Refund Policy

Policy Overview

At TMM Industry, client satisfaction is fundamental to our business philosophy. We are committed to delivering exceptional AI consulting, integration, chatbot automation, and analytics services that generate measurable value for our clients. This Refund Policy establishes the framework under which refunds, credits, or fee adjustments may be provided.

Due to the specialized nature of our services — which involve significant allocation of professional time, proprietary expertise, computational resources, and customized intellectual property development — our refund policy differs from standard product return policies. Each refund request is evaluated on a case-by-case basis considering the nature of the service, the stage of completion, the resources already committed, and the specific circumstances surrounding the request.

This policy applies to all services provided by TMM Industry, including AI Consulting, AI Integration into Business Processes, Customer Support Automation (Chatbots), and Content Generation & Analytics. For services governed by a specific service agreement or Statement of Work (SOW) with custom refund or cancellation terms, those terms shall take precedence over this general policy.

AI Consulting Services — Refund Terms

TMM Industry's AI consulting services involve dedicated time from our senior consultants, AI strategists, and domain experts. The following refund terms apply:

2.1 Pre-Engagement Cancellation

If you cancel a consulting engagement before any work has commenced (i.e., before the scheduled discovery call, initial assessment, or first consulting session), you are entitled to a full refund of any deposits or prepayments, less a ten percent (10%) administrative fee to cover scheduling and resource allocation costs.

2.2 After First Session or Deliverable

Once TMM Industry has conducted the first consulting session, delivered the initial assessment, or commenced any analytical work, the engagement is considered active. For active consulting engagements:

• Refunds will be prorated based on the percentage of total contracted consulting hours or deliverables that have not yet been utilized or delivered.
• Hours already spent on research, analysis, meeting preparation, and documentation are considered consumed and are non-refundable.
• Any proprietary frameworks, roadmaps, assessments, or strategic documents already delivered to the Client are considered completed deliverables and are non-refundable.

2.3 Hourly Consulting

For consulting services billed on an hourly basis, hours already logged and reported are non-refundable. Prepaid hour packages that have unused balances may be refunded on a prorated basis, less a fifteen percent (15%) early termination fee, provided the refund is requested within ninety (90) days of purchase.

Project-Based Service Refunds

Project-based services, including AI integration, custom AI model development, chatbot design and implementation, and analytics platform builds, follow a milestone-driven process. Refund eligibility is determined by the project's current stage:

3.1 Discovery & Planning Phase

If cancellation occurs during the discovery and planning phase (before design or development work has begun), you may receive a refund of up to seventy-five percent (75%) of the total project fee. The retained twenty-five percent (25%) covers research, requirements gathering, project planning, and resource allocation already performed.

3.2 Design & Architecture Phase

If cancellation occurs during the design and architecture phase, refund eligibility is limited to the value of unstarted milestones. Completed design work, system architecture documents, wireframes, technical specifications, and data models that have been delivered are non-refundable.

3.3 Development & Implementation Phase

Once development or implementation work has begun, refunds are limited to the pro-rata value of uncompleted milestones that have not yet been initiated. All completed or in-progress development work, including code, AI model training, integrations completed, and testing performed, is non-refundable. The Client retains ownership of completed deliverables per the applicable service agreement.

3.4 Testing, QA & Deployment Phase

Projects in the testing, quality assurance, or deployment phase are considered substantially complete. Refunds at this stage are generally not available. If the project has material defects that TMM Industry is unable to resolve within a reasonable timeframe, a partial credit may be issued at TMM Industry's discretion.

3.5 Post-Delivery Warranty Claims

Deliverables are covered by a thirty (30) day warranty period as specified in our Terms of Service. During this warranty period, TMM Industry will correct any material defects at no additional charge. Warranty claims do not constitute grounds for a refund if TMM Industry is willing and able to remedy the defect.

Subscription Service Refunds

TMM Industry may offer subscription-based services for AI platform access, chatbot hosting, analytics dashboards, and content generation tools. The following refund terms apply to subscription services:

4.1 Monthly Subscriptions

Monthly subscription fees are non-refundable once the billing cycle has commenced. You may cancel your subscription at any time, and the cancellation will take effect at the end of the current billing cycle. You will continue to have access to the service until the end of the paid period.

4.2 Annual Subscriptions

If you cancel an annual subscription within the first thirty (30) days of the initial subscription period, you may request a refund of the annual fee, less the pro-rata value of the days used and a ten percent (10%) early termination fee. After the first thirty (30) days, annual subscriptions are non-refundable, but you may continue using the service for the remainder of the annual term.

