Terms of Service

These Terms of Service are the agreement between you and Hive Hosting ("we", "us") for web hosting, domain registration, design, development and the other services we offer at https://hivehosting.co.za. By creating an account, placing an order or paying an invoice, you agree to them. Please also read our Privacy Policy and Refund Policy, which form part of these terms.

1. Your account

You must be 18 or older and able to enter into a contract. Give us accurate contact and billing details and keep them up to date — we send invoices, reminders and important notices to the email address on your account. You are responsible for everything done with your account and your hosting control panel (cPanel). Keep your passwords secret, use strong passwords, and change any temporary password straight away. We are not responsible for loss caused by someone you shared your login details with.

2. Orders and payment

• Prices are shown in Malawi Kwacha (MWK) unless stated otherwise, and are due in full before a service starts or renews.
• Paying online with PayChangu (card or a mobile money prompt on your phone): your service starts automatically once PayChangu confirms the payment.
• Paying manually (bank transfer or mobile money sent to our account): your service starts once our team has seen the money and approved your proof of payment. Please send the exact amount and use your order or invoice reference.
• Fees charged by your bank, mobile money provider or card issuer are yours to pay.
• We may change prices. A new price applies from your next renewal, and we will show it on your renewal invoice before you pay.

3. Account balance (credit)

Money you top up, or credit we add to your account, is a prepaid balance for our services only. It is used automatically to renew your services when they fall due. It does not earn interest, cannot be transferred to another person, and cannot be withdrawn as cash except where our Refund Policy or the law says otherwise.

4. Renewals, due dates and suspension

• Hosting is paid in advance for the period you choose (1 to 9 months, 1 year or 2 years). You can renew early or extend at any time from your account.
• We create your renewal invoice and email reminders before the due date. If your account balance covers the renewal, we renew it from your balance automatically.
• If a renewal is not paid by the due date, you have a grace period of 1 day. After that, your hosting may be suspended: your website, email and control panel stop working until you pay.
• Paying the outstanding invoice reactivates a suspended account.
• Hosting fees pay for reserved server resources, not for usage. You must pay them even if you do not use the service, until you cancel.

5. Removal of unpaid accounts and data

If an account stays suspended or unpaid for a long period, we may delete it and everything on it. Before we delete an account we will email you at least 30 days in advance. Once deleted, data usually cannot be recovered; if recovery is possible, we will quote a fee first.

6. Backups

You are responsible for keeping your own copies of your website, emails and databases. We take server backups to protect our systems, but we do not promise that a backup of your data will exist or can be restored.

7. Acceptable use

You must not use our services, or let anyone else use them, to:

• break any law, or host material that is illegal, defamatory, hateful or that exploits children;
• send spam or unsolicited bulk email, or run phishing, scams or fraud;
• spread malware, attack or scan other systems, or try to break into accounts;
• infringe someone else's copyright, trademark or other rights;
• use so many server resources that other customers are affected, or run cryptocurrency mining, open proxies or file-sharing of pirated content.

If you break these rules we may remove the content, suspend or close the service, with or without notice depending on how serious it is, and we may report it to the authorities. No refund is due for a service closed for breaking these rules.

8. Domain names

We register domains on your behalf through registrars and registries, under their rules, which also apply to you. The domain belongs to the registrant named in the registration. Domains must be renewed before they expire; an expired domain may be lost or cost extra to restore. Domain registrations cannot be cancelled or refunded once completed.

9. Design, development and other projects

For websites, apps, systems and design work we agree the scope, price and timeline with you before we start, usually in a quote or invoice. Extra work outside that scope is charged separately. Ownership of the finished work passes to you once it is paid for in full, except for third-party themes, plugins, fonts or images, which stay under their own licences.

10. Support and availability

We aim to answer support tickets within one business day. We work hard to keep services online, but we do not guarantee they will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may carry out maintenance, which we will try to schedule at quiet times and announce when we can.

11. Cancellation

You can cancel a service at any time by contacting us or opening a ticket. It stays active until the end of the period you paid for, and is not renewed. We may end a service for non-payment, for breaking these terms, or if we stop offering it (in which case we will refund any unused prepaid period).

12. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, such as lost profits, lost data, lost business or downtime. Our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount you paid us for the affected service in the 3 months before the claim. Nothing in these terms limits rights you have under consumer protection law that cannot be excluded.

13. Indemnity

You agree to cover us for any claims, losses or costs that arise because you broke these terms or the law, or because of content you or your users put on our services.

14. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows when they last changed. For important changes we will tell account holders by email or on their dashboard. If you keep using our services after a change, you accept the new terms; if you do not agree, you can cancel as explained above.

15. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Malawi. If something goes wrong, please contact us first so we can try to resolve it. If we cannot, the dispute will be decided by the courts of Malawi, unless the law of your country gives you the right to use your local courts.

16. Contact

Hive Hosting, Ayokar House, Upper Floor. Email: support@hivehosting.co.za. Website: https://hivehosting.co.za.