Refund & Cancellation Policy

01When this policy applies

This is the proposed general policy for DevForge’s bespoke software development, consulting, integrations, cloud services and support. It must be read with the quotation or agreement you accepted and the Terms & Conditions.

Specific, lawful commercial terms agreed for your project take precedence over this general policy. Mandatory statutory rights take precedence over both. Existing contracts are not amended merely by publishing this page.

The website does not take online orders or payments. Whether an agreement concluded by email or another electronic channel attracts consumer protections depends on the transaction, the customer and the applicable law; it is not determined only by the presence of a checkout.

02How to request a cancellation or refund

Send a written request to peter@devforge.co.za or jp@devforge.co.za. Include:

• Your name, organisation and a suitable contact address.
• The project, quotation or invoice reference, if available.
• The service or milestone affected and the action requested.
• The desired end date and any information that helps explain a service concern.

A reason may help us resolve a concern but is not required where the law gives a right to cancel without a reason. Do not email passwords, full card details or unnecessary personal information. A valid statutory notice is not made ineffective merely because an internal reference is missing.

03Cancellation before work begins

If no services have been performed and no authorised, non-recoverable costs have been incurred, any advance payment should be refunded, subject to the applicable statutory framework and any lawful, reasonable charge expressly agreed.

If resources or third-party services have already been committed with your authority, we will assess whether a lawful cancellation charge is justified. We will explain the calculation and avoid double recovery. A deposit is not automatically forfeited simply because it was called a deposit.

Where a statutory cooling-off right applies, its restrictions on charges override ordinary project cancellation terms.

04Cancellation after a project has started

On receiving a request, we will establish the contractual or statutory notice requirements and discuss which work can be stopped. A reconciliation should identify completed work, work in progress, agreed rates or milestones, payments already received and authorised third-party commitments.

Subject to applicable law, you may remain responsible for properly performed, agreed services up to the effective cancellation date and reasonable, lawful costs that cannot be recovered despite appropriate mitigation. Charges must be supported and must not duplicate amounts already paid.

Advance payments are applied against the lawful amount due. Any surplus should be refunded; any remaining balance should be explained in an itemised statement. This policy does not impose a blanket percentage cancellation fee or treat all custom-development fees as non-refundable.

05Scope changes and project pauses

Reducing or changing a scope is assessed through the agreed change-control process. Work already properly performed may remain chargeable, but additional work, revised fees and a new schedule should be agreed before proceeding.

A pause is different from a cancellation. Its duration, resource availability, ongoing hosting costs and any restart arrangements should be agreed in writing. A pause does not create an automatic right to charge unagreed restart fees or retain an entire advance payment.

Where a project cannot reasonably resume, either party can request a discussion of termination and a fair reconciliation, subject to the agreement and applicable law.

06Hosting, subscriptions and support

Renewal dates, minimum commitments, notice periods and any pro-rata treatment must be set out in the accepted hosting, maintenance or support agreement. We do not assume that every service has the same cancellation period.

Cancellation of development work does not automatically cancel a separately agreed hosting or support service. Identify each service you want to end so that shutdown, data export and transition can be coordinated.

Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to a fixed-term agreement, a consumer may cancel on 20 business days’ written or otherwise recorded notice, subject to amounts lawfully due and a reasonable cancellation penalty. That section does not apply to transactions between juristic persons. Any penalty must comply with the Act and regulations; it cannot simply be an automatic claim for all remaining instalments.

Where section 14 applies, a consumer may end the agreement at the end of its fixed term without a cancellation penalty, while remaining liable for amounts already owed. The supplier must give the prescribed expiry notice between 40 and 80 business days before expiry. Unless the consumer expressly ends the agreement or agrees to another fixed term, it continues on a month-to-month basis, subject to the Act.

07Licences and third-party commitments

Cloud consumption, domain registration, software licences and other third-party purchases may have their own cancellation and refund restrictions. Material costs and commitments should be disclosed and authorised before they are incurred.

We will explain relevant supplier restrictions and make reasonable efforts to cancel or recover unused commitments where possible. A supplier’s refusal to refund is not, by itself, a blanket exemption from DevForge’s contractual or statutory obligations to you.

Costs that have been recovered from a supplier or charged elsewhere must not be charged again in your reconciliation.

08Defective or incomplete services

If a deliverable does not meet the agreed specification, tell us what is wrong and provide relevant examples. We will assess the issue against the agreement and discuss correction, completion or another appropriate remedy.

