Refund Policy

Last updated: 10 April 2025 · Questions: support@neelnetworks.com · Governing law: Mumbai, India

We take a great deal of pride in the work we deliver, and we stand behind every project. Our first instinct, always, is to put things right — through revisions, a different approach, or additional work at no cost. A refund is the last step, not the first.

This policy applies to every service we provide: web design and development, eCommerce, mobile applications, SEO and digital marketing, AI solutions, graphic and UI/UX design, website maintenance, prepaid support hours, and domain and hosting services. It applies to clients everywhere in the world.

By making a payment to Neel Networks, you confirm that you have read and accepted this policy. It forms part of our Terms of Service.

Neel Networks is a service business. Unlike buying a product, our work involves real time, design effort, development hours and team resources that are committed the moment a project begins. For that reason our policy is built around the stage of work completed rather than a simple return window.

Our commitment to every client is this:

• We will always try to put it right first. If you are unhappy with any deliverable, please tell us. We will address it through revisions, a different approach, or a fresh solution before a refund is ever discussed.
• We will be transparent. If a refund is due, we will tell you clearly what amount applies and why. You will never have to chase us for an answer.
• We will be fair. We will not charge for work that was never done, and we do not refund work that was properly delivered and accepted.
• We keep a record. Approvals, change requests and written communication form the basis for assessing any claim, which is why we request that all project decisions be confirmed by email.

All refund requests must be made in writing to support@neelnetworks.com. We are not able to act on a verbal request, as a written record protects both of us.

This is a summary. The full detail for each service is in the sections that follow.

May be eligible for a refund

• A service that was not delivered in line with the agreed scope
• A project cancelled before any work has begun
• A balance paid in full where the website was not launched within the agreed timeframe and the delay was ours
• A project we are unable to complete
• A duplicate or mistaken payment
• An Annual Maintenance Plan, prorated, where we have been unable to deliver

Not eligible for a refund

• The 50% advance, once work has commenced
• Work completed and approved at any stage
• A design approved by you, where you later change your mind
• Domain registration fees
• Hosting fees once the account is active
• SSL certificate fees
• Premium plugin and theme licences
• Third-party API or software costs
• SEO retainer months for which reports were delivered
• Prepaid support hours once used
• An Annual Maintenance Plan once activated, where you choose to cancel
• Delays caused by late content, late feedback or a lack of response

This covers website design, web development, eCommerce (WordPress, WooCommerce, Shopify), MERN stack, Laravel, mobile applications and AI solutions.

How payment is structured

Our standard model is 50% in advance before work begins and 50% before delivery. Milestone-based projects follow the same principle, with payments tied to agreed deliverables.

What applies at each stage

A few conditions worth knowing

• Design approval is final. Once you approve a mockup, a homepage design or any deliverable in writing, that approval stands. A change of mind afterwards does not create a refund entitlement, and a fresh design will be quoted as new work.
• Unlimited revisions means within the agreed scope. Revisions refine what was agreed. A complete redesign or an entirely new concept is a new piece of work rather than a revision, and will be quoted separately.
• Delays on your side do not create a refund. If content, feedback or approvals arrive late, the project is simply rescheduled for when you are ready. No refund applies.
• Abandoned projects. If we do not hear from you for more than 60 days, we may treat the project as abandoned and the advance is forfeited. Please see the termination clause in our Terms of Service.

In short, the 50% advance is not refundable once work has commenced, whatever the reason for cancellation. It covers the team allocation, the briefing, the research and the early design or development work already invested in your project.

SEO and digital marketing are delivered over time, and outcomes depend on search engine algorithms, competition, content quality and a great many factors outside anybody's control. No reputable agency anywhere can guarantee a particular ranking by a particular date, and we will never promise one.

What may be refunded

• If we have not commenced any work in the first month after payment, that month's retainer is refundable in full.
• If a specific agreed deliverable — a technical audit, a keyword strategy, a content brief — was not provided as promised, a partial refund for that deliverable may be considered.

What is not refunded

• Monthly retainers for months in which reports and deliverables were provided, even where rankings did not improve in that period
• A refund requested purely because of ranking outcomes
• Setup fees — technical audit, keyword research, on-page work — once completed
• Content writing once the content has been delivered for review
• Google Ads management fees. Ad spend is paid directly to Google and cannot be returned by us

SEO is a long-term investment. If you are unhappy with the direction of a campaign, please speak to us. We will review the strategy and adjust our approach willingly, and in most cases that resolves the concern.

Annual Maintenance Plans are paid for a twelve-month period in advance and represent a commitment of our team's time across that year.

What is not refunded

• A plan is not refundable once activated where you wish to cancel for reasons unconnected with our performance
• Unused page or product allowances at the end of the plan year
• Unused months, where the cancellation is yours

What may be refunded

• If we are genuinely unable to meet our obligations under the plan for reasons within our control, a prorated refund for the remaining unused months may be issued, after deducting the value of everything already delivered
• If a plan was purchased but never activated — no work commenced and no requests raised — a refund less administrative costs may be considered within 7 days of payment

Please also see our Annual Maintenance Plan Terms for the full terms governing your plan.

