1. Consultation bookings
- A confirmed consultation reserves professional time and may include preparation before the session.
- One reschedule may be requested without additional charge when notice is received at least 24 hours before the confirmed start time, subject to availability.
- Cancellations, no-shows and rescheduling requests received less than 24 hours before the confirmed start time are normally non-refundable and the booking may be treated as used.
- If The Consultants cancels a consultation and no acceptable replacement time is agreed, the amount paid for that unused consultation will be refunded.
2. Consulting projects and retainers
Project payments, deposits or retainers become non-refundable to the extent they correspond to reserved capacity, onboarding, preparation, research, analysis, work already performed or committed project resources. If a project is cancelled before any work or capacity commitment begins, The Consultants may refund the unused amount after deducting any non-recoverable transaction costs where permitted by law.
3. Stage payments
Where work is divided into stages, a payment allocated to a stage that has started or been delivered is non-refundable except where required by law or where The Consultants agrees otherwise in writing. Future unstarted stages may be cancelled subject to the specific engagement terms.
4. Custom and digital deliverables
Custom analysis, reports, strategies, research, models, designs, digital outputs and other made-to-order work are non-refundable once preparation has materially begun or the deliverable has been supplied, except for a failure to provide the confirmed service or where mandatory law requires otherwise.
5. Scope changes are not cancellations
A client request to change the objective, deliverable, market, assumptions or instructions after work begins is treated as a scope change rather than a cancellation. Additional fees or time may apply.
6. Payment-provider and transfer charges
Bank charges, transfer fees, taxes, payment-provider charges, exchange-rate differences and similar transaction costs are not refundable by The Consultants unless they were charged by The Consultants in error or applicable law requires otherwise.
7. Service failure by The Consultants
If The Consultants is unable to provide a paid service and no reasonable alternative is agreed, the unused portion of the relevant fee will be refunded. This does not create a right to compensation for indirect loss or lost opportunity.
8. How to request a cancellation or refund
Requests should be made in writing through the communication channel used for the engagement and should identify the client, service and reason for the request. The Consultants may request supporting information where necessary.
9. Mandatory rights
Nothing in this policy removes a refund, cancellation or consumer right that cannot legally be excluded in the jurisdiction applicable to the transaction.