1. Subscription Cancellation

1.1 How to Cancel

You may cancel your LocalBeat subscription at any time through your Billing Settings in the dashboard or by accessing the Stripe Customer Portal. No advance notice is required, and you can cancel at any time during your subscription period.

1.2 Cancellation Effective Date

When you cancel your subscription:

• Monthly Subscriptions: Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing cycle. You will retain access to all subscription features until the end of the paid period.
• Annual Subscriptions: Cancellation takes effect at the end of your annual subscription period. You will retain access to all subscription features until the subscription end date.

1.3 No Partial Period Refunds

Cancellations do not result in partial-period refunds. If you cancel on day 15 of a monthly subscription, you will have access through day 30 but will not receive a refund for the unused portion.

Plain English: When you cancel, you keep access until your paid period ends, but we don't refund the unused time.

1.4 Reactivation

You may reactivate a canceled subscription at any time before the cancellation effective date. After the effective date, you must create a new subscription at current pricing. Any promotional pricing or grandfathered rates from your previous subscription may not be available.

2. Subscription Refunds

2.1 Money-Back Guarantee (New Subscriptions)

We offer a 30-day money-back guarantee for first-time subscribers:

• Available for your first subscription only (not available for reactivations or upgrades)
• Must request refund within 30 days of initial subscription date
• Full refund of subscription fees (excluding credit pack purchases)
• Account will be downgraded to Free tier (if applicable) or closed
• All site data will be preserved for 30 days after refund, then permanently deleted

2.2 Annual Subscription Refunds

Annual subscriptions are eligible for pro-rated refunds under the following circumstances:

• Within 30 Days: Full refund available under money-back guarantee (first-time subscribers only)
• Service Failure: Pro-rated refund if LocalBeat experiences significant service disruption (>5% downtime in a month) and fails to meet our Service Level Agreement
• Policy Changes: Pro-rated refund if we make material adverse changes to our Terms of Service and you request cancellation within 30 days of notice

Pro-rated refunds are calculated based on complete months remaining in your subscription period.

2.3 Monthly Subscription Refunds

Monthly subscriptions are generally not refundable except:

• 30-day money-back guarantee for first-time subscribers
• Billing errors (see Section 4)
• Unauthorized charges

2.4 Downgrade Refunds

If you downgrade from a higher-tier plan to a lower-tier plan mid-billing cycle:

• Monthly Plans: Downgrade takes effect at next billing date. No refund for current period.
• Annual Plans: You may request a pro-rated credit for the difference, applied to future billing cycles.

3. Credit Pack Refunds

3.1 General Policy

Credit pack purchases are generally non-refundable because credits are a digital consumable product that provides immediate value upon purchase.

3.2 Exceptions

We will issue refunds for unused credit packs under the following limited circumstances:

• 7-Day Unused Credit Policy: Full refund if:
  • Request made within 7 days of purchase
  • Zero credits have been used from the pack
  • No AI generation or content has been created using the credits
• Billing Errors: Full refund if charged for credits not ordered
• Technical Failures: Full or partial refund if:
  • LocalBeat service failure prevented you from using purchased credits
  • AI generation system failure consumed credits without delivering output
  • You can provide evidence of the technical failure
• Duplicate Charges: Full refund for unintentional duplicate purchases

3.3 Partially Used Credit Packs

Once you have used any credits from a credit pack, the remaining credits are non-refundable. For example, if you purchase a 100-credit pack and use 10 credits, the remaining 90 credits cannot be refunded.

3.4 Credit Expiration

LocalBeat credits do not expire as long as your account remains active. Upon account cancellation or deletion, all unused credits are forfeited without refund.

Plain English: Your credits stay in your account forever while your account is open, but you lose them when you close your account.

4. Billing Errors & Disputes

4.1 Billing Error Resolution

If you believe you've been incorrectly charged, please contact us at billing@mylocalbeat.com within 60 days of the charge. We will investigate and resolve legitimate billing errors within 10 business days.

Common billing errors we will correct:

• Charged for wrong subscription tier
• Charged after cancellation effective date
• Duplicate charges for the same billing period
• Charged incorrect amount (pricing error)
• Unauthorized charges (fraudulent activity)

4.2 Chargeback Policy

Please contact us before initiating a chargeback. Chargebacks are costly to process and may result in immediate account suspension. We are committed to resolving billing disputes fairly and quickly.

If you initiate a chargeback without contacting us first:

• Your account will be immediately suspended pending investigation
• You will lose access to all sites and data
• If the chargeback is found to be invalid, your account may be permanently terminated
• You will be responsible for chargeback fees ($25 processing fee)

4.3 Payment Disputes

For payment disputes with your payment provider (credit card company, bank):

• We will provide transaction documentation upon request
• We will work with you to resolve disputes before they escalate
• Legitimate disputes will be resolved with full refund and no penalties

5. Refund Request Process

5.1 How to Request a Refund

To request a refund:

1. Email billing@mylocalbeat.com with subject line "Refund Request"
2. Include:
   • Your account email address
   • Site subdomain (if applicable)
   • Reason for refund request
   • Original transaction date and amount
   • Any supporting documentation (for technical failures or billing errors)
3. Allow 3-5 business days for review and response

5.2 Refund Processing Time

Once approved:

• Stripe Payments: 5-10 business days for funds to appear in your account
• Bank Transfers: 10-15 business days
• International Payments: Up to 20 business days depending on banking intermediaries

5.3 Refund Method

Refunds are issued to the original payment method used for purchase. We cannot issue refunds to different payment methods or accounts due to fraud prevention policies.

