Refund Policy

This Refund Policy explains how SwiftEdit handles refunds, cancellations, and retention fees across project orders and subscription retainers. It forms part of, and should be read together with, our Terms of Service. All amounts are displayed in US Dollars (USD); charges and refunds are settled in the currency of the original payment at the exchange rate captured at the time of the transaction.

1. Pre-Claim Cancellations (Full Refund)

If you cancel a project before an Editor has claimed it, you receive a 100% automatic refund of the amount paid. No retention fee applies.

• Eligibility - The project is still in the queue and no Editor has been assigned.
• Processing - The refund is issued to your original payment method automatically, typically within 5-10 business days depending on your bank.
• Subscription projects - Projects created under an active retainer are not charged individually, so no monetary refund applies; the project is simply cancelled.

2. In-Progress Cancellations

Once an Editor has claimed and started work, the project price becomes contractual. Cancellations at this stage are handled as follows:

• Before first delivery - Refunds are evaluated case by case. Where a refund is granted, a 20% post-preview cancellation fee may be retained to compensate the Editor for work already performed.
• After preview delivery - Because the deliverable has been produced and reviewed, cancellations after a preview is delivered are subject to a 20% retention fee; the remainder is refunded.
• Completed projects - Once a project is finalized and the high-resolution file is released, the order is non-refundable.

3. Client Ghosting (Revision Response Timeout)

When a project is in review or revisions, the Client has 48 hours to respond to the Editor's delivery. If that window lapses without a response, the project is automatically cancelled and the amount paid is split as follows:

• Platform fee - 15% of the project total is retained by SwiftEdit.
• Editor compensation - 30% of the remainder is paid to the Editor for completed work.
• Client refund - The remaining balance (approximately 55% of the project total) is refunded to the Client.

4. Subscription Retainers (Bundles)

Retainers (Personal, Creator, and Enterprise bundles) are billed monthly or quarterly and provide priority queueing, AI Briefing Assistant credits, and higher Editor commission rates. They do not include free projects.

• Immediate cancellation - You may cancel at any time. The unused portion of the current billing cycle is refunded on a pro-rata basis, minus a 5% operational fee that covers payment processing and platform overhead.
• Formula - refund = (unused days / total days) × amount paid × 0.95
• AI Credits - Any unused AI Briefing Assistant credits are forfeited immediately upon cancellation.
• End-of-period cancellation - If you cancel but keep access until the period ends, no refund is issued; your benefits simply lapse at the end of the paid cycle.
• Plan switches - Switching plans takes effect at the end of the current period. No proration or refund is applied to the current cycle.

5. Price and Complexity Disputes

If an Editor flags that the declared duration tier or complexity level does not match the delivered footage, the dispute is reviewed by SwiftEdit. If the adjustment is validated:

• The Client has 48 hours to pay the adjustment balance and continue the project, or
• The Client may cancel for a full refund of the original amount paid.

6. SLA Failures (Editor Fault)

If an Editor fails to start work within 48 hours of claiming a project, or fails to deliver a first revision within 72 hours, the project is returned to the queue and reassigned at no additional cost to the Client. No refund is required because the Client retains the full value of the order.

7. Non-Refundable Situations

• Projects cancelled due to a violation of our content guidelines.
• Completed and finalized projects whose high-resolution files have been released.
• Accounts terminated for attempting to bypass the platform or negotiate off-platform.
• Retainer cycles already consumed in full (no unused days remaining).

8. How to Request a Refund

Most refunds are issued automatically when you cancel through your dashboard. For anything else, contact our support team at contact@swiftedit.co with your project ID and a short description of the issue. We aim to respond within 2 business days.

9. Chargebacks

Please contact us before initiating a chargeback with your bank. Chargebacks filed without first contacting support may result in account suspension while the dispute is investigated.