REFUND & CANCELLATION POLICY

 

Hatiwave Studios Ltd

Registered in England and Wales
Company Number: 17088199
Registered Office: Hatiwave Studios, 61 Bridge Street, Kington, HR5 3DJ, United Kingdom
Contact Email: ben@hatiwave.com
Website: www.hatiwave.com

Last updated: 23 September 2026

 

This Refund & Cancellation Policy applies to services supplied by Hatiwave Studios Ltd (“Hatiwave”, “we”, “us”) and should be read alongside our Terms & Conditions and any project-specific service agreement.

Our aim is to handle cancellations and refunds fairly. We do not use arbitrary cancellation penalties or automatically treat advance payments as non-refundable. Where work has already begun, any refund will take into account the reasonable value of work completed and any genuine, unavoidable costs already incurred.

 

1. CANCELLING BEFORE WORK HAS BEGUN

If a project is cancelled before Hatiwave has begun providing the agreed services, any payment received will normally be refunded, subject to any genuine non-recoverable costs already incurred specifically for that project.

This may include third-party licences, commissioned external services or other project-specific expenditure that cannot reasonably be recovered.

For qualifying Consumer contracts, statutory cancellation rights will apply where relevant.

 

2. CANCELLING AFTER WORK HAS BEGUN

A Client may request cancellation at any point during a project.

Where work has already begun, Hatiwave will calculate the reasonable value of services completed up to the point of cancellation together with any genuine non-recoverable costs or direct losses resulting from the cancellation.

This may take into account:

Work already completed;

Project preparation and technical setup actually undertaken;

File organisation, conforming and session preparation;

Dialogue, editorial, sound-design, scoring or mixing work completed;

Review versions already supplied;

Third-party services or licences purchased specifically for the project;

Specialist freelancers or subcontractors already commissioned;

Other reasonable and unavoidable costs directly associated with the cancelled project.

Any amount properly due to Hatiwave will be deducted from payments already received.

If payments received exceed the amount properly due, the remaining balance will be refunded.

If the reasonable value of work and unavoidable costs exceeds the amount already paid, Hatiwave may invoice the Client for the outstanding amount attributable to services already supplied.

Cancellation charges will reflect genuine work, costs and losses rather than operate as a penalty.

 

3. HOW CANCELLATION COSTS ARE CALCULATED

Post-production work is not necessarily completed evenly across a project schedule.

For this reason, cancellation charges are not calculated simply by dividing the total project cost by the number of weeks in the schedule.

Instead, Hatiwave will consider the actual work undertaken and the agreed value of the relevant services or project stages.

Where requested, Hatiwave will provide a reasonable explanation of how any retained amount or outstanding balance has been calculated.

Hatiwave will also take reasonable steps to reduce avoidable losses following cancellation.

 

4. 50/50 PAYMENT PROJECTS

Where a Client has selected the 50/50 payment option:

The initial 50% is payable before work begins;

The remaining 50% is payable before final deliverables are released.

The initial payment is not automatically treated as a non-refundable cancellation fee.

If the Client cancels during the project, the normal cancellation calculation described in this Policy will apply.

Depending on how much work has been completed, the Client may be entitled to part of the initial payment back, no refund may remain due, or an additional amount may be payable for work already completed.

Review versions may be supplied during production where appropriate.

Final masters, stems and other final deliverables may be withheld until all sums properly due have been paid.

 

5. 100% UPFRONT PROJECTS

Where the full project fee has been paid in advance, cancellation does not automatically mean Hatiwave keeps the entire payment.

Hatiwave will calculate the reasonable value of work supplied and any genuine non-recoverable costs up to the point of cancellation.

Any remaining refundable balance will be returned to the Client where applicable.

 

6. LOSS OF FUNDING OR PRODUCTION CANCELLATION

Loss of finance, withdrawal of an investor, cancellation of a production, distribution changes, abandonment of a film or other changes to the Client’s circumstances do not automatically entitle the Client to a full refund once work has begun.

These circumstances will normally be treated as Client cancellation.

Hatiwave will calculate the amount due based on work already supplied and genuine unavoidable costs, and any remaining refundable balance will be returned.

