HOPSCOTCH TRAVEL COMMERCIAL TERMS OF SERVICE
Last updated: November 2024
All clauses in these Terms displayed in BOLD limit the risk or liability of Hopscotch Travel and constitute an assumption of risk or liability by you, imposing an obligation on you to indemnify Hopscotch Traveler is an acknowledgment of a fact by you. Please read these clauses carefully before agreeing to these Terms.
DISCLAIMER
1.1. Hopscotch Travel does not endorse the accuracy or reliability of any information, statement, opinion, advice, or other content on the Website or provided in the Services. Hopscotch Travel is not a travel or visa agent but provides a platform that facilitates the placement of individuals through various experiences/programs.
1.2. Any reliance you place on any information on the Website or with the Services is strictly at your own risk. Hopscotch Travel will not accept any responsibility for any loss whatsoever that may arise from reliance on information or materials published on the Website.
1.3. All information provided on the Website and with the Services is the intellectual property of Hopscotch Travel or the respective owners and is subject to these Terms and applicable laws.INTERPRETATION AND DEFINITIONS
2.1. “Fees” means the various fees described in clause 6 which include the Sign up fee and Experience Fee, and Additional Fees, as applicable and defined below;
2.2. “Hopscotch Travel“, “us” and “we” means Hopscotch Travel Proprietary Limited (company registration number 2016/396801/07), a private company incorporated in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa, with its physical address at 117 Hatfield Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001;
2.3. “Payment Gateway Partners” means our third-party payment gateway partners, PayJustNow Proprietary Limited, PayFast Proprietary Limited, and LayUp Technologies Proprietary Limited, and their subsidiaries and affiliates;
2.4. “Personal Information” means all information about a User that can be used to identify the User;
2.5. “Experience” means the experience that you apply for placement through the Services, whether it be Au Pair, USA Summer Camp, USA Winter Ski;
2.6. “Services” means the services supplied by Hopscotch Travel to Users, which includes the Website, whereby Hopscotch assists Users in being placed in a Experience;
2.7. “Terms” means these terms of service in this legally binding agreement that regulate your use of the Services and our relationship with you;
2.8. “User” and “you” means the person making use of the Services;
2.9. “VAT” means the value-added tax levied in terms of the Value Added Tax Act, 89 of 1991; and
2.10. “Website” meanswww.hopscotchtravel.co.za, including all sub-domains.APPLICATION OF THESE TERMS AND OTHER APPLICABLE TERMS
3.1. These Terms will apply when you use the Services as a User and will apply for as long as you are a User of the Services which includes the period until any disputes have been settled if any disputes arise from your use of the Services. To use the Services, you must accept these Terms. You accept these Terms by submitting an application form for enrolment in an Experience / Program through the Website.
3.2. We may amend these Terms and our Services from time to time at our discretion. We will notify you of material changes to these Terms and the Services via email or with a notice on the Website. You may be required to accept new or amended Terms to continue using the Services. If you don’t agree to any changes, you can stop using the Services. Continued use of the Services after this notice has been sent or displayed will be deemed as your acceptance of the changes. Should any changes to the Services result in you having less functionality, we will notify you at least 30 calendar days before any such changes take place, unless prior notice is not reasonably possible in the circumstances.
3.3. Your use of the Services will be regulated by these Terms as well as any other terms that are available on the Website (“the Additional Terms”). The Additional Terms include the privacy policy governing the use of your Personal Information (“the Privacy Policy”). If there is a conflict between these Terms and any of the Additional Terms, the following order of preference will be applied in respect of applying such terms: (1) these Terms; and (2) the Privacy Policy.OUR SERVICES
4.1. We offer our clientele travel and learning opportunities through various structured Experiences and partnerships with third parties. The Services include assisting Users in being placed in overseas work positions, such as Au pairing, USA Summer camp, and USA Winter Ski, (the experience); assistance with information about visa and travel arrangements; enrolment in training courses; and continued support throughout a User’s enrolment in a experience.
