1. Introduction

This Refund Policy governs all payments, purchases, cancellations, refunds, services, subscriptions, engineering work, installations, maintenance contracts, customized solutions, and commercial engagements provided by Smart Citizens.

By making any payment, approving any quotation, signing any proposal, issuing any purchase order, electronically approving any document, proceeding with installation, accepting delivery, or using any Smart Citizens service, the customer fully acknowledges and accepts this Refund Policy.

2. Nature of Business & Services

Smart Citizens provides customized, engineered, programmed, configured, project-based, and semi-customized technology solutions including smart home automation, smart lighting, smart energy management, smart water management, smart security, CCTV, access control, networking, Wi-Fi, audio visual systems, IoT platforms, smart building solutions, hospitality automation, AI integrations, cloud services, consultancy, design, AMC, software, mobile applications, and enterprise solutions.

Most projects involve engineering, programming, procurement, imported hardware, manpower allocation, site coordination, warehousing, logistics, software activation, and third-party integrations. Accordingly, refunds are limited and strictly governed by this policy.

3. Immediate Procurement & Resource Allocation

Upon payment confirmation, Smart Citizens may immediately reserve engineering resources, allocate technical manpower, reserve project schedules, initiate procurement, purchase or import materials, configure software, prepare programming files, assign operational resources, reserve warehousing capacity, and commit logistics and operational costs.

4. Strict No Cash Refund Policy

All payments made to Smart Citizens are strictly non-refundable once received, including advance payments, deposits, booking fees, partial payments, full project payments, hardware purchases, software purchases, installation payments, programming payments, AMC payments, procurement payments, consultancy fees, design fees, site visit fees, labor payments, subscription fees, and imported or special-order products.

This applies to all payment methods including credit/debit cards, POS machines, cash, bank transfers, online payment gateways, installment providers, and third-party financing platforms.

5. Store Credit & Gift Voucher Policy

In limited cases, and solely at the discretion of Smart Citizens, unused balances may be converted into non-cash store credit or gift vouchers after deducting applicable costs.

• Store credit shall not be redeemable for cash.
• Store credit shall not be refundable.
• Store credit shall not be transferable unless approved.
• Store credit may only be used toward selected Smart Citizens products or services.
• Store credit may contain redemption and product eligibility limitations.
• Store credit shall expire within 12 months unless otherwise approved in writing.

Smart Citizens reserves sole discretion regarding eligible balance calculation, deductions, voucher issuance, validity, product eligibility, and redemption conditions.

6. Non-Refundable Fees

The following are strictly non-refundable: consultation fees, site survey fees, engineering design fees, BOQ preparation fees, shop drawing fees, technical assessment fees, configuration fees, programming fees, AI integration fees, testing and commissioning fees, system architecture planning fees, software licensing fees, remote support fees, and technical support visits.

7. Hardware Products Policy

7.1 Return Eligibility

Hardware return requests may only be reviewed if the request is submitted within 7 calendar days, the product is unopened and unused, original packaging is intact, the product is not programmed or configured, the product is not customized or imported specifically, the product has no damage, and serial numbers and labels remain intact.

7.2 Non-Refundable Hardware

Installed, used, activated, programmed, customized, imported, special-order, opened electronic, cut-to-size, configured, or damaged products are strictly non-refundable.

8. Materials Considered Utilized

Materials reserved, procured, programmed, allocated, configured, warehoused, imported, assigned, or committed to a project shall be considered operationally utilized even if physical installation has not yet occurred. Such materials remain non-refundable.

9. Installation & Labor Services

All installation, commissioning, configuration, programming, integration, testing, and labor services are strictly non-refundable once scheduled or commenced.

10. Partial Delivery & Partial Completion

Any partially completed project phase, initiated procurement, reserved manpower, engineering work, programming work, material allocation, warehousing commitment, or scheduled execution may be proportionally invoiced and deducted at Smart Citizens’ sole discretion.

Partial completion shall not create any obligation for proportional cash refunds.

11. Change of Mind & Project Cancellation

Change of mind, project cancellation, interior design changes, contractor delays, relocation, budget changes, delayed construction, customer preference changes, delayed approvals, site readiness issues, family or business decisions, developer changes, and technology preference changes shall not constitute valid grounds for refund.

12. Customer Delays, Inactivity & Abandoned Projects

Extended inactivity, customer unresponsiveness, delayed approvals, contractor coordination failures, delayed site readiness, postponed execution, or access restrictions shall not create refund obligations toward Smart Citizens.

Projects inactive for more than 90 days due to customer, contractor, consultant, or site-related delays may be considered dormant or abandoned. Reactivation may require revised pricing, updated timelines, additional engineering review, manpower allocation, procurement timelines, and additional charges.

13. Warehousing & Storage Fees

Smart Citizens reserves the right to apply warehousing, storage, inventory holding, and logistics fees for materials, products, or systems held beyond reasonable project timelines due to customer, contractor, consultant, or site delays.

