Terms And Conditions

Introduction

Tshovelo™ strives to offer all its customers a reliable and excellent level of service. If you have any queries we would like to hear from you. Please see the “Contact Us” section on our web site for contact details.

This Legal Terms of Agreement (this “Agreement”) is between Tshovelo™, a South African Web Hosting provider, and the person (individual or legal person) who signs (electronically) Tshovelo™’s service order and set up form (the “Order”) incorporating this Agreement by reference (“Customer”). This Agreement governs Customer’s use of Tshovelo™’s services.

This Terms of Service, together with our Acceptable Use Policy and Legal Policies, constitute the whole act of convention between You – the Customer, and Tshovelo™. Tshovelo™ shall provide its Services to You under the Terms and Conditions explicated in this Service Agreement. The Agreement is intended to clarify all aspects, rules and provisions of the business relationship between You – the Customer, and Tshovelo™. It is also intended to keep the integrity of this relationship and protect both parties from liability. This Service Agreement will be enforced, if/when necessary, in order to be guaranteed the speed, power, performance, and reliability of our services.

Definitions

In these conditions, unless the context requires otherwise, the following words shall have the following meanings:

  • “CIS”      means the customer information sheet issued to you by Tshovelo™ from time to time and      which includes information on the Services including without limit      Keywords, bandwidth and scope of services
  • Customer”      or “you” means the person (individual or legal person) who signs      (electronically) Tshovelo™’s service order and set up form (the      “Order”)
  • Conditions”      means the standard terms and conditions of sale set out herein;
  • “Contract”      means any contract for the provision of the Services;
  • “IPRs”      means any and all intellectual property rights including without limit any      and all patents, design rights, database rights, copyright, know-how,      moral rights, trade secrets, confidential information, trade marks,      service marks, trade names and goodwill;
  • Keywords”      means those words notified to you by Tshovelo™ which control your access      to some of the Services including without limit your password and      username;
  • Netiquette”      means generally accepted standards for use of the Internet such as but not      limited to sending bulk unsolicited e-mail, mail bombing, misrepresenting      that you have third party authorisation and impersonating another person;
  • Server”      means the computer servers used to provide the Service;
  • “Services”      means any services supplied or to be supplied by Tshovelo™ (which may include without      limit E-mail Forwarding, E-mail, POP accounts, e-commerce, Web Site      Hosting, FTP access, Domain Name Registration) as described in the quote      or acknowledgement of order issued by Tshovelo™ or as may be agreed from      time to time; and
  • “Site”      means the Internet web site at www.Tshovelo.co.za
  • “Tshovelo™” or “we”      means Tshovelo™ Business Solutions (Pty) Ltd;

1. Services

Subject to the terms of this Agreement, and contingent on Customer’s satisfaction of Tshovelo™’s credit approval requirements, Tshovelo™ agrees to provide the services described in the Order for the fees applicable to the service.

The Services shall be as described in the Site and such other material as Tshovelo™ provides to you from time to time such as without limit the CIS. We reserve the right at any time and from time to time to amend, improve, correct, discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Services (or any part thereof) with or without notice and you agree that Tshovelo™ shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance. We will restore the Service as soon as reasonably practicable after temporary suspension.

When you apply for a service or product with Tshovelo™, we may require you to provide us with a certified copy of your identity document, proof of residential and/or business address and proof of income (a copy of your payslip or bank statements) in order to activate your services. In the event of a juristic person, you will provide us with the same information as above for your authorised representative, together with proof of address for the juristic person, registration documents and a company resolution authorising the application and the company’s representative’s capacity to enter into the Agreement.

You have read and agreed to the policies outlined in the Legal Notices, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

2. Service Activation

For newly signed up clients – the services are activated immediately after our Sales Department have completed the order verification and once payment has been received. Our company’s policy is to strictly scrutinize each new order and verify the payment details of each new customer in an effort to combat internet fraud.

During the order verification process our Sales Department may require you to provide them with a certified copy of your identity document, proof of residential and/or business address and proof of income. Your order may also be subject to a credit referencing or risk assessment process (See below section 4. National Credit Advisor).

For existing customers – the services for existing customers, including upgrade services and renewals, are activated immediately after our Billing Department receives the according service payment.

3. Term

The initial service term of the Agreement shall begin on the date that Tshovelo™ receives and processes payment from the Customer and shall continue for the number of months stated in the Order (the “Initial Term”). Upon expiration of the Initial Term, this Agreement shall automatically renew for the same length as the Initial Term (each a “Renewal Term”) unless Tshovelo™ or the Customer provides the other party with written notice of non-renewal at least thirty (30) days prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or then-current Renewal Term, as applicable. The Initial Term and any Renewal Term may be referred to collectively in this Agreement as the “Term”.

4. National Credit Advisor

Your application for a service or product may be subject to a credit referencing or risk assessment process. This means that Tshovelo™ may request and receive your Confidential Information, Consumer Credit Information and Prescribed Information (as defined in the NCA) (“Assessment Information”) from registered credit bureaus in order to perform a financial means test to determine whether you will be in a position to meet your obligations under the intended agreement.

Tshovelo™ is entitled to perform this financial means test each time you apply for a service or product. In this regard you consent to Tshovelo™ requesting, receiving and reporting your Assessment Information from and to registered credit bureaus in accordance with the provisions and for the purposes of the NCA; and the sharing of such Information by registered credit bureaus and such other persons as contemplated in the NCA, for the prescribed purposes of the NCA.

5. Fraud Protection

Tshovelo™ reserves the right to use fraud protection measures for the activation of your services. The Customer must pass the fraud protection screening to register for any service with us. The fraud screening is NOT an automated process, it could therefore take approximately 15 minutes to 4 hours to complete this process and before your services are activated with us.

If you the Customer fail the fraud screening process, DO NOT submit your request again as this bans your IP address from our servers.

If it is found that you are fraudulent in registering for services and/or domain names, we will inform and proceed with prosecution with law enforcement agencies. We will also provide the information you submitted to us to the fraud databases used by web hosting and domain registration companies, including the IP address that you used to submit such request and notify your ISP of such actions.

6. Payments

1. Fees
Fees are payable in advance on the first day of each billing cycle. Customer’s billing cycle shall be monthly, every 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months or every 36 months as indicated on the Order, beginning on the Service Commencement Date. Tshovelo™ may require payment for the first billing cycle + pro-rata before beginning service. IF the Order provides for credit/debit card billing, the Customer authorizes Tshovelo™ to bill subsequent fees to the credit/debit card (through a Debit Order Instruction Form) on or after the first day of each successive billing cycle during the Term of this Agreement; otherwise Tshovelo™ will invoice Customer via electronic mail to the Primary Customer Contact listed on the Order. Invoiced fees may be issued on or 30 days prior to the due date of each billing cycle, and the fees shall be due on the due date.

Payments must be made in South African Rands. The Customer is responsible for providing Tshovelo™ with changes to billing information (change in billing address). It is of the essence of the Contract that all amounts due by the Customer under the Contract are paid on time. You shall be responsible for any and all expenses incurred by Tshovelo™ in recovering overdue amounts. Tshovelo™ may charge interest on overdue amounts at a rate of 3% per month until the outstanding balance is paid in full. Tshovelo™ may suspend the service without notice if payment for the service is overdue. Fees not disputed within thirty (30) days of due date are conclusively deemed accurate. The Customer agrees to pay Tshovelo™’s reasonable reinstatement fee following a suspension of service for non-payment, and to pay Tshovelo™’s reasonable costs of collection of overdue amounts, including collection agency fees, attorney fees and court costs.

Payment shall only be deemed received by Tshovelo™ upon receipt of cleared funds. Payment shall be made in full without any abatement, set off or deduction on any services.

Where the Services include or consist of registration of domain name services, Tshovelo™ shall be entitled to raise an invoice for payment by the Customer and for the hosting of that domain name specifying the date by which payment by the Customer must be made. Failure for any reason by the Customer to make payment before the specified date will entitle Tshovelo™ to release the Customer’s domain name without any liability or loss suffered by the Customer howsoever arising.

All account enquiries must be done via email or alternatively via a support ticket. Enquires via Fax, Registered Post or Telephone will not be accepted. No account queries will be entertained once the service has been cancelled.

2. Payment via Debit Order and Credit Card

The Customer agrees that submission of bank account information to Tshovelo™ constitutes authorisation by the Customer for Tshovelo™ to debit the specified bank account for all fees owed by the Customer to Tshovelo™.

All debit orders normally run on the 1st working day of each month. Tshovelo™’s debit order system closes on the 25th of each month and all account changes should reach us before the 23rd of each month. Any changes received after this will only be applied the following month.

The Customer is responsible for all bank fees, penalties or levies that are as a result of the use of a debit order. This includes any fees the bank may charge the Customer as a result of the Customer having insufficient funds at the time the debit order is presented.

Tshovelo™ normally runs one monthly debit order per domain name. Debit orders that were combined into a single debit upon The Customer’s request will be “uncombined” upon the combined debit being returned.

Tshovelo™ will charge an administration fee for all declined credit card transactions, all returned debit orders and all returned cheques irrelevant of the reason for the debit order or cheque being returned or the credit card being declined. The administration fee is currently R150, and is subject to change without notice. Customers’ with a combined debit order will incur an administration fee for each domain included in the combined debit. If an account holder charges back for services rendered, a R250 charge back fee will be added to the amount charged back by the customer.

3. Online Credit Card Gateway

[www.PayFast.co.za]
At the time of placing the order and payment, the transaction details are presented to the bank and an authorization is obtained for the amount of the order. Payment is only collected when the order is completed. PayFast establishes an SSL3 secure link with the browser and presents the next page which contains the Tshovelo™ logo and displays the reference number, description of the service and the amount provided by Tshovelo™. It also contains fields for the cardholder to enter the necessary card details.

No credit card details are stored on the website or in any database.

Credit card transactions will be processed through PayFast ’s secure payment gateway. For more information on PayFast please visit their website.

4. Fee Increases
Tshovelo™ may increase its fees for services from time to time with or without prior notice, should market trends or the exchange rates change. This price increase will be effective on the first day of a Renewal Term and if the Customer does not give a notice of non-renewal as provided in Section 2 above, the Customer shall be deemed to have accepted the new fee for that Renewal Term and any subsequent Renewal Terms (unless the fees are increased in the same manner for a subsequent Renewal Term).

5. VAT
All prices advertised on the Site includes VAT of 14%. Where the Customer resides outside of the Republic of South Africa the VAT on all sales will be charged at 0%.

6. Early Termination
The Customer acknowledges that the amount of the fee for the service is based on the Customer’s agreement to pay the fee for the entire Initial Term, or Renewal Term, as applicable. In the event Tshovelo™ terminates the Agreement due to the Customer’s breach of the Agreement in accordance with Section 9 (Termination), or the Customer terminates the service other than in accordance with Section 9 (Termination), the unpaid fees for each billing cycle remaining in the Initial Term or then-current Renewal Term, as applicable, are due on the business day of termination of the Agreement.

7. Coupons
Discounts and coupon codes are generally reserved for first-time accounts *or first-time customers* only and may not be used towards the purchase of a domain registration unless otherwise specified. If you have signed up using a particular domain, you may not resign up for that domain using another coupon at a later date. Any account found in violation of these policies will be reviewed by our sales department and the appropriate invoices will be added to the account. Coupon abuse will not be tolerated and may result in the suspension or termination of the account. Coupons or discounts are only valid towards the initial purchase agreement.

7. Law / Acceptable Usage Policy

The Customer agrees to use the service in compliance with applicable law and Tshovelo™’s Acceptable Use Policy posted at www.tshovelo.co.za (the “AUP”), which is hereby incorporated by reference in this Agreement. The Customer agrees that Tshovelo™ may, in its reasonable commercial judgment consistent with industry standards, amend the AUP from time to time to further detail or describe reasonable restrictions and conditions on the Customer’s use of the Services. Amendments to the AUP are effective on the earlier of Tshovelo™’s notice to the Customer that an amendment has been made, or the first day of any Renewal Term that begins subsequent to the amendment. The Customer agrees to cooperate with Tshovelo™’s reasonable investigation of any suspected violation of the AUP. In the event of a dispute between Tshovelo™ and the Customer regarding the interpretation of the AUP, Tshovelo™’s commercially reasonable interpretation of the AUP shall govern.

8. Customer Information

The Customer represents and warrants to Tshovelo™ that the information he or she has provided and will provide to Tshovelo™ for purposes of establishing and maintaining the service is accurate. If the Customer is an individual, the Customer represents and warrants to Tshovelo™ that he or she is at least 18 years of age. If the Customer is not at least 18 years of age, a parent or guardian’s name must be put on the account and will be responsible for payment and Web Site content. If a minor (a person under the age of 18) obtains an account through Tshovelo™ without parental approval, this agreement becomes void. Tshovelo™ may rely on the instructions of the person listed as the Primary Customer Contact on the Order with regard to the Customer’s account until the Customer has provided a written notice changing the Primary Customer Contact.

Where appropriate, you the customer agree to provide such information about yourself as prompted by the Service’s registration form and ensure that it is at all times true, current, accurate and complete. If it is not or we reasonably suspect it is not true, current, accurate and complete, we shall be entitled to terminate the Contract or suspend the Services until such time as we determine.

The Customer is responsible for insuring that his or her contact information always remains up-to-date with us. This information, especially the e-mail address, is used to inform you of issues, abuse claims, and other services regarding your account. Failure to keep this information up-to-date can result in your account being suspended or deleted.

We cannot be held responsible for loss of service due to lack of communication involving outdated or invalid contact information. It is your responsibility to ensure that the information we have on file for your account is current.

You can always update your contact information in the client area.

It is your responsibility to provide us with an email address which is not @ the domain(s) you are signing up under. If there is ever an abuse issue or we need to contact you, the primary email address on file will be used for this purpose. It is your responsibility to ensure the email address on file is current or up to date at all times.

If you have a domain name registered with Tshovelo™, it is your responsibility to ensure that the contact information for your domain account and your actual domain name(s) is correct and up-to-date. Tshovelo™ is not responsible for a lapsed registration due to outdated contact information being associated with the domain. If you need to verify or change this information, you should contact our sales team via email.

Providing false contact information of any kind may result in the termination of your account. In dedicated server purchases or high risk transactions, it will be necessary to provide government issued identification and possibly a scan of the credit card used for the purchase. If you fail to meet these requirements, the order may be considered fraudulent in nature and be denied.

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

9. Customer Status

1. The Customer may be an incorporated entity (such as a company or close corporation), trust, partnership, or individual.

2. If a person enters into the Agreement:

  • – in      a representative capacity on behalf of a Customer who is an incorporated      entity;
  • – on      behalf of an unincorporated entity; or
  • – in      any other representative capacity recognised in South African law,

The person warrants that:

– They are legally authorised to do so and indemnifies Tshovelo™ against any loss or damage that we may sustain resulting from the person’s lack of authority; and
– all the information supplied to Tshovelo™ at any time relating to the entity, trust, partnership, association or other person who they represent is true, accurate, and complete.

3. We reserve the right to treat all misrepresentations by you or the person representing you as fraud and the person indemnifies us against any loss or damage that we may sustain resulting from the person’s lack of authority.

4. If we discover that you have fraudulently contracted to receive Services or that your representative has contracted without contractual capacity to do so, we may end the Agreement, Terms of Service and Contract immediately without any further notice to you and you may not claim any restitution or refund of any amount you have already paid, regardless of whether you have used the Services or not.

5. When requested, you must give us sufficient proof of the authority of the person who takes any action or executes documents on your behalf for this Agreement. This includes providing proof that the authorised signatory of your bank account has permission to debit your account.

6. If there is a dispute between individuals or entities you are involved with (including partners, shareholders, trustees, employees), we may act on the representation of a person claiming to be duly authorised to represent you, without having to independently verify the authority.

7. You indemnify us from any action or inaction based on the representation in 9.6. If however we ask you to give Tshovelo™ independent verification of the authority of any individual, you must provide it to us in a format we find reasonably acceptable.

10. Indemnification

The Customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless Tshovelo™, Tshovelo™’s affiliates, and each of their respective officers, directors, agents, and employees from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities, obligations, losses, damages, penalties, fines, punitive damages, amounts in interest, expenses and disbursements of any kind and nature whatsoever (including reasonable attorneys fees) brought by a third party under any theory of legal liability arising out of or related to the actual or alleged use of the Customer’s services in violation of applicable law or the AUP by the Customer or any person using the Customer’s log-on information, regardless of whether such person has been authorized to use the services by the Customer.

1. The Customer further agrees to indemnify (hold us harmless) from any liability arising from civil or criminal proceedings instituted against us or for any loss or damage you or a third party have suffered because of any interruption or unavailability of the Services.

2. You indemnify us and hold us harmless against all losses you have suffered or actions against us as a result of: the use of the Services, or any downtime, outage, degradation of the network, interruption in or unavailability of the Services. Included within the range of downtime, outage, degradation of the network, interruption, or unavailability of the Services is any of the following:

  • –      software or hardware service, repairs, maintenance, upgrades,      modification, alterations, replacement or relocation of premises affecting      the Services,
  • –      non-performance or unavailability of any of the services given by an      electronic communications network or service provider, including, line      failure, or in any international services or remote mail Servers,
  • –      non-performance or unavailability of external communications networks to      which you or our network infrastructure is connected, and
  • –      repairs, maintenance, upgrades, modifications, alterations or replacement      of any hardware forming part of the Services, or any faults or defects in      the hardware.

3. If we are sued for something that you have indemnified us for, you will take our place in the law suit or be liable to pay us back for any costs, damages and expenses including attorneys’ fees on the attorney and own client scale (you will be liable to pay our attorney’s fees finally awarded against us by a court or agreed to in a written settlement agreement, provided that:

  • – we      notify you in writing as soon as we become aware of the indemnified claim      so you can take steps to contest it;
  • –      you may assume sole control of the defence of the claim or related      settlement negotiations; and
  • – we      will give you, at your expense, with the assistance, information, and      authority necessary to enable you to perform your obligations under this      clause.

4. You must pay us any amount due under clause 10.3 as soon as we demand payment. If you contest the amount, you must pay the amount into your attorney’s trust or give us security to cover the amount, until we have resolved the dispute.

5. You indemnify us against any loss or damage that Tshovelo™ may suffer because of your actions.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

TSHOVELO DOES NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR COMPLETELY SECURE. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW TSHOVELO DISCLAIMS ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT. TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ALL SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” BASIS.

12. Limitation of Damages

NEITHER PARTY SHALL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR ANY LOST PROFITS, OR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND, OR FOR DAMAGES THAT COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY THE USE OF REASONABLE DILIGENCE, ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THE AGREEMENT, EVEN IF THE PARTY HAS BEEN ADVISED OR SHOULD BE AWARE OF THE POSSIBILIY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING ELSE IN THE AGREEMENT TO THE CONTRARY, THE MAXIMUM AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF TSHOVELO AND ANY OF ITS EMPLOYEES, AGENTS OR AFFILIATES, UNDER ANY THEORY OF LAW (INCLUDING BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, AND INFRINGEMENT) SHALL BE A PAYMENT OF MONEY NOT TO EXCEED THE AMOUNT PAYABLE BY CUSTOMER FOR THREE MONTHS OF SERVICE.

13. Suspension/Termination

1. Suspension of Service
The Customer agrees that Tshovelo™ may suspend services to the Customer without notice and without liability if: (i) Tshovelo™ reasonably believes that the services are being used in violation of the AUP; (ii) the Customer fails to cooperate with any reasonable investigation of any suspected violation of the AUP; (iii) Tshovelo™ reasonably believes that the suspension of service is necessary to protect its network or its other customers, or (iv) as requested by a law enforcement or regulatory agency. The Customer shall pay Tshovelo™’s reasonable reinstatement fee if service is re-instituted following a suspension of service under this subsection.

2. Suspension/Termination of Service Due To Non Or Late Payment
All recurring service invoices (monthly, 3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 24 months and 36 months) are generated 30 days in advance prior to due date by our automated billing system. Failure to settle all amounts within 3 days of the due date may result in withholding of further Services and/or suspension of existing Services. Accounts which are delinquent will be placed on “administrative hold” or suspension and may not be used or accessed.

Any invoice that is outstanding for 8 days past due date and not paid will result in a R49.00 late fee. The late fee will be payable before the service is re-activated.

Any invoice that is outstanding for for twenty one (21) days past due date and not paid will will result in automatic account termination. The service associated with that invoice will be removed from our servers. All information such as but not limited to all web site files, all email accounts, emails and available backups of the entire hosting account will be removed from all Tshovelo™ servers. The customer is solely responsible for keeping backups and restoring such backups when/if the account is re-activated after payment has been received in full.

The Customer is still responsible for the monthly hosting fee while the site is suspended. Furthermore if the service has been terminated due to non-payment and the Customer wishes to reinstate this service the Customer is subject to a minimum of a six (6) months subscription and a reactivation fee of R149.

Tshovelo™ may temporarily deny service or terminate this Agreement upon the failure of the Customer to pay charges when they become due. Such termination or denial will not relieve the Customer of responsibility for the payment of all accrued charges, plus reasonable interest and any collection fees.

Accounts which are overdue for 90 days will incur a R250 penalty fee added to the balance previously due.

In the event of non-payment, you agree to Tshovelo™’s right to place a “non-payment” page on your domain. Furthermore you agree that DNS of your domain will remain unchanged until full payment for the outstanding balance on your account has been received by Tshovelo™.

Tshovelo™ may record and transmit details of how the Customer has performed to a Credit Bureau, and how the account is conducted by the Customer in meeting their obligations on the account.

Tshovelo™ will not be held responsible for any damages, losses or claims as a result of a site being suspended or terminated.

Un-suspensions may take one or more working days.

3. Termination
The Agreement may be terminated by the Customer prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term without further notice and without liability if Tshovelo™ fails in a material way to provide the service in accordance with the terms of the Agreement and does not cure the failure within ten (10) days of the Customer’s written notice describing the failure in reasonable detail. The Agreement may be terminated by Tshovelo™ prior to the expiration of the Initial Term or any Renewal Term without further notice and without liability as follows: (i) upon twenty one (21) days from due date if the Customer is overdue on the payment of any amount due under the Agreement; (ii) the Customer materially violates any other provision of the Agreement, including the AUP, and fails to cure the violation within twenty four (24) hours of a written notice from Tshovelo™ describing the violation in reasonable detail; (iii) upon one (1) days notice if the Customer’s Service is used in violation of a material term of the AUP more than once, or (iv) upon one (1) days notice if the Customer violates Section 8 (Customer Information) of this Agreement.

Immediately by either party if the other shall convene a meeting with its creditors or if a proposal shall be made for a voluntary arrangement within part 1 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or a proposal for any other composition scheme of arrangement with (or the assignment for the benefit of) its creditors or if the other shall be unable to pay its debts within the meaning of Section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or if a trustee receiver or administrative receiver or similar officer is appointed in respect of all or any of the business or assets of the other party or if a petition is presented or a meeting is convened for the purpose of considering a resolution or any other steps are taken for the winding up or the making of an administrative order (otherwise than for the purposes of a solvent amalgamation or reconstruction).

Upon termination or expiry of the Contract all amounts payable by the Customer to Tshovelo™ shall become immediately due and Tshovelo™ shall be entitled to immediately cease the provision of the Services.

14. Cancellations, Refunds & Money Back Guarantee

1. Cancellations
Customers may cancel their services at any time by logging into our Client Area and visiting “Cancellation Request” . We, Tshovelo™, reserve the right to cancel your hosting account for any reason we deem as just in accordance with, but not limited to, this Terms of Service Agreement and Acceptable Usage Policy.

A cancellation will only be effected upon the Customer settling the outstanding account via cash deposit, credit card or bank transfer. A cancellation request must include the reason for cancellation, instructions as to the disposal of the domain name and must indicate the date until which service is required. A cancellation will not be accepted from any third party. The cancellation must be from the person (individual or legal person) who signs (electronically) Tshovelo™’s service order and set up form (the “Order”).

Any cancellation request that does not fulfil these criteria shall not be deemed valid.

ADSL account cancellations must reach us before the 25th of each month (see above for debit orders). Any cancellation received after this date will not be processed until the next month. You will still be responsible for the billing of the service until your cancellation has been processed.

2. Refunds
No credit or refund will be passed in any form except as stated in the “99.9% Uptime” or “30 Day Money Back Guarantee” documents.

All deposits, set-up fees (if any) and domain name registrations/renewals paid to Tshovelo™ are nonrefundable.

The following methods of payments are nonrefundable, and refunds will be posted as credit to the hosting account:

  • Wire      Transfers
  • Bank      Transfer
  • Debit      Order
  • Checks
  • Credit      CardNo credit or refund will be passed for inactive or unused accounts. No      credit or refund will be passed should the Customer transfer their domain      away from Tshovelo™ during the cancellation notice period. No      credit or refund will be passed for domain names where the Customer has      requested the incorrect domain name to be registered.Refund administration fee of R100 will be charged to an account.

3. Money Back Guarantee

Tshovelo™ offers a risk free, 30 day money back guarantee on all shared hosting plans. Under no circumstances are there to be refunds for any dedicated servers, VPS accounts, add-ons, install fees for custom software, setup fees, administrative fees, or domain registration fees.

All refund requests after the initial 30 days of service will not be refunded. Tshovelo™ reserves the right to null and void the money back guarantee for any violation of this Terms of Service Agreement, Acceptable Usage Policy, or any reason deemed as just by Tshovelo™.

Only first-time sign up’s will be allowed to utilize our 30 day money back guarantee. For example, if you have had an account with Tshovelo™, cancelled and signed up again, you will not be allowed to utilize our money back guarantee. This also applies for current customers who sign up for a second account.

You may terminate the Service within:

  • –      seven days after the Commencement Date if you decide not to continue      subscribing to the Service; or
  • –      within 30 days after the Commencement Date if we fail to meet the service      levels for hosting services and email services as specified in the      Specific Terms, provided that you exercise your right to end the agreement      by giving us notice by email.

If you terminate the Service for one of the above reasons, Tshovelo™ will refund you any service fees. However you are still liable for any third party costs incurred during this period e.g. domain registration costs.

