Refund, Cancellation, and Billing Policy

1. Scope and order of precedence

This policy applies to Bibeno software subscriptions, add-ons, setup and onboarding work, imports, configuration, training, support services, and any hardware, delivery, installation, rental, repair, or replacement service sold by Bibeno.

The checkout summary, order form, accepted quotation, invoice, hardware schedule, support schedule, promotional terms, and signed customer agreement may add transaction-specific terms. A more specific signed term controls that transaction, but no term excludes a right or remedy that applicable law does not permit the parties to exclude.

2. Customer and agreement classification

Bibeno is designed for business use, but describing a customer as a business does not by itself remove consumer rights. Before relying on business-only terms, Bibeno records the contracting person or entity, authority to contract, juristic-person status where relevant, agreement term, renewal basis, sales channel, and any facts needed to apply the correct statutory treatment.

Where the Consumer Protection Act applies to the customer or transaction, its cancellation, disclosure, fair-term, performance, warranty, refund, and complaint rights apply despite an inconsistent provision in this policy. Where it does not apply, the contract, common law, Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, payment-provider rules, and any other applicable law still govern.

Bibeno may ask for information reasonably needed to classify a request, but it will not require a customer to waive a mandatory right as a condition of receiving support, cancelling future renewal, or raising a billing complaint.

3. Checkout review and transaction record

Before an electronic purchase is submitted, checkout must identify the selected plan, add-on, service, or hardware; the billing period and renewal behaviour; quantity and material limits; currency; price; taxes and additional charges; payment method; start or delivery timing; cancellation route; and the legal documents presented.

The customer must be able to review and correct material input, remove unintended items, decline optional items, withdraw before submission, and retain or access the resulting transaction record. Bibeno records the exact document versions and content hashes presented with the completed transaction.

• A quotation or promotional statement is not a completed purchase until the required acceptance and payment or account confirmation occurs.
• An order is subject to fraud, availability, legal-feature, territory, payment, and verification controls disclosed before or promptly after submission.
• A tax invoice is issued only where Bibeno is legally entitled and required to issue one; otherwise the customer receives the appropriate invoice, receipt, or payment record.
• The customer must report an incorrect business, billing, tax, or contact detail promptly so future records can be corrected.

4. Subscription types and renewal

A subscription may be month-to-month, a fixed-term agreement, a prepaid period, a restricted pilot, or another term clearly identified at checkout or in a signed order. Bibeno does not treat every annual payment as legally identical; the accepted order records whether it is a fixed commitment or a prepaid renewable service.

A renewable subscription continues only on the basis disclosed at checkout. Bibeno sends any expiry, renewal, price-change, or continuation notice required by the agreement or applicable law and records delivery evidence. Where a consumer fixed-term agreement is governed by section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, the required expiry notice and the customer's terminate, renew, or month-to-month continuation choice must be honoured.

A failed payment does not silently create a new fixed term. Bibeno may retry an authorised charge, request updated details, restrict paid features, or suspend service after appropriate notice, while preserving lawful export, cancellation, complaint, and account-exit routes.

• Price or plan changes do not apply retrospectively to a completed paid period unless correcting an agreed error or required by law.
• A material renewal change is disclosed before it takes effect and may require fresh acceptance.
• Add-ons may renew with the primary plan or on their own cycle only where that relationship is shown at checkout.
• Bibeno does not charge after the effective cancellation date except for a lawful outstanding amount, usage incurred before that date, or a separately continuing agreement.

5. Ordinary end-of-period cancellation

For a cancellable renewable subscription that is not being ended under a statutory early-cancellation or cooling-off right, the customer may stop future renewal through the billing workspace or the support channel identified on the invoice and checkout record. Cancellation is effective at the end of the paid period unless the accepted order provides an earlier date.

When cancellation takes effect at the end of a paid period, fees already paid for that period are ordinarily not refunded merely because included users, devices, stores, storage, support capacity, add-ons, or features were not fully used. This ordinary rule remains subject to cooling-off, defective-performance, failed-delivery, billing-error, unfair-term, and other mandatory remedies.

Until the effective end date, the account may continue using paid entitlements subject to payment, security, storage, lawful-use, and feature-gate controls. The customer should export required records and resolve excess storage, devices, or users before entitlements reduce.

6. Fixed-term early cancellation

Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to a fixed-term agreement, the customer may cancel at any time by giving 20 business days' notice in writing or another recorded form. Bibeno may charge only amounts accrued to the cancellation date and a reasonable cancellation penalty permitted by law, and must credit any amount that remains the customer's property.

Any proposed early-cancellation amount is calculated case by case using the remaining term, value already supplied, discounts or equipment funded in reliance on the agreed term, the customer's notice, Bibeno's ability to mitigate loss, and the statutory reasonableness factors. It is not an automatic charge for all remaining subscription fees.

The customer receives a written calculation or sufficient explanation of the proposed credit, accrued fees, and cancellation charge and may dispute the classification or amount through the billing-review process.

