Refund Policy
Review current refund terms, exclusions, and billing references for Hostao services.
1. Refund Eligibility Overview
Refund availability depends on the specific service, billing cycle, onboarding path, and the active checkout or client-area terms shown at the time of purchase. Customers should review the current service terms before ordering and again before requesting cancellation.
Some hosting plans may include a limited refund window, while renewals, upgrades, add-ons, usage-based services, and custom setups may follow different rules or may not be refundable. The applicable timing and eligibility criteria should be treated as order-specific unless explicitly confirmed in the current billing flow.
Where a refund is approved, it may be returned to the original payment method or handled through account credit, depending on the payment workflow, processor constraints, and the active service terms. Processing times can vary by provider and payment method.
2. Non-Refundable Services
The following services and fees commonly follow separate or limited refund rules, depending on the active purchase terms:
- Domain registrations, renewals, transfers, and redemption fees (see Section 4 for details)
- SSL certificates once issued and provisioned (see Section 3 for details)
- Dedicated servers and custom-built infrastructure
- Software licenses including cPanel, Plesk, WHMCS, LiteSpeed, and premium add-ons
- Setup fees, server configuration fees, and migration fees
- Third-party services procured on your behalf
- Administrative fees and late payment charges
- Premium DNS services and DDoS protection add-ons once activated
Where non-refundable items apply, they should be identified in the active checkout, invoice, or client-area billing flow. If you need confirmation before purchase, review the current billing path or contact Hostao before ordering.
3. SSL Certificate Refunds
SSL certificate orders usually follow the issuance and cancellation rules of the relevant certificate authority, reseller workflow, and payment provider. Once a certificate has been issued, refund options may be limited or unavailable depending on that workflow.
If an SSL order has not yet been issued, cancellation or refund may be possible, but eligibility depends on the validation stage, provider policy, and the active order terms. Customers should confirm the current SSL billing path before purchase.
If you experience technical issues with an SSL certificate, any troubleshooting, reissuance, replacement, or billing remedy depends on the certificate type, issuing provider, and the active service arrangement.
4. Domain Registration Refunds
Domain-registration refunds depend on the rules of the relevant registry, registrar workflow, extension type, and purchase state. Many domain actions become difficult or impossible to reverse once registration or transfer processing has completed.
Redemption fees, premium-domain purchases, privacy services, DNS add-ons, and similar domain extras may follow separate refund rules once activated or submitted for processing.
Country-code domains and registry-specific products can have their own restrictions, grace periods, and cancellation limits. If a domain order fails before successful registration, any refund handling depends on the payment path and the underlying registry or registrar workflow.
5. VPS & Dedicated Server Refunds
VPS, cloud, dedicated-server, and managed-service refunds can differ significantly depending on whether the service is prepaid, usage-based, custom-provisioned, or tied to third-party licenses and setup work.
Custom infrastructure, dedicated hardware, and resource-intensive provisioning workflows may follow stricter cancellation or refund limits than standard shared-hosting plans. Usage-based services may also incur non-reversible charges for resources already consumed.
Managed-service add-ons, monitoring, security work, and related operational services may follow separate cancellation timing and billing rules. Customers should confirm the active service terms before ordering or cancelling these items.
6. Upgrade & Downgrade Policy
When upgrading your hosting plan, you will be charged the prorated difference between your current plan and the new plan for the remainder of your billing cycle. Upgrades take effect immediately upon payment. If you are unsatisfied with the upgraded plan, you may downgrade within 7 days for a credit of the prorated upgrade amount applied to your account balance.
Downgrading your hosting plan takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle. No refunds or credits are issued for the current billing period when downgrading. Ensure that your website's resource usage is compatible with the lower-tier plan before requesting a downgrade, as exceeding resource limits may result in service degradation.
For plan changes involving a different billing cycle (e.g., switching from monthly to annual billing), the remaining balance on your current plan will be applied as a credit toward the new plan. If the credit exceeds the cost of the new plan, the difference will be retained as account credit for future invoices. Account credits are non-transferable and non-refundable as cash.