5.4 Refund Approval Criteria

Refund requests are evaluated based on:

• Eligibility under this Policy
• Timing of request (within applicable timeframes)
• Account history and usage patterns
• Technical documentation (for service failure claims)
• Good faith participation in support resolution attempts

6. Non-Refundable Items

6.1 Services and Fees

The following are non-refundable except in cases of billing errors or fraud:

• Setup Fees: One-time setup or onboarding fees (if applicable)
• Domain Registration: Third-party domain registration or renewal fees
• Premium Support: Add-on support packages or priority support fees
• Custom Development: Custom feature development or integration work
• Training Services: Completed training sessions or workshops
• Data Migration: Completed data migration or import services

6.2 Used Services

Services that have been fully or partially used are non-refundable:

• Used Credits: AI generation credits that have been consumed
• API Calls: Third-party API usage fees (OpenAI, Cloudinary, etc.)
• Storage Overages: Fees for storage usage beyond plan limits
• Email Sends: Email campaign sends that have been delivered

6.3 Subscription Partial Periods

As stated in Section 1.3, partial billing periods are non-refundable. If you cancel mid-cycle, you retain access through the end of the paid period but do not receive a refund for unused time.

7. Account Termination by LocalBeat

7.1 Termination for Cause

If LocalBeat terminates your account for violation of our Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, or other misconduct:

• No refund will be provided for the current billing period
• Unused credits are forfeited
• You will not be eligible for the 30-day money-back guarantee
• Future refund requests will be denied

Violations that result in no-refund termination include but are not limited to:

• Illegal content or activities
• Repeat copyright infringement (DMCA strikes)
• Abuse of system resources or API rate limits
• Fraudulent chargebacks or payment abuse
• Harassment or threats against LocalBeat staff or other users

7.2 Termination Without Cause

If LocalBeat terminates your account without cause (rare circumstances such as service discontinuation):

• Full pro-rated refund for unused subscription time
• Full refund for unused credits
• 30 days advance notice when possible
• Data export assistance provided

8. Data Retention After Cancellation

8.1 Voluntary Cancellation

When you cancel your subscription:

• During Paid Period: Full access to all features and data until cancellation effective date
• After Cancellation:
  • Days 1-30: Data preserved in read-only mode. You can reactivate or export your data.
  • Days 31-60: Data archived. Reactivation requires contacting support. Export still available.
  • After Day 60: All data permanently deleted from our systems and cannot be recovered.

8.2 Involuntary Termination

For accounts terminated by LocalBeat for Terms of Service violations:

• Immediate loss of access to dashboard and data
• 30-day data retention period for appeal or legal purposes
• Data export may be restricted in cases of illegal content
• Permanent deletion after 30 days

8.3 Data Export

You may export your data at any time before permanent deletion:

• Dashboard → Settings → Export Data
• Full export includes: posts, pages, media, subscribers, analytics
• Standard format (JSON, CSV) for easy migration
• No charge for data export

Recommendation: Export your data before canceling to ensure you have a backup.

9. Payment Failures & Grace Periods

9.1 Automatic Retry

If your subscription payment fails due to insufficient funds, expired card, or payment processing error:

• We will automatically retry the payment 3 times over 10 days
• You will receive email notifications before each retry
• You can update your payment method in Billing Settings to resolve the issue

9.2 Grace Period

If payment continues to fail after retries:

• 14-day grace period begins after final retry
• You retain full access to your account during grace period
• Email reminders sent at day 7, day 3, and day 1 of grace period
• Update payment method at any time to reactivate subscription

9.3 Account Lock After Grace Period

If payment is not received by the end of the grace period:

• Account is locked (read-only access)
• Public sites may be taken offline or show "subscription expired" notice
• No refund for the grace period
• Data retained for 60 days (see Section 8)
• Reactivation available by updating payment method and paying outstanding balance

9.4 No Partial Refunds for Failed Payments

Grace periods are provided as a courtesy. Failed payment periods are not refundable. If your account is locked on day 15 of the grace period and you choose to cancel, you will not receive a refund for the grace period.

10. Contact Information

10.1 Billing Support

For refund requests, billing questions, or payment issues:

• Email: billing@mylocalbeat.com
• Support Portal: https://mylocalbeat.com/dashboard/support
• Response Time: 1-2 business days

10.2 Dispute Resolution

If you are not satisfied with our response to a refund request:

• Request escalation to Billing Manager via same email thread
• Final decision provided within 5 business days
• Disputes may be subject to arbitration per Terms of Service

10.3 Stripe Customer Portal

Access your Stripe Customer Portal for:

• View billing history and invoices
• Update payment methods
• Cancel subscription
• Download receipts

Access via: Dashboard → Billing → Manage Billing