4.2. The specific and further details about the Services are available on the Website.
4.3. Hopscotch Travel is not a visa- or travel agent and any information or assistance provided by Hopscotch Travel in respect of visas or travel arrangements is used by the User at their sole risk. Users are required to confirm the requirements stipulated by all third parties regarding travel arrangements bookings and visa applications with the relevant third parties. Hopscotch Travel will not be liable for any costs incurred or amounts lost arising from a User’s reliance on the information provided by Hopscotch Travel. If you incur any costs to third parties before being accepted in a experience , or you do anything that results in us canceling your enrolment in an experience as described in these Terms, or your visa does not get approved for whatever reason, you are solely liable for the costs that you have incurred and agree that Hopscotch Travel will not be liable to you for any of those costs or the reimbursement of any Fees paid to Hopscotch Travel.
4.4. You must meet the eligibility criteria to enroll in any experience offered by Hopscotch Travel. Eligibility criteria are determined by the third-party partner that offers the experience, which includes the requirements of (i) having a valid visa that allows you to participate in the experience (and work in the country in which the experiencewill take place) and (ii) providing all the information requested by the partner (which is set out on the application form and as further requested by the partner) to decide eligibility.
4.5. The Services are only permitted to be used by Users who are 18 (eighteen) years and older at the time of agreeing to these Terms. Any User that is under the age of 18 (eighteen) at the time of agreeing to these Terms will require the consent of a parent/guardian to accept these Terms and submit an application to use the Services. You will not be enrolled in a experince unless you are at least 18 (eighteen) years old at the time the experience commences. Any actions taken by you or your parent/guardian before you are 18 (eighteen) years old are at your and your parent/guardian’s sole risk and expense, and Hopscotch Travel will not be liable to you and your parent/guardian for any expenses incurred by you or your parent/guardian in breach of this clause 4.5.
4.6. To access the Services, you must engage with us through the Website by providing us with certain information about yourself and certain third parties (such as your immediate family and references) through our online application forms so that the Services are personalised to you. You agree that all information provided to us about yourself is your own and is correct (and that you have the consent of any third parties to provide their Personal Information to us for purposes of processing your application), and acknowledge and agree that we may use all that information to provide you with the Services as the Services are personalised to you based on the information that you provide to us. All Personal Information will be used by us according to our Privacy Policy.
4.7. By accepting these Terms, you acknowledge and agree that Hopscotch Travel will share your information, including Personal Information, with its third-party partners to provide you with the Services in compliance with its Privacy Policy.
4.8. The information presented in the Services is not advice and should be used for informational purposes only. Any reliance on the information provided in the Services is at your own risk.CANCELLATION AND SUSPENSION
5.1. If you are in breach of these Terms, we may cancel or suspend your access to the Website and/or use of the Services in our sole discretion, without any liability.
5.2. Hopscotch Travel may terminate these Terms, cancel your enrolment in a experince, or suspend its obligations if:
5.2.1. we become aware of circumstances that lead us to believe that you are not performing or will not perform your obligations required by these Terms, which include the obligations required by the experience you are enrolled in;
5.2.2. you have misrepresented yourself;
5.2.3. you have used the Website to breach the intellectual property rights of any third party; or
5.2.4. you have not made the required payments or have suspended any payments due by you in terms of these Terms to us, without liability to you for any costs that you have incurred in addition to the Fees.
5.3. These Terms will automatically terminate on completion of the experience that you have enrolled in.
5.4. All our rights in respect of the confidentiality undertakings and our limitation of liability as set out below will survive the termination of these Terms.
5.5. On termination of these Terms:
5.5.1. you must immediately cease all use of the Services; and
5.5.2. we will remove your payment information from our systems but will retain your Personal Information generated as a result of the Services for a reasonable period in line with the Privacy Policy.FEES AND PAYMENT
Fees
6.1. Our fees for the Services are set out under the respective experiences we offer on our Website and are exclusive of VAT unless stated otherwise (the “experience fee”). The experience fee excludes all amounts that are due to third parties, such as fees for flights and travel, visa expenses, course fees, insurance, etc., which amounts are payable by you to the relevant third party.
6.2. To enrol in any experience offered by Hopscotch, you are required to pay a non-refundable deposit in advance (the “Deposit”). This Deposit, as communicated to you at the time of enrollment, is strictly non-refundable and serves to secure your participation in the selected experience.6.3. The balance of the Fee (the experience Fee ) is due for payment once you have been matched with either a hiring company, Summer Camp or host family. The full experience Fees are payable by you before Hopscotch can provide more details about the flight and visa steps. Your failure to pay the experience Fees in full before departure may result in Hopscotch Travel terminating your enrolment in the experience, without any liability to you for the experience Fees or any other fees that you have incurred related to the experience.
6.4. There may also be additional fees payable to third parties directly by you as indicated on the Website, such as fees for courses and products offered by third parties, as well as fees payable for your flights and visa (“Third Party Fees”).
6.5. The Fees are subject to change from time to time, however, changes to the Fees will not apply to Services already purchased.
Payment
6.6. Billing information. You warrant that you are authorised to use the relevant billing details provided when paying the Fees, and we reserve the right to terminate any Service if you are not authorised to use such details. You acknowledge that Hopscotch Travel will not be liable for any overdraft fees that you might incur if your billing account does not have sufficient funds to pay the Fees.
6.7. Making payment. To make payment of the Fees, you will be directed to one of our Payment Gateway Partners to provide your payment information via a secure connection. All payments for fees will be via Payment Gateway Partner and Hopscotch Travel will not have access to your payment card information submitted to the Payment Gateway Partner.
6.8. Payment Gateway Partners. Users agree to adhere to the terms and conditions stipulated by our Payment Gateway Partners and agree to pay any of the Payment Gateway Partners’ fees that may be charged by them when making payment of the fees. Under no circumstances will Hopscotch Travel be responsible for any fees incurred by you to the Payment Gateway Partners or any other third parties.
6.9. Transaction records. We will make all documentation relating to transactions between you and us available to you via email.
6.10. Taxes. All Fees include any applicable taxes unless stated otherwise. To the extent allowed under applicable laws, the User is responsible for any applicable taxes.
6.11. Failed purchase. Should payment of the Fees be unsuccessful, you will be notified of this and will be able to attend to payment again. In the event of a failed purchase, you won’t be able to access the Services until the Fees have been successfully paid and Hopscotch Travel will not be liable for any opportunities that are no longer available due to any failed payments. If the Fees remain unpaid, Hopscotch Travel reserves the right to terminate your access to the Services and will notify you of such termination via email. As set out in clause 6.3 above, payment of the Experience Fees in full is required before departure and before you can participate in the experience, and you will not be able to join a experience if the experience Fees are not paid in full before your departure.
6.12. Additional charges. If you cancel a payment by giving instructions to your bank to return your funds, and they do so, you will be liable to us for any penalty which we incur to that bank or other payment processor.
6.13. Foreign currency. If the Fees are described in a different currency to that which you use, you accept all risk for any currency fluctuations, and you agree to pay the Fees in full in our stated currency. You also agree to pay any levy that may arise because of the currencies differing.REFUNDS
7.1. Refunds. Due to the nature of the Services that we offer, and because the Services only start once you have consented to them by agreeing to our Terms and making payment of the Deposit, we do not provide refunds or offer credit on the Fees (including the Deposit and/or experience Fees) once you have made payment of the Deposit unless required by consumer protection laws.
7.2. Cooling off. The Services are tailored and personalised to you, and therefore the Services will only start with your consent (on payment of the Deposit). As a result, you may not cancel your purchase of the Services once you have signed up and paid the Deposit.
7.3. Unless required by law, we will not refund any Fees if you have used the Services or if you request a refund after 7 (seven) calendar days of making payment of the Fees.
7.4. Any refunds granted will be paid to your payment card that was used for making payment of the Fees within 30 (thirty) calendar days of the refund being granted.PROMOTIONAL CODES
8.1. We may, at our discretion, make promotional codes available to you, providing a discounted fee.
8.2. The promotional codes will be distributed for free by us and will be strictly enforced regarding any expiry date linked to such promotional code and other terms that may apply to the promotional code.CHANGES TO THE SERVICES
9.1. We will inform you of any material changes to the Services by email or a clear notice on the Website. If you continue to use the Website and Services after this notice has been displayed, you will be considered to have agreed to and accepted the changes.
