HELIOS REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY
(last updated: 4/17/2026)
This Refund and Cancellation Policy explains how Helios handles refund and cancellation requests for paid transactions on the Platform.
This Policy applies unless separate listing-specific or service-specific terms expressly state otherwise. This Policy is incorporated into and forms part of the Helios Terms of Service and the Helios Payments, Payouts, Refunds, and Transactions Policy.
By making or accepting a paid transaction on Helios, you agree to this Policy.
CONSUMER RIGHTS ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Nothing in this Policy limits any statutory consumer rights you may have, including the EU Consumer Rights Directive 14-day withdrawal right, the California Consumer Legal Remedies Act, and equivalent laws. Where your applicable law grants you an automatic, non-waivable right to cancel or obtain a refund, that right applies regardless of any non-refundable language in this Policy.
In case of conflict between this Policy and applicable law, applicable law prevails.
1. General Principles
Refunds and cancellations are evaluated based on the nature of the offering, the stage of performance, the terms shown in the listing or at checkout, communications between the parties, available evidence, and applicable law.
Unless otherwise required by law or expressly stated by Helios, payments may become non-refundable once performance has materially begun or once digital value has been delivered.
Any refund or credit decision by Helios is an administrative platform decision and does not constitute a legal determination of the underlying rights of the parties outside the Platform. Users retain the right to seek resolution through applicable legal channels regardless of any Helios administrative decision.
2. When Refunds May Be Granted
Helios may grant a full or partial refund where reasonably appropriate, including where:
- the provider fails to deliver the purchased offering
- the provider materially misrepresents the offering
- the provider abandons the engagement
- the transaction is unauthorized, fraudulent, duplicate, or affected by payment error
- the transaction cannot lawfully be completed
- the provider becomes unable or ineligible to perform
- Helios determines that a refund is necessary to protect users or Platform integrity
Refund Request Window
Refund requests must be submitted within [30] days of the transaction date or, for ongoing engagements, within [14] days of the relevant deliverable or event. Requests submitted outside this window may be declined except where required by applicable law.
Refund Processing Timeline
Where a refund is approved, Helios will process the refund to the original payment method within 5–10 business days, subject to the processing timelines of the applicable payment processor and financial institutions.
Partial Refunds for Quality or Defect Issues
Helios may approve partial refunds when a Provider delivered work with quality defects or below the promised standard. Partial Refund % = (Work NOT received / Total Work Promised) × 100
- Example: If a Provider completed 3 of 5 promised modules and the remaining 2 are undeliverable, the maximum partial refund is 40% of the total transaction value.
3. Buyer Cancellation Before Material Performance
A buyer may request cancellation before the provider has materially begun performance. For purposes of this Policy, a provider is considered to have materially begun performance when they have, for example: conducted an initial consultation or scoping call; delivered preliminary files, materials, or guidance; begun production, manufacturing, or technical work; reserved dedicated time or resources; or formally declined other work in reliance on the engagement.
Helios may approve a full or partial refund depending on the circumstances, including whether the provider has already reserved time, incurred costs, begun preparatory work, delivered preliminary materials, or declined other work in reliance on the transaction.
If a Provider cancels a scheduled event, appointment, consultation, or session with less than 24 hours notice, or fails to attend without prior notice, the Buyer is entitled to a full refund of the session fee. Helios may recover the refunded amount from the Provider's payouts or reserves consistent with the Seller, Expert, and Vendor Payout Terms.
If a Provider cancels or withdraws from an engagement without lawful justification, Helios may treat undelivered portions as refundable and may recover associated amounts from the Provider's payouts or reserves, consistent with the Terms of Service and Payout Terms.
4. Milestone and Project-Based Work
For phased, milestone-based, or project-based work, Helios may review refund requests on a milestone-by-milestone basis.
Completed, accepted, or substantially performed milestones may be treated as earned and non-refundable. Unperformed or undelivered portions may be refundable in whole or in part.
5. Consulting, Advisory, Training, and Digital Deliverables
Completed consulting sessions, advisory calls, coaching, webinars, workshops, training sessions, downloadable materials, templates, reports, guides, and other fully performed or immediately consumable offerings may be non-refundable. Nothing in this Policy limits rights you may have under applicable consumer protection law, including rights related to faulty, misdescribed, or unfit digital goods or services under applicable law in your jurisdiction or expressly stated otherwise.
Subscriptions and Auto-Renewals
Subscriptions and recurring memberships may be cancelled at any time for future billing cycles. Helios does not provide refunds for the current billing period unless required by applicable law. Auto-renewals will be clearly disclosed at checkout. Price changes for recurring subscriptions require 30 days advance written notice.
Any refund or credit decision by Helios is an administrative platform decision and does not constitute a legal determination of the underlying rights of the parties outside the Platform. Users retain the right to seek resolution through applicable legal channels regardless of any Helios administrative decision.
6. Events, Appointments, and No-Shows
Events, appointments, training sessions, workshops, and similar scheduled offerings may be subject to listing-specific cancellation deadlines or attendance rules. Late cancellations and no-shows may be non-refundable or only partially refundable.
7. Fraud, Unauthorized Use, and Policy Violations
Helios may issue refunds, reverse transactions, freeze funds, or deny payouts where Helios reasonably suspects fraud, unauthorized use, impersonation, duplicate payment, safety concerns, legal concerns, or violations of Helios policy.
7.1 Refund Abuse Policy. Helios may deny refunds or take enforcement action if:
- Pattern of Abuse: Buyer has filed 3+ refund requests in last 90 days; Buyer claims 'not as described' for more than 20% of purchases; Buyer receives internal refund then files identical chargeback.
- Bad-Faith Requests: Falsely claiming non-delivery after confirming receipt; submitting forged evidence; using refund as leverage for unrelated demands.
- Chargeback Abuse: Filing chargeback after receiving full internal refund; initiating 2+ chargebacks in 12 months without substantiated basis.
CONSEQUENCES: 1st Flag — Warning; 2nd Flag (within 12mo) — Future requests require escalation review; 3rd Flag (within 12mo) — Refund eligibility suspended 90 days; Severe/Repeated — Account suspension.
8. Chargebacks and External Payment Disputes
If a buyer initiates a chargeback or payment dispute through a bank, card issuer, wallet provider, or payment processor, that dispute may proceed outside the Helios Platform.
Helios may suspend internal review of the same matter, request evidence from the parties, freeze related funds, recover associated losses or fees from the responsible party, and limit account functionality while the matter is under review.
Where Helios uses third-party payment providers, including Stripe, transaction disputes, chargebacks, reversals, reserves, or payout delays may also be affected by the requirements, procedures, or determinations of those providers and related financial institutions. Helios may take action under this Policy as reasonably necessary to comply with payment-provider requirements and to protect users and marketplace integrity.
If a Buyer files both an internal refund request and a chargeback for the same transaction: Helios will not automatically grant the internal refund while the chargeback is pending; Helios will pause the internal review until the chargeback is resolved; and if a Buyer receives both an internal refund and a successful chargeback reversal for the same transaction, Helios may recover the duplicate amount from the Buyer's account or next transaction.
9. Recovery from Providers
Where Helios issues a refund, credit, reversal, or other adjustment attributable to a provider’s conduct, failure, listing, or policy violation, Helios may recover the amount from the provider through payout deductions, reserves, setoff, authorized stored payment methods, invoicing, or other lawful means.
10. Helios Review and Discretion
Helios may make administrative determinations regarding refunds, credits, replacement remedies, or no remedy under this Policy based on fairness, user protection, evidence of performance, transaction integrity, and platform trust and safety considerations.
Nothing in this Policy limits rights that cannot be limited under applicable law.
11. Changes to This Policy
Helios may update this Policy from time to time. When we do, we will post the updated version on the Platform and revise the “Last Updated” date above.
