Legal

Refund Cancellation and Returns Policy

StorageZone is operated by Somnizest Investments (Pty) Ltd t/a StorageZone (“StorageZone”, “we”, “us” or “our”), at 6 Recreation Road, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa.

This policy covers our storage rentals, bookings and goods sales. Read it with your Rental Schedule and Rental Agreement. The cancellation and refund rights described below apply when their legal requirements are met; mandatory consumer rights take priority over conflicting terms.

A business day excludes Saturdays, Sundays and South African public holidays. Other days are calendar days unless stated otherwise. Statutory periods are calculated as the applicable law requires.

1 Booking Cancellation Before the Agreed Service Start Date

You may cancel a booking before the storage service starts by notifying us in writing. If a statutory right permits cancellation without penalty, no booking cancellation charge applies. Otherwise, we may deduct a reasonable cancellation charge from your advance payment and refund the balance. A cancellation dealt with under this section is not also charged the ordinary post-start notice-period rental.

The charge must reflect the circumstances, including the service reserved, notice given, our reasonable opportunity to find another customer and industry practice. We will explain the calculation and take account of replacement bookings. There is no automatic forfeiture of your deposit or advance rental.

Where section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act (“CPA”) applies, no booking cancellation fee is payable if the person for whom, or for whose benefit, the booking was made cannot honour it because of death or hospitalisation. We may request only information reasonably needed to confirm the event, relevant dates and its effect on the booking. Detailed diagnoses and treatment records are not ordinarily required.

The storage service starts on the agreed Commencement Date once the confirmed unit is ready and the agreed access is available to you. Payment or a reservation alone does not start the service. Delaying your move-in does not itself postpone rental once the service is available as agreed. Starting during an applicable electronic cooling-off period requires the separate informed consent described in section 2. The separate rules below govern cooling-off and termination after commencement.

2 Online Bookings and Cooling-Off Rights

The Electronic Communications and Transactions Act (“ECTA”) provides the following rights to qualifying natural-person customers contracting electronically as end users, including through our website or onsite electronic platform:

For services, cancellation without reason or penalty within seven calendar days after the agreement is concluded.

For goods, cancellation without reason or penalty within seven calendar days after receipt. Only the direct cost of returning the goods may be charged under this cooling-off right.

A full refund of payments for the cancelled transaction within 30 calendar days after cancellation, subject only to the permitted direct return cost for goods.

The service cooling-off right does not apply where the service actually starts with your consent during that seven-day period. If you want storage to start early, we will obtain your separate, informed consent and explain this consequence. General acceptance of our terms is not a blanket waiver. This exception does not remove separate rights concerning goods purchased or unsatisfactory services. Other statutory exceptions apply only where their requirements are met.

ECTA section 43 also permits cancellation within 14 calendar days after receiving goods or services if the supplier fails to provide the required transaction information or opportunity to review, correct or withdraw before ordering. Where this right applies, you must return the goods or stop using the services; we must refund payments less only the direct cost of returning goods. The ordinary ten-business-day refund period in section 10 applies to this category.

If a transaction results from direct marketing and ECTA’s section 44 cooling-off right does not apply, CPA section 16 may allow cancellation without reason or penalty within five business days after the later of concluding the agreement or receiving the goods. We will refund within 15 business days after receiving the cancellation notice if no goods were delivered, or after receiving the returned goods, subject to deductions expressly permitted by CPA section 20. These are alternative statutory regimes, not additional consecutive cooling-off periods.

3 Cancellation After Storage Has Commenced

Our standard storage agreement is indefinite and runs month to month. Ordinary termination requires one full calendar month’s written notice: notice received during a month ends the agreement on the last day of the following month. For example, notice received on 5 October ends the agreement on 30 November. Rental remains payable to that date unless an earlier termination right or written agreement applies.

You need not give a reason for ordinary termination. We will acknowledge your notice and confirm the termination date and move-out arrangements. A valid notice does not depend on our approval.

Annual rental reviews take place on 1 July. An increase requires at least 30 days’ written notice and cannot take effect before that period expires. If you reject an increase, you may give written notice terminating immediately or on a chosen date before it takes effect. This overrides the ordinary calendar-month notice requirement and carries no cancellation penalty. Rental is calculated pro rata to the effective termination date, and you must vacate by that date.

Statutory cancellation rights and remedies for our failure to perform remain available. We will not impose the ordinary notice period where the law permits earlier cancellation.

4 Moving Out During a Rental Period

Voluntarily moving out early does not itself cancel the agreement. Rental properly due while the unit remains available under a continuing agreement is not automatically refundable. If we agree to an earlier termination or the law permits it, we will reconcile rental to that date and refund excess advance payments.

We will not recover rental twice for the same unit and period. Any overlapping rental recovered from a replacement customer will be credited appropriately. Charges for occupation or storage continuing after termination must be permitted by the Rental Agreement and law; no automatic penalty or indefinite renewal applies.

If we cannot provide the booked unit, we will immediately notify you and offer any suitable alternative for your agreement or refund payments for that booking. Where CPA section 47 applies, we will also pay interest and directly incidental costs to the extent required by that section, subject to its applicable exceptions and defences. Where ECTA applies, an unavailability refund is due within 30 calendar days after notification, or any earlier mandatory deadline. Failure to supply within the agreed period, or within 30 days if none was agreed, permits cancellation on seven days’ written notice under ECTA. Deficient services also carry the applicable CPA remedies of requiring the defect to be remedied or a reasonable refund reflecting the failure.