• If you have purchased a pack of hours and none have been used, a full refund may be requested within 14 days of purchase.
• If fewer than 30% of the hours have been used, a partial refund for the genuinely unused hours may be considered within 30 days of purchase.
• Hours already used, and work already delivered, are not refundable.
• After 30 days from the date of purchase, hours are no longer refundable.

Please remember that prepaid hours never expire. If you have bought hours and not yet used them, they remain yours indefinitely, so there is rarely any need to ask for a refund at all.

Creative work is time-intensive and highly individual, so the position is a little different.

What may be refunded

• Where design work has not yet begun, a refund less administrative costs is available within 7 days of payment
• Where initial concepts have not yet been presented, a partial refund less briefing and research time may be considered

What is not refunded

• Concepts once presented for review, even where the direction is not to your taste. We will revise within the agreed scope instead
• Logos, brand assets, UI screens or any other work you have signed off
• A change of mind or a change of brand direction after approval
• Designs set aside because the brief changed after the design phase had begun

If the creative direction is not right, please tell us before approving. Revisions exist precisely so that you can guide the work to something you are happy with.

Domain and hosting costs are paid to registrars and hosting providers on your behalf, usually within minutes of purchase. Once paid, they cannot be recovered from the provider, and so they are not refundable. This is an industry-wide position rather than ours alone.

• Domain registration fees, once the domain is registered
• Hosting fees, once the account has been set up and activated
• SSL certificate fees, once the certificate has been issued
• Domain renewal fees, once paid to the registrar
• Premium, country-specific or specially acquired domains

Please also see our Domain & Hosting Terms.

Whatever the service or the circumstances, the following cannot be refunded:

• The 50% advance, once work has commenced on any project
• Any deliverable formally approved by you in writing — a design, a development milestone, content or any other output
• Third-party costs paid on your behalf — domains, hosting, SSL, premium plugins, themes, APIs, stock images or external software
• Work completed before a cancellation. Work up to the date of cancellation is always billable
• A change of mind after any written sign-off
• Dissatisfaction with business outcomes — traffic, leads, sales, conversion or rankings — which depend on many factors beyond our work
• Delays caused on your side, including late content, delayed approvals or long periods without a reply
• Work needed to repair damage caused by you or by a third party given access by you
• SEO reports, audits and strategy documents already delivered, whether or not the recommendations were implemented
• Any service where the delivered product has been publicly launched or put into use

If you believe a refund is due, please follow the steps below. All requests must be in writing.

1. Write to support@neelnetworks.com with the subject line “Refund Request”. Please include your name, the project name or invoice number, the service concerned and a clear explanation, along with any relevant emails, screenshots or documents.
2. We acknowledge within 2 business days and confirm the next steps. We may ask for a little more information in order to assess the request properly.
3. We try to resolve the concern first. Before processing any refund we will explore whether the matter can be settled through revisions, additional work or an alternative solution. Where we can put it right, we will, quickly and at no extra cost.
4. We assess eligibility within 5 business days against this policy and the terms of your particular project, and we explain our decision clearly, including the amount and the reasoning.
5. Approved refunds are processed within 10 business days to the original payment method, and you will receive a confirmation once the refund has been initiated.

A detailed, well-documented request is always assessed faster. Including your invoice number, the specific concern and the resolution you are hoping for saves both of us a round of questions.

• Refunds are always issued to the original payment method — bank transfer, UPI, PayPal, Wise or card.
• For security and compliance reasons we are unable to refund to a different account, person or method.
• The refund is issued in the original currency. Movements in the exchange rate between payment and refund are outside our control.
• Transfer or receiving charges applied by your own bank are likewise outside our control.

• Please ask for it to be escalated. Write to support@neelnetworks.com marked for the attention of the Founder. Your case will be reviewed personally and you will have a reply within 3 business days.
• Send anything further you have. Screenshots, written exchanges or agreed deliverables that we have not yet seen will always be taken into account.
• Good-faith discussion. If the matter is not settled within 30 days of the original request, both parties agree to attempt a resolution through discussion before any formal action.
• Governing law. Any unresolved dispute is governed by the laws of India and subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Mumbai, Maharashtra.

We would ask that you speak to us before raising a chargeback with your bank. Doing so without giving us an opportunity to resolve the matter is a breach of our agreement, and we will contest an unwarranted chargeback with full documentation of the services delivered.

We may update this policy from time to time, and the current version is always published here with its effective date shown.

• For an active project, the policy in force at the time your payment was made continues to apply to that project.
• For new payments and projects, the policy in force at the time of payment applies.
• Material changes are communicated to active clients by email at least 14 days before they take effect.

If something about your project is troubling you, please talk to us before anything else. In over a decade of working with clients around the world, we have almost always found a way to put matters right without a formal refund.