Where section 54 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, a consumer may require a service-quality failure to be remedied or a reasonable portion of the price to be refunded, having regard to the extent of the failure. These rights are separate from a voluntary change-of-mind cancellation.

We do not promise an automatic full refund merely because a project is cancelled, and we do not exclude a refund or other remedy where the law or agreement requires one. Disputed quality issues should be assessed fairly, rather than classified automatically as chargeable changes.

09Statutory cooling-off and cancellation rights

Consumer legislation does not apply identically to every client. The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (ECTA) uses a natural-person end-user definition of “consumer”. The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) has its own scope and exclusions. The following is a summary of relevant protections, not a statement that every engagement qualifies.

Electronic service agreements — ECTA

Where section 44 applies, a consumer may cancel a service agreement without a reason and without penalty within seven days after its conclusion. If payment has been made, a full refund is due within 30 days of cancellation.

Section 42 contains exceptions. In particular, the section 44 cooling-off right does not apply to services that actually began with the consumer’s consent before the seven-day period expired. Calling development “bespoke” does not automatically exclude a service agreement: the exception for personalised goods must not be assumed to cover every custom software service. Early commencement should be separately and clearly agreed; it is not presumed from an enquiry or a payment.

Direct marketing — CPA

Where section 16 applies to a transaction resulting from direct marketing, a consumer may cancel without a reason or penalty within five business days after the agreement was concluded or the goods were delivered, whichever is later. For a services transaction with no goods delivered, the applicable refund is due within 15 business days after receiving the cancellation notice. Section 16 does not apply where ECTA section 44 applies.

Other statutory remedies

For qualifying electronic transactions, non-compliance with the disclosure and order-review requirements in ECTA section 43 can entitle a consumer to cancel within 14 days after receiving the goods or services. Section 46 requires performance within 30 days after receiving an order unless another period is agreed; failure to perform within the applicable period permits cancellation on seven days’ written notice. If ordered services are unavailable, the supplier must notify the consumer immediately and refund payment within 30 days after that notification.

Additional rights may arise from unfair terms, defective performance or an applicable fixed-term agreement. Nothing in this policy limits those rights. Statutory periods are not extended while DevForge reviews a request.

10How an eligible refund is processed

We will review the request, the agreement, work records and any applicable statutory right. The proposed outcome should identify the refundable amount, lawful deductions, supporting reasons and the expected payment date.

An eligible refund should be paid without unnecessary delay and within any mandatory deadline. The ECTA and CPA periods described above apply where those provisions govern the transaction; this draft does not replace them with a longer internal processing period.

Where practical, funds should be returned to the original payer using the original payment method or another securely verified method agreed with that payer. Identity or bank-detail checks must be proportionate and must not be used to frustrate a valid refund. Timing should account for any bank processing while respecting the applicable legal obligation.

A refund is not made conditional on accepting store credit, waiving an unrelated claim or giving up a non-excludable consumer right.

11If DevForge ends an engagement

If DevForge needs to suspend or terminate services, we will follow the agreed notice and breach-remedy process and applicable law, explain the basis and discuss reasonable mitigation and transition arrangements.

Where we cannot supply services that have been paid for, the unearned portion should be reconciled and refunded where required. The fact that the provider ends an engagement does not automatically entitle it to keep payment for undelivered work.

Where CPA section 14 applies, a supplier may cancel for a material failure to comply with the agreement only after giving written notice of that failure and allowing 20 business days to remedy it. That statutory process takes precedence over a conflicting contractual termination term.

Serious security or unlawful-use concerns may require urgent protective steps. The scope and duration of those steps should be proportionate and communicated where appropriate.

12Data, access and final handover

Before a hosting or support service ends, agree who will receive authorised exports, relevant deliverables and account access, and when any environment will be shut down. Migration assistance and additional work should be scoped and agreed separately where they are not already included.

Data return, retention and deletion must follow the client agreement, applicable licences and privacy law. Cancellation does not itself authorise immediate deletion of all records, nor indefinite retention of personal information. Necessary business records and lawful preservation duties may remain.

13Questions and unresolved concerns

If you disagree with a calculation or decision, reply to the business contact handling your request, identify the disputed item and the outcome you seek. We will consider supporting information and aim to resolve the matter constructively.

You retain access to any competent ombud, regulator, tribunal or court available under applicable law. Our internal review is not a condition that removes a statutory right or extends a statutory deadline.

Contact Peter de Jongh or JP Roelofse for assistance. Agreed commercial terms, any standard service notice periods and internal processing arrangements remain to be confirmed before adoption of this draft.