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Terms and Conditions
DEEMED ACCEPTANCE
By accessing and using the Platform, the Users agree to be bound by the Terms and Conditions set out herein.
If the Users do not wish to be bound by the Terms and Conditions, the Users may not access, display, use, download, otherwise copy or distribute the content on the Platform and/or make use of the Services.
Where provisions are highlighted in bold text, the User is required to pay special attention to such clauses as they seriously impact the User’s rights, and ZF-Counselling wishes to draw the User’s attention to that.
INTERPRETATION
In these Terms and Conditions, unless inconsistent with or otherwise indicated by the context –
“Applicable Laws” means any and all laws applicable to the Services, the Sessions or the Counselor, including but not limited to ECTA, the Health Professions Act No. 56 of 1974; POPI, and any rules, regulations, ethical guides, and codes of conduct prescribed by the Professional Bodies.
“Business Day” means any day that is not a Saturday, Sunday, or South African public holiday.
“Client” means any client who uses the Platform to book a Session or who has been introduced to the Counselor via the Platform;
“Content” means any and all content displayed on the Platform at any given time, and shall include (but shall not be limited to) confidential information, client lists, literary works, marketing and business information, musical works, artistic works, sound recordings, cinematography films, sounds and television broadcasts, program-carrying signals, proprietary works, published editions and computer programs, names, logos, trademarks, images, text, columns, graphics, photographs, illustrations and software;
“Counselor” means individual counsellors who make use of the Platform to provide Services to Clients from time to time;
“ECTA” means the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act No. 25 of 2002;
“Intellectual Property” means rights in and concerning any patent, design, trade mark, trade or business name (including all goodwill associated with any trade mark, or any trade or business name), rights in get-up, copyright (including rights to derivative works), database, domain name, circuit, design, and/or utility model, and including in each case whether registered or unregistered and including all applications (or rights to apply) for, and renewals or extensions of such rights and all similar or equivalent rights or forms of protection which may now or in the future subsist in any part of the world, registered or unregistered;
“Parties” means ZF-Counselling, the Counselors, the Clients and other Users and “Party” will mean any one of them as the context may indicate.
“Platform” means the online counseling services platform developed by ZF-Counselling and implemented to enable Counselors to provide Services to Clients, found at www.zf-counselling.co.za;
“POPI” means the Protection of Personal Information Act No. 4 of 2013.
“Professional Body” means the Health Professions Council of South Africa (“HPCSA”); and/or the Association of Supportive Counsellors and Holistic Practitioners (ASCHP); and/or the South African Council for Social Services Professions; and/or any other professional body that may apply to the Counsellors;
“Session” means an online therapy session provided employing video call, voice call, or messaging through Zoom, Google Meet, WhatsApp, or such other methods or platforms that ZF-Counselling may approve in writing;
“Services” means any form of counselling or support permissible by the Professional Bodies under which the Counselor is authorized to offer his or her services, including any Session;
“Session Fee” means the fee payable per Session, as indicated on the Platform.
“Terms and Conditions” means the terms and conditions applicable to the use of the Platform as set out herein, which is constituted of these terms and conditions and the privacy policy attached as Annexure A, as amended from time to time;
“User(s)” means any person or entity using the Platform.
The clause headings in these Terms and Conditions have been inserted for reference purposes only and shall not affect the interpretation of any provision of these Terms and Conditions.
Words and expressions defined in any sub-clause shall, for the purpose of the clause of which the sub-clause forms part, bear the meaning assigned to such terms and expressions in that sub-clause.
Suppose any provision in a definition is a substantive provision conferring rights or imposing obligations on any Party. In that case, effect shall be given to it as if it were a substantive clause in the body of the Terms and Conditions, notwithstanding that it is only contained in this interpretation clause.
Suppose any period is referred to in these Terms and Conditions by way of reference to several days. In that case, the days shall be reckoned exclusively of the first and inclusively of the last day unless the last day falls on a day which is not a Business Day, in which case the day shall be the next succeeding Business Day.
