Returns & Refunds Policy

1. What you are buying

Almost everything sold on keyforrest.co.uk is digital content supplied without a tangible medium. Nothing is posted to you and there is nothing to send back. Depending on the publisher, a licence reaches you in one of two ways:

• Licence key. A code, activation code or redemption link emailed to you, which you enter to activate the software.
• Licence assignment. For publishers that no longer issue transferable keys — notably Autodesk and Microsoft 365 — the licence or seat is assigned directly to your own account with the publisher, using the email address you give us. No code is issued; the entitlement appears in your publisher account.

The product page tells you which method applies before you buy.

Both forms are single use and irreversible. Once a key has been revealed to you it cannot be recalled, cancelled or resold, and we cannot verify that it has not been redeemed or copied. Once a licence has been assigned, the publisher ties it to your account and the seat is consumed from our allocation whether or not you go on to use it — it cannot be moved, returned to stock or resold. That is why the rules below distinguish so carefully between orders where the licence has been supplied and orders where it has not.

2. Your right to cancel before delivery

You may cancel any order, for any reason or no reason at all, at any point before your licence key has been issued or your licence has been assigned. You do not have to justify the decision and we will not charge a cancellation fee.

To cancel, email [email protected] with your order number and the word “cancel”, or use the contact form on our Contact Us page. If the key has not yet left our system, or the assignment has not yet been submitted to the publisher, we will stop the order and refund the full amount you paid to your original payment method.

3. Why the right to cancel ends at delivery

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, consumers in the UK normally have 14 days to cancel a distance contract and change their mind. There is a specific exception for digital content that is not supplied on a physical medium.

When you place an order you must tick the confirmation box at checkout before you can pay. By ticking it you confirm two things:

• that you expressly request that we begin supplying your licence immediately — by issuing your key or assigning it to your account — without waiting for the 14‑day cancellation period to expire; and
• that you acknowledge that you will lose your right to cancel once supply has begun.

That confirmation is recorded against your order. Once you have given it and we have issued your key or assigned your licence, the 14‑day cancellation right ends and change‑of‑mind refunds are no longer available. This is the ordinary legal position for instantly delivered digital content and it applies equally to every customer.

If you would prefer to keep your 14‑day cancellation right, do not consent to immediate supply — contact us before ordering and we will hold your order until the cancellation period has passed. Delivery will be delayed accordingly.

4. When we will refund or replace

Independently of the cancellation right, we will always put things right in the situations set out below.

5. Faulty keys: our 7-day promise

If a licence key does not work as it should, or an assigned licence does not reach your account or cannot be used, please tell us within 7 days of the date we delivered it. Within that window we guarantee to investigate and resolve the problem at no cost to you:

1. We check the key or the assignment against the publisher’s records and, where relevant, help you through the activation or account sign‑in steps.
2. If the key is faulty we issue a free replacement key, and if an assignment has failed we re‑submit it with the publisher — normally the same working day.
3. If we cannot supply a working replacement, you receive a full refund.

The 7‑day promise is a commitment we make voluntarily so that faults are dealt with quickly while the activation history is still fresh. It is offered in addition to your legal rights and does not replace or shorten them. If a genuine fault comes to light after 7 days, you can still rely on the Consumer Rights Act 2015 — see section 12 — and we ask that you contact us so we can help.

6. What is not covered

So that there is no ambiguity, refunds are not available in the following circumstances once a working key has been delivered.

• Change of mind. You no longer want the software, found it cheaper elsewhere, or ordered on impulse.
• The key has been revealed, redeemed, activated or registered to an account, machine or publisher profile, and it works as described.
• The licence has been assigned to your publisher account and is available to use as described. The seat is consumed at the point of assignment, whether or not you download or sign in to the software.
• You gave us the wrong account email for an assignment and the publisher has already processed it to that account. Tell us immediately and we will try to recover it, but once another account has accepted the licence we may be unable to.
• You bought the wrong product and the correct specification was clearly stated on the product page — for example the wrong edition, version year, language, platform, seat count or region — and you then activated it. Please check compatibility before you activate; we are happy to advise before you buy.
• Your device or operating system does not meet the publisher’s stated system requirements, which are published by the software vendor and linked from our product pages.
• Activation failed because of a pre-existing conflict on your device, such as an earlier licence, an unsupported or unlicensed operating system installation, or software installed from another source.
• You did not receive the key because you entered an incorrect email address at checkout, or your mail provider filtered it. Tell us and we will re-send free of charge — see our Shipping & Delivery Policy.
• Claims made in breach of our terms, for example where the licence has been resold, shared or used in a way the publisher’s licence agreement prohibits.

