Montavise Edits Legal

Cancellation and Refund Policy

Effective date: July, 2026

1. Cancellation Before Work Begins

A client may request cancellation in writing before editing begins. If no production work, project setup, file review, scheduling commitment, or non-refundable third-party cost has occurred, the studio may return the amount paid, less processing fees or other unavoidable charges.

2. Cancellation After Work Begins

Once project review, organization, editing, communication, or production work has begun, payments are non-refundable to the extent they cover completed work, reserved production time, project administration, and committed costs. If a project is billed in stages, all completed stages and work in progress remain payable.

3. Deposits

Deposits are generally non-refundable after the project has been scheduled or work has begun because production time is reserved and other work may be declined. A quote may specify different deposit terms.

4. Client Delay or Abandonment

A project may be considered inactive if required materials, feedback, approvals, or payment are not provided within 14 calendar days after a written request. The studio may close the project, retain amounts earned, and require a new quote and schedule to resume. Files are subject to the Digital File Storage and Retention Policy.

5. Cancellation by the Studio

The studio may cancel or suspend a project for nonpayment, abusive conduct, unlawful or infringing materials, technical incompatibility, security concerns, repeated scope changes, or material breach. If the studio cancels for reasons unrelated to client breach, any unearned prepaid amount may be refunded.

6. Refund Eligibility

Refunds are not available merely because a client changes direction, decides not to publish, experiences platform rejection, receives lower-than-expected engagement, or no longer needs the deliverable. Creative preferences that can be addressed within the included revision process are handled through revisions rather than refunds.

7. Technical Defects

If a delivered file materially fails to match the agreed technical specification due to a studio error, the primary remedy is correction or replacement of the affected file. The client must report the issue promptly and provide enough information to reproduce it.

8. Refund Method and Timing

Approved refunds are returned through the original payment method where reasonably possible. Processing times depend on the payment provider and financial institution. Transaction fees that cannot be recovered may be deducted where permitted.

9. Chargebacks

Clients should contact the studio before initiating a chargeback. A chargeback filed after authorized work, delivery, or acceptance may be contested using the quote, invoice, communications, review records, and delivery evidence.

10. What Constitutes the Start of Work

Work begins when the studio performs any substantive project activity, including downloading or reviewing source footage, checking file compatibility, organizing media, generating proxies, creating a project timeline, planning the edit, preparing captions, communicating detailed production direction, or reserving an agreed production block.

11. Partial Completion and Work-in-Progress Charges

If cancellation occurs during production, the studio may calculate the amount earned using completed milestones, hours worked, reserved capacity, file-processing work, administrative work, and committed third-party costs. Any balance due remains payable, and any clearly unearned prepaid amount may be evaluated for refund.

12. Replacement Footage or Changed Creative Direction

A client request to replace substantial footage, abandon an approved concept, restart the edit, or change the target platform is normally a scope change rather than a cancellation caused by studio nonperformance. Previously completed work remains billable.

13. Platform Rejection or Copyright Detection

A refund is not available solely because a platform rejects, limits, mutes, demonetizes, compresses, or flags a video. Platform actions may result from client-supplied music, footage, claims, account history, or third-party rules outside the editing service.

14. Missed Client Deadlines

If the client misses a required feedback or approval deadline, the studio may reassign the production slot. Resuming the project may require a rescheduling charge or revised quote if the original capacity is no longer available.

15. Refund Review Process

A refund request should identify the project, invoice, amount requested, cancellation date, and factual basis. The studio may review communications, time records, file activity, review links, completed versions, and committed costs before deciding the amount, if any, that is refundable.

16. No Refund for Approved or Published Work

Once a deliverable has been approved, downloaded for final use, published, advertised, distributed, or incorporated into another work, the related service is considered accepted and is not eligible for a creative-preference refund.