Legal

Chargeback Policy

Last updated: June 1, 2026

This Chargeback Policy explains how 8PG handles payment disputes, the contractual covenant you accept at checkout when you purchase any product, ticket, membership benefit, kit, or service from 8PG, and the remedies 8PG may pursue when a chargeback, ACH reversal, processor dispute, or similar payment reversal is filed in violation of this policy. This Chargeback Policy is incorporated into and forms part of the Terms of Service, Membership Agreement, and Refund Policy, and is enforceable as a contract between you and 8PG.

For purposes of this Chargeback Policy, “8PG,” “Company,” “we,” “us,” and “our” mean 8PG and its owners, officers, managers, employees, contractors, representatives, agents, event staff, security personnel, service providers, successors, assigns, affiliates, and authorized designees. “You” and “your” mean any purchaser, applicant, member, ticket holder, reservation holder, kit recipient, attendee, cardholder, account holder, payor, or other person who completes a transaction with 8PG, authorizes a transaction on behalf of another, or whose payment method is used to fund a transaction with 8PG.

1. Purpose and Scope

The purpose of this Chargeback Policy is to (a) document the buyer covenant accepted at checkout, (b) provide a fair, fast, and good faith dispute resolution path before any chargeback is filed, (c) define what is and is not a valid chargeback reason under the contract between you and 8PG, (d) preserve the compelling evidence index that 8PG retains for every transaction, (e) state the liquidated damages and other remedies that apply when this policy is breached, and (f) describe the governing law, venue, and arbitration framework that controls all chargeback related disputes.

This Chargeback Policy applies to every transaction completed on 8pgevents.com, every ticket reservation, every membership tier benefit, every Judges Kit and High Roller kit, every 8PG Collection apparel order, every digital download, every deposit, every upgrade, and every other purchase or transfer of value processed through any 8PG checkout, reservation flow, application flow, or hosted payment page, regardless of payment method.

2. Acknowledgment at Checkout

At every 8PG checkout, reservation, and application flow that involves a payment instrument, you are presented with an explicit, unchecked, separately worded click wrap acknowledgment that requires you to affirmatively agree to this Chargeback Policy, the Refund Policy, and the Shipping Policy before the transaction can be submitted. The click wrap acknowledgment is logged with timestamp, IP address, user agent, page URL, order identifier, and the verbatim text of the acknowledgment as displayed at the moment of acceptance.

Acknowledged at checkout: I have read and agree to the Refund Policy, Chargeback Policy, and Shipping Policy. I understand that refunds are available only within 7 days of purchase and not after my kit ships, not within 7 days of the event, and not within 7 days of kit receipt. I agree to contact 8PG at info@8pgevents.com to resolve any dispute and to provide 8PG a 5 business day cure period before initiating any chargeback, ACH reversal, processor dispute, or similar payment reversal.

By submitting any payment to 8PG, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to this Chargeback Policy. The click wrap consent receipt is retained as part of the Compelling Evidence Index described below.

3. Buyer Covenant Not to Chargeback

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you covenant and agree that you will not initiate, file, request, encourage, or participate in any chargeback, ACH reversal, card dispute, processor claim, platform dispute, online banking dispute, friendly fraud claim, “did not authorize” claim, “did not receive” claim, or any similar payment reversal request against 8PG for any transaction that was authorized by you or by any person using your account, payment method, email address, phone number, billing address, shipping address, membership profile, device, IP address, or credentials, except in the narrow case of true unauthorized payment fraud as described in Section 5 below.

This covenant is a material term of the contract between you and 8PG. The covenant is supported by the consideration 8PG provides through access to private events, member only club benefits, kits, apparel, and other goods and services, and by the good faith dispute resolution path 8PG guarantees in Section 4. The covenant survives delivery, attendance, kit receipt, membership cancellation, and any termination of your relationship with 8PG.

You acknowledge that the value of this covenant is not in restricting your rights as a cardholder, which are governed by your issuing bank and the applicable card network rules, but in establishing a clear contractual obligation to attempt informal resolution first, and in defining the contractual remedies that apply when that obligation is breached.

