1. The Parties and Introduction

1.1 PBSA (Pty) Limited (PBSA), a privately held company incorporated in and subject to the laws of the Republic of South Africa; and

1.2You, the visitor to the PBSA website.

1.3 Please read this entire Agreement carefully before accepting its Terms. When You undertake any activity on the Website, You agree to accept these Terms and Conditions.

1.4 In using the website, you are deemed to have read and agreed to the following Terms and Conditions set forth herein. Any incidental documents and links mentioned shall be accepted jointly with these terms. You agree to use the website only in strict interpretation and acceptance of these terms, and any actions or commitments made without regard to these Terms shall be at your own risk. These terms and conditions form part of the Agreement between you and PBSA. By accessing the website it indicates your understanding, agreement to and acceptance of the disclaimer notice and the full terms and conditions contained herein.

2. Interpretation

2.1 The headings to the clauses of this agreement are for reference purposes only.

2.2 Unless the context requires otherwise, the words and expressions will be interpreted as set out below and related words and expressions will be interpreted with their corresponding meanings:

2.2.1 “AFSA” means the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa;

2.2.2“Acceptance date” means the date on which you visit the PBSA website and agree to the terms and conditions of use and service either by clicking on "I acknowledge that I have read and understood the terms and conditions of this website" or, by continuing to browse through the website, regardless of whether you physically consented or accepted the terms and conditions;

2.2.3 “Agreement” means the PBSA’s website terms and conditions of use and service agreement;

2.2.4 “CPA” means the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008;

2.2.5“CPA regulations” means the regulations made under section 120(1) of the CPA, vol. 550 no 34180;

2.2.6 “Consent” means any voluntary, specific and informed expression of will in terms of which permission is given for the processing of personal information and credit related information;

2.2.7 "Data message" means information in an electronic format generated, sent, received or stored by electronic means and electronic communications and transactions;

2.2.8 “Direct marketing” means an approach to a person by electronic communication for the purpose of promoting or offering in the ordinary course of business to supply goods or services;

2.2.9 “Do not contact” or “Do not contact registry” means the registry contemplated in section 11 of CPA and section 4 of the CPA regulations;

2.2.10 “ECT” means the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002;

2.2.11 “ECT required information” means the information required to be made available in terms of section 43 of ECT;

2.2.12 “Electronic communication” means a data message via electronic transmission including via websites, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) sites, email and similar technology;

2.2.13 “Electronic transaction” means business of either a commercial or non-commercial nature

2.2.15 “Information” means facts or details about something or somebody, and includes the facts and details on, personal information, credit, trace and deeds searches for persons (natural and juristic), third party service providers and the legal notices published on the PBSA websites. “data” shall have the same meaning as information;

2.2.16 “Intellectual property” means the rights to copyright in any work in terms of the Copyright Act 98 of 1978, to trade mark in terms of the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993, to design in terms of the Design Act 195 of 1993, to patents in terms of the Patents Act, 57 of 1978, including any applications for any of these and any names, licenses, know-how, trade secrets and data associated with these and, rights to domain names;

2.2.17“Legal notices” means this agreement together with any other notices published on the PBSA website from time to time including, but not limited to the PBSA privacy policy, consumer protection rights notice, email legal notice and blog terms and conditions of use;

2.2.18 “Non-consumer” means juristic persons (bodies corporate, partnerships, associations or trusts) with an asset value or annual turnover at the time of the transaction equal to or more than two million (r2m) South African rand (the current threshold).

2.2.19 “Parties” means PBSA (Pty) Limited and You. “Party” shall mean either one or the other of these as the context requires;

2.2.20 “Person” means a natural or juristic person;

2.2.21 “Personal information” means information relating to an identifiable, living, natural person, and where applicable, an identifiable, existing juristic person, including, but not limited to race, gender, sex, marital status, age, financial, criminal or employment history of the person, identifying number, symbol, email address, physical address, telephone number, location information, online identifier, biometric information of the person; and the name of the person if it appears with other personal information relating to the person or if the disclosure of the name itself would reveal information about the person;

2.2.22 "Processing" means any operation or activity or any set of operations, whether or not by automatic means, concerning personal information, including but not limited to collection, receipt, recording, organisation, collation, storage, updating or modification, retrieval, alteration, consultation or use, dissemination, merging, linking, and restriction, degradation, erasure or destruction of information;

2.2.23 “Record” means information created, received, and maintained as evidence and information by an organisation or person, in pursuance of legal obligations or in the transaction of business and which information is required to be retained in compliance with South African law;

2.2.24 “Service” means the service as defined in CPA

2.2.25 “PBSA” means the party mentioned in clause 1.1 above and any company owned or controlled by PBSA;

