Refund policy
Last updated: 7 July 2026 | Version 1.2
Version 1.2 (7 July 2026) adds a version stamp and aligns the Onboarding Investment section with the Business Owner Terms. Your statutory refund and cancellation rights as a consumer are unchanged and always prevail.
This policy explains your refund rights when you book a trade service through an OptiTech Automation-powered booking page. Your contract for the trade service is with the Business Owner (the trade business) — not with OptiTech Automation. OptiTech Automation processes payments on their behalf via Stripe.
1. Your statutory right to cancel (14 days)
Because your booking was made online, you have a 14-day cooling-off period under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013. You can cancel within 14 days and receive a full refund — no questions asked.
Your booking was made at a distance (online), so you are protected by the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. These regulations give you the right to cancel your booking within 14 calendar days of the day after your booking is confirmed ("the cooling-off period") without giving any reason.
To exercise your right to cancel within the 14-day period, you must notify the Trader (the trade business you booked with) before the 14 days expire. You can cancel by email, by letter, or by using the model cancellation form provided in the Customer Booking Terms at optitechautomation.co.uk/terms/customer.
This statutory right cannot be taken away by anything the Trader or OptiTech Automation says or writes.
2. Cancellation within 14 days: full refund
If you cancel within the 14-day cooling-off period, you receive a full refund of your deposit within 14 calendar days. No deductions, no admin fees.
If you cancel your booking within the 14-day cooling-off period, you are entitled to a full refund of any deposit or payment you have made. The refund will be processed within 14 calendar days of the Trader receiving your cancellation notice.
No deductions may be made from a refund issued within the 14-day cooling-off period, unless you have made a valid request for work to start before the 14 days expire and work has already begun. In that case, you may be required to pay a proportionate amount for work already completed. See Section 5 of the Customer Booking Terms at optitechautomation.co.uk/terms/customer for full details of how early commencement works.
All refunds within the 14-day cooling-off period will be made to the original payment method (Stripe) with no admin charges or exit fees.
3. Cancellation after 14 days
If you cancel after the 14-day cooling-off period, the Trader may retain your deposit as a genuine pre-estimate of costs they have already committed: reserved appointment slot, materials ordered, call-out preparation.
If you cancel your booking after the 14-day cooling-off period has expired, the Trader is entitled to retain your deposit as a genuine pre-estimate of the costs and losses they have incurred because of your cancellation.
The costs that may be covered by the deposit include:
- The appointment slot reserved in the Trader's schedule — a slot that cannot easily be re-allocated at short notice
- Materials or parts specifically ordered for your job in advance and which cannot be returned or restocked
- Non-refundable call-out or travel costs committed before your job was scheduled to start
The deposit retained must be a genuine pre-estimate of actual costs. The Trader may not retain more than their actual or reasonably anticipated loss. If you believe the retained deposit is disproportionate to the Trader's actual loss, you have the right to challenge this — see Section 6 of this policy for how to raise a dispute.
In some cases where costs are minimal (for example, if the Trader is able to re-book the slot), the Trader may at their discretion refund part or all of the deposit even after the 14-day period. This is at the Trader's discretion and does not affect your statutory rights.
4. If the Trader cancels or does not attend
If the Trader cancels your appointment or fails to attend, you are entitled to a full refund of all amounts paid, within 14 calendar days.
If the Business Owner (the Trader) cancels your booking, or if the attending tradesperson fails to attend your appointment without giving you reasonable advance notice, you are entitled to a full refund of all amounts you have paid. This includes your deposit and any other payments made.
The full refund will be processed within 14 calendar days of the cancellation or no-show. You do not need to provide any reason or documentation to receive this refund.
In addition to your refund right, you may have the right to rebook the service at no additional cost or to claim compensation for any direct loss caused by the Trader's non-attendance (for example, if you had to pay another tradesperson for emergency call-out). To pursue such a claim, contact the Trader first and then OptiTech Automation if the matter is unresolved.
To request your refund following a Trader cancellation or no-show, contact the Trader using the details in your booking confirmation. If you cannot reach the Trader within 5 business days, email hello@optitechautomation.co.uk and we will assist.
5. If the service is not performed to the required standard
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (s.49), every trade service must be performed with reasonable care and skill. If it is not, you have the right to ask for the work to be repeated or for a price reduction.
Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (section 49), every trade service booked through an OptiTech Automation-powered booking page must be performed with reasonable care and skill. This right cannot be excluded or limited by any terms the Trader provides.
