Beauty Clinic Closed After You Prepaid a Course: How to Claim a Refund in Thailand

The core answer

If you prepaid for a beauty or skin course and the clinic has closed, the starting point is the contract you signed and the money you can prove you paid. A closed clinic is not the same as a cancelled debt: you are still owed the unused part, but getting paid depends on whether the business or its owner still has money. Move early, put your demand in writing, and keep every document.

The rule (law and OCPB). Under section 391 of the Civil and Commercial Code, once a party rescinds a contract, each side must restore the other to its former position, and money to be returned carries interest from the day it was received. The OCPB (the Office of the Consumer Protection Board, สคบ.) has announced that beauty-service businesses are "contract-controlled" and must use a standard contract. As the OCPB summarises it, that includes a pro-rata refund of the unused part if the business closes, suspends or moves and you cannot use another branch, with refunds due within 15 days for cash, transfer or cheque and 45 days for credit card, counted from cancellation.

Our practical view. The legal right is usually clearer than the collection. Do three things at once: send a written demand, file an OCPB complaint, and if you paid by card, tell your bank. If none of these works, a consumer case in court is cheaper and simpler than most people expect.

1. Which situation are you in?

The remedy depends on the facts. Sort yours first.

For (a) and (b), the OCPB summary lists these grounds for cancelling with a pro-rata refund: the business closes, suspends or moves and no other branch is reasonable for you; the service cannot be delivered as contracted or is unreasonably delayed; a doctor certifies the service may harm your health; or your rights are transferred to a third party without your consent.

2. What does the OCPB announcement actually give you?

What the OCPB says. The OCPB news page dated 15 September 2025 describes the announcement of the Contract Committee. As summarised there, it applies to ongoing beauty services sold by number of sessions or period of time. It requires a standard contract and gives a 7-day, no-conditions cancellation with a full refund if you have not yet used the service. A local-government notice published in 2026 gives the title as the Contract Committee announcement "designating beauty-service businesses as contract-controlled businesses B.E. 2568, as amended (No. 2) B.E. 2569" and says it also covers courses, procedures, skin and body care and cosmetic surgery.

What we could not verify. We could not open the Royal Gazette text, so we cannot confirm the exact effective date or whether a course you bought earlier is covered. Before you rely on a specific clause, ask the OCPB hotline (1166) for the current announcement and check its date against your purchase date.

Even if the announcement does not apply to an older contract, the Civil and Commercial Code route in section 391 still does.

3. Is the clinic a licensed facility, and why does it matter?

The rule (Health Facilities Act B.E. 2541). A health facility (สถานพยาบาล) is a place kept for regular medical or dental practice, nursing and similar professions (section 4). Nobody may operate one without a licence (section 16), and operating without a licence is an offence (section 57 of the Act as published). A licensee who wants to stop operating must give the licensing authority written notice with a plan for patients at least 15 days beforehand (section 44). These are the 1998 texts; check the current version for later amendments.

Why it matters to a refund:

• It tells you who the legal operator is, so you know whom to demand money from.
• It is a complaint channel. The Department of Health Service Support (สบส.) takes complaints about health facilities by hotline 1426 (office hours) and can pass them to provincial public health offices.
• A missing or expired licence strengthens a complaint, but it does not create a refund by itself. The refund comes from the contract and the Civil Code.

You can check whether a clinic is licensed through the register on the Department's website (mrd.hss.moph.go.th). Not every beauty business is a licensed clinic; a spa selling skin packages may be an ordinary shop and fall only under consumer law.

4. How is a part-used course calculated?

There is no single statutory formula that we could find. The OCPB summary says the refund is "pro-rata" for the unused part. Use this order:

1. Contract first. Many contracts list a per-session price or a formula. Read it.
2. Start from what you paid, not the list price. Use the amount that actually left your account, after discounts.
3. Count delivered sessions. Use treatment records, receipts and chat messages.
4. Value free or bonus sessions carefully. If the clinic added "free" sessions, argue about them only if the contract makes them part of the price.
5. Refund the balance plus interest from the day the money was received, as section 391 provides for money to be returned. We do not state a rate here; check the current statutory rate when you calculate.

