TERMS AND CONDITIONS
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
- Definitions
- “Clause” means any clause of these Terms;
- “Company” “our”, “we” or “us” means The VirtualPostbox Ltd, a company duly registered and incorporated in terms of the laws of England and Wales with registration number 11736906, having its principal place of business at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, United Kingdom and The VirtualPostbox Limited, a company duly registered and incorporated in terms of the laws of Mauritius with company number 195123, having its principal place of business at Suite 005, Grand Baie Business Park, Grand Baie, Mauritius;
- “Consolidation” means where multiple goods, from a combination of online merchants, and consolidated into a single Shipment;
- “Destination Country” means countries which are subscribed members of the “Service”;
- “Service” means the various services provided by the Company to the User, wherein the User can shop at an online merchant selling goods in a Source Country to be delivered, and Consolidated if necessary, at a Shipment center for transport to the User in a Destination Country, or any other services which the Company may provide, such as but no limited to Digital Addressing, Digital lockers, Digital Document Management and other logistics and online fulfilment services as offered from time to time;
- “Shipment” means the shipment of the goods by sea, air, land or any combination thereof as determined by the Company at its sole and absolute discretion;
- “Shipment Centre” means any facility used by the Company in a Source Country wherein goods may be received, dispatched and processed in order for the Company to provide the Service to the User;
- “Source” means The EU, the United Kingdom, USA, South Africa, Russia, China, and Hong Kong or any other country which may be included by the Company at its discretion;
- “Subscription” means any subscription for the Services which may be offered by the Company;
- “These Terms” means these terms and conditions;
- “User” “you” or “your” means the person, natural person or legal entity, who makes use of the Website;
- “User Accounts” means the account that you will be required to open when purchasing Subscription, Products and using the Services, which contains any personal information deemed necessary by the Company, including, but not limited to the full trading or legal name pf the persona or entity, payment information, shipping address, telephone numbers, and email addresses;
- “Website” means the websites situated at thevirtualpostbox.com , www.myuniversalshop.com, www.myuniversaladdress.com, www.myuniversalmail.com, www.forward2africa.com, and www.myuniversalemporium.com.
PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY BEFORE ACCESSING OR USING THE WEBSITES AS THESE TERMS CONSTITUTE A LEGALLY BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN YOU AND THE COMPANY.
- The Website is operated by the Company and offers the information and Service to you in accordance with the terms set out hereunder.
- Your access and use of the Website and Services constitutes your agreement to be bound by these Terms, which establishes a contractual relationship between you and the Company. If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Website and Service. These Terms expressly supersede prior agreements or arrangements with you. The Company may immediately terminate these Terms with respect to you, or generally, cease offering or deny access to the Website or any portion thereof, at any time for any reason.
- Supplemental terms may apply to the Website and Services. Supplemental terms are in addition to and shall be deemed a part of the Terms for the purposes of the Website. Supplemental terms shall prevail over these Terms in the event of a conflict with respect to the Website and Service.
- The Company may amend the Terms related to the Website and Services from time to time. Amendments will be effective upon the Company’s posting of such updated Terms at this location or the amended policies or supplemental terms on the Website. Your continued access or use of the Website and Services after such posting constitutes your consent to be bound by the Terms, as amended.
- Our collection and use of personal information in connection with the Website and Services is as provided in the Company’s Privacy Policy located link here.
- The User hereby appoints the Company, its employees, agents, contractors, subcontractors or any other party under the control and supervision of the Company to provide the Services in accordance with these Terms.
- The User, further appoints the Company, as its true and lawful agent for the following purposes:
- preparing any documents which may be required for the Shipment, including but not limited to, shipping documents, bills of lading, airway bills, certificates of origin or any other import or export document;
- authorizing freight forwarders and/or carriers to conduct customs clearance and entry or certifying the freight forwarders and/or carriers as consignees solely for the purpose of designating a customs broker to perform customs clearance and entry; and
- authorizing any subcontractors with the powers required to perform the functions made reference to in this Clause 3.
- authorizing any other services as offered by the company, or its subcontractors as offered from time to time, these services include all services as described in each individual website.
- and, authorising other services as offered by the companies other services as described in each specific website Terms and conditions and in the website services offered.
- In order to access the Services, you will be required to create a User Account and make payment in accordance with the Subscription you have chosen, as invoiced free of any set-off, deduction, and, inclusive of any applicable taxes.
- As at the date of these Terms payment may be made via Visa, Mastercard, Debit Order, Digital Wallet or Bank transfer into the Company’s nominated bank account, the details of which will be provided upon request. The Company reserves the right to add, delete or suspend any payment methods as required.
