NBTSC Refund and Rebate Policies 2013

Refund policy

Rebate policy


 

Refund Policy

Here's our detailed refund policy, in the hopes of being very, very clear. Occasionally somebody gets mad at us (even mean, sometimes) because we don't give all their money back. The truth is that we do most of our work and incur many of our expenses long before camp, and we often expend a lot of time and energy on individuals who later choose not to attend. Please, don't register for camp unless you are okay with this policy. Thank you oh so very much. ~ Grace and crew


How to cancel

Contact our main office to let us know that you won't be coming. Postal mail must be received (not just postmarked) by the dates mentioned below; hence, email or phone may be the best way for you to cancel.

 

Cancel on or before March 31

We return all but $50 of your deposit(s), even if you registered for more than one session. (Yes, we know we call it a non-refundable deposit. Generally speaking it is exactly that, but this early in the year we are happy to return part of it.)


Cancel between April 1 and the cancellation deadline

We return anything you have paid above your $150 per-session non-refundable deposit. We are very busy during this time, and may not mail your check for a few weeks. If you haven't received it within a month, please prompt us. You forfeit your entire $150 non-refundable deposit, for each session of camp you had registered for. However, if it is important to you to try to get some of your deposit back, you may send us a written request (email or postal mail) explaining your circumstances. We will hold onto your request until after camp. If it turns out that the session(s) you had registered for filled up, we will consider your situation individually and at our discretion we may refund up to $100 of your deposit for that/those session/s.

 

Cancel after the cancellation deadline

We do not give refunds until after camp is over. At that point, we give refunds thusly:

1) Anyone who got contagiously sick enough at the last minute that we asked them not to come to camp gets a refund of all but $100 per session. This applies only to contagious diseases, not broken legs or non-contagious illnesses. (We may require a signed statement from a healthcare provider.) PLEASE NOTE THIS IMPORTANT EXCEPTION: if a camper who is registered for more than one session gets sick during an earlier session and then cancels his later registration/s, we may choose not to issue a refund. Ask us if you want us to explain the rationale behind that.

2) Full worktraders don't get any of their $150 non-refundable deposit back. It's difficult for us to reconfigure the worktrader lineup this late in the season.

3) For campers other than full worktraders: If your session/s of camp filled up, we retain your $150 registration deposit/s, but refund everything else.

4) If your session was not full, except in extreme circumstances we do not give refunds (except per #1 above), sorry. (Think of it this way: by registering, you contract with us to prepare a place at camp for you. This includes purchasing supplies, hiring staff, and doing all kinds of organizational and planning work. If it turns out your plans change and you can’t make it to camp, that’s a bummer and we’re sorry, but we still had to buy the stuff, hire the people, and do crazy amounts of prep work.)

If you cancel a registration and want a refund for prepaid T shirts, books, or field trips

If you cancel by the cancellation deadline, we automatically refund any of these items you have already paid for. After the cancellation deadline, we handle these individually, and you must write to us (email or post) to request refunds; our decision will depend on several factors.

No refunds for partial camp attendance

We do not give refunds when someone chooses to leave camp part way through, whether due to illness, homesickness, or any other reason. Virtually all of our expenses are incurred before the start of the camp week. Also, the staff typically spends a lot of extra time with these individuals before they leave. We are more than happy to do so, but tend to get irritated if they later ask to have their money back. (We have had approximately 24 people choose to leave camp over the past 17 years.)

Similarly, we cannot give refunds to people who have registered for more than one session if they choose during their first session not to attend another session. (Unless that session fills up anyway - see above.)

 

What if you don't get your information or money in on time and don't contact us to work out alternate arrangements, and don’t respond to our attempts to contact you, and we cancel your registration?

You definitely don't get your deposit back. Don't test our patience by asking.

 

Something truly catastrophic happens

(Someone in your family is told they have 6 months to live; a dam breaks and your house is underwater; etc. )

By all means, contact us! We're not heartless. We may ask for some kind of documentation and explanation, and we'll be more flexible if we hear from you sooner rather than later, but if you can't explain before camp, do so afterward. We'll consider your situation individually.

 

How to change a registration from one session to another

Contact us. Your deposit and other camp fees will be applied to the session of your choice. After March 31st there will be an additional fee as follows:

 

What if you’re wait listed?

If you paid your deposit by check:

We hold onto your deposit check (unless you ask us to destroy it and cancel your registration). If a spot opens up, we contact you to see if you still want it. If you do, we cash your check at that point. If not, we destroy it and cross you off the wait list. If the relevant session of camp begins and you haven’t been offered a place, we destroy your check then.

If you paid your deposit by paypal:

You can give up your position on the waitlist within 45 days of paying your deposit, and get the whole thing refunded perfectly. Or, you can stay on the wait list longer. In that case, if you don't get into camp (or don't want a spot that we eventually are able to offer to you), you will get back your deposit minus a few dollars -- approximately 3% in paypal fees.

 

Cancellation deadlines

Oregon Session 1: June 1
Oregon Session 2: July 1
Vermont: August 1

 

Rebate policy

Just to make sure it's all in one easily accessible place, for your reference, here are the facts on rebates:

If you get all your fees and all of your information in on time, we send you an automatic $100 rebate (per session). We used to say “prior to camp,” but given the timing of our last deadline (for travel information), that’s just not realistic. You can expect your rebate to be mailed within a month after that last deadline; it will likely arrive while you’re at camp. (The camper handbook, available in May, spells out relevant deadlines in detail. Essentially: money is due June 1. Most information is due July 1 [but June 15 for Oregon Sesson 1]. Travel information is due July 1 for Oregon 1, August 1 for Oregon 2, September 1 for Vermont.)