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ 30 Day Money Back Guarantee, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

15. Request for Customer Information

The Customer agrees that Tshovelo™ may, without notice to the Customer, (i) report to the appropriate authorities any conduct by the Customer or any of the Customer’s customers or end users that Tshovelo™ believes violates applicable law, and (ii) provide any information that it has about the Customer or any of its customers or end users in response to a formal or informal request from a law enforcement or regulatory agency or in response to a formal request in a civil action that on its face meets the requirements for such a request.

16. Registration of Domain Names (Paid and Free)

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Domain Registration – Terms and Agreement and Registration Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

17. Transfer of Domain Names

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Domain Transfer Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

18. Obligations of the Customer

The Customer agrees that they shall:

1. Immediately notify Tshovelo™ if they become aware of any unauthorised use of all or any of the Services and/or Servers;

2. not use the Services and/or Servers for any unlawful purpose or for the publication, linking to, issue or display of any unlawful material (which shall include without limit any pirated software or any material which is obscene, pornographic, threatening, malicious, harmful, abusive, defamatory or which breaches the rights (including without limit IPRs) of any third party or which is or encourages criminal acts or contains any virus, worm, trojan horse or other harmful code) whether under RSA law or regulation, the laws or regulations of the Customers country or any other place where the results of such purpose or such material can be accessed;

3. not use the Services and/or Servers for the publication, linking to, issue or display of any material which in the absolute discretion of Tshovelo™ may harm Tshovelo™ or any of its clients or bring Tshovelo™ into disrepute or may call into question any action taken by Tshovelo™ on the Customer’s behalf;

4. not use the Services and/or Servers in breach of good Netiquette practices;

5. ensure that it has all necessary consents, permissions and licences to make use of the Services including without limit registration under the Data Protection Act 1984 and 1998;

6. not provide any technical or other information obtained from Tshovelo™ and/or relating to the Services or the Contract to any person, company, firm or government which the Customer knows or ought reasonably be aware may directly or indirectly lead to a breach of any South African law or regulation;

7. not, in breach of good Netiquette practices, use any service provided by any third party (including without limit an Internet web site and/or e-mail) for the publication, linking to, issue or display of any material which refers to an Internet web site hosted by Tshovelo™ or any other services offered by Tshovelo™ from time to time;

8. ensure that all material or data hosted by Tshovelo™ on any web site operated by the Customer from time to time or communicated through such site or using the Servers is checked for viruses and other harmful code;

9. keep back ups of all data hosted by Tshovelo™ on any web site operated by the Customer from time to time; and

10. promptly notify Tshovelo™ of any change to its communication address and the Customer acknowledges that Tshovelo™ shall not be liable for any costs, damages or loss which the Customer may suffer or incur as a result of failure to notify such changes to Tshovelo™.

The Customer acknowledges that in order to make proper use of the Services they should have a basic knowledge of how the Internet functions and what types of use are and are not acceptable. The Customer acknowledges that Tshovelo™ shall have no obligation to:

10.1. manipulate any material which the Customer wishes and/or does post on any web site it operates or any communication which it issues or sends in connection with any of the Services; or

10.2. validate or vet such material for usability, legality, content or correctness.

The Customer is responsible for and must provide all telephone and other equipment and services necessary to maintain the customer’s account remotely through FTP accounts.

Any Customer in violation of system or network security is subject to criminal and civil liability, as well as immediate account termination. Examples include, but are not limited to the following: Unauthorized access, use, probe, or scan of a systems security or authentication measures, data or traffic. Interference with service to any user, host or network including, without limitation, e-mail bombing, flooding deliberate attempts to overload a system and broadcast attacks. Forging of any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in an e-mail or news group posting.

19. Hosting Account Responsibilities & Security

1. All Keywords allocated to you is personal to you and you will be liable for any loss or damage you or third parties have suffered because of your actions or the actions of a person to whom you have disclosed your Keywords.

2. You authorise us to act on any instruction given by or purporting to originate from you even if it becomes clear that both parties have been defrauded by someone else, unless you have notified us under clause 19.4 before we acted on a fraudulent instruction.

3. If any security violations are reasonably believed to have occurred in connection with your account, we will investigate and, if necessary, change the relevant Keywords, including access codes and passwords, and notify you immediately.

4. You must tell us immediately if any other person gains access to your Keywords by following the procedures relating to reporting misuse Reporting Abuse Procedure and give us your full co-operation in any investigation we carry out.

5. You indemnify us (hold us harmless) against any claim arising from:

  • –      your disclosure of your Keywords to a third person;
  • –      the use of the Keywords by a third person; or
  • –      any resulting action by you or a third party.

6. We reserve the right to take any action we find necessary to preserve the security and reliable operation of our infrastructure. You may not do anything (or permit anything to be done) that will compromise our security.

7. We have systems in place to assist our critical technical infrastructure to recover from a natural or human induced disaster. However, we are not liable for any loss or damage you suffer as a result of a disaster. You must make back-ups of your data. Nothing contained in this Terms of Service will be seen as a representation that any back-ups of data we have implemented will be successful or in any way will assist with disaster recovery.

It is your responsibility to ensure that scripts/programs installed under your account are secure and permissions of directories are set properly, regardless of installation method. When at all possible, set permissions on most directories to 755 or as restrictive as possible. Users are ultimately responsible for all actions taken under their account. This includes the compromise of credentials such as username and password. It is required that you use a secure password. If a weak password is used, your account may be suspended until you agree to use a more secure password. Audits may be done to prevent weak passwords from being used.

