Investigation is a professional service, and what you are paying for is the work and the verification rather than a particular outcome. This page sets out plainly when a refund applies and when it does not.
Before work begins
If you have paid a commencement fee and wish to cancel before any fieldwork or record work has started, the amount is refunded in full. Tell us as soon as possible, because in most cases work begins within 24 to 48 hours of scope approval.
After work has begun
Once fieldwork or record work has started, the fee for work properly carried out to that point is payable. If you cancel part-way, we will account for what has been done, refund the unused balance where one exists, and provide a written summary of findings to that point.
Where the enquiry establishes nothing adverse
No refund applies. This is the most common misunderstanding about investigation services, so it is worth stating directly: a properly conducted enquiry that finds nothing is a completed assignment and frequently the result the client needed. If an outcome-contingent fee were available, the investigator would have a financial interest in the finding — which is precisely what you do not want.
Where a question proves unanswerable
If, after work has started, it becomes clear that the question cannot be answered properly with the identifiers available, we stop, tell you immediately, and charge only for the work already carried out. We do not continue billing against an enquiry we believe will not produce anything.
Where this could have been identified at the scoping stage and we failed to do so, we do not charge at all. Spotting that is our job.
Where we discontinue
If we discontinue an assignment because information you provided proves materially false, or because the purpose turns out to be unprofessional or harmful, fees for work carried out remain payable and no refund applies.
If you are dissatisfied with the work
Raise it directly and in writing to kishorenagi@gmail.com, setting out what you believe was not done as agreed. The written scope is the reference point. Where we have failed to carry out scoped work, we will either complete it at no further cost or refund the portion relating to it. Dissatisfaction with the findings — as distinct from the work — is not a basis for a refund, because we do not control what the facts turn out to be.
Disbursements
Third-party costs already incurred — travel outside the scoped locations, government record fees, specialist input — are not refundable once spent. These are only ever incurred with your prior approval.
How refunds are processed
By the original payment method where possible, normally within 7 to 14 working days of agreement. International refunds may take longer depending on banking channels.