Refund & Cancellation Policy

This Refund and Cancellation Policy forms part of the Silver Ivy Media (Pty) Ltd Terms and Conditions. It applies to website design, website development, managed hosting, website maintenance, support, ecommerce setup and related digital services supplied by Silver Ivy Media.

Because many of our services involve custom work, time allocation, planning, design, setup, third-party costs and technical labour, refunds are handled differently from ordinary off-the-shelf product purchases.

This policy is written to be clear and fair. It is not designed to trap clients, but it does protect Silver Ivy Media from having to refund completed custom work, work already performed, third-party costs, hosting already used or delays caused by missing client information, except where applicable law requires otherwise.

If a client cancels a project before Silver Ivy Media has started any work, planning, design, setup, procurement, account configuration, domain registration, hosting setup, consultation, copywriting, content preparation or technical work, Silver Ivy Media may consider a refund of amounts paid.

Any refund may be reduced by banking fees, payment gateway fees, third-party costs, administrative costs or reasonable costs already incurred.

Once work has started, payments made to Silver Ivy Media are not automatically refundable.

This includes consultation and planning time, website strategy, project setup, design work, development work, copywriting or content preparation, image editing, layout work, hosting setup, domain-related work, email setup, plugin or licence costs, administrative work, project management time and any work completed according to the agreed scope.

Silver Ivy Media does not refund fees for work already completed, work already performed, time already spent, services already delivered, approved work or third-party costs already incurred, except where required by law.

Website design and development services are custom services. Once design, development or setup work has started, payments are applied toward the work performed and costs incurred.

If a client chooses to cancel after work has started, Silver Ivy Media may calculate the value of work already completed and any costs already incurred. Any possible refund, credit or balance payable will be assessed against the project scope, work completed, approvals given, third-party costs and the stage of the project.

Silver Ivy Media relies on the client to provide accurate information, content, approvals, logos, images, product details, access details and feedback where required.

Delays caused by missing client information, late approvals, incomplete content, incorrect information, unavailable access details or changes in client instructions do not create an automatic right to a refund.

Silver Ivy Media may pause the project until the required information is received. Timelines may be adjusted where delays are outside Silver Ivy Media’s control.

The client is responsible for reviewing work and providing clear feedback within the agreed review periods. Revisions are handled according to the selected package, quote, proposal or written agreement.

Changes outside the agreed scope may be quoted separately. A request for changes, a change of direction or a client’s change of mind after work has been completed does not create an automatic right to a refund.

Monthly managed website and hosting services may include hosting, security, platform maintenance, updates, support and related website care services.

A client may cancel monthly services by giving written notice to Silver Ivy Media. The notice period, cancellation date and any outstanding amounts will be handled according to the package, quote, invoice, proposal or written agreement.

Fees already paid for hosting, maintenance, support or services already provided are not refundable, except where required by law. When monthly services are cancelled, hosting, maintenance, updates, support, backups, security monitoring and related services may stop at the end of the paid period or applicable notice period.

Some Silver Ivy Media monthly website plans spread the initial design and setup costs over a longer service period so that the client does not have to pay the full website design cost upfront.

If a client cancels early and wants to move, copy, transfer or take release of the website files before the agreed minimum recovery period has been completed, an early release or buy-out amount may apply.

This is not intended to trap the client. It is to fairly recover the design, setup, development and onboarding costs that were included in the monthly plan instead of being charged fully upfront.

Silver Ivy Media will not release unpaid custom work, unpaid website files, unpaid design work, unpaid development work or services with outstanding balances until the relevant amounts have been settled.

Domain registrations, renewals, software licences, plugins, themes, payment gateway charges, stock images, fonts, subscriptions, hosting charges, bank charges and other third-party costs are generally non-refundable once purchased, registered, activated or paid.

Where a third-party provider has its own refund policy, that policy will apply to the third-party cost.

If Silver Ivy Media is unable to provide a paid service that it agreed in writing to provide, the matter will be reviewed fairly.

Depending on the circumstances, Silver Ivy Media may offer correction of the issue, completion of outstanding work, an alternative solution, a credit, partial refund or refund where required by law.

Silver Ivy Media’s aim is to resolve concerns professionally and fairly before they become disputes.

All cancellation or refund review requests must be sent in writing to [email protected].

The request should include the client name, business name, project or website name, invoice number if available, reason for cancellation or refund review, and any relevant supporting information.

Silver Ivy Media will review the request and respond within a reasonable time.

The client understands and agrees that Silver Ivy Media does not provide automatic refunds for completed custom work, work already performed, approved work, time already spent, third-party costs, hosting already used, or delays caused by the client failing to provide required information.

This policy does not remove any rights that a client may have under applicable South African law.

Nothing in this policy is intended to remove any right that a client has under applicable South African law, including rights that cannot legally be excluded.

Where a statutory cooling-off right applies, Silver Ivy Media will honour it. If the client asks Silver Ivy Media to begin custom work, setup, hosting or services immediately, any lawful refund may be reduced by reasonable work already performed, third-party costs already incurred and services already used, to the extent allowed by law.

If any clause in this policy conflicts with a non-excludable legal right, that legal right will apply and the clause will be interpreted as far as possible in a lawful and fair way.