- Third-Party Access: dependent on your payment method, payments may be facilitated with third parties that the Company does not control. You acknowledge that different terms of use and privacy policies may apply to your use of such third party services and content. The Company does not endorse such third party services and content and in no event shall it be responsible or liable for any products or services of such providers. These third parties are not parties to this contract and are not responsible for the provision or support of the Services in any manner, accordingly, and without any limitation to any other provision of these Terms, the Company shall be indemnified and held harmless against any loss or damage occasioned from the use of such services to the full extent of any applicable law
- You further agree that by using the Services that the third parties made reference to at Clause 4.3 may be granted access to all relevant data and information contained in your User Account, for the purposes of facilitating any payment. Should you not consent to make such information available as required herein, then you shall not be granted access to the services.
- Each additional User on any User Account shall be charged separately in accordance with the pricing related to additional users at the time the subscription is purchased.
- The price of the Subscription, when applicable, is exclusive of any Transaction fees, which shall be charged in addition to the Subscription, and quoted for prior to the Company providing the Services.
- The Transaction fees are subject to vary and change based on various factors such as the items which form part of the Transaction and the country of the User.
- You expressly acknowledge and agree to make payment of all charges and fees as made reference in this Clause 4, failing which, the Services shall not be provided by the Company, and, your User Account may be suspended for failing to pay any amount charged by the Company when it becomes due.
- Payment Authority. You expressly warrant, confirm and represent to the Company that you are the lawful owner of any payment service, credit/debit cards, used to make purchases on the Website, alternately, that you have the express written consent of the lawful owner of the aforementioned accounts or credit/debit cards.
- Billing Terms. The price for a Subscription may change at any time at the sole and absolute discretion of the Company and you agree to pay all applicable charges, inclusive of any VAT, taxes or similar charge as may be applicable. For any annual Subscription, the charge shall become automatically applicable at the end of the period of the Subscription, unless the Service is cancelled within 30 days from the last day of the period of the Subscription.
- Card Acquiring and Security. Card transactions will be acquired for the Company via authorised Payment Services providers who are the approved payment gateway for all payment methods and currencies. These providers use the strictest form of encryption, namely PCI DSS level 1 compliance with cutting-edge fraud management capabilities and no Card details are stored on the website.
- User Details Separate from Card Details. User details will be stored by the Company separately from card details which are entered by the client on the payment provider portal
- Transaction Currency. Transaction currency is United States Dollar (USD) or local Currency in available countries.
- The period of the Subscription shall automatically renew at the expiration of the period of Subscription for the same amount of time for which it was initially purchased.
- The renewal fees for the new Subscription shall be automatically charged to the User, using the primary billing method on the User’s Account.
- User Accounts. To use certain of the Websites, you may be required to register for and maintain an active User Account, which will require you to complete the application form applicable to the website that you are transacting with. You must be at least 18 years of age, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction (if different than 18), to obtain a User Account. User Account registration requires you to submit to the Company certain personal information, such as your name, address, mobile phone number, and age, as well as one valid payment method. You agree to maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date information on your Account. Your failure to maintain accurate, complete, and up-to-date Account information, including having an invalid or expired payment method on file, may result in your inability to access and use the Services or the Company’s termination of these Terms with you. You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your User Account, and you agree to maintain the security and secrecy of your User Account username and password at all times.
- Warranty of Authority. You warrant that you are legally and lawfully competent to agree to these Terms and are possessed of the necessary rights, power, and authority to legally bind yourself to these terms.
- The User shall provide the Company the following warranties and undertakings:
- the User shall abide by and not contravene these Terms and that all information provided by the User to the Company at any time is true and correct;
- the User shall take all reasonable steps to ensure the veracity and correctness of the physical address, name of the individual or entity to whom the goods may be delivered by Shipment and any other information as may be required by the Company to provide the Service;
- the User shall not use the Service for any illegal, immoral, obscene or fraudulent purpose and further that the transportation of any goods shall not be in contravention of any applicable legislation, international convention, for the furtherance of any terrorist activities, or attempt to launder money or circumvent any governmental tax authority;
- the User shall not transport any goods which are hazardous, dangerous or prohibited by the International Air Transport Association, International Civil Aviation Organisation or other relevant government department or organisation;
- the User shall ensure that the goods to be transported and stored meet the import and export requirements of both the Destination Country and Source Country and shall not transport any goods which may contravene these requirements;
- the User is and shall remain liable for the costs of any goods purchased by the User and under no circumstances shall the Company be required to make good any payment outstanding on behalf of the User;
- the User shall not use the Services for the Shipment of precious metals, firearms, bullion, works of art, jewellery, precious stones, lewd obscene or pornographic material, industrial carbon and diamonds, currency, stamps, plants or animals, deeds, negotiable instruments in bearer form, hazardous or combustible material, cashier’s cheques, money orders, travellers’ cheques, antiques or any other material banned in the Source Country or Destination Country (for ease of reference please click to link here. for more information); and
- the User shall ensure that the goods which form part of the Shipment are properly packed.
