Cancellation policy

Last updated [DATE]

Plans change. This page explains exactly what happens when they do — what you get back if you cancel, what happens if the operator cancels, and the one option most people don't know they have.

How to cancel

Email hello@pompla.com from the address you booked with, or reply to your booking confirmation. Include your booking reference and the trip date.

The notice period is counted from when we receive your cancellation, not from when you decided. If you're close to a cut-off, send the email and sort out the detail afterwards — a message at 11pm on the last day still counts as that day.

What you get back if you cancel

Each operator sets the cancellation terms for their own trips, so the terms shown on your trip page are the ones that apply to your booking — always check there first. Most operators on Pompla use something close to this:

Shorter trips often run tighter windows — a three-day weekend trip may use 14 and 7 days rather than 21 and 10 — and expedition-style trips like Spiti or Ladakh usually run longer ones, because the operator commits to vehicles and permits well in advance.

Transferring your seat instead

If you're inside the no-refund window, you can usually give your seat to someone else at no charge, right up to [48 hours] before departure. Email us their name, age, phone number and email, and we'll reissue the booking.

This is worth knowing about, because it often turns a total loss into no loss at all. Most people who cancel late have a friend who'd take the trip.

If the operator cancels

Sometimes a departure doesn't run. The usual reasons are too few bookings to make the trip viable, or weather, snow, road closures or local restrictions making it unsafe.

If the operator cancels, you get a full refund of everything you paid — always, no matter how close to departure it happens. No cancellation charge applies to you. If you'd rather travel, you can move to another departure of the same trip or a different one; if that trip costs more you pay the difference, if it costs less we refund the difference.

Operators are asked to confirm minimum numbers at least [7 days] before departure, so you're not left guessing in the final week.

If a trip is cut short or changed while it's running

Mountain travel changes on the ground. A route may be altered, a summit attempt called off, or a night moved because of weather or safety. That's the operator's call and it isn't a cancellation — it's usually the reason everyone gets home safely.

If a trip is abandoned partway through for reasons within the operator's control, we'll work out a fair partial refund with them based on what wasn't delivered, and pay it through the process on our refund policy page. If it's abandoned for reasons outside anyone's control — a landslide, a sudden restriction — a refund of the unused portion depends on what the operator can recover, and we'll be straight with you about what that is.

Things that aren't refundable

• Travel you booked yourself to reach the pickup point — flights and trains to the starting city are not part of the trip price and not covered here
• Trips missed because you arrived late at the pickup point
• Trips you're unable to join because you didn't meet a stated fitness, age or medical requirement
• Removal from a trip for unsafe or seriously disruptive behaviour

Travel insurance usually covers the first two situations. It's worth having.

Medical and emergency cancellations

If you have to cancel because of illness, injury or a family emergency, tell us. We can't promise to override the operator's terms — the seat and their costs are real — but we'll ask on your behalf, and operators are often more flexible than their written policy, especially where a transfer is possible. Insurance is the reliable route here; we're the informal one.

Questions

Email hello@pompla.com. If you're unsure whether cancelling now or transferring your seat leaves you better off, ask us before you cancel — we'd rather you kept your money.