Terms and Conditions

1. What DebtDesk is

DebtDesk is software that helps mediation practices:

• manage client and case information;
• record income, expenses, and affordability information;
• prepare and track creditor proposals;
• record creditor responses;
• create or store mediation documents;
• calculate or record payment allocations; and
• maintain case and distribution records.

DebtDesk is an administrative tool. It does not provide debt counselling, debt review, legal advice, financial advice, accounting advice, tax advice, or regulatory approval.

DebtDesk does not determine whether a consumer is over-indebted and does not conduct statutory debt review.

2. Debt mediation disclaimer

Debt mediation is distinct from statutory debt review under the National Credit Act.

DebtDesk does not:

• act as a debt counsellor;
• apply for debt review on behalf of a consumer;
• issue or obtain a court or tribunal order;
• provide statutory debt-review protection;
• guarantee that a creditor will accept a proposal;
• guarantee that a creditor will stop legal action; or
• give a mediation practice NCR registration or legal standing.

The customer is responsible for ensuring that its mediation model, advertising, contracts, staff, and activities comply with applicable law.

The customer must not describe DebtDesk as debt-review software, legal advice, or a substitute for statutory debt counselling.

3. DebtDesk does not handle client money

DebtDesk does not receive, hold, control, safeguard, settle, or transfer:

• mediation fees;
• client payments;
• creditor payments;
• trust-account funds; or
• any other money belonging to a mediation client or creditor.

DebtDesk does not operate a bank account or trust account for customer or client payments.

All mediation fees, payment arrangements, banking, payment distribution, reconciliations, refunds, and disputes about money are handled offline by the relevant mediation practice and its clients.

DebtDesk may calculate or record payment-allocation information supplied or configured by the customer. The customer must check all outputs before relying on them or communicating them to a client or creditor.

DebtDesk subscription payments are separate from mediation-client payments and are processed through Peach Payments.

4. Customer responsibilities

The customer is responsible for:

• the accuracy and completeness of information entered into DebtDesk;
• collecting information lawfully;
• obtaining required consents, mandates, and authorisations;
• giving clients appropriate notices;
• deciding whether and how to mediate with creditors;
• making affordability assessments and professional decisions;
• preparing, reviewing, and sending proposals;
• confirming creditor acceptance or rejection;
• managing all offline payments and bank accounts;
• checking calculations, rounding, fees, VAT, and distribution records;
• keeping required records;
• complying with POPIA, the National Credit Act, the Consumer Protection Act, tax laws, and other applicable laws; and
• obtaining legal, financial, accounting, or tax advice where necessary.

The customer must ensure that its users have the authority and training required to use DebtDesk.

5. Accounts and access

The customer must provide accurate account information and keep it up to date.

The customer is responsible for:

• protecting login credentials;
• preventing unauthorised account access;
• assigning appropriate user roles;
• promptly removing access for former users; and
• notifying DebtDesk of suspected compromise.

Users must not share credentials or use another person’s account.

6. Licence

Subject to these Terms and payment of applicable fees, DebtDesk grants the customer a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, non-sublicensable licence to use the service during the subscription period.

The customer may use DebtDesk only for its internal business operations and the mediation work for which it is authorised.

The customer may not:

• copy, resell, lease, sublicense, or commercially exploit DebtDesk;
• reverse engineer, decompile, or attempt to discover the source code;
• interfere with the security or operation of the service;
• use DebtDesk to upload malware or unlawful material;
• bypass user limits or access controls;
• use automated means to extract data without permission; or
• use DebtDesk to provide services that the customer is not legally entitled to provide.

7. Customer data

The customer owns or controls the information it enters into DebtDesk (“Customer Data”).

The customer grants DebtDesk a limited right to host, store, copy, transmit, display, and process Customer Data only as reasonably necessary to provide, secure, support, and improve the service, or as required by law.

The customer confirms that it has the rights and permissions necessary for DebtDesk to process Customer Data.

DebtDesk may use aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify a person to monitor performance, improve the service, and develop reports or analytics.

The customer must not upload information that it is not authorised to process.

8. Privacy

DebtDesk’s Privacy Policy forms part of these Terms.

Where DebtDesk processes information for a mediation practice, the practice may remain responsible for determining the purpose and lawful basis of that processing. The parties may sign an additional data-processing agreement where appropriate.

If these Terms conflict with a signed data-processing agreement, the data-processing agreement applies to the extent of the conflict.

9. Third-party services

DebtDesk uses third-party services including:

• Railway for backend hosting, databases, file storage, error monitoring, and backups;
• Vercel for frontend hosting and delivery;
• Render for email infrastructure; and
• Peach Payments for DebtDesk subscription-payment processing only.

Third-party services may have their own terms and privacy policies. DebtDesk is not responsible for third-party services that it does not control.

If a third-party service becomes unavailable, DebtDesk may provide a reasonable alternative or temporarily suspend the affected feature.

10. Fees and subscription

Subscription fees, billing frequency, user limits, usage limits, and renewal terms will be set out in the applicable quote, order form, or subscription page.

Unless stated otherwise:

• fees are payable in advance;
• fees are exclusive of VAT and applicable taxes;
• subscriptions renew for the same period unless cancelled before renewal;
• fees are non-refundable except where required by law or expressly agreed; and
• overdue accounts may be suspended after reasonable notice.

