Terrahash, one of several ASIC mining rig builders, has changed its refund policy. The company’s FAQ has recently been updated to say that all orders are final. It does, however, say that customers can request a refund prior to shipping, and such requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis.

Terrahash is selling mining rigs based on Avalon ASICs, which puts it at the mercy of the Avalon supply chain. Unfortunately, claims were made against Avalon that it was mining with customer ASICs.

Terrahash has already changed its shipping policy. The company originally announced its DX Large model, stating that it would not take payment until it was ready to ship product. However, in June it changed that policy by accepting pre-orders.

According to a CoinDesk reader, he/she has been refused a refund in the following email:

All the products are made on order. We are unable to process your refund at this time, as we have already invested your money into sourcing the components and other equipment. Your products would [sic] be delivered within the promised time-frame.

However, Terrahash’s FAQ page states:

Q. Do you issue refunds? A. (Updated) All orders are final. However, you can request a refund before your order is shipped. We will process each refund request on a case-by-case basis.

The American Federal Trade Comission states the following advice to merchants:

You must cancel an order and provide a prompt refund when: the customer exercises any option to cancel before you ship the merchandise;

the customer does not respond to your first notice of a definite revised shipment date of 30 days or less and you have not shipped the merchandise or received the customer’s consent to a further delay by the definite revised shipment date;

the customer does not respond to your notice of a definite revised shipment date of more than 30 days (or your notice that you are unable to provide a definite revised shipment date) and you have not shipped the merchandise within 30 days of the original shipment date;

the customer consents to a definite delay and you have not shipped or obtained the customer’s consent to any additional delay by the shipment time the customer consented to;

you have not shipped or provided the required delay or renewed option notices on time; or

you determine that you will never be able to ship the merchandise.

This is not unusual in the ASIC mining market. Butterfly Labs has also fallen short on shipping dates and specifications. As an alternative to refunds, a user of the bitcoin forum has taken to selling his/her pre-order for Terrahash mining rigs. The seller in question must have attempted to get a refund given the following information in the seller’s FAQ.

Can I get a refund after buying? What if TerraHash issues a refund?

All sales are final. If TerraHash refunds all or any part of an order, I will pass through the amount of the refund to the buyer. The remaining portion of the price will be considered earned as a service fee for reserving the pre-order.

If you have tried to get a refund from Terrahash, successfully or not, let us know in the comments.