Terms and Conditions for CarFiX Platform users.

Please familiarise yourself with the Terms and Conditions applicable when using the CarFiX Platform and of service agreement between you the Customer and your Service Provider.

If you have a car that is out of its maintenance plan, or are just sick and tired of being ripped off by your dealer, then you’ve come to the right place.

Every person in South Africa now has a right to choose who can repair your vehicle. You have the “right to repair” your vehicle by the Service provider of your choice.

That myth has been shattered by the South African Competition Commission who have described the old practices by some manufacturer workshops to be anticompetitive and have now put the right to repair explicitly in your hands. Here is the link https://tinyurl.com/3yd9yuma

And we’re here to take your first steps towards claiming your rights, offering a fair and free platform usage service to you the Customer, allowing choice in the servicing and repair of your car.

We are Not a Subscription Service

The use of our Platform by you the Customer and Service Provider is entirely free and gratis. There are no monthly subscription fees or one-off registration fees or cancellation fee or any other hidden cost you can possibly think of.

Neither will you get spam emails or unsolicited calls from marketeers trying to sell you things. We do not derive our income by sharing or selling any of your personal information as we take the storage and protection of your information very, very seriously. We strictly adhere to the provisions of the Protection of Information Act 84 of 1982 and in any event, don’t earn our income from advertising.

So how do we stay above the breadline you may ask: It’s simple: we gain a small, fixed percentage flat fee of the Service Provider’s invoice value for servicing and/or repairing your vehicle. That means that we rely upon a great number of people and organisations to use our free service. So go ahead, spread the word and tell your buddies about our great free App.

We are Not an Auto Repair Service

CarFiX does not itself repair maintain or diagnose or inspect your vehicle. These are among the Auto Services provided by the vetted Service Providers that have, like you, registered on our Platform. Once you have requested a service or repair to your vehicle, we will put you in touch with Service Providers in your area who will each provide you with an independent, obligation free quote for a service or an estimate for repairs to your vehicle.

Status Of These Terms

1. CarFiX™ is a Platform for linking Service Providers with Customers looking for Auto Services. CarFiX does not provide the Auto Services – it helps connect you the Customer and the Service Provider. The Customer chooses from Auto Services provided by the Service Provider of the Customer’s choice which the Service Provider accepts and makes your booking – not from CarFiX.


2. These terms and the documents referenced in them create a legal agreement between you and CarFiX. Our details are towards the end of this document. Being non-binary, CarFiX uses the pronouns “we”, “us” or “our” in these T’s & C’s. That’s in relation to you and us when using our Platform (“Platform”). You agree that by accessing and/or using the Platform, you are agreeing to these terms. We’ve also gone a step further and done our best to bind you and the service provider, who also uses our Platform to register, to subscribe to fair practices.


3. Your attention is drawn in particular to:
• the way that we limit our liability to you under clause 11, clauses 27 to 29 and clause 36 below;
• the fact that, because your chosen service provider, not us, provides the Auto Services, we are not responsible for any issues with the carrying out of the Auto Services (or any failure to carry them out). – see clause 9


4. The repair (including parts), diagnostic and inspection services are provided by the Service Provider to you directly. Our role and responsibility is limited to providing a free service to connect you the Customer, with the service provider for the provision of Auto Services. We cannot be responsible for the actions or failures of any Service Provider with whom you choose to make a Booking, nor any repair (including parts), diagnostic and inspection services they may provide.


5. The Service Provider agrees to provide the following Auto Services to you:


• Diagnostic services to determine the cause of any problems with the vehicle.
• Repairs and/or maintenance services to correct the identified problems with the vehicle.
• Routine vehicle service to the manufacturer’s specifications.
• Any additional services as agreed to between you and the Service Provider.



Definitions

6. To be sure we’re all speaking the same language, here’s what we agree these words mean:
• “App/s” means mobile application and web application where a mobile app denotes a software application that is designed to run on mobile devices such as smartphones and tablets and installed on the device's operating system. A web app is a software application that is accessed through a web browser over the internet, run within the browser and can be accessed on any device with an internet connection.
• “Auto Services” means any repair (including parts), maintenance, diagnostic and inspection services provided by a Service Provider under a Booking;
• “Booking” means a contract for the provision of Auto Services entered into between you and the Service Provider using our Platform;
• “Charges” means the charges payable in respect of parts and labour under a Booking
• “Customer” means you, the focus of the Platform and owner/user of your vehicle.
• “Platform” means the CarFiX digital infrastructure consisting of the customer mobile app and the service provider web app;
• “Registration/Register” means the process of creating a user account within the Platform’s mobile or web application which typically, involves providing certain information, such as an email address, username, and password, and agreeing to the terms and conditions of the App. Upon Registration users can log in to the App using their username and password and access any features or services that are available to them within the App;
• “Service Provider” means a provider of Auto Services, independent of CarFiX, which is Registered on our Platform;
• “Service Provider Listing” means a listing in the Platform setting out a description of the Service Provider and reviews provided in respect of the Service Provider by other users of the Platform;
• “Transaction” means a payment made by the Customer to the Service Provider through the Platform as a result of any quote accepted;
• “you” and “your” means you, any person who registers and/ or uses the Platform.


7. The Platform is designed to enable users in need of Auto Services to request a quote for the service of their vehicle and/or request an estimate for the repair of their vehicle. Auto Services are provided by the Service Provider, and not by us. We are responsible for maintaining the Platform, providing you with the use of our Platform at no charge. The provision of the Auto Services are entirely the responsibility of the Service Provider.


