Chargeback Policy

1. Acceptance and Acknowledgment

By submitting a reservation request, confirming a reservation, submitting a payment method, receiving service, accessing service, or using the BlackVale website (collectively, the "Transaction"), you affirmatively agree to this Chargeback Policy, the BlackVale Terms of Use, the BlackVale Privacy Policy, all cancellation and refund rules set out in the Terms of Use, all payment authorization representations in this policy, and the dispute resolution procedure described below. This Chargeback Policy is incorporated by reference into the Terms of Use and forms part of a binding agreement between you and BlackVale Protective Services ("BlackVale," "we," "us," "our").

You acknowledge that this is an electronic contract and that your reservation, payment submission, or acceptance of service constitutes your electronic signature and consent to the entire BlackVale legal framework, including this Chargeback Policy. You should not reserve, pay for, or accept service if you do not agree to these terms.

2. Definitions

"Chargeback" means any dispute, reversal, recall, return, claim, or inquiry initiated by you or by any other party against a payment made to BlackVale, through any card network, bank, processor, ACH operator, or other financial institution, on any basis including but not limited to fraud, unauthorized use, services not received, services not as described, cancelled service, duplicate charge, credit not processed, or any Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, or other network dispute reason code.

"Service" means the armed protection, executive transport, security escort, residential coverage, event coverage, and related concierge services BlackVale provides as described in the Terms of Use.

"Reservation" means any request, confirmation, schedule, or booking arrangement made through the BlackVale website, by phone, by email, or through any authorized concierge channel.

3. Authorized Cardholder Representation

By submitting any payment method (credit card, debit card, ACH, wire transfer instruction, or any other instrument) to BlackVale, you represent and warrant, under penalty of perjury and as a material inducement to BlackVale's acceptance of your reservation, all of the following:

• You are the authorized cardholder, account holder, or you are an authorized agent of the authorized cardholder or account holder with full authority to bind them.
• You have full legal authority to charge the payment method for the full reservation amount, including any additional hours, gratuities you elect to add, and any other amounts properly billed under the Terms of Use.
• The payment method has not been reported lost or stolen, is not subject to any freeze, hold, or restriction that would affect this Transaction, and is in good standing with the issuing institution.
• All information you provide regarding the cardholder, billing address, phone number, and identity is accurate, complete, and current.
• If you are not the cardholder, you confirm that the cardholder has been informed of the Transaction in advance, has consented to it, and has been provided with this Chargeback Policy and the Terms of Use.

If any of these representations is later determined to be untrue, BlackVale may treat the Transaction as fraudulent, cancel pending or confirmed Reservations without refund, pursue the remedies set out below, and report the conduct as described in Section 14.

4. Payment Terms (Summary)

Pricing is fixed and non-negotiable: $1,200 for a Half Day Detail (up to six hours), $2,000 for a Full Day Detail (up to twelve hours), and $300 per additional hour. Payment is invoiced via secure link prior to service and is due in advance of the reservation start time stated on the invoice. Accepted payment methods are credit card, debit card, ACH, and wire transfer. All payments are processed in U.S. dollars through our third party payment processor. Cash is not accepted on the day of service. Full payment terms are set out in Section 4 of the Terms of Use.

BlackVale may, at its discretion, authorize a hold on your payment method, process the full charge on confirmation, or split the charge into a deposit and balance arrangement. You authorize BlackVale and its processor to take any reasonable action to verify the payment method, including but not limited to authorization holds, address verification, card verification value checks, and identity verification.

5. Refund and Cancellation Rules (Summary)

The following cancellation policy applies to any confirmed Reservation:

• Forty-eight (48) or more hours before the scheduled start time: full refund or service credit, at your election.
• Inside forty-eight (48) hours but more than twenty-four (24) hours before the scheduled start: fifty percent (50%) of the reserved amount is forfeited and is non-refundable.
• Inside twenty-four (24) hours of the scheduled start, or for any no-show: the full reserved amount is forfeited and is non-refundable.

Any amount that is non-refundable under the cancellation tiers above is also ineligible for chargeback. A chargeback for an amount that has converted to non-refundable under this Section is itself a violation of this Chargeback Policy, will be defended in full, and may trigger the consequences described in Sections 10 through 13. Full refund and cancellation rules are set out in Section 5 of the Terms of Use.

6. The Chargeback Policy

BlackVale takes a firm and unapologetic position on chargebacks. Our service is a discreet, high touch, reserved by the day operation. Capacity is finite. Each confirmed Reservation removes an operative and a vehicle from availability for other clients during the reserved window. We do not run a refund desk and we do not tolerate the use of card network dispute systems as a substitute for talking to us.

You agree, as a material term of every Transaction, that you will not initiate a chargeback against any payment made to BlackVale until you have first complied in full with the Pre-Dispute Resolution Requirement set out in Section 7. You further agree that any chargeback you initiate without first satisfying Section 7, or any chargeback you initiate for an amount that is non-refundable under Section 5, is presumed improper under this Policy. Improper chargebacks subject you to all remedies described in Sections 10 through 13.

7. Pre-Dispute Resolution Requirement

Before initiating a chargeback, dispute, recall, or reversal of any kind against BlackVale with your bank, card issuer, or payment processor, you must:

1. Contact BlackVale concierge by telephone at (818) 454-0052 or by email at service@blackvale.net;
2. Describe the billing issue, identify the specific charge or invoice, and provide your reservation reference number or the cardholder name and date of service;
3. Allow BlackVale a reasonable opportunity, in no event less than ten (10) business days from your first written notice, to investigate and respond; and
4. Cooperate in good faith with BlackVale's investigation, including providing any documentation reasonably requested.

BlackVale concierge is staffed twenty four hours a day, seven days a week. The vast majority of billing concerns are resolved in a single call. Skipping this step and going directly to your card issuer is, by your agreement to this Policy, a breach of contract.

8. Disputes BlackVale Will Vigorously Defend

BlackVale will represent each of the following as services rendered and will submit evidence to defend the charge in full:

• Service that was reserved, confirmed by concierge, and either rendered or made available by the operative on the scheduled date and time, regardless of whether you chose to use the full reserved window;
• Service that was cancelled by you inside the cancellation window described in Section 5;
• Service that became a no-show for any reason, including but not limited to failure of the cardholder or principal to appear at the scheduled pickup location at the scheduled time, refusal to accept service from the assigned operative, or a change of plans not communicated to BlackVale before the start time;
• Service that was rendered but is alleged after the fact to have been "not as described," where the description on the invoice, the website, or the Terms of Use accurately reflects what was delivered;
• Charges that include additional hours, additional operatives, or other authorized add ons that were documented in real time during the engagement and confirmed by the cardholder, the principal, or any agent of the cardholder present at the service;
• Any charge for which the cardholder, after the fact, alleges they did not authorize the Transaction, where BlackVale holds confirmation records demonstrating that the cardholder, or a person reasonably appearing to be an authorized agent of the cardholder, requested and confirmed the Reservation.

9. Evidence Submitted to Your Issuer

If a chargeback is initiated, BlackVale will, in compliance with applicable card network rules, submit to your card issuer and to its payment processor any and all of the following evidence as it deems relevant:

• This Chargeback Policy, the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy, and the date and timestamp of your acceptance of each;
• The full Reservation record, including the request, confirmation, scheduled date and time, pickup location, destination, principal name, special requests, and concierge correspondence;
• The invoice, the payment processor authorization record, the AVS (Address Verification System) result, the CVV (Card Verification Value) match result, and the IP address from which the Reservation and any payment instruction were submitted;
• Concierge call logs, email correspondence, SMS correspondence, and any other communication between you, the cardholder, the principal, and BlackVale regarding the Reservation;
• Operative deployment records, including time of dispatch, time of arrival at the pickup location, time of service start, time of service end, route and stop log, and any photographs, GPS data, or signed acknowledgments the operative collected during the engagement;
• Records establishing the cancellation tier that applies under Section 5 and the corresponding non-refundable amount;
• Evidence of your acceptance of this Chargeback Policy at the time of the Transaction, including the clickwrap acknowledgment on the reservation page and the timestamp of submission;
• Any other documentation reasonably relevant to demonstrating that the charge was authorized, that the service was rendered or made available, and that the dispute is without merit.

10. Consequences of an Improper or Fraudulent Chargeback

If you initiate a chargeback in breach of this Policy (including any chargeback initiated without first satisfying Section 7, any chargeback for an amount that is non-refundable under Section 5, or any chargeback later determined by BlackVale to be without merit), BlackVale may, at its discretion and without further notice to you, do any or all of the following:

• Cancel any pending or confirmed Reservation associated with your name, the cardholder, or the principal;
• Forfeit any deposit, prepayment, or service credit on the cardholder's or principal's account;
• Decline to accept any future Reservation from you, the cardholder, the principal, or any agent acting on their behalf;
• Suspend, restrict, or terminate any account, profile, or concierge relationship;
• Submit evidence to your card issuer, processor, and any card network to seek reversal of the chargeback and reinstatement of the original charge, including the chargeback fee;
• Recover the amounts set out in Section 11 as liquidated damages;
• Refer the matter for collection as set out in Section 12; and
• Pursue any other remedy available under applicable law, in equity, or under this Policy.

11. Liquidated Damages and Recovery of Fees

You agree that quantifying the actual damages BlackVale incurs from an improper chargeback (administrative time, concierge time, payment processor chargeback fees, lost capacity, lost goodwill, evidence preparation, and dispute submission) is difficult and that the amounts set out below are a reasonable estimate of those damages and not a penalty. You agree to pay BlackVale, as liquidated damages and not as a penalty, the following amounts upon the issuance of any chargeback determined under this Policy to be improper:

• The full disputed amount of the original charge, restored;
• All chargeback fees, processor fees, and bank fees imposed on BlackVale in connection with the chargeback (typically twenty-five U.S. dollars per chargeback but determined by the processor and network in effect at the time);
• An administrative fee of one hundred fifty U.S. dollars ($150) per chargeback to cover concierge and dispute response time; and
• Reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred by BlackVale in collecting these amounts, recovering on the disputed charge, or defending against the underlying dispute.

These amounts are due and payable on demand and may be billed to any payment method on file or referred for collection as described in Section 12.

12. Collections, Reporting, and Recovery

Amounts that remain unpaid thirty (30) days after demand may be referred by BlackVale, at its discretion, to a licensed collection agency or to legal counsel for recovery. You agree to reimburse BlackVale for all reasonable collection costs, court costs, and attorneys' fees BlackVale incurs in pursuing those amounts. BlackVale may report unpaid amounts to consumer credit reporting agencies and to industry merchant dispute databases to the extent permitted by applicable law.

13. Service Termination and Forfeiture

BlackVale reserves the absolute right to refuse, cancel, or terminate Service to any cardholder, principal, or party who has initiated a chargeback against BlackVale, regardless of the outcome of that chargeback. Forfeiture of deposits, prepayments, and credits under this Section is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other remedy available to BlackVale.

14. Reporting Obligations and Disclosures

BlackVale may, consistent with applicable law, disclose information regarding a Reservation, payment, or chargeback to any of the following on a need to know basis: (a) the payment processor, acquiring bank, issuing bank, and card network responsible for the Transaction; (b) law enforcement authorities investigating suspected payment fraud, identity theft, or related criminal conduct; (c) collection agencies, credit reporting agencies, and merchant dispute databases, to the extent permitted by law; (d) BlackVale's counsel, accountants, insurers, and other professional advisors; and (e) any court or arbitration tribunal in which a dispute arising out of the Transaction is pending. Use of personal information remains governed by the Privacy Policy.

15. No Waiver; Cumulative Remedies

BlackVale's decision not to pursue a particular remedy in a particular instance is not a waiver of that remedy in any other instance. All remedies under this Policy, the Terms of Use, and applicable law are cumulative and may be exercised concurrently.

16. Binding Arbitration; Class-Action Waiver

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Chargeback Policy, the underlying Transaction, or BlackVale's enforcement actions under this Policy is governed by the Binding Arbitration and Class-Action Waiver provisions set out in Section 15 of the Terms of Use. Those provisions are incorporated into this Policy by reference and apply with full force to any dispute arising under this Policy. You agree that any dispute will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by JAMS in Los Angeles County, California, and you waive any right to participate in a class, collective, or representative proceeding.

17. Governing Law and Venue

This Chargeback Policy is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict of laws principles. Subject to the arbitration provisions in Section 16, the exclusive venue for any judicial proceeding (including small claims court actions and actions for injunctive relief that fall outside arbitration) is the state and federal courts located in Los Angeles County, California, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

18. Severability and Survival

If any provision of this Chargeback Policy is held invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court or arbitrator of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be severed and the remainder of the Policy shall remain in full force and effect. The obligations in Sections 1, 3, 5, 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, 13, 16, 17, and 18 survive any termination of service, cancellation of any Reservation, expiration or rejection of any chargeback, and any change to this Policy.

19. Changes to This Policy

BlackVale may update this Chargeback Policy from time to time. The version posted on this page at blackvale.net/chargeback-policy/ on the date of any Transaction is the version that governs that Transaction. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision. Continued use of the site or services after a revision constitutes acceptance of the revised Policy with respect to future Transactions.

20. Contact for Billing and Disputes

All billing questions, payment concerns, refund requests, and pre-dispute notices must be directed to:

BlackVale Protective Services
Attn: Concierge / Billing
Phone: (818) 454-0052 (24/7)
Email: service@blackvale.net
California PPO License 120554

This Chargeback Policy is provided for information and constitutes part of the binding contract between you and BlackVale. It is not legal advice to you. If you have specific questions about your rights or obligations, consult independent counsel.