Refund Policy

This Refund Policy explains when and how Pinnacle Mutual Consulting LLC ("Pinnacle", "we", "us") gives refunds for the services we provide. We want every client to know, before paying, exactly what happens if plans change. If anything here is unclear, please contact us before you buy and we will be happy to explain.

1. Overview

This policy applies to payments made to Pinnacle for consulting, engineering, training, certification preparation and recruiting services.

Your written agreement comes first. Many of our services are provided under a signed proposal, statement of work, service agreement or recruiting agreement (an "Agreement"). If your Agreement includes terms about cancellation, refunds or guarantees, those terms apply instead of this policy wherever the two differ. Where your Agreement says nothing about a topic, this policy applies.

Nothing in this policy limits any rights you have under applicable law that cannot be waived.

2. At a glance

Approved refunds are confirmed within 5 business days of your request and paid within 10 business days of approval. The sections below explain each case in full.

3. Key terms

• Business day means Monday to Friday, excluding United States federal public holidays.
• Engagement means a consulting, engineering or advisory project we carry out for you.
• Retainer means an amount you pay in advance that we draw against as we perform work.
• Milestone means a defined stage of a project, usually tied to a deliverable and a payment, as set out in your Agreement or proposal.
• Start date for a training course means the first scheduled day of the course. For a recruiting placement, it means the candidate's first day of employment with you.
• Third-party costs means amounts we pay to others on your behalf, such as software licenses, cloud services, exam vouchers, course materials, venues and travel.

4. Consulting and engineering services

4.1 Hourly and time-based work

Time-based work is billed for the time actually spent. Because the time has already been used to deliver your work, fees for hours performed are not refundable. If you have paid in advance for hours that have not yet been used, the unused amount is treated as a retainer under section 4.3.

4.2 Fixed-fee and milestone projects

• Fees for milestones that we have completed and that you have approved, or that are treated as approved under your Agreement, are not refundable.
• If an engagement ends part of the way through a milestone, we charge only for the work performed on that milestone up to the end date, based on the effort spent. Any amount you have paid toward that milestone above the value of the work performed is refunded.
• Amounts paid for milestones that have not been started are refunded in full.

4.3 Retainers and deposits

Money you pay in advance remains yours until we earn it by performing work. If an engagement ends early for any reason, we refund the unused balance of your retainer or deposit, after deducting:

• fees for work performed up to the end date;
• third-party costs already incurred on your behalf that cannot be cancelled or recovered; and
• any other amounts your Agreement says are payable on early termination.

4.4 Ending an engagement

To end an engagement, send us written notice by email to info@pinnaclemutualconsulting.com, unless your Agreement sets a different notice process or notice period. When we receive your notice, we will stop starting new work and will agree with you how to wrap up any work in progress in an orderly way.

Within 10 business days of the end date, we will send you a final statement listing the work performed, the fees and costs charged, the amount of any retainer or deposit used, and the balance to be refunded. The refund is then paid as described in section 10.

4.5 Third-party costs

Third-party costs we have already paid on your behalf are not refundable by us, because we cannot recover them. If a third party refunds or credits us for a cost you paid, we will pass that refund or credit on to you.

4.6 If Pinnacle ends an engagement

If we end an engagement for reasons that are not caused by you, we will refund every amount you have paid for work we have not performed, and you will owe nothing for work we have not delivered.

5. Concerns about the quality of our work

If you believe a deliverable does not meet what was agreed in your Agreement or proposal, please tell us in writing as soon as possible, ideally within 14 days of receiving it, and explain what is missing or incorrect.

We will review your concern promptly and, where the deliverable does not meet the agreed scope, correct it at no additional cost. If we are unable to resolve the issue, we will work with you in good faith on a fair adjustment, which may include a partial refund for the affected deliverable. This section does not cover changes to the agreed scope, which are handled as change requests under your Agreement.

6. Training and certification courses

6.1 Cancellations by you

You may cancel a course registration by emailing us. The refund depends on how much notice you give before the course start date:

The time of your cancellation is the time your email reaches us. Cancellations received after 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time, or on a day that is not a business day, are treated as received on the next business day.

6.2 Transfers and substitutions

• Transfer to a later session: instead of cancelling, you may move your registration to a later session of the same course, subject to available seats, at no charge. Please tell us at least 1 business day before the original start date.
• Send a colleague: you may send another person from your organization in your place at no charge. Please email us the new attendee's full name and email address before the course starts.
• If the transferred session costs more, the difference is payable. If it costs less, we refund the difference.

6.3 Cancellations or changes by Pinnacle

If we cancel a course, or change its dates by more than a few days, you may choose either a full refund of everything you paid us for that course or a free transfer to another session. We will tell you as early as possible. We are not responsible for travel or accommodation costs you booked yourself, so we recommend booking refundable travel.

