Refund Policy

Last updated: 9 November 2026

1. Scope

This policy applies to purchases of Databias services, including email branding subscriptions, and domain registration, renewal, transfer and DNS zone services. It forms part of our Terms & Conditions and is intended to be consistent with the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA).

2. Cooling-off period

1. If you are a consumer and bought a service from us online or by other electronic means, you may cancel the transaction without reason or penalty within 7 days of the agreement being concluded (section 44 of ECTA).
2. If you cancel in this period we will refund all amounts you paid, less our direct cost of returning or recovering goods (not applicable to digital services) and any portion of the service you have already used where the law allows. For subscriptions, we may deduct a pro rata charge for any days of service used if you asked us to start immediately.
3. Where the CPA gives you a cooling-off right (for example a 5 business day right following direct marketing under section 16), that right applies to the extent it is more favourable to you.
4. The CPA and ECTA do not apply to every customer. For example, the CPA does not generally protect juristic persons (companies) whose annual turnover or asset value is R2 million or more. Business customers in this category are not entitled to statutory cooling-off, but see clause 5.

3. Non-refundable items

As permitted by section 42(2) of ECTA and the nature of the service, the following are not refundable, except where required by law or where there is a fault on our part:

• Domain registrations, renewals and transfers, once submitted to the Registry. The registration fee is paid to the Registry and third parties and cannot be recovered by us. A domain can be cancelled before it is submitted to the Registry.
• Services that were fully supplied or began with your consent before the end of the cooling-off period, to the extent supplied.
• Custom or bespoke work such as signature design or integration, once started.
• Fees for periods already used after the cooling-off period has ended.
• Third-party charges such as Registry fees, certificate costs and payment gateway fees.

4. Defective or undelivered services

Nothing in this policy limits your rights under section 54 of the CPA. If a service is not performed with reasonable care and skill, does not meet the standard we described, or is not delivered, you may ask us to remedy it, or to refund the price paid for the affected part. Please notify us within a reasonable time, and no later than 20 business days after discovering the problem, at support@databias.co.za. We will first try to correct the problem.

5. Subscriptions, renewals and downgrades

1. Subscriptions renew automatically. You can cancel at any time and service continues to the end of the paid period. We do not refund the unused part of a period after the cooling-off period has ended, except where required by law.
2. If you were charged for a renewal and you notified us of your intention to cancel before the renewal date, we will refund the renewal charge in full.
3. If you notify us within 7 days of an automatic renewal that you did not intend to renew and have not used the service in the new period, we will refund that renewal as a goodwill gesture, except for domain renewals which have already been submitted to the Registry.

6. Domain-specific notes

• Many Registries provide a short grace period for deletion at their discretion. Where a Registry credits us for a cancelled registration within that grace period, we will refund you the amount we recover.
• Mistyped domain names, change of mind, or loss of the business need for a domain are not grounds for a refund once the registration has been submitted.
• DNS zone hosting and resource record management fees are refunded in accordance with clauses 2 to 5.

7. How to request a refund

1. Email support@databias.co.za with your company name, account email address, the invoice or order number and the reason for your request.
2. We will respond within 5 business days.
3. Approved refunds are paid to the original payment method within 10 business days of approval, in South African Rand. Your bank or card issuer may take additional time to process it.

8. Refunds for card payments

Refunds are paid back to the card or account originally used for the purchase, in South African Rand. We cannot refund to a different card or account. Depending on your bank, the credit may take 5 to 10 business days to appear after we process it. Where the original payment is in dispute, the refund is processed through the payment provider's dispute process.

9. Cancelled and failed orders

If a payment is declined or an order cannot be fulfilled (for example because a domain name is no longer available), no charge is made or the full amount is refunded promptly. We will notify you by email.

10. Chargebacks

Please contact us before disputing a charge with your bank so we can resolve it quickly. Where a chargeback is raised for a valid charge, we may suspend the related services until it is resolved.

11. Complaints

If you are unhappy with the outcome, you may escalate to the National Consumer Commission, the relevant consumer ombud, or the National Consumer Tribunal.

12. Contact

Databias [Registered company name], [Physical address], South Africa
Email: support@databias.co.za · Telephone: [Telephone number]

This policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.