Terms & Conditions

Introduction and Agreement

These Terms & Conditions apply to hosting, domains, email, DNS, website services, technical support, maintenance, reseller services, migrations and related services supplied by Padroni Hosting (“Padroni”, “we”, “us” or “our”) to the account holder (“client”, “you” or “your”). A person ordering for an organisation must have authority to act for it.

These terms must be made available before you enter into the service agreement and read together with the accepted quote, order, package description, any written service agreement, our Acceptable Use Policy and our Privacy Policy & POPIA Notice. The Privacy Policy explains our information practices; it does not provide blanket consent to processing.

Your acceptance may be recorded through checkout, written confirmation or another valid agreement process. An invoice alone does not retrospectively introduce new conditions. A specifically agreed written service provision governs that particular service where it conflicts with these general terms, subject to applicable law. No agreement authorises unlawful activity.

Important: Serious or repeated acceptable use breaches can result in restrictions, suspension or termination. The refund exclusion and liability limitations below affect your rights and should be read before ordering. Mandatory legal rights remain protected.

Services and Scope

The services, price, billing cycle, term, package limits, included support and any service commitments are those disclosed and agreed for your order. Additional work, products, licences or functionality outside that scope may be quoted separately and require your authorisation.

A hosting package does not automatically include website development, device troubleshooting, malware cleanup, third-party software repair or ongoing website maintenance unless these are expressly included. Any promised backup, support or service commitment remains part of the agreed service.

Client Responsibilities

You must provide accurate account, billing and domain information, keep contact details current, pay invoices on time and promptly supply the access and information reasonably needed to deliver the agreed services.

You must keep credentials secure and maintain websites, plugins, themes, scripts and devices for which you are responsible. You must use our services lawfully and ensure that users, staff, contractors and reseller-managed clients with access comply with our Acceptable Use Policy.

You are responsible for the legality and permissions relating to content and information you upload or supply. Keep independent copies of important files, databases and email. These responsibilities do not remove our own contractual or statutory obligations.

Payments and Billing

Services are payable in advance unless a different arrangement is agreed in writing. Pay by the due date using the payment details on the current invoice and an identifiable invoice or account reference. A proof of payment is not confirmation that funds have cleared; payments are allocated after receipt and verification.

Shared hosting packages and their associated email services may be suspended from one calendar day after the invoice due date if payment remains outstanding. Dedicated hosting packages, including managed hosting on dedicated infrastructure, and their associated email services may be suspended from seven calendar days after the invoice due date. These periods are measured from the invoice due date, unless a different arrangement is agreed in writing, and remain subject to applicable notice requirements and law. Suspension does not automatically terminate the contract.

Where payment remains outstanding for 30 calendar days after the invoice due date, we may terminate the affected hosting service and remove its hosting account, subject to any applicable agreement and mandatory notice and remedy requirements. Before cancellation for non-payment, we will give written notice identifying the affected service, outstanding amount, payment deadline and intended termination. Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, cancellation for material non-compliance requires written notice and 20 business days to remedy the failure; termination will not take effect before that statutory period has elapsed without remedy, even if this is later than 30 calendar days overdue.

Termination can result in permanent deletion of website files, databases and email. The data and backup arrangements below apply; indefinite retention or restoration is not promised. Domain expiry and third-party renewal deadlines follow their own timelines and are not extended by the hosting suspension or termination periods.

We will take reasonable steps to notify you about overdue amounts and the affected services. Restrictions on additional services under the same account must be permitted by the agreement and proportionate to the default. Any reconnection charge must have been disclosed and agreed, or separately authorised, before it is charged.

Payment may resolve a billing suspension once verified. It does not resolve a separate acceptable use or security breach, and does not automatically entitle an abusive service to reinstatement.

False Identities and Fraudulent Applications

You must provide true, accurate and complete personal, company, billing and domain registration details and have authority to act for the person or organisation represented. Deliberately fabricated identities, fictitious company details, impersonation, forged verification documents and false claims of authority are prohibited. We may request reasonable evidence of identity or authority and withhold activation or restrict affected access while a material concern is investigated.

