How to handle cancellations and rescheduling cleanly

Identify the change before acting

Begin with the actual confirmed Lesson. Check its pupil, Instructor, date, duration and location. Then identify what is being requested: a different time for that appointment, cancellation of it, or an end to a recurring agreement.

A request is not the outcome. If the pupil asks for a different day, the current Lesson remains booked while the change is considered. If the proposed replacement cannot work, explain whether the original appointment still stands or whether a separate cancellation is needed.

• Moved: the appointment continues at an agreed replacement time.
• Cancelled: the appointment is no longer going ahead, with its cancellation recorded.
• Future recurrence stopped: a defined set of eligible future occurrences is affected; inspect the scope rather than treating it as one Lesson.

Each business must define its own cancellation terms and how they apply. This guide explains product and process mechanics; it does not prescribe enforceable terms, cancellation fees or legal rights.

Move the appointment with its history

1. Confirm the specific Lesson and the pupil’s intended change.
2. Check the replacement date, time, duration and relevant Instructor/pupil conflicts.
3. Review meeting details and practical travel between neighbouring work.
4. Use the authorised reschedule action and inspect its result.
5. Confirm the new appointment details to the pupil.

Preserving the Lesson identity lets the record explain that this appointment moved. It avoids turning a change into an unexplained disappearance followed by an apparently unrelated booking.

If the change does not succeed, read the current Lesson again before describing it as moved. Do not create a second booking just because a proposed time looked free, then leave the original appointment active by mistake.

Record a cancellation and check its charge

A cancellation needs a visible scheduling outcome and a separate money review. Retain the original Lesson and its history so the date, pupil and decision remain understandable later.

Read the applicable policy and action summary. Do not assume that every cancellation is free or that every cancelled Lesson keeps its full original charge. The business’s terms and the supported action determine the outcome.

A chargeable cancellation has a different outcome. Check the recorded charge and net money applied rather than copying the free-cancellation example. Where the account uses balance-only tracking, do not expect per-Lesson outstanding figures.

Released time is also not automatically offered time. If you want to make the space available, review whether it is still practical and use the supported capacity workflow. A cancelled Lesson and an open TeachingSlot remain distinct.

Close the loop with the pupil

A clear follow-up names the outcome: “Thursday at 17:00 is now confirmed”, “Tuesday is cancelled”, or “the request was declined and Tuesday remains booked”. Add the meeting point and relevant money explanation where needed.

Verify the current Lesson in the diary and the pupil’s permitted view. Product communication history can help you see what the application attempted or sent, but an application-send record is not proof the pupil read an email or received it in their mailbox.

For repeated work, check which future dates remain active. For an office handover, leave enough context that another authorised person can understand the decision without reconstructing a private conversation.

The final record should answer three questions: what happened to the appointment, what happened to its money, and what is the next agreed action? Use the booking-state guide if the difference between requested and confirmed is still unclear.

How Miles & Minutes handles it

Miles & Minutes rescheduling preserves the Lesson identity and records the change. Cancellation retains the Lesson and its history. The applicable charging rules determine the financial outcome; a free cancellation reverses relevant credit allocations. A pupil’s reschedule request leaves the current Lesson unchanged until an authorised successful change. Released credit is not proof of a cash or bank refund.

Explore the product context: Requests & availability, Money & records

These are current controlled-access workflows, subject to account permissions and school/provider settings. Your signed-in Help centre gives operational guidance for your available controls.