6.4 No-shows and partial attendance

If you do not attend without cancelling, or attend only part of a course, the course fee is not refunded. You may still ask us about attending a missed part in a later session, which we will offer where possible.

6.5 Exam vouchers, materials and third-party fees

Certification exams are run by independent certification bodies. Once we have purchased or issued an exam voucher, or paid an exam or registration fee to a certification body, that amount is not refundable by us. Any refund, extension or rescheduling of the exam itself is governed by the certification body's own policy. Printed materials that have already been shipped to you are also not refundable.

6.6 Online materials

Where a course includes access to online materials, the refund tiers in section 6.1 still apply. Access to the materials ends when a refund is issued.

7. Recruiting services

7.1 How recruiting fees work

For contingency recruiting, our placement fee becomes payable when a candidate we introduced accepts your offer and starts work, as set out in your recruiting Agreement. You pay nothing if we do not make a placement. For retained searches, fees are paid in stages during the search as agreed in your Agreement.

7.2 Our 90-day replacement guarantee

If a candidate we placed leaves your organization, or you end their employment because of their performance or conduct, within 90 days of their start date, we will search for a replacement candidate for the same role at no additional placement fee.

The guarantee applies when all of the following are true:

• our placement fee was paid in full by its due date;
• you tell us in writing within 10 business days after the candidate's last day of work; and
• the role, its responsibilities and its pay are substantially the same as when the candidate was hired.

7.3 If no suitable replacement is found

If we are unable to present a suitable replacement candidate whom you hire within 90 days of your written notice, we will refund a pro-rated portion of the placement fee instead. The refund is based on the part of the 90-day guarantee period the original candidate did not work. For example, if the candidate left after 30 days, 60 of the 90 days were not worked, so two-thirds of the placement fee would be refunded.

A replacement candidate is covered by the guarantee once. The guarantee does not apply again to a replacement for a replacement.

7.4 When the guarantee does not apply

The replacement guarantee and refund do not apply if the candidate's employment ends because of:

• a layoff, restructuring, redundancy, closure or other business reason not related to the candidate's performance or conduct;
• a significant change to the role, its responsibilities, location, working arrangement or pay after the candidate started;
• a failure by your organization to meet its legal or contractual obligations to the candidate; or
• the candidate moving to a different role within your organization or a related company.

The guarantee also does not apply to temporary, contract or fixed-term placements unless your Agreement says otherwise.

7.5 Retained search payments

Retained search payments cover the research, sourcing, screening and interviewing work we carry out during the search. They are not refundable once that work has been performed, except as stated in your Agreement.

8. What is not refundable

To summarize the sections above, the following are not refundable unless your Agreement says otherwise or the law requires it:

• fees for consulting or engineering work already performed, and completed or approved milestones;
• third-party costs already incurred that we cannot recover;
• training fees for cancellations received less than 5 business days before the start date, no-shows and partial attendance (a free transfer is still available);
• exam vouchers, certification body fees and printed materials already shipped;
• recruiting fees for placements outside the guarantee conditions in section 7; and
• retained search payments for search work already performed.

9. How to request a refund

Email info@pinnaclemutualconsulting.com with the subject line "Refund request" and include:

1. your full name and organization;
2. the invoice or receipt number, and the date and amount of the payment;
3. the service the request relates to (for example, the course name and date, the engagement, or the placed candidate); and
4. the reason for your request.

We will confirm that we have received your request and reply with our decision, and the amount of any refund, within 5 business days. If we need more information, we will ask, and the 5 business days will count from when we receive it. If we decline a request, we will explain why.

10. How refunds are paid

• Approved refunds are paid within 10 business days of approval.
• Refunds are returned to the original payment method. If that is not possible, for example because a card has expired, we will refund by bank transfer to an account in the payer's name.
• Refunds are paid in United States dollars, in the same currency as the original payment. We are not responsible for exchange rate differences or fees charged by your bank or card provider.
• After we send a refund, your bank or card provider may take several additional business days to show it on your statement.
• Refunds are made only to the person or organization that made the original payment.

11. Payment disputes

If you have a concern about a charge, please contact us first. Most issues can be resolved quickly and directly. Opening a dispute or chargeback with your bank or card provider before contacting us can delay a resolution. If a chargeback is opened, we may pause work on related services while it is being resolved.

12. Changes to this policy

We may update this Refund Policy from time to time. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when it last changed. The version that applies to a purchase is the one published on the date you made that purchase or signed the related Agreement.

13. Contact us

Questions about refunds, cancellations or guarantees:

Pinnacle Mutual Consulting LLC
933 Spring Creek Way, Douglasville, Georgia 30134, United States
Email: info@pinnaclemutualconsulting.com
Phone: +1 (404) 205-9000

See also our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.