Missed Session & No-Show Policy

1. Student No-Show

Since the student has already paid for the full session, the student is permitted to join at any point up to the end of the scheduled session duration. The session is only marked as "Student No-Show" if the student fails to join at all by the scheduled session end time.

• Consultants are required to remain available and online for the full scheduled session length in case the student joins late.
• If the student does not join by the scheduled session end time, the consultant may end or close the session.
• The session shall be automatically marked as "Completed — Student No-Show."
• No refund shall be issued to the student in a genuine no-show scenario (i.e., the student never joined at all). The full session fee is split 70/30 (consultant/platform), the same as a completed session.
• The student may not dispute a no-show charge unless there is documented evidence of a platform technical failure preventing them from joining.

1.1 Extenuating Circumstances

• A student may appeal a no-show decision within 12 hours by submitting evidence (such as screenshots of a technical error or medical emergency documentation).
• ConsulTOpen shall review appeals within 2 business days and communicate the outcome to both parties.
• If the appeal is upheld, the student receives platform credit toward a future session. No cash refund shall be issued.
• The consultant retains their fee regardless of the appeal outcome unless the platform itself is found to be at fault.

2. Consultant No-Show

A consultant is deemed a "No-Show" if they fail to join or initiate the session within 20 minutes of the scheduled start time without prior notification.

2.1 Immediate Platform Response

• The platform's automated system monitors session join activity.
• If the consultant has not joined within 10 minutes, an automated alert is sent to the consultant.
• If no response is received within a further 10 minutes (a total of 20 minutes from the scheduled start), the session is automatically marked as "Consultant No-Show."
• The student is notified via in-app notification and email.
• ConsulTOpen's support team is automatically triggered to investigate within 1 business hour.

2.2 Student Remedies

• Option A: The student receives a full refund (100%) of the session fee.
• Option B: The student receives a priority rescheduled session with the same or an equivalent consultant at no additional cost.
• ConsulTOpen shall send a formal apology communication to the student via email within 4 hours.
• The student must select their preferred remedy within 48 hours. If no selection is made, a full refund is automatically initiated.

2.3 Consultant Strike Ladder

Within a rolling 30-day period:

• First No-Show: Formal warning issued.
• Second No-Show: 3-day suspension.
• Third No-Show: 7-day suspension.
• Fourth No-Show: 30-day suspension.
• Fifth No-Show: Permanent removal from the platform.

The strike count resets after 30 days. The consultant does not receive payment for the missed session. Where a consultant's no-show is attributed to a verified technical failure on the platform's side, no penalty applies. The incident is instead classified as a "Technical No-Show" (see Section 2.4).

2.4 Technical Failure / Technical No-Show Distinction

• If a session fails due to a documented ConsulTOpen platform outage or server error, the event is classified as a "Technical Failure" rather than a no-show.
• Both parties receive notification, and the student is offered either a free rescheduled session or a full refund.
• The consultant is not penalised and retains their session fee for the rescheduled session.
• If a consultant claims a platform notification failure (for example, they did not receive the alert), ConsulTOpen's engineering team investigates the server logs.
• If the claim is verified, the incident is classified as a "Technical No-Show" and no penalty applies.
• If the claim is not verified, the standard no-show penalties apply.
• Consultants are advised to verify their upcoming sessions through the dashboard every day and should not rely solely on push notifications.