Where appropriate and subject to Hatiwave’s availability, the parties may instead agree to pause or reschedule a project.

Any pause or rescheduling arrangement must be agreed in writing and may result in a revised completion date.

Hatiwave cannot guarantee that the original production slot will remain available following a pause.

 

7. 14-DAY CONSUMER CANCELLATION PERIOD

Where the Client is acting as an individual Consumer rather than wholly or mainly for business purposes, statutory cancellation rights may apply to contracts agreed online, by email or otherwise at a distance.

Where those rights apply, the Consumer will normally have 14 days from entering into the service contract to cancel without giving a reason.

If work has not begun during that period, the Consumer will normally be entitled to reimbursement of payments made, subject to applicable law.

If the Consumer expressly asks Hatiwave to begin providing services during the cancellation period and then cancels before the service has been completed, the Consumer may be required to pay an amount proportionate to the services already supplied.

Where the service has been fully performed during the cancellation period after the Consumer expressly requested early performance and acknowledged that the cancellation right would be lost following full performance, the statutory cancellation right may cease.

Nothing in this Policy limits any statutory cancellation rights.

 

8. PROJECTS COMPLETED WITHIN THE 14-DAY PERIOD

Where a Consumer asks Hatiwave to begin immediately and the entire agreed service is completed within the statutory cancellation period, Hatiwave may require an express acknowledgement confirming that:

The Consumer wishes the service to begin before the cancellation period has expired; and

The Consumer understands that the statutory cancellation right may be lost once the service has been fully performed.

Where the applicable legal requirements have been satisfied, the Consumer may no longer have the statutory right to cancel once the service has been completed.

 

9. CANCELLATION OR TERMINATION BY HATIWAVE

Hatiwave may suspend or terminate a project in limited circumstances where continuing the working relationship is no longer reasonable or appropriate.

This may include situations where:

The Client materially breaches the project agreement and does not remedy the breach where reasonably possible;

Required payments remain unpaid;

Hatiwave is asked to perform unlawful, unauthorised, fraudulent or misleading work;

Essential project materials are repeatedly not supplied;

The Client repeatedly fails to provide required communication, feedback or approvals in a manner that makes completion of the project impractical;

Continuing the project would breach professional, contractual or legal obligations;

The Client engages in threatening, abusive, harassing, discriminatory or otherwise seriously inappropriate behaviour toward Hatiwave personnel, freelancers, subcontractors or representatives;

Communications contain discriminatory, threatening, abusive or persistently offensive language;

The Client engages in harassment or discrimination relating to characteristics protected by applicable law;

The Client behaves in a manner that creates a reasonable concern for the safety, wellbeing or professional dignity of anyone working on the project; or

Exceptional circumstances genuinely outside Hatiwave’s reasonable control make completion impossible.

Reasonable criticism, creative disagreement, good-faith complaints or legitimate feedback regarding Hatiwave’s services will not in themselves constitute grounds for termination.

Where reasonably appropriate, Hatiwave may first notify the Client of the problem and provide a reasonable opportunity for the behaviour or breach to be corrected.

Immediate suspension or termination may be appropriate where conduct is sufficiently serious, threatening, discriminatory, abusive or otherwise makes continued professional engagement unreasonable.

Where Hatiwave terminates a project for reasons that are not the Client’s fault, payments relating to work that has not been supplied will normally be refunded.

Where termination results from a material breach or serious misconduct by the Client, Hatiwave may retain payment reflecting the reasonable value of work already completed together with genuine non-recoverable costs or losses directly resulting from the termination.

Any remaining refundable balance will be returned to the Client where applicable.

Nothing in this section removes or limits any statutory rights available to the Client.

 

10. DELAYS CAUSED BY HATIWAVE

Where Hatiwave becomes aware that a project may be materially delayed, we will notify the Client as soon as reasonably possible and discuss a revised completion plan.

