Refund Policy

1. Introduction

This Refund Policy applies to all paid services and credit purchases made through Aqerra™ ("we", "us", "our"), operated by Aqerra PTY LTD (Reg: 2026/286527/07), a private company registered in the Republic of South Africa.

This policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECT Act). Where any term in this policy conflicts with your statutory rights under those Acts, your statutory rights prevail.

2. ECT Act 7-Day Cooling-Off Right

Section 44 of the ECT Act gives consumers in a distance/electronic transaction the right to cancel within seven (7) calendar days of receiving the goods or concluding the agreement, without reason and without penalty.

We honour this right for first-time Pro subscriptions and unused credit purchases. Statutory exclusions still apply for digital content already consumed (see clauses 4 and 5 below).

ECT Act s44(3) excludes services that, by their nature, cannot be returned (such as a fraud risk score that has already been generated and disclosed to you).

3. Aqerra Pro Subscription (R49 / month)

The Pro subscription is a recurring monthly service billed in advance through Stitch (our PSP, regulated in South Africa).

3.1 First-time subscribers (cooling-off)

If you subscribe for the first time and have not used any Pro features (no AI deep analysis, no bank verification, no Pro-only check), you may request a full refund within 7 calendar days of your first charge. Email admin@aqerra.co.za with your account email and we will process the refund within 5 business days.

3.2 Cancellation thereafter

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Cancellation stops future billing immediately; it does not entitle you to a pro-rata refund of the current billing month (you keep Pro access until the end of the paid period). This is consistent with industry standard practice for monthly digital services and with section 14 of the CPA for fixed-term consumer agreements.

3.3 Service failure

If we materially fail to deliver the Service for more than 24 hours due to our fault (verifiable on our public status page), we will, on request, credit a pro-rata portion of your monthly fee to your next billing cycle.

4. Credits (Pay-As-You-Go)

Credits power premium actions like AI deep analysis (1 credit) and bank account verification (1 credit). They are sold in packs (e.g. 25 credits for R100, 75 credits for R250) and added to your account immediately after Stitch confirms the payment.

4.1 Unused credits, refundable within 7 days

You may request a full refund of any unused credits within 7 calendar days of purchase, in line with the ECT Act cooling-off right. Email admin@aqerra.co.za with your account email and the order reference. We will process the refund (less any partially-consumed value) within 5 business days.

4.2 Consumed credits, non-refundable

A credit is "consumed" when an AI analysis, bank verification, or other premium check has been completed and the result delivered to you. Consumed credits are not refundable because the underlying work, third-party data costs (Microsoft Foundry, VerifyNow AVS, etc.), and processing have already been incurred. This falls within the ECT Act s44(3)(d) exclusion for services already performed.

4.3 Credit expiry

Credits do not expire. Your unused balance carries over indefinitely while your account is active.

5. Free Tier (Web, Browser Extension, WhatsApp)

The free anonymous tier, the free signed-in tier, and free daily quotas on the browser extension and WhatsApp bot involve no payment. As such, no refund is applicable. If you believe you were charged in error for a free-tier feature, contact us immediately at admin@aqerra.co.za and we will investigate.

6. Enterprise / Business API

Refund terms for Business API customers (volume-tier billing, API keys with metered usage) are governed by the master services agreement signed at onboarding. In the absence of such an agreement, the same principles in clauses 3 and 4 apply on a best-effort basis: unused query credits are refundable within 7 days; consumed queries are not.

7. Service Quality & CPA Section 56

Section 56 of the CPA implies a warranty of quality: the Service must be of a quality reasonably expected for its purpose. Aqerra is an advisory tool that surfaces risk indicators; it is not a definitive verification or insurance against fraud. A risk score that did not prevent a loss does not by itself constitute a service failure under s56, provided the score was generated using our published methodology and disclosed in good faith.

That said, if you believe a specific check returned a clearly wrong result and you suffered loss as a direct consequence, please email admin@aqerra.co.za with the input, the timestamp, and supporting evidence. We will investigate, and where appropriate, issue a goodwill credit even outside our strict refund window. This does not waive any of our disclaimers of liability set out in our Terms of Service.

8. How to Request a Refund

1. Email admin@aqerra.co.za from the email address linked to your Aqerra account.
2. Include: your account email, the Stitch payment reference (or transaction date and amount), and the reason for the request.
3. We will acknowledge within 2 business days and resolve within 5 business days where the request meets this policy.
4. Approved refunds are processed back to the original Stitch payment method (card or EFT). Allow 3–10 business days for the funds to reflect, depending on your bank.

9. Chargebacks

We strongly encourage you to contact us first before raising a chargeback through your bank or card issuer. Chargebacks attract penalty fees from Stitch which we may, where the chargeback is ultimately unsuccessful or fraudulent, recover from the cardholder. Bona fide disputes will always be resolved through this Refund Policy without chargeback fees being passed on.

10. Dispute Resolution

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome of a refund request you may, in addition to your other rights:

• Lodge a complaint with the National Consumer Commission (NCC).
• Refer the matter to a Consumer Court or the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO).
• Pursue any other remedy available to you under South African law.

11. VAT & Currency

All prices on Aqerra are in South African Rand (ZAR). VAT-status details, where applicable, are reflected on your Stitch receipt. Refunds are paid in ZAR to the original payment method and reflect the amount actually charged.

12. Changes to this Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email to active subscribers and posted on this page with a new "Last updated" date. Continued use of paid services after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

13. Contact

Aqerra PTY LTD
Reg: 2026/286527/07
Email: admin@aqerra.co.za
Website: https://aqerra.co.za