Terms and conditions

These terms explain, in plain language, how we quote, book, do, charge for and guarantee our work. They apply to every job we do for you. By accepting a quote, or asking us to go ahead with work, you agree to these terms.

1. Who we are

• Lightning Fast Plumbing and Electrical (Pty) Ltd, a private company registered in South Africa, registration number 2026/203354/07 (converted from CC Reg. 1996/054857/23). Trading since 1996.
• Director: Izak Janse van Vuuren.
• Physical address, and our address for legal notices: 15 10th Avenue, Fish Hoek, Cape Town, 7975.
• Phone and WhatsApp: 074 490 3100. Email: enquiries@lightningfast.co.za. Website: www.lightningfast.co.za.
• We are PIRB registered (Plumbing Industry Registration Board, pirb.co.za) and an IOPSA member (Institute of Plumbing South Africa, iopsa.org.za).

“We” and “us” means Lightning Fast. “You” means the person, agent or business that asks us to do the work.

2. Quotes

1. Before any work starts we give you a fixed, itemised quote showing the parts, the hours and the labour rate. By accepting it, in writing or on WhatsApp, you agree to these terms.
2. A quote is valid for 30 days from the date on it, because supplier prices change.
3. The quote is based on what we can see and test on the day. Where part of the job is hidden, such as pipes in a wall, under a floor or in a ceiling, the quote says so, and that part is an estimate until we can see it.
4. If we find something that changes the work or the price, we stop, show you what we found (with photos), and give you a revised price. We only go ahead with extra work or changes once you have approved them in writing or on WhatsApp.
5. All prices are in South African rand (ZAR). The price on your quote is the full price, including any tax that applies.

3. Call-outs, emergencies and after hours

1. We charge one flat call-out rate across the Southern Suburbs and South Peninsula, wherever you are. We tell you the call-out fee when you book.
2. For genuine emergencies we aim to be on site within 3 hours, day or night (4 hours over the December–January and Easter holidays). Emergencies carry no after-hours charge.
3. At night, an emergency visit means stopping the damage and making the installation safe: isolating the water and power, checking nothing is live that shouldn't be, and containing the leak. Where a full repair or replacement can't be done safely in the dark, such as a geyser in a ceiling void, we come back to do it in daylight. We agree that next visit, and its price, with you first.

4. Bookings and cancellations

1. You can cancel or move a booked call-out free of charge at any time until our technician has been dispatched to you.
2. Once the technician is on the way, the call-out fee applies if you cancel, or if we arrive and can't get access.
3. We won't charge a cancellation fee if you can't keep the booking because the person it was made for has died or been taken into hospital.
4. If we have to cancel or move a booking, we tell you as soon as we can and there is no charge to you.
5. If you booked us as a result of direct marketing, you may cancel within 5 business days under section 16 of the Consumer Protection Act.

5. Deposits, and cancelling after a deposit

1. Ordinary jobs need no deposit. You pay the full invoice when the work is done.
2. Solar and heat pump installations need a deposit before we order the parts or start the work.
3. Other larger private jobs, where we have to buy costly parts for your job, may also need a deposit.
4. Your quote says whether a deposit applies and how much it is. The deposit is deducted from your final invoice.
5. If you accepted our quote electronically (by email, WhatsApp or online), you may cancel within 7 days of accepting, without giving a reason and without penalty, under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act. We then refund everything you have paid within 30 days. This right falls away once work has started, with your agreement, within those 7 days.
6. If you cancel after paying a deposit, once that 7-day period has passed or once work has started, we refund the deposit less only:
   • the cost of parts already ordered for your job that the supplier won't take back; and
   • any restocking fee the supplier charges us for parts that it does take back.
7. We show you the supplier's invoice or credit note for anything we deduct, and any parts you have paid for in this way are yours to keep. We don't keep any other part of the deposit.

6. Payment

1. Payment is due when the work is done. You receive an itemised invoice that matches the quote, together with a photographed report of the work.
2. You can pay by card on site (Yoco card machine), by a Yoco payment link we send you, or by EFT. We don't add a fee for paying by card.
3. Card payments are processed securely by Yoco. We never see or store your card number.
4. Jobs for estate agents, rental agents and property transfers, including certificate (CoC) jobs, are invoiced to the agent or seller and paid as agreed in writing with them. Payment on transfer can be arranged; a small admin fee may apply.
5. Parts we have supplied but not yet installed remain ours until the invoice is paid.
6. We don't charge interest on late payments. If an invoice is not paid on time, we may recover reasonable collection costs, as the law allows.

7. Access and site conditions

1. Please give us safe access to the work area and tell us about any hazards we should know about, such as dogs, alarms or unsafe ceilings. Where access is unsafe, we won't start until it is made safe.
2. Older homes often have problems that only show once work starts, such as old or corroded pipes, hidden damage, or earlier work done by others. We are not responsible for defects that were already there, but we show you what we find, with photos, and quote any repair before we do it.
3. To reach pipes or wiring we sometimes have to open tiles, walls, plaster, ceilings, paving or paint. We only open what we must to reach the work, we take reasonable care while we do it, and we leave the area safe and clean.
4. We don't close up, fill or repair openings we make, or restore or match finishes. Re-tiling, plastering, painting, ceiling and paving repairs are never part of our quote, so please arrange them with your own builder or tiler.
5. We remain responsible for any damage our negligence causes beyond what was needed to do the job.

8. Certificates of compliance (CoCs) and inspections

1. A CoC or inspection report shows the condition of the installation on the day we inspected it.
2. Our plumbing (water installation) CoCs are issued for the City of Cape Town, under its Water By-law. The City requires one when a property is transferred.
3. If we find items that don't comply, we list them with photos and quote the repairs separately. We issue the certificate once those items have been put right.
4. We are not responsible for faults that arise after the inspection, or for changes others make to the installation afterwards. Any repair work we do is covered by our guarantee in section 11.

9. Specialist partners

Some work, such as gas installations and beetle inspections, is carried out for us by registered specialist partners. They work under the Lightning Fast umbrella: we arrange the work, we invoice you, and we stay your point of contact throughout, including for any complaint about their work.

10. Refunds

1. If you are due a refund, for example a deposit under section 5 or an amount we agree after a complaint, we refund card payments to the same card through Yoco, and EFT payments to the account they came from.
2. We process refunds within 7 to 10 working days of agreeing them. A card refund can take a few more days to show on your statement, depending on your bank.
3. If something is wrong with our work, please contact us first. Under the Consumer Protection Act you can ask us to put it right or, depending on how serious the failure is, to refund a reasonable part of the price.

11. Our guarantee

1. Our workmanship is guaranteed for 12 months from the date the work is finished. Parts we supply are covered by the Consumer Protection Act's six-month warranty on goods, and by the manufacturer's warranty.
2. The guarantee stays with the property, so if you sell, it passes to the buyer.
3. If something goes wrong, please report it to us first and give us the chance to inspect and fix it. If the fault is in our workmanship, we put it right at no cost to you.
4. The guarantee does not cover faults caused by:
   • misuse, neglect or damage after we finished;
   • work done on the installation by anyone else after us;
   • water pressure surges or electrical power surges from the supply; or
   • lightning, floods, storms and other natural events.
   These exclusions don't apply where the fault was caused by our own work.
5. This guarantee is in addition to your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, including the warranty on goods and the three-month warranty on parts we install and the labour to install them. It does not replace them.

12. Records and your information

1. Every job is recorded on site with photos and a report in our own app. You receive the quote, the invoice and the report by email or WhatsApp, and you can ask us for a copy at any time while we keep the records.
2. How we collect, use and protect your personal information, under POPIA, is set out in our privacy policy.

13. Our responsibility

1. We are responsible for loss or damage caused by our negligence, or by the negligence of the people working for us, and we carry R5 million public liability cover.
2. We are not responsible for loss that could not reasonably have been expected to follow from our work, or for defects and conditions that were already there before we started (see section 7).
3. Nothing in these terms limits our responsibility for gross negligence, or for anything else where the Consumer Protection Act or another law says it can't be limited.

14. Complaints and disputes

1. If you are unhappy with anything, please contact us first on 074 490 3100 or enquiries@lightningfast.co.za. Tell us what went wrong and send photos if you can. We will look into it, and where the fault is ours we will come back and fix it.
2. If we can't resolve it between us, you can take the complaint to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (CGSO): cgso.org.za, 0860 000 272.
3. For card payments, these terms don't affect your right to dispute a transaction with your bank.

15. General

1. These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa.
2. If any part of these terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the rest still applies.
3. We may update these terms from time to time. The date at the top shows when they last changed. The terms that apply to your job are the ones on this page on the day you accepted the quote.
4. You can save or print this page at any time, using your browser's print or save option.