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Refund Policy

IntroductionWho this policy applies toDefinitionsYour cooling-off rightCredit top-upsSubscription plansPayments we always refundWhat is not refundableEnterprise and invoiced customersHow to request a refundHow and when refunds are paidChargebacks and payment disputesComplaints and dispute resolutionChanges to this policyContact us

Introduction

Effective Date: June 2026 | Last Updated: September 2026

This Refund Policy explains when and how CBOS (Pty) Ltd ("CBOS", "we", "us") refunds payments for Y Intelligence (Y-Institute) subscription plans, credit top-ups and related services that CBOS sells as the authorised reseller and merchant of record. It should be read together with our Terms and Conditions, Cancellation Policy, Delivery Policy, Pricing and Privacy Policy.

Nothing in this policy limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 ("CPA"), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 ("ECTA") or any other law of the Republic of South Africa that cannot be excluded by agreement.

Who this policy applies to

This policy applies to every customer who buys a Y Intelligence subscription plan, credit top-up, onboarding package or other service from CBOS, whether the purchase is made on this website, inside the Y Intelligence application (app.y-institute.com or learn.y-institute.com), through a payment link, or against a CBOS invoice.

CBOS is the supplier of record. Payments made by card or instant EFT are processed on our behalf by Paystack Payments Limited ("Paystack"). Your card details are captured and stored by Paystack; CBOS never stores your full card number.

Definitions

  • Platform means the Y Intelligence (Y-Institute) software-as-a-service platform and its web, WhatsApp, Microsoft Teams and API channels.
  • Plan means a subscription tier (Personal, Pro, Team, Business, Scale or Enterprise) billed in advance for a billing period, normally one calendar month.

  • Credits are the prepaid units the Platform deducts when it performs an action for you. One credit is priced at R0.10. There are four kinds:

    • Included credits — the monthly allowance that comes with your Plan.
    • Purchased credits — credits you buy with a top-up.
    • Bonus credits — free credits added to larger top-ups under our bonus ladder.
    • Promotional credits — free credits granted for trials, vouchers, campaigns or goodwill.
  • Cooling-off period means the seven (7) calendar days after the date of a payment made electronically, as provided for in section 44 of ECTA.
  • Business day means any day other than a Saturday, Sunday or South African public holiday.
  • Original payment method means the card, bank account or other instrument used to make the payment being refunded.

Your cooling-off right

If you buy from us electronically you may cancel the transaction without reason and without penalty within the seven-day cooling-off period by notifying us in writing (see section 9). We will refund every payment you made for that transaction within 30 days of receiving your cancellation, as required by section 44(3) of ECTA.

Section 42(2)(d) of ECTA excludes services that have already begun with your consent from the cooling-off right. Because credits are consumed and Plan features are used the moment you start working on the Platform, we apply the cooling-off right as follows: you will always receive a full refund for anything you have not used, and we calculate the value of anything you have used at the published rate of R0.10 per credit. This is set out in sections 4 and 5 below. We will never deduct more than the value you have actually consumed.


Credit top-ups

Within the cooling-off period

  • If none of the purchased credits from the top-up have been used, we refund the full amount you paid.
  • If some purchased credits have been used, we refund the unused purchased credits at the price you paid for them (R0.10 per credit).
  • Bonus credits attached to the top-up are forfeited when the top-up is refunded. If your account has already consumed bonus credits from that top-up, the same number of credits is deducted from the refundable purchased balance, because bonus credits are consumed before purchased credits.

After the cooling off period

Purchased credits do not expire for as long as your account remains open, so you never lose them through the passage of time. After the cooling-off period they are not refundable for cash except in the circumstances in section 6 (for example, if we have failed to deliver them) or where the CPA gives you a right to a refund because the service was defective.

Auto top-up

Automatic top-ups charged to a saved card are treated as ordinary top-ups. Each auto top-up has its own seven-day cooling-off period starting on the date it is charged. You can switch auto top-up off at any time (see the Cancellation Policy). If an auto top-up is charged after you have asked us to switch it off, or after you have removed your saved card, we refund it in full.

Subscription plans

First payment for a new Plan

If you cancel within seven days of your first payment for a Plan (or of an upgrade to a higher Plan), we refund the Plan fee less the value of the included credits you have consumed during those seven days, calculated at R0.10 per credit. If you have consumed no included credits, the refund is in full.

Monthly renewals

Monthly Plan fees are billed in advance for the coming month. A renewal payment is not refundable once the new billing period has started, because the Plan's capacity (seats, storage, channels and included credits) is reserved for you for the whole period. To avoid being charged for a further period, cancel before your renewal date as set out in the Cancellation Policy. Your Plan then remains active until the end of the period you have already paid for.