9.2. If any changes to the Services result in you having less functionality from the Services, we will notify you 30 (thirty) calendar days before any changes take place, unless prior notice is not reasonably possible in the circumstances.ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY
10.1. The Services are made available for your personal, non-commercial use only.
10.2. Some devices may not support the use of our Website. It is your responsibility to keep your device(s) updated and/or in a condition for them to support the use of our Website, including internet access capabilities.
10.3. The use of our Services may be restricted to certain geographical areas. It is your responsibility to determine whether your location is supported by our Services before incurring any liability to us as we will not be liable for any loss that you may incur because of our Services not being supported in your location.
10.4. You must respect our Services and our intellectual property in utmost good faith and use it only as we intend it to be used. Any use by you of our Services which violates this undertaking can result in us terminating your use of our Services. We will be the sole judge of what constitutes a violation of your undertaking to use our Services.CONSENT REQUIRED FOR MINORS
11.1. In terms of South African law, any person under the age of 18 (eighteen) years requires the consent or assistance of a parent or guardian to legally enter into a reciprocal agreement.
11.2. If a User is not at least 18 (eighteen) years old, we will require the consent or assistance of a parent or guardian to use our Services.
11.3. We accept no responsibility for invalid consent being provided by a User. Any legal action taken against a minor as a result of their use of our Website and/or Services is independent of Hopscotch Travel, and we will not be a party to any such legal action.NON-CIRCUMVENTION
You may not circumvent these Terms and the Fees by canceling these Terms and contracting directly with a Hopscotch Travel partner.
ELECTRONIC MESSAGES AND COMMUNICATION
13.1. We will mainly use email, phone calls, SMS, WhatsApp messages, and electronic notices on the Website as our communication tool for all communications relating to our Services or these Terms.
13.2. By accepting these Terms and using our Services, you agree that we may use your personal contact information provided by you for communicating with you via electronic messages, including the Protection of Personal Information Act, 4 of 2013. This includes us sending you direct marketing communications. You can opt out of receiving further direct marketing messages at any point in time.
THIRD-PARTY SITES
We may provide links to third-party websites or apps only for your convenience, and the inclusion of any links or any advertisement of any third party on our websites does not mean that we endorse their websites or apps, their products, business or security practices or any association with its operators. If you access and use any third-party websites, apps, products, services, and/or business through our Website, you do that solely at your own risk.
INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY AND LICENSES
15.1. Unless otherwise stated, Hopscotch Travel and/or its licensors own the intellectual property rights for all material on the Website and in the Services. All intellectual property rights are reserved for Hopscotch Travel or its licensors. You may view and/or print pages from the Website for your personal use subject to restrictions set in these Terms. You agree that you will not acquire any rights of any nature in respect of that intellectual property by using the Website or Services.
15.2. You must not:
15.2.1. republish any material from the Website;
15.2.2. reproduce, duplicate, or copy material from the Website; or
15.2.3. redistribute content from the Website (unless content is specifically made for redistribution).
15.3. You agree that you will not acquire any rights of any nature in respect of that intellectual property by using our Services.WARRANTIES AND REPRESENTATIONS
Subject to applicable laws:
16.1. We give no guarantee of any kind concerning the content or quality of our Services and our Services are not to be considered as advice of any kind.
16.2. We do not give any warranty (express or implied) or make any representation that our Services will operate error-free or without interruption that any errors will be corrected or that the content is complete, accurate, up to date, or fit for a particular purpose.
16.3. We make no representations to you, either express or implied, and we will have no liability or responsibility for the proper performance of the Services and/or the information, images, or audio contained on the Website. Our Services are used at your own risk.
16.4. You warrant to and in favour of us that:
16.4.1. you have the legal capacity to agree to and be bound by these Terms; and/or
16.4.2. you have the consent of a parent/guardian in cases where you are younger than 18 (eighteen) years old or you are 18 (eighteen) years or older; and
16.4.3. These terms constitute a contract valid and binding on you and enforceable against you.
16.5. Each of the warranties given by you will:
16.5.1. be a separate warranty and will in no way be limited or restricted by inference from the terms of any other warranty or by any other words in these Terms;
16.5.2. continue and remain in force irrespective of whether these Terms are active, suspended or canceled; and
16.5.3. be deemed to be material.LIMITED LIABILITIES
17.1. The provisions of clause 17 are subject to applicable laws, and Hopscotch Travel’s liability will be limited to the extent allowed by applicable laws.
