Online Course Refund Denied After a Placement Guarantee or Misleading Promise?

Who this guide is for

This guide is for anyone in India who paid for an online course, coaching programme, bootcamp, or upskilling subscription and feels cheated by what was promised. It is especially useful if:

• You enrolled because of a placement guarantee, a "100% job assurance", or a stated minimum salary that never materialised.
• An advertisement or brochure made claims about success rates, hiring partners, or mentors that turned out to be exaggerated or false.
• A salesperson made verbal promises on a call that do not match the written contract you later signed.
• You are paying through an EMI or an education loan tied up by the course provider, and you want to stop paying for something that did not deliver.
• The company is hiding behind a no-refund clause and refusing to return your money.

It applies whether the provider is a large edtech platform, a small coaching institute, or an individual selling a course online. The remedies here are consumer-protection remedies, which apply to private service providers. Where a course is run by a recognised university or a government body, a different layer of regulators may also apply, and we cover that in the RTI section.

If your dispute is more about a charge on your card that keeps recurring after you cancelled, see the related guide on a cancelled subscription that is still being charged.

What you can do this weekend

Friday evening

Start by capturing the promise before it disappears. Companies routinely edit or remove old marketing pages once a customer raises a dispute. Take dated screenshots of the advertisement, the course landing page, the brochure, and any "placement guarantee" or "money-back" banner. Save the page as a PDF with the date and web address visible.

Next, collect the conversations. Export the WhatsApp chat with the sales team, save the emails, and download any recorded sales calls if you have them. If a counsellor told you on a call that you would "definitely get placed", that representation matters. Note the date, the name of the person, and what exactly was said.

Finally, find your contract terms — the enrolment agreement, the terms and conditions you accepted, and the payment receipt. Read the refund clause and look for any cooling-off or trial window. You are building a simple story: this is what I was promised, this is what I paid, this is what I got, and this is why I want my money back.

Saturday

Write the timeline on one page. List the date of the advertisement or first contact, the date you paid, the amount, the promise that induced you to pay, and the date and manner in which that promise failed. Attach each claim to a piece of evidence from Friday.

If you are paying through an EMI or a loan, pull out the loan agreement too. Identify the lender or NBFC, the loan account number, and whether the loan was arranged by the course provider as part of the sale. This linkage is important: where the edtech tied up the finance, your dispute with the course also touches the loan.

Draft your refund demand using the template in this guide. Keep it factual and firm. State the promise, the failure, the amount you want back, and a clear deadline of, say, 15 days. Do not be abusive or threatening — a calm, evidence-backed letter reads far better before a consumer commission.

Sunday

Finalise your refund demand and prepare to send it on Monday by email to the company's official grievance or support address, and ideally also by a written channel that leaves proof, such as registered post to the registered office address. Keep the delivery proof.

Register your complaint on the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in or by calling 1915. This creates an official record and often triggers a response from larger companies. Note the docket or reference number.

If the advertisement was clearly misleading, prepare a parallel complaint to the Advertising Standards Council of India and note the option of complaining to the Central Consumer Protection Authority. Running the advertisement complaint alongside your refund demand puts useful pressure on the company while your money claim moves forward.

Documents and evidence checklist

Step-by-step action plan

Step 1 — Pin the promise to written proof

Your whole case rests on showing what you were promised. Identify the single clearest promise — for example, "guaranteed placement with a minimum salary" or "full refund if not placed" — and find the strongest evidence of it. Rank your proof: a written contract clause is the strongest, then a dated advertisement or brochure, then chats and emails, then recorded calls. Save everything in one folder and back it up off your phone.

Step 2 — Read your contract for refund and cooling-off terms

Go through the enrolment contract line by line. Note the refund clause, any trial or cooling-off window, and any clause that ties your loan to the course. A no-refund clause is not the end of the road. An unfair contract term and a misleading trade practice can both be challenged before a consumer commission, and a failed guarantee can override a no-refund clause. But you must know exactly what the contract says so the company cannot surprise you later.

Step 3 — Raise a formal grievance with the company first

Send a clear, written refund demand to the company's official grievance, support, or nodal address. State the promise, the proof, the amount, and a 15-day deadline. Ask for a written response. Keep it to facts. Companies frequently settle at this stage because a documented misleading-promise complaint is expensive for them to fight.

Step 4 — Protect yourself on the EMI or loan

If you are paying through an EMI or an education loan, do not simply stop paying. The loan is a separate agreement, and silent default can damage your credit score and invite recovery action. Instead, write to the lender or NBFC at the same time as the course provider. Explain the dispute, attach your refund demand, and ask the lender to place the loan on hold while the matter is resolved. Where the edtech arranged the finance as part of the sale, the loan and the service are linked, and you can raise the deficiency against both. If large sums are involved, take advice from a qualified professional before changing any payment.