2.2.26 "PBSA business affiliate” means any natural or juristic person that is connected with PBSA and which includes but is not limited to an association, partnership or other commercial relationship that exists or may exist between PBSA and third parties but excludes PBSA ownership or control;

2.2.27 “PBSA business names” means but are not limited to, brand and trade names, logos of PBSA;

2.2.28 “PBSA marks” means any trademarks, service marks, logos, domain names or other marks of PBSA, whether registered or not;

2.2.29 “RICA” means the Regulation of Interception of Communications and Provision of Communication-Related Information Act 70 of 2002, and the RICA Amendment Act 48 of 2008;

2.2.30 “Third party service providers” means but is not limited to the companies who own and provide software, hardware and services which forms part of any and all PBSA services;

2.2.31 “Uncontrollable event” means fire, flood, earthquake, acts of nature or an act of God, riots, civil disorder, rebellions or revolutions in any country or any other cause beyond the control of PBSA including but not limited to the disruption, suspension or termination of services provided by a third party to PBSA that may result in the website and/or service not being available/operational;

2.2.32 “User” means a person who has agreed to these terms and conditions of use or any person who continues to access, browse through, interact (in any manner or form) or view the PBSA website, regardless of whether the person has physically consented or agreed to the terms and conditions of the PBSA website ;

2.2.33 “Visitor” means a person and/or user, accessing, interacting, viewing or browsing the PBSA website;

2.2.34 “Website” means the PBSA website, including but not limited to its content and material, as accessed by you on any particular day, unless the context of the relevant clause refers to another website link or website content.

2.2.35 “Writing” means a written document executed by hand on paper and that excludes either wholly or partly any part of a data message as defined in ECT; and

2.2.34 “You”/ “your” means the visitor or user of the website and the party referred to in clause 1.2 above.

2.3 Any reference in this agreement to:

2.3.1 A “clause” will, subject to any contradiction, be interpreted to mean a clause in this agreement; and

2.3.2 A “law” will be interpreted to include the common law, statute law, the 1996 Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, decrees, judgements, treaties, regulations, directives, by-laws, orders or any other legislative measure within the Republic of South Africa.

2.4 Unless inconsistent with the context, an expression which denotes:

2.4.1 any one gender includes the other gender; and

2.4.2 the singular includes the plural and vice versa.

2.5 Any reference to an enactment in this agreement is to that enactment as at the acceptance date and as amended or re-enacted from time to time.

2.6 The rule of construction that, in the event of ambiguity, the agreement shall be interpreted against the party responsible for the drafting or preparation of the agreement, shall not apply to this Agreement.

3. This Agreement – Applicability

3.1 If you do not agree to this website and service terms and conditions of use agreement, you should leave the website and not use the PBSA website or service. Please note that continued use constitutes an agreement between PBSA and you.

3.2 Please note that your legal rights and remedies will differ depending upon whether you are a consumer or a non-consumer, as defined in the CPA.

4. Commencement, Availability & Termination

4.1 This agreement will commence on the acceptance date and continue indefinitely until amended or terminated by PBSA or, until you stop using the service and/or products.

4.2 PBSA reserves the right to correct, amend and revise this agreement and the services as and when necessary in the sole and absolute discretion of PBSA. Each time an amendment is made, PBSA will place a prominent notice on the PBSA website bringing the amendment to your attention. Where material amendments affect you, PBSA may give you 14 (fourteen) days’ notice prior to the changes taking effect. It is your responsibility to ensure that you are aware of and understand all the prevailing terms and conditions.

4.3 Each amended version of this agreement current when you visit the website and/or use the service/products will be the version of the agreement applicable between PBSA and you.

5. Cooling off rights

5.1 You have no cooling off rights in terms of ECT

5.2 You may have rights under the CPA, depending upon your status as a consumer. if you are uncertain as to your rights, please contact us via the process outlined in clause 22 below and PBSA will assess each enquiry on a case-by-case basis.

6. Privacy policy

6.1 All confidential and personal information obtained from or about you will be maintained and secured in accordance with the PBSA privacy policy, this agreement and the other legal notices.

7. English language

7.1 PBSA services are conducted in English only.

7.2 It is your responsibility to ensure that you properly understand this agreement and the legal notices.

7.3 Neither PBSA nor its personnel, consultants, advisers, partners or affiliates shall be liable for any losses or claims arising from your inability to understand English.