4.3 Subscription Upgrades & Downgrades

If you upgrade your subscription tier mid-cycle, you will be charged the prorated difference for the remainder of the billing cycle. If you downgrade, the new rate will apply at the beginning of the next billing cycle. No refunds or credits are issued for mid-cycle downgrades.

4.4 Free Trials

If a free trial is offered, you will not be charged during the trial period. If you do not cancel before the trial expires, your subscription will automatically convert to a paid plan and you will be billed accordingly. Charges incurred after a trial-to-paid conversion are subject to the standard subscription refund terms above.

Chatbot & Automation Service Refunds

Custom chatbot and customer support automation solutions involve significant design, development, training, and integration effort. Refund terms for these services include:

5.1 Custom Chatbot Development

Refunds for custom chatbot development follow the project-based refund schedule outlined in Section 3. Given the specialized nature of conversational AI design, natural language processing model training, and integration work, partial refunds are calculated based on the actual percentage of work completed.

5.2 Chatbot Hosting & Maintenance

Ongoing chatbot hosting and maintenance fees are treated as subscription services and follow the subscription refund terms in Section 4. If you choose to discontinue chatbot hosting, TMM Industry can provide the chatbot source code and documentation (subject to the terms of your service agreement) for self-hosting, but hosting fees already paid are non-refundable.

5.3 Chatbot Training & Optimization

Fees paid for chatbot training data preparation, conversation flow optimization, and AI model fine-tuning represent completed professional services and are non-refundable once the training or optimization work has been performed, regardless of the outcomes achieved.

5.4 Performance Guarantees

Where a specific service agreement includes performance guarantees or key performance indicators (KPIs) for chatbot accuracy, response rates, or customer satisfaction scores, failure to meet those guaranteed metrics may entitle the Client to service credits or partial refunds as specified in the service agreement. General dissatisfaction with chatbot performance without a specific contractual guarantee does not constitute grounds for a refund.

Cancellation Schedule & Fee Summary

The following table summarizes the cancellation fees and refund eligibility at various stages of engagement:

Non-Refundable Items

The following items and services are non-refundable under all circumstances:

• Completed Deliverables: Any work product, documentation, AI models, code, designs, or reports that have been delivered to and accepted by the Client.
• Consumed Professional Hours: Time spent by TMM Industry consultants, engineers, and specialists on research, analysis, meetings, development, and any other project-related activities.
• Third-Party Costs: Expenses incurred by TMM Industry on behalf of the Client for third-party software licenses, API subscriptions, cloud computing resources, data sets, stock assets, or other external services.
• Rush or Priority Fees: Surcharges for expedited timelines, after-hours work, or priority scheduling.
• Training & Workshop Fees: Fees for completed AI training sessions, workshops, seminars, or educational programs delivered to the Client's team.
• Travel & Accommodation: Any travel, accommodation, or per diem expenses incurred for on-site consulting engagements.
• Custom Data Processing: Fees for data cleaning, data migration, data labeling, or custom data processing work that has been completed.
• Setup & Onboarding Fees: One-time setup, configuration, onboarding, or initialization fees that have been processed.

Service Credits

In certain situations where a full or partial cash refund is not warranted, TMM Industry may, at its discretion, offer service credits that can be applied toward future services:

• SLA Breach Credits: If TMM Industry fails to meet the uptime or response time commitments specified in an applicable Service Level Agreement, service credits may be issued in accordance with the SLA terms.
• Goodwill Credits: In cases of service disruptions, communication failures, or other issues that fall outside standard refund eligibility, TMM Industry may offer goodwill credits as a gesture of client care.
• Transition Credits: If a Client chooses to transition from one service package to another, unused value from the original engagement may be applied as a credit toward the new engagement.

Service credits are non-transferable, have no cash value, and must be used within twelve (12) months of issuance. Credits cannot be applied to past invoices or combined with other promotional offers unless explicitly authorized.

Satisfaction Guarantee & Dispute Resolution

TMM Industry stands behind the quality and integrity of our work. Before requesting a refund, we encourage you to utilize our dispute resolution process:

9.1 Initial Resolution

If you are unsatisfied with any deliverable, service, or aspect of your engagement, please contact your dedicated project manager or reach out to support@tmmindustry.com within ten (10) business days of the issue arising. Our team will work diligently to understand your concerns and propose corrective actions, revisions, or alternative solutions at no additional charge.

9.2 Escalation

If the initial resolution attempt does not satisfy your concerns, you may escalate the matter to TMM Industry's management team by emailing info@tmmindustry.com with the subject line "Service Escalation — [Your Company Name]." A senior representative will review your case within five (5) business days and provide a formal response with proposed remedies.