The rule of construction that the contract shall be interpreted against the Party responsible for the drafting or preparing these Terms and Conditions shall not apply.
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed and interpreted under the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
Expressions defined in these Terms and Conditions shall bear the same meanings in any annexure that does not contain its own definitions.
INTRODUCTION
This document sets out the Terms and Conditions of ZF-Counselling about the access and use of the Platform and the content, information, products, services, and functions provided on the Platform.
The Client may use the Platform to receive Services and the Counselor may use the Platform to provide Services as and when required from time to time.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, it is specifically recorded that the Counselor acts entirely independently in providing Services to the Clients. ZF-Counselling shall not offer advice, direction, or assistance in providing the Services to the Clients in any manner whatsoever. ZF-Counselling’s involvement is limited to the provision of the Platform to connect the Counselor with Clients.
SESSIONS
Users shall be entitled to book Sessions with available Counselors on the Platform against payment of the Session Fee as contemplated in clause 5.
SESSION FEES AND PAYMENT
Each Session will carry a Session Fee as indicated on the Platform. All Session Fees will be stated inclusive of value-added tax, insofar as it may be applicable.
Medical aid schemes do not cover Session Fees through ZF-Counselling
The Client shall make payment of the Session Fee when booking the Session, and Sessions will not be considered to be confirmed unless ZF-Counselling has received payment.
ZF-Counselling acts as an agent on behalf of the Counselors and accepts payment of the Session Fee on their behalf, but for all other purposes the Counselor acts independently and is not represented or employed by ZF-Counseling in any manner whatsoever. Accordingly, any advice furnished by a Counsellor to a Client is provided separately by the Counsellor. ZF-Counselling does not influence the direction or how it is given.
COUNSELOR PROFILES
The User acknowledges and agrees that Counselor profiles, as displayed on the Platform, contain information each Counsellor provides. Accordingly, ZF-Counseling does not warrant the accuracy of such information, the Counsellor’s experience and/or qualifications.
CANCELLATIONS
Should a Client wish to cancel his or her Session, the Client must inform the Counselor in writing at least 24 hours prior to the scheduled Session.
If a Client fails to provide the notice, then the Client will not be entitled to reimburse the Session Fee.
Should a Session need to be cancelled by the Counselor, the Session shall be cancelled timorously and the Client shall receive notification of such cancellation. Insofar as it is necessary, the Counselor shall make alternative arrangements for the Session or the attendance thereof by an alternative Counselor.
EMERGENCY CRISIS MANAGEMENT
Due to the online nature of the Platform and the Services that Counselors provide, ZF-Counselling and the Counselors are not equipped to provide emergency services to Clients.
Should a client require emergency assistance during and/or before and/or after a Session, the Client must immediately by telephone or in-person contact any of the following emergency numbers and/or services or visit their nearest healthcare facility:
Ambulance: 112 or 10177.
Netcare 911: 082 911.
ER24: 084 124.
Lifeline: 0861 322 322.
Suicide Crisis Line: Call 080 056 7567 or SMS 31393.
SADAG Mental Health Line: 011 234 4837.
Childline: 0800 05 55 55.
Rape Crisis Line: 021 447 9762.
Akeso Psychiatric Response Unit 24 Hour: 086 1435 787; and/or
Destiny Helpline for Youth & Students: 0800 41 42 43.
ETHICS
ZF-Counselling is voluntarily bound by the Profession Board of Psychology’s Rules of Conduct Pertaining Specifically to Psychology as published by the HPCSA and ASCHP, which can be viewed at: http://www.sapc.org.za/sapc/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/HPCSA-Ethical-Code-of-Professional-Conduct.pdf.
ZF-Counselling acknowledges that those counsellors that are not registered with the HPCSA are registered with a professional body under which the Counselor ethically operates.
ZF-Counselling does not hold responsibility for the conduct of the Counselor as ZF-Counselling does not employ them. If a client is concerned about a counsellor’s ethics, they can report the Counselor to the ethical board under which they practice.