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Hosting Account Security Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

20. Backups

Your use of this service is at your sole risk. Our backup service runs every night, overwrites any of our previous backups made, and only 2 weeks of backups are kept. This service is provided to you as a courtesy. Tshovelo™ is not responsible for files and/or data residing on your account. You agree to take full responsibility for files and data transferred and to maintain all appropriate backup of files and data stored on Tshovelo™ servers.

Any shared account using more than 20 gigs of disk space will be removed from our backups with the exception of Databases continuing to be backed up.

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Backups Agreement, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

21. Dedicated Servers

Tshovelo™ reserves the right to reset the password on a dedicated server if the password on file is not current so that we may do security audits as required by our data centre. It is the responsibility of the client to ensure that there is a valid email address and current root password on file for their dedicated server on file to prevent downtime from forced password resets. Tshovelo™ reserves the right to audit servers as needed and to perform administrative actions at the request of our data centre.

Dedicated servers are NOT backed up by us and it is the responsibility of the client to maintain backups or have a solution for this. You may purchase an additional hard drive and maintain backups to it as the simplest solution. Please contact if you wish to obtain a secondary hard drive. It is your responsibility to maintain backups.

22. Changes to Tshovelo’s Network

Upgrades and other changes in Tshovelo™’s network, including, but not limited to changes in its software, hardware, and service providers, may affect the display or operation of the Customer’s hosted content and/or applications. Tshovelo™ reserves the right to change its network in its commercially reasonable discretion, and Tshovelo™ shall not be liable for any resulting harm to the Customer.

23. Account Migrations / Name Servers

Tshovelo™ reserve the right to migrate your account to another server, should resource or performance become an issue on the current server. This migration may be done with or without notice. Accounts are expected to use the name servers that are assigned to them upon initial account set up. If this is followed, then the migration should be seamless.

However, if you choose not to follow the recommended name servers setting and instead use a 3rdparty DNS service, point your domain name directly to the server’s IP address, access your account by IP address only, or any other method of account access, then you may experience problems accessing your account after the migration. Tshovelo™ cannot be held responsible for any loss or damage that results in this practice.

24. Account Usage

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Legal Notices Section, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

1. IP Address Policy
2. Bandwidth Usage Policy
3. Disk Usage Policy
4. Resource Usage Policy
5. Database Usage Policy
6. Cron Usage Policy
7. Misuse of Account Features Policy
8. No Adult Content Policy

25. Notices

Notices to Tshovelo™ under the Agreement shall be given via electronic mail to the e-mail address posted for customer support on our Contact Us page. Notices to the Customer shall be given via electronic mail to the individual listed as the Primary Customer Contact on the Order. Notices are deemed received on the day transmitted, or if that day is not a business day, on the first business day following the day delivered. The Customer may change his or her notice address by a notice given in accordance with this Section.

26. Force Majeure

Tshovelo™ shall not be in default of any obligation under the Agreement if the failure to perform the obligation is due to any event beyond Tshovelo™’s control, including, without limitation, significant failure of a portion of the power grid, significant failure of the Internet, natural disaster, war, riot, insurrection, epidemic, strikes or other organized labour action, terrorist activity, or other events of a magnitude or type for which precautions are not generally taken in the industry.

27. Intellectual Property

All IPRs relating to the Services provided by Tshovelo™ are and shall remain the property of Tshovelo. All rights in the design and arrangement of the Site, text and graphics and all software compilations, underlying source code, and all other material on the Site are reserved to Tshovelo™ or its licensors. Except as expressly provided below, nothing contained in these term of use or on the Site shall be construed as conferring any license or right, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, under copyright or other IPRs.

Shadow Web Designs, Tshovelo™, Tshovelo™ DomainZ, and all other names, images, pictures, logos and icons identifying Tshovelo™ or its services are trademarks of Tshovelo™ Technologies CC in South Africa and other countries. Other product and company names mentioned on this Site may be trademarks of their respective owners.

28. Privacy

The information you provide to us will be stored on computer. We are committed to protecting your privacy. We and any of our associated companies may use the information you provide us to provide a more personalised service and to tell you about changes in our and their service or any new services which we think you will find valuable. If you object to any of these uses at any time, then please inform us by writing to Tshovelo™ at the address set out in the “contact us” section at the Site. We may also use such information where and to the extent of any requirement to comply with any applicable law, legal process or to enforce any of these Conditions.

We will not monitor, edit or disclose the contents of any private communications transmitted via the Servers unless required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to conform or comply with applicable law, to protect and defend the rights and/or property of Tshovelo™ or to protect the personal safety of any of our clients or the public.

29. Cookies

Cookies are bits of electronic information that a web site can transfer to your hard drive to help tailor and keep records of your visit to the Site. Cookies allow us to better customise visits to the Site to your individual preferences, helping us provide you with the best possible service on our Site. Most major web sites use cookies and their use is standard on the Internet. Most Internet browsers automatically accept cookies but you can change your settings so that you are notified whenever you are sent a cookie. By using our website, you accept the use of our cookies.

