Refund Policy

1. Scope & Applicability

This Refund Policy applies to all monetary transactions processed through QRZone.io, including but not limited to recurring subscription payments, annual plan purchases, one-time add-on purchases, plan upgrades, and Enterprise or Government contract payments. This policy is binding on all users who make a payment to QRZone regardless of their geographic location, and it supplements the Terms of Service and any separate Enterprise or Government agreement entered into between the parties.

By completing a purchase on QRZone.io, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to the terms of this Refund Policy. If you do not agree, you should not complete the transaction.

2. Payment Processors & Merchant of Record

QRZone processes payments through third-party payment providers including, but not limited to, Stripe, PayPal, Paddle, and other merchant-of-record platforms as may be applicable from time to time. Depending on the payment method and your region, the merchant of record may be QRZone or the payment platform itself (e.g., Paddle acts as the merchant of record for certain transactions). In all cases:

Refund processing times are subject to the policies of the underlying payment provider and your financial institution. QRZone initiates refunds promptly but cannot guarantee the speed of bank or card-issuer settlement.
Where Paddle is the merchant of record, Paddle's refund policies apply in conjunction with this policy. In the event of conflict, the more restrictive policy shall prevail in favour of QRZone.
PayPal transactions are subject to PayPal's Buyer Protection Program. QRZone cooperates fully with PayPal's dispute resolution process but reserves the right to present evidence and contest claims that are fraudulent, abusive, or inconsistent with this policy.
Currency conversion fees, intermediary bank charges, or payment processor transaction fees that were incurred during the original payment are non-refundable and are the responsibility of the customer.

3. Refund Eligibility & Windows

3.1 Monthly Subscription Plans

Monthly subscription refund requests must be submitted within 7 calendar days of the billing date for the current billing cycle. Refund requests received after this 7-day window are not eligible for a refund. If a refund is approved, it will be calculated on a pro-rata basis deducting the fair value of any usage during the current cycle (see Section 5).

3.2 Annual Subscription Plans

Annual plan refund requests must be submitted within 14 calendar days of the initial purchase or renewal date. After the 14-day window, annual subscriptions are non-refundable. Partial-year refunds are not available after the eligibility window closes. If a refund is approved within the 14-day window, a pro-rata deduction will be applied for any full months of service consumed, calculated at the corresponding monthly plan rate (not the discounted annual rate).

3.3 Plan Upgrades

When upgrading from one plan to another, the differential amount charged is eligible for a refund within 7 calendar days of the upgrade date, provided the higher-tier features have not been materially used (see Section 4). Downgrades are handled as plan changes effective at the next billing cycle and do not trigger a refund.

3.4 One-Time Add-Ons & Credits

Purchases of one-time add-ons (e.g., additional scan packs, extra QR code slots, custom domain add-ons) are eligible for a refund within 48 hours of purchase, provided the add-on capacity has not been consumed or activated. Once an add-on has been partially or fully utilized, it is non-refundable.

3.5 Enterprise & Custom Plans

Enterprise and Custom plan refunds are governed by the terms of the applicable Enterprise Service Agreement or Statement of Work. In the absence of specific refund terms in such agreement, the general terms of this policy apply with a 30-calendar-day eligibility window from the contract start date or renewal date.

3.6 Government Plans

Government plan refunds are handled in accordance with the applicable government procurement regulations and the terms of the engagement agreement. QRZone will cooperate with government procurement offices to process refunds in compliance with applicable public sector financial regulations. The Government Free Trial period is provided at no cost and does not involve refundable transactions.

4. Non-Refundable Items & Exclusions

The following are expressly excluded from refund eligibility:

Free Trial conversions: The Free Trial is provided at no charge. If you convert to a paid plan, the paid plan's refund terms apply from the date of first payment.
Consumed services: Any QR codes that have been generated, deployed, or scanned; scan analytics data that has been accessed or exported; API calls that have been executed; and landing pages that have been published represent consumed services and reduce or eliminate refund eligibility.
Account violations: If your account has been suspended or terminated for violation of the Terms of Service or Acceptable Use Policy, no refund will be issued.
Chargebacks filed without prior contact: If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or payment provider without first contacting QRZone support, QRZone reserves the right to contest the chargeback and may suspend your account pending resolution. We strongly encourage customers to contact us directly before initiating payment disputes.
Third-party fees: Currency conversion charges, bank wire fees, intermediary processing fees, and payment processor transaction fees are non-refundable.
Promotional or discounted purchases: Plans purchased under promotional pricing, coupon codes, or special offers may have modified or reduced refund eligibility as stated in the promotion terms.
Domain registration fees: If your plan includes a custom domain and a domain has been registered on your behalf, the domain registration fee is non-refundable regardless of plan refund eligibility.

5. Pro-Rata Calculation Method

Where a refund is approved and pro-rata deductions apply, the refund amount is calculated as follows:

Monthly plans: Refund = Amount paid for current cycle minus (daily rate x number of days elapsed since billing date). The daily rate is calculated as the monthly fee divided by the number of days in the billing month.
Annual plans (within 14-day window): Refund = Annual amount paid minus (monthly plan rate x number of full months consumed). The monthly plan rate used for this calculation is the standard published monthly rate for the same plan, not the discounted annual per-month equivalent.
Usage-based deductions: In addition to time-based pro-rating, QRZone may deduct fair market value for material usage including but not limited to: QR codes created and deployed, scan events processed, API calls executed, data exports performed, and premium features accessed.

QRZone reserves the right to deny a refund or reduce the refund amount if usage during the refund-eligible period is disproportionately high relative to the subscription duration, indicating that the service value has already been consumed.

6. How to Request a Refund

To request a refund, you must:

Submit a refund request via email to billing@qrzone.io from the email address associated with your QRZone account, or through the in-app support channel.
Include your account email, transaction ID or invoice number, date of purchase, plan name, and a clear description of the reason for requesting a refund.
Submit the request within the applicable eligibility window defined in Section 3.

QRZone will acknowledge receipt of refund requests within 2 business days and will process or deny the request within 10 business days of receipt. If additional information is required, the processing timeline may be extended. You will be notified of the outcome via the email address on file.

7. Refund Processing & Settlement

Approved refunds are processed to the original payment method used for the transaction. QRZone does not issue refunds to alternative payment methods, bank accounts, or third parties not associated with the original transaction.

Credit/debit card refunds: Typically appear within 5-10 business days depending on your card issuer and bank.
PayPal refunds: Typically processed within 3-5 business days to your PayPal balance.
Paddle-processed refunds: Follow Paddle's standard refund settlement timeline, typically 5-10 business days.
Wire transfer / invoice payments: Refunds for wire transfers or invoice-based payments (common for Enterprise and Government plans) are processed via wire transfer and may take 10-20 business days.

QRZone is not responsible for delays caused by payment processors, banks, or financial intermediaries. If you have not received a refund within 20 business days of approval notification, please contact your payment provider first, then reach out to billing@qrzone.io with proof of non-receipt.

8. Chargebacks, Disputes & Fraud Prevention

QRZone takes payment fraud and chargeback abuse seriously. We maintain the right to:

Contest any chargeback or payment dispute that we believe is fraudulent, abusive, or filed without a good-faith attempt to resolve the issue directly with QRZone.
Suspend account access immediately upon receiving a chargeback notification, pending investigation and resolution.
Provide evidence to payment processors including account usage logs, IP addresses, session data, QR code creation and scan records, and communication history to support our position in dispute proceedings.
Permanently terminate accounts and ban future registrations by individuals or entities found to have engaged in chargeback fraud or abuse.
Pursue recovery of losses through collections, legal proceedings, or other lawful means in the event of fraudulent chargebacks.

We strongly encourage all customers to contact our support team at billing@qrzone.io before initiating a dispute with their payment provider. In our experience, direct communication resolves the vast majority of billing concerns faster and more favourably for all parties.

9. Service Cancellation & Refund Interaction

Cancelling your subscription does not automatically trigger a refund. When you cancel:

Your subscription remains active until the end of the current paid billing period. You retain full access to all plan features until that date.
No further charges will be made after the current billing period ends.
If you wish to also request a refund for the current billing period, you must separately submit a refund request per Section 6 and meet the eligibility criteria in Section 3.
Dynamic QR codes created under your plan will continue to redirect for a grace period of 30 days after plan expiration, after which they will display a default landing page unless you resubscribe.

10. Account Credits & Alternative Remedies

In certain circumstances, QRZone may offer account credits, plan extensions, or complimentary plan upgrades as an alternative to a monetary refund. Such offers are made at QRZone's sole discretion and are not an admission of liability. Acceptance of an account credit is final and waives the right to request a monetary refund for the same transaction.

Account credits are non-transferable, have no cash value, and expire 12 months from the date of issuance unless otherwise specified.

11. Service Interruptions & Downtime

QRZone strives for high availability as described in our Service Level Agreement. In the event of a service interruption:

Enterprise and Custom plan customers with an active SLA may be eligible for service credits as defined in their SLA agreement, not monetary refunds.
Standard plan customers are not entitled to refunds or credits for service interruptions unless the interruption exceeds 72 consecutive hours, in which case a pro-rata credit for the affected period may be issued at QRZone's discretion.
Scheduled maintenance windows communicated at least 48 hours in advance do not constitute service interruptions for the purposes of refund or credit eligibility.

12. International Consumer Rights

QRZone respects the consumer protection laws of all jurisdictions in which it operates. The following supplementary provisions apply:

European Union / European Economic Area

Under the EU Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU), consumers may have a 14-day right of withdrawal from the date of purchase. However, by using QRZone's services (including creating QR codes, accessing analytics, or deploying campaigns), you expressly consent to the commencement of service delivery and acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal once the service has been fully performed or materially consumed within the withdrawal period. This is consistent with Article 16(a) of the Directive.

United Kingdom

UK consumers have rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. The same 14-day cooling-off period applies, subject to the same waiver upon commencement of service delivery as described above.

Australia

Australian consumers have rights under the Australian Consumer Law that cannot be excluded by contract. Nothing in this Refund Policy limits or excludes any consumer guarantee under Schedule 2 of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010. If Australian Consumer Law provides you with a remedy that exceeds the terms of this policy, the Australian Consumer Law prevails.

Other Jurisdictions

If your local consumer protection law provides mandatory refund rights that are more favourable than this policy, those rights apply. QRZone will comply with applicable local laws. However, this does not extend the voluntary refund windows or eligibility criteria in this policy beyond what is legally required.

13. Changes to This Policy

QRZone reserves the right to modify this Refund Policy at any time. Changes become effective upon posting to this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Material changes will be communicated to active subscribers via email at least 14 days prior to taking effect. The refund terms applicable to any transaction are the terms in effect at the time of the original purchase, not at the time of the refund request.

14. Limitation of Liability

QRZone's total liability arising from or related to refund claims shall not exceed the amount actually paid by the customer for the specific subscription period or transaction in question. In no event shall QRZone be liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, special, or punitive damages arising from a refund dispute, including but not limited to lost revenue, business interruption, lost data, or reputational harm.

This limitation applies regardless of the legal theory under which such liability is asserted, whether in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise, and even if QRZone has been advised of the possibility of such damages.

15. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

This Refund Policy is governed by the same governing law provision specified in the Terms of Service. Any disputes arising from or relating to refund claims shall first be subject to mandatory good-faith negotiation for a period of 30 days. If negotiation fails, the dispute shall be resolved through binding arbitration in accordance with the rules of the applicable arbitration body as specified in the Terms of Service.

Nothing in this section prevents QRZone from seeking injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of QRZone's rights.

16. Contact Information

For all refund-related inquiries, requests, and disputes:

Email: billing@qrzone.io
Subject line: Refund Request - [Your Account Email]
Response time: Within 2 business days

For general support or account questions unrelated to refunds, please contact support@qrzone.io or visit our Contact page.