Where deliberate fraudulent signup or material fraudulent misrepresentation is established, Padroni may cancel or terminate the affected services immediately, without prior warning or an opportunity to remedy, to the extent permitted by law. Where a material fraudulent misrepresentation induced us to enter into the agreement, we reserve the right to rescind the agreement in accordance with applicable law. An innocent administrative error or an unverified allegation is not automatically treated as fraud.

No discretionary refund, account credit or money-back guarantee applies to services lawfully cancelled or terminated for established fraudulent signup or intentional fraudulent use. The refund provisions below apply. Any mandatory refund or restitution arising under applicable law, including following rescission, remains unaffected.

Lawful Use and Abuse

Our Acceptable Use Policy forms part of the service agreement. Spam, phishing, fraud, scams, deceptive payment demands, impersonation, credential theft, malware, unauthorised access and other prohibited activity are not permitted.

You may not use our services to carry out, advertise, facilitate or support such activity, including by linking to abusive content elsewhere, using hosted domains or pages in a campaign sent through another provider, or moving prohibited activity between accounts.

Immediate Protective Action

Where we have reasonable grounds to suspect abuse, compromise or a material threat, we may immediately block sending, restrict access, isolate content or suspend affected services to contain the risk. Urgent protective action does not require a prior warning. We will act proportionately and limit restrictions to the affected services where practicable.

We assess relevant logs, message headers, content, credible complaints and provider or security reports. A spam score, filtering rejection, blacklist entry or unsupported allegation alone does not establish deliberate abuse. We are not required to wait for a criminal conviction before enforcing a substantiated contractual breach.

We will notify the account holder of the action, general reason and any required corrective steps as soon as reasonably practicable. Lawful restrictions on disclosure may apply. This does not delay or replace any mandatory security-compromise notification.

A compromised mailbox or website can be restricted even if the client did not authorise the activity. Compromise alone is not proof of intentional misconduct. Restoration may require credential changes, malware removal, software updates, access revocation or other reasonable remediation.

Immediate Suspension and Termination for Abuse

Fraud, scams, phishing, deliberate spam, impersonation, credential theft, malware distribution, unauthorised access and evasion of abuse restrictions constitute serious material breaches. Where legally permitted, Padroni may terminate the affected service immediately, without prior warning or an opportunity to remedy an established serious breach. We may also terminate for repeated material breaches or failure to remedy a material breach within an applicable notice period.

Where there are reasonable grounds to suspect prohibited activity or a material security threat, we may immediately disable sending, block access, isolate content or suspend affected services without prior warning while investigating and containing the risk. Protective action does not depend on a criminal conviction. We will assess the evidence and distinguish substantiated misconduct from unverified allegations or an account compromise.

Immediate termination remains subject to mandatory contractual and statutory notice and remedy requirements. Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies to a fixed-term agreement, cancellation for material non-compliance requires written notice and 20 business days to remedy the failure before cancellation on that basis. This statutory period does not authorise continued prohibited activity or require us to leave an abusive service operational. Necessary, lawful and proportionate protective restrictions may remain while a documented risk persists. We will assess remediation and comply with any applicable right to remedy; protective suspension will not be used to evade mandatory cancellation requirements.

Action against related services or a reseller account will be proportionate to a documented connection to the breach or material shared risk. The termination notice will identify the affected services, reason, effective date, applicable financial treatment and available data arrangements.

Termination ends future billing for the terminated service from its effective date, except for amounts lawfully due for services supplied, work completed or separately agreed continuing obligations. It does not automatically make all remaining future instalments payable.

Refunds Following Abuse Enforcement

No hosting refund, account credit or compensation for unused prepaid time will be issued for a service lawfully cancelled or terminated because of established fraudulent signup, intentional scams, fraud, phishing, deliberate spam or another serious or repeated material acceptable use breach, to the extent permitted by applicable law. This includes unused time under annual prepaid hosting. Discretionary or goodwill refunds, service credits and money-back guarantees do not apply to those breaches.

Fees lawfully earned for services supplied or work completed, and properly disclosed non-recoverable third-party costs already incurred for the order, remain payable. A restriction based solely on unverified suspicion does not automatically trigger this refund exclusion.

This section does not automatically forfeit unrelated credit, duplicate or mistaken payments, or any amount the law requires us to return. Where applicable law requires an account of unused prepayments, a refund or restitution, including following rescission, we will comply after any lawful, itemised deductions. Mandatory cooling-off rights and other statutory remedies take priority.

We do not impose arbitrary abuse fines. Any claim for remediation costs, damages or another charge requires supporting records and a contractual or legal basis; there will be no double recovery. These terms do not prevent you from exercising lawful dispute, complaint or payment rights.

Client Cancellations and Other Refunds

Submit a cancellation request through the Client Area or in writing from the registered account holder or verified authorised contact. Identify the service and requested end date. We may reasonably verify authority before acting.

The agreed service term and any notice period disclosed before ordering apply. For a monthly service with no separate minimum term or notice period, submit cancellation before the next renewal; cancellation normally takes effect at the end of the current paid period. Annual payment does not, by itself, establish that every cancellation right has been waived.

Where section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act applies, a consumer may cancel a fixed-term agreement on 20 business days’ notice, subject to amounts lawfully due and any reasonable cancellation charge permitted by law. Unused prepayments will be accounted for as required. We will not impose a penalty that unlawfully defeats the cancellation right.

Outside a mandatory refund entitlement or an expressly agreed refund arrangement, we do not ordinarily provide pro-rata refunds for a client’s voluntary cancellation of an already active prepaid period. Charges for completed work, processed domains and third-party purchases are refundable only to the extent required by law or recoverable under an applicable agreed arrangement.

Where section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies to a service transaction, you may cancel without reason or penalty within seven days after concluding the agreement, and the applicable payment must be refunded within 30 days after cancellation. Statutory exclusions may apply, including services begun with your consent before that period ends. Agreement to these terms alone is not a substitute for obtaining and recording the required consent to early commencement.

Domains and Renewals

Domain registrations, renewals and transfers depend on availability, successful processing and the applicable registry and registrar rules. Check the requested spelling and registrant information before approval. Domain charges already processed and committed are generally non-refundable, subject to mandatory legal rights and any recoverable third-party refund.

Keep ownership and contact details accurate and pay renewal invoices before the applicable deadline. Non-renewal may lead to expiry, interruption, redemption charges or loss of the domain. Reminders do not guarantee renewal or extend a registry deadline.

Hosting termination does not transfer domain ownership to Padroni. Domain restrictions, cancellation, authorisation codes and transfers remain subject to verification, applicable registry and registrar rules, lawful requirements and any relevant dispute process.

Hosting and Email Limits

Hosting and email are subject to the disclosed storage, resource, sending and package limits and the Acceptable Use Policy. We may apply proportionate controls, request cleanup or recommend an upgrade where use exceeds the agreed limits or creates a material risk to other clients.

Email delivery also depends on recipient systems, authentication, filtering and sender reputation. We cannot guarantee that every legitimate message reaches an inbox, but remain responsible for providing the agreed service with the care and quality required by law.

Routine and Emergency Maintenance

We may carry out routine maintenance, software updates, security patches, server restarts and other necessary infrastructure work to maintain, secure or improve services. We ordinarily aim to schedule planned work during periods of lower usage, often over weekends, to reduce disruption. This is not a guarantee that work will occur only at weekends or that no client will be using the service.

We do not normally issue a separate client notice for routine work where material disruption is not expected. Where planned work is expected to materially interrupt a service, we will provide advance notice where reasonably practicable or as required by an agreed service commitment or law. Scheduling work during a quieter period does not remove those notice obligations.

