Terms of Service

1. Agreement

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern access to and use of the VendorTrust website, applications, and related services (the "Service") provided by CORETRUST TECHNOLOGIES (PTY) LTD (registration number 2025/935641/07), a private company incorporated in the Republic of South Africa on 4 December 2025 ("CoreTrust", "we", "us"). The Service is offered under the VendorTrust name.

You agree to these Terms when you create an account, click to accept, and confirm you are 18 or older. Browsing public pages without an account is limited to looking at listings; the acceptable-use and prohibited-items rules still apply. We do not treat mere browsing as acceptance of the full contract.

If you use the Service on behalf of an organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation.

Nothing in these Terms limits any right that cannot lawfully be limited. That includes, for qualifying consumers, non-waivable rights under the South African Consumer Protection Act, 2008 (CPA), the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, 2002 (ECTA), and the Zimbabwe Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14]. In-product notices (for example demo checkout) are extra disclosures. They cannot reduce those statutory rights. Marketing copy does not override these Terms.

2. Who we are (ECTA s43)

CoreTrust supplies the VendorTrust platform (software for listings, messaging, verification, and checkout). For goods or services sold by a user, that user is the supplier of those goods or services. Full particulars, including fields still pending publication, are on Legal information.

• Legal name and status: CORETRUST TECHNOLOGIES (PTY) LTD, private company (Pty) Ltd, 2025/935641/07, incorporated 4 December 2025 in the Republic of South Africa.
• Website: https://vendor-trust.com
• Email: info@coretrust.tech
• Physical address: Not yet published on this site. Request the registered office and address for service of legal documents from info@coretrust.tech.
• Telephone: Not yet published on this site. Email info@coretrust.tech and we will provide a telephone number.
• Office bearers: Directors’ names are available on request at info@coretrust.tech pending publication on this page.

3. Launch territory

The Service is offered for users in South Africa and Zimbabwe. You must comply with laws that apply to you, including tax, consumer, sanctions, import/export, currency, and data-protection rules. Diaspora delivery to other SADC countries is not enabled until we say so in the product.

4. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and have legal capacity to contract where you live. The Service is not directed at children. We may suspend accounts we reasonably believe belong to a minor.

5. What VendorTrust provides

Identity checks may be offered. Completing a check does not mean we guarantee the person, the listing, or the deal.

Unless we agree otherwise in a signed document, CoreTrust is not a party to deals between users, not a bank, not a credit provider, not a financial services provider, and not a professional adviser.

6. Accounts and security

You must provide accurate information and keep it current. We may require identity or business verification. Uploading a selfie or identity document for verification is optional until we require it for a listing, deal, or payout; when you upload it, you consent to that processing as described in the Privacy Policy.

You are responsible for safeguarding credentials and for activity under your account. Notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

You may request deletion from Settings, from the account deletion page, or by emailing info@coretrust.tech from your registered address. Deletion is subject to the retention described in the Privacy Policy.

7. Acceptable use and prohibited items

You agree not to:

• violate applicable law or infringe others' rights;
• upload malware, harass others, or engage in fraud or money laundering;
• circumvent fees, security, or rate limits, or scrape beyond documented APIs;
• misrepresent listings, bids, identity, or transaction status;
• use the Service to list or trade prohibited goods or services.

Prohibited listings include, without limitation:

• illegal drugs, stolen property, and counterfeit goods;
• weapons and explosives where unlawful to trade on a consumer marketplace;
• wildlife and products restricted under CITES or national conservation law;
• child sexual abuse material and any sexual content involving minors;
• human trafficking, forced labour, or deceptive recruitment;
• pyramid or Ponzi schemes and unlicensed deposit-taking;
• listings that evade sanctions or exchange-control rules.

We may require communications and evidence to remain on-platform. We may suspend or terminate access for risk, abuse, non-payment, or legal compliance. Significant enforcement (suspension or ban) is subject to human review where practicable.

8. Transactions between users

The seller (or service provider) is responsible for the listing, price, tax on the supply, licences, delivery, and quality of what they sell. You are responsible for paying, inspecting, and raising disputes with that party, except where a working in-product tool expressly applies to your order.

Seller profiles display details supplied by sellers. We may check some documents. We do not guarantee every listing or business claim. Do your own due diligence.

Before you place an order, checkout lets you review the cart, change quantities, and leave without paying. Once you confirm pay (or complete demo checkout), the order is recorded.

When Paystack is enabled, payment is processed by Paystack under its terms. Funds are typically split to the seller. If a payment is reversed or charged back, we may offset, claw back, suspend, or invoice you for amounts owed to CoreTrust or other users, where permitted by law.

