Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. Your statutory rights

• ECTA section 44 (cooling-off): if you are a consumer and the transaction is an electronic transaction, you may cancel without reason and without penalty within seven days after the date you received the goods, or within seven days after the date the service agreement was concluded. The only charge we may levy is the direct cost of returning goods. If you have paid, we will refund you within 30 days of cancellation.
• CPA section 20 (returns): where the CPA applies, you may return goods within 10 business days after delivery in the circumstances set out in section 20, and we will refund the price paid, less any amount the law allows us to charge.
• CPA section 56 (implied warranty): goods supplied to a consumer carry the implied warranty of quality for six months after delivery. If the goods fail to meet the required standards, you may choose a repair, a replacement or a refund, subject to the CPA.
• CPA section 14 (fixed-term agreements): if a fixed-term consumer agreement applies, you may cancel at any time on 20 business days’ written notice, subject to payment for services already supplied and a reasonable cancellation penalty.

Nothing in this policy is intended to waive or reduce those rights.

2. Cancelling a project or service

You may cancel a project or recurring service by emailing info@blackbartechnologies.co.za with your name, the service, the start date and the reason for cancellation. Cancellation takes effect when we confirm receipt in writing.

On cancellation we will:

• stop work as soon as reasonably possible;
• give you an itemised account of work performed and third-party costs incurred up to the cancellation date;
• refund any amount you have paid in advance that is not yet earned, less any lawful cancellation charge and non-cancellable third-party costs;
• return or delete your data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and the applicable agreement.

3. Deposits and milestone payments

Project deposits secure capacity and are applied against the first milestone. If you cancel before work starts, we will refund the deposit less any third-party costs we have already incurred and cannot recover. If you cancel after work has started, the deposit is applied to work performed and third-party costs, and any balance is refunded or invoiced as appropriate.

4. Work already performed

Where a service has been performed or partly performed, you remain liable for the reasonable value of that work, including design, development, consulting, configuration, migration and support time. We will provide a written breakdown on request. If the work is defective or not performed with reasonable skill and care, we will first be given a reasonable opportunity to remedy it, without prejudice to your statutory rights.

5. Recurring and subscription services

Recurring services (such as managed IT, VoIP, hosting or support plans) are billed in advance for the period stated in your agreement. Unless the law requires otherwise:

• cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period, unless we agree otherwise in writing;
• fees for the current period are not refunded on a pro-rata basis, except where required by law or where we fail to provide the service;
• we may charge a reasonable cancellation penalty for discounts or hardware subsidies granted on the basis of the full term;
• you remain liable for amounts due up to the effective date of cancellation.

6. When a full refund is payable

We will refund the relevant amount in full (or provide a replacement or repair, where the law allows) if:

• you validly cancel under ECTA section 44;
• you validly return goods under CPA section 20;
• goods fail the CPA section 56 implied warranty and you choose a refund;
• we cannot provide the service you paid for and cannot offer a reasonable alternative;
• we charged you in error or for a service you did not authorise.

7. When a refund is not payable

Subject to your statutory rights, we do not refund:

• fees for work already performed and accepted;
• third-party licence, domain, hosting or hardware costs that have already been paid to a supplier and cannot be recovered;
• custom development or design work that has been delivered and accepted;
• amounts forfeited under a lawful cancellation penalty;
• services used in breach of our Terms of Service or the law.

8. How refunds are paid

Approved refunds are paid to the original payment method where possible, or by electronic transfer to an account in the same name as the payer. We aim to process refunds within 10 business days of approval, and in any event within the period required by law (30 days for ECTA cooling-off refunds). Bank charges imposed by your bank are not refundable by us.

9. Damaged or defective goods

If goods arrive damaged or defective, contact us within 48 hours of delivery (and in any event within the period allowed by the CPA) with your order number and photographs. We will arrange a repair, replacement or refund in accordance with the CPA. Do not return goods without prior authorisation so that we can track the return.

10. Contact