Terms of Service

1. Who we are

Book A Tradie is operated by Book A Tradie (Pty) Ltd, registration number 2022/762404/07, of 13 Lionel Road, Walmer Downs, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, 6070 ("Book A Tradie", "we", "us"). Contact: info@bookatradie.co.za.

These Terms apply to the website, the mobile applications and any related service (the "Platform"). By creating an account you agree to them. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.

2. What Book A Tradie is — and what it is not

We are an introduction service. We operate a platform on which property owners and occupiers ("Clients") describe work they need done, and independent tradespeople ("Tradespeople") see that work and offer to do it.

Tradespeople are independent businesses. They set their own prices, choose which jobs to quote on, supply their own tools, materials and labour, work their own hours and are responsible for their own tax, insurance and statutory registrations. Nothing on the Platform creates a contract of employment or agency between Book A Tradie and any Tradesperson.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to contract. You must give accurate information and keep it up to date. One person may not hold multiple accounts to evade suspension, verification or fees.

4. What "verified" means on this Platform — and what it does not mean

Where a Tradesperson is shown as "verified", or a credential is shown as checked, it means only that:

• they submitted a document or registration number of the type described on their profile; and
• we carried out the check described on that profile — typically comparing the document against the issuing body's public register (for example PIRB for plumbers, SAQCC Gas for gas practitioners, or CIPC for company registration) — at the date shown.

In addition:

• Identity. A person shown as verified has had their identity confirmed — either by an automated check of their identity document and a selfie, run for us by our provider Didit, or by our staff reviewing their documents by hand.
• Tradespeople. A Tradesperson's account is shown as verified only once their identity has been confirmed and their public liability insurance has been reviewed by us. The automated identity check confirms identity only; it does not check insurance, qualifications or registrations.
• Trades. A trade is shown as verified (accredited) only where the Tradesperson has given us a certificate or registration for that trade and we have checked it. Trades that do not legally require a certificate may receive job leads before any certificate is provided; those trades are not shown as verified until a certificate has been checked.

It does not mean, and you must not treat it as meaning, that:

• we guarantee the authenticity of any document, or that a register was accurate on the day we checked it;
• the registration, licence or insurance is still valid today (registrations lapse, are suspended and are withdrawn, sometimes without notice to us);
• we have assessed the Tradesperson's competence, workmanship, honesty, financial standing or suitability for your particular job;
• we have carried out any check we have not expressly described; or
• we endorse or recommend that Tradesperson.

We verify in good faith and with reasonable care, using the information and public registers available to us. We cannot detect every forged, altered, borrowed or expired document, and we do not accept liability for one that we do not detect, save to the extent that our failure amounts to gross negligence.

You remain responsible for satisfying yourself about any Tradesperson before you engage them. We strongly recommend that, before work begins, you independently confirm the registration number with the issuing body, ask to see the original certificate and current public liability insurance, obtain a written quotation, and — for licensed work — confirm that a Certificate of Compliance or Conformity will be issued.

5. Licensed and regulated work

Certain work in South Africa may lawfully be done and signed off only by a person registered for it — including electrical work (Department of Employment and Labour), plumbing work requiring a Certificate of Compliance (PIRB), gas installation (SAQCC Gas), air-conditioning and refrigeration work (SAQCC Gas), security installation (PSIRA), and pest control using pesticides (registration as a Pest Control Operator under the Fertilizers, Farm Feeds, Agricultural Remedies and Stock Remedies Act 36 of 1947).

The legal duty to hold that registration, to work to the applicable SANS standards and to issue any required certificate rests entirely with the Tradesperson. The Platform sends jobs in those trades only to Tradespeople whose certificate or registration for that trade we have approved and which has not passed its expiry date, and sends jobs marked as needing a plumbing Certificate of Compliance only to PIRB-registered plumbers — but that routing is a convenience and not a warranty. Book A Tradie does not issue certificates and accepts no responsibility for uncertified, defective or unlawful work.

6. Obligations of Tradespeople

If you use the Platform as a Tradesperson, you warrant on each occasion that you take a lead or submit a quote that:

• you hold every registration, licence and accreditation the work requires, and each is current;
• you hold public liability insurance adequate for the work you undertake, and will keep it current;
• the documents you have given us are genuine, unaltered and yours;
• you will notify us within 7 days if any registration, licence or insurance lapses, is suspended or is withdrawn;
• you will perform work with the skill and care reasonably expected of a competent tradesperson in your trade, and in compliance with all applicable law and standards; and
• you will not use client contact details for any purpose other than the job, and will not solicit clients off-platform to avoid fees.

Providing a false, altered or expired document, or working outside your accreditation, is a material breach. We may suspend or terminate your account immediately, reverse or withhold amounts, report the matter to the relevant professional body or the authorities, and recover from you any loss we suffer as a result.