Hypothetical example. A customer pays 30,000 baht for 10 sessions. Five were delivered. A straight pro-rata approach gives 15,000 baht for the five unused sessions. If the contract valued early sessions higher, the clinic will argue for less, and section 4 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act may then be relevant (see section 7 below).

5. What documents do you need?

• Receipts, bank transfer slips and card statements showing what you paid and when
• The course contract or order form, and any photos of it
• Chat messages (LINE, Facebook, Instagram) promising the course, session counts or refund terms
• The advertisement or promotion you relied on, saved as a screenshot with date
• A list of sessions used and dates, with any treatment record
• Proof the clinic has closed: photos, a notice on the door, a deactivated page, a returned letter

If you have no written contract, see our guide on whether a verbal agreement is enforceable: Is a verbal agreement enforceable in Thailand?.

6. Which channels, in what order?

1. Written demand. State the contract, what you paid, what was delivered, the amount you claim and a deadline (7 to 15 days is typical). Send it to every address you have by a method that proves delivery. Our demand-letter service can prepare it.
2. OCPB complaint. Call 1166 or use the OCPB website or app. The OCPB is the consumer-protection regulator, and under the Consumer Case Procedure Act (section 19), the Consumer Protection Board and certified associations may sue on a consumer's behalf.
3. Credit card dispute. If you paid by card, ask your issuing bank about a dispute for services not delivered. This is a bank and card-network process; deadlines and documents are set by the bank, so ask immediately. For other payment methods, this route is generally not available.
4. Health facility complaint. Report the clinic to สบส. (1426) if it is a licensed facility, especially if it closed without notifying the authority or left patients without records.
5. Court. A consumer case (section 7 below).
6. Police. Only where the facts indicate fraud. See scammed online: how to file a police report.

7. Can you sue, and what does it cost?

The rule (Consumer Case Procedure Act B.E. 2551). A consumer case is a civil dispute between a consumer and a business operator over rights or duties arising from consuming goods or services (section 3). A consumer is exempt from court fees, but not from liability for costs at the final stage, and the court may order the waived fees paid if the claim had no reasonable grounds, was excessive or the consumer behaved improperly (section 18). The claim can be filed orally or in writing; for an oral claim a court officer records it and you sign (section 20). Where facts about the service lie within the business's exclusive knowledge, the business carries the burden of proving them (section 29).

Unfair terms. Section 4 of the Unfair Contract Terms Act B.E. 2540 applies to consumer contracts and standard-form contracts. A term that gives the business an excessive advantage is treated as unfair and enforced only to the extent fair and reasonable. Its listed examples include clauses that exclude or limit liability for breach of contract. A "no refund under any circumstances" clause in a form contract is the kind of term a court can scale back. This helps argue a case, but it does not guarantee a result.

Our practical view. Suing makes sense when the business or its owner still has assets or bank accounts. If the company is already dissolved or insolvent, a judgment may be hard to collect; see debt collection, suing and enforcement and the creditor's guide to bankruptcy and rehabilitation. For timing, see how long a civil case takes.

8. Checklist

1. Do not pay any more instalments or top-ups.
2. Collect receipts, slips, the contract, chats and ads.
3. Check whether the clinic is licensed and who the legal operator is.
4. Work out what was delivered and what is unused.
5. If you paid by card, tell the bank now.
6. Send a written demand with a deadline.
7. File an OCPB complaint (1166); add สบส. (1426) if the facility is licensed.
8. If unpaid, consider a consumer case; get advice before suing a closed or insolvent entity.
9. Report to police only if the facts indicate fraud.

Further reading

• Is a verbal agreement enforceable in Thailand?
• Scammed online: how to file a police report
• Debt collection, suing and enforcement in Thailand
• How long a civil case takes in Thailand
• Creditor's guide to bankruptcy and rehabilitation

A closed clinic still owes you the unused part of your course, so document what you paid, demand it in writing and use the OCPB, your bank and the consumer court in parallel.

We prepare demand letters and handle consumer claims as civil cases. Initial consultation is free — call +66 92 254 2045 or send us the details. See also our demand letter and legal notice services, and civil cases.

This guide is published by Suwanvara Law Firm — a Khon Kaen law firm established in 1986. General information only, not legal advice on a specific matter.