Refund and Cancellation Policy
Last updated 18 August 2026
This policy explains when we refund and how to ask. It applies to everything you can pay Ten Thousand Businesses for.
1. The short version
If we have not yet done the work, you get your money back.
If we have done it, we will explain what was done and why a refund does not apply — and if the work was not what we promised, we will fix it or refund it.
2. Cooling-off period
Where the Consumer Protection Act applies, you may cancel within the periods that Act allows. Nothing in this policy limits a right you have under that Act.
3. By what you paid for
| What you paid for | Refund position |
|---|---|
| 30-day access pass — R149 | Did not use it? Full refund within 7 days. Used it? No refund. "Used it" means one of three things: you applied to a funder, you sent a referral, or you gave someone outside 10TB access to your data room. Those are the things the pass unlocks, so once you have done one, you have had what you paid for. |
| Membership, monthly — R99 | Cancel at any time and you will not be charged again. We do not refund a month already begun, but you keep access until the end of it. |
| Membership, annual — R990 | Did not use it? Full refund within 14 days. After that, or if you have used it, we refund R99 for each whole month still to run. The two free months in the annual price are not refundable, because you did not pay for them. |
| Funding success fee | Not applicable to you. That fee is invoiced to the funder, never to the business, and no business is ever charged it. |
| Verified investor membership | Full refund within 14 days if you have not downloaded any member documents. After that, or once documents have been accessed, no refund — but you may cancel renewal at any time. |
| Supplier certification — Tier 1 or 2 | Full refund before verification begins. Once desktop checks have started, no refund, because the cost is our people's time. |
| Supplier certification — Tier 3 or 4 | Full refund before the interview or site visit is scheduled. After scheduling, we refund the portion not yet delivered. |
| Mentor registration | Full refund within 14 days if you have not yet been listed. Once you are listed and visible to members, no refund. |
| Corporate development programme | Governed by the signed programme agreement, which takes precedence over this policy. |
4. When we will always refund
- You were charged twice for the same thing.
- You were charged the wrong amount.
- We could not deliver what you paid for.
- The service was materially not what we described.
5. What we do not refund
- A funding application that was declined. We never promised it would succeed, and the decision is not ours.
- Work already completed and delivered to you.
- A change of mind after a verification, assessment or listing has been performed.
6. How to ask
Email refunds@10thousand.co.za with the payment reference, the date, and what happened. We will acknowledge within 2 working days and resolve within 10.
Approved refunds are paid back to the original payment method. Depending on your bank this usually takes 5 to 10 working days.
7. If you are not satisfied
Reply to our decision and ask for it to be reviewed by the founder. If you remain unsatisfied you may approach the National Consumer Commission.