9.3 Formal Mediation

If internal escalation does not resolve the dispute, either party may request non-binding mediation as outlined in our Terms of Service. We believe that open, honest communication can resolve most concerns and we are committed to finding fair and equitable solutions for our clients.

How to Request a Refund

To submit a refund request, please follow these steps:

• Step 1 — Contact Us: Send an email to support@tmmindustry.com with the subject line "Refund Request — [Your Company Name / Invoice Number]."
• Step 2 — Provide Details: Include the following information in your request: your full name and company name, the service or project in question, the invoice number(s) and payment amount(s), the date of purchase or engagement start, a detailed explanation of the reason for the refund request, and any supporting documentation (emails, deliverables, screenshots, etc.).
• Step 3 — Acknowledgment: TMM Industry will acknowledge receipt of your refund request within two (2) business days.
• Step 4 — Review: Our finance and project management teams will review your request, examine the project status, deliverables completed, and resources consumed. This review typically takes five (5) to ten (10) business days.
• Step 5 — Decision: You will receive a written response detailing whether your refund has been approved (in full or in part), denied, or if an alternative resolution (such as service credits or corrective work) is being offered, along with the reasoning behind the decision.

Refund Processing

11.1 Processing Timeline

Approved refunds will be processed within ten (10) to fifteen (15) business days of the approval notification. The actual time for funds to appear in your account depends on your payment method and financial institution:

• Credit Card: 5–10 business days after processing, depending on your card issuer.
• Bank Wire Transfer: 3–7 business days after processing.
• ACH Transfer: 3–5 business days after processing.
• Digital Payment Platforms: 1–5 business days after processing, depending on the platform.

11.2 Refund Method

Refunds will be issued using the same payment method used for the original transaction. If the original payment method is no longer available (e.g., expired credit card, closed bank account), TMM Industry will work with you to arrange an alternative refund method.

11.3 Currency

All refunds are issued in United States Dollars (USD). If the original payment was made in a different currency, the refund amount in your local currency may differ from the original payment due to exchange rate fluctuations. TMM Industry is not responsible for any exchange rate differences or conversion fees charged by your bank or payment provider.

Chargebacks & Payment Disputes

If you have a billing concern or dispute, we strongly encourage you to contact TMM Industry directly at support@tmmindustry.com before initiating a chargeback or payment dispute with your bank or credit card company.

Initiating a chargeback without first contacting TMM Industry may result in:

• Immediate suspension of all active services, platform access, and ongoing project work.
• Forfeiture of all deliverables, AI models, and materials not yet transferred to the Client.
• Additional administrative fees to cover the costs of responding to the chargeback process.
• Collection action for any amounts owed to TMM Industry for services already performed.
• Termination of the client relationship and prohibition from future engagements.

TMM Industry reserves the right to contest any chargeback that we believe to be unjustified and to provide documentation to the payment processor or issuing bank demonstrating that services were properly rendered.

Exceptions & Special Circumstances

TMM Industry recognizes that exceptional circumstances may arise that fall outside the standard provisions of this Refund Policy. We will consider exceptions in the following situations:

• Force Majeure: If TMM Industry is unable to perform contracted services due to force majeure events (natural disasters, pandemics, government actions, etc.), the Client may be eligible for a full or partial refund for unperformed services.
• TMM Industry Fault: If TMM Industry materially fails to perform contracted services due to our own negligence, staffing issues, or operational failures — and is unable to remedy the situation within a reasonable timeframe — the Client may be eligible for a refund beyond the standard terms.
• Duplicate Charges: Any duplicate or erroneous charges will be refunded in full within five (5) business days of identification and verification.
• Regulatory Changes: If regulatory changes render the contracted services unlawful or impractical, both parties will negotiate in good faith regarding appropriate refund or credit arrangements.
• Death or Incapacitation: In the unfortunate event that a sole proprietor Client passes away or becomes permanently incapacitated, TMM Industry will work with the estate or designated representative to arrange an equitable refund for unperformed services.

Exception requests should be directed to info@tmmindustry.com with full documentation of the exceptional circumstance.

Policy Amendments

TMM Industry reserves the right to update, modify, or replace this Refund Policy at any time. Changes will be effective upon posting to our website with an updated "Last Updated" date. For active engagements, the Refund Policy version in effect at the time the engagement commenced shall apply, unless the Client agrees to the updated terms.

We recommend reviewing this policy periodically to stay informed about our refund practices. If you have any questions about this Refund Policy, please do not hesitate to contact us using the information provided below.