- Should the Company be unable to fulfill an order, on time or at all or should any goods be confiscated or destroyed as a result of your failure to comply with or any contravention of this Clause 7, the Terms or any other legislation in the Source Country or Destination Country, you specifically indemnify and hold the Company its subsidiaries, employees, shareholders, authorised agents, contractors, subcontractors, directors or any other person acting under the control of the Company harmless against any liability, arising therefrom.
- Notwithstanding any other indemnification granted by the User to the Company, the User further indemnifies and holds the Company, its subsidiaries, employees, shareholders, authorised agents, contractors, subcontractors, directors or any other person acting under the control of the Company against any and all losses, damages, expenses, claims, liabilities, judgments, penalties, attorney costs, in conjunction with the use of the Services, arising from:
- the failure of the Company, its employees or authorised service providers from failing to deliver the goods, Consolidated or any single good, on time or at all;
- any delay occasioned as a result of governmental authority, for the handling, examination, impounding or holding of goods;
- any intentional or unintentional undervaluation of any goods; and
- damage to or loss of any goods as a result of any relevant authority or agency damaging, confiscating or destroying any goods.
- Without any limitation to any other indemnification in these Terms, the Company shall only be responsible for your Shipment whilst it is in the control of the Company.
- You may request a refund for any Shipping or Shipping related fees within 30 days from the date in which the service was purchased by sending an email to info@thevirtualpostbox.com, which refund shall be effected within 7 days from the date of receipt of the notice.
- The VirtualPostbox Ltd and The VirtualPostbox Limited are not agents of the Retailer or Online Store and we offer shipment transport fulfilment related services only. You would need to contact the Retailer or Online Store that you purchased the item from in the event of any discrepancies. We will assist your return by giving you specially discounted rates for item return. Please note that all other charges will be your responsibility.
- Notwithstanding the provisions of this Clause 8, the Company may exercise its reasonable discretion when determining whether to grant a refund.
- The provision of the Services is subject to availability, accordingly, in the event that the Company is unable to provide the Services the Company will refund the User in full within 30 days of written notice that the Services can no longer be performed.
- Subject to availability and receipt of payment, requests for the Services will be processed within 1 working day and delivery shall be confirmed by way of email.
- The goods will only be delivered to one (1) address as indicated by the User, including any address which the User may change it to during the course of providing the Service (subject to the Company’s approval).
- The Company provides the Services and is not in any way involved in ensuring that the goods are the same as those ordered or of the quality as may be required by the User, accordingly, under no circumstances shall the Company be liable for the costs of returning any goods which the User deems unsuitable for any reason whatsoever
- The goods may be delivered to the physical address, however, the goods may not be delivered directly to the recipient named on any delivery document.
- In order to fulfill a delivery, the Company may act as your forwarding agent for customs and export control purposes and complete any documentation which may be necessary under any applicable law.
- The Company, at its sole and absolute discretion or where necessary for the purposes of consolidation, may repack the goods at a Shipment Center before it may be shipped, and, this may void or invalidate the capacity for the User to claim any refund or return of the good. The User specifically indemnifies and holds the Company harmless against any damages arising from any repacking.
- The delivery of the goods may not be possible where the address for delivery is within a restricted area, as determined by government authorities from time to time.
- Customs Clearance. Customs officers have the right to detain any goods which may be subject to any customs legislation, accordingly, in certain instances import requirements, such as an import licence may be required to fulfill an order and you will be notified of this requirement accordingly.
- Unclaimed Deliveries. In the event that any goods are not capable of being delivered, is refused by the recipient, or has been delivered but any applicable fees have not been paid, the Company shall for a period of 30 days attempt to return the goods to the User, failing which, it shall be disposed of in any manner deemed suitable by the Company, including but not limited to the goods being discarded, destroyed, returned to sender, or auctioned.
- Inspection. The Company may at any time have the right to inspect any Shipment for any reason whatsoever, up to and prior to the delivery of the goods which form part of the Shipment.
- Personal information collected, uploaded and stored through the Website is governed by the Company’s Privacy Policy, the terms of which can be located here. The Privacy Policy also encompasses your right to opt-out of any communications from the Company related to marketing and newsletters, however, it excludes the right to opt-out of administrative messages and service announcements.
- In addition to the Company’s Privacy Policy, the Company shall take all reasonable steps to protect the personal information of the User. For the purpose of this Clause 10 “personal information” shall be defined as detailed in the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000 (“PAIA”). The PAIA may be downloaded from here.
- All intellectual property rights in the Website, the Services, and any other information, media, trademarks, symbols, text or any other published content are owned by us and our licensors. All such rights are reserved.
- You cannot modify any content obtained from the Website, including, any videos, images, illustrations, graphics or texts, for any reasons whatsoever. Should you wish to use any part of the content of the Website, you may only do with the express written consent of the Company.
- The VirtualPostbox Ltd and its associated logos, images, and marks are trademarks owned by the Company and may not be used without our prior written approval.
- Users shall not under any circumstances: -
- modify, adapt, translate, reverse engineer, decipher, decompile or otherwise disassemble any portion of the Website;
- grant or sell access to a third party to access your User Account, or impersonate or act as another User;
- contravene any laws in the use of the Website;
- link to, mirror or frame the Website or any portion thereof;
- remove any copyright, trademark or other proprietary notice from any portion or aspect of the Website;
- reproduce, modify, distribute, licence, sub-licence, sell, resell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, stream, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Website except as expressly permitted by the Company;
- use the Website in a way that infringes any third party’s intellectual property rights; and
- use any robot, spider, site search/retrieval Website, or other manual or automatic or process to retrieve, index, scrape, “data mine” or in any way reproduce or circumvent the navigational structure or presentation of the Website or its contents.
- Your User Account may be restricted, or terminated, without any further notice, on the following bases:
- should the User Account be flagged for any illegal or suspicious activity, by the Company, its duly authorized representative responsible for data security or any governmental organization; or
- where the Company, in its sole and absolute discretion, determines that there is a material breach of these Terms;
- where the User terminates its Subscription, for which the User may be entitled to a refund, subject to the terms of Clause 8 above.
The Company will not be held liable for any loss, damage of the Users due to Force Majeure. A “Force Majeure Event” for the purposes of these Terms shall mean any event that is beyond reasonable control of The Company and shall include, without limitation, sabotage, fire, flood, explosion, acts of God, civil commotion, strikes or industrial action of any kind, riots, insurrection, war, acts of government, computer hacking, unauthorized access to computer data and storage device, computer viruses breach of security and encryption or any other cause beyond the control of The Company.
SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS”, “WITH ALL FAULTS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMITTED BY THE LAW. THE COMPANY DISCLAIMS ALL REPRESENTATIONS AND WARRANTIES, EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY, NOT EXPRESSLY SET OUT IN THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. IN ADDITION, THE COMPANY MAKES NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY, OR GUARANTEE REGARDING THE RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SUITABILITY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE SERVICES OR ANY GOODS REQUESTED OR PURCHASED THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE. YOU AGREE THAT THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, THE SERVICES AND ANY OTHER SERVICE OR GOOD REQUESTED IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, REMAINS SOLELY WITH YOU, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
THE COMPANY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOST DATA, PERSONAL INJURY OR PROPERTY DAMAGE RELATED TO, IN CONNECTION WITH, OR OTHERWISE RESULTING FROM ANY USE OF THE WEBSITE, EVEN IF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE COMPANY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES, LIABILITY OR LOSSES ARISING OUT OF: (i) YOUR USE OF OR RELIANCE ON THE WEBSITE OR YOUR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE THE WEBSITE; OR (ii) ANY TRANSACTION OR RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN YOU AND ANY USER, EVEN IF THE COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. THE COMPANY SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR DELAY OR FAILURE IN PERFORMANCE RESULTING FROM CAUSES BEYOND THE COMPANY’S REASONABLE CONTROL.
THE LIMITATIONS AND DISCLAIMER IN THIS CLAUSE 16 DO NOT PURPORT TO LIMIT LIABILITY OR ALTER YOUR RIGHTS AS A CONSUMER THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE CONSUMER PROTECTION ACT 68 OF 2008 OR THE NATIONAL CREDIT ACT 34 OF 2005.
IN THE EVENT THAT THE GOODS ARE TRANSPORTED BY AIR FREIGHT THE COMPANY MAY FURTHER BE INDEMNIFIED BY THE CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES FOR INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY AIR SIGNED AT MONTREAL ON 28 MAY 1999, OR THE CONVENTION FOR THE UNIFICATION OF CERTAIN RULES RELATING TO INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE BY AIR, SIGNED AT THE WARSAW ON 12 OCTOBER 1929, AS AMENDED BY ANY SUBSEQUENT PROTOCOL (“THE CONVENTIONS”).