Prices are set by the seller and shown on the listing. They may exclude delivery and tax. Delivery times are those stated by the seller on the listing, or as you agree in messages. CoreTrust is not the carrier unless a specific delivery product is enabled and shown on that order.

You can view a record of your orders and transactions in the dashboard (Orders / Transactions).

9. Fees

Creating an account is free. During beta, platform commission is 0% unless we notify you of a change before it applies. Any future fee will be shown at purchase or in your plan, including whether VAT is included. You are responsible for taxes on your own sales unless we state otherwise.

10. Cancellation, cooling-off, and refunds

See Refunds and cancellation. Short version: demo checkout — deal with the other party. Marketplace goods paid by Paystack — the seller is the supplier; we will pass your request and help where Paystack allows a reversal; we cannot promise a refund of money already paid out to a seller. Fees paid to CoreTrust for the platform itself are refunded where the CPA or ECTA requires.

11. Complaints (South Africa)

Email info@coretrust.tech from your registered address with your account email, any order reference, and a clear description. We aim to acknowledge within two (2) business days and respond substantively within fifteen (15) business days.

You may also contact the National Consumer Commission (thencc.gov.za), the National Consumer Tribunal, or an applicable ombud or industry body.

12. Complaints (Zimbabwe)

Email info@coretrust.tech using the same process. Nothing in these Terms limits non-waivable rights under the Consumer Protection Act [Chapter 14:14]. You may refer a consumer complaint to the Consumer Protection Commission or another competent Zimbabwe authority.

13. Your content

You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant CoreTrust a worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, process, transmit, display, and use that content to operate, secure, and improve the Service, including fraud and risk analysis as described in the Privacy Policy.

Public listings, public profile details, and public reviews may appear in search results and in-product discovery. We do not use private messages for advertising.

You warrant that you have the rights needed to grant that licence and that your content does not violate third-party rights.

14. CoreTrust intellectual property

The Service, branding, software, and non-user materials are owned by CoreTrust or its licensors. These Terms do not grant ownership of our intellectual property.

15. Copyright complaints

If you believe a listing or other content infringes your copyright, email info@coretrust.tech with the URL, a description of the work, and a statement that you are the owner or authorised agent. We may remove or disable access to the material and tell the poster.

16. Privacy

Personal information is processed as described in our Privacy Policy and Cookie notice. If you upload personal information about others, you are responsible for having a lawful basis and any required notices.

You consent to receive electronic communications from us about the Service (ECTA). You may withdraw marketing consent independently of service messages (security, receipts, disputes).

17. Disclaimers

For business users and to the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided "as is" and "as available". CoreTrust disclaims implied warranties such as merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

For qualifying consumers, quality and implied-warranty rights under the CPA (and equivalent Zimbabwe consumer law) are not excluded where the law does not allow it.

18. Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded: death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, gross negligence, or any liability the CPA, ECTA, or Zimbabwe consumer law does not allow us to exclude.

Subject to that, CoreTrust is not liable for indirect, consequential, special, punitive, or exemplary damages, or for lost profits, lost data, goodwill, or business interruption, even if advised of the possibility.

Subject to the same non-excludable rights, CoreTrust's aggregate liability for claims arising out of these Terms or the Service in any twelve-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the fees you paid CoreTrust for the Service in that period, or (b) South African Rand five thousand (ZAR 5,000).

19. Indemnity

To the extent permitted by law, you will indemnify CoreTrust against claims, losses, and reasonable legal costs arising from your content, your deals with other users, your breach of these Terms or law, or your tax obligations. This indemnity does not require a qualifying consumer to indemnify us for our own fraud, wilful misconduct, or gross negligence.

20. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa, except that a qualifying consumer in Zimbabwe keeps non-waivable rights under Zimbabwe law, and we will not object to that consumer bringing those claims in a competent Zimbabwe court or tribunal.

Subject to those non-waivable rights, you may sue in the courts of South Africa, including (for claims within their monetary jurisdiction) the Magistrates' Courts. We do not require a consumer to travel to the High Court in Durban solely to enforce a non-waivable consumer right.

21. Changes, assignment, and general

We may update these Terms by posting a revised version and updating the "Last updated" date. Material changes will be notified by email or in-product notice where the law requires. Continued use after a material change is acceptance only if the law allows; otherwise we will ask you to accept again.

We may assign these Terms in connection with a reorganisation or sale of the business. You may not assign without our consent. If a clause is unenforceable, the rest remains in force. These Terms, with the Privacy Policy, Cookie notice, and Refunds policy, are the entire agreement for the Service. Notices to you may be sent to your account email. Notices to us: info@coretrust.tech.

22. Contact

Questions: info@coretrust.tech or in-app support. Related documents: