UK Publishing House — Refund Policy
Effective Date: 19 May 2026
This Refund Policy ("Policy") sets out the circumstances in which refunds may be granted to clients ("you", "your", "Client") in relation to the services ("Services") supplied by UK Publishing House Ltd. ("we", "us", "our", or the "Company"), a company incorporated in England and Wales.
This Policy should be read alongside our Terms and Conditions, Privacy Policy, and any service agreement or engagement letter we have entered into with you. By engaging us to provide editing, written content, publishing packages, or any other service we offer, you accept and agree to be bound by the terms set out below.
1. General Principles
1.1 We conduct our business in accordance with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR, as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), the Data Protection Act 2018, and any other applicable UK law.
1.2 We are a publishing services company. The services we offer include (without limitation):
- Manuscript assessment, editing, and proofreading
- Written content creation and ghostwriting
- Formatting, typesetting, and cover design
- Publishing packages
- Book marketing and promotional services
- Author consultancy and coaching
- Other related publishing services
1.3 Each engagement is governed by a service agreement, statement of work, or order confirmation between you and the Company. The availability and amount of any refund depend on the stage the work has reached at the point of cancellation and on the terms of your engagement with us.
1.4 The statutory consumer rights described in this Policy apply where you are contracting with us as a consumer (an individual acting wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft, or profession). If you are contracting with us in a business capacity, your refund rights are governed by your service agreement with us and the general law of England and Wales.
2. Your Right to Cancel Within 14 Days
2.1 If you are a consumer and you have entered into a service agreement with us at a distance (for example, online, by email, or by telephone) or off-premises, you have the right under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 to cancel without giving a reason within 14 calendar days of entering into the agreement.
2.2 To exercise this right, you must inform us of your decision to cancel in writing, by email or by post, within the 14-day cancellation window.
2.3 If you have asked us to begin providing the service during this 14-day period, you may still cancel within the 14 days. However, you will be required to pay us a reasonable amount in respect of the work already performed up to the point of cancellation, calculated on a pro-rata basis against the agreed fee.
2.4 If the service has been fully performed during the 14-day period at your express request, and you have acknowledged that you will lose your right to cancel once the service is completed, you will no longer have the right to cancel under this section.
3. Cancellation After the 14-Day Period
3.1 After the 14-day cooling-off period has expired, cancellation rights are governed by your service agreement with us and by this Policy.
3.2 If you cancel after work has commenced, you remain liable for any work already performed (calculated on a pro-rata basis against the agreed fee), together with any third-party costs we have committed to or incurred on your behalf.
3.3 No refund will be due where the service has been substantially or fully delivered in accordance with the agreed scope.
4. Refunds for Defective or Inadequate Services
4.1 Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, we are required to perform our services with reasonable care and skill, within a reasonable time, and in accordance with any information we have given about the service that you have relied on.
4.2 If a service we have delivered is:
- Materially inconsistent with the agreed scope of work or service description;
- Performed without reasonable care and skill; or
- Unreasonably delayed for reasons not attributable to you,
we will, in the first instance, offer to repeat or remedy the affected element of the service at no additional cost. Where a remedy is not possible or not appropriate, you may be entitled to a full or partial refund, the amount of which will be assessed on a fair and reasonable basis having regard to the work already performed.
4.3 Refund requests under this section must be supported by reasonable evidence and submitted within a reasonable period of the issue becoming apparent.
5. Deposits, Stage Payments, and Third-Party Costs
5.1 Where your engagement requires an upfront deposit or staged payments, the refundability of those payments will be set out in your service agreement.
5.2 In the course of an engagement we may incur or commit to third-party costs on your behalf, including (without limitation) printing, ISBN registration, distribution fees, design licences, advertising spend, media buys, publicist or PR agency fees, marketing platform subscriptions, or other supplier charges. Where such costs have been incurred or committed before cancellation, they are non-refundable, and you remain liable for them.
5.3 Where work product (such as edited manuscripts, designs, layouts, or other deliverables) has been produced before cancellation, any rights, licences, or permitted use of that work product following cancellation will be governed by your service agreement with us.