8. Intellectual property

8.1 The website (including but not limited to the materials it contains), the service and the information provided to you, comprises of intellectual property protected under South African law and international treaties. Unless otherwise indicated, PBSA reserves all rights in and to the intellectual property owned by or licensed by or to PBSA, as the case may be, and that of its service providers and/or product owners. Further, and except as otherwise expressly provided to you in writing or herein, PBSA does not grant you any other express or implied right or license to the PBSA Services, Content or intellectual property rights.

8.2 You may make a temporary copy of part or all, of the website on your computer or mobile device or tablet for the purpose of viewing it. You may print limited hard copy versions for personal use only provided that any copyright, trade mark or other intellectual property notices are not removed and the material is appropriately attributed to PBSA only. Subject to the limited license granted to you by PBSA, you may not in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of PBSA:

8.2.1 Commercially exploit reproduce, distribute, display, transmit, publish or broadcast any website content or information;

8.2.2 Claim ownership of all or any part of the website content or information;

8.2.3 Modify or repost the website content or information;

8.3 PBSA business names and marks referenced on the PBSA websites are the registered or unregistered intellectual property of PBSA. Any unauthorised use of these assets is strictly forbidden.

8.4 Third party intellectual property assets, including but not limited to patents, designs, names, goods and services referenced on the PBSA websites are the intellectual property of various third parties. Any unauthorised use of these assets is strictly forbidden.

8.5 Nothing contained on the PBSA Website should be interpreted as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use PBSA’s Website or any materials displayed thereon, through any means of usage, except:

(a) as expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions; or

(b) with the prior written consent PBSA’s Board of Directors. You shall not attempt to override or circumvent any of the usage rules or restrictions on the PBSA Website.

9. Information and Record Retention

9.1 All confidential and personal information obtained from or about you will be maintained and secured in accordance with the pbVerify privacy policy, this agreement and the other legal notices.

10. Access to information

10.1 Should you require a record relating to yourself, please send an email to support@pbsa.co.za.

11. Monitoring, Interception and Access to Information

11.1 To comply with law and in line with international standards and best practice relating to the use of information technology in its business, PBSA monitors and intercepts live communications such website activity, email and electronic communications in compliance with RICA.

11.2 Subject to the provisions of ECT, South African and international privacy principles, PBSA will where necessary and if required by law, access static information created, received, communicated and stored by PBSA as part of its business.

11.3 Subject to the provisions of RICA and ECT, you agree to monitoring, interception and access to information relating to the use of the PBSA websites, blog sites and related electronic communications.

12. Governing Law

12.1 This agreement shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

13. Communication

13.1 You agree that PBSA may from time to time send you communications regarding, but not limited to PBSA products and services.

13.2 You will always have the choice to:

 13.2.1 inform PBSA that you do not wish to continue receiving communications;

13.2.2 opt –out of receiving communications by using the functionality provided; or

13.2.3 block any communications by registering on the dnc registry as contemplated in CPA.

14. Complaints

14.1 You agree to submit all complaints relating to this agreement to PBSA first, in order to afford us an opportunity to resolve the complaint before you proceed to any relevant authority.

14.2 In this regard, please direct all complaints to support@pbsa.co.za

15. Enquiries

15.1 All enquiries must be made by contacting our call centre on +27 (0) 11 516 9400, or by email to support@pbsa.co.za

15.2 Depending on the nature of the enquiry PBSA will endeavour to deal with enquiries within forty-eight (48) hours of receiving them. PBSA does not, however, warrant that enquiries will be responded to within this timeframe.

16. Alternative Dispute Resolution

16.1 Without restriction on any of your rights to approach a competent court or legal forum, expressly excluding any social media platform, within the Gauteng South Africa Jurisdiction, relating to a dispute arising from this agreement, you agree to confidential arbitration prior to proceeding to court or other forum (save for any exclusions).

16.2 You agree that any dispute arising from or in connection with this agreement shall be finally resolved in accordance with the rules of the AFSA by an arbitrator or arbitrators appointed by the foundation and that such proceedings shall be held in Johannesburg in English.

16.3 You expressly acknowledge that the arbitration proceeding agreed to in .1 above prevents you from entering into a class action lawsuit against PBSA in relation to any dispute arising from this agreement.

16.4 Nothing herein shall preclude either party from approaching a court of competent jurisdiction for an interdict or for relief on an urgent basis.

I, the user, warrant that I am liable in my personal capacity and fully authorised to act on behalf of the organisation in seeking access to credit bureau and related information and to bind the organisation to form valid legal relationships;

17. Enforceability

17.1 This agreement constitutes the entire agreement between PBSA and you in regard to the subject matter thereof and no addition to, variation, modification or consensual cancellation of this agreement shall be of any force or effect unless recorded in a written document and signed by or on behalf of the duly authorised representatives of the parties (excluding any written agreements that may be otherwise concluded between the parties).

