colony

Draft for review, not yet in effect

Credits and Refund Policy

Last updated: 9 October 2026

This policy explains how Colony credits work and when we give refunds. It is part of our Terms of Service.

1. Two ways to pay for AI

Bring your own AI. By default, you connect your own Claude Code or Codex subscription, or your own OpenRouter account. You pay those providers directly, and their billing and refund terms apply. We cannot refund charges from those providers.

Colony credits. You can choose to buy prepaid credits from us instead. This policy covers those credits.

2. What credits are

  • Colony credits are prepaid credits that pay for the work your AI employees do inside Colony.
  • When your AI employees use credits, their requests go through Colony's server to OpenRouter and to the provider of the model they use.
  • We take usage from your credits at Colony's prices.

3. What credits are not

Credits are not money. They:

  • have no cash value, and cannot be exchanged for cash except where this policy or the law requires a refund;
  • cannot be transferred to another account or person;
  • can only be used inside Colony; and
  • never give access to raw model APIs or to OpenRouter credits.

4. Buying credits

  • You can buy credits through Stripe, in US dollars. We may also offer PayFast, in South African rand.
  • Before you pay, you see the price, the currency and the credits you will get. [Confirm VAT and other taxes]
  • Stripe and PayFast process your payment. We do not store your card number.
  • Credits are added to your account once the payment provider confirms your payment.
  • [How customers get receipts and their purchase history]

5. How usage is charged

  • Each piece of work uses credits based on the AI model used and how much work the model does, at Colony's prices.
  • Current prices are shown [where prices are shown]. You can see your balance and usage [where balance and usage are shown].
  • We may change our prices. A change applies only to usage after it takes effect. We will tell you about a price increase at least [price change notice period] in advance.
  • When your credits run out, AI employees that use credits stop until you add more.

6. Do credits expire?

[expiry period, if any]

Review note: decide whether credits expire. Section 63 of the Consumer Protection Act says prepaid credits and vouchers generally do not expire until they are used up or three years after they were issued, whichever comes first, and that unused value belongs to the holder. A lawyer must confirm how section 63 applies to Colony credits before any expiry period, or the no-refund rule below, is set.

7. Refunds

Credits are not refundable, except in these cases:

  • Where the law requires a refund. This includes rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, as they apply. See Cooling-off rights.
  • Duplicate or failed charges. If you were charged twice for the same purchase, or charged for credits that were never added to your account, we will refund the charge or add the missing credits.
  • Closing your account. If you close your account, we may refund unused credits. We decide this case by case.

There are no self-serve refunds in the app. To ask for a refund, contact us as described below.

8. Cooling-off rights

If you are a consumer, section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act may let you cancel a purchase of credits within 7 days, without giving a reason and without penalty. If it applies and you cancel, we will refund your payment within 30 days of the cancellation. To cancel, email [support email] within the 7 days.

The Act lists some exceptions to this right in section 42.

Review note: the owner and a lawyer must confirm how the section 44 cooling-off right applies to digital credits, including credits partly used within the 7 days (section 42(2)(d) excludes services that began with the consumer's consent before the 7 days ended), and how much of a partly used purchase is refunded.

9. How to ask for a refund

Email [support email] with:

  • the email address on your Colony account;
  • the date and amount of the payment;
  • your receipt or payment reference; and
  • why you are asking for a refund.

We will reply within [response time]. If we approve a refund, we pay it back to the payment method you used, in the currency you paid. Your bank may use its own exchange rate. We remove the matching credits from your account.

10. Chargebacks

If you think a charge is wrong, please contact us first. We can usually fix it faster than your bank. If you dispute a charge with your bank, we may pause the use of credits on your account until the dispute is settled. If the dispute succeeds, we remove the matching credits.

11. Suspended or closed accounts

While an account is suspended, its credits cannot be used. If we close an account because it broke our Terms of Service, our Acceptable Use Policy, or the terms of OpenRouter or a model provider, we do not refund unused credits, unless the law requires it.

12. Changes and contact

We may update this policy. Changes do not take away a refund you have already asked for under an earlier version. The date at the top of this page shows when we last changed it. For important changes, we will tell you in advance, as our Terms of Service describe.

Questions about credits or refunds: [support email].