Terms and Conditions

1. Definitions

• "Platform" means the website at vibesmap.co.za and all related applications and services operated by VibesMap.
• "User", "you" means any person who accesses or uses the Platform.
• "Partner" means a venue or business that subscribes to list itself on the Platform.
• "Content" means any text, images, ratings, reviews or other material posted on the Platform.
• "ECT Act" means the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.
• "CPA" means the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008.
• "POPIA" means the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013.

2. Operator information (ECT Act, s.43)

• Trading name: VibesMap
• Operator: Brendon Mapinda (sole proprietor)
• Place of business: Cape Town, Western Cape, South Africa
• Email: hello@vibesmap.co.za
• Website: vibesmap.co.za
• Country of domicile: Republic of South Africa

3. Acceptance and eligibility

• By accessing or using the Platform you agree to be bound by these terms and our Privacy Policy.
• The Platform features content related to alcohol, licensed venues and nightlife. You confirm that you are at least 18 years of age. We do not knowingly permit users under 18 to register or transact.
• If you use the Platform on behalf of a business or other juristic person, you warrant that you have authority to bind that entity.

4. The service

• The Platform is an information and discovery service that allows users to browse venues, save favourites, write reviews and submit reservation requests, and that allows Partners to list their venues.
• VibesMap is not the operator of any venue listed on the Platform. We act as an intermediary between users and Partners. The contract for any food, drink, experience, ticket or service provided at a venue is between you and the Partner directly.
• We may add, change or discontinue features at any time without notice.

5. Accounts

• You must provide accurate registration information and keep it current.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity carried out through your account.
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account.
• We may suspend, restrict or terminate your account if you breach these terms, abuse the Platform, attempt to defraud us or any user, or where required by law.

6. Reservations

• A reservation submitted through the Platform is a request. It is not confirmed until the relevant Partner accepts it. The email you receive on submission is an acknowledgement, not a confirmation.
• Each Partner sets its own deposit, cancellation, no-show, dress-code and minimum-spend policies. You are responsible for reading the Partner's policy before booking.
• VibesMap is not a party to the reservation contract and is not responsible for errors, cancellations, refusal of entry, no-shows, food quality, service standards, conduct, injury or any other dispute arising from a venue visit.
• If a Partner fails to honour a reservation made via the Platform, please tell us so we can investigate and, where appropriate, remove the Partner.

7. Partner subscriptions and payments

• Partners may subscribe to one of the published listing tiers. Pricing is shown on the join page in ZAR (South African Rand) and is inclusive of any applicable VAT (where chargeable).
• Subscriptions are processed by PayFast (Pty) Ltd. By initiating a payment you agree to PayFast's terms and acknowledge that VibesMap does not see or store your full payment details.
• Subscriptions renew on a monthly basis until cancelled. A Partner may cancel a subscription at any time by emailing hello@vibesmap.co.za. The listing will remain active until the end of the paid period.
• Subscription fees are non-refundable for the current paid period unless required by law (including the cooling-off provisions discussed in clause 19) or unless we agree otherwise in writing.
• If a payment fails or is reversed, we may downgrade or suspend the listing until the account is up to date.
• Partners warrant that all information they provide about their venue is accurate, that they hold all necessary licences (including liquor licences where applicable) and that they have the right to use any logos, images and content they upload.

8. User-generated content

• You retain ownership of any reviews, photos or other content you post ("User Content").
• By posting User Content, you grant VibesMap a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, sub-licensable licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publish and display it for the purpose of operating, promoting and improving the Platform. The licence survives the deletion of your account to the extent the content has been incorporated into aggregated or anonymised analytics or has already been shared with third parties.
• You warrant that your User Content (i) is accurate and based on genuine first-hand experience; (ii) does not infringe the rights of any third party; (iii) is not defamatory, hateful, threatening, sexually explicit, harassing or otherwise unlawful; (iv) does not contain personal information of others without consent; and (v) is not paid for or otherwise incentivised by the venue being reviewed (unless clearly disclosed).
• We may, in our sole discretion, refuse, edit or remove User Content that we reasonably believe breaches these terms or applicable law. We are not obliged to review content before publication.
• You are solely responsible and liable for your User Content. You indemnify VibesMap against any claim, loss or liability arising out of User Content you post.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• use the Platform for any unlawful, fraudulent or harmful purpose;
• scrape, copy, mirror, frame or systematically extract data from the Platform without our prior written consent;
• interfere with or disrupt the Platform, our servers or any associated networks;
• attempt to bypass security features, rate limits, CAPTCHA, authentication or access controls;
• use the Platform to send spam, viruses or any malicious code;
• impersonate any person or entity, including another VibesMap user;
• post fake reviews, manipulate ratings, or solicit reviews in exchange for incentives;
• collect personal information about other users.

