Refund Policy

01Nature of the service

Colden provides custom video editing, motion design, and post-production work, typically on a monthly retainer model. Each project is built from scratch for the Client. Once Colden begins work, time, creative effort, and tooling are committed and cannot be returned. Colden's general principle is that all payments are non-refundable; the narrow exceptions are described in the sections below.

02Payment terms

Colden bills monthly. The structure depends on whether the Client is engaging Colden for the first time:

• First-time Clients: the first month is invoiced in advance and must be paid in full before any creative work begins. This first payment secures the slot on Colden's schedule and covers initial creative work, communication, and project setup.
• Ongoing Clients: work performed in a given calendar month is invoiced at the end of that month, and is payable within 14 days of the invoice date.

Alternative payment schedules (milestone-based, project-based, deliverable-based, hourly, or split-payment) may be agreed in writing on a case-by-case basis. Where a quote sets different payment terms, the quote prevails for that engagement.

03Non-refundable principle

All amounts paid to Colden are non-refundable. This applies to:

• The first-month payment from a new Client, once paid
• Any monthly invoice once paid, in whole or in part
• Any one-off, project, or milestone payment, once paid
• Any rush fee, slot reservation fee, or scheduling premium
• Stock footage, music, plugins, sound effects, and any other third-party assets purchased for the project
• Fees paid to freelance contributors hired for the project
• Project files (Premiere Pro, After Effects, DaVinci Resolve and similar) released as a separate paid deliverable, once delivered
• Engagement-specific software, licenses, or hardware purchased on the Client's behalf

The exceptions to this principle are limited to:

• A pro-rata refund of unearned amounts where Colden cancels the engagement without cause (see section 05)
• A free correction (not a refund) where a delivered file has a clear technical defect (see section 06)
• Any refund mandatory under applicable consumer-protection law that cannot be waived

04Cancellation by the Client

The Client may stop working with Colden at any time by giving written notice. The effect on payments is as follows:

• Amounts already paid (including a paid first-month invoice from a new Client and any paid monthly invoice from an ongoing Client) are retained by Colden in full as compensation for work performed, slot reservation, and committed creative time. They are not refunded, even where work has not yet begun on the period covered by that payment.
• Any work performed up to the cancellation date that has not yet been invoiced is billed at the agreed rate and becomes immediately payable.
• Files, project assets, and deliverables are released only after all outstanding amounts have been settled.

For ongoing monthly engagements, the Client can avoid being billed for a future month by giving at least 14 days' written notice before the end of the current billing month, in line with the Terms and Conditions.

05Cancellation by Colden

If Colden cancels an engagement for reasons other than Client breach (for example prolonged unavailability, hardware failure, or inability to deliver to a professional standard), Colden refunds the unearned portion of any amounts paid in advance, calculated on a pro-rata basis against the work performed up to the cancellation date. Third-party costs already incurred on the Client's behalf (stock licenses, plugins, freelance contributors, software) are deducted from the refunded amount and are not recoverable.

06Quality concerns

If a delivered file has a clear technical defect (a corrupt export, the wrong format or resolution, a missing audio track, or a frame error caused by Colden), Colden will correct it at no additional charge as soon as it is reported. This is a free correction, not a refund: Colden does not refund payments because of a technical defect; Colden fixes the defect.

Creative direction disagreements are not technical defects. Adjustments to creative choices are handled through the revision rounds included in the quote, or as additional billable work beyond those rounds. Refunds are not issued because a Client changes their mind about a creative choice that was previously approved.

07Refund process

For the limited cases where a refund applies under this Policy (Colden cancellation without cause, or a refund mandatory under applicable consumer-protection law):

1. Send a written request to contact@colden.studio, including the project reference and the reason for the request.
2. Colden responds within 7 business days with a decision and, where a refund applies, the calculated amount.
3. Approved refunds are issued to the original payment method within 14 business days of approval.
4. Bank transfer fees, currency-conversion charges, and any intermediary fees are deducted from the refunded amount.
5. Refunds are issued in the original invoice currency.

08Chargebacks

Please contact us before initiating a chargeback or payment-provider dispute. Most issues can be resolved directly and faster than a chargeback process. Unjustified chargebacks, including chargebacks raised after deliverables have been accepted, may be challenged with our payment provider and may be passed back to the Client along with any associated fees.

09Disputes

If you disagree with a refund decision, write to legal@colden.studio with the project reference and the reason for your dispute. We will respond within 14 days. If we cannot reach agreement, the dispute is governed by the laws of the Kingdom of Morocco and will be submitted to the competent courts of Casablanca, as set out in our Terms and Conditions.

10Contact

• Refund requests: contact@colden.studio
• Disputes: legal@colden.studio
• Web: colden.studio