Fair outcomes when plans change

1. Scope and relationship to your legal rights

This policy applies to website design and development, redesigns, business email setup or migration, hosting, domain-related services, maintenance, support and combined packages supplied by HS Digital, a division of Humelela Swinene Group.

It should be read with the accepted quotation or proposal and our Terms and Conditions. A specific written service agreement takes priority where it gives different project, notice or refund terms.

2. How to request cancellation

Send a written request to info@hs-group.co.za. Please include:

• Your name and company name.
• The project, domain, mailbox or service to be cancelled.
• The requested cancellation date.
• Any required export, transfer or handover request.
• The reason for cancellation, if you are willing to provide it.

We will acknowledge the request and confirm the effective date, outstanding amount, service-end date and any handover steps. A telephone or WhatsApp message may alert us, but written email confirmation is required to avoid uncertainty and create a reliable record.

The cancellation date is determined from receipt of a valid written request, subject to the applicable notice period and any mandatory legal rule. You remain responsible for charges and proper use of the service until the effective cancellation date.

3. Cancellation of once-off website and setup projects

Before work begins

Upon signature of the engagement letter, a 50% project deposit is payable before work begins. The deposit reserves project capacity, covers onboarding and initial commitments, and is non-refundable, except where a refund is required by mandatory law or expressly agreed in writing. Any payment made above the deposit for work not performed will be refunded after deducting authorised non-recoverable third-party costs.

After work begins

If you cancel after discovery, planning, design, development, configuration, migration, content preparation or another project activity has started:

• Completed work is charged at the agreed milestone value or, where no milestone value exists, at a reasonable value based on the work performed.
• Approved and unavoidable third-party costs remain payable.
• The 50% project deposit remains non-refundable and is credited toward the total project fee, except where mandatory law requires otherwise.
• Any payment above the deposit will be refunded only to the extent that it exceeds the value of completed work and committed cost.
• If completed work and committed cost exceed payments received, the balance remains payable.

After approval, launch or completion

Once the agreed service has been completed, approved, launched or used in business, setup and development fees are not refundable merely because the client changes direction, no longer needs the service or expected a different commercial result. This does not limit a remedy for defective or non-conforming service available under the agreement or law.

Project deposits

The 50% project deposit becomes due when the engagement letter is signed and must clear before work begins. It is non-refundable, is credited toward the total agreed project fee, and is not an additional charge. This rule remains subject to any mandatory statutory refund or cooling-off right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

4. Cancellation of monthly hosting, email and support

Unless the quotation states otherwise, recurring hosting, business email, maintenance and support services operate month to month and require 30 calendar days’ written cancellation notice.

• The service continues and remains payable during the notice period.
• No new recurring charge will be raised for a service period beginning after the confirmed cancellation date.
• A prepaid monthly period is ordinarily not refunded pro rata where the service remained available, unless required by law or agreed as a remedy for a verified service failure.
• Additional storage, mailboxes, domains, licences or other add-ons end with the related service unless an alternative arrangement is confirmed.
• Domain renewal, mailbox export, website migration and data handover must be requested before the service ends and may involve third-party or migration fees.

After termination, website files, mailboxes, backups, databases and portal drafts may be deleted according to operational retention schedules. You must arrange any required transfer or export before the confirmed service-end date.

5. Fixed-term agreements and cooling-off rights

If a qualifying consumer agreement is for a fixed term and section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, the consumer may cancel by giving 20 business days’ notice in writing or another recorded form. Amounts owed up to cancellation remain payable, and a reasonable cancellation charge may apply where permitted. Any amount that remains the consumer’s property must be credited.

Section 14 does not apply to transactions between juristic persons. Other consumer protections may still apply depending on the transaction and the parties.

Electronic and direct-marketing transactions may carry statutory cooling-off rights in qualifying circumstances. Those rights, time periods and exceptions are determined by the applicable legislation and the facts of the transaction. A customised service that has begun at the customer’s request or a third-party registration already performed may be treated differently from an unperformed standard service.

Official legislation is available from the South African Government: Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008, Consumer Protection Act Regulations and Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.

6. When refunds or credits may apply

A refund or service credit may apply when:

• You paid more than the value of completed work and non-recoverable committed costs when a project was cancelled.
• You paid twice or paid an incorrect amount.
• We cancel for reasons not caused by your breach and you prepaid for a period after the effective cancellation date.
• A verified service failure justifies a refund, repeat performance, repair, price reduction or another remedy under the agreement or applicable law.
• A statutory cooling-off or cancellation right applies.

A refund is ordinarily not due for:

• Completed and accepted work.
• Time already spent on discovery, design, development, setup, migration, troubleshooting or support.
• Domains, licences, hosting, stock assets or third-party services already purchased or activated and not refundable to us.
• A service that remained available during a paid period but was not used by the client.
• Delay or failure caused by missing client content, access, approval, payment or instructions.
• A change of mind after custom work has been performed, except where law provides otherwise.

We assess each request fairly and provide a written calculation where money is retained for completed work or committed cost.

7. Suspension or cancellation by HS Digital

We may suspend or cancel an affected service for material non-payment, unlawful or abusive use, serious security risk, infringement, fraudulent activity or another material breach. We will ordinarily give written notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy the breach. Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, the required 20-business-day notice and remedy period will be honoured.

Immediate temporary suspension may be used where reasonably necessary to prevent harm, protect data or systems, comply with law, or respond to a security incident. We will restore service when the risk has been addressed and restoration is lawful and reasonably practical.

If we discontinue a prepaid service for operational reasons not caused by your breach, we will refund the unused prepaid portion after deducting services already supplied and non-recoverable costs. This does not apply to a temporary interruption, maintenance window or event outside our reasonable control where the service agreement or law provides a different remedy.

8. Refund assessment and processing

We aim to acknowledge a complete refund request within five business days. Complex project calculations or third-party reversals may take longer, and we will provide an update where reasonably possible.

Once approved, a refund will ordinarily be processed within 10 business days using the original payment method or another verified account belonging to the payer. Bank and payment-provider processing times are outside our control.

Before paying a refund to a different account, we may request reasonable verification to prevent fraud. We will never ask for an online-banking password, card PIN or email password.

9. Questions, complaints and disputes

Contact us first so that we can investigate and provide a written outcome:

If a consumer complaint cannot be resolved directly, the customer may use an applicable ombud, alternative dispute-resolution body, provincial consumer protection office, the National Consumer Commission, the National Consumer Tribunal or a court with jurisdiction.