CODE BLACK · REFUND AND CANCELLATION POLICY

Plain terms, before you pay.

Effective 6 November 2026. Research is sold as time and expertise spent on your line; here is exactly when that money comes back.

Research tiers: Heritage Search ($99), Identity Restoration ($499), Heritage Dossier + Attorney Referral ($2,499)

  • Before a researcher starts: full refund, no questions. We email you when work on your line begins (normally within one business day of your intake). Until that email, cancel by replying to your Stripe receipt or writing to [email protected].
  • After work starts: the research hours are spent whether or not the records exist, so the fee is not refundable. You always receive the full report, including every search that came back empty and the next records to pull.
  • If we are late: if your report is not delivered within the stated window (24–48 hours, 3–5 business days, 7–10 business days) plus seven days, for reasons on our side, you may request a full refund and keep whatever was delivered.
  • No guarantee of findings. We cannot promise that any record exists. What we promise is that every search is run, every claim is cited and tiered, and a human reviews the report before it is sent.

Research Circle + Explorer API ($29 a month)

  • Cancel any time from the link in your Stripe receipt, from the billing portal, or by email. Your key keeps working until the end of the current billing month; billing stops after that.
  • No partial-month refunds. Usage overage already incurred in the month is billed at the stated rate.
  • If the API is unavailable for more than 24 hours in a billing month for reasons on our side, that month is refunded on request.

Free things

The free Lineage Score and the free one-name start are free. There is nothing to refund and no card is taken.

How to ask

  1. Reply to your Stripe receipt, or email [email protected] with the order reference and the surname.
  2. We confirm within one business day.
  3. Refunds go back to the original payment method through Stripe, usually within 5–10 business days depending on your bank.

This policy is part of the site terms. Code Black is heritage research, not legal advice; the attorney introduced under the Heritage Dossier tier engages with you independently and under their own terms.