Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Cater2U at https://cater2u.duckdns.org (the "Platform"). Please read them carefully. By creating an account you agree to them.

1. Who we are

The Platform is operated by [Legal entity name to be confirmed] (registration number [CIPC registration number to be confirmed], VAT: not VAT registered), a member of the 7diverse group of companies ("we", "us"). Our address is [Physical address to be confirmed], South Africa and you can reach us at support@example.invalid. The information required by section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECTA) is set out in section 17.

2. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be 18 or older and able to enter into a binding agreement.
• There are two kinds of account, chosen when you register and not changeable afterwards: planners (people organising an event) and businesses (people and companies offering event services). One email address can hold one account.
• You must give accurate information, keep your login details secure and tell us at once if you suspect unauthorised use. You are responsible for activity on your account.
• Businesses confirm that they are authorised to act for the business they register and that its details (including any CIPC or VAT number) are correct.

3. What the Platform does (our role)

The Platform is an introduction marketplace. Planners post event requests; businesses choose which requests to respond to. We are not a party to any agreement between a planner and a business, we do not provide event services ourselves, and we do not guarantee the quality, safety, legality or availability of any business's services or the accuracy of any request. Planners and businesses contract with, and pay, each other directly.

4. Requests and how they progress

• A planner's request moves through these statuses: draft → available → pending → claimed, and may be cancelled by the planner (while available or pending) or expire after the event date.
• While a request is pending, the planner is finalising details with one business; other businesses' chats become read-only until the planner reopens the request or confirms.
• Confirming a booking (claimed) is final. At that point the planner's contact details (name, phone, email and venue address) are shared with the chosen business only.
• Every business that unlocked a request keeps read-only access to that request and its own chat.

5. Credits (businesses)

• Credits are prepaid service credits for using the Platform. They are not money, not a deposit, have no cash value, cannot be withdrawn, transferred or exchanged, and are not interest-bearing.
• Credits are bought in packs through our payment provider, Paystack. The price, in rand including VAT where applicable, is shown before you pay, and a tax invoice is issued.
• Credits do not expire while your account is open.
• Refunds of credits: credits that have been bought are non-refundable except where the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) or other law requires otherwise, or as set out below.

6. Unlocking requests

• A business spends credits to unlock a request, which opens a private chat with the planner. The exact cost and your resulting balance are shown before you confirm. The cost depends on the event type, size, budget and services requested.
• Unlocking gives the opportunity to pitch; it does not guarantee a booking.
• Refund on loss: if a request you unlocked is booked with another business or cancelled by the planner, we credit back 0% of the credits you spent on it (rounded down), once per unlock. We may change this percentage for future unlocks.

7. Pro subscription (businesses)

• Pro is an optional paid subscription that adds reports, reminders and templates. Core features (browsing, unlocking, chat, calendar, wallet) remain available without it.
• Pro renews automatically each month or year through Paystack until cancelled. You can cancel at any time; Pro stays active until the end of the period you have paid for and is not refunded pro rata.
• If a renewal payment fails, Pro remains active for a grace period of 7 days while payment is retried.

8. Conduct

You must not:

• share or ask for contact details (phone numbers, emails, social media handles, links) before a booking is confirmed, or otherwise try to take a conversation off the Platform to avoid unlocking. Messages with contact details are automatically masked and may be reviewed;
• post fake, misleading or duplicate requests, or offers you cannot honour;
• send spam, unsolicited advertising or abusive, discriminatory or unlawful content;
• impersonate anyone, scrape the Platform, interfere with its security or use it for any unlawful purpose.

We may remove content, suspend or close accounts that break these rules. Credits are not refunded when an account is closed for misconduct, unless the law requires otherwise.

9. Content and licence

You keep ownership of what you upload (descriptions, photos, messages). You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to host, display and process it to run the Platform (for example, showing a business's portfolio to planners). You confirm you have the rights to everything you upload. The Platform, its design and software belong to us or our licensors.

10. Reviews

Reviews may be introduced later. When they are, they must be honest and based on genuine experience; we may moderate them.

11. Marketing messages

Marketing messages are only sent with your separate, optional consent, which you can withdraw at any time in your account settings or by replying "STOP" to a WhatsApp message. If you consent, Cater2U, 7diverse and 7diverse group companies may send you marketing as described in our Privacy Policy. Service messages (chat alerts, booking updates, receipts) are separate and are controlled by your notification settings.

12. Availability and changes to the Platform

We aim to keep the Platform available but do not guarantee uninterrupted service. We may change, suspend or discontinue features, with notice where reasonable.

13. Liability

To the extent permitted by law, including the CPA:

• we are not liable for the acts, omissions, services or payments of planners or businesses, or for any agreement between them;
• we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss; and
• our total liability to a business in connection with the Platform is limited to the amount it paid us in the 12 months before the claim, and to a planner to R 1 000.

Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, or your rights as a consumer under the CPA.

14. Disputes

Please contact support@example.invalid first; we will try to resolve complaints within 14 days. Disputes between planners and businesses are for them to resolve, though we may help where we can. You may also approach the relevant regulator or the courts.

15. Termination

You may close your account at any time (see your Privacy settings). We may suspend or close accounts that break these Terms. Records we must keep by law (for example, invoices and credit transactions) are retained after closure.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. We will post the new version here with its version number and date and, for material changes, notify you. Continuing to use the Platform after a change takes effect means you accept it.

17. Information under section 43 of ECTA

• Full name and legal status: [Legal entity name to be confirmed], a private company
• Registration number: [CIPC registration number to be confirmed]
• VAT number: not VAT registered
• Physical and postal address: [Physical address to be confirmed], South Africa
• Email: support@example.invalid
• Website: https://cater2u.duckdns.org
• Group: a member of the 7diverse group of companies

Where the CPA's cooling-off period applies to a transaction resulting from direct marketing, you may cancel it within five business days by giving written notice.

18. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and South African courts have jurisdiction.