Refund Policy
We regret that we are unable to offer refunds for memberships other than in a strictly limited range of circumstances, as follows:
- Where a membership has been purchased in error (e.g. you accidentally buy two memberships when you only intended to buy one)
- Where the wrong type of membership has been purchased in error (e.g. you buy a Young Adult membership when you intended to buy a Teen membership)
- Where the convention made an error (e.g. we tell you that you do not yet have a membership and then find out that you did, in fact, have one.)
- When a member passes away
- When you wish to abandon an in-progress installment plan. In this case, we will refund you down to the Supporting level, as long as we are notified of your request by May 31, 2022. See the installment plan page for more details
In the first three cases above, we will refund in good faith, so long as we are notified of the request promptly (normally within seven days) of the error coming to light.
Although we cannot refund memberships outside of these circumstances, many members have had success in the past selling unwanted memberships. Memberships can be advertised for sale on our Facebook group. Once you have sold your membership, you will need to follow the transfer process (see below) to tell us about the change.
You can also donate your membership to the Chicago Worldcon Community Fund so that it can be passed along to someone who wants to attend and cannot afford it.
Transfer Process
You may transfer your membership to another person at any time, so long as they are eligible for the membership in question. (For instance, a Young Adult membership can only be transferred to another person in the Young Adult age range).
To request a transfer, please email us from the email address currently associated with the membership. It is essential that the person transferring the membership submits the request, so that we know it is genuine.
When requesting a transfer, please tell us:
- Your name
- Your membership number (if known)
- The name of the person to whom you wish to transfer the membership
- The e-mail address of the person to whom you wish to transfer the membership
Once we have validated the request and entered the change in our registration system, an automated email will be sent to both the transferer and the recipient confirming the change. The recipient can then log into the registration system themselves to set up the rest of their data (contact information, publications preferences, badge name, etc.).
Please note that any unused WSFS rights you hold will automatically transfer with the membership. It is not possible to transfer a membership while retaining your rights to vote for the Hugo Awards or in Site Selection.