10. Intellectual property

• All trade marks, logos, software, design, layout, copy and other content of the Platform are owned by or licensed to VibesMap and are protected by South African and international intellectual property laws.
• You may use the Platform for personal, non-commercial purposes only. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell or commercially exploit any part of the Platform without our prior written consent.
• Any feedback you provide may be used by us without obligation or compensation.

11. Third-party links and services

The Platform may contain links to third-party sites and services (including Google Maps, PayFast, Cloudinary, partner websites). We do not control these and are not responsible for their content, terms or practices. Your use of any third-party service is at your own risk and on that party's own terms.

12. Disclaimer of warranties

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". VibesMap makes no warranties or representations, express or implied, including any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, completeness, uninterrupted access or freedom from viruses. Venue information (including hours, prices, capacity, menus and offers) is provided by Partners or sourced from third parties and may be out of date or inaccurate. Always verify with the venue directly before relying on it.

13. Limitation of liability

• To the maximum extent permitted by law, VibesMap, its officers, employees and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or any loss of profit, revenue, data, goodwill or business, arising out of or in connection with your use of the Platform, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
• Without limiting the above, VibesMap is not liable for any loss, damage, injury, illness or harm arising at, caused by or related to a venue visit, food or drink consumed, an event attended, a service received from a Partner or the conduct of any Partner, user or third party.
• Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising in any 12-month period is limited to (a) for Partners, the subscription fees paid by that Partner to VibesMap during the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (b) for users who do not pay us, ZAR 1,000 (one thousand rand).
• Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability for fraud, gross negligence, wilful misconduct, death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

14. Indemnity

You indemnify and hold harmless VibesMap and its officers, employees and contractors against all claims, demands, losses, damages, fines, penalties, legal costs (on the attorney-and-own-client scale) and expenses arising out of (a) your breach of these terms; (b) your User Content; (c) your violation of any law or any third party's rights; or (d) your use of, or visit to, any venue listed on the Platform.

15. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for any failure or delay in performing its obligations to the extent caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including load-shedding, internet outages, hosting-provider failures, acts of state, epidemics, civil unrest, fire, flood, war or extreme weather. Affected obligations are suspended for the duration of the event.

16. Suspension and termination

• You may stop using the Platform at any time. You can request deletion of your account by emailing hello@vibesmap.co.za.
• We may suspend or terminate your access (in whole or in part) at any time, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have breached these terms, your use poses a risk to the Platform or other users, or we are required to do so by law.
• Clauses 8, 10, 12, 13, 14, 19, 23 and any others that by their nature should survive termination, will survive.

17. Privacy

Personal information is processed in line with our Privacy Policy, which forms part of these terms.

18. Electronic communications

You agree that we may communicate with you electronically (by email and through the Platform), and that such communications satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing. Data messages sent by us are deemed received when capable of being retrieved by you (ECT Act, s.23).

19. Cooling-off and consumer rights (ECT Act and CPA)

• If you are a natural-person consumer purchasing a Partner subscription as an electronic transaction, section 44 of the ECT Act gives you the right to cancel without reason and without penalty within 7 days of payment, save where the service has already begun to be performed with your consent.
• To exercise the cooling-off right, email hello@vibesmap.co.za within the 7-day window. We will refund the subscription fee within 30 days, less any direct costs already incurred.
• Nothing in these terms limits any rights you may have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 that cannot lawfully be limited, including the right to fair value, good quality and safety in respect of services we directly supply.

20. Dispute resolution

• If a dispute arises, please contact us first at hello@vibesmap.co.za so we can try to resolve it informally.
• If we cannot resolve the dispute within 30 days, either party may refer it to mediation under the rules of the Arbitration Foundation of Southern Africa (AFSA), or to a competent court.
• Consumers are not deprived of any right to refer a complaint to the Information Regulator (under POPIA), the National Consumer Commission (under the CPA), or any other body with statutory jurisdiction.

21. Severability and waiver

If any provision of these terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be severed and the remainder will continue in force. Our failure to enforce any provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

22. Whole agreement and assignment

These terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any plan or feature-specific terms, constitute the entire agreement between you and VibesMap. We may assign or sub-contract our rights and obligations to any successor or affiliate; you may not assign yours without our prior written consent.

23. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Subject to clause 20 and any non-excludable consumer right, the parties consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa, Western Cape Division (Cape Town).

24. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. The latest version will always be available at this URL with a revised "Last Updated" date. Material changes will, where reasonably practicable, be notified to registered users by email. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.