Refund Policy

1. Scope

This policy applies to all payments made to Pratica for services ordered online or by direct agreement. It does not cover third-party official fees (for example, consular fees, apostille fees, or postage), which are charged and refunded by the relevant authority.

2. Statutory cooling-off period

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the client holds a 14-day right of cancellation from the date of purchase. No reason is required.

How this right is lost. The cooling-off right ends when both of the following apply:

• the client has expressly requested that the service begin before the 14 days expire, by ticking the acceptance checkbox at checkout; and
• the service has been fully performed within that window.

How to exercise the right. Email info@pratica.uk with the subject “Cancellation” within 14 days of purchase. Pratica will reply within 3 business days, either confirming the refund or explaining the calculation of the component already delivered.

3. Service-specific delivery milestones

Each service has a defined point at which it is considered fully performed. After that point, the statutory cooling-off right no longer applies.

Prenotami Monitoring (£84)

Slot monitoring begins immediately after payment. The service involves ongoing operational cost (ongoing manual monitoring of the consulate's booking system).

• Full refund if cancellation reaches Pratica before monitoring is activated (typically within 24 hours of purchase, and only if no monitoring window has yet been worked).
• Once monitoring is activated, no refund is due regardless of outcome. Slot availability depends entirely on the consulate and on the Prenot@Mi system.
• The service is considered fully performed at the moment a confirmed appointment is registered in the client's name.

Citizenship Concierge (£1180)

Full refund if cancellation reaches Pratica before any component of the service has been delivered. Once work has started, the deduction is worked out component by component, on the same eight lines as the itemised bill shown on the booking page.

That bill prices each component as if it were bought on its own, and those prices add up to £1810. The package is sold for £1180. A deduction is therefore never taken at the listed price. Each line is reduced in the same proportion as the package (1180 ÷ 1810) and rounded down to the penny, so the deductions for every component together cannot exceed the price paid.

• Eligibility review (listed at £300): £195.58. Delivered when Pratica sends the client its written finding on the lineage chain, checked against current Italian nationality law (L. 91/1992, L. 74/2025, and relevant ministerial circulars).
• Document checklist (listed at £300): £195.58. Delivered when the personalised list of certificates is sent: what is needed, where each one is obtained, and in what order.
• Certified translations (listed at £70 each): £45.63 each. Counted for every translation delivered, up to the four included (£182.52).
• Apostille guidance (listed at £110): £71.71. Delivered when the written FCDO apostille instructions for the client's documents are sent.
• Form completion (listed at £220): £143.42. Delivered when the completed consular forms are sent to the client for signature.
• Document review (listed at £180): £117.34. Delivered when Pratica sends the result of its check of the client's documents against the consulate's acceptance criteria.
• Prenotami monitoring (listed at £300): £195.58. This is monitoring for the citizenship appointment, which is a different service from the passport appointment monitoring sold on its own above. Counted from the moment monitoring is activated, regardless of outcome.
• Post-recognition guidance (listed at £120): £78.23. Delivered when the guidance on AIRE, codice fiscale and passport is sent.

Example. A client cancels on day 6. The eligibility review and the document checklist have been delivered and nothing else. The deduction is £391.16 and £788.84 is refunded.

The work behind each component varies with the complexity and circumstances of the case; the deduction does not. During the 14-day cooling-off period, a component that has been started but not delivered is not deducted.

After the 14-day cooling-off period, no refund is due for components already delivered or substantially commenced. For components not yet started, a partial refund may be issued at Pratica's discretion.

4. Statutory full refunds

A full refund is due, regardless of progress, in the following cases:

• duplicate payment or processing error caused by Pratica or its provider;
• unauthorised transaction (fraud);
• failure to supply the service as agreed, where the issue cannot be reasonably remedied.

5. Third-party fees

Fees charged by third parties (consular fees, apostille fees, postage, courier charges) are paid to the third party and are not refunded by Pratica where the third party will not refund them. Pratica will assist in contacting the third party where reasonable.

6. Delays and delivery timelines

All delivery timelines stated on this website or in correspondence are estimates, not guarantees. The service depends on third-party systems and government bodies that operate independently of Pratica. A delay, even a substantial one, does not in itself amount to a failure to supply, provided Pratica continues to actively work on the case.