17.2 Any data message as defined in the ECT, or a copy, printout or extract of such a message signed by an authorised PBSA officer will be absolute proof of the contents of the copy, printout or extract of such a message.

17.3 No failure or delay on the part of either party in exercising any right in terms of this agreement shall operate as a waiver nor, shall any single or partial exercise of any right prevent any other or further exercise thereof, or the exercise of any other right.

17.4 Should any clause or term of this agreement be invalid, unenforceable or illegal, the remaining terms and provisions of the agreement shall be deemed to be severable therefrom and shall continue in full force and effect unless such invalidity, unenforceability or illegality goes to the root of this agreement.

18. Limitation of Liability

18.1 To the fullest extent permitted in law, you understand, acknowledge and agree that your use of the PBSA websites and service are at your sole discretion and risk. PBSA shall not be liable for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damages suffered by you or any other party, whether arising from a visit to the website, on account of any transaction under this Agreement,  and/or arising out of the PBSA products and/or services.

18.2 You expressly agree and acknowledge that you shall be solely liable for any claims, damages, loss or allegations arising out of the Services through the website and you shall indemnify and hold PBSA harmless against all such claims, damages, loss and allegations. Further, PBSA shall not be liable for any claims, damages or losses arising out of any negligence, misconduct, or misrepresentation by you.

19. Social media liability

19.1 You shall be fully liable for all damages and/or losses (direct, indirect, consequential or incidental) [including  but not limited to legal costs on an attorney and own client scale] suffered by PBSA, its employees, affiliates and/or subsidiaries as a result of:

(a) you, your friend, acquaintance or colleague, (including but not limited to any person or family member acting on your behalf), defaming the name and/or good reputation of PBSA, its affiliates or subsidiaries, on any social media platform.

20. No warranty

19.1 This website has not been customised for any specific industry or individual need and is provided to the public as a whole with the result that the information is provided without warranty of any kind, expressed or implied, including but not limited to warranties of reliability, fitness for purpose, timeliness, accuracy, completeness or non-infringement of third party rights (refer to clause 24, Disclaimer). PBSA will endeavour to take all reasonable care to ensure the accuracy of information and the availability of the website, but makes no representations, warranties or guarantees. As such, the website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.

21. Indemnity

20.1 To the fullest extent permissible in law, you hereby unconditionally and unreservedly indemnify and hold PBSA, its affiliates, public officers, shareholders,  directors, employees, consultants, agents, licensors and service providers, harmless against all loss, damages, claims, liability, legal proceedings and / or costs, of whatsoever nature, howsoever and whensoever arising, as a result of and without limitation, the following:

21.1.1 visiting or using the website, PBSA service and electronic communications;

21.1.2 downloading search content and information;

21.1.3 reliance on the website, search content and/or information;

21.1.4 links to other PBSA or third party websites or external links;

21.1.5 hardware, software, system or network malfunction; or

21.1.6 any other cause whatsoever arising from or relating to visiting or using the PBSA services/website

21.2 This clause 21 shall survive the termination or expiration of this Agreement.

22. Relationship

22.1 Nothing in this Agreement or on the website will be construed as creating a relationship of partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment between the Parties. PBSA, its affiliates and subsidiaries shall not be responsible for the acts or omissions made (directly or indirectly) by you, and you shall not represent PBSA, neither do you have any power or authority to speak for, represent, bind, or assume any obligation on behalf of PBSA, its affiliates or subsidiaries.

23. Skill diligence and care

23.1 PBSA will exercise reasonable skill, diligence and care as may reasonably be expected from a similar website provider.

24. Disclaimer

24.1        To the fullest extent permitted by law, PBSA, its affiliates, subsidiaries and each of its respective officers, directors, employees, and agents disclaim all warranties, express or implied, in connection with this Agreement, the website and any use thereof, including but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose (clause 20) and non-infringement. PBSA makes no warranties or representations about the accuracy or completeness of the website content or the content of any other websites linked to the (PBSA) website (if applicable), and assumes no liability or responsibility for any:

(a) errors, mistakes, or inaccuracies of website content and materials,

(b) personal injury or property damage, of any nature whatsoever, resulting from your access to and use of the website,

(c) any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the website,

(d) any bugs, viruses, trojan horses, or the like which may be transmitted to or through the website by any third party, and/or

(f) any errors or omissions in any content and materials or for any loss or damage of any kind incurred as a result of the use of any content posted, transmitted, or otherwise made available via the website.

24.2 PBSA does not guarantee the privacy, security or authenticity of any information so transmitted over or stored in any system connected to the internet or mobile devices or any other electronic device.