Return / Refund /
Cancellation Policy

1. Overview

E CONSULTING ADVISOR S.R.L.S., trading as e-consultadvisor, is committed to delivering high-quality digital services. We understand that circumstances change, and this policy sets out clearly and transparently the conditions under which refunds, returns, and cancellations are handled for all services we offer.

This policy forms part of our Terms & Conditions and is incorporated by reference. In the event of any conflict between this policy and a specific project or service agreement, the specific agreement shall prevail.

This policy complies with Italian consumer protection law (D.Lgs. 206/2005 — Codice del Consumo) and EU Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights.

2. Quick Reference Summary

Service	Before Work Starts	After Work Starts	After Delivery
Custom software development	Full refund	Pro-rata	No refund
IT consulting (fixed scope)	Full refund	Pro-rata	No refund
IT consulting (time & materials)	Full refund	Pay for hours used	No refund
VPS — monthly plan	Full refund	No partial refund	No refund
VPS — annual plan	Full refund	Within 14 days: full; after: pro-rata months	—
Website development	Full refund	Pro-rata	No refund
Maintenance packages	Full refund (within 14 days, no work done)	No refund	No refund
Consulting sessions (booked)	Full refund if cancelled 48h+ before	No refund	No refund
Third-party costs (domains, licences)	Non-refundable

3. Custom Development & Project-Based Services

This section applies to bespoke software development, web builds, cybersecurity assessments, cloud infrastructure setup, and any other fixed-scope project delivered by the Company.

3.1 Cancellation Before Commencement

If the Client cancels a project in writing before the agreed project start date (kick-off meeting or first billable activity), a full refund of any deposit paid will be issued within 14 business days. No cancellation fee applies.

3.2 Cancellation After Commencement

Once work has begun, the following applies:

• The Client is liable for payment of all work completed at the time of cancellation, calculated pro-rata based on the agreed project price and the proportion of work completed.
• The deposit is non-refundable once work has commenced, as it covers resource allocation, planning, and initial development costs.
• If the work completed at the time of cancellation is worth more than the deposit paid, the difference is invoiced and payable within 14 days.
• If the deposit exceeds the value of work completed at cancellation, the Company will refund the difference within 14 business days.

3.3 Milestone-Based Projects

For projects structured around deliverable milestones:

• Milestones that have been completed and formally approved in writing by the Client are non-refundable.
• If a project is cancelled mid-milestone, payment is due for the proportion of that milestone completed, assessed by the Company in good faith.
• Approval of a milestone by the Client (written or implicit through use) constitutes acceptance of that milestone's deliverable.

3.4 Client-Requested Pauses

If a Client requests a project pause exceeding 30 consecutive days, the Company may re-evaluate the project timeline and costs upon resumption. If the project cannot be resumed within 90 days, the Company reserves the right to treat it as a cancellation under Section 3.2.

3.5 Failure to Provide Required Materials

If a project stalls due to the Client's failure to provide necessary content, access, decisions, or approvals, the Company is not liable for any resulting delays. If the project remains blocked for more than 60 days due to Client inaction, the Company may terminate the Agreement and retain payment for work completed.

4. VPS & Hosting Services

This section applies to all Virtual Private Server (VPS) rental, managed hosting, and cloud infrastructure subscription services.

4.1 Monthly Plans

• Monthly subscriptions may be cancelled at any time via written notice to the Company.
• Upon cancellation, the service remains active until the end of the current billing period.
• No partial refunds are issued for unused days within an already-paid billing cycle.
• Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. The service will not auto-renew after cancellation is confirmed.

4.2 Annual Plans

• Within the first 14 days of the subscription start date: full refund if the Client has not used or provisioned the service.
• After 14 days: a pro-rata refund may be issued for complete unused calendar months remaining on the subscription, at the Company's discretion and subject to an administration fee of €25.
• If the service has been actively used, no refund will be issued for the current month.
• Setup fees and domain-related charges are non-refundable once provisioned.

4.3 Service Level & Downtime Credits

The Company targets a 99.9% monthly uptime for VPS and hosting services, excluding:

• Scheduled maintenance windows (communicated at least 24 hours in advance).
• Downtime caused by the Client's own software, configuration, or actions.
• Force majeure events or upstream provider outages beyond our control.

If unplanned downtime caused by the Company exceeds 24 consecutive hours in any calendar month, the Client is entitled to a service credit equal to the pro-rata daily rate for the affected period. Credits are applied to the next invoice and are not paid in cash.

Downtime claims must be submitted within 30 days of the incident. The Company's monitoring logs are the authoritative record for uptime measurement.

4.4 Data & Server Termination

Upon cancellation or termination of a VPS service, the Client has 7 days to retrieve any data from their server environment. After this period, all server data will be permanently deleted and cannot be recovered. The Company is not liable for any data loss following this period.

It is the Client's sole responsibility to maintain independent backups of all data stored on Company-provided servers.

5. Website Maintenance Packages

Maintenance packages (6-month or annual) cover agreed-upon recurring tasks including updates, security patches, bug fixes, and content changes.

• Cancellation within 14 days of purchase with no maintenance tasks performed: full refund.
• After 14 days or after any maintenance work has been performed: no refund is issued for the remaining period.
• The Client may cancel the auto-renewal of a maintenance package at any time before the next billing date without penalty. The package will remain active until the end of the paid period.
• Unused maintenance hours or tasks within a period do not roll over or entitle the Client to a partial refund.

6. Consulting Sessions & Advisory Services

This section applies to standalone consulting sessions, strategy workshops, and advisory meetings.