For a qualifying consumer fixed-term agreement, Bibeno gives the statutory expiry notice not more than 80 and not less than 40 business days before expiry, explains material renewal changes and the available choices, and honours termination, a fresh fixed-term renewal, or the month-to-month continuation required by law.

7. Cooling-off and electronic transactions

Where section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies, a consumer may cancel without reason or penalty within seven days after receiving goods or within seven days after concluding an agreement for services. The only permitted charge under that section is the direct cost of returning goods, and a payment made before cancellation must be refunded within 30 days after cancellation. Statutory exclusions, including certain services begun with the consumer's consent during the cooling-off period, still apply.

Where section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to a transaction resulting from direct marketing and ECTA section 44 does not apply, the consumer may cancel without reason or penalty in writing or another recorded form within five business days after the later of conclusion or delivery of the goods. Bibeno returns payment within the applicable 15-business-day period after receiving the cancellation notice or returned goods.

A customer exercising a cooling-off right should give an unambiguous notice through the cancellation or support channel and identify the account and transaction. Bibeno records when the notice was received and pauses avoidable further performance while confirming the applicable legal route.

• Bibeno does not contract out of an applicable cooling-off right.
• If service performance began at the customer's request, any lawful charge or deduction for performance already supplied will be explained.
• Returnable goods must be kept reasonably safe and returned as directed, subject to the customer's statutory rights and any permitted direct return cost.
• Approved refunds are processed within the period required by the law governing that transaction.

8. Setup, onboarding, and professional services

Setup, onboarding, import, migration, configuration, training, and implementation fees pay for reserved capacity and work described in the accepted scope. The order should identify deliverables, dependencies, customer responsibilities, milestones, included revisions, and any amount payable before work starts.

If the customer cancels after work starts, Bibeno may retain or charge only the amount lawfully due for work performed, non-recoverable committed costs, and a permitted reasonable cancellation charge. Unperformed work is not automatically treated as fully earned where applicable law or the accepted scope requires a credit.

A customer delay, missed appointment, incomplete file, changed requirement, or failure to approve a milestone may affect timing and cost only as disclosed in the scope. Bibeno must still perform accepted services to the agreed standard and correct material failures within a reasonable opportunity.

9. Upgrades, downgrades, and add-ons

An upgrade price, effective date, proration method, changed limits, and new renewal amount must be shown before confirmation. A downgrade normally takes effect at the next renewal or end of the current paid period unless checkout or a written agreement provides an earlier effective date.

A downgrade may require the customer to reduce users, stores, devices, storage, add-ons, or other entitlements. Bibeno will provide a reasonable route to export or reduce affected data and will not silently delete business records merely because the lower plan cannot display or create the same volume.

Unused add-on capacity is ordinarily not refundable for a completed paid period, subject to the same statutory and service-remedy exceptions in this policy. Cancelling an add-on stops only its future renewal unless it is inseparable from a plan cancellation.

10. Hardware, delivery, installation, and warranties

Hardware, tablets, printers, scanners, cash drawers, terminals, routers, accessories, delivery, installation, repair, rental, insurance, and replacement services are governed by the accepted hardware order and any applicable manufacturer, courier, payment, rental, and statutory terms.

The order must identify whether Bibeno or another supplier is responsible for sale, delivery, installation, warranty administration, rental, insurance, and returns. A software cancellation does not silently cancel or accelerate a separate hardware, rental, finance, delivery, or third-party agreement.

Where the Consumer Protection Act applies, nothing in the hardware order removes the consumer's rights concerning delivery, safe and good-quality goods, the implied warranty of quality, and the available repair, replacement, or refund remedy. Bibeno may inspect a returned item to determine the reported condition and cause, but an inspection may not be used to defeat a valid statutory remedy.

• Report missing, visibly damaged, incorrect, or incomplete delivery as soon as reasonably possible and preserve packaging and delivery evidence where safe.
• Do not return a device containing unexported business or personal information; follow the secure reset and return instructions.
• Normal wear, accidental damage, misuse, unsupported modification, consumables, and third-party connectivity may fall outside a contractual warranty but do not remove rights that law makes mandatory.
• A return authorisation identifies the destination, custody record, data-handling steps, accessories, and assessment outcome.

11. Service performance, defects, and downtime

A temporary outage, maintenance event, third-party interruption, unsupported device, customer network failure, incorrect configuration, or user error does not automatically create a cash-refund right. Bibeno will nevertheless investigate whether the service materially failed to meet an accepted specification, statutory quality standard, or applicable support commitment.

Depending on the cause and applicable rights, a fair remedy may be re-performance, correction, workaround, support, restoration, service extension, service credit, price reduction, cancellation, or refund. Bibeno does not substitute a discretionary credit where the customer is legally entitled to another remedy.

The customer must take reasonable steps to protect data, use supported configurations, preserve relevant logs and references, and allow a reasonable investigation or opportunity to correct the service, except where urgent relief or an immediate mandatory remedy applies.

12. Duplicate, incorrect, and disputed charges

Bibeno corrects a confirmed duplicate charge, amount or tax calculation caused by Bibeno, charge after the effective cancellation date, or other billing error. Correction may be a reversal, original-method refund, credit note, account credit, or invoice adjustment, depending on the transaction and applicable law.

Report suspected unauthorised payment immediately to Bibeno and the payment provider or bank. Bibeno may secure the account, preserve evidence, suspend further collection, and investigate account, device, acceptance, invoice, and provider records. This does not limit a cardholder's statutory or payment-scheme rights.

• Provide the business and account identity, invoice and payment reference, date, amount, payment method, and disputed reason.
• Do not send full card numbers, CVV values, passwords, identity documents, or banking credentials through support.
• A pending bank authorisation is not necessarily a completed duplicate payment and may need provider confirmation.
• An account credit is used only where lawful and accepted; it does not replace a cash refund that is legally required.

13. Payment-provider rules and chargebacks

Payments may be processed by banks, card networks, payment gateways, app stores, or other payment providers. Those providers may apply their own refund, reversal, dispute, chargeback, verification, settlement, fraud, reserve, and timing rules. For a merchant's public online order, the payment is made to that merchant through the merchant's connected provider unless the checkout expressly identifies another seller. Bibeno does not become entitled to the merchant's sale proceeds merely by providing the integration.

A customer may contact Bibeno before opening a chargeback so the account, invoice, cancellation status, and delivery record can be investigated, but this is not a waiver or mandatory precondition where the customer has a legal or payment-scheme right to approach the provider or bank.

Bibeno may provide invoices, checkout records, legal acceptance records, usage records, cancellation records, support records, and service-delivery evidence to payment providers, banks, card networks, app stores, advisers, or regulators when responding to disputes, suspected fraud, or chargebacks.

14. How to request a cancellation or billing review

Billing review requests must be sent to support@bibeno.co.za. The request should include the business name, account email, plan or add-on name, invoice number, payment reference, payment date, amount, cancellation date if applicable, and a clear reason for the request.

Bibeno acknowledges the request, records the applicable cancellation or dispute date, may ask only for information reasonably needed to decide it, and provides a written outcome with the classification, relevant transaction terms, calculation, remedy, and escalation route.

Where a refund is approved, it is returned through the original payment method when reasonably possible. Bibeno records the approval, amount, currency, reason, provider reference, credit note where applicable, submission date, and provider status. Bank and provider settlement timing may fall outside Bibeno's direct control.

If the customer disagrees with the outcome, the customer may request internal escalation and use any applicable court, regulator, ombud, statutory complaint, or payment-provider route. The verified internal and external complaint details are published with Bibeno's supplier information.

If the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud applies to the transaction, Bibeno publishes the current CGSO complaint route and any required participant details after its registration or a verified scope decision has been completed. Until then, Bibeno does not claim CGSO participation and the separate CGSO launch control remains blocked.

14A. Merchant online orders

A customer business that enables online ordering must show its end customer, before submission, who the merchant is, what is being ordered, the final price and fees, whether the order still needs acceptance, the expected collection, delivery, or shipping timing, and the merchant's cancellation, substitution, refund, and complaint route.

The merchant decides whether an order may be changed or cancelled after acceptance or preparation starts, subject to mandatory consumer rights and any promise shown at checkout. The merchant must not rely on a blanket no-refund statement to refuse a remedy for an incorrect, unsafe, defective, unavailable, undelivered, duplicated, or unlawfully charged order.

Bibeno may record the request, calculate available order components, initiate an authorised refund through the merchant's connected provider, reconcile the result, and notify the customer. The merchant remains responsible for the decision and customer remedy unless the loss was directly caused by Bibeno's own breach or unlawful act. A provider status of pending or processing is not represented as a completed refund.

An end customer seeking help with a merchant order should use the merchant contact shown on the storefront, order confirmation, or receipt. Bibeno support may assist with a platform or evidence issue but cannot silently change the identity of the supplier or waive either party's mandatory rights.

15. Account exit, exports, and retained records

Cancellation of payment does not itself erase the account or all records. Before paid access ends, the customer should use available export tools and remove personal information or content it no longer needs, subject to legal holds and transaction-integrity restrictions.

After service ends, Bibeno applies the published retention and deletion schedule. It may retain billing, tax, acceptance, security, complaint, support, audit, transaction-integrity, backup, and dispute records for lawful purposes while restricting ordinary use.

Safe exit functions, including cancellation, lawful export, privacy requests, complaint submission, and payment-history access where required, remain available even when a commercial or optional feature gate is disabled.

16. Changes and re-acceptance

Bibeno may update this policy for product, payment, legal, or business changes. Each version has an immutable identifier and content hash. A non-material clarification may be notified without fresh acceptance where lawful.

A material change to price, renewal, fixed-term treatment, cancellation, refund rights, dispute routes, or another material customer obligation requires the notice and fresh acceptance determined by Bibeno's change-classification process before it governs a new purchase, renewal, or ongoing service where re-acceptance is required.

17. Contact

Questions about this Refund, Cancellation, and Billing Policy can be sent to support@bibeno.co.za. Please include your business name, account email, invoice or payment reference, and a clear description of the request.