1. Summary (the short version)
- Unused credits: fully refundable within 30 days of purchase, no questions asked.
- Used credits: non-refundable, since carrier fees are incurred at send time.
- Service-side failures: if our infrastructure (not the carrier) caused a delivery failure, the consumed credits are re-credited automatically.
- Chargebacks: please email us first. Filing a chargeback before contacting billing@massivesms.com may suspend your account pending investigation.
2. Refund eligibility
Eligible for full refund
- Credit pack purchased within the last 30 days, with no credits used.
- Duplicate or accidental purchases (e.g. double-clicked checkout).
- Pack purchased through fraud (someone used your card without authorization). Report immediately to billing@massivesms.com.
- Workspace closed by us under our acceptable-use policy: prorated refund of unused credits if closure is not for a material breach.
- Documented service outage exceeding 4 hours that prevented use of credits during a critical launch window: refund of credits consumed during the outage, requested in writing within 14 days.
Eligible for partial refund
- Pack purchased within 30 days, partially used: pro-rata refund on unused credits at the same per-credit rate paid.
Not eligible
- Credits already consumed by sending SMS (carrier fees are real and non-refundable).
- Pack older than 30 days from purchase, regardless of unused balance. (Credits remain valid for 12 months — they just stop being refundable.)
- Failures caused by carrier-side rejection, invalid recipient numbers, or recipient opt-outs. These are inherent costs of operating SMS infrastructure.
- Account closure by you for personal reasons after the 30-day window.
Card networks impose their own dispute timeframes that override this policy where applicable: Visa and Mastercard generally allow chargebacks up to 120 days from the transaction for "services not received" or "quality" disputes, and longer windows for fraud claims. We honor card-network rules regardless of our internal 30-day window.
3. How to request a refund
The fastest path:
- Email billing@massivesms.com from the email address tied to your account.
- Include the invoice number (e.g.
INV-1042), the pack name, and a brief reason. - Or open Settings → Billing → Purchase history and click Request refund next to the invoice (available within 30 days).
We respond within 2 business days. Approved refunds are processed to the original payment method within 5–10 business days, depending on your card issuer. Bank transfer refunds may take longer in some regions.
4. Taxes and fees
If sales tax, VAT, or GST was charged, it is refunded together with the principal. Stripe processing fees on the original transaction are not reimbursed by Stripe, but we absorb them and pass the full pack price back to you.
5. Currency and exchange
All packs are priced and refunded in U.S. Dollars. If your card was charged in a non-USD currency, the refund is processed in USD; your bank converts it back to local currency at their prevailing rate, which may differ from the original conversion rate. We are not responsible for exchange rate fluctuations.
6. Chargebacks and disputes
We encourage customers to contact us before filing a chargeback. A chargeback escalates the dispute to your card issuer and Stripe, which charges us a non-refundable dispute fee (currently $15 USD) regardless of outcome.
What happens when a chargeback is filed
- Your account is automatically flagged for review and may be suspended pending resolution. Sending is paused on flagged accounts.
- We submit evidence through the Stripe Dashboard dispute flow: signed Terms acceptance, IP address and timestamp of purchase, invoice, delivery logs of any messages sent on consumed credits, prior support history, and screenshots of the customer’s use of the dashboard. Stripe forwards the package to your card issuer.
- Resolution timelines are set by the card networks: typically 30–90 days, occasionally up to 120 days for complex Visa/Mastercard disputes.
- For each dispute, Stripe charges a non-refundable network fee (currently $15 USD for U.S. cards, higher in some regions). This fee applies regardless of dispute outcome and is passed through to the customer’s account.
Outcomes
- You win the dispute: funds returned to you. Your account remains suspended unless you contact us to discuss reactivation.
- We win the dispute: charge stands. Your account may be reactivated at our discretion. Repeated unjustified chargebacks lead to permanent ban under our acceptable-use policy.
Fraudulent or abusive disputes
Chargebacks filed in bad faith — for example, claiming non-receipt for a campaign that delivered to thousands of opted-in recipients, with full audit logs — result in:
- Permanent account closure and forfeiture of remaining credits.
- The dispute fee passed back to you as a debt collected through standard channels.
- Reporting to fraud-prevention networks (e.g. Stripe Radar, Ethoca) where applicable.
7. Service-credit refunds (failures on our side)
If our infrastructure (queue, API, dashboard, primary carrier route under our control) caused a delivery failure, we re-credit the consumed credits automatically inside the dashboard without requiring a refund request. You will see a line item "MSVS service credit" in your purchase history.
Failures caused by recipient-side issues (invalid number, blacklisted region, opt-outs, do-not-disturb hours) are not refunded. Carrier-side outages outside our control are evaluated case-by-case; major outages affecting a launch get prorated re-credits.
8. Subscription refunds (Pro plan, future)
When the Pro monthly plan launches, refund terms will be:
- Cancel anytime from Settings → Billing.
- You are charged for the current month and retain access through the end of the billing period.
- No prorated refund on the current month, except where required by law (e.g. 14-day right of withdrawal in the EU/UK for distance contracts).
9. Affiliates: clawbacks
If a customer brought in by an affiliate receives a refund within the affiliate cookie window, the corresponding affiliate commission is clawed back from the affiliate’s next payout. If the next payout is insufficient to cover the clawback, the negative balance carries forward until offset by future earnings.
10. Region-specific consumer rights
This policy does not limit any statutory rights you may have under your local consumer protection law:
- EU / UK: 14-day right of withdrawal under the Consumer Rights Directive, except where the digital service has been fully provided with prior express consent (e.g. credits already used).
- Brazil: 7-day right of withdrawal under CDC Article 49 for online purchases.
- California: refund rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act and applicable retail sale laws.
- Australia: consumer guarantees under the Australian Consumer Law.
Where local law provides a longer or more favorable refund window than this policy, the local law applies.
11. Contact
Refunds and billing: billing@massivesms.com.
Chargeback questions: billing@massivesms.com (please email before disputing).
Legal: legal@massivesms.com.
Mailing address: Massive SMS Inc., 2261 Market Street #4001, San Francisco, CA 94114, USA.