6. Exclusions
The following are not eligible for refund:
- Services that have been fully performed in accordance with the agreed scope of work;
- Bespoke or customised work that has already been produced, or substantially produced, to your specification (subject always to your statutory cancellation rights under Section 2);
- Marketing, advertising, or promotional services where the service has been delivered as agreed, on the basis that outcomes (including but not limited to sales volumes, rankings, reviews, media placements, or audience reach) cannot be guaranteed and do not, on their own, constitute a defective service under Section 4;
- Gift cards, vouchers, and promotional codes;
- Third-party costs that have been incurred or committed on your behalf; and
- Delays, errors, or failures caused by your acts or omissions, including (without limitation) any failure to provide materials, instructions, feedback, or approvals on time.
7. How to Request a Refund
7.1 All refund requests must be submitted in writing to UK Publishing House Ltd. and should include the following information:
- Your full name;
- Your service agreement, engagement, or invoice reference;
- The service to which the request relates;
- The date you entered into the engagement;
- The reason for the refund request; and
- Any supporting evidence (such as correspondence, deliverables, or other documentation).
7.2 We will acknowledge receipt of your request within five working days. Where you are exercising your statutory right to cancel under Section 2 of this Policy, we will reimburse all payments due to you within 14 calendar days of the day on which you informed us of your decision to cancel, in accordance with the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, subject to any deduction permitted under Section 2.3. For all other refund requests, we will aim to assess and respond within 14 calendar days of our acknowledgement.
7.3 Refunds will be returned via the original payment method, unless we agree otherwise in writing.
7.4 We reserve the right to decline a refund request where, in our reasonable judgement:
- There is evidence of fraud, misuse, or abuse of this Policy;
- The request falls outside the applicable statutory or contractual time limit;
- The service has been delivered in accordance with the agreed scope, with reasonable care and skill; or
- The matter complained of arises from your own acts or omissions.
8. Late or Missing Refunds
8.1 If you have not received a refund within the applicable timeframe set out in Section 7.2, we recommend that you:
- First review your bank statement or card account, including any pending transactions; and
- Then contact your bank or card issuer, as additional processing time may apply at their end before the funds appear in your account.
If, having taken these steps, you still cannot trace your refund, please contact us using the details set out in Section 11.
9. Personal Data and Data Protection
9.1 When you submit a refund request, you will provide us with personal data, typically your name, contact details, engagement or invoice information, payment details, and any correspondence or evidence supporting your claim. We process this information as a data controller in accordance with the UK GDPR (as amended by the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025), the Data Protection Act 2018, and our Privacy Policy.
9.2 The lawful bases on which we rely for processing this personal data are:
- Performance of a contract (UK GDPR, Article 6(1)(b)), to administer your engagement and any associated refund;
- Compliance with a legal obligation (Article 6(1)(c)), to meet our statutory record-keeping, tax, and accounting duties; and
- Legitimate interests (Article 6(1)(f)), to investigate refund requests, prevent and detect fraud, and defend any legal claim, where doing so does not override your rights and freedoms.
9.3 We retain refund records for as long as is reasonably necessary to administer the refund, comply with our tax and accounting obligations (generally six years), and protect our legal interests. Further detail is set out in our Privacy Policy.
9.4 You retain all of your statutory rights under the UK GDPR, including the rights of access, rectification, erasure (where applicable), restriction, objection, and data portability. To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the details in Section 11 or refer to our Privacy Policy.
9.5 If you have a concern about how we have handled your personal data, please contact us first so we can try to resolve the matter. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), the UK's independent supervisory authority for data protection, at ico.org.uk or by telephone on 0303 123 1113.
10. Changes to This Policy
We may amend this Refund Policy from time to time. Any updates will take effect as soon as the revised version is published on our website, and the "Effective Date" at the top of the Policy will be updated accordingly. We encourage you to review this Policy periodically to ensure you are familiar with its current terms.
11. Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Refund Policy, or if you wish to submit a refund request or data protection enquiry, please contact:
12. Governing Law
This Refund Policy, and any claim or dispute (whether contractual or non-contractual) arising out of or in connection with it, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. You and we agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
By engaging UK Publishing House Ltd. for any service, you acknowledge and accept the terms of this Refund Policy.