General:
You must be 18 years of age or older or you will not be able to enter into a legally binding contract to buy or sell via Midlands Business. If you register membership as a business [as a sole trader or partnership] on Midlands Business you must guarantee that you personally have the authority of the business to agree to the terms of use. These terms shall be governed by and interpreted in accordance with the law of South Africa.
Behaviour:
- You must not use Midlands Business for any illegal or unauthorized purpose and you agree to comply with all ‘local’ laws regarding online conduct and acceptable content such as libel law and must comply with all local jurisdiction.
- You must not breach any laws, sell any counterfeit items or otherwise infringe the copyright, trade mark or other rights of third parties.
- You must not threaten, intimidate, harass or otherwise abuse any other Midlands Business user.
- You are responsible for maintaining that the content you submit is your own and is not owned by others.
- You are solely responsible for your behaviour and conduct on Midlands Business including use of all content and data including images [graphics and photos], audio and video clips, links and text that you post to the Midlands Business website.
- You must not modify or adapt or ‘hack’ Midlands Business or seek to create another website or communication to users that implies it is associated to Midlands Business
- You must not produce unwanted communications [spam] to other users of Midlands Business
- You are responsible for keeping your password secure.
- You must not transmit or seek to transmit any viruses or any code that seeks to alter the behaviour of the Midlands Business site or that is in any way destructive.
Liability
Under no circumstances will Midlands Business be liable for any of the following losses or damage (whether such losses where foreseen, foreseeable, known or otherwise): (a) loss of data; (b) loss of revenue or anticipated profits; (c) loss of business; (d) loss of opportunity; (e) loss of goodwill or injury to reputation; (f) losses suffered by third parties; or (g) any indirect, consequential, special or exemplary damages arising from the use of Midlands Business regardless of the form of action.
Goods for Sale – Handmade
If you seek to sell products then all goods sold as “handmade” must be deemed not to have been produced through “mass production” methods and must be the original design or produce of the seller.
Content and Copyright
You [“the vendor”] in using the website allow Midlands Business the right to re-use, edit, modify, re-purpose and re-publish the content. “You” retain rights over copyright of all such content yet provide a license for Midlands Business to use this content both on and offline.
You must not post, list or upload false, inaccurate, misleading or defamatory content (including personal information).
You must not copy, modify, or distribute Midlands Business copyrighted works or trademarks, or other content from the Site, without our express consent.
Midlands Business may change or remove content (“content” includes, for example, items, item descriptions, and other information on the site) and accounts containing content that Midlands Business determines to be unlawful, offensive, threatening, libellous, defamatory, obscene or otherwise objectionable or violates any party’s intellectual property, the Terms of Use, the Privacy Policy or other policy documents and community guidelines.
By submitting your content you grant Midlands Business a perpetual, royalty-free, non-exclusive, right and license to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, make available to the public, and exercise all copyright and publicity rights with respect to your contribution worldwide and/or to incorporate your contribution in other works in any media now known or later developed for the full term of any rights that may exist in your contribution, and in accordance with privacy restrictions set out in Midlands Business Privacy Policy. This will enable us to reproduce your work for the purposes of marketing the service and your work [for example: ‘adverts’; blog posts; printed and web related marketing material; books etc.].
Your content must be your own original work which you have the right to make available and is not defamatory, does not infringe any law and indemnify Midlands Business against all legal fees, damages and other expenses that may be incurred by Midlands Business as a result of your breach of the above warranty.
Data and Privacy
You must not collect information about users, including email addresses, without their express consent.
You must not hold multiple accounts in order to sell the same goods as this constitutes ‘spam’ and unfair manipulation of the Midlands Business service.
You must not solicit for new business on Midlands Business or use it to send unsolicited communications except to ask or inform others about Midlands Business business (items, postage etc.). Any such action will result in your account being deleted and possible action taken with your company or ISP (internet service provider).
Changes to the Service
Midlands Business retains the right to terminate or change the service for any reason at any time without notice.
Midlands Business retains the right to modify the Terms of Use at any time. Midlands Business will inform registered users by email of any changes to the Terms of Use.
Midlands Business retains the right to refuse service to anyone at any time and to terminate accounts if in breach of the Terms of Use.
Marketing and Linking
You shall not link out from Midlands Business to your own shop or other selling platform. Midlands Business is to be primarily used as a platform for selling and not as a lead generator / marketing platform for your own site or other services and platforms.
Fees
We charge 10% sales commission on the selling price of all items plus an additional 5% for payment gateway fees. Commission is not charged on postage.
Vendor fees for orders placed through PayFast are taken at the Point of Sale by PayFast. There may be a delay of up to 5 days before payments are transferred.
Sales Policy
General
The sales contract is between each individual “seller” and the “buyer”. Midlands Business provides a service to facilitate that contract but is not responsible for it or its fulfilment.
Selling
All sellers agree to abide by the Consumer Contracts Regulations:
This legislation protects the consumer when buying over the internet or by mail order and applies to all provinces of South Africa.
Midlands Business aims to make it easy for sellers to comply with this legislation and consumer law, however, all compliance is the responsibility of the seller.
Sellers must post items purchased within three (3) working days of receiving payment unless otherwise clearly stated on the product description OR if the buyer’s identity and / or address cannot be authenticated, in which case sellers must notify shop@midlandsbusiness.co.za
All items must be received by the buyer in under 30 days unless you have agreed a longer term in writing (e.g. email) with the buyer.
Returns Policy
In using Midlands Business, sellers agree that the buyer has a right to terminate the contract and return the item even if the item is not faulty in any way (this is the consumer’s right in South African law). They have the right to do this up to 7 days after receipt of the items and a full refund including the cost of the outgoing postage must be made within 7 days of the seller receiving the returned item(s), or within 7 days of the buyer providing evidence that the item(s) have been returned (e.g. proof of postage), whichever is sooner.
Unless the seller has stated otherwise, the buyer is responsible for paying for the cost of return postage.
Please note: Unless faulty, the following types of items are non-refundable: items that are personalised, bespoke or made-to-order to your specific requirements; items which deteriorate quickly (e.g. food), personal items sold with a hygiene seal (cosmetics, underwear) in instances where the seal is broken.
Cancelling a transaction.
The buyer must inform the seller if they wish to cancel the order and they must do this in writing (email is sufficient). Sellers must provide a full refund of the cost of the item and any postage costs within 14 calendar days of receiving the returned item(s), or within 14 days of the buyer providing evidence that the item(s) have been returned (e.g. proof of postage), whichever is sooner. If the goods have not yet been sent, refunds must be provided within 14 days of receipt of the notification of cancellation.
If you break the above terms then your account will be suspended and possibly terminated. Midlands Business seeks to promote legal activity and well-behaved conduct on its site however, you understand and agree in using the site that Midlands Business is a ‘place’ and is not responsible for the content posted on the site and that you may be exposed to content and behaviour that contravenes the above Terms and as such you use Midlands Business at your own risk.
Legal Information: what sellers need to comply with
Midlands Business is a platform for people/businesses to sell to buyers. The legal contract for the purposes of any transaction between a buyer and a seller rests with the buyer and the seller and not Midlands Business.