8. We enable you to create a profile containing information about your vehicle to enable the Service Providers the ability to offer you a quotation that is in line with your vehicle specifications and maintenance standards.


9. What this means is that when you use the Platform to make a Booking for Auto Services, it will create two legal contracts:
• one contract between you and us, under which we provide to you the means of browsing, requesting a quote (service) and/or estimate (repair) and checking that the service providers adhere to fair business practices when registering on the Platform. For this free use of our Platform you, on the other hand, agree to our T’s and C’s.


• a further contract between you and your choice of Service Provider in respect of the provision of their Auto Services to you at the price specified by them and agreed to by you at a fair market price, based on a range of factors including the Auto Services you require, your location, your car model, type and age, the availability of parts locally and nationally. Once you have been notified that a Service Provider has accepted and made your Booking at the Charges specified, a binding contract is created between you and the Service Provider for delivery of the Auto Services in exchange for payment of the Charges.


10. The Platform is used by a wide range, and a large number, of Service Providers – all of whom are independent traders, not employed directly or indirectly by CarFiX. Each Service Provider is responsible for the quality of their own advice and service. CarFiX cannot be held responsible for work completed, nor can we endorse or recommend any Service Provider.


11. The Service Providers are not our employees or workers. We have no involvement in the provision of the Auto Services. We require the Service Providers to ensure that all information provided by them at the time of Registration to the Platform to be accurate and complete. We take what reasonable steps we can to ensure that the Service Provider is insured, has a trading history, and experience of providing Auto Services, but we cannot realistically vet all details of each Service Provider.


12. Auto Services are not provided by us. Under no circumstances will we be liable in any way for any Auto Services, including any errors or omissions in the Auto Services, or any losses or harm of any kind resulting from the Service Provider’s provision of (or failure to provide) the Auto Services.


13. Any opinions, advice, statements, services, offers, or other information or content expressed or made available by Service Providers are those of the Service Provider and not those of us. We neither endorse nor are responsible for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, advice or statement made either on the Platform or otherwise, by anyone other than an authorised spokesperson of CarFiX.



Warranty in respect of the Auto Services

14. We require all Service Providers to provide a 6-month warranty on their labour component and 12 -month warranty on all parts supplied.


15. Your statutory rights are not affected by any such warranty and the normal provisions of our common law and statuary protections such as the Consumer Protection Act remain available to you.



Use of the Platform

16. Whilst you are in compliance with these terms (including our Acceptable Use Policy), we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, personal, revocable limited licence to access and use the Platform for your own personal private or (if you are a business) internal business use, in each case provided that such use is in accordance with these terms. You agree not to use the Platform, or any content of our website, for anything else.


17. We have the right to suspend, withdraw or modify the Platform (in whole or in part) without liability to you at any time, including in the following circumstances: for technical reasons (such as maintenance, or technical difficulties experienced by us or on the internet); to allow us to improve the usability of functionality of the Platform; where we have legal reasons for doing so (including privacy or other legal objections to the content or functionality of the Platform); because it is no longer economically viable or efficient to provide the Platform.



Accounts

18. If you set up a user account with us, you agree that you shall take all steps necessary to protect your log in details and keep them secret. You agree that you shall not give your log in details to anyone else or allow anyone else to use your log in details or account.


19. If you fail to keep your login details confidential, or if you deliberately or unintentionally share your login details or account with someone else, you accept full responsibility for the consequences of this and agree to fully compensate us for any losses or harm that may result.


20. We will not be responsible to you for any loss that you suffer as a result of an unauthorised person accessing your account and using the Platform and we accept no responsibility for any losses or harm resulting from its unauthorised use, whether fraudulently or otherwise.


21. If you notice an unauthorised use or breach of your user account, you must notify us immediately at customercare@carfixsa.com


22. We have the right to suspend, withdraw or modify the Platform (in whole or in part) without liability to you at any time, including in the following circumstances: for technical reasons (such as maintenance, or technical difficulties experienced by us or on the internet); to allow us to improve the usability of functionality of the Platform; where we have legal reasons for doing so (including privacy or other legal objections to the content or functionality of the Platform); because it is no longer economically viable or efficient to provide the Platform.



Your conduct in relation to the Platform

23. You must comply with all laws applicable in South Africa. If any laws applicable to you restrict or prohibit you from using the Platform, you must comply with those legal restrictions or, if applicable, stop accessing and/or using the Platform. You must ensure that in your carrying out of any Auto Services you comply with all applicable laws in relation to health and safety and disposal of hazardous waste.



Your breach of these terms

24. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Platform (including by deleting your account) at any time. We will likely do so if we reasonably believe that you are in breach of these terms.


25. You agree to compensate us, according to law, for all losses, harm, claims and expenses that may arise from any breach of these terms by you.



Limitation of Liability – Important – Please Read Carefully

26. We accept liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence (which does not include any Service Provider), and for losses or harm caused by fraud by us, or any other liability which it would be unlawful for us to exclude or restrict liability.


27. We are not responsible for:
• Any liability for death or personal injury resulting from the negligence of any Service Provider, and for losses or harm caused by fraud by any Service Provider;


• any losses in relation to your receiving or not receiving the Platform or any Auto Services;
• any losses arising due to a breach of our obligations or that of the Service Provider which arises due to circumstances outside our reasonable control;
• technical failures or the lack of availability of the Platform.
28. We only supply the Platform for your own individual domestic, business and private use. You agree not to use the Platform for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose. We therefore have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.


29. We shall not be liable to you, whether in contract, delict (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, for any loss of profit, loss of anticipated savings, loss of revenue, or any indirect or consequential loss arising under or in connection with any contract between us.