Cancellation and Refund Policy — SMUK Ltd
1. Scope and Application
This policy governs cancellation and refund terms for all programmes provided by SMUK Ltd ("SMUK", "we", "us", "our"), including the Sinclair Method (TSM) Programme and any related clinical, coaching, and pharmacy services. By submitting an onboarding consultation or paying any fee to SMUK, you confirm that you have read, understood, and accepted this policy in full.
2. Programme Structure
The SMUK TSM Programme is a clinically supervised pharmacological extinction protocol delivered by a multidisciplinary team comprising prescribing clinicians, registered pharmacists, and trained TSM coaches. The Programme integrates an initial clinical assessment, the prescription and supply of prescription-only medication where clinically appropriate, ongoing clinical oversight, and structured coaching support.
3. Programme Fee
The SMUK TSM Programme is provided in return for a single, one-off Programme Fee payable in full and in advance at the point of enrolment. The Programme Fee covers the entire programme period as set out in your enrolment confirmation.
The Programme Fee is non-refundable in whole or in part once paid, save for the limited exceptions expressly provided in this policy and any non-excludable statutory rights you may have. By paying the Programme Fee, you acknowledge that you are committing to the full programme as a single, indivisible package of clinical, pharmacy, and coaching services, and that no refund will be available on the basis that you have used only part of those services.
4. Commencement of Clinical Assessment
By submitting your online onboarding consultation, you agree to the immediate commencement of the clinical suitability assessment and authorise the prescribing clinician to begin reviewing your medical history. This clinical work begins immediately upon submission and forms part of the services for which you have paid the Programme Fee. The Programme Fee is not refundable on the basis that the assessment outcome is not what you expected or that you change your mind after submitting the consultation.
Where the prescribing clinician determines at the point of assessment that you are clinically unsuitable for the Programme, SMUK will, at its discretion, refund a proportion of the Programme Fee to reflect the elements of the Programme that will not be delivered. The Initial Clinical Assessment portion of the fee, reflecting the clinical work already undertaken, is non-refundable in any circumstances.
5. Statutory Cancellation Rights — Prescription Medicines
Where your SMUK Programme includes the supply of prescription-only medicines, the statutory right to cancel within a 14-day cooling-off period — which applies to certain consumer contracts under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 — does not apply to you. This is because the statutory cooling-off right does not apply to (a) the supply of prescription-only medicines, or (b) the supply of medicines by a healthcare professional as part of a health service.
Separately, under the Human Medicines Regulations 2012, prescription-only medicines that have been dispensed by a registered pharmacy cannot lawfully be returned to supply, resold, or refunded. This is a regulatory requirement enforced by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) and the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), and applies to every UK pharmacy and prescriber, SMUK included.
You therefore do not have the right to change your mind, return medication, or receive a refund of any portion of the Programme Fee attributable to medication once your prescription has been issued and your medication has been dispensed.
6. Side Effects and Adverse Reactions: Reporting Obligation
TSM works through a clinical mechanism in which mild-to-moderate side effects — most commonly nausea, drowsiness, headache, fatigue, and gastrointestinal upset — are recognised, expected, and typically transient as the body adjusts. The presence, severity, or persistence of side effects is a clinical matter to be managed by your SMUK clinical team.
If you experience any side effect or adverse reaction that causes you concern or affects your ability to continue treatment, you are required to report it promptly to the SMUK clinical team via the channels provided to you (clinical check-in forms, programme email address, or telephone). The clinical team will assess the report and determine the appropriate clinical response, which may include dose adjustment, switching to an alternative medication (such as nalmefene), temporarily pausing prescriptions, or discontinuing treatment.
For the avoidance of doubt: side effects and adverse reactions — whether reported or unreported, and whether mild or severe — do not in themselves constitute grounds for a refund of the Programme Fee, in whole or in part. Your decision to discontinue medication, or to withdraw from the Programme, is your own and does not entitle you to a refund.
7. Clinical Suitability Determination
Clinical suitability for naltrexone, nalmefene, or any other medication prescribed as part of the SMUK Programme is a clinical judgment made by the prescribing clinician at the point of consultation, based on the information disclosed by you and the clinical evidence available at that time. A subsequent adverse reaction, change in your circumstances, or change in your willingness to continue treatment is a separate clinical event. It does not retrospectively render the original suitability determination invalid, and does not constitute grounds for a refund of the Programme Fee or any medication already dispensed.
You are responsible for providing accurate, complete, and up-to-date information at the point of consultation. Any material omission or misrepresentation may, at SMUK's sole discretion, result in termination of the Programme without refund.
8. Withdrawal by the Client During the Programme
You may at any time choose to withdraw from the Programme and cease to use the services for which you have paid. Withdrawal does not entitle you to a refund of any portion of the Programme Fee. The Programme Fee is paid for access to a defined package of services for a defined period; non-use of those services after the Programme Fee has been paid is a matter of personal choice and does not give rise to any refund entitlement.
If you choose to stop taking your prescribed medication but wish to continue accessing coaching and clinical oversight, those services remain available to you for the remainder of the programme period at no additional cost.
