At Swift Web Design (“we”, “us”, “our”), we aim to provide high-quality web design, digital and hosting services. We understand that sometimes things don’t go to plan and you may wish to cancel or request a refund.

This Refund Policy explains when refunds may be available, how cancellations work and how to make a request. Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights under UK law.

1. Scope of this policy

This policy applies to services and digital deliverables you buy directly from Swift Web Design, such as:

  • website design and development
  • content creation
  • SEO and consultancy
  • hosting and maintenance
  • other digital services agreed in writing

It does not apply to products or services you purchase directly from third parties (for example, domain registrars, software vendors or plugin marketplaces). In those cases, the third party’s own terms and refund policy will apply.

2. Your statutory rights

If you are a consumer (an individual acting wholly or mainly outside your trade, business or profession), you have important legal rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

These laws give you rights if our services or digital deliverables are not:

  • provided with reasonable care and skill;
  • as described; or
  • delivered in accordance with our contract with you.

They also set out when you may have a 14-day “cooling-off” period for certain distance/online purchases of services and digital content.

We explain how we handle these rights in practice below, but this policy does not limit or exclude any legal rights you have.

3. Refund eligibility – services and projects

You may be eligible for a refund (full or partial) in the following situations:

3.1 Services not delivered as agreed

If we fail to deliver the agreed services or deliverables in line with the written proposal, scope or contract, despite reasonable opportunity to do so, we may offer:

  • a full or partial refund of fees paid; and/or
  • a credit towards future services.

We will normally first discuss with you whether you would prefer us to put things right (for example, by correcting errors or completing outstanding work) before moving to a refund.

3.2 Services not carried out with reasonable care and skill

If you are a consumer and believe our services have not been carried out with reasonable care and skill or are not as described, please contact us as soon as possible with details.

We will:

  • review the issue;
  • where appropriate, offer to repeat or fix the work within a reasonable time at no extra cost; and
  • if we are unable to put things right within a reasonable time, consider a price reduction or refund in line with your statutory rights.

4. Deposits and staged payments

To secure projects, we require an upfront deposit of 20% of the project fee and may agree staged payments.

  • Paying in full up front: you can choose to pay the whole project fee in one payment instead. If you do, 20% of it is the non-refundable deposit and the remaining 80% is treated like any other payment under section 6. If you’re a consumer, section 6.2 applies to the whole payment.
  • If you are a business and you cancel, we keep the deposit. We refund it if we cancel the project or fail to provide the services as agreed. Consumers: see section 6.2.
  • Any further payments made will be assessed against the value of work completed at the time of cancellation (see section 6 below).

Approving the final design mockup is a key milestone. At that point the project moves into active build and we reserve the studio time to deliver it, which we usually cannot re-book at short notice. For business clients, fees for work up to and including that stage are non-refundable from then on. Section 6 sets out exactly what that means if you cancel.

We aim for our cancellation charges to reflect our actual losses and costs, not to penalise you.

5. Non-refundable items and costs

In addition to deposits, the following are normally non-refundable once ordered or delivered, unless we are legally required to provide a refund (for example, where a service is not as described or is not carried out with reasonable care and skill):

  • Custom or bespoke work that has already been started or completed (such as custom website designs, tailored content or bespoke development). This includes design and build work on any project where you have approved the final design mockup.
  • Digital deliverables (such as final website files, templates or graphics) once they have been supplied and accessed, unless they are faulty or not as described.
  • Third-party licences and fees – for example, premium themes, plugins, fonts or specialist tools purchased for your project. These are usually non-refundable and non-transferable from the original vendor.
  • Domains and hosting once purchased or renewed on your behalf, as these are paid to third-party providers for fixed periods.
  • Completed periods of ongoing services such as monthly SEO, maintenance or support that has already been delivered.

If we are able to obtain any refund or credit from a third-party supplier, we may pass this on to you at our discretion, minus any reasonable administration costs.

6. Cancelling services

To end a Plus plan or hosting, see clause 9.5 of our Terms. Consumers can also use the 14-day cancellation period in section 6.2.

6.1 Cancellation by business clients

If you are a business client, you may cancel services at any time by contacting us in writing.

  • Before work begins: we may refund any upfront payment other than the non-refundable deposit (unless we agree otherwise).
  • After work has commenced, before you approve the design: we will invoice or retain fees for work already completed and any non-recoverable costs (such as third-party licences or domains). Any balance paid for work not yet done may be refunded, partially refunded, or credited towards future services at our discretion.
  • After you have approved the final design mockup: fees paid or due up to that point are non-refundable, including where the build is still in progress. Approving the design is the point at which we schedule and commit the build time for your project. If you cancel after this stage, we will still hand over the approved design work you have paid for.

The design approval rule above applies to business clients. If you are a consumer, it does not reduce your statutory cancellation rights in section 6.2 below, or your rights under section 2.

6.2 Cancellation by consumers – 14-day cancellation period

If you’re a consumer (buying for yourself, not a business) and you agree a contract with us online, by email, by phone or by signing electronically, you can cancel within 14 days without giving a reason. The 14 days start the day after the contract is made.

Our websites and designs are made to order, but the law still treats them as a service, so the 14 days apply.

  • We won’t start work during the 14 days unless you ask us to.
  • If you asked us to start and then cancel within the 14 days, you pay only for the work done up to the time you tell us. We refund everything else, including any deposit.
  • If we finish the work within the 14 days at your request, you can no longer cancel once it’s complete.
  • If you cancel after the 14 days, you pay for the work done and costs we have already committed to (such as third-party licences) up to the time you tell us, and we refund anything you have paid above that, including any unused part of the deposit.

In any case, your legal rights if our services are not as described or not carried out with reasonable care and skill still apply.

To cancel, just tell us clearly by email or post. You don’t need to give a reason or use particular words. You can use the cancellation form in clause 17 of our Terms.

7. Timeframes for refund requests

We ask that you contact us about any concerns or refund requests as soon as reasonably possible after:

  • the relevant service has been delivered; or
  • you become aware of a problem.

Where we offer a discretionary refund (for example, as a gesture of goodwill), we normally expect you to notify us within 14 days of delivery of the relevant service or digital deliverable.

This does not affect any longer time limits that may apply to your statutory rights as a consumer.

8. How to request a refund or cancellation

To request a refund or cancel services, please email:

info@swiftwebdesign.co.uk

Include:

  • your name and contact details;
  • your business name (if applicable);
  • the service or project name;
  • invoice or order number; and
  • a clear explanation of why you are requesting a refund or cancellation.

Consumers cancelling within the 14 days only need to give their name and say they are cancelling.

We will aim to acknowledge your request within 5 working days and may ask for additional information if needed.

9. How refunds are processed

When a refund is agreed:

  • Refunds will normally be made to the original payment method used to pay us.
  • Where this is not possible (for example, if a card has expired), we will discuss an alternative method with you.
  • For consumers cancelling within the 14-day period, we refund within 14 days of the day you tell us, to the payment method you used, less only any amount for work you asked us to start. We don’t charge a fee for the refund.
  • For discretionary refunds outside statutory rights, we also aim to process refunds within 14 days of our written agreement to refund.

We are not responsible for any delays caused by banks, payment processors or card providers once we have initiated the refund.

10. Access to services and deliverables after a refund

If a refund (full or partial) is agreed:

  • we may remove access to any websites, hosting, accounts or digital deliverables that have been refunded, where appropriate;
  • you may be required to stop using any refunded deliverables, designs or content; and
  • where a partial refund is agreed, we will clarify which elements you may continue to use.

This is to ensure that both sides are treated fairly and the value of any refunded work is not retained in full.

11. Disputes and complaints

If you are unhappy with our decision about a refund or cancellation, please contact us in the first instance so we can try to resolve the matter informally.

If you are a consumer and we are unable to resolve your complaint, you can seek free, independent advice from:

  • Citizens Advice (consumer helpline): 0808 223 1133 or via their website; or
  • your local Trading Standards service, via Citizens Advice.

For issues specifically relating to how we handle your personal data, please see our Privacy Policy and your right to complain to the Information Commission (the UK data protection regulator, still known as the ICO). For refund and service disputes, the ICO is not the appropriate body.

12. Changes to this Refund Policy

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time, for example to reflect changes in the law or our services. When we do, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we handle cancellations and refunds.