Billing, Direct Debit and Payment Processing Policy

Effective date: 6 November 2026

Operator: CloudServe Solutions Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 17554555

Billing contact: billing@cloudserveuk.com

1. Scope and payment methods

This policy explains how CloudServe bills for SiteTools products and how it handles separately agreed work. It should be read with the Master Terms, the applicable order and the amount and collection date displayed in Management before a customer authorises payment. The order controls any product-specific charges. Nothing here removes statutory rights or the Direct Debit Guarantee.

GoCardless Direct Debit is the selected payment method for recurring SiteTools plans and eligible add-ons offered through Main Management. A company can have separate subscriptions for separate products. The price shown at checkout includes VAT and the selected add-on quantities. Stripe card checkout is not currently enabled in Main Management. A separately agreed setup, development, hosting or other one-off invoice may offer a card payment route, including Stripe, only if the order or invoice expressly provides it. Do not enter card details into a SiteTools form that does not offer a hosted payment route.

2. Starting a monthly Direct Debit

An authorised company representative reviews the product, plan, add-ons, VAT-inclusive monthly amount and first collection date in Management before continuing to GoCardless's hosted mandate process. An active mandate and a confirmed subscription instruction are required before a recurring Direct Debit can be collected. Mandate authorisation alone is not a completed payment. Collection and settlement follow the banking timetable and may move around weekends or bank holidays.

For a fixed monthly amount, the customer is told the amount and collection schedule. A change to the amount, date or frequency requires advance notice under the Direct Debit Guarantee and the terms agreed through GoCardless. GoCardless's standard UK notice arrangement is generally three business days; a different period applies where validly agreed. We do not promise that a separate invoice will always be sent fourteen days before every collection.

3. Plans, add-ons and changes

A published plan provides its stated base allowances. Eligible add-ons change the limits and the recurring amount for that product only. Management shows the proposed amount before the company accepts an increase. An increase that requires an additional collection takes effect only after the payment and updated recurring instruction have been verified. A reduction changes future collections according to the confirmed change; it does not automatically refund an earlier charge. Staff can explain a product's current price and effective date before it is accepted.

4. Direct Debit Guarantee and payment questions

The Direct Debit Guarantee applies to Bacs Direct Debits. If an error is made by the collecting organisation or your bank or building society, you are entitled to a full and immediate refund of the amount paid from your bank or building society. You may cancel a Direct Debit instruction at any time through your bank or building society; please also tell CloudServe. Cancelling the bank instruction does not itself end an underlying subscription or remove an amount already due. A refund under the Guarantee does not cancel a valid contractual debt.

If an amount, date, invoice or add-on change looks wrong, contact billing@cloudserveuk.com promptly. We will review the order and payment records and correct an error, including by an appropriate credit or refund. You can still contact your bank or payment provider about your rights. We do not automatically suspend a service or charge a dispute fee merely because a customer raises a Direct Debit indemnity claim or a card dispute.

5. Failed payments, suspension and late amounts

If a collection fails or a mandate is cancelled, we will contact the company using its account details and provide a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue before suspending a service, except where immediate action is reasonably required for security or law. The current SiteTools checkout does not automatically impose a £15 failed-payment fee, a £50 reconnection fee, a £30 dispute fee or a fixed seven-day grace period. Any separately agreed charge must be stated in the applicable order before it applies.

For a qualifying business debt, statutory late-payment interest or recovery compensation may be claimed where the law permits. It is not added automatically to a SiteTools checkout. A suspended managed product can be considered for reactivation during the recovery window once outstanding invoices and account eligibility are resolved, as set out in the Master Terms.

6. Cancellation, refunds and data recovery

A SiteTools monthly subscription may be cancelled with at least 30 full calendar days' notice. The confirmed effective end date determines the final service period and any amount still due. A separately agreed fixed-term order may have different end-of-term terms. Paid fees are considered against the applicable order, service already delivered and legal rights; this policy does not impose a blanket waiver of refunds. The Direct Debit Guarantee continues to apply to an erroneous collection.

For a managed SiteTools product, the standard recovery window is 92 days from cancellation taking effect or suspension. Reactivation during that window depends on settlement and eligibility. Before planned product removal, Management prepares an encrypted database export and provides the verified company administrator with a protected download link and a separately sent password. See the Master Terms and Privacy Policy for the recovery and retention rules.

7. Payment data and provider notices

Bank account details are entered on GoCardless's hosted pages, not into SiteTools Management. Management stores the provider references, mandate and subscription status, amounts, invoices and audit records needed to administer billing. If a separately agreed Stripe hosted checkout is offered, Stripe's payment terms and privacy information will be made available for that transaction. See our Privacy Policy for CloudServe's handling of account and payment records.

8. Changes and contact

We may revise this policy as payment methods, scheme rules or our services change. We will publish the revised effective date and give advance notice of a material change where the contract or law requires it. Questions about an invoice or payment can be sent to billing@cloudserveuk.com.