Where an expressly agreed fixed deadline cannot be met because of circumstances within Hatiwave’s control, the Client and Hatiwave will discuss an appropriate remedy.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include:

A revised completion date;

Prioritised completion of essential deliverables;

An appropriate reduction in price;

Cancellation of unfinished work and refund of any amount attributable to services not supplied; or

Another mutually agreed solution.

An automatic percentage refund does not apply solely because an estimated completion date changes.

Any statutory rights relating to delays or failure to perform within an agreed or reasonable period remain unaffected.

 

11. CREATIVE DISSATISFACTION

Sound post-production contains both technical and creative elements.

A Client is not automatically entitled to a refund solely because their personal creative preference changes after work has been completed in accordance with the agreed brief and scope.

Included revision rounds are provided so that reasonable creative feedback can be addressed during the project.

If a Client believes the service genuinely does not meet the agreed scope, creative brief or required professional standard, they should identify the specific areas of concern and give Hatiwave a reasonable opportunity to review them.

Hatiwave will assess the concerns and, where appropriate, use an available revision round or another appropriate remedy to address genuine issues.

A general statement that the Client dislikes the finished work does not automatically establish that the service has been performed incorrectly or create an automatic entitlement to a refund.

 

12. WHERE THE SERVICE DOES NOT MEET THE AGREED STANDARD

Hatiwave will perform its services with reasonable care and skill.

Where a qualifying Consumer service genuinely fails to meet the agreed contract or legally required standard, applicable statutory remedies remain available.

Depending on the circumstances, this may include Hatiwave being given a reasonable opportunity to perform the relevant service again or correct the affected work.

Where correction or repeat performance is impossible, cannot be completed within a reasonable time or would cause significant inconvenience, an appropriate price reduction or refund may be available where required by law.

Nothing in this Policy removes or limits statutory rights.

 

13. CHANGES OF CREATIVE DIRECTION

A change of creative preference is different from defective work.

Examples may include:

Requesting an entirely different sonic style after an agreed direction has been approved;

Replacing approved music or sound design;

Substantially changing the desired tone of the film;

Requesting previously approved work to be rebuilt;

Introducing new scenes or replacement edits;

Changing the picture after sound work has been completed;

Requesting substantially different spatial placement or mixing after an agreed approach has been approved; or

Altering creative requirements that were not part of the original brief.

Where the original work meets the agreed brief, substantial changes of this nature may constitute additional scope and may require a further quotation rather than a refund.

Hatiwave will discuss additional costs before carrying out chargeable work outside the agreed scope.

 

14. SOURCE-MATERIAL LIMITATIONS

A refund will not normally be due solely because limitations inherent in Client-supplied material prevent a particular result, provided Hatiwave has performed the agreed service with reasonable care and skill.

Examples may include:

Severe distortion;

Digital clipping;

Missing dialogue;

Microphone rustle;

Clothing noise;

Handling noise;

Body noise or heartbeat captured by a microphone;

Excessive environmental noise;

Poor microphone placement;

Unusable recordings;

Missing alternative microphones or takes;

Inconsistent production recordings;

Corrupt or incomplete files.

Where practical, Hatiwave will advise the Client of significant limitations and recommend suitable alternatives, which may include another microphone source, wild lines, ADR, replacement audio or reduced restoration.

Hatiwave cannot guarantee completely transparent restoration of every damaged or compromised recording.

 

15. CLIENT-CAUSED DELAYS OR CHANGES

Where additional cost, delay or loss results from matters caused by the Client, including:

Late picture lock;

Incorrect or incomplete files;

Missing production audio;

Changed picture versions;

Incorrect frame-rate information;

Delayed feedback;

Additional scenes;

Replacement performances;

Changed music;

Changed delivery specifications; or

Other changes to the agreed scope,

these circumstances do not automatically create an entitlement to a refund.

Hatiwave may instead agree a revised schedule and, where additional work is required, provide an additional quotation before carrying out that work.

Where Client delays cause the original production slot to become unavailable, Hatiwave may reschedule the remaining work according to reasonable availability.

 

16. THIRD-PARTY COSTS

Some projects may require external expenditure such as:

Music licences;

Specialist freelancers;

Additional recording services;

External studio facilities;

Purchased sound assets;

Commissioned musicians;

Specialist software or services purchased specifically for the Client’s project; or

Other specifically authorised project costs.