7. Currency & Exchange Rate Policy
Hostao services are priced in US Dollars (USD) and Indian Rupees (INR). When you make a payment in a currency different from the invoice currency, your bank or payment provider will apply the prevailing exchange rate at the time of the transaction. Hostao has no control over exchange rates applied by banks or payment processors.
Refunds are processed in the same currency as the original payment. Due to exchange rate fluctuations between the date of payment and the date of refund, the refunded amount in your local currency may differ from the originally charged amount. Hostao is not responsible for any differences arising from currency exchange rate variations.
Any currency conversion fees, international transaction fees, or similar charges imposed by your bank or payment provider are your responsibility and are not refundable by Hostao. We recommend contacting your bank for information about applicable fees before making international payments.
8. Prorated Refunds
After any introductory refund window has passed, prepaid services may become non-refundable unless the active billing terms provide otherwise. In some cases, account credit, partial billing relief, or manual review may be available depending on the circumstances.
If prorated credits or refunds are offered, the calculation method depends on the service type, remaining billing term, consumed resources, setup costs, attached add-ons, and the current billing policy.
To request billing review, use the current client-area or support workflow and provide the service details and reason for the request. Response timing and outcomes depend on the active support and billing process.
9. Abuse & Policy Violations
Accounts suspended or terminated due to violations of our Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable laws are not eligible for any refunds. This includes but is not limited to: spamming, phishing, distribution of malware, hosting of illegal content, copyright infringement, resource abuse, and fraudulent activity.
If your account is suspended for a policy violation, you will be notified of the violation and given an opportunity to remedy the issue (except in cases of severe or emergency violations). If the violation is not resolved within the specified time frame, or if the violation is of a nature that warrants immediate termination, your account will be terminated without refund.
Hostao reserves the right to retain any prepaid fees for accounts terminated due to abuse as liquidated damages to offset the costs of investigating and remediating the violation, including but not limited to staff time, infrastructure remediation, and third-party notification costs.
10. Refund Processing Timeline
Once a refund is approved, submission timing depends on the billing workflow and payment processor involved. The time it takes for funds to appear can vary by card issuer, bank, wallet, payment gateway, and country.
Some payment methods may settle quickly, while others can take longer because of processor review, international banking steps, or intermediary handling. Delays outside Hostao's direct control may affect the final posting time.
You will receive an email confirmation when your refund is initiated. If you have not received your refund within the expected time frame, please first contact your bank or payment provider to inquire about the status. If the issue persists, open a billing support ticket with the refund confirmation details and we will investigate.
11. Chargebacks
We strongly encourage customers to contact our billing support team to resolve any payment disputes before initiating a chargeback with their bank or credit card company. Our team is committed to resolving billing issues promptly and fairly. In most cases, we can address concerns faster than the chargeback process.
Filing a chargeback without first attempting to resolve the issue with Hostao may result in immediate suspension of your account and all associated services. If the chargeback is determined to be fraudulent or abusive, your account will be permanently terminated, and we may pursue collection actions and report the incident to fraud prevention databases where legally permitted.
If a legitimate billing error has occurred, we will issue a refund directly and work with you to resolve the matter. Chargebacks incur processing fees from our payment providers, and accounts with a pattern of chargebacks may be required to use alternative payment methods or prepay for services.
12. How to Request a Refund
To request a refund, follow these steps:
- Log in to your client area at my.hostao.com
- Navigate to the Billing section and open a new support ticket under the "Billing" department
- Include your service ID, invoice number, registered account email, and a detailed reason for the refund request
- Our billing team will review the request through the current support workflow and share eligibility details when that review is complete
Alternatively, you can email billing@hostao.com with the same information. Please do not submit refund requests through live chat or social media channels, as these cannot be securely verified. All refund requests must be submitted by the account holder or an authorized contact listed on the account.
For urgent billing matters, you may also contact our support team via phone during business hours. Please have your account verification details ready when calling. We process all refund requests in the order received and strive to provide a resolution as quickly as possible.
Last updated: March 2026