Ticket Cancellation, Schedule Changes and Refund Policy

This policy applies to paid bus and minibus reservations sold or facilitated by RYDZ on participating routes where ticketing is enabled. It must be read with the specific Operator/fare conditions shown before payment and the laws of Malawi, particularly the Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act and Consumer Protection Act. A blanket "tickets are always non-refundable" statement is not this policy. If a term conflicts with mandatory law, the statutory right prevails.

In the RYDZ app, a confirmed ticket can be cancelled from your tickets list up to 2 hours before the scheduled departure. Within 2 hours of departure the ticket can no longer be cancelled online; contact support@rydzmw.com or call or WhatsApp +265 222 247 247, identifying the booking and departure. RYDZ does not currently charge a fee to cancel a ticket online, and the seat is released for resale. Any other voluntary cancellation fee, fare restriction, date-change or credit option must have been clearly displayed prior to purchase. Where the Operator offers flexible, refundable, promotional or restricted fares, the correct fare rule applies to the specific ticket, not a rule invented after payment. An undisclosed blanket administrative fee is not permitted. Where a statutory withdrawal right exists and no exception applies, RYDZ and the Operator will honor it regardless of the voluntary fare type.

Malawi's Electronic Transactions and Cyber Security Act includes a general withdrawal regime for certain electronic services (section 35) with specified conditions and exceptions, provisions on review/correction before order placement (section 38), and remedies for unperformed services (section 37). Whether and how an exception applies is determined for the actual transaction; ticket issuance alone is not automatically treated as consent to start all transport services. In a qualifying section 35 withdrawal, the law generally requires reimbursement within 14 days of cancellation; non-performance may carry a 7-day refund obligation under section 37. Customers retain other applicable remedies, including those under the Consumer Protection Act.

If the Operator cancels a departure, cannot honor confirmed seats, ceases to serve the booked route or refuses boarding because of its own operational failure, the passenger may choose an available, suitable alternative or request a refund of the unperformed transport consideration and mandatory associated sums, consistent with law. A substitute requiring a different day, material destination change, lower service class, unacceptable delay or additional payment is not automatically equivalent. RYDZ traces the booking and helps process the remedy even if the Operator holds the fare.

We notify passengers promptly when reliable information becomes available. A change that materially defeats the journey's agreed purpose may qualify for cancellation or other remedies; it is assessed by the actual commitment, operator terms, consumer law, length of delay and available alternatives. A breakdown before boarding generally warrants re-accommodation or refund of unperformed service. If travel has partly occurred, fair partial refunds, onward transport and direct loss claims are considered as legally applicable; there is no automatic full-price forfeiture for an uncompleted journey.

If an Operator operates the booked service and the passenger fails to attend after clearly disclosed check-in rules, the Operator's lawful no-show conditions may apply. RYDZ confirms the departure actually occurred and that notices and terms were available at purchase. Claims about wrong passenger names, invalid boarding codes or changed stations are assessed for correction rights, system fault and operator conduct. A passenger cannot demand free replacement for an intentionally used or transferred ticket contrary to disclosed rules, but fraudulent redemptions or validator errors will be investigated.

When payment succeeds but no valid ticket is issued, RYDZ investigates the payment status, seat allocation and booking record. RYDZ either issues the valid ticket promptly where feasible or refunds an unfulfilled transaction consistent with law and the customer's choice where applicable. If a payment arrives after the seat hold has lapsed and the seats were released, the booking is not confirmed and the payment is refunded. Provable duplicates and double-sale errors are reversed; RYDZ will not instruct a customer to buy twice without checking the original reference.

The customer receives information on the refund amount, any lawful deduction, party responsible and intended payment method. Refunds go back by the original payment channel where feasible and lawful, otherwise by an agreed lawful method:

Each booking is refunded once; RYDZ tracks every mobile-money refund until it is paid and retries a payout that the provider reports as failed. A transaction fee charged by the payment provider when you paid is not part of the ticket amount. Credits or vouchers require informed consent where a monetary refund is due. Service fees collected by RYDZ are treated in accordance with the underlying statutory or contractual basis and are not automatically withheld on Operator cancellation. Tax adjustments and processor reconciliation are documented.

A customer may use lawful mobile-money dispute procedures. RYDZ may request reasonable evidence to prevent duplicate reimbursement, but may not retaliate for a legitimate complaint. Stolen tickets, forged QR codes, false cancellation evidence and duplicate refund claims may be investigated proportionately. Retain only necessary evidence under the Privacy Policy.

Send booking reference, passenger name where necessary, scheduled departure, operator, payment reference, reason and supporting information to support@rydzmw.com. We will coordinate with the Operator and give a reasoned decision, a transparent refund calculation and escalation route. For unresolved consumer claims, see Complaints and Dispute Resolution.

Tickets are sold only for routes and departures that a participating Operator has set up and RYDZ has enabled, together with the Operator's timetable, seat capacity and boarding rules. The cancellation rules that apply to a ticket are those in this policy together with any Operator fare rules shown before purchase. Ticketing is not offered on a route where reliable ticket issuance, capacity and refund handling are not in place.