Refund and Cancellation Policy

1. Purpose of the policy

This Policy specifies rules applicable to refunds, cancellations, terminations and withdrawals concerning web hosting services, domain names, .nc domain names, email services, SSL certificates, technical services, migrations, website or CMS installations, maintenance services, renewals, complementary options and orders placed through host.nc or the client area.

2. General principle

Cancellation or refund requests are reviewed according to the nature of the ordered service, order progress, whether the service has been activated, costs already incurred with third-party providers, client status, rules applicable to withdrawal rights, specific conditions indicated during the order and the Terms and Conditions of Sale and Use.

Unless otherwise required by mandatory law, no automatic refund is due when a service has been activated, consumed, renewed, configured, personalized or provided in accordance with the client’s order.

3. Consumer clients and right of withdrawal

When the client acts as a consumer and the order is concluded remotely, the client may benefit from a legal right of withdrawal of fifteen clear days under applicable regulations. For services, the withdrawal period generally starts from acceptance of the offer or conclusion of the contract.

Where the right of withdrawal applies and is validly exercised, withdrawal may give rise to replacement or refund within thirty days, under the conditions provided by applicable regulations.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, the client must send a clear request to Hostchilipepper LLC d/b/a HOST.NC (“Hostchilipepper”) through a support ticket. The request must specify the client’s first and last name, client account email address, order or invoice number, service concerned, order date and clear wish to withdraw.

The client may use the withdrawal form made available on host.nc where the right of withdrawal applies.

The legal right of withdrawal is separate from the 30-day commercial refund guarantee applicable to certain web hosting plans. It must not be confused with that commercial guarantee.

4. Immediate service performance

Certain services offered on host.nc may be activated quickly after order, including web hosting, client area, technical configuration, email services, installation or migration, SSL certificate, domain name registration or reservation, technical intervention and personalized service.

When the client requests immediate performance of the service before the end of the withdrawal period, the client acknowledges that the service may begin before the legal period expires and that the right of withdrawal may be limited under applicable regulations. If the service is fully performed before the end of the withdrawal period with the client’s prior express agreement and, where required, express waiver of the right of withdrawal, the client may lose the right of withdrawal.

If the service has started but has not been fully performed, a partial refund may be calculated taking into account the part of the service already provided, costs incurred and non-recoverable costs.

5. Professional clients

When the client acts for professional purposes, the right of withdrawal does not apply, unless otherwise required by mandatory law or specifically agreed in writing by Hostchilipepper.

Any order placed by a professional client is considered firm and final after validation and payment. Possible refunds granted to a professional client arise from a commercial gesture, obvious error, impossibility to provide the service or specific written agreement.

6. Cancellation before service activation

An order may be cancelled and refunded if the request occurs before service activation, domain name reservation or registration, costs incurred with a third-party provider, start of a technical intervention, personalized service configuration or generation of a certificate or non-reversible item.

Where cancellation is possible, the refund may be made using the payment method used for the order or as a credit, with the client’s agreement where required.

7. Web hosting

Web hosting services may be activated automatically or manually after order validation and receipt of payment. When hosting has not yet been activated, the client may request order cancellation.

The 30-day commercial refund guarantee applies to eligible standard web hosting plans, even where hosting has been activated automatically after payment, subject to normal use of the service and excluding domain names, third-party fees, administrative fees, specific services, consumed options, personalized interventions, abuse, fraud or breach of applicable terms.

This commercial guarantee is separate from the legal right of withdrawal. It does not create an automatic refund right for excluded services, third-party fees, domain names, specific services or services activated at the client’s specific request.

Where hosting has been activated automatically after payment, that activation alone does not exclude the 30-day commercial guarantee, subject to the conditions and exclusions above. In case of early termination by the client outside this guarantee or an applicable legal obligation, amounts already paid for the current period are not automatically refunded.

Hostchilipepper may nevertheless grant a partial refund, credit or commercial solution on a case-by-case basis.

8. Domain names

Domain names are registered with registries or third-party providers. Once a registration, transfer or renewal request has been processed, transmitted or validated with the competent registry or provider, the order may become irreversible.

Except in case of error attributable to Hostchilipepper or mandatory provision to the contrary, domain-related fees are generally non-refundable where the request has been processed, transmitted or validated with the registry, the domain name has been registered, renewal has been performed, transfer has been launched, costs have been incurred with a third-party provider, the registry refuses the refund, the client provided incorrect information or the client changes their mind after validation.

The client remains responsible for choosing the domain name, spelling, extension and compliance with third-party rights.

9. Specific case of .NC domain names

.NC domain names are subject to the rules of the .NC registry. Availability displayed during a search is indicative until effective validation.

Requests relating to .NC domains may require manual verification, additional information, supporting documents or validation by the competent registry.

HOST.NC follows up on these requests with the support of a referenced .NC manager when the request requires specific assistance.

Legal entities must in particular have a registered office or establishment in New Caledonia and be identifiable through RIDET, while contacts must be established in New Caledonia with an effective address.

If a .NC domain request is refused by the registry before irreversible costs are incurred, Hostchilipepper may propose a refund, credit, choice of another domain name or assistance with a new request.

If costs have already been incurred with the registry, a provider or as part of an administrative intervention, those costs may be deducted from the refund or considered non-refundable.

10. Renewals

The client is responsible for renewing services. Renewals may concern hosting, domain names, SSL certificates, email services, options, complementary services and maintenance.

For monthly plans, the client may request termination at any time from the client area or through support. Termination stops future renewal of the service. The service remains active until the end of the monthly period already paid, unless otherwise requested by the client or suspended under the applicable conditions. No prorated refund is due for the current monthly period, unless required by mandatory law, due to an error attributable to Hostchilipepper or subject to a specific commercial agreement.

For annual plans, the client may request termination at expiry or non-renewal of the service at any time from the client area or through support. The service remains active until the end of the annual period already paid, unless otherwise requested by the client or suspended under the applicable conditions. This termination stops future renewal of the service. No prorated refund is due for the current annual period, unless required by mandatory law, due to an error attributable to Hostchilipepper or subject to a specific commercial agreement.

Once a renewal has been performed, activated or transmitted to a third-party provider, it may be non-refundable. Domain name renewals are generally irreversible once transmitted to the registry or registrar.

No refund is due when the client forgets to terminate before a renewal date, unless otherwise required by mandatory law or specific commercial agreement.

11. SSL certificates

SSL certificates may be issued by third-party providers. Once the certificate has been ordered, generated, validated or issued, refund may be impossible or limited.

No automatic refund is due if the certificate has been issued, validation has started, the client provided incorrect information, the domain is not correctly configured, the client changes their mind after issuance or the third-party provider refuses the refund.

12. Technical services and personalized services

Technical services may include website migration, WordPress installation, email configuration, DNS configuration, technical assistance, maintenance, compromised website cleaning, optimization, error correction, restoration and personalized intervention.

When the service has not yet started, the client may request cancellation. When the service has started, has been performed or has mobilized technical time, no automatic refund is due. If the service is partially performed, Hostchilipepper may propose a partial refund, credit or proportional billing according to work already performed.

Personalized, configured or client-specific services may be non-refundable once started, as they may involve human time, technical resources or non-recoverable costs.

13. Complementary options and modules

Complementary options may be cancelled according to the methods provided in the client area or offer terms. When the option has been activated, consumed, used or renewed, no automatic refund is due.

A cancelled option may remain active until the end of the already paid period, unless immediate deletion is requested by the client or technically necessary.

14. Duplicate payments, errors and disputes

In case of duplicate payment, billing error or amount charged by mistake, the client may contact finance ticket. After verification, Hostchilipepper may issue a refund, credit or accounting correction.

The client must provide useful information for handling the request: invoice number, proof of payment, payment date, amount paid, payment method used and transaction reference if available.

In case of refused, cancelled, disputed payment or chargeback, Hostchilipepper may suspend or terminate the relevant service. Fees related to an abusive dispute, rejected payment or chargeback may be re-invoiced to the client where permitted by applicable regulations.

15. Third-party provider fees

Certain services involve costs incurred with third-party providers, including domain name registries, registrars, payment providers, SSL certificate providers, infrastructure providers, email providers, security services, technical tools and backup providers.

Where these costs are incurred, they may be non-refundable even if the client later requests service cancellation.

16. Refund methods and timeframes

When a refund is accepted, it is made using the original payment method where possible. If refund to the original payment method is impossible, Hostchilipepper may propose another refund method, credit on the client account, deduction from a future invoice or alternative solution accepted by the client where required.

Where the legal right of withdrawal applies and is validly exercised, withdrawal may give rise to replacement or refund within thirty days, under the conditions provided by applicable regulations.

Refund timeframes may depend on the payment provider, bank, payment method used, currency and required checks. Requests are processed within a reasonable time after receipt of the necessary information.

Refunds are made in the original payment currency where possible. Amount differences may appear due to exchange rates, bank fees, payment provider fees, card commissions, intermediary bank fees or currency variations. Hostchilipepper is not responsible for fees charged by the client’s bank, payment provider or financial intermediary.

17. Termination by the client or by Hostchilipepper LLC

The client may request service termination through the client area or by using a support ticket. Termination ends future renewal of the relevant service, but does not automatically entitle the client to a refund for the already paid period.

For monthly subscriptions, termination may be requested at any time before the next renewal date. For annual subscriptions, termination requested during the current period takes effect at the annual expiry date, unless otherwise requested by the client or specifically agreed.

The client must back up and retrieve data before the effective termination date. After termination, expiration or deletion of the service, associated data may be deleted according to applicable technical and contractual periods.

Hostchilipepper may terminate or suspend a service in case of unpaid invoice, fraud, breach of the Terms, breach of the Acceptable Use Policy, spam, phishing, malware, manifestly unlawful content, harm to the infrastructure, risk to other clients, request by a competent authority, abusive behavior or inaccurate client information. In case of termination due to client fault, no automatic refund is due for the current period.

18. Promotional offers, credits and misuse

Promotional offers, discounts, coupon codes or special prices may be subject to specific conditions. In case of refund, the refunded amount takes into account the price actually paid by the client after discounts.

In some cases, Hostchilipepper may propose credit usable for a future order, including where the client wishes to change offer, an order error was detected quickly, an alternative service is chosen, bank refund is technically difficult or a commercial solution is proposed. Where regulations require a monetary refund, credit does not replace the refund without the client’s agreement.

No automatic refund is due when the service does not function correctly due to client misconfiguration, lost or compromised password, outdated CMS, defective plugin, incompatible theme, dangerous script, overly heavy content, DNS error, intervention by a third party chosen by the client, exceeding planned resources, lack of client backup or violation of applicable terms.

19. Migration to another offer

The client may request modification or migration to another offer where technically possible. Depending on the case, migration may result in billing adjustment, credit, additional payment, no refund, a new commitment period or migration fees.

Methods are specified before intervention where applicable.

20. Refund request

Any refund request must be sent to Hostchilipepper through a finance ticket.

The request must specify the client’s first and last name, company where applicable, client account email address, client number if available, invoice number, service concerned, order date, reason for the request and useful supporting documents. An incomplete request may delay processing.

Legal information

Information relating to the publisher, the administrative holder of the host.nc domain name, the HOST.NC partner and support, and the referenced .NC manager is available in the Legal Notice.

22. Changes to the policy

Hostchilipepper reserves the right to modify this Refund and Cancellation Policy in order to adapt it to changes in services, offers, providers, payment methods, applicable rules or its organization.

The applicable version is the version published on host.nc on the order date, unless otherwise required by mandatory law.

23. Contact

For any question relating to cancellation, termination, withdrawal or refund, the client may contact:

Additional legal information is available in the Legal Notice.