Refund Policy

1. Overview

At StarterHost, we stand behind the quality of our services. This Refund Policy outlines the conditions under which refunds are granted. By purchasing any service from StarterHost, you agree to this policy.

2. Shared Hosting — 7-Day Money-Back Guarantee

We offer a 7-day money-back guarantee on all new shared hosting purchases including:

• Web Hosting plans (Starter, Plus, Business)
• WordPress Hosting plans
• cPanel Hosting plans
• WooCommerce Hosting plans
• Business Email plans

To qualify for a refund under this guarantee:

• Your refund request must be submitted within 7 days of the original purchase date
• This is a first-purchase guarantee only — it does not apply to plan upgrades or renewals
• Your account must not have violated our Acceptable Use Policy

Approved refunds will be processed back to your original payment method within 5–7 business days.

3. Non-Refundable Services

The following services are strictly non-refundable under any circumstances:

• Domain Registrations & Transfers: Once a domain is registered or transferred, the fee is non-refundable as we incur costs from the registry immediately.
• VPS Hosting: All VPS plans (managed and unmanaged) are non-refundable once the server has been provisioned.
• Cloud Hosting: Non-refundable once the cloud instance is active.
• SSL Certificates: Non-refundable once issued.
• Renewals: All renewal payments are non-refundable regardless of plan type.
• Setup Fees: Any one-time setup fees are non-refundable.

4. Refunds Due to Service Failure

If StarterHost fails to deliver a service you have paid for due to a fault on our end, you are entitled to either:

• A full refund of the amount paid for that service, or
• Service credit of equivalent value applied to your account

Service failures eligible for this include provisioning failures not resolved within 48 hours and prolonged downtime exceeding our 99.9% uptime SLA. To claim this, contact our support team with your account details and a description of the issue.

5. Suspended or Terminated Accounts

Accounts suspended or terminated due to violation of our Terms of Use or Acceptable Use Policy are not eligible for any refund. This includes but is not limited to accounts suspended for:

• Hosting illegal or prohibited content
• Sending spam or conducting phishing campaigns
• Resource abuse or network attacks
• Non-payment of dues

6. Partial Refunds

We do not offer partial or pro-rated refunds for unused portions of a billing period unless required by applicable Indian consumer protection law. If you cancel your hosting mid-month, your service will remain active until the end of the current billing period.

7. Chargebacks

If you initiate a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or PayU without first contacting us, we reserve the right to immediately suspend your account pending investigation. We encourage you to contact our support team first — we resolve the vast majority of billing issues quickly and amicably.

8. How to Request a Refund

To request a refund, please follow these steps:

• Email us at billing@starterhost.in with the subject line "Refund Request"
• Include your registered email address, order ID, and reason for the refund request
• Our billing team will review your request within 2 business days
• If approved, the refund will be processed within 5–7 business days to your original payment method

9. Currency & Payment Gateway

All refunds are processed in Indian Rupees (INR) via PayU, the original payment gateway. StarterHost is not responsible for any currency conversion fees or charges applied by your bank. The refunded amount will be the exact amount charged in INR at the time of purchase.

10. Consumer Rights

Nothing in this Refund Policy limits or excludes your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (India) or any other applicable Indian consumer protection legislation. If you believe your statutory rights have been violated, you may contact the National Consumer Helpline at 1800-11-4000.

11. Changes to This Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Refund Policy at any time. Changes will be communicated via email and posted on our website. The policy in effect at the time of your purchase applies to that transaction.

12. Contact

For all refund and billing enquiries:

• Email: billing@starterhost.in
• Support hours: Monday–Saturday, 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM IST
• Address: StarterHost, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India