Refund & Cancellation Policy

1. General Policy

BrainSumo operates a no-refund, no-cancellation policy as a general rule. All payments — including prize pool deposits and platform service fees — are processed in advance and committed to an active challenge lifecycle. Once a payment is successfully processed and a challenge is submitted for review, BrainSumo does not offer automatic refunds or cancellations.

This policy exists to protect the integrity of the platform, ensure solvers can rely on advertised prize pools, and maintain trust across all parties. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis as described in Section 4 below.

2. Platform Service Fees

BrainSumo charges a non-refundable platform service fee on each challenge, calculated as a percentage of the total prize pool. This fee covers:

• Challenge review and approval by the BrainSumo team
• Platform hosting, infrastructure, and submission management
• Solver onboarding, KYC processing, and payout operations
• Customer support during the challenge lifecycle

Platform service fees are non-refundable under all circumstances, including where a challenge receives no submissions, receives low-quality submissions, or is withdrawn by the client after going live.

Platform fees are subject to Goods and Services Tax (GST) at 18% for Indian clients under the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. GST paid on platform fees is non-refundable and will not be reversed even in exceptional circumstances where a prize pool refund is approved.

3. Prize Pool Payments

Clients are required to deposit the full prize pool amount into escrow before a challenge is published. This ensures solvers can trust that prize money is real and secured.

3a. Before Challenge Goes Live

If a challenge payment has been made but the challenge has not yet been approved and published by BrainSumo, the client may request a cancellation. Such requests will be reviewed within 5–7 business days. If approved, the prize pool amount (excluding platform fees) may be refunded to the original payment method, less any payment gateway processing charges.

3b. After Challenge Goes Live

Once a challenge is live and accepting submissions, the prize pool deposit is non-refundable. This is because solvers have already begun investing time and effort in preparing submissions in good faith. Cancelling an active challenge and refunding prize funds would constitute a breach of the platform's commitment to solvers.

3c. No Submissions Received

If a challenge closes with zero valid submissions, BrainSumo will review the situation. The team may, at its sole discretion, offer a full or partial prize pool credit to the client's wallet for use on a future challenge. Cash refunds in this scenario are not guaranteed and are subject to review.

4. Exceptional Circumstances

BrainSumo acknowledges that extraordinary situations can arise. Refund requests will be considered — but not automatically granted — in the following limited circumstances:

• Duplicate payment: A technical error caused the same challenge to be paid for twice. The duplicate payment will be refunded after verification.
• Payment made in error: A payment was completed for the wrong amount due to a verifiable platform error. BrainSumo will investigate and correct the discrepancy.
• Challenge rejected by BrainSumo: If BrainSumo rejects a challenge during the review process (e.g., the brief violates our content policy), the prize pool deposit (not the platform review fee) will be refunded.
• Platform unavailability: A sustained technical outage caused by BrainSumo that prevented a challenge from functioning as intended for a significant portion of its active period.
• Fraud: BrainSumo confirms fraudulent activity in the transaction that was not caused by the client.

All exceptional refund decisions are at the sole discretion of BrainSumo's management team after a thorough review. Approval of a refund in one case does not set a precedent or guarantee the same outcome in future cases.

5. Solver Payouts — No Cancellation

Prize payouts to winning solvers are final and cannot be reversed once processed. Solvers acknowledge that prize money is subject to Tax Deducted at Source (TDS) under Section 194B of the Income Tax Act, 1961 at 31.2% on prizes exceeding ₹10,000 per transaction. TDS deducted is remitted to the Income Tax Department and cannot be refunded by BrainSumo. Solvers may claim TDS credit when filing their Income Tax Return (ITR).

6. Wallet Credits

Where BrainSumo issues wallet credits to a client (e.g., as compensation for a challenge that received no submissions), such credits are non-transferable, non-cashable, and must be used within 12 months of issuance. Wallet credits cannot be converted to cash or refunded to the original payment method.

7. How to Request a Review

If you believe your situation meets the criteria in Section 4, you may submit a refund review request by writing to us at contact.brainsumo@gmail.com with the subject line: "Refund Review Request — [your registered email]".

Your request must include:

• Your registered account email address
• Challenge ID or transaction reference number
• Date of payment and amount
• A clear description of the circumstances and your basis for requesting a refund
• Any supporting evidence (screenshots, bank statements, etc.)

8. Review Timeline

BrainSumo will acknowledge your refund review request within 3 business days. A final decision will be communicated within 15 business days of receiving all required information. If additional information is needed, the review period may be extended. Complex cases involving payment disputes may take up to 30 business days.

9. Payment Gateway Charges

All approved refunds are processed net of payment gateway and bank processing charges incurred during the original transaction and the refund transaction. BrainSumo does not absorb third-party payment processing costs on refunded amounts. GST charged on platform fees is not refundable as it has been remitted to tax authorities.

10. Governing Law

This Refund & Cancellation Policy is governed by the laws of India. Any disputes arising under this policy shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of New Delhi, India. This policy shall be read alongside our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.

11. Contact

For questions about this policy, contact us at contact.brainsumo@gmail.com. For grievances related to our service, please refer to the Grievance Officer details in our Privacy Policy.