• Cancellation with more than 48 hours' notice before the scheduled session: full refund or option to reschedule at no charge.
• Cancellation with less than 48 hours' notice: 50% cancellation fee applies. The remaining 50% may be applied as a credit toward rescheduling within 60 days.
• No-shows (Client fails to attend without notice): full session fee is charged, no credit or refund.
• If the Company needs to cancel a session, a full refund will be issued or the session will be rescheduled at the Client's convenience.
• Time-and-materials consulting is invoiced monthly in arrears. Any disputed hours must be raised in writing within 7 days of invoice receipt.

7. EU & Italian Consumer Right of Withdrawal

Under the Italian Consumer Code (Codice del Consumo, D.Lgs. 206/2005) implementing EU Directive 2011/83/EU, consumers (private individuals not acting in a professional or business capacity) who purchase services online or at a distance have a statutory right to withdraw from the contract within 14 calendar days of conclusion of the contract, without giving any reason.

7.1 How to Exercise the Right of Withdrawal

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us by means of an unequivocal written statement (e.g. email to econsultingadvisor25@gmail.com) before the 14-day period expires. You may use the standard withdrawal form below or any other unequivocal statement.

7.2 Waiver of Right of Withdrawal for Services Already Begun

If the Client explicitly requests that performance of the service begin during the 14-day withdrawal period (for example, by approving a project kick-off, requesting server provisioning, or confirming a consulting session), the Client acknowledges and agrees that:

• The right of withdrawal is partially waived in proportion to the services already performed.
• If the service is fully completed during the withdrawal period at the Client's explicit request, the right of withdrawal is fully waived and no refund is available.

The Client will be informed of this waiver at the point of ordering and will be asked to provide explicit consent before work begins within the withdrawal period.

7.3 Business Clients

The statutory right of withdrawal under consumer law does not apply to business clients (companies, partnerships, sole traders, or other entities purchasing services in a professional capacity). Business client cancellations are governed by Sections 3–6 of this policy and the Terms & Conditions.

7.4 Refund After Valid Withdrawal

If a valid withdrawal is exercised and no services have been performed, a full refund will be issued within 14 calendar days of receiving the withdrawal notice, using the same payment method as the original transaction.

8. Non-Refundable Items

The following are non-refundable under any circumstances, regardless of the reason for cancellation:

• Third-party costs incurred on the Client's behalf, including domain name registrations and renewals, SSL certificates, software licences, stock imagery, third-party API subscriptions, cloud provider fees, and similar.
• Work already completed and approved by the Client, either explicitly (written sign-off) or implicitly (use of the deliverable).
• Rush or priority fees charged for expedited delivery timescales.
• Setup and onboarding fees once the service has been provisioned or configured.
• Consulting sessions already conducted, regardless of the Client's satisfaction with the outcome.
• Deposits on projects cancelled after commencement — the deposit is considered earned once work begins.
• Administrative and transaction fees (payment processing fees, bank charges) are not refunded.

9. Defective, Incomplete, or Unsatisfactory Services

If you believe that a Deliverable or service does not conform to the agreed specification or contains material defects, you are entitled to request a remedy. The following process applies:

• Notification period: You must notify the Company in writing within 30 days of delivery or completion, specifying the defect or non-conformity in detail.
• Remedy first: The Company will first attempt to remedy the defect at no additional cost within a reasonable timeframe (typically 14 business days, depending on complexity).
• Right to a price reduction or refund: If the Company is unable to remedy the defect after two attempts, or if remedy is impossible or disproportionately costly, you may be entitled to a proportionate price reduction or, in cases of significant non-conformity, a partial or full refund.
• Exclusions: Defect claims do not apply to issues arising from the Client's own modifications to Deliverables, misuse, failure to follow documentation, or changes in third-party platforms or APIs after delivery.

10. How to Submit a Refund or Cancellation Request

Follow these steps to submit a request:

11. Refund Processing

• All approved refunds are returned via the original payment method used at the time of purchase. We do not issue refunds by an alternative method unless the original payment method is no longer available.
• Refunds are issued in Euros (EUR). The Company is not responsible for currency conversion losses if you paid in a different currency.
• Payment processing fees charged by third-party payment providers are not refundable and will be deducted from the refund amount where applicable.
• Partial refunds are calculated on a pro-rata basis based on the agreed total project value and the proportion of work completed, unless otherwise specified in this policy.
• The Company reserves the right to offset any refund against outstanding unpaid invoices owed by the Client.

12. Chargebacks & Payment Disputes

We ask that all refund and cancellation requests are submitted directly to us (as set out in Section 10) before initiating a chargeback with your bank or payment provider. Direct communication allows us to resolve issues faster and more fairly for both parties.

If a chargeback is initiated without prior contact with the Company:

• We reserve the right to suspend all active services associated with the Client account pending resolution.
• We will provide full documentation of services delivered to the relevant payment provider in support of our position.
• Unwarranted chargebacks on services that were legitimately delivered may be contested and reported to credit agencies in accordance with applicable law.

We are committed to resolving genuine disputes fairly. If you are unhappy with our response, you have the right to escalate to the relevant consumer protection authority or use the EU Online Dispute Resolution platform (see Section 13).

13. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

This policy is governed by the laws of Italy. Any disputes arising from or related to this policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of Rome (Tribunale di Roma), Italy.

Consumer clients in the EU may also use the European Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform for online dispute resolution: ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.

For Italian consumers, alternative dispute resolution may also be available through Conciliazione Paritetica or other recognised Italian ADR bodies.

14. Contact Us

For all refund, cancellation, and service-quality enquiries: