Incidentally, with regard to the university thing...

At least where I'm from, you can generally get a refund, but only if you drop the class within the first week or less.  After that time, it's your loss, because the seat could have been filled by another, paying student.

I'm kidding, not accusing you of this, so don't come jumping back in a firestorm...  Some people lately have been misinterpreting posts, so I want to make that clear.  But playing devil's advocate, one might say -

"So you basically wanted a discounted rate, while you "checked it out", rather than paying monthly, so that IF you liked it, you'd come out ahead, and otherwise, if you chose not to stick it out, you'd save a bit, by terminating early?"   

That, or:

"Dad saw the charge on his credit card, so you don't want to pay the bill."   

I'm not saying that you are wrong.  I'm not saying Thomas is wrong.  What I'm saying is, I legitimately see both interpretatons / sides of this, and that you'll have to settle it between the two of you.

I'm sure he does want it resolved. But it may not be resolved to your satisfaction.

I have spent a lot of time in colleges and universities, including one of the biggest names out there. Over the years, I had to drop some classes. If I dropped them before they began, I got a refund (if I had paid). The only time I ever got a refund after paying, when I dropped any classes after the start of the term, was the one semester I was ran over by a drunk driver.

Obviously there's a misunderstanding/miscommunication here. Regardless, there's an unhappy customer who's paid a significant amount of money for a product he's not happy with. He's not asking for all his money back, only the part he hasn't spent and doesn't intend to use. To me, that seems fair.

I also think the University analogy is not quite accurate here. Typically, a "subscription" comes with the ability to cancel, similar to a magazine, ISP, or a slew of other month-to-month items.

IMHO, HackingDojo is better served if Yet is given at least a partial refund and both parties walk away at least partly satisfied/dissatisfied. The rationale is that this kind of negative press could end up costing HackingDojo far more than the $1k they "lose".

Yet - I recommend you check out the site and see what the refund policy is (assuming there is one). Whenever I make a purchase I find out what the store's (online or brick/mortar) policy is. If they have a strict no refund policy, I typically take my business elsewhere. I do advise that you try to not to get too inflamed. Wait for Thomas to get back to you and see what you two can work out. Getting angry and getting the other guy angry just causes a stalemate. Good luck.

Update - I should caveat my post by saying that I am unfamiliar with HackingDojo and it's setup.

I don't think anyone explicitly said you don't have that right. They've just pointed out cases where people don't get a refund.

No Refund: car, house, University class,...the list goes on.
Refund/Credit: Amazon.com, book stores, insurance policy, magazine subscription,...the list goes on.

Again, stay cool. While I've never had any personal dealings with Thomas, from his posts, he seems like an okay guy and someone who's generally interested in building his course. Remember, try to find out what HackingDojo's refund policy is. I wouldn't mind seeing it posted here if it exists.

I guess I don't understand why you didn't just take the exam or blow through the material you already know. Had this been a bait-and-switch, like you're making it out to be, I'd side with you completely. Instead, it seems like you've just decided not to follow the well-publicized progression through the program and are requesting a refund because he won't make an exception for you. That's a bit different than the "He ran off with my money" scenario that the title is suggesting. I would personally also be unlikely to refund someone's money just because he arbitrarily disagreed with the approach.

The reason the annual subscription is so much cheaper (nearly 50%, I believe) is exactly because you're paying for it all up-front. It's ridiculous to expect a 75% refund because you only used 25% of the time. That would get abused to no end. Additionally, the money might get immediately reinvested in marketing, hardware, etc. and no longer be available. The reason these discounts/plans exist is often to spur growth in exchange for less profit overall. If you were unsure that this was going to be a good fit, you should have bought a single month and tested the water prior to making such a commitment.

I think ajohnson was explaining that the reason many courses do deep discount subscriptions, with no refunds, is that it costs money to maintain labs, etc.  I don't think it was suggesting "the money isn't there because it's spent on hardware, etc, but when it is, he could refund it, later."

The point is, you paid ~ (roughly) half price, or whatever it is, for a year's access to what could easily be considered intellectual property.  Thomas could easily have had other students waiting in line for your spot, who have since signed up for something else, due to availability.  Those people likely can't suddenly come around and pay for his, too, as they don't have any more extra cash lying around than you do.  So now, if he refunds you, not only did you get two months of exceptionally cheaper access, but you've in turn cost him more money, in students who missed out.

Someone contrasted to subscriptions...  Subscriptions to software assume you'll automatically have it turned off, etc.  Subscriptions to magazines, the same thing.  You aren't paying someone for their time or access to machines that are costly to maintain.  You  are also not paying their "salary."

So again, I'm not taking sides, but simply pointing out that there are multiple sides and reasons to every story.  Thomas may well work something out with you.  Or he may not.  I say be patient, and see how things progress.  Either way, I wish you well with your continued growth / learning / development, an I'm sorry you're currently disappointed and in a 'rut.'