Legal notice

01Scope and acceptance

This Legal Notice applies to the website located at seruvia.co.za (the “Website”), Seruvia’s official social-media channels, and related information made available by Seruvia.

By accessing or using the Website, you agree to use it lawfully and acknowledge this Legal Notice. A purchase is additionally governed by the terms and policies presented before or during checkout. Nothing in this notice removes or reduces any right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded.

02Supplier information

Seruvia is a South African online retail business offering carefully selected oral-care, self-care and beauty products.

Seruvia is closed on weekends and South African public holidays. Legal and compliance correspondence may be initiated through info@seruvia.co.za. Seruvia does not presently claim membership of any voluntary self-regulatory or accreditation body and does not claim subscription to a voluntary industry code unless expressly stated on the Website.

03Policies forming part of your agreement

The following documents must be read with this Legal Notice and, where applicable, form part of the agreement between Seruvia and a customer:

• Terms of Service
• Privacy Policy
• Shipping Policy
• Return & Refund Policy
• Contact Information

If this notice conflicts with a mandatory provision of South African law, the law prevails. Product-specific warnings and instructions also apply to the use of the relevant product.

04Permitted website use

You may use the Website for lawful personal shopping, learning about Seruvia and communicating with us. You must not:

• use the Website for fraud, impersonation, harassment or any unlawful purpose;
• attempt to gain unauthorised access to accounts, systems, source code or non-public information;
• introduce malware, automated attacks or any code intended to disrupt or damage the Website;
• scrape, harvest or systematically extract Website content or personal information without written permission or a lawful basis;
• circumvent security, checkout, pricing, stock-control or purchase-limit measures;
• misrepresent an affiliation with Seruvia; or
• use Seruvia’s content or identity to market counterfeit, competing or unauthorised products.

Seruvia may take proportionate steps to protect the Website, investigate suspected misconduct and restrict access where reasonably necessary. This does not permit discrimination, unfair treatment or the removal of mandatory consumer rights.

05Website and product information

Seruvia takes reasonable care to keep descriptions, instructions, pricing, availability and other Website information accurate and current. Minor variations in colour, scale or packaging may arise from screen settings, photography, manufacturing updates or packaging changes.

A variation will not be treated as minor if it materially changes the product, its principal characteristics or the customer’s decision to purchase. Material substitutions will not be made without the customer’s agreement where consent is legally required.

Pricing and technical errors

Prices are displayed in South African rand. Taxes are included where legally applicable, and delivery charges are disclosed at checkout. If an obvious pricing, stock or technical error is discovered, Seruvia may pause the affected transaction while it investigates and will contact the customer promptly. Seruvia will not debit an unauthorised higher amount. Any cancellation or refund will be handled in accordance with applicable law and the store policies.

Availability

Products remain subject to availability. Placement of an order does not guarantee acceptance where payment fails, fraud screening is not cleared, delivery is not reasonably possible or stock is unavailable. Seruvia will communicate any inability to fulfil an accepted order and provide the remedy required by law.

06Product results and responsible claims

Product descriptions, demonstrations, photographs and educational content are intended to explain the product and its ordinary use. Unless Seruvia expressly provides a written guarantee, they do not promise that every person will achieve an identical cosmetic, comfort or personal-care result.

Results may vary according to the product, frequency and method of use, individual characteristics, existing conditions and other circumstances. Seruvia does not knowingly rely on false testimonials, fabricated reviews or unsupported performance claims.

Where a result, duration, percentage, comparison or safety certification is stated, it should be understood only within the scope and conditions expressly disclosed with that statement.

07Health, dental and personal-care information

General information on the Website is not a diagnosis, prescription or substitute for advice from an appropriately qualified healthcare professional. Seruvia products are not represented as diagnosing, treating, curing or preventing disease unless such a representation is lawful, substantiated and expressly stated.

Customers should read the complete label, ingredients, product listing, warnings and instructions before use. Stop using a product and seek appropriate assistance if an unexpected or serious adverse reaction occurs.

If a person has a known allergy, sensitivity, injury, medical or dental condition, is recovering from a procedure, is pregnant or breastfeeding, or uses medication that may affect suitability, professional advice should be obtained where reasonably appropriate before use.

08Safe use and customer responsibility

Customers must use products only for their intended purpose and according to the supplied instructions, warnings and age guidance. Customers are responsible for reasonable care, appropriate storage, hygienic handling and keeping products away from children where indicated.

Damage caused solely by deliberate misuse, unauthorised alteration, negligent handling, incorrect storage or use contrary to clear instructions may fall outside remedies for a product defect. This does not excuse Seruvia from responsibility for unsafe goods, defects, hazards, inadequate instructions or any other liability imposed by law.

09Customer reviews and submitted content

Reviews and testimonials reflect the individual contributor’s experience and do not guarantee identical results. Seruvia may moderate content that is unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, irrelevant, contains private information or appears not to relate to a genuine interaction, but will not suppress a genuine review merely because it is critical.

By voluntarily submitting a review, photograph or video for publication, the contributor confirms that they have the right to submit it. Seruvia will obtain appropriate permission before using identifiable customer content in marketing and will disclose incentivised or gifted collaborations where legally required.