30. Foreign Jurisdictions

The Site may contain references or cross references to services that are not available in every country. We do not represent that all Services and content, materials and services on the Site are appropriate or available for use in all geographic locations, and accessing such from certain locations may be illegal and prohibited. Your access to the content, materials and services on the Site from such locations is at your own initiative and we are not responsible for your compliance with local laws or other applicable laws. You will not access the foregoing if prohibited by law.

Any translation of these Conditions into a language other than English is for the convenience of the Customer only and it is agreed that the English language version of these Conditions online shall be relied on by the parties and shall prevail in the event of any differences.

31. Virus Scanning, Spam Filtering & Permanent Deletion

The Customer’s use of the Services is at the Customer’s sole risk. Tshovelo™ is not responsible for the security or integrity of any information stored with Tshovelo™ and associated with the Customer’s account.

The Customer undertakes full responsibility for the integrity of all files and information communicated via the Services, and the Customer will ensure and maintain appropriate backup facilities of files and information stored on Tshovelo™ servers.

The Customer acknowledges that, upon the termination of this Agreement for whatsoever purpose, Tshovelo™ shall be entitled to permanently remove your information from it’s servers within a reasonable period. Tshovelo™ accepts no liability for the permanent deletion thereof.

As a responsible party facilitating access to the Internet and associated protocols, Tshovelo™ has a virus scanning and spam filter activated by default. In the unlikely event that “false positives” (a legitimate message mistakenly marked as spam) occur, Tshovelo™ will not be held liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss, should legitimate information incorrectly be identified as spam or a virus, and filtered out.

32. Governing Law / Disputes

The Agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa (excluding its choice of law rules). EXCLUSIVE VENUE FOR ALL DISPUTES ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE AGREEMENT SHALL BE THE PROVINCIAL AND FEDERAL COURTS IN SOUTH AFRICA, AND EACH PARTY AGREES NOT TO DISPUTE SUCH PERSONAL JURISDICTION AND WAIVES ALL OBJECTIONS THERETO.

33. Miscellaneous

Each party acknowledges and agrees that the other party retains exclusive ownership and rights in it’s trademarks, service marks, trade secrets, inventions, copyrights, and other intellectual property. Neither party may use the other party’s name or trademark without the other party’s prior written consent. The parties intend for their relationship to be that of independent contractors and not a partnership, joint venture, or employer/employee. Neither party will represent itself to be agent of the other. There are no third party beneficiaries to the Agreement. Neither insurers nor the customers of resellers are third party beneficiaries to the Agreement. The Customer may not transfer the Agreement without Tshovelo™’s prior written consent. Tshovelo™’s approval for assignment is contingent on the assignee meeting Tshovelo™’s credit approval criteria. Tshovelo™ may assign the Agreement in whole or in part.

Any failure or delay by either party in exercising any rights or remedy will not constitute a waiver.

Any notice or other communication to be given by a party under this Agreement must be in writing and must be given by delivery at or sending by first class post or by E-mail or facsimile transmission to the last known postal, E-mail address or relevant telecommunications number of the other party. Notices shall be deemed to have been received when in the ordinary course of the means of transmission it would be received by the addressee. To prove the giving of a notice it shall be sufficient to show it was dispatched. A notice shall have been effect from the sooner of its actual or deemed receipt by the addressee.

Any termination of this Agreement shall be without prejudice to any other rights or remedies which a party may be entitled to hereunder or at law and shall not effect any previous rights or liabilities of either party nor the coming into or continuance in force of any provision hereof which is expressly or by implication intended to come into continue in force upon or after such termination.

If any provision of these Conditions is held by any competent authority to be unlawful, invalid or unenforceable in whole or in part then the provision shall be deemed to be severable from the remaining provisions and shall not affect their validity or enforceability.

This Agreement together with the Order and AUP constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and super cedes and replaces any prior understanding or communication, written or oral.

34. Torturous Conduct

You have read and agreed to policies outlined in the Tshovelo™ Torturous Conduct Policy, which is incorporated into this Agreement by reference.

35. Third Party Providers

All transactions with third party providers are solely between the visitor and the individual provider. Tshovelo™ is not the agent, representative, trustee or fiduciary of you or the third party provider in any transaction.

All discounts, promotions and special third party offers may be subject to additional restrictions and limitations by the third party provider. All transactions with third party providers are subject to the terms and conditions under which the provider agrees with you to provide the goods or services. You should confirm the terms of any purchase and/or use of goods or services with the specific provider with whom you are dealing.

We do not make any representations or warranties regarding, and are not liable for, the quality, availability, or timeliness of goods or services provided by a third party provider. You undertake all transactions with these providers at your own risk. We do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information regarding third party providers.

36. Amendment of this Agreement

Tshovelo™ reserves the right, at any time, to amend any of the Terms of Service Agreement to which the Customer is bound without specific notice to the Customer. An updated version of the Terms of Service Agreement will be posted on the Website.

It is the Customer’s responsibility as a diligent user to peruse any amended Terms of Service Agreement posted on the Site and the Customer undertakes to regularly visit the Site so as to remain advised of the amended Terms of Service Agreement.

37. Right to Refusal of Service

Tshovelo™ may refuse to accept any customer or any web site for participation in the Tshovelo™ Hosting Network as determined by Tshovelo™ at its sole discretion.

This Terms of Service Agreement together with the Order and Acceptable Use Policy constitutes the complete and exclusive agreement between the parties regarding its subject matter and super cedes and replaces any prior understanding or communication, written or oral.

Last Updated: 22 June 2012