7. Obligations of Clients

You must describe the work honestly, provide safe access to the site, disclose known hazards, and pay the Tradesperson what you agreed. Payment for the work is arranged directly between you and the Tradesperson or, if you choose, made through the Platform under our Payment Terms. When a payment is made through the Platform, we collect and hold it as the Tradesperson's limited collection agent, as the Payment Terms explain. Otherwise Book A Tradie does not hold, process or guarantee payment for any job, and is not an escrow agent.

8. Disputes between Clients and Tradespeople

Any dispute about the work — its quality, price, timing, damage, non-completion, non-payment, injury or loss — is between the Client and the Tradesperson. They must resolve it between themselves or through the courts, an ombud or the relevant professional body. Money paid through the Platform is dealt with under the Payment Terms.

We may, entirely at our discretion and without any obligation, provide records we hold (such as messages, quotes and job history) to assist. Doing so does not make us a party to the dispute and does not create any liability on our part.

9. Limitation of liability

The Platform is provided "as is". To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for:

• the acts, omissions, conduct, workmanship, delay, damage, theft, injury, dishonesty or insolvency of any Tradesperson or Client;
• any work performed or not performed, or any loss arising from it, including defective, uncertified or unlawful work;
• the accuracy of anything a user tells us or publishes, including qualifications, reviews, photographs and quotes;
• loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data or any indirect or consequential loss; or
• interruption, downtime or loss of access to the Platform.

What happens on site is between you and the other party

Work happens at a physical property, between a Client and a Tradesperson, with no one from Book A Tradie present. We do not attend, supervise, inspect or control any job. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for anything that happens before, during or after a job, including:

• injury, illness or death of a Client, a Tradesperson, their staff, their family, their visitors, or anyone else at the property;
• theft, loss or disappearance of money, tools, materials, keys, or any property belonging to anyone;
• damage to property, including the building, its contents, vehicles, or neighbouring property, and any resulting water, fire, electrical or structural damage;
• defective, incomplete, unsafe, uncertified or unlawful work, and the cost of putting it right;
• conduct at the property, including assault, harassment, intimidation, damage to reputation, or any criminal act by any person;
• anyone a Tradesperson brings with them — employees, subcontractors, helpers or anyone else — and anyone a Client allows on site.

Book A Tradie is an introduction service. The contract for the work is between the Client and the Tradesperson alone, and any claim arising from the work must be made against that party, not against us. Tradespeople must hold their own public liability insurance, and Clients should confirm cover before work begins. We are not an insurer and provide no cover of any kind.

You use the Platform, and admit people to your property or attend someone else's property, at your own risk.

Where we are liable to you despite the above, our total liability for all claims arising in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the amounts you actually paid us in that period, and (b) R5 000.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for our own gross negligence, for fraud or intentional wrongdoing, or for anything that may not lawfully be excluded — including under sections 49, 51 and 61 of the Consumer Protection Act. If any part of this clause is found to be unenforceable, the rest continues to apply.

10. Indemnity

You indemnify Book A Tradie, its directors and its staff against any claim, loss, damage, penalty or reasonable legal cost arising from: your use of the Platform; work you performed or commissioned; your breach of these Terms; your breach of any law, standard or registration requirement; any document or information you gave us that was false, altered or out of date; any content you published; or a card payment you had reversed in breach of the Payment Terms.

This indemnity does not apply to loss caused by our own gross negligence, fraud or intentional wrongdoing.

11. Reviews, ratings and content

You are responsible for what you publish. Reviews must be honest, based on a real completed job, and free of abuse, discrimination or personal information about third parties. We may remove content that breaches these Terms or the law. We do not verify reviews independently and do not accept liability for what one user writes about another, but we will act on a properly substantiated complaint.

You keep ownership of your photographs and content, and grant us a licence to display them on the Platform for the purpose of operating the service.

Reporting and blocking. You can report a message, a job, a review, a photograph or a profile from inside the app, and we look at every report within 24 hours. We do not tolerate abusive, hateful, sexual, threatening or illegal content or behaviour: we remove it and suspend or remove the account responsible. You can also block another user: neither of you will see the other's messages afterwards, and neither of you can start a new conversation. Blocking does not cancel work already agreed — if you have a job in progress together you still owe each other what you agreed, and you should contact us rather than simply going quiet.

We may remove content, suspend an account or end it altogether where someone breaches these Terms, and we will tell you why unless the law prevents us.

12. Subscriptions and fees

Clients pay nothing to use the Platform. Posting work, receiving quotes and messaging tradespeople are free. A Client who chooses to pay a Tradesperson through the Platform pays the card processing fee shown before paying (see our Payment Terms).

Tradespeople pay R499 per month (including VAT where applicable) to receive leads and appear to Clients. This is the full price and there are no joining fees, lead fees or commission. (If you choose to be paid through the Platform, the small bank fees in our Payment Terms apply to payouts.) If we change the price we will tell you at least 20 business days before the change takes effect, and you may cancel before then if you do not accept it. The current price is always shown in the app before you subscribe.

Free introductory period

From time to time we offer new Tradespeople an introductory period during which the subscription is free. Where we do, the length of that period is whatever we state at the time you sign up, and it is shown in the app before you subscribe. During the free period you have the same access as a paying subscriber. We will remind you before it ends. If you do nothing, the subscription continues at R499 per month from that date; you may cancel at any time before then and pay nothing. If you subscribed through an app store, cancel at least 24 hours before the free period ends, because the app store may start the paid period within that time.

Renewal

Subscriptions renew automatically each month until cancelled. We will notify you before each renewal — you will receive a reminder in the app and by email in advance of the renewal date, so you always have the chance to cancel first. You may cancel at any time, and cancellation takes effect at the end of the period you have already paid for. You keep full access until then.

Refunds and cancellation

You may cancel at any time, with no penalty and no cancellation fee: if you subscribed in the app, cancel in your app store's subscription settings (the app’s Subscription screen takes you there); if you subscribed on our website, cancel from your account on the website. Because the subscription gives you access for a month at a time, fees for a period already served are generally not refunded — but this does not limit any right you have under the law, and in particular:

• your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, including any right to cancel and any right to a refund in the circumstances that Act provides for, are unaffected;
• for a subscription on our website: if you cancel in the first 7 days of a first subscription and have not taken any leads, we will refund that month in full; if we suspend or close your account other than for a breach of these Terms, we will refund the unused portion of the period you have paid for; and if you are charged in error, or charged after cancelling, we will refund it;
• for a subscription in the app, the app store bills you and makes any refund under its own rules: ask it from your subscription settings, and we will help if you contact us.

To request a refund of a website subscription, contact info@bookatradie.co.za.

We do not charge commission on jobs. Payment for the work is arranged directly between the Client and the Tradesperson, unless they choose to pay through the Platform under our Payment Terms.

13. Suspension and termination

You may close your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate an account, with or without notice where the circumstances require it, if we reasonably believe there has been a breach of these Terms, a false or altered document, unlawful or unsafe conduct, abuse of another user, or a risk to the Platform or the public. Sections 4, 8, 9, 10 and this section, and the Payment Terms for any payment made or money owed through the Platform, survive termination.

14. Availability

We aim to keep the Platform running but do not promise that it will be uninterrupted or error free. We may change, suspend or discontinue features. We are not liable for loss arising from downtime, maintenance or the failure of any third-party service we rely on.

15. Privacy

How we handle personal information is set out in our Privacy Policy and POPIA Notice, which form part of these Terms.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may amend these Terms. If a change materially affects your rights we will notify you in the app or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use the Platform after that date means you accept the change.

17. Governing law and disputes with us

These Terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute with us must first be raised at info@bookatradie.co.za, and we will engage in good faith to resolve it. Failing resolution, the parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate's Court having jurisdiction, without limiting your right to approach any forum the Consumer Protection Act makes available to you, including the National Consumer Commission or a consumer ombud.

18. General

If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder continues to apply. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it. These Terms, with the Privacy Policy, the POPIA Notice and, where you pay or are paid through the Platform, the Payment Terms, are the whole agreement between us about the Platform.

19. If you use our iPhone or iPad app

These Terms are the licence agreement for our iOS app. The following applies to your use of it, in addition to the rest of these Terms:

• These Terms are between you and Book A Tradie only, not Apple. Book A Tradie, not Apple, is solely responsible for the app and its content.
• We give you a non-transferable licence to use the app on any Apple-branded device you own or control, as the Usage Rules in Apple's Media Services Terms and Conditions allow.
• We alone are responsible for maintaining and supporting the app. Apple has no obligation to provide any maintenance or support for it.
• If the app fails to conform to any warranty that applies to it, you may notify Apple, and Apple will refund the purchase price (if any) for the app to you. To the maximum extent the law allows, Apple has no other warranty obligation for the app. Any other claim, loss, liability, damage, cost or expense caused by a failure to conform to a warranty is our responsibility, to the extent these Terms and the law make it so.
• We, not Apple, are responsible for addressing any claim by you or anyone else about the app or your possession and use of it, including product liability claims, any claim that the app fails to conform to a legal or regulatory requirement, and claims under consumer protection, privacy or similar laws.
• If anyone claims that the app or your possession and use of it infringes their intellectual property rights, we, not Apple, are responsible for the investigation, defence, settlement and discharge of that claim.
• You confirm that you are not located in a country that is subject to a United States Government embargo, or that has been designated by the United States Government as a "terrorist supporting" country, and that you are not listed on any United States Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
• Questions, complaints or claims about the app go to us: Book A Tradie (Pty) Ltd, 13 Lionel Road, Walmer Downs, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, 6070, South Africa, info@bookatradie.co.za.
• You must comply with the terms of any third-party service you use with the app (for example your mobile network).
• Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms. When you accept these Terms, Apple has the right (and is taken to have accepted the right) to enforce them against you as a third-party beneficiary.