Refunds and Cancellations
IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ENSURE THAT A WRITTEN NOTIFICATION OF CANCELLATION IS RECEIVED IN THE WREB OFFICE. Notification of cancellation may be sent by overnight mail, fax, or e-mail. Exam fees cannot be transferred to a later exam (except in cases of a documented medical emergency–see details below). You must cancel out of one exam and reapply for a subsequent one. As soon as you apply, the following refund and cancellation policies apply:
- A written cancellation received in the WREB Office before or on the Application Deadline of the exam receives a full refund minus a $150 processing fee.
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A written cancellation received in the WREB Office after the Application Deadline and up to three weeks prior to the first day of the exam receives a 50% refund.
* ANESTHESIA EXAM EXCEPTION: A written cancellation of an Anesthesia exam received in the WREB Office after the Application Deadline and up to three weeks prior to the first day of the exam will be charged not less than $150 processing fee and may receive up to a 50% refund. For example, an Anesthesia exam with a registration fee of $325 would receive a refund of $162.50. Whereas an Anesthesia exam with a registration fee of $270 would receive a refund of $120.
3. A written cancellation received in the WREB Office less than three weeks prior to the first day of the exam receives no refund.
Medical Emergency Cancellation Policy
Exceptions may be made only in the case of a documented medical emergency occurring within three weeks prior to the first day of the exam. In such cases, 50% of the exam fee may be transferred to a future exam within the next 12 months upon receipt of appropriate documentation of the medical emergency and approval by the WREB Board or Executive Committee.
WREB is a not-for-profit organization, funded exclusively by candidate fees. WREB makes every effort to contain costs in order to ensure that candidate fees are as low as possible. In order to do this, costs incurred by only a small number of candidates have not been included in the exam fee, which sometimes necessitates requiring these candidates to bear the financial burden for situations that fall outside the norm. This includes such situations as cancellations and late applications. We do this in order to avoid having to charge costs of such special situations to all candidates. It is not done as a punishment to those involved in special situations (which may be beyond their control); rather, it is to keep the average costs for candidates at a more manageable level and to avoid charging costs of unusual situations to candidates who are not involved.
The “Refunds and Cancellations” policy has been set to six weeks prior to the first day of the exam, which corresponds with the application deadline, because this is the lead time needed to confirm airline reservations and final numbers of examiners. If candidates cancel after the application deadline, WREB has no recourse to recover expenses involved in contracting with the examiners. By the final cancellation deadline (Three weeks prior to the first day of the exam), all expenses, including non-refundable airline tickets, hotel reservations, and supplies, have been incurred. Cancellations less than Three weeks prior to the first day of the exam preclude the possibility of WREB finding another candidate to fill the now-empty space. A refund at this point would result in significant financial loss to WREB, and ultimately in higher exam fees for future applicants.
In the case of a medical emergency occurring within three weeks prior to the first day of the exam, a compromise policy has been adopted. Both WREB and the candidate will incur a financial loss, but neither will have to bear 100 percent of the loss. The candidate must submit documentation (depending on the emergency) in one of the following ways: (a) a letter from the treating physician (typed on the physician's letterhead stationery and mailed directly from the treating physician to WREB, attesting to the specific medical condition which results in the inability of the candidate to attend the exam); or (b) records from the emergency room; or (c) a copy of the death certificate of an immediate family member.
This documentation will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis by the WREB Executive Committee. If the Executive Committee determines the documentation warrants an exception to the published cancellation policy, WREB will transfer 50 percent of the exam fee to a new exam scheduled within twelve months of the cancelled exam. No refunds or complete transfers to another exam will be considered.