CONFIDENTIALITY
ZF-Counselling and the Counselors respect the privacy and confidentially of the Users of the Platform, which specifically includes the use of the Platform by Clients for the Services provided by the Counselors.
Clients are advised to ensure that their devices on which they are to receive the Services are protected and that the necessary measures are put in place, as set out in the Privacy Policy. Clients should further ensure that they make use of a private and confidential environment when they make use of the Services.
CLIENT’S Consent
The Client undertakes and warrants that he/she –
will provide verification of his or her identity and age to the Counselor.
will obtain consent from their guardian or parent if he or she is under the age of 18 years old in order for the Services to proceed; and
has read the Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy and hereby provide their consent to receiving the Services in accordance therewith.
By agreeing to the terms and conditions, clients under the age of 18 years acknowledge that they have received consent from their parent or guardian to book a session and are aware that they need to book sessions with a registered counsellor.
CONDITIONS OF USE
The User may not use, copy, adapt, redistribute, or modify the content or any part thereof or frame, “mirror”, or data-mine (by way of but not limited to, robots, crawlers or other similar programs) or cache the Platform or reverse engineer, copy, modify, redistribute, de-compile, or create a derivative work of the Platform or ZF-Counselling’s software, or any part thereof without prior written authorization from ZF-Counselling.
The User may not assign, transfer, or sublicense the rights afforded to the User in terms of these Terms and Conditions, and the User accordingly agrees not to provide access to any other person, or provide his/her account details to any such other person.
The User agrees to treat all content and information on the Platform as confidential and not to share any such Content or information with any person other than on the Platform without the relevant Party’s express consent, if applicable.
CONTENT
ZF-Counselling reserves the right to –
refuse services, suspend or terminate a User’s access to the Platform, and remove or edit the content at its sole discretion;
claim damages from any User who does not comply with these Terms and Conditions;
make improvements, change, or discontinue, without notice, any aspect or feature of the Platform and Content, without notice to the Users; and
use the services of third parties to provide information on the Platform.
USAGE RESTRICTIONS
The User hereby agrees that it will not itself, nor through a third party –
use the Platform for any purposes other than in respect of receiving and/or obtaining further information on the Services, as a client, or providing Services as a Counselor;
use the Platform or any of the content for or in conjunction with any illegal, unlawful, or immoral purpose or as prohibited by the provisions hereof and the Applicable Laws;
use the Platform for any purpose other than personal, non-commercial, and information purposes;
engage in any activity intended to entice, solicit, or otherwise recruit Users to join an organization, except where such activities are expressly authorized in writing by ZF-Counselling, or as permitted by law;
take action aimed at deceiving or misleading any person, attempt to impersonate or misrepresent the User’s affiliation to any person, or otherwise manipulate or disguise the origin of anything posted or transmitted electronically to ZF-Counselling, whether on or through its Platform or otherwise;
engage in any abuse of electronic mail or spamming, including the posting or cross-posting of unsolicited articles with the same or substantially the same message to recipients that did not request to receive such notifications;
modify, access, or make available any Content stored on or accessed through the Platform in a manner other than on the Platform;
remove any identification, trademark, copyright, or other notices from the Platform;
make available, upload files that contain software or any other material not owned or appropriately licensed by the User;
violate the privacy of any person, or attempt to gain unauthorized access to the products and/or services rendered by ZF-Counselling;
collect or use any content from the Platform for the benefit of a competing merchant;
decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any portion of the Platform;
use the Platform in a manner that may infringe the Intellectual Property rights or other proprietary rights of others, including the transmission of pirated software;
use the Platform in any manner which could damage, impair, overburden, or disable the Platform or interfere with any User’s use or enjoyment of the Platform;
use the Platform to transmit anything which contains viruses or any other destructive features, regardless of whether or not damage is intended;
use the Platform to post or transmit, anything which is unlawful, defamatory, discriminatory, obscene, offensive, vulgar, threatening, abusive, harassing, harmful, hateful, profane, sexually explicit, or which carries child pornography, religious or racial slurs, which can be construed as racially, ethnically, or otherwise objectionable in any way, or threatens or encourages bodily harm or the like, or which may violate any person’s personality rights;
use the Platform, icons, site address, or other means to hyperlink other Internet sites with any page in the Platform;
frame, nor use framing technologies to enclose the Platform, without the express written consent of ZF-Counselling;
gather electronic mail addresses and/or names for commercial, political, charity or like purposes or collect or attempt to collect personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent; and
act in any way which may, could or does impose an unreasonable or unusually large load of traffic on the Platform or otherwise interferes with its proper and timely functioning.