Urgent maintenance or security action may be performed at any time without advance notice where reasonably necessary to protect availability, integrity or security. Where such work materially affects your service, we will communicate relevant information as soon as reasonably practicable. We will take reasonable steps to limit the impact. This section does not remove mandatory remedies or an expressly agreed service commitment.

Backups and Data After Termination

Backup scope, frequency, retention and included restoration assistance are those stated in the applicable package or written agreement. Backups do not replace independent copies, and recovery may be affected by corruption, missing data or retention limits. This section does not cancel an advertised or agreed backup obligation.

After termination, live website, email and control panel access to the affected service ends. Where practicable and lawful, we will offer a reasonable opportunity to request a safe export of available lawful client data and state the request deadline in the termination notice. Contact us promptly; indefinite storage or recovery is not promised.

We may isolate harmful files or restrict release where necessary to protect another person’s information, comply with law or preserve evidence. We will not withhold lawful client data solely as punishment where safe and lawful release is possible. Availability of an export does not entitle an abusive service to remain operational.

Remaining service data and backups are deleted or overwritten according to the applicable retention arrangements. Relevant billing, security and investigation records may be retained separately where lawfully necessary, as explained in the Privacy Policy.

Support and Website Work

Support is provided within the scope and hours of the selected service, published support arrangements or written agreement. Response targets are not guaranteed resolution times unless expressly agreed. Third-party systems, incomplete access, unsupported software or client-side faults may limit what can be resolved.

Website design, development and maintenance follow the accepted scope. Additional pages, eCommerce features, copywriting, premium licences, substantial revisions, custom integrations and work outside that scope may require a separate approved quote. After-hours or additional assistance may be chargeable by prior agreement.

Ownership, licence, handover and payment arrangements for website work are those agreed for the project. Third-party licences remain subject to their own terms; an agency licence does not automatically become a transferable client-owned licence.

Third-Party Providers

Services may depend on registrars, infrastructure providers, email relays, control panels, software vendors and payment processors. Their rules and technical requirements may affect delivery. We will provide reasonable assistance where an upstream issue affects your service.

We are not responsible for a third party’s independent acts to the extent permitted by law, but using a supplier does not remove our own obligations or statutory responsibility. Changes to your agreed price or service will follow the relevant notice and agreement process.

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by law, we exclude liability for indirect or consequential losses arising from the service, such as consequential loss of profit or business opportunities. Direct loss is not automatically excluded merely because it concerns data, downtime or a service interruption.

This limitation does not exclude or restrict liability for fraud, wilful misconduct, gross negligence, or any obligation, consumer remedy or liability that cannot lawfully be excluded. It does not remove an expressly agreed service credit or service commitment.

Each party must take reasonable steps to reduce avoidable loss. Events outside our reasonable control may affect performance; we will notify affected clients and take reasonable steps to reduce the impact, subject to the agreement and applicable law.

Complaints and Review

For a billing, service or abuse-enforcement dispute, email support@padroni.info with your account or domain, the disputed action and relevant supporting material. We will review the available information and communicate the outcome and any applicable next steps.

A review request does not automatically lift necessary protective restrictions. Our internal decision does not prevent a complaint to a competent regulator, ombud, tribunal or court, or the exercise of another lawful remedy.

Changes and Applicable Law

These terms are governed by South African law, subject to any mandatory law that applies to the transaction. Nothing requires a waiver of rights under the Consumer Protection Act, the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, POPIA or another applicable law.

Material changes will be communicated to affected clients with reasonable advance notice and an effective date, subject to existing contract rights, required consent and law. Price and service changes do not apply retrospectively. Publishing a revised page alone does not establish acceptance by every existing client.

If a provision is unlawful or unenforceable, it applies only to the lawful extent, or is severed where legally appropriate, without automatically invalidating the rest of the agreement.

Related Legal Policies

Terms & Conditions · Acceptable Use Policy · Privacy Policy & POPIA Notice