14. Software, Digital Services & Licenses

All digital services and software-related services are strictly non-refundable once provisioned, including mobile applications, cloud services, API integrations, firmware activation, device licenses, remote programming, AI services, software subscriptions, integration services, and access credentials.

15. Third-Party Compatibility Disclaimer

Smart Citizens does not guarantee compatibility with customer-supplied hardware, low-quality products, unauthorized devices, third-party ecosystems, non-certified products, modified electrical infrastructure, unsupported software, or imported unverified equipment unless explicitly approved in writing by Smart Citizens.

16. Performance, Savings & Coverage Disclaimer

Smart Citizens does not guarantee specific energy savings, utility bill reductions, internet speed performance, Wi-Fi coverage consistency, wireless roaming performance, AI prediction accuracy, cloud uptime, smart ecosystem stability, or return on investment unless explicitly guaranteed in writing.

17. Cybersecurity & Cloud Services Disclaimer

Smart Citizens shall not be liable for cybersecurity incidents, hacking attempts, malware, unauthorized access, cloud outages, third-party platform failures, internet provider interruptions, external server failures, third-party ecosystem vulnerabilities, or manufacturer security issues.

Customers remain responsible for maintaining secure passwords, networks, and cybersecurity practices.

18. Annual Maintenance Contracts

AMC contracts and warranty extensions are non-refundable after activation. Completed services, emergency visits, complimentary services, and resource allocations may be deducted or recalculated at Smart Citizens’ sole discretion.

19. Subscription Services

Monthly and yearly subscriptions are billed in advance and remain non-refundable once the billing cycle begins. Customers may cancel future renewals only.

20. Delays Beyond Smart Citizens Control

Refunds shall not apply for delays caused by contractors, consultants, civil works, MEP works, internet providers, developers, government approvals, shipping delays, customs delays, import/export restrictions, material shortages, supplier discontinuation, currency fluctuations, pandemics, force majeure events, third-party suppliers, or utility providers.

21. Warranty vs Refund

Warranty support does not constitute refund eligibility. Smart Citizens may repair, replace, reconfigure, troubleshoot, or reprogram products and services where technical resolution is reasonably possible.

22. Chargebacks & Payment Disputes

Customers agree to contact Smart Citizens before initiating any chargeback or payment dispute. Fraudulent, abusive, or bad-faith chargebacks may result in service suspension, warranty voidance, legal action, debt recovery procedures, collection claims, and blacklisting from future services.

Smart Citizens reserves the right to submit signed quotations, payment confirmations, engineering records, procurement records, communication history, technical reports, and delivery evidence to banks, payment gateways, legal authorities, or dispute platforms.

23. Limitation of Liability

Smart Citizens shall not be liable for indirect damages, consequential damages, loss of profits, business interruption, data loss, third-party outages, internet failures, cloud downtime, manufacturer limitations, customer misuse, unauthorized modifications, or smart ecosystem limitations.

Maximum liability shall not exceed the actual amount paid for the affected product or service.

24. B2B, Developers & Commercial Projects

All business-to-business, developer, hospitality, commercial, contractor, consultant, enterprise, and customized projects are strictly non-refundable, including developer projects, villas, buildings, hotels, offices, commercial fit-outs, enterprise integrations, and customized automation systems.

25. Written Approval Requirement

No verbal statements, assumptions, WhatsApp discussions, informal conversations, third-party representations, or verbal commitments shall override this Refund Policy unless officially approved in writing by authorized management of Smart Citizens.

26. Customer Acceptance

By making payment, signing quotations, approving electronically, issuing purchase orders, proceeding with installation, accepting delivery, or using Smart Citizens services, the customer fully confirms acceptance of this Refund Policy, Terms & Conditions, Warranty Policies, Installation Policies, Project Execution Policies, and applicable Smart Citizens commercial terms.

27. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

This Refund Policy shall be governed in accordance with the laws and regulations of the United Arab Emirates. Any disputes shall fall under the jurisdiction of the competent courts of the UAE.

28. Policy Updates

Smart Citizens reserves the right to modify, amend, replace, update, or revise this Refund Policy at any time without prior notice. Updated versions become effective immediately upon publication on the website.

Cancelled Items & Administrative Charges

In cases where specific products, devices, materials, services, or project items are cancelled, removed, postponed, reduced, or excluded after quotation approval, payment confirmation, procurement initiation, engineering allocation, scheduling, programming, warehousing, or project commencement, Smart Citizens reserves the right to apply cancellation and administrative charges.

The cancellation fee shall be 20% of the cancelled item(s) value, subject to a minimum charge of AED 250 per cancellation request or affected item category.

Such charges may cover procurement losses, supplier commitments, administrative processing, engineering review, reprogramming efforts, warehousing/logistics handling, project rescheduling, material allocation, and operational disruptions.

Cancelled item charges shall remain payable even if installation has not yet occurred, delivery has not yet occurred, products remain in storage, the customer changes project scope, or the customer delays or pauses execution.

Smart Citizens reserves the sole and absolute right to determine applicable cancellation charges, affected items/services, operational impact assessment, and final payable deductions.