9. Communication and Service Access
The SMUK Programme is delivered through specified communication channels. To access any element of the Programme — including coaching support, clinical queries, prescription requests, and administrative matters — you must contact SMUK through the official channels provided to you at the point of enrolment. These include:
- the programme email address;
- scheduled appointment slots booked through the SMUK booking system;
- the clinical check-in forms issued during the Programme; and
- any further channel formally designated by SMUK in writing.
Informal channels — including but not limited to personal email addresses, personal mobile numbers, individual staff members' direct messaging accounts, SMS, social media direct messages, and third-party messaging applications — are not official channels for the Programme and do not constitute valid contact with SMUK for the purposes of this policy.
SMUK will respond to communications received through the official channels within 72 working hours of receipt, where "working hours" means hours falling on a working day (Monday to Friday, excluding UK public and bank holidays). In the event of any dispute about whether contact was made, SMUK's internal records — including its booking system, programme inbox, and clinical communication logs — will be determinative.
A statement that you "tried to reach" SMUK without evidence of contact through an official channel does not constitute non-delivery of the Programme and does not give rise to any refund entitlement.
10. Service Hours and Availability
SMUK operates Monday to Friday, [9:00am to 5:00pm] UK time, excluding UK public and bank holidays ("Operating Hours"). All clinical consultations, coaching sessions, and administrative responses are delivered within Operating Hours unless SMUK has expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
The Programme is offered, priced, and resourced on this basis. SMUK makes no representation, warranty, or commitment as to the availability of staff, clinicians, coaches, or any other Programme element outside Operating Hours. References in SMUK's marketing materials, website, or any other publication to the "flexibility" of the Programme refer to the clinical flexibility inherent in the Sinclair Method protocol — including the integration of medication with continued drinking patterns, individualised pacing, and the absence of an abstinence requirement — and do not refer to unrestricted availability of SMUK staff or appointments outside Operating Hours.
Where you require clinical or urgent support outside Operating Hours, you should contact NHS 111, your GP, or in an emergency the emergency services. SMUK does not provide an out-of-hours clinical service.
A preference for, or expectation of, evening, weekend, or out-of-hours appointments does not constitute a service deficiency, non-delivery of the Programme, or grounds for a refund of the Programme Fee. Where SMUK is unable to offer you an appointment within Operating Hours at a specific time of your choosing, this does not entitle you to a refund.
11. Goodwill Refunds
Any partial refund offered by SMUK outside the strict terms of this policy is provided entirely as a discretionary goodwill gesture. It does not constitute (i) an admission that the service has not been delivered, (ii) an admission of clinical, contractual, or regulatory fault, (iii) a waiver of any term of this policy, or (iv) a precedent for future requests. SMUK reserves the right to decline goodwill refund requests at its sole discretion and without explanation.
12. Withdrawal of Service by SMUK
SMUK reserves the right to terminate your Programme, with or without refund, at its sole discretion, where:
- you fail to comply with the Side Effects Reporting Obligation set out in clause 6;
- you fail to complete required clinical monitoring;
- you provide false, incomplete, or misleading information at any point;
- you behave abusively, threateningly, or inappropriately toward SMUK staff, clinicians, coaches, or contractors;
- you contact SMUK staff through unofficial or personal channels in breach of clause 9;
- your continued participation in the Programme is, in the clinical judgment of SMUK's clinical team, not in your best interests; or
- you breach any material term of your Programme agreement.
Where SMUK terminates the Programme under this clause, any refund is at SMUK's sole discretion and will reflect the elements of the Programme not yet delivered, with no refund payable in respect of the Initial Clinical Assessment, medication already dispensed, or services already rendered.
13. Continuation Beyond the Initial Programme Period
Any continuation of clinical care, repeat prescriptions, or extended coaching support beyond the period covered by your original Programme Fee will be the subject of a separate agreement and a separate fee, payable upfront in the same manner, and governed by the version of this policy in force at the time.
14. Fee Variation
SMUK reserves the right to vary Programme Fees for future enrolments at any time and without notice. Fee variations will not affect any Programme Fee already paid for a programme in progress.
15. Clinical Outcomes
The Sinclair Method is supported by a robust evidence base, but no clinical outcome can be guaranteed for any individual client. SMUK makes no representation or warranty as to the specific clinical outcome you will achieve through the Programme, and your decision to enrol is made on that understanding. Failure to achieve a particular clinical outcome does not constitute grounds for a refund of the Programme Fee.
16. Disposal of Unused Medication
Where you have unused prescription medication remaining at the point of withdrawal from the Programme, you must return it to any UK community pharmacy for safe destruction free of charge. SMUK is not permitted by law to accept the return of dispensed medication, and you will not be refunded for any unused quantity.
17. Data Retention on Withdrawal
Withdrawal from the Programme does not affect SMUK's obligation to retain your clinical records in accordance with applicable regulatory requirements, including those imposed by the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC), the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO registration ZB986784), and applicable NHS records retention guidance. Records will be retained for the periods specified in SMUK's Data Security and Retention Policy.
18. Governing Law and Statutory Rights
Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights as a consumer under UK law. Where any term of this policy conflicts with your statutory rights, your statutory rights will prevail to the extent of that conflict. This policy is governed by the laws of England and Wales, and any dispute arising under or in connection with it will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