4. Pre Dispute Resolution Process

Before initiating any chargeback or payment reversal, you must complete the following five business day cure period. The cure period exists for your benefit and gives 8PG a defined opportunity to resolve your dispute in good faith.

4.1 Step One: Contact 8PG

Send an email to info@8pgevents.com with the subject line “Dispute” and include:

  • Your full name as it appears on the payment method.
  • The email address used at checkout.
  • The order identifier, reservation identifier, or membership identifier.
  • The date and approximate time of the transaction.
  • A description of the dispute, including what you ordered, what you received or did not receive, and what resolution you are seeking.
  • Any supporting documentation, such as screenshots, tracking links, or photos.

4.2 Step Two: 8PG Response Window

8PG will acknowledge your dispute email within 1 business day of receipt and will provide a substantive response within 5 business days of receipt. The substantive response will either (a) propose a resolution, which may include a refund consistent with the Refund Policy, a replacement, a store credit, or another good faith remedy, (b) request additional information reasonably necessary to evaluate the dispute, or (c) explain why 8PG believes the transaction was completed correctly and no remedy is appropriate.

4.3 Step Three: Resolution Attempt

You and 8PG will work in good faith for up to 10 business days from the date of 8PG’s substantive response to reach a mutually acceptable resolution. 8PG will not unreasonably refuse or delay resolution where the dispute is bona fide and within the Refund Policy or otherwise resolvable on good faith terms.

4.4 Step Four: Escalation Path

If you and 8PG cannot reach resolution after the steps above, you may escalate by requesting that the dispute be reviewed by 8PG management. Management will review within 5 business days and will provide a final position. If the final position is not acceptable to you, the dispute proceeds to mandatory pre chargeback arbitration under Section 8 below.

4.5 Cure Period Required

A chargeback, ACH reversal, processor dispute, or similar payment reversal filed before you complete the steps above and before the 5 business day cure period has elapsed is, to the fullest extent permitted by law, a material breach of this Chargeback Policy and is subject to the remedies in Section 7.

5. What Is NOT a Valid Chargeback Reason

For purposes of the contract between you and 8PG, and to the fullest extent permitted by law and applicable card network rules, the following are not valid reasons to initiate a chargeback against 8PG. Filing a chargeback based on any of these reasons is a breach of the buyer covenant in Section 3 and is subject to the remedies in Section 7.

  • Change of mind after shipment. Once a kit, apparel order, or other physical product has been shipped to the address you provided, you may not chargeback the transaction on the basis that you changed your mind, no longer want the product, or believe you ordered the wrong item.
  • Change of mind after delivery. Once a kit, apparel order, or other physical product has been delivered to the address you provided, or signed for at the door by you or any authorized recipient, you may not chargeback the transaction.
  • Failure to attend an event. A ticket is a limited revocable license to enter an event. Failure to attend, late arrival, missed entry window, transportation problems, scheduling conflicts, or personal circumstances do not entitle you to a chargeback.
  • Failure to use a member benefit. Membership benefits, kit redemptions, VIP access, judge access, and similar entitlements that are made available and not used by you are not chargeback eligible.
  • Product seal broken or product consumed. Cannabis adjacent products, hemp derived products, food, beverage, and any consumable item delivered intact and with seal unbroken is not chargeback eligible once the seal has been broken or the product has been consumed in whole or in part.
  • Kit shipped after the 7 day refund window closed. If your kit shipped or was delivered to you outside the refund eligibility window described in the Refund Policy, the original transaction is not chargeback eligible.
  • Refund window expired before you contacted 8PG. Failure to request a refund within the Refund Policy eligibility window is not a basis for a chargeback after the window closes.
  • “Did not authorize” claims rebutted by the compelling evidence index. If 8PG’s records show that the transaction was completed from your account, your email address, your billing address, your shipping address, your device, your IP range, or a payment instrument associated with your prior verified activity, and the click wrap acknowledgment was accepted at the timestamp of the transaction, the transaction is presumed authorized.
  • “Did not receive” claims contradicted by tracking or courier records. If a USPS tracking record, licensed carrier delivery confirmation, or 8PG private courier photo and signature record shows that the package was delivered to the address you provided, the transaction is presumed delivered.
  • Carrier delays not caused by 8PG. Delivery delays caused by the United States Postal Service, a licensed hemp carrier, an 8PG private courier, weather, peak season volume, address errors made by you, or any other carrier or third party condition outside 8PG’s reasonable control are not chargeback eligible.
  • Buyer or recipient absence at delivery. Failure to be present at delivery, failure to retrieve a held package, failure to respond to courier attempts to schedule delivery, or failure to provide accurate access instructions for the delivery address you provided is not chargeback eligible.
  • Event change or postponement covered by the Force Majeure tier. Where the Refund Policy Force Majeure section provides for a ticket to carry to a rescheduled date with no refund, a chargeback in lieu of accepting the carried ticket is not valid.
  • Dissatisfaction with subjective elements of an event. Dissatisfaction with venue, weather, schedule, lineup, programming, vendor mix, or experience does not entitle you to a chargeback.
  • Resale, transfer, or third party purchase failure. If you purchased through an unauthorized resale, an unauthorized transfer, a friend or family member, or any channel other than an official 8PG checkout, you are not the original cardholder and are not entitled to a chargeback through 8PG; your remedy lies with the party from whom you purchased.

