Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. How billing works

CertifChat is a subscription service billed in advance through Paddle, our Merchant of Record and payment provider. You choose a plan billed monthly or annually, and your subscription renews automatically at the end of each period until you cancel. Usage consumes credits: your plan includes a monthly allowance that resets each period and does not roll over, and you can buy prepaid top-up packs or turn on optional auto-recharge. Prices and any taxes are shown at checkout and on our pricing page.

2. Trials

Where we offer a paid trial, it is a one-time charge that gives you a limited credit allowance for a fixed number of days. Unless you cancel before the trial ends, your paid subscription starts automatically on the stated plan and price when the trial period is over. You can cancel at any time during the trial to avoid converting to a paid plan. Because the trial gives you immediate access and credits, the one-time trial fee is non-refundable once the trial has begun, except where the law requires otherwise.

3. How to cancel

You can cancel your subscription yourself at any time from the billing page in your dashboard, which opens the secure Paddle billing portal where you can manage or cancel your plan. If you have trouble, email hello@certifchat.com and we will help. Cancelling stops future renewals. Your plan stays active until the end of the period you have already paid for, and you keep access to paid features and your remaining credits until then.

4. Refunds on subscriptions

Subscription fees are charged in advance for the upcoming period. We do not provide prorated refunds for the unused part of a billing period after a cancellation, except where required by law or where we agree otherwise in writing. If you were charged because of a clear billing error on our side, or a duplicate charge, contact us and we will correct it and refund the affected amount.

5. The 30-day deflection guarantee

This is the exception to section 4, agreed here in writing. If your assistant has not answered at least 30% of your visitors' questions without a human handoff within your first 30 days on a paid plan, email hello@certifchat.com within 30 days of that period ending and we will refund what you paid for it in full, and help you export the content you loaded.

Two conditions, both visible to you in your own dashboard: you must have loaded at least one knowledge source, and the widget must have been live on your site and received real visitor questions. The deflection rate we use is the resolution rate shown in your analytics for that period. It applies once per account, to the first paid period, and does not apply to the $9 trial fee or to prepaid credit top-up packs.

6. Upgrades and downgrades

You can change plans at any time from the billing page. Upgrades take effect immediately, and Paddle charges a prorated amount for the rest of the current period. Downgrades on a paid plan take effect at the end of your current billing period, so you keep your current plan's features and credits until then and are billed at the lower price from the next renewal. You can see the exact amount and effective date before you confirm any change.

7. Prepaid credit packs and auto-recharge

Top-up credit packs and auto-recharge are prepaid purchases of digital credits that are delivered to your balance right away. Because they are used to run the Service and are consumed as you go, purchased credits are non-refundable once bought, except where the law requires otherwise. Unused prepaid credits remain in your balance and do not expire while your account is active. You can turn auto-recharge off at any time from the billing page, and you can set a monthly limit on it.

8. Failed payments

If a renewal or auto-recharge payment fails, we may retry it and may pause paid features until payment succeeds. If you believe a charge failed in error, update your payment method on the billing page or contact us.

9. Your statutory rights

Nothing in this policy removes rights you have under the law of the country where you live. If you are a consumer in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you may have a statutory right to withdraw from a purchase of digital services within 14 days. Where you ask us to start the Service immediately and begin using it or consuming credits within that period, you acknowledge that you may lose the withdrawal right for the part already supplied. We will always honor the mandatory refund and cancellation rights that apply to you.

10. How to request a refund

To ask about a charge or request a refund, email hello@certifchat.com from the email on your account, and include the date and amount of the charge. Approved refunds are returned to your original payment method through Paddle, and the time it takes to appear depends on your bank or card issuer. If you have a billing concern, please contact us first so we can resolve it directly rather than opening a card dispute.

11. Contact

Questions about billing, cancellations, or refunds? Reach us at hello@certifchat.com or through our contact page.