PAYMENT & REFUND POLICY
CLEAR PAYMENTS. FAIR PROJECT TERMS.
I believe project payments should be clear from the beginning. This Refund Policy explains how advance payments, project cancellations, completed work, additional work and refund requests are handled.
Last Updated: September 2026
1. ABOUT THIS REFUND POLICY
This Refund Policy applies to services provided by Sharad A. Maurya, an independent freelance Graphic & Web Designer and Digital Creative Specialist.
It explains the general approach to payments, cancellations and refunds for design, website, e-commerce, UI/UX, digital creative and related services.
Specific refund arrangements may also be included in an individual quotation, proposal or written project agreement.
Where a project agreement contains specific payment or refund terms, those agreed terms will apply to that project.
2. ADVANCE PAYMENT & PROJECT CONFIRMATION
ADVANCE PAYMENT CONFIRMS YOUR PROJECT.
Most projects require an agreed advance payment before work begins.
The advance payment allows me to:
- Reserve time for your project.
- Begin project planning.
- Start creative work.
- Allocate the agreed project schedule.
- Purchase or arrange project-specific resources where required.
Work normally begins only after the agreed advance payment has been received and the project scope has been confirmed.
3. IS THE ADVANCE PAYMENT REFUNDABLE?
An advance payment is generally not automatically refundable once project work has started.
This is because project time, planning, communication and creative work may already have been committed.
However, refund requests will be considered based on:
- Whether work has started.
- The amount of work already completed.
- The project stage.
- Any costs already incurred.
- The reason for cancellation.
- The specific project agreement.
Where appropriate, I may provide a partial refund for an unused portion of a project, but this is not guaranteed.
4. CANCELLATION BEFORE WORK STARTS
If you cancel a project before work has started, please contact me as soon as possible.
Where no substantial project work or project-specific expense has been incurred, I may consider refunding some or all of the advance payment.
Any applicable transaction, payment-processing or non-recoverable third-party costs may be deducted where appropriate.
The final refund decision will depend on the circumstances and the agreed project terms.
5. CANCELLATION AFTER WORK HAS STARTED
If you cancel a project after work has started, the advance payment may be retained to cover work already performed and time already allocated.
This may include:
- Project research
- Planning
- Creative direction
- Initial concepts
- Design work
- Website work
- Communication
- Revisions
- Project management
- Other completed project activities
If the value of completed work is less than the amount already paid, I may consider whether any unused balance can reasonably be refunded.
6. COMPLETED OR APPROVED WORK
Once a project stage or deliverable has been completed and approved, payment relating to that completed work is generally not refundable.
Approval may include written confirmation, email approval, message confirmation or another clear indication that the client has accepted the work.
If substantial changes are requested after approval, they may be treated as additional work.
7. CLIENT-REQUESTED CHANGES
A refund will generally not be provided simply because a client changes their mind about an approved creative direction after work has been completed.
Where possible, I will work with the client to understand the issue and determine whether the requested change can be handled within the agreed scope.
Additional work outside the agreed scope may require an additional payment.
8. ADDITIONAL WORK & EXTRA SERVICES
If you request work that was not included in the original quotation or agreed scope, I may provide a separate quotation before starting the additional work.
Additional payments for separately approved work are subject to the same project payment principles unless otherwise agreed.
9. WEBSITE & DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS
For website, e-commerce or development projects, refunds may depend on the stage of completion.
For example, work may already have been completed in areas such as:
- Website structure
- Page design
- UI development
- Content implementation
- Responsive design
- Plugin configuration
- E-commerce setup
- Customisation
- Testing
- Technical configuration
Third-party costs that have already been paid or committed may not be recoverable.
10. THIRD-PARTY COSTS
Some projects may involve third-party services such as:
- Hosting
- Domain registration
- Premium plugins
- Themes
- Fonts
- Stock assets
- Software
- APIs
- Payment services
- Other external tools
If these costs have been specifically purchased or committed for your project, they may not be refundable.
Where possible, I will inform you about such costs before they are incurred.
11. CLIENT DELAYS & PROJECT PAUSES
A project may be delayed or paused if the client does not provide required:
- Content
- Images
- Information
- Access
- Feedback
- Approvals
- Payments
Client-caused delays do not automatically create a right to a refund.
If a project remains inactive for an extended period, the project may need to be rescheduled based on my future availability.
12. BALANCE PAYMENT & FINAL DELIVERY
Where a project requires a remaining balance, the balance must be paid according to the agreed payment terms.
Final deliverables, editable files, source files, website transfer or other final project materials may be released after the applicable balance has been received, where this was part of the agreed arrangement.
13. REFUND REQUEST PROCESS
If you believe you are entitled to a refund, please contact me in writing.
Your request should include:
- Your name
- Project name
- Payment details or invoice reference
- Reason for the refund request
- Relevant project information
Please send refund requests to:
I will review the request based on the project status, agreed terms and circumstances.
14. REFUND REVIEW
Each refund request will be reviewed individually.
I will consider:
PAYMENT RECEIVED → WORK COMPLETED → PROJECT STAGE → COSTS INCURRED → CLIENT REQUEST → AGREED TERMS
This approach allows genuine situations to be reviewed fairly rather than applying the same result to every project.
15. PAYMENT PROCESSING & REFUND TIMING
If a refund is approved, it will normally be returned through the original payment method where reasonably possible.
The time required for the refund to appear in the client’s account may depend on the payment provider or financial institution.
Third-party processing times are outside my direct control.
16. NON-REFUNDABLE SITUATIONS
A refund may generally not be available where:
- Work has already been substantially completed.
- Final work has been approved.
- The agreed deliverables have already been provided.
- The client changes their mind after approval.
- Additional work has already been completed at the client’s request.
- Third-party costs have already been incurred.
- The client does not provide required information or feedback.
- The client uses or receives the completed work according to the agreed project arrangement.
This section is subject to any specific rights or protections that may apply under applicable law.
17. SERVICE ISSUES & FAIR RESOLUTION
If you believe that a service has not been delivered according to the agreed scope, please contact me before requesting a refund.
I prefer to first understand the issue and, where reasonably possible, provide an appropriate solution, correction or clarification.
My goal is to resolve genuine project concerns fairly and professionally.
18. CHANGES TO THIS REFUND POLICY
This Refund Policy may be updated from time to time to reflect changes to:
- Services
- Payment methods
- Project processes
- Business operations
- Website functionality
- Applicable requirements
The latest version will be published on this page with the updated Last Updated date.
19. CONTACT
For questions about payments, cancellations or refund requests:
GENERAL ENQUIRIES & NEW PROJECTS
CLIENT & PROJECT SUPPORT
REFUND REQUESTS
WEBSITE
sharadamaurya.com
CLEAR TERMS. CONFIDENT PROJECTS.
LET'S START WITH THE RIGHT AGREEMENT.
Before we begin, I’ll make sure the project scope, payment terms, deliverables and next steps are clear so we can move forward with confidence.
