My understanding is that UA allows full refunds under the 24 hour rule for tickets bought less than 7 days before departure - even though the website says otherwise.

Am I correct?

24-hour booking policy

With our 24-hour booking policy you can cancel your reservation within 24-hours of buying your ticket for a full refund without paying a fee. But there are a few rules:

1. You must book your flight at least one week in advance.
2. You must cancel within 24 hours of the time you made your reservation.
3. You must cancel all flights for all passengers on the reservation. Partial cancels are not eligible for this policy.
4. If you have a Basic Economy ticket or booked your flight using Money + Miles, you can't make changes but you can cancel for a full refund.