No-Burn Guarantee: Failed AI Videos Refund Credits
September 24, 2026 · 6 min read · The SceneGen Team
Summary
If a SceneGen video fails for good, the credits it was charged come back automatically, once. What's covered, what isn't, and how the refund works.
Few things annoy creators more than paying for a render that never arrives. Many AI video tools take credits up front and keep them when a generation fails. SceneGen's no-burn guarantee is the opposite: a video that fails for good gives back everything it was charged, automatically. This post explains exactly what that covers.
The short version
- A video that fails for good refunds the credits it was charged. No support ticket needed.
- Each charge can be refunded once. Double failures and retries can't refund it twice, and they can't charge you twice either.
- On the Free plan, a failed video hands its video slot back.
- On Lite, a failed video gives its reserved monthly minutes back.
- Studio actions (rerolling a scene, music, captions, voices, thumbnails, ReelForge clips, renders) cost 0 credits, so there's nothing to lose there.
When exactly is a video "failed for good"?
SceneGen retries automatically before it gives up. The generation pipeline has its own retries, and the render has a ladder: retry, retry again, then a safe-mode render. The credits for a video are charged once, up front, when the pipeline starts. They're carried through every hand-over and retry and never charged again. Then one of two things happens:
- The pipeline fails after its automatic retries are used up. You get a refund.
- The pipeline finishes, but the render fails at every rung of the ladder, and the project has no other finished video. You get a refund.
The refund is tied to the specific charge it gives back and written under a lock. However many copies of a failing run there are, the credits come back exactly once.
What isn't a failure
Two situations are deliberately not refunded:
- Deleting a project while it's being made. You stopped it, and the work up to that point was done.
- A variant render failing when the project already has a finished video. You still have your video.
If a refunded video later succeeds
You can resume or re-render a refunded project, and if it succeeds you're charged again, once. Resume charges like a normal run. A render on a refunded project is charged when it completes, and SceneGen refuses up front if your balance can't cover it. So you never pay for a failure, and you pay once for a success.
Free and Lite follow the same rule
Free is a trial of two complete videos, counted when you create them. A video that fails without ever producing a finished render gives its slot back. Reviving it later takes a slot again, through the same check as a new video. A failure hands your slot back, but it can't be turned into an extra free video.
Lite includes 60 minutes of video a month on the free engines. Minutes are reserved when a video starts, trued up to the real length on delivery, and returned once if the video fails without a finished render. More in the Lite plan explained.
Refusing unaffordable videos before they queue
The best refund is one you never need. When you create a video, SceneGen estimates its cost with the same model it charges with. If your balance can't cover it, it refuses before anything is queued and offers options that fit, like a shorter length or pasting your own script. Series Autopilot does the same check before each episode and pauses the series instead of failing (how autopilot works).
How to check a refund
- Open the project. A failed video shows a plain-English reason, never a raw error.
- The refund shows on the project and in your credit history on Usage.
- Press Resume when you're ready. It's charged only once, and the balance check runs first.
Premium providers
A few premium actions call outside providers and charge per call, like ElevenLabs sound effects and dubbing. Those refund automatically when the provider fails or the result can't be stored.
What this guarantee doesn't change
The no-burn guarantee is about failed generations. Refunds of purchases, like credit packs and subscriptions, are covered by our refund policy. For the plans themselves, see pricing.
Why this matters when you compare AI video tools
When you compare AI video generators, look past the price per credit and ask what happens when a render fails. A tool that keeps your credits on every failure costs more than its price list says, and you can't know by how much. With a no-burn rule, the price you see is the price of the videos you actually get. It also changes how you work: you can try a longer video, a new style or a bigger topic without worrying about losing credits to a failed run.
Try it without risk
The Free plan includes two complete videos, and a failure gives the slot back. Start free, or read what an AI video generator actually does.
Frequently asked questions
Do I lose credits if my AI video fails?
No. If a SceneGen video fails for good, after its automatic retries and the render's retry ladder, the credits it was charged are refunded automatically, once.
Do rerolls, thumbnails or clips cost credits?
No. Studio actions such as scene rerolls, music, captions, voices, thumbnails, ReelForge clips and renders cost 0 credits.
What happens on the Free plan?
A Free video that fails without producing a finished render gives its slot back. Reviving it later takes a slot again, like a new video.
Is this the same as the refund policy for purchases?
No. The no-burn guarantee covers failed videos. Refunds of credit packs and subscriptions follow the refund policy.