01 Quick Summary
This Refund Policy explains when and how you can get a refund for W10 services. It forms part of our Terms of Service.
- Within 7 days of your first payment → full refund of hosting, no questions asked.
- After 7 days → no refund, but you can cancel to stop future billing.
- Domain fees → always non-refundable (once registered, they're gone).
- Duplicate charges or billing errors → always refunded, plus we fix the cause.
02 Cooling-Off Period (Your Legal Right)
Under Section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA) and Section 20 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA), you have the right to cancel an electronic transaction within 7 days without reason or penalty.
How It Works
- The 7-day period starts on the day you make your first payment.
- You must notify us in writing (email is fine) within that window.
- You do not need to give a reason.
- We will refund your hosting fee (R300) in full.
What's Excluded From Cooling-Off
Under ECTA Section 42(2), the cooling-off right does not apply to:
- Domain name registrations — once registered, domains cannot be un-registered. The registrar fee is not refundable.
- Services that have been fully performed with your consent before the cooling-off period expires (e.g. custom design work you specifically requested to be completed urgently).
- Digital content that has been accessed or downloaded (e.g. exported website files, downloaded backups).
03 Refund Decision Matrix
Quick reference for common scenarios:
| Scenario | Refund? | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Cancel within 7 days of first payment | Yes | Hosting fee (R300) |
| Cancel after 7 days | No | — |
| Domain not yet registered | Yes | Domain fee (R200) |
| Domain already registered | No | — |
| Duplicate charge (billed twice by mistake) | Yes | Full duplicate amount |
| Charged after cancellation (our error) | Yes | Full amount |
| Website never launched (our fault, 30+ days) | Yes | Full first month (R500) |
| Customer didn't provide content in time | No | — |
| Account suspended for policy violation | No | — |
| Partial month (mid-cycle cancellation) | No | Service continues to end of period |
| Website downtime exceeded SLA | Partial | Pro-rata credit (see Section 9) |
| Paying for months not used (advance) | Yes | Unused months refunded |
04 What's Refundable
We will issue a refund in the following cases:
Within the Cooling-Off Window
- Hosting fee (R300) — full refund if you cancel within 7 days of first payment.
- Domain fee (R200) — only if the domain has not yet been registered (rare, since we register within hours).
Billing Errors
- Duplicate charges — if you're charged twice for the same period.
- Charges after cancellation — if you cancelled and were still billed.
- Incorrect amounts — if the charge differs from the agreed price.
Service Failures
- Website never launched — if we fail to launch your website within 30 days of receiving your content and payment, and it's our fault, you can request a full refund of the first month (R500).
- Extended downtime — if your website is down for more than 24 consecutive hours due to our infrastructure (not force majeure), you're entitled to a pro-rata credit.
Prepaid Unused Service
- If you paid for multiple months in advance and cancel, we refund the unused months on a pro-rata basis.
05 What's Not Refundable
The following charges are strictly non-refundable:
| Item | Reason |
|---|---|
| Domain registration fees (R200) | Paid to third-party registrars who do not refund once registered. |
| Domain renewal fees | Same reason — annual renewals are also paid to registrars. |
| Maintenance fees already billed | Service was provided for that month (updates, backups, security). |
| Setup fees for custom work | Once design or development work has started, we've invested time and resources. |
| Add-on services | Extra pages, custom integrations, third-party software licences — non-refundable once ordered. |
| Services after 30 days | Beyond the cooling-off period, refunds are only issued for billing errors or service failures (see Section 4). |
| Accounts terminated for violations | If we suspend or terminate your account for a breach of our Terms of Service, no refund is issued. |
| Bank/processing fees | Transaction fees charged by payment processors are non-refundable. |
| VAT already paid to SARS | VAT on billed invoices is already remitted to SARS and cannot be refunded. |
06 How to Request a Refund
Requesting a refund is straightforward:
INV-20251016-ABC123), the amount, and the reason for the refund.
07 Processing Time
| Stage | Time |
|---|---|
| Acknowledgement of your request | Within 2 business days |
| Decision (approve / decline with reasons) | Within 10 business days |
| Refund issued to your bank / card | Within 5–10 business days after approval |
| Refund appears on your statement | 7–14 business days (depends on your bank) |
In total, expect your refund to appear within 30 days of your request. If it takes longer, contact us and we'll chase it up.
08 Refund Method
Refunds are issued to your original payment method wherever possible:
| Original Payment Method | Refund Method |
|---|---|
| Card (Visa / Mastercard) | Reversed to the same card (5–10 business days) |
| PayFast | Reversed via PayFast to original method |
| Ozow / Instant EFT | EFT refund to your bank account (need banking details) |
| SnapScan | EFT refund to your bank account |
| Bank transfer (EFT) | EFT refund to the same bank account. We may require proof of account ownership. |
09 Cancellation vs Refund
Cancellation and refund are different things:
| Cancellation | Refund | |
|---|---|---|
| What it does | Stops future billing | Gives you money back |
| When to use | You no longer want the service | You've been overcharged or want to exercise your cooling-off right |
| Current period | Service continues to end of paid period | Money returned for the period |
| How | Dashboard → Websites → Cancel, or email us | Email refunds@w10.co.za |
Pro-Rata Credit for Downtime
If your website experiences extended downtime (more than 24 consecutive hours due to our infrastructure — not force majeure), we may issue a pro-rata credit to your account for the days affected. Credits are applied to future invoices. To claim:
- Open a support ticket within 7 days of the incident.
- Include the dates and times of the downtime.
- We'll investigate and issue credit for any confirmed infrastructure failures.
Downtime caused by force majeure (load shedding, upstream provider outages, DoS attacks, natural disasters) is not eligible for credit.
10 Chargebacks
A "chargeback" is when you dispute a charge directly with your bank or card issuer instead of requesting a refund from us first.
Please contact us before filing a chargeback. Chargebacks are expensive, slow, and usually take 60+ days to resolve. If you contact us first, we can usually refund much faster.
- Your account may be suspended immediately pending investigation.
- Your website may be taken offline.
- Your domain may be held until the dispute is resolved.
- If the chargeback is found to be fraudulent, you may be permanently banned.
If a chargeback is filed in error, or if we resolve the issue directly with you, we will cooperate fully with your bank's investigation.
11 Legal Exceptions
Nothing in this Refund Policy limits your rights under South African law. In particular:
- ECTA Section 44 — You have a legal right to a 7-day cooling-off period for electronic transactions.
- CPA Section 20 — You have a legal right to cancel advance reservations, bookings, or orders.
- CPA Section 56 — You have a legal right to a refund, repair, or replacement if goods or services fail to meet the agreed quality.
- CPA Section 44 — If we fail to deliver a service on the agreed date, you may cancel and receive a full refund.
If our policy is less favourable than your legal rights, your legal rights prevail.
12 Abuse of This Policy
We reserve the right to refuse refunds and suspend accounts in cases of:
- Repeat refund abuse — cycling through accounts to use the free website offer repeatedly.
- Fraudulent claims — falsifying invoices, payment dates, or reasons.
- Chargeback abuse — filing chargebacks on valid charges after using the service.
- Service misuse — using the service for spam, illegal activities, or resource abuse and then requesting a refund.
Where abuse is detected, we may decline refunds, terminate the account, and (where appropriate) refer the matter to law enforcement.
13 Changes to This Policy
We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. When we do:
- We update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page.
- For material changes, we notify you by email at least 14 days in advance.
- Changes do not apply retroactively — refunds are governed by the policy in effect at the time of your payment.
14 Contact Us
For any question about refunds or to submit a request:
| Company | W10 (Pty) Ltd |
| Registration | 2025/000000/07 |
| VAT Number | 4000000000 |
| Refund Enquiries | refunds@w10.co.za |
| General Enquiries | info@w10.co.za |
| Phone | +27 00 000 0000 |
| Registered Address | Johannesburg, Gauteng, South Africa |
| Website | https://w10.co.za |