This list is illustrative and not exhaustive. 8PG reserves all rights and remedies for any chargeback filed in violation of this policy.

6. Compelling Evidence Index

For every transaction processed by 8PG, the following compelling evidence record is retained and is available to 8PG, its payment processor, its acquiring bank, the issuing bank, the card networks, and any arbitration or court of competent jurisdiction in the event of a payment dispute. This index is designed to satisfy and exceed the compelling evidence requirements of Visa Core Rules CE 3.0, Mastercard Dispute Resolution, American Express dispute review, and similar processor and network frameworks.

  • Order confirmation record. The exact items ordered, prices, quantities, taxes, shipping, totals, and order identifier as displayed to you at the moment of submission.
  • IP address log. The originating IP address of the device used to complete the transaction, captured at the moment of submission.
  • Timestamp. The exact server side date and time of order submission, payment authorization, and any subsequent state change.
  • User agent string. The browser and device fingerprint reported by your device at the moment of submission.
  • Click wrap consent receipt. The verbatim text of the click wrap acknowledgment displayed at checkout, the page URL, and a record showing that the unchecked checkbox was affirmatively checked by you before submission.
  • Courier delivery photo and signature. For local California Judges Kit and High Roller kit deliveries by 8PG private courier, a photograph of the delivered package at the door, the courier’s signature confirmation, and a per delivery catalog of items dispensed to the member.
  • USPS tracking proof. For 8PG Collection apparel and any USPS shipment, the USPS tracking number, the shipment scan history, and the delivery confirmation timestamp at the destination address.
  • Licensed hemp carrier delivery proof. For far northern California Judges Kit and High Roller kit fulfillment, the licensed carrier waybill, the chain of custody documentation, the Certificate of Analysis reference, the age verified address confirmation, and the delivery confirmation.
  • Email logs. The order confirmation email, shipping notification email, delivery confirmation email, and any customer service correspondence between you and 8PG, including bounce, open, and click records where available.
  • Age verification record. The 21 and older attestation recorded at checkout, and, for cannabis adjacent kits, the government issued identification verification record captured at delivery by the 8PG private courier or by the licensed hemp carrier in accordance with applicable California law.
  • Membership profile match. Where the transaction was completed by a member, the membership identifier, the date of membership creation, the email address used at signup, and the prior verified activity history.

8PG retains this evidence for a minimum of seven years from the transaction date or as long as reasonably necessary for chargeback defense, tax, accounting, audit, and legal claim purposes, whichever is longer.

7. Liquidated Damages for Chargebacks Filed in Violation

When a chargeback, ACH reversal, processor dispute, or similar payment reversal is filed against 8PG in violation of this Chargeback Policy, the buyer covenant in Section 3, or the cure period in Section 4, you agree to pay 8PG the following stacked damages and remedies, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

  • (a) Original transaction amount. The full amount of the disputed transaction, including taxes, shipping, and fees.
  • (b) Administrative fee. A flat administrative fee of $50.00 per chargeback to compensate 8PG for the staff and processor handling time required to respond to the chargeback.
  • (c) Actual damages. The actual cost of the product, kit, ticket inventory, shipping, courier fees, return logistics, replacement product, and any other direct cost incurred by 8PG in connection with the transaction and the chargeback.
  • (d) Attorneys’ fees and collection costs. Reasonable attorneys’ fees, collection agency fees, court filing fees, arbitration filing fees, and any other reasonable cost incurred by 8PG to enforce this Chargeback Policy or to collect amounts owed.
  • (e) Liquidated damages. A flat liquidated damages amount of $500.00 per chargeback, which the parties agree is a reasonable pre estimate of the damages that 8PG suffers in staff response time, evidence assembly, processor fee exposure, ratio impact, and reputational injury that would be impracticable or extremely difficult to fix as actual damages at the time the contract was made. This liquidated damages clause is intended to comply with the standard set out in California Civil Code §1671(d) for consumer contracts. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that the $500.00 amount exceeds what is allowable under §1671(d) as applied to the specific dispute, the amount will be reformed to the maximum amount allowable as a reasonable pre estimate of damages and the remainder of this Chargeback Policy will remain in full force and effect.
  • (f) Membership and event access revocation. Permanent revocation of your 8PG membership, permanent denial of future ticket purchases, permanent denial of future event access, permanent removal from any guest list, member roster, or VIP list, and blacklisting of any associated email address, phone number, billing address, shipping address, payment instrument, device, and IP range, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

The remedies in this Section are cumulative. Payment of any one item does not waive 8PG’s right to pursue the others. Nothing in this Section limits any additional remedy available to 8PG at law or in equity, including injunctive relief, restitution, or disgorgement of profits.

8. Mandatory Pre Chargeback Arbitration

To the fullest extent permitted by law and subject to your rights as a cardholder under the rules of your issuing bank and the applicable card network, you and 8PG agree that any dispute over a transaction that is not resolved during the cure period in Section 4 must be submitted to binding individual arbitration before any chargeback, ACH reversal, processor dispute, or similar payment reversal is filed.

The arbitration will be administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under the AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules in effect at the time of filing, including the Consumer Due Process Protocol. If the AAA is unavailable, unwilling, or unable to administer the arbitration consistent with this Chargeback Policy, the parties will confer in good faith to select a comparable neutral arbitration provider. If the parties cannot agree, a court of competent jurisdiction may appoint a neutral arbitration provider.

The arbitration will be conducted by a single neutral arbitrator. The seat of arbitration will be Los Angeles County, California, unless applicable law requires otherwise or the arbitrator determines that a different location or a remote proceeding is required for fairness or legal compliance.

The arbitrator will have exclusive authority to resolve disputes regarding arbitrability, enforceability, interpretation, scope, formation, validity, and application of this arbitration provision, except that any dispute regarding the class action waiver, jury trial waiver, representative action waiver, or mass arbitration procedures may be decided by a court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator may award the same individual remedies that a court could award, subject to the limitations, waivers, releases, and caps in this Chargeback Policy, the Terms of Service, and the Membership Agreement.

Arbitration fees, administrative fees, filing fees, arbitrator compensation, and costs will be allocated in accordance with applicable AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules and applicable law. Nothing in this Chargeback Policy requires a consumer to pay arbitration fees or costs that would make arbitration unavailable, prohibitively expensive, unconscionable, or unlawful under applicable law. If any fee or cost provision is found unenforceable, it will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to preserve the enforceability of this arbitration agreement while complying with applicable law.

Nothing in this Section limits your right to file a complaint with your issuing bank, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation, or any other regulatory body where such a right is provided by law.

9. Right of Setoff

To the fullest extent permitted by law, 8PG reserves the right to set off any amount you owe to 8PG under this Chargeback Policy, the Refund Policy, the Terms of Service, or the Membership Agreement against any credit, refund, future purchase amount, store credit, deposit, prepayment, or other amount that 8PG owes to you or holds on your behalf. 8PG will provide you written notice of any setoff applied, and the setoff will be itemized.