Annual and other prepaid fixed-term agreements

Where you have prepaid for more than one month, you may cancel on 20 business days' written notice in terms of section 14 of the CPA. We refund the months that have not yet started, recalculated at the standard monthly rate for your Plan. Any multi-month discount you received is forfeited on the months already used, and the months already started are not refunded. No further cancellation penalty is charged.

Downgrades

Moving to a lower Plan takes effect at the end of your current billing period. We do not refund the difference in price for the remainder of the current period.

Free trials and promotional periods

Where we offer a free trial or promotional period, no payment is taken until it ends and no refund is therefore due for the trial itself. If a Plan fee is charged at the end of a trial, section 5.1 applies to that payment.

Payments we always refund

Regardless of the cooling-off period, we will refund you in full, or credit your account at your election, if:

  • you were charged twice for the same order;
  • you were charged an amount different from the price displayed at checkout;
  • credits or a Plan you paid for were not delivered within the time set out in our Delivery Policy and we could not remedy this within two business days of you telling us;
  • you were charged after you had cancelled your Plan or switched off auto top-up in accordance with our Cancellation Policy;
  • a Platform fault caused credits to be deducted for an action that failed and produced no result, in which case we re-credit those credits; or
  • the service you paid for was materially defective or not performed with reasonable care and skill and we could not remedy it within a reasonable time, in which case you may claim a refund of a reasonable portion of the price under section 54 of the CPA


What is not refundable

  • Credits that have been consumed by actions you or your users performed on the Platform.
  • Bonus and promotional credits. They have no cash value and cannot be redeemed for money.
  • Included credits that are unused at the end of a billing period, other than any portion carried forward under the rollover rules described on our Pricing page.
  • WhatsApp and other messaging charges that have already been incurred with Meta or another network on your instruction.
  • Onboarding, training and implementation services that have already been delivered. Services that have started but not been completed are refunded pro rata for the part not yet delivered.
  • Fees for a billing period during which your account was suspended or terminated because of a breach of our Terms and Conditions.
  • Bank charges, currency-conversion fees or other charges imposed by your own bank or card issuer.


Enterprise and invoiced customers

If you buy under a signed enterprise, partner or event agreement, or pay against a CBOS proforma invoice by EFT, the refund terms in that agreement take precedence. Where the agreement is silent, this policy applies. Refunds of EFT payments are made to the bank account from which the payment was received, and we may ask for a bank confirmation letter before paying.


How to request a refund

Email [email protected] from the email address registered on your Y Intelligence account, with the subject line "Refund request", and include:

  • your name and the name of your workspace or organisation on the Platform;
  • the date and amount of the payment;
  • the payment reference or CBOS invoice number (shown on your receipt email); and
  • the reason for the request.

We acknowledge every request within two business days and give you a written decision within five business days. If we need more information we will ask for it within that time.


How and when refunds are paid

  • Approved refunds are paid to the original payment method. Card and instant-EFT refunds are processed through Paystack; we instruct Paystack within five business days of approving the refund.
  • Card refunds usually reflect on your statement within 5 to 10 business days after we instruct Paystack, depending on your bank. Instant-EFT refunds are paid to the originating bank account and typically reflect within 3 to 5 business days.
  • In every case we complete the refund within 30 days of receiving a valid cancellation, as required by ECTA.
  • Refunds are made in South African Rand for the Rand amount you paid. We are not responsible for exchange-rate differences applied by a foreign card issuer.
  • We do not deduct payment-processing fees from refunds made under this policy.
  • We do not pay refunds in cash or to a payment method other than the one you used, except where the original method has been closed, in which case we will ask for proof of an alternative bank account in your name.
  • If you prefer, we can credit the refund amount to your Platform wallet as purchased credits instead of returning it to your payment method.

Chargebacks and payment disputes

Please contact us before raising a dispute with your bank. We resolve most issues within a few days and a chargeback can take your bank several weeks. If you do raise a chargeback, we will provide the payment gateway and your bank with our records of the order, delivery and usage. While a chargeback is open we may suspend the credits or Plan that the disputed payment relates to.


Complaints and dispute resolution

If you are unhappy with our decision, write to [email protected] and we will escalate your complaint to a director, who will respond within ten business days. If we still cannot resolve the matter you may refer it to the National Consumer Commission, a consumer court, or any other body with jurisdiction under the CPA. This policy is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.


Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. The version published on this page at the time you make a payment applies to that payment. We will show the effective date at the top of the page whenever we make a change.


Contact us

Refund requests: [email protected]

Legal and complaints: [email protected]

WhatsApp: +27 84 568 8003

Address: CBOS (Pty) Ltd, 100 Edward Street, Bo Oakdale, Bellville, 7530, South Africa