Refund Policy

1. Overview

This policy explains how refunds, cancellations, and billing disputes are handled for VerifiedBizLink's paid subscription plans (Verified Business, Premium Business, and Enterprise Partner — see our Pricing page). It should be read together with our Terms & Conditions.

The free Basic Listing tier is not billed and this policy does not apply to it.

2. 7-Day Cooling-Off Period

In line with the cooling-off right for electronic transactions under South Africa's Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, if this is your first time subscribing to a paid tier, you may cancel within 7 calendar days of your initial payment for a full refund, no questions asked — email billing@verifiedbizlink.co.za from the email address on your account.

The cooling-off right does not apply to a subscription you have already used the cooling-off period for previously (e.g. you cancelled once and are resubscribing), or where you have substantially used paid features in a way that goes beyond reasonably evaluating the service (for example, if your business has already received and benefited from a completed vetting review during that window).

3. After the Cooling-Off Period

Once the 7-day cooling-off period has passed:

• Subscription fees already charged for the current billing month are non-refundable, including if you stop using the Platform partway through the month.
• You can cancel auto-renewal at any time from Settings → Subscription, or by emailing us. Cancelling stops the next billing cycle — you keep paid features until the end of the period you've already paid for.
• We do not provide partial or pro-rated refunds for unused time in a billing period you cancel mid-cycle.

4. Exceptions — When We Will Refund

Outside the cooling-off window, we will still refund a payment where:

• You were charged in error (e.g. duplicate charge, or billed after you had already cancelled)
• A technical fault on our side prevented you from accessing the paid features you were billed for, and we were unable to fix it within a reasonable time
• We are required to refund you under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or other applicable South African law

To request one of these refunds, contact us within 30 days of the charge with your account email and the date of the payment in question.

5. Upgrades & Downgrades

If you upgrade to a higher tier mid-cycle, the new tier's features apply immediately and the new price takes effect from your next billing date — we don't charge a pro-rated top-up for the remainder of the current cycle. If you downgrade, the change takes effect at your next renewal; you keep your current tier's features until then.

6. How to Cancel or Request a Refund

1. Go to Settings → Subscription and select "Cancel Subscription," or
2. Email billing@verifiedbizlink.co.za from your account's registered email address with your business name and the reason for the request.

We aim to acknowledge refund requests within 2 business days and, where a refund is due, to process it within 10 business days. Refunds are returned to the original payment method via our payment processor (PayFast, or Stripe/PayPal where used) and may take a few additional days to reflect, depending on your bank or card issuer.

7. Failed Payments & Chargebacks

If a scheduled payment fails, we may retry it and will notify you by email; continued failure may result in your account reverting to the free tier. If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank instead of contacting us first, we reserve the right to suspend your account while the dispute is investigated, and to recover any resulting processor fees where permitted by law.

8. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time; changes apply to payments made after the update takes effect. The "Effective date" above reflects the latest revision.

9. Contact

Billing and refund questions: billing@verifiedbizlink.co.za