10. Membership Revocation

A chargeback or payment reversal filed in violation of this Chargeback Policy is grounds for permanent revocation of your 8PG membership. Membership is a limited, revocable, personal, non transferable privilege under the Membership Agreement. Revocation under this Section is permanent, applies to all future 8PG events and memberships, and may be enforced against any associated email address, phone number, billing address, shipping address, payment instrument, device, and IP range, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

Revocation does not entitle you to a refund of any prior membership fee, ticket, kit, or other amount paid to 8PG, and does not relieve you of any continuing obligation under this Chargeback Policy, the Refund Policy, the Terms of Service, or the Membership Agreement.

11. Visa and Mastercard Framework Reference

This Chargeback Policy is drafted to align with and supplement the dispute resolution frameworks operated by the major card networks, including Visa Core Rules and Visa Product and Service Rules (including the Visa Compelling Evidence 3.0 framework for “card absent transaction” disputes), the Mastercard Chargeback Guide and Mastercard Dispute Resolution Initiative, the American Express Dispute Review framework, and the Discover Dispute Resolution framework. Nothing in this Chargeback Policy is intended to override any mandatory provision of any such framework, and where any provision of this Chargeback Policy conflicts with a mandatory provision of an applicable card network framework, the mandatory framework provision controls only to the extent of the conflict.

8PG retains the compelling evidence described in Section 6 specifically to satisfy and exceed the requirements of the card network frameworks, and to support 8PG’s position in any dispute representment.

12. Customer Service Promise

8PG is committed to fair, fast, and good faith dispute resolution. As a customer service promise:

  • 8PG will acknowledge every dispute email sent to info@8pgevents.com within 1 business day of receipt.
  • 8PG will provide a substantive response within 5 business days of receipt.
  • 8PG will resolve bona fide complaints with a refund consistent with the Refund Policy, a replacement, a store credit, or another good faith remedy at 8PG’s option, where the dispute is within the Refund Policy or otherwise resolvable on good faith terms.
  • 8PG will not retaliate against any customer for exercising the dispute resolution rights described in this Chargeback Policy.
  • 8PG will not deny future service to any customer based solely on a good faith dispute resolved through this process, provided no chargeback was filed in violation of this Chargeback Policy.

This Customer Service Promise is binding on 8PG and is part of the consideration that supports the buyer covenant in Section 3.

13. Severability and Survival

If any provision of this Chargeback Policy is found by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, void, or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permitted by law and modified or reformed to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable. If modification or reformation is not permitted, the unenforceable provision will be severed, and the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

Any provision that by its nature should survive termination, completion, or cancellation of the transaction or your relationship with 8PG will survive, including the buyer covenant, the cure period requirement, the liquidated damages, the right of setoff, the arbitration agreement, the governing law and venue provisions, and the compelling evidence retention.

14. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

This Chargeback Policy is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles, except where federal law preempts California law or where applicable law requires otherwise. The parties select California law because 8PG Events maintains its principal place of business in California, the majority of relevant transactions are processed and fulfilled in California, and California consumer contracts law (including California Civil Code §1671(d)) provides a well developed framework for the liquidated damages and dispute resolution provisions in this Chargeback Policy.

Subject to the arbitration agreement in Section 8, any court proceeding that is not subject to arbitration must be brought in the state or federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California, unless applicable law requires a different venue. You consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in those courts and waive any objection based on inconvenient forum or lack of personal jurisdiction, to the fullest extent permitted by law.

15. Modifications

8PG may modify, update, revise, supplement, replace, or amend this Chargeback Policy at any time. Changes are effective when posted on 8pgevents.com or otherwise made available, unless a later effective date is stated. 8PG will update the “Last updated” date below each time the policy changes. For material changes, 8PG may require you to expressly re confirm acceptance at the next checkout, reservation, or membership activation before allowing the transaction to proceed.

The version of this Chargeback Policy in effect at the time of your transaction governs that transaction. Continued use of 8PG services after an updated Chargeback Policy is posted constitutes acceptance of the updated policy for all future transactions.

16. Contact

For dispute resolution, cure period requests, chargeback policy questions, or any other matter relating to this Chargeback Policy, contact 8PG at:

Please include enough information for 8PG to identify your transaction and process your dispute, including your name, email address used at checkout, order identifier, and a description of the dispute.

Last updated: June 1, 2026