Effective date: 17th July 2026
This policy explains when you may ask for a refund, replacement, correction, or other remedy for something you paid for on the Digital Standards Platform. It applies to services sold through the Platform by [the contracting entity]. Where you buy a product or service from a marketplace seller or a third-party training provider, that seller or provider is responsible for it, and section 1 explains how those purchases are handled.
This policy forms part of the Terms and Conditions. The plan description, the service page and the checkout page apply to your purchase alongside this policy, and where they say something more specific about a particular service, that applies to that service.
Nothing in this policy limits any right or remedy you have under Nigerian law, including under the Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act 2018, that cannot lawfully be excluded. Where the law gives you a stronger remedy than this policy, the law applies.
The DSP may provide paid access to standards and other authorized publications, subscriptions, compliance-attestation services, training, marketplace services and related digital or administrative services. Because these services are different, the refund outcome depends on the service purchased, whether access has begun, the reason for the request, and any specific condition displayed before payment.
| Service type | Refund approach |
|---|---|
| Digital standards or publication access | A refund may be available for a duplicate payment, unauthorized payment, failure to provide access, material technical failure, or content that is materially unavailable or not as described. Once a user has downloaded, viewed, or otherwise consumed digital content, an ordinary change-of-mind refund may not be available, except where required by law or where the content/service is defective, unavailable, or materially misdescribed. |
| Subscription or plan access | A refund may be available for a duplicate payment, a material failure of the subscribed service, or a plan that was materially different from its checkout description. Where the subscribed service has been used, whether in whole or in part, the subscriber shall not be entitled to a refund. Recurring plans, if introduced, may be cancelled for future renewal; cancellation does not automatically reverse a completed period. |
| Nigerian Industrial Standards Compliance Attestation Certificate | A refund or correction may be available where the certificate service was not supplied, was issued in error due to the DSP or GDTIL, or a required application cannot be processed for reasons not caused by the applicant. No refund is guaranteed where the application is rejected because the applicant supplied inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information, failed to meet published eligibility requirements, or has already received and used the service, subject to statutory rights. |
| Training or events | The checkout or event notice will state the cancellation deadline. Before that deadline, a refund, transfer or credit may be available, subject to a 10% administrative fee. After the deadline, GDTIL may, where a place has been reserved, and costs have been incurred, provide a transfer or credit subject to a 10% administrative fee and recovery of any non-refundable costs incurred by GDTIL. If GDTIL cancels or materially changes the training or event, the customer will be offered a refund, transfer or reasonable alternative, without prejudice to any statutory or event-specific rights. |
| Marketplace listings or promotional services | The Platform's marketplace is a listing and visibility service for sellers whose products have been certified. Its purpose is to display certified products for marketing purposes; it is not a sales channel. Listings are open only to sellers holding current certification for the products listed, and a listing may be suspended or removed if that certification lapses, is withdrawn, or is found to have been obtained on inaccurate or incomplete information. Refunds under this policy relate only to the listing or promotional fees a seller pays to the Platform. Those fees may be refunded where the listing or promotional service was not supplied, was materially misdescribed, or was charged in error. If you buy a product from a seller you found through the marketplace, you buy directly from that seller and not from or through the Platform. The Platform does not sell, supply, import, deliver, invoice or hold payment for those products, and no part of that purchase is transacted through the Platform. The seller's own terms apply. Returns, delivery, warranty, after-sales service and payment disputes are matters between you and the seller, and neither SON, BPP, GDTIL nor the Platform accepts responsibility for them. Nothing in this section removes any right or remedy available to you under Nigerian law. |
| Duplicate, failed or unauthorized payment | A duplicate successful payment will be refunded. A failed payment that did not activate a service will not ordinarily require a refund, as no completed charge should have been made. Where a bank or payment provider records a completed charge without service activation, the customer should contact support for reconciliation. Unauthorized payments should be reported promptly and may be subject to verification with the payment provider or account holder. |
Nothing in this policy excludes or restricts any legal right to a refund, cancellation, replacement, correction, charge reversal, compensation or other remedy. If the DSP fails to supply a paid service, supplies it materially late or in a manner materially different from its description, makes an unauthorized charge, or fails to remedy a material technical failure within a reasonable time, GDTIL will assess the appropriate remedy, which may include restoring access, extending the subscription, replacing the service, issuing a credit, or refunding the affected amount.
Where a cancellation charge, administrative fee or other restriction applies, it will be disclosed clearly before payment. Any such charge must be reasonable and will not apply where applicable law requires a full refund without the charge.
A refund may be declined, subject to statutory rights, where the request is solely a change of mind after the customer has downloaded or materially used digital content, where the customer breached the Terms and the requested remedy relates to that breach, where the issue was caused by inaccurate account or application information supplied by the customer, or where the customer seeks a refund for a third-party product or service that the DSP did not sell or promise.
A refund will not be declined merely because a customer used a different device, changed an internal procurement decision or disagrees with a standard's technical content. The relevant question is whether the service supplied matched its description and the customer's license and whether a legal or policy remedy applies.
Send the request as soon as reasonably practicable through the support channels below. Include the account email, customer or transaction reference, date and amount paid, service or plan purchased, reason for the request, and the remedy sought. Do not send full card numbers, passwords, or other unnecessary sensitive information.
The support desk will normally acknowledge a request within 24 hours, consistent with the service information currently published on the DSP support page. We may ask for reasonable information to verify the account, payment and circumstances. A decision will normally be provided within seven business days after the information needed for assessment is received.
Approved refunds will normally be sent to the original payment method. If the original method cannot receive the refund, we will work with the customer and the payment provider to identify a lawful alternative. The DSP may depend on the payment provider and banking system for final settlement; once the refund has been submitted, the time it appears in the account may vary.
Refunds will be made in the currency and amount permitted by the original transaction and applicable law. Any tax, statutory charge or payment fee will be treated in accordance with the applicable law, the checkout disclosure and the reason for the refund. We will not deduct a fee that was not disclosed, or that would defeat a statutory right.
Please contact the DSP support desk first so that the issue can be investigated and corrected quickly. If you are dissatisfied with the outcome, request an escalation directly to SON and identify the decision you wish to have reviewed. Nothing in this internal process prevents a customer from using a payment-provider dispute process or a statutory consumer-protection or judicial remedy.
GORINGO Consult Service Desk
WhatsApp: +234 911 062 3187
Email: goringoconsult@gmail.com or info@goringoconsult.com
Support page: https://nnsdp.son.gov.ng/support
Before publication, SON should replace or supplement these details with the official refund/legal-notice address and confirm whether the second address should be info@goringoconsult.com or info@goringoconsult.org.ng.
We may update this policy to reflect changes to services, payment methods, law or operational procedures. The version in force at the time of purchase will apply to that purchase, unless a change is required by law or is more favorable to the customer. Material changes will be brought to users' attention through the platform or account communications.