Refund & Withdrawal Policy

§01.1 What this Policy covers

This Refund & Withdrawal Policy applies to paid Services provided by Netelkaar B.V. It explains the circumstances in which refunds apply and sets out the statutory right of withdrawal available to Consumers. It forms part of the Terms of Service and is to be read together with §07.7 of the Terms (Consumer right of withdrawal) and any applicable Service Annex.

§01.2 Business and consumer customers

This Policy distinguishes between Business Customers and Consumers, as defined in §01.3 of the Terms. The statutory right of withdrawal in §02 applies only to Consumers. Business Customers are dealt with in §03.

§01.3 Mandatory consumer law prevails

Nothing in this Policy limits or excludes any right a Consumer has under mandatory EU or Dutch consumer-protection law. Where any provision of this Policy conflicts with such a mandatory right, the mandatory right prevails and the remainder of this Policy continues to apply.

§02.1 The 14-day cooling-off period

This §02 applies only to Consumers and reflects the statutory right of withdrawal under Directive 2011/83/EU on consumer rights, as implemented in Book 6 of the Dutch Civil Code (Burgerlijk Wetboek). It mirrors §07.7 of the Terms and adds the operational detail of how to exercise the right.

A Consumer has the right to withdraw from the contract within fourteen (14) calendar days without giving any reason, starting on the day the contract is concluded.

§02.2 How to withdraw

To exercise the right of withdrawal, the Consumer informs Netelkaar of the decision to withdraw by a clear statement before the withdrawal period expires — for example, an email to legal@netelkaar.com stating the Consumer's name, the contract concerned, and the decision to withdraw. The Consumer may, but is not required to, use a standard withdrawal form. It is sufficient that the statement is clear and sent before the deadline.

§02.3 Early commencement of services

Where the Consumer expressly requests that Netelkaar begin providing the Services during the withdrawal period, and acknowledges that the right of withdrawal is lost once the Services are fully performed, the following applies in accordance with Article 16 of Directive 2011/83/EU:

• where the Services are fully performed during the withdrawal period with the Consumer's prior express consent and acknowledgement, the right of withdrawal is lost;
• where the Consumer withdraws after Services have begun but are not yet fully performed, the Consumer pays an amount proportionate to the Services provided up to the moment of withdrawal.

§02.4 Reimbursement

Where the right of withdrawal is validly exercised and no proportionate amount is due, Netelkaar reimburses all payments received from the Consumer without undue delay and within fourteen (14) days of being informed of the withdrawal, using the same means of payment the Consumer used, unless otherwise expressly agreed and provided the Consumer incurs no fees as a result.

§03.1 No statutory cooling-off

The statutory consumer right of withdrawal in §02 does not apply to Business Customers. For Business Customers, refunds and cancellations are governed by the Individual Contract, the Terms of Service (in particular the term, renewal, and termination provisions in §07), and this Policy.

§03.2 Termination and refunds

A Business Customer's right to end a Service follows the term and termination rules in §07 of the Terms (including any Initial Term and the standard notice period). Amounts properly invoiced for services already provided, or for a committed term, are not refundable merely because the Business Customer chooses to stop using the Service, save where the Individual Contract provides otherwise.

§04.1 When setup fees are refundable

Where a one-time setup fee applies, its refundability follows the rule in §06.9 of the Terms:

• where the Customer cancels before Netelkaar has commenced preparatory work, the setup fee is refunded in full;
• where the Customer cancels after Netelkaar has commenced preparatory work (for example, provisioning, configuration, or allocation of resources), the setup fee is non-refundable to the extent of the work reasonably incurred.

§04.2 Consumer override

For a Consumer exercising the right of withdrawal under §02, the reimbursement rules in §02.4 (and the proportionate-payment rule in §02.3 where services have begun with express consent) prevail over §04.1 to the extent of any conflict.

§05.1 Recurring services

For recurring Services (such as monthly Colocation, VPS, or Dedicated), cancellation takes effect in accordance with the term and notice rules in §07 of the Terms and the applicable Service Annex. Fees already invoiced for the current billing period are, as a general rule, not refunded on a partial-month basis for Business Customers, save where the Individual Contract provides otherwise.

§05.2 Initial-term commitments

Where a Service has a committed Initial Term (for example, the three-month minimum for Colocation under §07.1 of the Terms), a Business Customer may not cancel for convenience during that term, and amounts committed for the Initial Term remain payable, save for termination for cause as set out in §07.4 of the Terms.

§05.3 Consumer prevalence

For Consumers, mandatory law prevails. Any minimum-term or no-mid-term-cancellation rule that would otherwise apply does not override a Consumer's statutory right of withdrawal under §02 within the cooling-off period, nor any other mandatory consumer right. Where a minimum-term rule and a mandatory consumer right point in different directions, the mandatory consumer right applies.

§06.1 Same payment method

Where a refund is due, it is made using the same means of payment the Customer used for the original transaction, unless otherwise expressly agreed and provided the Customer incurs no fees as a result. Refunds are made in the currency of the original payment.

§06.2 Cryptocurrency payments

Where the original payment was made in cryptocurrency, the payment was converted into euro by the payment processor at the time of payment and received by Netelkaar in EUR (see §06.3 of the Terms). Any refund is therefore made in euro, by reference to the EUR amount recorded for the original payment, using SEPA bank transfer or another agreed euro payment method. Netelkaar does not refund in cryptocurrency, as it does not hold crypto-assets.

§06.3 Timing

For Consumer withdrawals, reimbursement is made within fourteen (14) days as set out in §02.4. For other refunds, Netelkaar processes the refund without undue delay once the entitlement and amount are confirmed.

Subject always to mandatory consumer law (§01.3), the following are, as a general rule, not refundable:

• Services that have been fully performed, where (for a Consumer) the right of withdrawal has been validly lost under §02.3;
• setup fees, to the extent of preparatory work reasonably incurred (§04.1);
• amounts committed for an Initial Term by a Business Customer (§05.2);
• Services suspended or terminated for the Customer's breach of the Acceptable Use Policy or of the Terms (see §08.3 of the Acceptable Use Policy);
• third-party charges, licence fees, or pass-through costs already incurred on the Customer's behalf and not recoverable by Netelkaar.

For a Consumer, none of the above limits the statutory right of withdrawal within the cooling-off period or any other mandatory consumer right.

§08.1 Contact

Refund requests and notices of withdrawal are sent to legal@netelkaar.com. The request should identify the Customer, the Service and contract concerned, and the reason for the request (a reason is not required for a Consumer exercising the right of withdrawal).

§08.2 Processing

Netelkaar acknowledges refund requests and processes them in accordance with this Policy and applicable law. For Consumer withdrawals, the fourteen-day reimbursement period in §02.4 applies. For other requests, Netelkaar confirms the entitlement and amount and processes any refund due without undue delay.

§08.3 Disputes

Where a refund request is declined and the Customer disagrees, the dispute is handled in accordance with §15 of the Terms (Governing Law and Disputes), including the pre-litigation negotiation step. For Consumers, the mandatory rules of jurisdiction and any available consumer-dispute-resolution mechanisms remain available.