LINKED SITES
The Platform may contain links to other websites that are not controlled or maintained by ZF-Counselling.
While ZF-Counselling attempts to include only links to those sites which are in good taste and safe for Users, the User agrees that ZF-Counselling will not be responsible for the content, advertising, privacy policies, products, services, or other materials on or available from such linked websites.
The use of linked websites is at the User’s own risk. ZF-Counselling encourages all Users to read the terms of use of such other websites. Any inclusion of such links on ZF-Counseling’s Platform does, however not imply ZF-Counseling’s endorsement of the linked site or the content thereof.
ZF-Counselling reserves the right to disable links from third-party sites to ZF-Counseling’s Platform and vice versa.
COPYRIGHT AND INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY RIGHTS
The content is provided by ZF-Counselling unless otherwise provided herein.
The Intellectual Property available on the Platform or to be made available by ZF-Counseling or any of its selected service providers or agents are the property of or licensed to ZF-Counselling and may not be used other than as set out herein.
Any uploads by the User to the Platform will be dealt with as property of the User.
The User hereby indemnifies ZF-Counseling against any claim whatsoever for the infringement of the Intellectual Property of a third party or breach of any privacy policy between the User and any third party because of an upload or submission to the Platform.
The names, images, and logos identifying ZF-Counseling or the products and services of a third party are the Intellectual Property of the ZF-Counseling and subject to copyright, design right, and trademark protection. Unless expressly agreed to under these Terms and Conditions, nothing contained herein shall be construed as conferring any license or right to use any Intellectual Property by ZF-Counseling or any other third party.
E-mail addresses, names, and telephone numbers published on the Platform may not be incorporated into any database used for electronic marketing or similar purposes. The presentation of such details is not require permission from ZF-Counseling to utilize same.
Except as specifically provided herein or elsewhere on the Platform, no Content may be copied, reproduced, republished, downloaded, posted, transmitted, or distributed in any way or otherwise used for any purpose by any person or entity.
No User may add, delete, distort, or otherwise modify the content. Any unauthorized attempt to modify any Content, to defeat or circumvent ZF-Counseling’s security features, or to utilize the Platform for any purpose other than its intended purpose is strictly prohibited.
LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND DISCLAIMERS
ZF-Counselling does not warrant that the Platform, Content, information, or downloads shall be error-free or meet any particular criteria, performance, or quality. ZF-Counseling expressly disclaims all implied warranties, including but not limited to, warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, compatibility, security, and accuracy.
Subject to section 43(5) and 43(6) of ECTA, if applicable, and to the extent permitted by law, the Platform, including any current or future offer of products or services, are provided on an “as is” basis, and may include inaccuracies or typographical errors, and ZF-Counselling shall not be held liable for any damage, loss, or liability of any nature whatsoever, howsoever caused.
ZF-Counseling makes no warranties or representations as to the availability, accuracy or completeness of the Platform, or any third-party content accessible via a website on the Platform.
ZF-Counselling, its trustees, employees, representatives, or service providers will not be liable for any special, direct, indirect, or consequential damages, expenses, or losses whatsoever, including loss of profits or data, loss of revenue, anticipated savings, goodwill, reputation or any delays, arising out of the use or inability to use the Platform or performance of the Platform or non-performance of the Platform, maintenance, enhancements, events outside its control or force manure events, even if ZF-Counseling has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
ZF-Counselling does not warrant that it has control over the persons who have access to the Platform.