Where these costs have already been properly incurred and cannot reasonably be recovered following cancellation, they may be deducted from any refund due.

Where a third-party provider issues Hatiwave with a refund, credit or other recovery relating directly to a cancelled Client project, this will be taken into account when calculating the Client’s cancellation balance.

Hatiwave will not charge the Client twice for the same loss or cost.

 

17. FINAL DELIVERABLES & OUTSTANDING PAYMENTS

Where money remains properly due under an agreed project, Hatiwave may withhold final masters, stems and other final deliverables until the outstanding balance has cleared.

Work-in-progress files, review copies or watermarked/reference versions supplied during production should not be treated as final deliverables unless expressly confirmed otherwise.

Where a project is cancelled before completion, the Client is not automatically entitled to receive unfinished internal sessions, templates, processing chains, DAW project files or other Hatiwave working material.

Any partial deliverables to be supplied following cancellation will be agreed according to the work completed, amounts paid and original project scope.

 

18. REFUND PAYMENTS

Where a refund is due, Hatiwave will process it without undue delay.

Where a statutory Consumer cancellation refund is required, Hatiwave will issue the refund within the period required by applicable law.

For other agreed refunds, Hatiwave will normally aim to process payment within 14 days of the refund amount being confirmed.

Where appropriate, refunds will normally be returned using the original method of payment unless another reasonable method is agreed.

Hatiwave will not charge an additional administrative fee solely for issuing a refund that the Client is legally entitled to receive.

 

19. REQUESTING A CANCELLATION

Cancellation requests should be submitted in writing to:

Benjamin Hinds
Director
Hatiwave Studios Ltd
Email: ben@hatiwave.com

The cancellation request should include:

Client name;

Project title;

Confirmation that the Client wishes to cancel; and

Any relevant information relating to the request.

Hatiwave will confirm receipt and review the project position before confirming any outstanding balance or refund due.

The effective cancellation date will normally be the date on which Hatiwave receives a clear written request to cancel.

 

20. REFUND DISPUTES & COMPLAINTS

If a Client disagrees with a refund or cancellation calculation, they should contact Hatiwave and explain the specific concern.

Hatiwave will review the matter and provide a reasonable explanation of how the calculation has been reached.

Where appropriate, this may include identifying:

Work already undertaken;

Project stages completed;

Direct third-party costs;

Amounts already paid;

Any balance remaining; and

Any refund due.

Hatiwave will seek to resolve genuine disputes reasonably and professionally.

Nothing in this Policy prevents a Client from exercising any statutory or other legal rights available to them.

 

21. NO DOUBLE RECOVERY

Hatiwave will not seek to recover the same loss more than once.

For example, where Hatiwave retains an amount to cover a genuine third-party cost and subsequently receives that cost back from the relevant provider, any appropriate adjustment will be considered when finalising the cancellation account.

Any cancellation calculation will aim to reflect Hatiwave’s actual position rather than place Hatiwave in a materially better financial position solely because the Client cancelled.

 

22. RELATIONSHIP WITH OUR TERMS & CONDITIONS

This Refund & Cancellation Policy should be read together with:

Hatiwave’s Terms & Conditions;

The Client’s accepted quotation;

The project-specific service agreement; and

Any other written project terms agreed by both parties.

Where a statutory right provides greater protection than this Policy, the statutory right will apply.

The version of this Policy applicable when the project is booked will apply to that project unless both parties subsequently agree otherwise in writing.

 

23. CHANGES TO THIS POLICY

Hatiwave may update this Refund & Cancellation Policy from time to time.

Changes published after a project has already been booked will not retrospectively change the cancellation or refund terms applying to that existing project unless the Client and Hatiwave expressly agree otherwise.

 

24. CONTACT

For cancellation, refund or payment enquiries, contact:

 

Hatiwave Studios Ltd
Company Number: 17088199
Registered Office: Hatiwave Studios, 61 Bridge Street, Kington, HR5 3DJ, United Kingdom
Contact Email: ben@hatiwave.com

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