Refunds and cancellation

Fees, deposits, and dates are set in a written engagement letter. If that letter and this page differ, the letter wins. For questions, write to audit@queryengine-core.digital, call +60 7-3538022, or visit Jalan Tiram 9, Taman Perindustrian Tiram, Ulu Tiram, Johor 81800, Malaysia.

When a full refund applies

If you cancel in writing more than ten working days before the first agreed on-site day, and we have not yet started document review or travel booking, we refund the deposit in full. If we have to cancel because we cannot staff the dates we accepted, we refund any fees already paid for that engagement in full.

When a partial refund applies

If you cancel between ten and three working days before the first on-site day, we keep a portion of the deposit equal to the scoping and preparation already done, and refund the rest. Preparation includes writing the sampling protocol, reviewing the materials you sent, and holding the team’s calendar. We will itemise that work in the refund note.

If fieldwork has started — even one observed shift — fees for days already worked are not refundable. Unused later days may be refunded or, if you prefer, held as a credit for a rescheduled block within three months, subject to our calendar.

Non-refundable items

The following are not refundable once incurred: long-distance travel already purchased at your request, interpreter time booked for named shifts, and extra observer days you asked us to add after the letter was signed. We do not sell packaged goods; there are no “opened product” rules because there is no product shelf.

Deposits

A deposit is usually due when the engagement letter is signed, to hold the observation dates. It is credited against the final invoice. It is not a separate product. Losing a deposit under the cancellation windows above is not a penalty slogan; it reflects calendar time we cannot sell twice.

Rescheduling

You may ask once to move the on-site block, with at least ten working days’ notice, at no extra fee if we can offer new dates within three months. A second move, or a move with shorter notice, may be charged as a fresh preparation block. We will say so before you confirm.

No-shows and access that never arrives

If the team arrives for an agreed shift and is refused access, or the sponsor is absent without a deputy, that day is billed as worked. We will wait a reasonable time on site. Repeated refusal of access is grounds for us to end the engagement; fees for work already done remain payable, and unused future days may be refunded minus the costs already incurred.

Work already started

Document review, protocol writing, interviews, observation, sampling, workshops, and report drafting are all “work started”. You own the deliverables only when invoices due at that stage are paid, as the letter states. Ending an engagement early does not entitle you to an unfinished draft as if it were a finished report.

How to request a refund

Send a dated email from the signatory on the engagement letter, naming the engagement, the dates, and whether you seek cancellation, rescheduling, or a refund of a specific invoice. We confirm in writing within five working days and, where a refund is due, pay it within fifteen working days after that confirmation.

Refund method and processing time

Refunds go back by the same bank transfer path as the original payment, in Malaysian ringgit unless the letter used another currency. We do not refund in cash at the office. Bank processing after we release the transfer is outside our control; we will send you the transfer reference.

Exceptions

If a force majeure event — including a ward closure or a lawful order that bars visitors — stops fieldwork, we will reschedule in good faith. If rescheduling is impossible within three months, we refund fees for work not yet performed. We do not refund for a change of mind about a finding in a completed report.