DebtDesk does not collect or distribute mediation-client payments. Subscription fees paid by the customer for DebtDesk are separate from all mediation fees and client payments handled by the customer offline.

11. Availability and support

We aim to keep DebtDesk available and reliable, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.

The service may be unavailable because of:

• maintenance;
• upgrades;
• security incidents;
• telecommunications or hosting failures;
• third-party outages;
• force majeure events; or
• circumstances outside our reasonable control.

Support is provided through support@debtdesk.co.za.

The customer must maintain its own appropriate backups and exported records where required by its business or legal obligations.

12. Intellectual property

DebtDesk and its software, interfaces, documentation, branding, designs, methods, and improvements are owned by or licensed to DebtDesk.

Except for the limited licence in these Terms, no intellectual-property rights are transferred to the customer.

The customer retains ownership of Customer Data.

13. Confidentiality

Each party must protect the other party’s confidential information and use it only to perform or receive the services.

Confidential information does not include information that:

• is publicly available without breach;
• was already lawfully known;
• is independently developed; or
• must be disclosed by law, court order, or regulator.

These confidentiality obligations continue after termination.

14. No professional or regulatory advice

DebtDesk does not advise a customer or consumer about:

• whether debt mediation is suitable;
• whether debt review is suitable;
• whether a consumer is over-indebted;
• whether a creditor will accept a proposal;
• whether a payment arrangement complies with law;
• how a trust account should be operated;
• tax or VAT treatment; or
• how to respond to legal action.

The customer must obtain independent professional advice where necessary.

15. Warranties and disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, DebtDesk is provided on an “as available” basis.

DebtDesk does not warrant that:

• the service will meet every customer requirement;
• calculations or records will be error-free;
• every creditor or user will accept information produced by the service;
• the service will be available at all times;
• information entered by a customer will be accurate; or
• use of the service will ensure compliance with any law or professional rule.

The customer must review outputs before using them to make decisions, communicate with clients or creditors, or allocate money offline.

Nothing in these Terms excludes a right, warranty, or remedy that cannot legally be excluded or limited.

16. Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, DebtDesk will not be liable for:

• decisions made by the customer or a mediation client;
• creditor decisions, refusals, delays, or enforcement action;
• offline payments, bank accounts, trust accounts, or payment distributions;
• inaccurate or incomplete Customer Data;
• customer failure to review outputs;
• unauthorised use caused by the customer’s failure to protect credentials;
• third-party services;
• loss of business, revenue, goodwill, opportunity, or anticipated savings; or
• indirect, consequential, special, or punitive loss.

Subject to liability that cannot legally be excluded, DebtDesk’s total aggregate liability arising from the service or these Terms will not exceed the subscription fees paid by the customer during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.

This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot legally be limited, including liability for fraud or wilful misconduct where applicable.

17. Indemnity

The customer indemnifies DebtDesk and its officers, employees, and service providers against claims, losses, penalties, costs, and expenses arising from:

• the customer’s breach of these Terms;
• unlawful processing or disclosure of personal information by the customer;
• inaccurate or unauthorised Customer Data;
• the customer’s mediation activities;
• the customer’s offline handling of money;
• claims by a customer’s clients or creditors relating to the customer’s advice, proposals, payments, or conduct; or
• the customer’s violation of applicable law.

This indemnity does not apply to the extent that a claim was caused by DebtDesk’s own unlawful conduct or liability that cannot legally be transferred.

18. Suspension and termination

DebtDesk may suspend or restrict access where reasonably necessary to:

• protect the service or other users;
• investigate a security incident;
• prevent unlawful or abusive use;
• comply with law or a regulator;
• address non-payment; or
• address a material breach.

We will give reasonable notice where practical.

Either party may terminate the subscription according to the applicable order form or subscription terms. A party may terminate for material breach if the breach is not remedied within 30 days after written notice.

On termination:

• the customer’s right to use DebtDesk ends;
• unpaid fees become immediately due;
• the customer should export the records it requires;
• DebtDesk may delete Customer Data after 30 days, subject to legal obligations and backup cycles; and
• provisions intended to survive termination will continue, including confidentiality, intellectual property, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, and dispute provisions.

19. Changes to the service and Terms

We may change, improve, or discontinue features.

We may update these Terms by publishing a revised version and updating the effective date. For material changes, we may also notify customers through the service or by email.

Continued use after the effective date of an updated version constitutes acceptance, subject to any rights that cannot legally be waived.

20. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

The parties will first try to resolve disputes through good-faith discussions between authorised representatives.

If a dispute is not resolved within 30 days, either party may refer it to the courts of South Africa, with jurisdiction in Cape Town, subject to any mandatory rights or forum required by applicable law.

21. General

If any provision is invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in force.

A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of that provision.

The customer may not transfer these Terms without DebtDesk’s written consent, except as part of a permitted business sale or restructuring. DebtDesk may transfer these Terms as part of a merger, acquisition, restructuring, or sale of the relevant business.

These Terms, together with the applicable order form, subscription terms, Privacy Policy, and any signed data-processing agreement, form the complete agreement between the parties about DebtDesk.

22. Contact

Entity

SJ WEB DESIGN STUDIO trading as DebtDesk

Registration number

2019 / 451962 / 07

Email

support@debtdesk.co.za

Address

39 May Avenue, Van Wyksvlei, Wellington 7655