Refund Policy

01 Overview

This Refund Policy explains when CK Studio (operating MABA) will and won't issue refunds for charges on our Service. It applies to all payments made through direct UPI to ckstudio@barodampay, future Razorpay integrations, and any other payment method we support.

Read this alongside our Terms of Service — both documents work together.

Philosophy: MABA runs on a wallet model. You top up credits, you use them when you dub. We don't have monthly subscriptions to cancel, and we don't lock your money up. Unused credits are refundable for a window; used credits aren't, but failed dubs auto-restore. If a dub fails, you're never charged — credits restore automatically. If something's wrong with a completed dub, write to us; we're reasonable.

02 Wallet top-ups

Wallet top-ups (₹99, ₹499, ₹1,999, ₹4,999) get added to your wallet balance — including any bonus credits the pack includes. Refund rules for unused credits:

Refundable

• Within 7 days of top-up — unused credits can be refunded back to the same UPI ID you paid from. The refund amount equals the unused base (paid) amount, minus any used credits at face value.
• Duplicate top-ups for the same intended order — the duplicate is fully refunded.
• Top-ups credited to the wrong account — once verified by UTR / transaction reference.
• Charges where we could not deliver the Service for more than 72 consecutive hours due to our fault — pro-rated refund of unused credits available immediately.

Not refundable

• After 7 days — unused credits stay in your wallet (they don't expire), but cannot be refunded back to your bank.
• Bonus credits from top-up bonuses (e.g., the +20% on a ₹4,999 pack) are non-refundable in cash. They're a discount on your purchase, not separate value. Refunds are calculated on the base paid amount only.

03 Used credits & failed dubs

Once a dub completes successfully, the credits used for it are not refundable. This is true even if you didn't end up using the dubbed file — once the AI pipeline has run, the cost has been incurred.

What happens if a dub fails

If a dub fails for any reason on our side — server crash, API timeout, processing error, malformed output — the wallet credits you spent are automatically restored within 1 hour of the failure. No need to email or request anything. The restore happens server-side once our system detects the failure.

If credits weren't auto-restored within 24 hours of a failed dub, contact us and we'll do it manually.

What counts as a "failed dub"

• Dub didn't complete within 24 hours of submission.
• Output file is silent, corrupted, or 0 bytes.
• Output is in the wrong language.
• Voice clone is unintelligible (not just stylistically off).

What doesn't count as a failure

• You don't love the voice / pacing / accent — that's a stylistic preference, not a failure.
• The source video itself was poor quality (silent, very noisy, unclear speech). Garbage in, garbage out.
• The dub took longer than you expected but completed successfully.

Clean-video credits

The ₹49 clean-video pack (3 credits) is bought from your wallet balance. Once the credits are granted they are non-refundable in cash, like any used credit — but a credit is only spent when a clean, watermark-free dub completes successfully. If a clean dub fails, the held credit is restored automatically, exactly like wallet credits. A watermark-free window unlocked by reaching a top-up milestone is a bonus, not a purchased item, and has no separate cash value.

04 GST invoices

GST invoicing is coming soon. Once it's live, every wallet top-up will generate a GST-compliant invoice, and a refunded top-up will include a corresponding credit note with proportional GST adjustment.

In the meantime, if you need a payment receipt for a top-up, email hello@heymaba.com with your transaction reference and we'll help.

05 Bonus credits

Larger wallet top-ups include bonus credits — for example, a ₹4,999 top-up adds ₹5,999 to your wallet (a 20% bonus). The breakdown:

• ₹99 → ₹99 (no bonus)
• ₹499 → ₹549 (10% bonus)
• ₹1,999 → ₹2,299 (15% bonus)
• ₹4,999 → ₹5,999 (20% bonus)

For refund purposes, only the base paid amount is refundable in cash. Bonus credits are a discount, not separate value. If you used some of your wallet before requesting a refund, used credits are deducted from the bonus first, then from the paid base.

Worked example: You top up ₹499 and get ₹549 wallet (₹50 bonus). You spend ₹100 on a dub. Now you have ₹449 wallet remaining. Of that ₹449, the first ₹0 is "bonus remaining" (₹50 bonus minus ₹50 first used) and ₹449 is "paid base remaining". A refund within 7 days would return ₹449 to your UPI ID.

06 How to request a refund

Email hello@heymaba.com from the email address on your MABA account. Include everything below so we can act on the request without back-and-forth.

1. Subject line: Refund Request — [MABA-W-XXXX or Order ID]
2. Top-up reference — your wallet top-up reference (looks like MABA-W-A8F3) or the UPI UTR. You'll find this in your top-up confirmation message on WhatsApp.
3. Amount and date of top-up.
4. Which top-up / dub / service the refund is for.
5. Reason for refund — be specific. "It didn't work" is not specific. "The dub returned as a 0-byte file at 14:22 IST on April 21" is.
6. If applicable, screenshots or the URL of the broken output.

Top-up refund requests must be filed within 7 days of the top-up date. Late requests may be declined.

07 Processing time & method

Our review

We review refund requests within 3 business days of receiving a complete request. If we need more information, we'll email you. If we approve, we move to processing. If we decline, we'll explain why.

Refund processing

Approved refunds are sent back to the original payment method:

• Direct UPI (default): Refund sent to the same UPI ID you paid from. Reflects in 1–3 business days.
• Razorpay (when active): Card / net banking refunds via Razorpay take 5–7 business days, depending on your bank.

Exact timing depends on your bank's refund processing, which we do not control.

GST (if applicable)

If GST was charged on a refunded amount, the GST is refunded proportionally along with the base amount. A credit note will be issued for the refunded portion.

What we can't refund to

• Different payment method than the original.
• Different name than the original payer (we refund back to the source — if someone else paid from their UPI for you, the refund goes to them, not you).
• Closed or inactive accounts where the bank rejects the refund — we'll need alternate details from you, subject to identity verification.

08 Disputes & escalation

If we decline a refund and you disagree, here's the ladder — please use it in order, because jumping to the top rarely helps.

1. Reply to our decline email with any additional context we didn't have. Most disputes are resolved here.
2. Escalate to our grievance officer at hello@heymaba.com (see Terms §20). We'll respond within 15 business days.
3. Raise a bank dispute for card payments only, once card / net-banking payments (via Razorpay) go live. Note: we will contest frivolous chargebacks, and repeated chargebacks may result in account suspension under our Terms.
4. Consumer grievance redressal under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019. Jurisdiction: Bengaluru, Karnataka.

Chargebacks without prior contact with us cost everyone time and fees. Please talk to us first — we're reasonable.

09 Changes & contact

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. Material changes will be announced at least 14 days in advance by email and on this page. The "Last updated" date at the top reflects the latest revision.

This Refund Policy is part of our agreement with you, alongside the Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.