If the trade service is not performed with reasonable care and skill, you have the following statutory remedies:
First remedy — repeat performance
You can ask the Trader to repeat or redo the work at no extra cost. The Trader must complete the repeat performance within a reasonable time and without significant inconvenience to you.
Second remedy — price reduction
If repeat performance is impossible, or if the Trader does not carry out the repeat performance within a reasonable time or without significant inconvenience to you, you are entitled to a price reduction. The price reduction can be up to 100% of the price you paid, depending on how seriously the work falls short.
These statutory remedies are separate from any contractual terms the Trader sets and cannot be taken away by anything written in their terms or this policy.
To exercise these rights, follow the complaint process in Section 6 below.
6. How to request a refund
Contact the Trader first using the details in your booking confirmation. If unresolved within 14 working days, contact OptiTech Automation at hello@optitechautomation.co.uk.
Step 1 — Contact the Trader
Contact the Business Owner (the trade business you booked with) directly using the contact details in your booking confirmation email. Describe the issue clearly and state what refund or remedy you are seeking. The Trader should acknowledge your request within 2 working days and aim to resolve it within 14 working days.
Step 2 — Contact OptiTech Automation
If the Trader has not resolved your refund request within 14 working days, or if you are unable to contact the Trader, email hello@optitechautomation.co.uk. Include your name, booking reference (from your confirmation email), the nature of your request, and a summary of your contact with the Trader. OptiTech Automation will review your request and use reasonable efforts to facilitate a resolution. hello@optitechautomation.co.uk
Step 3 — Alternative Dispute Resolution or courts
If your dispute remains unresolved after following Steps 1 and 2, you may refer the matter to a certified Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) provider or to the courts of England and Wales. For claims up to £10,000, the Small Claims Track is available at gov.uk/make-court-claim-for-money without the need for a solicitor.
7. Refund processing
Approved refunds are returned to your original payment method (Stripe) within 3-5 business days of approval.
Once a refund has been approved (either by the Trader or by OptiTech Automation following a review), it will be processed via Stripe to the original payment method you used when booking. Refunds typically appear in your account within 3 to 5 business days after processing, depending on your bank or card provider.
OptiTech Automation does not hold your funds at any point. Your deposit and payments are processed directly by Stripe on the Business Owner's (the Trader's) own Stripe account. Depending on the Trader's settings, some refunds are issued automatically by the platform on the Trader's behalf through their connected Stripe account — for example, when an appointment is rescheduled through the booking page, or when a no-show is recorded for a booking. Other refunds are initiated manually by the Trader, or by OptiTech Automation where we have agreed to facilitate. OptiTech Automation does not decide the outcome of a manual refund and cannot unilaterally move funds from the Trader's Stripe account; where a refund is due, we process or request it in accordance with your rights.
If a refund cannot be returned to your original payment method (for example, if your card has expired), OptiTech Automation or the Trader will contact you to arrange an alternative method.
Refunds are issued in GBP (British pounds sterling) to match the original payment.
8. Your statutory rights are not affected
This Refund Policy does not and cannot remove, restrict, or limit any of your statutory rights as a consumer. Your rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Consumer Rights Act 2015, and any other applicable consumer protection legislation are preserved in full. In the event of any conflict between this policy and your statutory rights, your statutory rights prevail.
9. Onboarding Investment (businesses subscribing to the platform)
This section is for trade businesses that subscribe to OptiTech Automation, not for customers booking a trade service. It mirrors Clause 3.5 of the Business Owner Terms.
If you are a trade business subscribing to the OptiTech Automation platform, a one-time Onboarding Investment may be payable for the initial build, configuration, data import, and go-live of your platform, in the amount itemised and shown to you before payment.
Refund position: if you cancel before the build begins, the Onboarding Investment is refundable in full. Once the build begins — meaning once we start configuration, provisioning, data import, or customisation — it is non-refundable, because it pays for the work then carried out. For founding members (the first 10 business subscribers), the Onboarding Investment is waived in full, so no such charge is payable. We may, at our discretion and without setting a precedent, agree a partial or full refund in an individual case. The subscription to the platform is a business-to-business agreement, and we give this fair cancellation position to every subscribing business regardless of its status; in the rare case where a subscriber is in fact a consumer, the statutory cancellation rights under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 also apply as a fallback. Nothing here removes any statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded. The full position is set out in Clause 3.5 of the Business Owner Terms at optitechautomation.co.uk/terms.