Step 5 — Register on the National Consumer Helpline

File your complaint on the National Consumer Helpline at consumerhelpline.gov.in, through the UMANG app, or by calling 1915. This is a free, government-run grievance and mediation service. Upload your evidence, describe the promise and the failure, and state the refund you want. Note the docket number. Many disputes are resolved here without going to a commission.

Step 6 — Report a misleading advertisement

If the marketing was exaggerated or false, complain to the Advertising Standards Council of India about the advertisement itself. You may also raise the matter with the Central Consumer Protection Authority, which can act against misleading advertisements and endorsements. These complaints target the advertisement, not your refund, so run them alongside your money claim rather than instead of it.

Step 7 — File a consumer complaint if the refund is refused

If the company refuses or ignores you, file a complaint before the appropriate consumer commission — District, State, or National — depending on the value of the claim. Use the e-Daakhil portal at edaakhil.nic.in. You can usually file where you live, since that is where you availed the service. Attach your evidence, your refund demand, and the helpline docket. For a fuller walkthrough of the consumer commission route, the related guide on a subscription billing dispute covers the same e-Daakhil process.

Step 8 — Consider professional help for large claims

For a substantial amount, or where a loan and a clearly false guarantee are involved, consider a short paid consultation with a consumer-law advocate before filing. A well-drafted complaint, with the promise pinned to proof and the relief clearly stated, is far more likely to succeed. Keep your demand reasonable and evidence-based at every stage.

Escalation ladder

Copy-paste refund demand template

Replace the text in square brackets with your own details before sending.

When RTI can help

The Right to Information Act, 2005 applies only to public authorities — government departments, regulators, and bodies substantially financed by the government. A private edtech company or coaching institute is not a public authority, so you cannot file an RTI directly against it. But RTI can still support your case in specific situations where a public authority holds relevant records:

• Government or government-funded skilling schemes: If the course was run or funded under a government skill-development scheme, you can use RTI to ask the implementing department for the scheme guidelines, the empanelment terms of the training partner, and the placement obligations promised under the scheme.
• Recognised universities and statutory regulators: If a course claims affiliation, recognition, or approval from a public university or a statutory education regulator, you can file an RTI with that public authority asking whether the claimed recognition actually exists and on what terms. A false recognition claim strengthens your misleading-promise case.
• Your own complaint's status: If you complained to a government grievance body and heard nothing, RTI can be used to ask that public authority for the status and any noting on your complaint.

To file an RTI online, see our step-by-step RTI filing guide. The CPIO must normally respond within 30 days. If your application is ignored or refused, see how to file a first appeal under RTI Section 19 and the full first and second appeal guide. For deeper strategy on using RTI in regulatory disputes, The RTI Playbook is a useful companion.

When RTI will not help

For most online-course refund disputes, RTI is not your main tool. Know its limits:

• It cannot force a private company to refund you. A private edtech firm is outside the RTI Act. Your refund route is the company's grievance process, the consumer helpline, and a consumer commission — not RTI.
• It cannot get you the company's internal records. RTI does not reach a private firm's contracts, marketing decisions, or placement data. You build that case from your own evidence and, if needed, through disclosure ordered by a consumer commission.
• It is slower than the consumer route for getting your money. The consumer helpline and a consumer commission are designed to deliver refunds and compensation. RTI only delivers information from public authorities. Lead with the consumer route; use RTI only to fill specific gaps.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Not saving the advertisement and brochure early: Companies edit or remove marketing pages once a dispute starts. Capture dated screenshots and PDFs the moment you decide to ask for a refund.
• Assuming a no-refund clause is final: A no-refund clause does not protect a company that made a misleading promise or a failed guarantee. Both are challengeable as unfair trade practice and unfair contract terms.
• Stopping your EMI without telling the lender: Silent default can wreck your credit score and trigger recovery action. Always write to the lender, explain the dispute, and ask for a hold instead of just stopping payments.
• Relying only on verbal promises: "They told me on the call" is weaker than a written record. Try to convert verbal assurances into writing — ask the counsellor to confirm the promise by email or chat before you escalate.
• Sending an angry, vague complaint: A short, factual demand with the promise pinned to proof and a clear deadline works far better than a long, emotional letter. Calm and documented wins before a consumer commission.
• Skipping the written demand and jumping straight to a commission: A consumer complaint is stronger when it shows you first tried to resolve the matter directly. Send the refund demand and keep delivery proof.
• Confusing the advertisement complaint with the refund claim: Reporting a misleading ad to ASCI or the consumer authority targets the advertisement, not your money. You still need the refund demand and, if needed, a consumer commission complaint to get paid.

If your problem is a faulty product bought online rather than a service, the approach is similar but the evidence differs — see the guide on a damaged phone from an online seller. For an e-commerce account that is holding your balance, see a blocked account with a stuck refund or wallet balance.