Welcome to GemFinder (the “Service”). These Terms and Conditions (“Terms”) govern your use of the GemFinder website (gemfinder.co.za) and our mobile/web applications (collectively “GemFinder”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).
By accessing or using GemFinder, you (“User”, “you”) agree to comply with and be bound by these Terms. If you disagree with any part of these Terms, you must not use the Service.
1. Service Provider Disclosures (ECTA s.43)
In compliance with section 43 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (“ECTA”), we disclose the following:
- Service provider: GemFinder
- Email: support@gemfinder.co.za
- Website: www.gemfinder.co.za
- Description of the Service: An online platform providing access to sheriff and public auction property listings sourced from South African government gazettes, together with AI-generated investment analysis, mapping, calendar, alerts, financial calculators and team-workflow tooling.
- Payment manner: Subscriptions are billed in South African Rand (ZAR) through our payment processor, Paystack, by debit/credit card or supported electronic methods.
- Security: Payments are processed by PCI-DSS compliant providers and transmitted over TLS-encrypted connections. We do not store full card details on our servers.
- Refund / cancellation policy: See section 6 (“Cooling-off period”) and section 7 (“Cancellation and Refunds”).
- Dispute resolution: See section 18 (“Dispute Resolution”).
- Code of conduct / self-regulatory body: GemFinder is not currently a member of any registered self-regulatory body.
2. Acceptance and Electronic Signature
By clicking “Sign Up”, “I Agree”, or by otherwise using the Service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy. In terms of section 13 of ECTA, you agree that your electronic acceptance constitutes a valid and binding signature.
3. Account Registration
To access certain features, you must register for an account. You agree that:
- The account details you provide are true, accurate, and complete.
- You will keep your login credentials confidential and not share them with any third party.
- You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.
- You will notify us immediately at support@gemfinder.co.za of any unauthorised access or breach of security.
- You are at least 18 years old, or — if registering on behalf of a business — duly authorised to bind that business.
GemFinder reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account if you violate these Terms.
4. Use of the Service
GemFinder provides access to sheriff and public auction property listings, AI-driven investment analysis, and related investor tools.
You agree to:
- Use GemFinder only for lawful purposes and personal or business property research.
- Respect intellectual property rights associated with our content and data.
- Not use automated scraping tools, scripts, crawlers or similar methods to extract data from the platform.
- Not resell, sub-licence or commercially redistribute the Service or any of its data, except as expressly permitted in writing by us.
5. Subscription Plans and Pricing
GemFinder offers free and paid subscription plans. Each plan provides different levels of access and features as set out on our pricing page.
- Pricing is shown in South African Rand (ZAR) and is inclusive of VAT where applicable.
- The free plan allows up to 10 detailed auction views per month; certain features are restricted until upgraded.
- Paid subscriptions grant access to additional features (detailed auction data, investment analysis, calculators, team workflow, etc.) as detailed on the pricing page.
- We may change pricing or features at any time. Where a price change affects your existing subscription, we will notify you by email at least 30 days in advance, and the change will only take effect on your next renewal date.
5.1 Auto-renewal (CPA s.14)
Paid subscriptions are billed in advance and automatically renew at the end of each subscription period (monthly or annual, as selected) unless cancelled. In compliance with section 14 of the Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (“CPA”), where your subscription is a fixed-term consumer agreement we will send you a written notice between 40 and 80 business days before the renewal date, drawing the renewal to your attention and identifying any material changes. You may cancel a fixed-term consumer agreement at any time on 20 business days’ written notice; in that case a reasonable cancellation penalty may be charged in accordance with the CPA.
6. Cooling-off Period (ECTA s.44 / CPA s.44)
Where you are a consumer purchasing a subscription as a distance transaction under section 44 of ECTA, you have the right to cancel the transaction within seven (7) calendar days after the date of purchase, without reason and without penalty, by emailing support@gemfinder.co.za.
You acknowledge, however, that ECTA section 42(2)(b) and (d) excludes the cooling-off right where the Service has already been performed (in whole or in part) with your express consent before the cooling-off period expires. By upgrading to a paid plan and immediately accessing the additional features, you provide that express consent and acknowledge that the cooling-off right will not apply to features that have already been made accessible to you.
7. Cancellation and Refunds
You may cancel your subscription at any time from your account settings or by emailing support@gemfinder.co.za. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid period; you retain access to paid features until that date.
Subscription fees are non-refundable, except where a refund is required by law (for example, in the event of a material failure of the Service, a successful cooling-off cancellation under section 6, or where mandated by the CPA). Where we agree to issue a refund, it will be processed within 30 days to the original payment method.
8. Intellectual Property
All content on GemFinder — including auction summaries, AI-generated investment analyses, images, calculators, code, design and branding — is owned by GemFinder or licensed to us. Unauthorised copying, reproduction, distribution, modification or commercial exploitation is prohibited.
The underlying auction notices originate from the South African Government Gazette, which is in the public domain. Our value-added data (AI analysis, parsed metadata, scoring, structured listings, mapping data and calculator outputs) is proprietary.
9. Third-party Content, Links and Services
GemFinder may include links to or integrations with third-party sites (for example Google Maps, payment processors). We have no control over the content or practices of those third parties and accept no responsibility for them. Your use of those third-party services is governed by their own terms and policies.
10. Disclaimers
- GemFinder provides auction data “as is” and makes no guarantees regarding its completeness, accuracy or timeliness. Auction notices are sourced from publicly available gazettes; details can change without notice.
- AI-generated investment ratings and analyses are informational only. They do not constitute investment, legal, financial, taxation or property advice, and must not be relied upon as the sole basis for any purchase decision.
- You must independently verify all property information, conduct your own due diligence, and obtain professional advice before bidding at, or purchasing from, any auction.
- Nothing in these Terms is intended to limit or exclude any rights you have under the CPA, ECTA, POPIA or any other applicable South African legislation.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law:
- GemFinder and its directors, employees, contractors and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential, incidental, punitive or special damages, including loss of profit, loss of business, loss of opportunity, or loss of data, arising from your use of (or inability to use) the Service or any reliance on information it provides.
- Our aggregate liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount of subscription fees actually paid by you to GemFinder during the three (3) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or ZAR 1,000, whichever is greater.
Nothing in this section excludes or limits liability that cannot lawfully be excluded under South African law, including liability for fraud, gross negligence, or for any matter expressly preserved under section 51 of the CPA.
12. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless GemFinder, its directors, employees and affiliates from any claim, loss or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your breach of these Terms, your misuse of the Service, or your violation of any applicable law.
13. User Conduct
Users must not:
- Upload, post or distribute any harmful software, malware, virus or unlawful content.
- Attempt to interfere with, probe, scan or test the vulnerability of the Service, or breach any security or authentication measures.
- Share login credentials, circumvent subscription limits, or use the Service to provide a competing service.
- Harass, abuse, or threaten any other user or any GemFinder employee.
Violation may lead to immediate suspension or termination of your access, without prejudice to any other rights or remedies we may have.
14. Suspension and Termination
We may suspend or terminate your access to GemFinder at our reasonable discretion, on reasonable notice where practicable, if you violate these Terms, fail to pay any amount when due, or engage in conduct that risks harm to us or other users. Upon termination your right to use the Service ceases; we may retain or delete your data subject to the retention rules in our Privacy Policy.
15. Changes to these Terms
We may amend these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email and/or via an in-app notice at least 14 days before they take effect. Your continued use of the Service after that date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree, you may cancel your subscription before the effective date.
16. Force Majeure
Neither party will be liable for any failure or delay in performance to the extent that the failure or delay is caused by an event beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, natural disaster, war, civil unrest, pandemic, government action, power outages, internet failures, or failures of upstream cloud or telecommunications providers.
17. General
- Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.
- No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right under these Terms is not a waiver of that right.
- Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any pricing-page disclosures referenced from them, constitute the entire agreement between you and GemFinder in relation to the Service.
- Assignment. You may not assign your rights under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights to an affiliate or in connection with a sale of the business on reasonable notice.
- Notices. Notices to GemFinder must be sent to support@gemfinder.co.za. Notices to you will be sent to the email address on your account.
18. Dispute Resolution
If a dispute arises, we ask that you first contact us at support@gemfinder.co.za so we can try to resolve it informally.
If we cannot resolve the matter within 30 days, you may:
- Refer the dispute to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO) at www.cgso.org.za (012 428 7000 / info@cgso.org.za), where you qualify as a consumer under the CPA;
- For data-protection complaints, lodge a complaint with the Information Regulator (South Africa) — see our Privacy Policy for details; or
- Refer the matter to a South African court of competent jurisdiction.
19. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Subject to section 18, any disputes shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the South African courts.
20. Contact
If you have questions regarding these Terms, please contact us at:
GemFinder Support
Email: support@gemfinder.co.za
These Terms are provided in plain language as required by section 22 of the CPA. They are not a substitute for legal advice; if you need clarification, please consult an attorney admitted in South Africa.