Terms of Service

1. What Ambedo is

Ambedo is a trading name of Ambedo Services (Pty) Ltd, a company registered in South Africa (registration number 2026/842701/07) ("Ambedo", "we", "us"). We run the website ambedo.co.za, an online marketplace that connects customers who need a service with independent providers who offer it (tradespeople, beauty professionals, caterers, event services and similar). By creating an account or using the site you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, please do not use the site.

Ambedo is not a party to the work. Providers are independent businesses or individuals acting on their own account. They are not employees, agents or contractors of Ambedo. The agreement for each job is between the customer and the provider. We help with introductions, messaging, payment handling and dispute review, but we do not perform, supervise or guarantee the work.

2. Who may use Ambedo

• You must be 18 or older and legally able to enter into a contract.
• The information you give us (name, phone, email, trades, documents) must be true and kept up to date.
• You are responsible for everything done through your account and for keeping your password secure.

3. Accounts and provider listings

Customers can browse for free. Providers create a listing describing their trade(s), area and pricing. Listings start as unverified. A "Verified" badge is awarded per trade only after we have reviewed the documents a provider uploads, and it reflects that review at that time. It is not a guarantee of the quality, safety or legality of any particular job. Providers must hold any licence, registration or certificate their trade legally requires (for example, electrical certificates of compliance) and must not misrepresent their qualifications.

4. How a job works

1. Request. A customer sends a job request describing the work (and optional photos).
2. Accept and quote. The provider accepts or declines. If they accept, they send a price quote. Contact details are shared with the customer only once the provider accepts.
3. Work done. When the work is finished the provider marks it complete.
4. Customer confirms. The customer confirms the job is done. A job is only treated as completed once both the provider and the customer have confirmed it.
5. Payout. After both confirmations, Ambedo pays the provider their share (see section 5).

Automatic confirmation. If a provider has marked a job complete and the customer neither confirms it nor reports a problem within 7 days, the job is confirmed automatically. This stops a job staying open forever. A customer who has reported a problem is never auto-confirmed.

5. Prices, payment and Ambedo's service fee

• The price is the amount quoted by the provider and shown on the job. Customers pay that amount; Ambedo does not add a fee on top for customers.
• How the customer pays. After the provider sends a quote, the job shows the customer a payment reference and Ambedo's bank details. The customer pays the quoted amount to Ambedo by EFT, using that reference. Ambedo marks the payment as received (this can take a short while on business days) and the job then shows "Payment received" to both sides. Providers are encouraged to start the work once the job shows payment received.
• Ambedo holds the money until the job is confirmed. It is not released to the provider before then.
• Ambedo keeps a service fee of 15% of the price of each completed job, deducted from the provider's side. The provider receives the remaining 85%. For example, on a R1,000 job Ambedo keeps R150 and the provider receives R850.
• The provider is only paid once both the provider and the customer have confirmed the job is done (or it is auto-confirmed under section 4, or we decide a dispute in the provider's favour under section 7).
• Once a customer has paid, the provider can no longer change the quote for that job.
• Payouts to providers are made by bank transfer (EFT). Providers must keep their banking details accurate; we are not responsible for payments sent to details a provider supplied incorrectly.
• Providers are responsible for their own taxes, including income tax and, where applicable, VAT.
• We may change the service fee in future. Any change applies only to jobs requested after the change is announced on the site.

Customers and providers agree not to take a job introduced through Ambedo off the platform to avoid the service fee.

6. Cancellations

• Free cancellation for 24 hours. A customer can cancel a request at any time before the provider accepts it, and for 24 hours after the provider accepts it, without giving a reason. If the customer had already paid, they receive a full refund.
• After the 24 hours. A customer can still cancel until the provider has marked the job complete. Ambedo then reviews the cancellation and decides whether a full or partial refund is due, taking into account that the provider may already have set time aside or started the work.
• A provider may decline a request, or cancel an accepted job. If the customer had already paid, they receive a full refund.
• When a job is cancelled the other person is told.
• Repeated no-shows or cancellations may lead to a warning, suspension or removal of an account.

7. Problems, disputes and refunds

If something goes wrong (the provider does not arrive, or the work is not done or is clearly defective), the customer can use Report a problem on the job before confirming it. While a dispute is open, the provider is not paid.

The Ambedo team reviews what both sides tell us, including messages and photos on the job, and decides one of:

• Refund the customer (job not done, provider did not arrive, or work clearly defective): the customer is refunded what they paid for that job and the provider is not paid; or
• Pay the provider (work verified as done): the job is treated as completed.

We aim to review disputes promptly and tell both sides the outcome on the job. Our decision on how funds held by Ambedo are released is final for payment purposes, but it does not remove either party's other legal rights, including their rights under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 where it applies.

8. Conduct

You agree not to:

• post false, misleading, harassing, discriminatory or unlawful content, or fake reviews;
• impersonate another person or business, or upload documents that are not yours or are forged;
• attempt to hack, scrape, overload or otherwise interfere with the site, or try to access data that is not yours;
• use the site to advertise unrelated services, send spam, or request or offer unlawful work.

We may remove content, hide a listing, suspend or close an account, and withhold payouts that are connected to fraud or a breach of these terms.

9. Reviews

Only a customer with a completed job can review the provider for that job. Reviews must be honest and based on your own experience. We may remove reviews that break section 8.

10. Our responsibility

• The site is provided "as is". We work to keep it available and accurate but cannot promise it will always be uninterrupted or error-free.
• Because Ambedo is not a party to the work, we are not responsible for the quality, safety, timing or legality of services provided by providers, or for what customers say or do.
• To the extent the law allows, Ambedo is not liable for indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability to you for any one job is limited to the amount paid for that job. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot lawfully be limited, or your rights under the Consumer Protection Act.

11. Your content

You keep ownership of the photos, text and documents you upload, but you give Ambedo a non-exclusive licence to host and display them on the site as needed to run the service (for example, showing a provider's portfolio photos on their listing).

12. Ending your account

You can stop using Ambedo at any time and ask us to delete your account (email support@ambedo.co.za). We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms. Jobs already in progress and amounts already owing remain payable. Some records are kept as described in the Privacy Policy.

13. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The "last updated" date at the top will change, and for significant changes we will take reasonable steps to tell you. Continuing to use Ambedo after a change means you accept it.

14. General

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, and the South African courts have jurisdiction. If part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest stays in force. Questions? Email support@ambedo.co.za.