1. Why service stage matters

March Analytics sells laboratory testing services rather than physical merchandise. Costs and laboratory resources may be committed as the order moves through receipt, accession, preparation, analysis, quality review, and report generation. Refund eligibility therefore depends on the stage of service and the reason work cannot proceed.

The following refund schedule is the proposed operating policy for attorney review and is written as the customer-facing rule rather than as an open business question.

2. Cancellation and refund matrix

Service stage	Policy treatment	Application
Order paid; sample not yet shipped	cancellation generally eligible for full refund, subject to any lawful/nonrefundable processor fee only if explicitly adopted and disclosed.	Full refund of the service fee if cancellation is received before the sample is received and no laboratory work has begun.
Sample shipped but not received	order may be cancelled, but customer remains responsible for intercept/return and carrier risk; refund only after confirming no lab costs were incurred.	The customer remains responsible for carrier costs and for intercepting or redirecting a sample already shipped. The service fee remains refundable if the sample is not accepted and no laboratory work has begun, subject to any nonrecoverable cost previously disclosed.
Sample received, not yet accessioned	refund may remain available if sample can be safely segregated and no lab work has begun.	Cancellation remains available after receipt but before accession if the sample can be safely segregated and no laboratory work has begun; March Analytics may deduct reasonable intake, handling, or disposal costs actually incurred.
Sample accessioned/logged	refund may be reduced or unavailable because intake/QC/admin work has begun.	After accession, March Analytics will refund only the unused portion of the service fee after deducting work already performed and nonrecoverable laboratory costs.
Analysis/preparation begun	generally non-refundable except verified laboratory error, inability to perform, or other approved exception.	Analysis begins when sample preparation, instrument work, or another substantive analytical step starts. Once analysis begins, the service is generally non-refundable except for verified laboratory error or inability to perform the purchased service.
Analysis complete / report in QA	non-refundable except verified laboratory error or material service failure.	No refund after analysis is complete except for verified laboratory error, a material reporting error, or another remedy required by law.
Report delivered	no cancellation/refund merely because the customer dislikes or did not expect the analytical result; remedies remain for verified report/laboratory error.	No provision of this policy limits a refund, cancellation, or other remedy that cannot lawfully be waived.

3. Insufficient, contaminated, mislabeled, damaged, or prohibited samples

A sample that cannot be tested because of insufficient quantity, contamination, mislabeling, leakage, unsafe packaging, prohibited status, or materially inaccurate customer description is not automatically a laboratory error.

If a sample is insufficient, contaminated, mislabeled, unsafe, prohibited, or otherwise unsuitable because of a customer-controlled condition, March Analytics may require a replacement sample or a new order and may deny a refund for laboratory work already consumed.

4. Failed or inconclusive analysis

A failed or inconclusive analysis may result from the sample itself, method limitations, insufficient analyte response, interference, instability, quality-control failure, equipment/laboratory error, or other cause. The remedy should depend on the documented cause rather than on the fact that the result is inconclusive.

For a verified laboratory-caused failure that materially prevents completion of the purchased service, March Analytics will provide a no-cost retest when feasible or a refund or credit if a retest is not feasible. Sample-caused failures may require a replacement sample and may involve a new or additional service fee.

5. Laboratory error

If March Analytics verifies that a laboratory error materially prevented delivery of the purchased analytical service, March Analytics should provide the approved remedy without requiring a chargeback. The remedy is a no-cost retest where feasible or a refund or credit if a retest is not feasible.

6. Delays

Customer-caused delays include late shipment, incomplete information, noncompliant packaging, sample replacement, or delayed response to laboratory questions. Laboratory-caused delays are delays attributable to the laboratory after a conforming sample is accepted.

Carrier delays, late customer responses, missing information, replacement-sample delays, or other customer-controlled delays do not count against the laboratory turnaround estimate. For a material laboratory-caused delay, March Analytics may offer an appropriate credit, refund, or cancellation option based on the work already performed.

7. Rush / expedited testing

Expedited testing is available only when expressly offered on the applicable Shopify product page or confirmed in writing. If a paid expedited target is missed solely because of a March Analytics or laboratory-controlled delay, the expedited surcharge will be refunded unless another remedy is agreed.

8. Duplicate orders

Customers who believe they placed a duplicate order should contact [email protected] promptly. A duplicate order may be cancelled and refunded if March Analytics receives the request before the duplicate service has begun. Once laboratory work has begun, the ordinary stage-based refund rules apply.

9. Billing disputes and chargebacks

Billing questions and refund requests should be sent to [email protected]. Customers should provide the order number and a concise description of the issue. March Analytics may provide transaction records, accepted policy versions, sample tracking/receipt records, service-stage records, and report-delivery evidence to payment processors or financial institutions as reasonably necessary to respond to a payment dispute, consistent with the Privacy Policy.

10. Sample return or disposal after cancellation

Cancellation does not automatically mean a sample can be returned. Safety, legal, carrier, and laboratory constraints may require disposal. Residual material is not routinely returned. March Analytics or the performing laboratory may retain it for a reasonable period for quality or retest purposes and may thereafter dispose of it in accordance with applicable law and laboratory procedures. A return is made only if agreed in writing and legally and operationally feasible, with shipping and handling charged to the customer unless otherwise agreed.

11. How to request a cancellation or refund

Order cancellations: [email protected]. Refunds and billing: [email protected]. Sample-status questions: [email protected]. Include the order number. Do not send sensitive payment credentials by email.