IN THE EVENT THAT ANY GOODS ARE DAMAGED WHILST TRANSPORTED BY AIRFREIGHT, WHICH CAUSES LOSS TO THE USER, THE COMPANY WILL SEEK TO RECOVER AMOUNTS PAYABLE UNDER THE APPLICABLE CONVENTION.
DUE TO THE NATURE OF AIRFREIGHT TRAVEL, CERTAIN GOODS MAY BE TRANSPORTED BY ROAD AND MAY NOT BE COVERED BY THE CONVENTIONS OR THE CONVENTION FOR THE INTERNATIONAL CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY ROAD, ACCORDINGLY, IF YOU HAVE ANY LEGAL RIGHT TO ANY FORM OF RELIEF, THEN SUCH RIGHT MUST BE EXERCISED AGAINST THE CARRIER. THE COMPANY IS ACCORDINGLY INDEMNIFIED AGAINST ANY LOSS TO THE USER ARISING FROM A THIRD PARTY CARRIER, AS FAR AS LEGALLY PERMISSIBLE.
IN THE EVENT THAT THE COMPANY IS LIABLE TO THE USER THAN THE LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE VALUE OF THE DAMAGED GOODS.
IN THE ABSENCE OF ANY STATUTORY PROVISION TO THE CONTRARY, THE USER SHALL BE PRESCRIBED FROM PURSUING ANY CLAIM AGAINST THE COMPANY 90 (NINETY) DAYS FROM THE DATE OF DELIVERY OF THE GOODS.
You agree to indemnify and hold The Company and its officers, directors, employees, and agents harmless from any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising out of or in connection with: (i) your use of the Website; (ii) your breach or violation of any of these Terms; or (iv) your violation of the rights of any third party.
- BY AGREEING TO THE TERMS, YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOU ARE REQUIRED TO RESOLVE ANY CLAIM THAT YOU MAY HAVE AGAINST THE COMPANY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. THIS WILL EXPRESSLY PRECLUDE YOU FROM BRINGING ANY ACTION AGAINST THE COMPANY, AND ALSO PRECLUDE YOU FROM PARTICIPATING IN OR RECOVERING RELIEF UNDER ANY CURRENT OR FUTURE CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION BROUGHT AGAINST THE COMPANY BY SOMEONE ELSE
- Except as otherwise set forth in these Terms, these Terms shall be exclusively governed by and construed pursuant to the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute, conflict, claim or controversy arising out of or broadly in connection with or relating to your use or access to the Website or these Terms, including those relating to its validity, its construction or its enforceability (any “Dispute”) shall be settled by the non-exclusive jurisdiction of:
- the Randburg Magistrate’s Courts in respect of any claim under R100,000.00, which the magistrate’s court is capable of determining in terms of the Magistrate’s Court Act 40 of 1952; or
- The Gauteng Local Division, of the High Court of South Africa for all other matters.
- Claims of Copyright Infringement
Claims of copyright infringement should be sent to The Company’s designated may be emailed to the following email address info@thevirtualpostbox.com
Notice
The Company may give notice by means of a general notice on the Website, electronic mail to your email address in your User Account, or by written communication sent to your address as set forth in your User Account. The Company elects as its domicilium citandi et executandi the address made reference to at Clause 1.2 of these Terms and may be contacted at the following contact details: email info@thevirtualpostbox.com.
The Company, subject to any limitation or indemnity contemplated herein, takes responsibility for all aspects relating to the transactions for the Services on this Website, customer service and support, dispute resolution and delivery of the Services.
- You may not assign or transfer these Terms in whole or in part without the Company’s prior written approval. You give your approval to the Company for it to assign or transfer these Terms in whole or in part, including to: (i) a subsidiary or affiliate; (ii) an acquirer of The Company’s equity, business or assets; or (iii) a successor by merger. No joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship exists between you, the Company or any third-party provider as a result of the contract between you and the Company or use of the Website.
- If any provision of these Terms is held to be illegal, invalid or unenforceable, in whole or in part, under any law, such provision or part thereof shall to that extent be deemed not to form part of these Terms but the legality, validity, and enforceability of the other provisions in these Terms shall not be affected. In that event, the parties shall replace the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof with a provision or part thereof that is legal, valid and enforceable and that has, to the greatest extent possible, a similar effect as the illegal, invalid or unenforceable provision or part thereof, given the contents and purpose of these Terms. These Terms constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties with respect to its subject matter and replaces and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements or undertakings regarding such subject matter. In these Terms, the words “including” and “include” mean “including, but not limited to.”