Legal

Refund Policy

Last updated: 28 May 2026 · Effective immediately

We want you to be satisfied with FlashBill. This policy sets out your rights clearly and honestly. Consumers have a statutory 14-day right to cancel. After that period, subscriptions run to the end of the billing cycle with no partial refunds — except in exceptional circumstances, which we always consider individually.

1. Overview

This Refund Policy applies to all subscription payments made to FlashBill at flashbill.co.uk. It forms part of the Agreement between you and FlashBill and should be read together with our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

All payments to FlashBill are processed by Stripe, Inc. Refunds, where approved, are returned to the original payment method (credit or debit card) via Stripe. The timing of a refund appearing in your bank account or on your card statement will depend on your card issuer, but is typically within 5 to 10 business days of processing by FlashBill.

FlashBill operates on a monthly subscription model. There are no annual plans, no setup fees, and no hidden charges. All prices are displayed in pounds sterling (GBP) and are exclusive of VAT where applicable.

2. Who This Policy Applies To

Your rights under this Refund Policy depend on whether you are a consumer or a business customer. This distinction is important because statutory cancellation rights under UK consumer law apply only to consumers.

You are a consumer if you are an individual using FlashBill primarily for personal purposes, or if you are a sole trader using FlashBill for your own business but not as part of a larger commercial enterprise acting in a business-to-business capacity. Most FlashBill users — sole traders, freelancers, and independent contractors using the platform to issue invoices for their own work — will qualify as consumers under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013.

You are a business customer if you are a limited company, partnership, or other legal entity that has entered into the Agreement with FlashBill in the course of a trade or business. If you registered using a limited company name or a business VAT number, FlashBill will treat you as a business customer. Business customers do not have the statutory 14-day cooling-off right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, though they remain entitled to any discretionary remedies described in clause 7 of this policy.

If you are unsure which category applies to you, contact us at support@flashbill.co.uk before subscribing. We will not artificially prevent consumers from exercising their statutory rights.

3. Consumer Right to Cancel — 14-Day Cooling-Off Period

If you are a consumer, you have a statutory right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (the "2013 Regulations") to cancel your subscription within 14 calendar days of the date of your first payment (the "cooling-off period"), without giving any reason and without incurring any penalty.

This right applies to your initial subscription only and cannot be waived, restricted, or contracted out of. It is a statutory right guaranteed by UK law. If you cancel within the cooling-off period and you have not begun using the Service, you are entitled to a full refund of the subscription fee you paid.

Early access waiver and pro-rata refunds: If you request immediate access to the Service before the 14-day cooling-off period expires (which is the default when you subscribe to FlashBill, as access is granted immediately upon payment), you acknowledge under Regulation 36 of the 2013 Regulations that you are requesting performance of the contract before the end of the cooling-off period. If you then cancel within the cooling-off period, you remain entitled to a refund, but we may deduct an amount proportional to the services you have already consumed up to the date of cancellation.

The pro-rata deduction is calculated as follows: (number of days' service consumed ÷ total days in the billing cycle) × the subscription fee paid. For example, if your monthly subscription costs £X and you cancel after 5 days of use in a 31-day month, your refund will be approximately (26/31) × £X. We will provide a written calculation when processing your refund.

The refund will cover the subscription fee only. Any bank transfer fees or foreign exchange charges imposed by your bank or card issuer are outside FlashBill's control and will not be included in the refund.

4. How to Exercise Your Right to Cancel & Request a Refund

To exercise your right to cancel within the cooling-off period, or to request a refund for any other reason described in this policy, please follow these steps:

You may also exercise your right to cancel by using the statutory cancellation model form below (though this is not required — a clear written statement in an email is sufficient):

"I hereby give notice that I cancel my contract with FlashBill for the supply of the FlashBill subscription service. Ordered on [date of payment]. Name: [your name]. Email: [your registered email address]."

5. Refunds After the 14-Day Cooling-Off Period

Once the 14-day cooling-off period has expired, the general rule is that subscription fees are non-refundable. This is because FlashBill's subscription pricing is based on providing access to the Service for a full monthly billing cycle, not on usage volume.

Specifically, refunds will not be issued after the 14-day period for:

If you believe you have an exceptional circumstance that is not covered by the standard refund terms, please contact us in writing at support@flashbill.co.uk with a full explanation and any relevant supporting evidence. We will consider all such requests individually on their merits and respond within 5 business days.

6. Business Customers

Business customers (limited companies, partnerships, and other legal entities using FlashBill in the course of a trade or business) do not have the benefit of the statutory 14-day cooling-off right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013.

For business customers, all subscription payments are final and non-refundable, except in the following circumstances at FlashBill's sole discretion:

Business customers who have a concern about a payment should contact support@flashbill.co.uk with written details of the issue. We aim to respond to all business enquiries within 3 business days.

7. Plan Upgrades & Downgrades

Upgrades: If you upgrade from the Free Plan to a Paid Plan mid-month, your first billing cycle begins on the date of payment and your subscription renews on the same date each month. You will have immediate access to all features of your new plan upon payment.

Downgrades: If you downgrade from a Paid Plan to a lower tier (or to the Free Plan), the downgrade takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle. You will retain full access to your current plan's features until the end of the current billing period. No refund is issued for the current billing cycle upon a downgrade.

If you downgrade from a Paid Plan to the Free Plan, and your current invoice count for the month already exceeds the Free Plan's limit of 5 invoices, you will not be required to delete existing invoices; however, you will not be able to create new invoices until either the calendar month resets or you upgrade to a Paid Plan again.

8. Cancellation

You may cancel your FlashBill subscription at any time without penalty. To cancel, you can either: (a) navigate to your Account Settings → Subscription → Cancel Plan and follow the on-screen instructions; or (b) email us at support@flashbill.co.uk with the subject "Subscription Cancellation" and we will process the cancellation on your behalf.

Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current Billing Cycle. This means you will retain full access to all features of your Paid Plan until the date on which your next renewal would have occurred. You will not be charged for any further billing cycles after your cancellation is confirmed.

After cancellation, your Account will be converted to the Free Plan. All of your invoice data, client records, and business information will remain accessible. You will be subject to the Free Plan invoice limit (5 invoices per calendar month) going forward. No data is deleted simply because you cancel a Paid Plan.

There is no cancellation fee, exit fee, or minimum subscription period. You may cancel after your very first billing cycle if you choose.

9. Failed & Declined Payments

If a subscription payment is declined by your bank or card issuer, Stripe will automatically retry the charge on approximately the 3rd, 5th, and 7th day after the initial failure. You will receive automated email notifications from FlashBill at each retry attempt, informing you of the failed payment and prompting you to update your payment details.

If all three retry attempts fail and the payment remains outstanding after approximately 7 days, your access to Paid Plan features will be suspended. This suspension is automatic and is not a termination of your Account. Your invoice data, client records, and all other User Content will be retained and will remain intact throughout any suspension period.

To reactivate your subscription, update your payment method in Account Settings → Billing → Update Payment Method. Stripe will immediately attempt to charge the outstanding balance using your new payment details. Upon successful payment, your Paid Plan access will be restored.

FlashBill will not charge any late payment fees, administration fees, or penalties for a failed payment. We understand that payment failures are often caused by circumstances outside a subscriber's control (card expiry, temporary bank issues, etc.) and we will always try to work with you to resolve the situation.

10. Exceptional Circumstances & Service Failure

FlashBill is committed to providing a reliable and available Service. However, we recognise that material technical failures can sometimes occur. In such circumstances, we will consider refund and credit requests on a case-by-case basis.

A refund or pro-rata credit may be offered at FlashBill's discretion where all of the following conditions are met:

Where a credit is awarded, it will be applied to your next billing cycle. Where a cash refund is requested by a user who chooses to cancel following a qualifying outage, the refund will be calculated on a pro-rata basis (days of verified outage ÷ total days in the billing cycle × subscription fee). Decisions are made in writing and within 14 calendar days of receiving a qualifying claim.

We will always act fairly and use good judgement. If you have experienced a significant issue with FlashBill that is not covered by the strict terms above, please contact us anyway — we want to resolve problems and retain your trust as a customer.

11. Chargebacks & Payment Disputes

A chargeback is a payment dispute initiated directly through your bank or card issuer, resulting in the payment being reversed without FlashBill's consent. We ask that, before initiating a chargeback, you first contact us at support@flashbill.co.uk, as we can typically resolve billing issues much faster than the bank dispute process.

Where a chargeback is initiated without prior contact, FlashBill reserves the right to: (a) immediately suspend your Account pending investigation of the dispute; (b) submit evidence to Stripe and your bank to contest the chargeback if we believe the original charge was legitimate; and (c) if the chargeback is found in FlashBill's favour, reinstate your Account only upon payment of any outstanding fees plus any chargeback fees charged to FlashBill by Stripe (typically £15–£20 per incident).

Initiating a chargeback for a charge that is legitimate under these Terms constitutes a breach of the Terms of Service and may result in permanent termination of your Account.

12. Contact

For all refund requests, cancellation queries, and billing concerns, please contact us at:

Email: support@flashbill.co.uk

Please include your name, registered email address, and a brief description of your query. Our target response time is 2 business days. We aim to resolve all refund and billing disputes within 14 calendar days of receiving the initial request.

For formal written legal notices regarding refund disputes, please use email and mark your message "Legal Notice — Refund Dispute". These will be escalated to our legal correspondence process.