Effective date: 11 November 2026
These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the Trust-a-Tradie mobile application ("the App"), which connects customers seeking home-improvement and trade services with independent tradespeople ("tradies") in South Africa. By creating an account or using the App, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the App.
Trust-a-Tradie is a marketplace that connects customers and tradies. When a customer accepts a quote, the resulting contract for that work is formed directly between the customer and the tradie. Trust-a-Tradie is not a party to that contract and is not responsible for performing, supervising, or guaranteeing any trade work — our role is to provide the App, facilitate escrow payments, and support dispute resolution as described in these Terms. Tradies on the App are independent contractors, not employees or agents of Trust-a-Tradie.
If you are a tradie, you agree to indemnify and hold harmless Trust-a-Tradie, its directors, employees, and agents against any claim, loss, damage, fine, or reasonable legal cost arising from work you performed or failed to perform, including claims brought by a customer, a third party, or a regulator.
Both customers and tradies agree to indemnify Trust-a-Tradie against any claim, loss, or cost arising from: a breach of these Terms; inaccurate, false, or misleading information you provide (including licence, insurance, qualification, CIPC, VAT, or banking details); or your violation of any law or a third party's rights in connection with your use of the App. This indemnity survives the deletion or termination of your account.
Payments are processed and held in escrow by TradeSafe, a licensed escrow payment provider. Trust-a-Tradie charges a commission on each completed job, deducted from the amount paid out to the tradie; the current commission rate is shown in the payment breakdown before a customer accepts a quote. (Trust-a-Tradie's TradeSafe integration is currently in sandbox/test mode — no real payments are processed while this is the case, and this will be updated once live payments are enabled.)
If a customer or tradie is unsatisfied with how a job is progressing, they should first try to resolve it through in-app messaging. If that fails, a customer may raise a formal dispute before releasing payment, which freezes the escrowed funds while we review it.
We will review the information provided by both parties and give a decision on releasing, withholding, or adjusting the disputed payment, within a reasonable time. We may request further information or evidence from either party.
If either party is unhappy with our internal decision, either party may request mediation before taking the matter further. We will attempt, in good faith, to agree with both parties on a mutually acceptable independent mediator. Mediation is non-binding — if it does not resolve the dispute, either party may still escalate it as described below.
If a dispute remains unresolved after internal review and mediation, a customer may refer the matter to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO), or either party may approach a court of competent jurisdiction. Nothing in these Terms limits a consumer's right to refer a complaint to the CGSO, or another applicable ombud or regulator, at any time.
Unless a court or the CGSO directs otherwise, each party is responsible for their own costs (including legal fees) incurred in resolving a dispute.
Funds subject to a dispute remain held in escrow until the dispute is resolved under this section, or until a court of competent jurisdiction orders otherwise.
If a customer does not confirm a job as complete or raise a dispute within 72 hours of a tradie marking the job complete, the tradie may submit a request asking us to release the payment. We will review the job and may, at our sole discretion, release the escrowed payment to the tradie without the customer's confirmation. If the customer raises a dispute at any point before we act on such a request, the dispute will be honoured and the release will not proceed until it is resolved under this section.
Customers may rate and review tradies after a job is completed. Reviews must be honest and based on genuine experience. We may remove reviews that are abusive, fraudulent, or unrelated to an actual job on the App.
We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms.
The App, including its software, design, graphics, logos, trademarks, and all content we provide (excluding content users submit, such as job descriptions, photos, and reviews), is owned by Trust-a-Tradie or our licensors and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. We grant you a limited, personal, non-transferable licence to use the App for its intended purpose. Except as that licence allows, you may not:
We may suspend or terminate the account of, and pursue legal remedies against, anyone who violates this section.
The App is provided "as is". To the maximum extent permitted by law, Trust-a-Tradie is not liable for the quality, safety, legality, or outcome of any job performed by a tradie, for any dispute between a customer and a tradie beyond our dispute-resolution process described above, or for indirect or consequential losses arising from use of the App.
To the maximum extent permitted by law, our total liability to you arising out of or in connection with these Terms or your use of the App, in respect of any single job, is limited to the commission we earned on that job, or, where we earned no commission on it, to R500. This limitation does not apply to liability that cannot be excluded or limited under South African law, including liability arising from our own fraud or gross negligence.
We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated version on this page with a new effective date. Continued use of the App after a change means you accept the updated Terms.
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.
If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at admin@trustatradie.co.za.