Delays outside Pratica's control

• Italian consulate closures: Italian and UK public holidays, reduced August activity, staffing shortages, ad-hoc closures.
• Prenot@Mi or FAST IT downtime, maintenance windows, or unannounced interface and procedural changes.
• Consulate processing backlogs: AIRE, jure sanguinis, transcriptions of birth or marriage records.
• Royal Mail delays, service disruptions, industrial action, lost items, or failed delivery attempts.
• FCDO apostille processing backlogs and Italian Ministry inter-office delays.
• Changes to Italian law, consular procedure, government policy, or inter-ministerial regulations.
• Failures of payment processors, email providers, or government portals used in the course of the service.
• Force majeure: industrial action, natural disasters, government shutdowns, pandemic restrictions, civil unrest.

Delays caused by the client

• Documents provided that are illegible, incomplete, or incorrect. Each round of corrections adds time.
• Slow responses to Pratica's requests for information, documents, or one-time codes.
• Incorrect personal details requiring re-work or resubmission.
• Missed appointment without notice, requiring monitoring or booking to restart.
• Mid-engagement changes to scope, consulate preference, or requirements.

What “active work” means

Pratica is considered to be actively working on the case when it is monitoring systems, preparing documents, liaising with third parties, or waiting for a third party to act. Active work includes watching Prenot@Mi during release windows even when no slot appears for an extended period, awaiting consulate processing after a submission, awaiting Royal Mail delivery, or awaiting the client's response. A period without visible output does not mean no work is being done.

Seasonal and systemic factors

Italian consulates observe Italian national holidays (Liberation Day, Republic Day, Ferragosto, All Saints' Day, Immaculate Conception, Christmas, New Year) in addition to UK bank holidays. August is a period of significantly reduced activity across all Italian diplomatic offices. Year-end and pre-summer periods see higher demand and longer processing times. These patterns are recurring and should be anticipated when purchasing time-sensitive services.

7. Client acknowledgement

By ticking the acceptance checkbox at checkout before payment, the client expressly acknowledges and accepts that:

• all timescales communicated by Pratica are estimates, not guarantees;
• delays caused by factors outside Pratica's reasonable control are not grounds for a refund;
• Pratica is not liable for the speed at which third parties (consulates, government bodies, postal services, courts) process requests or release appointments;
• a reasonable delay in delivery, where Pratica continues to actively work on the case, is not a failure to supply.

8. Non-refundable situations

No refund is due in the following circumstances:

• the service has been fully performed as agreed;
• components already delivered at the time of cancellation;
• the client has not provided required information within 60 days despite reminders;
• the client has provided false or misleading information;
• appointment no-show without at least 48 hours' notice;
• third-party fees already incurred (for example, apostille fees paid on behalf of the client);
• outcomes determined by a consulate, comune, or other government body;
• abusive, threatening, or harassing conduct towards Pratica.

9. How to request a refund

Email info@pratica.uk with the client's name, order reference, purchase date, and the reason for the request. Pratica will acknowledge within 3 business days.

10. Processing timeline

Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method within 14 days of the approval date. The exact arrival time depends on the card issuer and the client's bank.

11. Payment documentation and consent records

All payments are processed through Stripe, a PCI-DSS compliant payment platform. Each transaction is fully documented, including digital receipts, transaction metadata, timestamps, and the record of every acceptance checkbox ticked before payment. This documentation is retained and may be used as evidence in the event of a dispute, chargeback, or formal complaint.

12. Chargebacks, disputes, and abuse

Before raising a dispute with a bank or card issuer, the client is asked to contact Pratica at info@pratica.uk first, so that Pratica can try to put it right.

If a chargeback is nevertheless raised, Pratica will provide the card issuer with the full transaction record, including digital receipts, IP addresses, timestamps, user-agent data, and the record of each checkbox accepted before payment. Chargebacks based on delays falling within the terms accepted at checkout, or otherwise without legitimate basis, will be contested in full.

Patterns of abuse (repeat chargebacks, coordinated complaints, suspicious purchasing behaviour) will be flagged to payment processors and may result in the client being permanently blocked from Pratica's services.

13. Pratica's right to cancel

Pratica may cancel and terminate a service where the client breaches the Terms of Service, provides false or fraudulent documents, or engages in abusive or threatening conduct. In such cases, only the portion not yet commenced may be refunded at Pratica's discretion; work already performed is non-refundable. The client is notified by email with the reason.

14. Statutory rights

Nothing in this policy affects the client's statutory rights under UK consumer protection law. Where UK law requires a cash refund, Pratica will provide it.