I understand that the refund policy is documented. But “clearly documented” and “fair to the customer” are separate questions.
If a user cancels API access while still holding prepaid credits, that unused balance represents compute they never consumed. Unlike a shipped physical product or a fixed one-time service cost, unused API credit does not seem to impose much marginal cost on OpenRouter to reallocate or refund.
So the issue isn’t whether the policy is disclosed. It’s whether keeping unused prepaid credit after cancellation is the right default, especially when the user is no longer able or willing to use the service.
If a user cancels API access while still holding prepaid credits, that unused balance represents compute they never consumed. Unlike a shipped physical product or a fixed one-time service cost, unused API credit does not seem to impose much marginal cost on OpenRouter to reallocate or refund.
So the issue isn’t whether the policy is disclosed. It’s whether keeping unused prepaid credit after cancellation is the right default, especially when the user is no longer able or willing to use the service.