Quick Summary
Kavita Joshi (name changed) signed an agreement with a written exit clause promising a partial refund if she cancelled within a set window. Her claim reached 4,73,000. When she tried to exercise that clause, the adviser refused outright. Our team used the written agreement itself to recover 2,60,000, a 55 percent share.
Kavita (name changed) came to us after a well-known SEBI-registered investment adviser failed to honour a promise it had put in writing.
During the sales call, the adviser strongly emphasised flexibility. Kavita then signed an agreement that gave her a clear 90-day exit window with a 50% refund on unused fees.
She paid ₹4,73,000 for an annual package covering research calls and portfolio reviews. But within just 60 days, the service changed. Personalised sessions gave way to generic advice, and the quality dropped sharply.
Kavita did exactly what the agreement allowed. She sent a written cancellation request and asked for the refund promised under the 90-day clause.
The adviser stayed silent for three weeks and then came a vague refusal with no clear reason.
Kavita followed up four more times over the next month. Each response referred to an “internal review”, but none offered a resolution.
That is where the case became interesting.
The adviser had put the refund clause in writing to make the agreement look flexible. Kavita simply asked them to honour the same clause after she exercised it.
Fortunately, she had saved every email and WhatsApp follow-up in one folder. We could therefore show a clear timeline: the cancellation request, the contractual deadline, the repeated follow-ups, and the adviser’s continued refusal to act.
How Our Team Drafted & Documented a Formal Complaint
We began by isolating the exact clause language from the signed agreement, since the wording itself carried most of the weight in this file.
Step 1: Extracted the Refund Clause
We copied the exact ninety-day refund clause from the agreement and calculated that Kavita’s request fell well within the window.
Step 2: Compiled the Follow-up Trail
We gathered all five of Kavita’s refund requests along with the adviser’s delayed and vague responses to each one.
Step 3: Framed the Breach of Contract
We argued that refusing a clause the adviser itself had written and signed is a direct breach, independent of any dispute over advice quality.
Step 4: Filed with the Agreement Highlighted
We filed a SEBI SCORES complaint with the signed clause, since it left little room for the adviser to argue interpretation.
The adviser’s response tried to argue the ninety-day window had technically closed by the time a formal refund form was processed. We showed that Kavita’s written request fell inside the window regardless of internal processing delays on the adviser’s side.
The Settlement: ₹2,60,000 Back to Kavita
Once we placed the signed agreement, the 90-day refund clause, and Kavita’s written cancellation request together, the adviser had little room to dismiss the claim.
The records clearly showed that Kavita had exercised her contractual right within the agreed window. After the complaint, the adviser agreed to settle.
Kavita recovered ₹2,60,000 of her ₹4,73,000 claim, giving her a 55% recovery.
The matter was resolved within 13 weeks of the initial complaint.
Did your adviser promise a refund in writing and then ignore it when you asked for it?
Register with us and let our team help you review the agreement, document the breach, and draft your case for recovery.
Conclusion
A refund clause exists to be honoured, not to sit unused in a signed agreement. A written promise is one of the strongest tools a client can hold.
Read your advisory agreement again if you are unsure what exit terms you signed up for. The clause that gets you out is often buried in the fine print.
If a signed clause is still being ignored after a formal complaint, escalation is the next step. Our team moves such files to SMART ODR when a firm stops responding.
Report. Recover. Stay Fraud Free.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. A signed clause is a contractual commitment, and refusing to honour it once conditions are met is a clear breach.
Written requests carry more weight, but message records like email or chat history showing your request can serve a similar purpose.
No. If your request was made within the stated window, delays on the adviser's side should not count against you.
The clause itself specified a fifty percent refund of unused fees, and the final recovery reflected that agreed structure after the SCORES review.
Add us as a preferred source on Google »
