it directly, I will raise it with my card provider and the relevant consumer body, and I am keeping a record of our correspondence.
[Your name]
Keep it factual and free of insults, since this letter may end up in front of your bank or a regulator. Send it from an address you control, keep the reply, and if it is ignored or refused, move to your country's recourse route.
Your country's claim, in the right words#
The refund letter above is general. The specific right you should name, and the body to escalate to, depend on where you are. Each country page carries the exact lever to cite and a letter tailored to it, whether that is Section 75, a Fair Credit Billing Act dispute, the Australian consumer guarantees, a cooling-off right, or a chargeback clock. Pick yours from your rights by country, then read the matching getting-your-money-back page.
The limit#
These are templates, not legal advice, and we do not know your circumstances. They are written to help you ask clearly and on the record, not to settle your particular case. For a decision that matters, or a large sum, take the facts to a solicitor, a qualified adviser, or your national consumer body. A well-written letter improves your odds. It does not guarantee the outcome.