The User waives and abandons all liabilities and claims of any nature whatsoever, howsoever arising, which he might have against ZF-Counseling, and releases ZF-Counseling against all liability and claims that may arise or accrue to the User, including but not limited to the User’s use of the Platform or the Services.
The use of the Platform, as well as the attendance of Sessions by a Client, is at the User’s sole risk.
The products and services advertised on the Platform and other marketing material and documents are to be used as a guideline only and may be influenced or changed by variable and/or unforeseen factors.
ZF-Counselling shall not be held liable for any errors or omissions in any of its publications and documentation (including any such material, information, publications, and documentation made available in digital or electronic media format).
NON-ENDORSEMENT
Reference to any specific company, products, processes, or services by trade name, trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise on the Platform does not necessarily constitute or imply its endorsement, recommendation, or favouring by ZF-Counseling.
PRIVACY, ACCESS TO, AND USE OF INFORMATION
Internet-based communications can be intercepted. Without the use of encryption, the internet is not a secure medium and privacy cannot be ensured. Internet e-mail is vulnerable to interception and forging.
To ensure acquaintance with and awareness of the privacy measures and policies of ZF-Counseling, the User is urged to read and understand the underlying privacy clauses attached as Annexure A to these Terms and Conditions.
GENERAL
The Platform is controlled, operated, and administered by ZF-Counselling.
ZF-Counselling makes no representation that the Platform and the Content thereon are appropriate or available for use in other locations or countries. Access to the Platform from territories or countries where the content is illegal is prohibited. If the User accesses the Platform from locations outside of the Republic of South Africa, that User is responsible for compliance with all such local laws.
BREACH & TERMINATION
Failure to comply with these Terms and Conditions constitutes a material breach upon which the User is permitted to use the Platform, and may result in ZF-Counselling taking all or any of the following actions –
immediate, temporary, or permanent withdrawal of the User’s right to use the Platform.
immediate, temporary, or permanent removal of any Content uploaded by the User to the Platform;
issue a warning to the User.
obtain an order against the User for specific performance, with or without claiming damages.
claim such damages as it may have suffered in lieu of specific performance together with all amounts owing under or in terms of this Privacy Policy; and/or
disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities, as deemed necessary in ZF-Counseling’s sole discretion.
Should ZF-Counselling instruct its attorneys to take any steps against a User to enforce any of its rights in terms of these terms and conditions or to claim payment of any monies payable in terms of any Service Fee, the User shall be liable for payment of all tracing fees, collection fees and other legal costs on the scale of attorney and own Client, along with interest on the outstanding amount calculated at the maximum rate of interest compounded daily in arrears and calculated on a 365-day year factor, and calculated from the date on which ZF-Counselling notifies the relevant
The Parties hereby consent to the jurisdiction of the High Court of South Africa.
The arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding on the Parties to the dispute and may be made an order of the court, at the instance of any of the parties to the dispute.
The Parties agree to keep the arbitration, including the subject matter of the arbitration and the evidence heard during the arbitration, confidential and not to disclose it to anyone except for purposes of obtaining an order as contemplated herein.
It is recorded that it is the intention of the Parties, that any dispute referred to arbitration in terms of clause.
JURISDICTION
All Parties consent to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s Court, in respect of any proceedings arising out of these Terms and Conditions, notwithstanding that the claim amount may exceed the court’s jurisdiction. It shall nevertheless be entirely within the discretion of ZF-Counseling as to whether to proceed in such Magistrate’s Court or any other court having jurisdiction.
AMENDMENT OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
ZF-Counselling reserves the right to, at its sole discretion, amend, modify, add to, or remove any provisions (in whole or in part) of the Terms and Conditions from time to time.
Any changes to these Terms and Conditions will become effective upon such changes being posted on the Platform.
The onus rests on the User to periodically check the Terms and Conditions on the Platform for any changes or updates therein contained.
The User’s continued use of the Platform following the posting of any amendments by ZF-Counseling shall be considered notice of the User’s acceptance to abide by, and be bound by the Terms and Conditions, including any amendments hereto.
We recommend that the User prints out a copy of these terms and conditions for future reference.