If CPA section 64 applies to a facility closure without a reasonably accessible alternative, we will give at least 40 business days’ written notice of an intended closure and refund the balance of customer money covered by that section within five business days after closure. That refund requirement also applies to an involuntary closure covered by the section.

5 Deposits

Deposits and unused prepayments that remain your property will be safeguarded and accounted for in accordance with the CPA and applied only to amounts lawfully due. We will account for your deposit and refund its balance within ten business days after the later of effective termination and return of vacant possession. Deductions are limited to substantiated amounts lawfully owing, such as unpaid rental, reasonable cleaning beyond the agreed standard, missing access devices and damage for which you are responsible, excluding fair wear and tear.

We will provide an itemised statement and supporting evidence for deductions. You do not have to settle every alleged debt before receiving the remaining balance. A disputed deduction will not delay payment of the undisputed balance. There is no automatic forfeiture, and we may pursue any properly established shortfall separately. Any earlier statutory refund deadline applies.

6 Promotional Offers

Promotion terms will be disclosed before you accept. Promotions under this standard agreement do not impose a fixed minimum term or an automatic obligation to repay discounts already received. Any lawful condition affecting promotional pricing must be disclosed and expressly agreed before acceptance and must not defeat a statutory cancellation right. Promotional benefits with no cash value do not reduce refunds of money actually paid or statutory entitlements.

7 Locks Boxes Packaging and Other Goods

For a voluntary change-of-mind return outside statutory rights, we may agree to accept unused, undamaged goods in their original packaging on terms confirmed with you. We do not promise a general change-of-mind return right for purchases made in person.

Where CPA sections 55 and 56 apply, goods that fail the required quality, safety or suitability standards may be returned within six months after delivery, without penalty and at our risk and expense. You may choose the applicable remedy of repair, replacement or refund. If a repair fails to remedy the defect, or another defect appears, within three months after repair, the statutory remedy is replacement or refund.

The unused-goods and original-packaging conditions for voluntary returns do not restrict a valid statutory remedy. Any deduction for use or restoration is permitted only where the applicable law allows it and does not apply to a qualifying defective-goods return under CPA section 56. Other statutory returns, including goods not matching the order or unsuitable for a particular purpose disclosed to us, remain available where their requirements are met. Electronic purchases also carry the applicable rights in section 2 above.

8 Incorrect or Duplicate Payments

Notify us if you pay twice or pay an amount not due. We will promptly check the account and refund the verified excess. We will apply a credit towards future charges only with your agreement. We will account for any bank reversal already received so that neither party pays or recovers the same amount twice.

9 Debit Orders and Recurring Card Payments

Stopping or reversing a debit order or recurring card payment does not itself terminate your storage agreement or extinguish amounts lawfully due. Terminate the agreement separately under its applicable terms.

Collections require a valid payment mandate. We will stop collections that are no longer authorised and arrange another payment method for any lawful outstanding balance. Incorrect deductions will be investigated promptly and refunded; a credit requires your agreement. Your bank and payment-provider dispute rights remain available. Final charges and any collections after termination will be reconciled against the mandate and amounts actually due.

10 Refund Processing

The specific refund periods in section 2 for ECTA section 44 and CPA section 16 cancellations, in section 4 for ECTA unavailability and CPA facility closure, and in section 5 for deposits apply to those refunds instead of the ordinary period below. Any shorter mandatory deadline prevails. These periods run from their stated events; verification or internal approval does not restart or extend them.

Other refunds, including cancellations under ECTA section 43, will be paid within ten business days after entitlement arises. For a booking cancelled before service starts, this runs from receipt of the valid cancellation; for a declined or lapsed application, from the decline or lapse. For an excess payment or other refund, it runs from receipt of the refund request if repayment is already due, or from the later date on which entitlement arises. Any legally required return of goods or cessation of services remains applicable. We will check claims and obtain any genuinely necessary payment details promptly. Verification, missing nonessential details and internal approval do not postpone the start of this period. A later decline or lapse does not restart an earlier applicable refund deadline.

A refund is payable to the person legally entitled to it. We ordinarily use the original payment method, provided this properly pays that person or their authorised recipient; otherwise we use verified payment details. Where someone paid on your behalf, we will promptly verify the payment arrangement and authority before routing the refund. The original payer is not automatically the person entitled to it. We may request proportionate proof of payment, identity or account authority to prevent fraud. These checks will not defeat a valid cancellation or extend a statutory deadline. Bank clearing times may affect when payment reflects; payment confirmation is available on request.

11 How to Request a Cancellation Return or Refund

Email admin@storagezone.co.za or deliver written notice to StorageZone, 6 Recreation Road, East London, Eastern Cape, South Africa. Call 043 726 3116 for assistance. Please give your name, contact details, unit or account number if available, the relevant transaction and the remedy requested. Give a reason only where relevant to that remedy.

We will assist if nonessential details are missing. Keep a copy of your notice; contact us if you do not receive an acknowledgement. An acknowledgement is not a condition for an otherwise valid notice. Any other notice method required or permitted by applicable law remains available.

12 Consumer Rights

Mandatory statutory rights prevail over this policy and the Rental Agreement. Our complaint process does not prevent you approaching an appropriate consumer authority, ombud or court. We will explain any refused refund or deduction and the basis for our decision in writing.