10Intellectual property

Unless otherwise stated, Website content—including the Seruvia name and identity, original copy, product-page layouts, graphics, photographs, videos, campaign materials and other creative work—is owned by Seruvia or used with permission.

No person may reproduce, alter, distribute, sell, commercially exploit, remove ownership notices from, or falsely claim ownership of protected Seruvia content without prior written permission, except where use is permitted by law.

Third-party names, trade marks and content remain the property of their respective owners. Reference to a third party does not transfer ownership to Seruvia or imply endorsement unless expressly stated.

11Third-party services and links

The Website may integrate or link to third-party services such as Shopify, payment providers, couriers and social-media platforms. Those services may have their own terms and privacy practices.

Seruvia is not responsible for independent third-party content or an external website that it does not control. However, this clause does not exclude any responsibility Seruvia has where a service provider acts for Seruvia, where Seruvia failed to exercise legally required care, or where liability may not otherwise be excluded.

12Privacy and website security

Personal information is processed in accordance with Seruvia’s Privacy Policy and applicable South African data-protection law. Customers should use secure devices, keep account credentials confidential and never send Seruvia card details, banking passwords, PINs or one-time passwords by email, WhatsApp or social media.

Seruvia takes reasonable and appropriate measures to protect its Website and information in its control. No internet transmission or system can be promised to be completely immune from interruption or unauthorised attack. Any suspected impersonation, phishing attempt or security issue should be reported promptly to info@seruvia.co.za.

13Website availability

Seruvia aims to keep the Website reasonably available and functional but may temporarily suspend access for maintenance, security, upgrades or circumstances beyond reasonable control. Seruvia does not promise uninterrupted or error-free access.

Where a Website fault affects a completed order, payment or mandatory consumer right, Seruvia will take reasonable steps to investigate and provide the remedy required by law. Customers should contact us if an order appears to have been charged without confirmation.

14Lawful limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by South African law, Seruvia will not be responsible for indirect, incidental or consequential loss that was not reasonably foreseeable and was not caused by Seruvia’s breach of a legal duty. Seruvia is not responsible for loss caused solely by a customer’s unlawful conduct, deliberate misuse, unauthorised product modification or failure to follow clear and adequate instructions.

No statement in this notice creates a blanket exclusion for delivery partners, payment providers or other persons acting on Seruvia’s behalf. Liability will be determined according to the facts, the applicable agreement and South African law.

Any limitation in this notice must be interpreted narrowly and only to the extent that it is fair, reasonable, lawful and brought to the customer’s attention as required. Mandatory remedies under the Consumer Protection Act and other applicable legislation remain available.

15Loss caused by unlawful website misuse

A person who unlawfully misuses the Website, commits fraud, infringes Seruvia’s intellectual property or deliberately damages Seruvia’s systems may be held responsible for loss proven to have been caused by that conduct, subject to applicable law.

This section is not an indemnity for Seruvia’s own negligence, breach of law or breach of mandatory consumer obligations.

16Events beyond reasonable control

Seruvia will not be treated as in breach solely because performance is temporarily prevented by an event genuinely beyond its reasonable control, such as severe weather, natural disaster, widespread infrastructure failure, civil unrest, lawful government restriction, labour disruption or a major supply-chain interruption.

Seruvia will take reasonable steps to reduce the effect of the event, communicate material delays and resume performance when reasonably possible. This section does not remove a customer’s statutory right to cancel, obtain a refund or exercise another remedy where the law provides one.

17South African law and disputes

This Legal Notice is governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Nothing in it prevents a consumer from approaching a competent court, tribunal, ombud, regulator or consumer-protection authority where legally entitled to do so.

Customers are encouraged to contact Seruvia first so that we have a fair opportunity to investigate and resolve the matter. If a consumer dispute remains unresolved, the customer may approach the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud, the National Consumer Commission or another body with lawful jurisdiction.

18Applicable legislation

Depending on the matter and its scope, legislation relevant to Seruvia may include:

• the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and applicable regulations;
• the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002;
• the Protection of Personal Information Act 4 of 2013;
• the Promotion of Access to Information Act 2 of 2000;
• the Copyright Act 98 of 1978;
• the Trade Marks Act 194 of 1993; and
• other applicable South African product-safety, advertising, tax and common-law requirements.

Listing legislation does not imply that every provision applies to every transaction. Where mandatory law provides greater protection than this notice, the mandatory law prevails.

19Severability and no waiver

If a provision of this notice is found unlawful or unenforceable, it will be limited or severed only to the minimum extent necessary. The remaining provisions continue to operate where legally possible.

A delay or failure by Seruvia to enforce a lawful right on one occasion does not automatically waive that right on another occasion. No waiver affects a customer right that cannot lawfully be waived.

20Changes to this notice

Seruvia may update this Legal Notice when its services, business practices or legal obligations change. The revised notice applies from the date published and will display an updated date.

A change will not retrospectively remove a right already accrued or materially alter an accepted order to the customer’s detriment unless the customer agrees or the law permits it.

21Contact Seruvia

For legal, compliance, intellectual-property or Website-related enquiries, contact Seruvia using the details below: