Refunds policy.

Each tier has its own refund window. The shape below is the same shape we ship in the pricing page, in your dashboard, and in the checkout confirmation email.

Our policy is “full price means full report, or no full charge.” The remedy is a free re-run credit first, escalated to a cash refund only if the credited re-run also falls short. You never have to chase us for either step.

• Run fell below our quality bar. Our preflight gate could not ground a real analysis for the niche you submitted, or the run completed without enough verified evidence to back a verdict. We automatically add 1 free re-run credit to your account (no monthly cycle consumed) and email you a heads-up. The credit applies on your next intake without any code or checkout step. You will also see the standing credit on your dashboard and on the failed report itself.
• Credited re-run also fell short.The second failure escalates to a human-approved cash refund to your original payment method. Typically within one business day, and we email you when it ships. This caps free re-runs at one per failure class — we are not going to put you on an infinite-credit treadmill.
• Idea Lab refusal. When Idea Lab refuses to spend on the idea you submitted (regulated industry or thin public evidence), no monthly cycle is consumed. You can resubmit a revised idea at no extra cost.

The pipeline is designed to surface honest refusals up front rather than ship a confident but ungrounded report. The credit-then-refund ladder is how we make those refusals painless. Cash refunds are issued by our payment processor as merchant of record and typically settle in 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank.

The credit-then-refund ladder above covers quality issues with an analysis. Billing errors are a separate track: we refund first, no credit step.

• Duplicate charge. Card hit twice for the same intake. Refund the duplicate to your original payment method, typically same business day after we see your email.
• Charged after cancellation. A renewal slipped past your cancel date. Refund the unauthorized cycle in full.
• Charged for a tier you did not pick.Wrong tier on the order, our side or the checkout’s side. Refund the difference (or the full cycle, your call) and re-issue at the correct tier.

Before opening a card dispute: email hello@thedetective.io with the charge in question. We respond within one business day and refunds typically settle in 5 to 10 business days. Card chargebacks cost us a fixed fee per dispute regardless of outcome, and at scale they trigger card-network monitoring that raises our processing costs. Asking us first is a real favor that keeps the product affordable; we have never refused a legitimate billing-error request.

We are honest about the lines too. Refunds are not available in these situations:

• You did not like the verdict. Our promise is a grounded analysis, not a verdict you will agree with. A GO you disagree with, or a NO GO you wanted to be a GO, is the product working as intended.
• You picked the wrong tier. Move down to a cheaper tier from your dashboard at any time. The downgrade takes effect at your next billing cycle. The current cycle you already paid for stays at the higher tier.
• After your seven day window on recurring plans.Once the first month settles, recurring plans are no longer refundable on a partial basis. Cancellation stops the next cycle but does not refund the current one.
• Starter at any time. The $12.99 one time charge is non refundable from the moment the analysis is delivered.

Email hello@thedetective.io or use the contact formwith subject “Billing”. Include:

• The email on your account
• The analysis or invoice in question
• The reason

We respond within one business day. Approved refunds are processed by our payment processor and typically settle back to your card in 5 to 10 business days, depending on your bank.