ArchGriffin Hosting Terms and Conditions

Effective Date: 1 April 2025

ArchGriffin (Pty) Ltd

Support Email: [email protected]

▪ Billing Email: [email protected]

▪ Abuse Email: [email protected]

By using our services you agree to be bound by these Terms.

Definitions

  • Services – Any hosting, domain, or related product supplied by ArchGriffin.
  • Client Portal – The portal at https://portal.archgriffin.com.
  • Overage – Resource usage (disk, bandwidth, CPU, e‑mail) beyond plan limits.
  • Scheduled Maintenance – Maintenance of which the client is notified at least 24 hours in advance.
  • Business Day – Monday – Friday, excluding SA public holidays.

1. Payment, Suspension & Chargebacks

  • Invoices are payable on the due date.
  • Late Payment – Unpaid invoices trigger automatic suspension after the grace period stated on the invoice.
  • Reactivation – A reactivation fee, published in the Client Portal, is payable to lift a suspension.
  • Chargebacks / Returned Debit Orders – Any chargeback incurs a R350 admin fee and immediate suspension until the balance, fees, and future services are settled via card or PayFast auto‑debit.
  • Collection Costs – Client is liable for all costs, including legal fees on an attorney‑and‑client scale, incurred in recovering overdue amounts.

2. Data Retention & Deletion

  • Data for terminated or suspended accounts is retained for 30 days. After this window, backups and live data are irreversibly destroyed.

3. Storage, Bandwidth & Bulk‑E‑mail Limits

  • Plan limits are published on our website. Overage is billed at the current rate card.
  • Shared‑hosting SMTP is limited to 250 recipients per hour per domain; higher volumes require a dedicated relay service or VPS.

4. Payment Method Restrictions

  • Clients with two (2) or more late payments in a 12‑month period shall be moved to automatic billing (card / PayFast).

5. E‑mail Support Scope

Webmail is fully supported; third‑party e‑mail clients are self‑service.

6. Maintenance Plans

Maintenance plans cover WordPress core and plugin/theme updates only; development is excluded. Automated/AI updates are best‑effort and may be unavailable for customised sites (manual work billed at our hourly rate).

7. DNS & Domain Management

Best‑effort for domains managed by ArchGriffin’s nameservers only. Third‑party DNS remains the client’s responsibility.

8. Website Responsibility & Passwords

Clients maintain site content and credentials. ArchGriffin never stores plaintext passwords and cannot retrieve lost credentials.

9. Infrastructure Changes

IP addresses, hostnames, or platform components may change; clients must adjust their configurations accordingly.

10. Acceptable‑Use Policy (AUP)

No spam, malware, phishing, copyright infringement, or illegal content/activities. Violation = immediate suspension or termination.

11. Resource Abuse / Fair‑Use

Excessive CPU, RAM, I/O, or process counts may be throttled. Persistent abuse triggers forced upgrade or suspension.

12. Backups – Schedule & Limitations

  • Nightly backups retained for 14 days.
  • Restores performed on request (fees may apply).
  • Backup success is not guaranteed; clients must retain off‑site copies.

13. Uptime Target

99.9 % monthly uptime, excluding Scheduled Maintenance, upstream network failures, or force‑majeure events. Credits require a separately signed SLA.

14. Refunds, Cooling‑Off & Money‑Back Guarantees

  • CPA / ECTA Cooling‑Off – Natural‑person consumers may cancel within seven (7) days of online purchase for a full refund, except for bespoke or irrevocable services (domain registration, SSL).
  • Domain registrations, SSL certificates, setup fees, and overage charges are non‑refundable.
  • If a product advertises a 30‑day money‑back guarantee, an R250 admin fee may apply to cover non‑recoverable costs.

15. Cancellation

Cancel via Client Portal. Service remains active to period‑end; no pro‑rata refunds unless statute requires.

16. Dispute Resolution & Jurisdiction

Informal resolution first. Failing that, the competent courts of Johannesburg, South Africa have exclusive jurisdiction. For international clients, Johannesburg High Court remains the forum.

17. Third‑Party Software & Licensing

Clients must hold valid licences. ArchGriffin is not liable for third‑party defects.

18. E‑mail Delivery Disclaimer

SPF, DKIM, DMARC and SpamExperts are provided but do not guarantee inbox delivery.

19. Right to Refuse Service

ArchGriffin may refuse or terminate service for any breach of these Terms, AUP, or applicable law.

20. Privacy & POPIA Compliance

We process personal data as an operator/processor under POPIA. Security incidents affecting personal data will be disclosed within 72 hours of discovery, unless delayed by law‑enforcement request.

21. Support Scope & Response Times

Hosting‑platform support only. Business‑hour target response: 4 hours. After‑hours emergency best‑effort.

22. Pricing & Fee Changes

We may modify fees with 30 days’ notice via e‑mail or portal announcement.

23. Force Majeure

We are excused from performance for events beyond our reasonable control (load‑shedding, fibre cuts, civil unrest, etc.).

24. Security Responsibilities

ArchGriffin secures the server OS, firewall, and malware scanning; the client secures website code, plug‑ins, devices, and credentials.

25. Indemnification

Client indemnifies ArchGriffin and staff against third‑party claims arising from the client’s content or conduct, including reasonable attorney fees.

26. Intellectual‑Property Rights

Client retains ownership of content; ArchGriffin retains all rights to its software, trade marks, and automation tools.

27. Compliance with Laws

Client must comply with POPIA, ECTA, CPA, copyright law, and ISPA take‑down procedures.

28. Prohibited High‑CPU Activities

Cryptocurrency mining, video transcoding, and similar tasks are forbidden on shared hosting without prior written consent.

29. Data‑Processing Addendum (DPA)

Available on request; forms part of these Terms. Sub‑processor list is published on our website.

30. Notices & Communication

Notices must be lodged via support ticket or from the registered e‑mail. A notice is deemed received when ticket ID is issued or 24 hours after a non‑bounced e‑mail.

31. Assignment & Sub‑Reselling

Client may not assign or resell services without written consent. ArchGriffin may assign this agreement on 30‑days’ notice as part of merger/acquisition.

32. Severability & Waiver

Invalid provisions are severed; the remainder stays in force. Failure to enforce any right is not a waiver.

33. Entire Agreement / Order of Precedence

These Terms, the AUP, any SLA, and a signed order form constitute the entire agreement. In case of conflict: (1) signed order form, (2) SLA, (3) these Terms, (4) AUP.

34. Domain Lifecycle & Redemption Fees (Schedule)

  • Renew Default – Domains are set to renew 20 days before expiry unless cancelled. Payment for a domain is required 30 days before expiry, unless cancelled.
  • Grace Period – 0–7 days: standard renew fee.
  • Redemption Period : registry redemption fee (TLD and provider dependant) + renew fee.
  • Deletion – After redemption, domain enters Pending Delete and cannot be recovered.

35. Limitation of Liability

ArchGriffin’s aggregate liability for all claims in any 12‑month period shall not exceed the total fees paid by the client for that period. ArchGriffin shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, punitive, or consequential damages, including lost profits, revenue, data, or business opportunities.

36. Contact & Escalation Matrix

General Support: [email protected]
Billing: [email protected]
Abuse / Take‑Down: [email protected] (ECTA §75)
Escalation path: Tier 1 Support → Technical Lead → Management.

37. Amendments

ArchGriffin may update these Terms at any time. Material changes will be announced at least 30 days before taking effect via e‑mail or portal notice. Continued use of the Services after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.