Refund policy

RETURN AND REFUND POLICY

Effective Date: July 5, 2026

1. Overview

Local Security Expert provides professional document-review services and electronically delivered reports. We do not currently sell or ship physical merchandise.

Because our services involve professional time, document analysis, research, calculations, and report preparation, refund eligibility depends on whether substantive work has begun.

Local Security Expert is a service operated by Max Optical LLC, a Pennsylvania limited liability company. In this policy, “Local Security Expert,” “we,” “us,” and “our” refer to Max Optical LLC operating under the Local Security Expert brand.

This Return and Refund Policy forms part of our Terms of Service.

2. No Physical Returns

The Security Proposal Review is a service and digital deliverable. There is no physical product to return.

References to “returns” in Shopify checkout, customer accounts, payment systems, or policy links should be understood as requests to cancel a service or receive a refund.

3. Cancellation Before Work Begins

You may request cancellation for a full refund if substantive review work has not begun.

To request cancellation, contact:

reviews@localsecurityexpert.com

Include:

  • Customer name
  • Order number
  • Email address used for the order
  • Reason for the cancellation request

Receiving an automated order confirmation, intake request, or payment receipt does not by itself mean substantive review work has begun.

4. When Substantive Work Begins

Substantive work begins when Local Security Expert starts performing one or more of the following activities:

  • Opening and organizing submitted project documents
  • Reviewing a proposal, drawing, equipment list, quotation, contract, or supporting material
  • Researching specified products, licenses, warranties, compatibility, or technical claims
  • Evaluating camera applications, system architecture, storage, retention, networking, or operational requirements
  • Performing calculations
  • Identifying questions, omissions, inconsistencies, or areas requiring clarification
  • Creating notes, findings, checklists, or report content
  • Drafting or preparing the customer’s written report

We may maintain internal records showing when substantive work began.

5. Cancellation After Work Begins

Once substantive work has begun, the service fee is not automatically refundable.

A cancellation request received after work begins may be handled in one of the following ways at our discretion:

  • We may complete and deliver the purchased review
  • We may stop work and issue no refund
  • We may approve a partial refund based on the amount of work completed
  • We may offer a service credit
  • We may approve another reasonable resolution

Any partial refund, credit, or exception is voluntary unless otherwise required by applicable law.

6. Completed and Delivered Reviews

Once the completed report has been delivered to the email address associated with the order, the service is considered performed and the fee is nonrefundable, except:

  • Where required by applicable law
  • If we delivered the wrong customer’s report
  • If the file is materially corrupted and cannot be replaced
  • If we failed to provide the purchased service
  • If we approve an exception in writing

A report is considered delivered when it is sent electronically, made available through an approved download method, or otherwise transmitted to the contact information supplied by the customer.

Customers are responsible for:

  • Providing a working email address
  • Checking spam, junk, quarantine, and security filters
  • Downloading and retaining the report
  • Informing us promptly if the report cannot be accessed

7. Dissatisfaction With Findings

A refund will not ordinarily be issued because:

  • The report does not identify a specific concern the customer expected to find
  • The customer disagrees with an observation or recommendation
  • The proposal provider disagrees with the report
  • The report concludes that an item appears adequately documented
  • The review does not produce a price reduction or contract change
  • The customer decides not to proceed with the security project
  • The customer expected system design, engineering, legal advice, negotiation, or project management that was not included in the purchased service
  • The customer later obtains different information from another consultant, integrator, manufacturer, attorney, engineer, or provider

The service provides an independent review based on the documents and information supplied. It does not guarantee a particular finding, savings amount, negotiation result, or purchasing outcome.

8. Missing or Incomplete Information

The customer is responsible for supplying complete, legible, accurate, and current documentation reasonably necessary to perform the review.

If required information is missing, we may:

  • Request additional documents or clarification
  • Pause the review
  • Limit the report to the information available
  • Identify the missing information as a limitation
  • Close the engagement if the review cannot reasonably be completed

If the customer does not provide requested information within 30 days after our written request:

  • If substantive work has not begun, we may cancel the order and issue a full refund
  • If substantive work has begun, we may close the engagement without a refund or approve a partial refund at our discretion
  • We may offer the customer a limited additional period to reactivate the engagement

Failure to respond does not require us to keep an engagement open indefinitely.

9. Excessive or Out-of-Scope Submissions

The standard Security Proposal Review is a fixed-scope service.

Additional fees or a separate engagement may be required for:

  • Multiple competing proposals
  • Multiple unrelated properties
  • Large multi-site projects
  • Unusually extensive document packages
  • Repeatedly revised proposals
  • Requests for design or redesign
  • Continuing consultation
  • Negotiation with the proposal provider
  • Work outside the purchased service description

If the submission materially exceeds the purchased scope, we will contact the customer before charging for additional work.

If the customer declines the expanded scope:

  • We may perform a limited review within the original scope
  • We may ask the customer to identify priority documents
  • We may cancel the engagement
  • We may issue a full or partial refund depending on whether substantive work has begun

10. Revised Proposals and Customer Changes

The review is based on the documents submitted for the purchased engagement.

A revised proposal, changed equipment list, modified design, new project location, added building, or materially changed scope submitted after work begins may require:

  • Additional payment
  • A new order
  • A supplemental review
  • A revised delivery estimate

A customer’s decision to change the project or submit a new proposal does not create an automatic right to a refund for work already performed.

11. Turnaround Times and Delays

Any turnaround time shown on the website or communicated to the customer is an estimate unless expressly guaranteed in writing.

The review period does not begin until we receive:

  • Cleared payment
  • The complete proposal package
  • Required customer information
  • Answers to necessary intake questions

A refund will not ordinarily be issued solely because of a reasonable delay caused by:

  • Missing or incomplete customer information
  • Customer-requested changes
  • Large or complex documents
  • Technical problems
  • Payment-processing delays
  • Email or file-transfer problems
  • Third-party service outages
  • Events outside our reasonable control

If we determine that we cannot complete the purchased service within a reasonable period, the customer may receive a full or appropriate partial refund.

12. Orders We Decline or Cancel

We may decline or cancel an engagement when:

  • The requested work is outside our service scope
  • The submission contains prohibited or unnecessarily sensitive information
  • The customer lacks authority to submit the documents
  • A conflict prevents an appropriate review
  • The requested use may be unlawful
  • The customer provides materially false or misleading information
  • The customer engages in abusive, threatening, fraudulent, or improper conduct
  • We cannot reasonably or safely complete the service

If we cancel before substantive work begins, we will issue a full refund.

If we cancel after substantive work begins because of customer misconduct, unauthorized submissions, false information, or violation of our Terms of Service, no refund may be issued except where required by law.

13. Duplicate, Incorrect, or Unauthorized Charges

Contact us promptly if you believe:

  • You were charged more than once
  • The charged amount differs from the checkout total
  • A payment was made without authorization
  • The wrong service was purchased

Verified duplicate or incorrect charges will be corrected.

Unauthorized transactions may also need to be reported to the customer’s bank or payment provider. We may request information reasonably necessary to verify the transaction.

14. Refund Method

Approved refunds will normally be issued to the original payment method and in the original transaction currency.

Shopify generally requires refunds to be returned through the original payment method rather than to a different card or bank account.

We do not control bank, card issuer, payment-provider, or currency-conversion processing times.

15. Refund Processing Time

After an approved refund is issued, the customer’s bank or card issuer may take additional time to post the funds.

Shopify states that Shopify Payments refunds may take up to 10 business days to reach the customer, depending on the customer’s bank.

Contact your bank or payment provider if the refund does not appear after the applicable processing period.

16. Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

Customers should contact us before initiating a chargeback so that we have an opportunity to investigate and resolve the issue.

If a chargeback or payment dispute is already pending:

  • We may need to wait for the payment provider to resolve or formally withdraw the dispute before issuing a separate refund
  • We may provide the payment provider with relevant order records, communications, delivery records, reports, and evidence of work performed
  • We will not knowingly issue both a refund and a duplicate chargeback credit for the same transaction

Shopify cautions that issuing a refund while a payment dispute remains active can result in the customer being credited twice.

Nothing in this section limits a customer’s lawful right to dispute an unauthorized or improper charge.

17. Refund Abuse

We may deny a refund request when we reasonably believe it involves:

  • Fraud
  • Chargeback abuse
  • Misrepresentation
  • Unauthorized document submission
  • Repeated purchases followed by cancellation after work begins
  • Attempts to obtain completed work without payment
  • Violation of the Terms of Service
  • Misuse, copying, resale, or unauthorized distribution of the report

We may suspend or refuse future service to customers who abuse the refund or payment-dispute process.

18. Legal Rights

This policy does not eliminate or restrict rights that cannot legally be waived.

Where applicable law requires a refund, cancellation right, remedy, or different procedure, that law will control.

19. Policy Changes

We may update this Return and Refund Policy to reflect changes in the service, website, payment systems, legal requirements, or business practices.

The policy in effect when an order is placed will ordinarily govern that order, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

Updated versions will be posted with a revised effective date.

20. Contact Information

Refund and cancellation requests should be sent to:

Local Security Expert
A service of Max Optical LLC
142 Rebecca Drive
Downingtown, Pennsylvania 19335
United States

Email: reviews@localsecurityexpert.com
Website: localsecurityexpert.com