7. How to make a claim

You do not need to complete a form or create an account to make a claim. Email [email protected], or use the form on our Contact Us page, and include:

• your order number and the email address used to place the order;
• the product name the claim relates to;
• a short description of what went wrong;
• where activation failed, a screenshot or the exact error message and error code shown by the publisher — this is usually enough for us to identify the cause immediately;
• whether you would prefer a replacement or a refund.

You may also use the model cancellation wording in our Terms of Sale, but any clear statement of your decision is sufficient.

8. How we assess a claim

If a claim is declined we will explain the reason clearly and tell you what evidence would change the outcome. You can ask for the decision to be reviewed by a manager at any time at no cost — see section 13.

9. Refund method and timescales

• Refunds are always made to the original payment method used for the order. We cannot refund to a different card, account or person.
• Refunds are issued without undue delay and no later than 14 days after we accept your claim or receive your valid cancellation.
• In practice most refunds are submitted within one working day; how quickly the money appears then depends on your bank or payment provider, typically 3 to 5 working days and occasionally up to 10 for some card issuers.
• You will not be charged any fee for a refund, and we do not deduct payment processing costs from the amount returned to you.
• Where an order was paid partly with a discount code, gift credit or store credit, that portion is returned as the same type of credit.
• If your currency was converted by your own bank at the time of purchase, the refunded sterling amount may convert back to a slightly different figure. That difference is set by your bank’s exchange rate and is outside our control.

10. Subscription products

Some products are sold as recurring subscriptions. For these:

• You can cancel at any time from My Account → Subscriptions, or by emailing us. Cancellation stops all future renewal payments.
• Cancelling takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for. You keep access until then.
• Renewal payments that have already been taken are not refundable once the new licence term or key for that period has been issued, except where sections 4 or 5 apply.
• If a renewal is taken in error, or you cancelled before the renewal date and were still charged, contact us and we will refund that payment in full.

11. Chargebacks and payment disputes

If you believe something has gone wrong with your order, please contact us before raising a chargeback with your bank or payment provider. We resolve the vast majority of issues within a working day, and doing so directly is faster for you than a chargeback, which can take several weeks.

Where a chargeback is raised in respect of a licence key that was delivered and successfully activated, we will provide the payment provider with the delivery record, activation evidence and our correspondence with you. We reserve the right to suspend accounts associated with chargebacks that are found to be unwarranted.

12. Your statutory rights

Nothing in this policy limits or excludes your rights under UK consumer law, and no part of it should be read as attempting to do so.

Under the Consumer Rights Act 2015, digital content we supply to you must be of satisfactory quality, fit for any purpose you made known to us, and as described. If it is not, you are entitled to ask us to repair or replace it and, where that is not possible or not done within a reasonable time, to a price reduction or a refund. If our digital content damages a device or other digital content belonging to you, and we have not exercised reasonable care and skill, you may be entitled to a repair or to compensation.

Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you have the cancellation rights described in sections 2 and 3 above.

For free, impartial advice about your consumer rights, contact Citizens Advice consumer service on 0808 223 1133 or visit citizensadvice.org.uk/consumer.

13. Complaints

If you are unhappy with how a claim has been handled, email [email protected] with “Complaint” in the subject line and your order number. Complaints are acknowledged within 2 working days and we aim to give a final written response within 14 days. If you remain dissatisfied you keep the right to take the matter to court in the ordinary way; nothing in this policy requires you to give up that right.

14. Changes to this policy

We may update this policy to reflect changes in the law, in our products or in how we operate. The version that applies to your order is the version published on this page at the moment you placed it, and we keep a record of it. Material changes will be announced on this page with a revised effective date. Changes will never reduce the rights attaching to an order you have already placed.

15. How to contact us

Our support team answers emails seven days a week and will always confirm receipt of a refund or cancellation request in writing.