17.2. We will not be liable for any loss, injury, or death (except if such loss, injury, or death arises from the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of Hopscotch Travel) arising from your use of the Services or any reliance on the information presented on the Website or in the Services or provided by Hopscotch Travel as part of the Services.
17.3. We will not be liable to you for any loss, injury, or death (except if such loss, injury, or death arises from the gross negligence or wilful misconduct of Hopscotch Travel) caused by using our Services or your liability to any third party arising from those subjects. This includes but is not limited to:
17.3.1. rejections, denials, delays, or similar issues to the issuing of visas where we provide information about visa assistance;
17.3.2. cancelations, delays, and similar issues to any travel, including associated fees or increased costs resulting from same, where we provide information about flight assistance;
17.3.3. any interruption, malfunction, downtime, off-line situation, or other failure of the Website, system, databases, or any of its components, or those services of our partners;
17.3.4. any loss or damage regarding your data or other data directly or indirectly caused by malfunction of the Website; and
17.3.5. any third-party systems whatsoever, power failures, unlawful access to or theft of data, computer viruses or destructive code on the Website, or third-party systems or programming defects.
17.4. We will not be liable if any material available for downloading from the Website or provided by us is not free from infection, viruses, and/or other code that has contaminating or destructive properties.
17.5. The Website may include inaccuracies– in such instances, we can’t be held liable and can’t be forced to comply with offers or information that is genuinely (and/or negligently) erroneous.
17.6. We are not responsible for the proper and/or complete transmission of the information contained in any electronic communication or of the electronic communication itself, nor for any delay in its delivery or receipt. Security measures have been implemented to ensure the safety and integrity of our Services and all information processed by us. However, despite this, information that is transmitted over the internet may be susceptible to unlawful access and monitoring.
17.7. Our limited liability applies to all and any kind of loss that we can contract out of under law, including direct, indirect, consequential, special, or other kinds of losses or claims which you may suffer.
17.8. If any matter results in a valid claim against Hopscotch Travel, Hopscotch Travel’s liability will be limited to the Program Fees paid by the User in respect of the Services supplied under these Terms.INDEMNITY
You hereby indemnify and hold us (including our shareholders, directors, and employees) harmless against any claim by any person for any costs, damages (including, without limitation, indirect, extrinsic, special, penal, punitive, exemplary, or consequential loss or damage of any kind), penalties, actions, judgments, suits, expenses, disbursements, fines or other amounts arising, whether directly or indirectly, from a breach of these Terms by you.
FORCE MAJEURE
Except for the obligation to pay monies due and owing, neither you nor we will be liable if either of us cannot perform in terms of any agreed terms due to reasons beyond our control. This includes lightning, flooding, exceptionally severe weather, fire, explosion, war, civil disorder, industrial disputes, acts or omissions of persons for which we are not responsible, and acts of government or other competent authorities (including telecommunications and internet service providers).
ARBITRATION
20.1. Any dispute that arises out of or because of these Terms (other than where an interdict is sought, or urgent relief may be obtained from court) which cannot be settled between the parties acting in good faith to resolve will be submitted to and decided by arbitration according to the arbitration rules and legislation for the time being in force in the Republic of South Africa.
20.2. The parties will jointly appoint an arbitrator within 14 (fourteen) calendar days of either party demanding arbitration from the other party, failing which either party shall be entitled to approach the Secretariat of the Arbitration Foundation of South Africa (“AFSA“) to recommend an arbitrator to preside over the arbitration proceedings. Any recommendation made by AFSA will be deemed to be accepted by the parties as soon as the recommendation is made to either party and the arbitration process may start immediately.
20.3. The rules of Commercial Arbitration as stipulated by AFSA will apply to such arbitration.
20.4. That arbitration will be held with only the parties and their representatives present; at Cape Town.
20.5. The provisions of this clause 20 are severable from the rest of these Terms and shall remain in effect even if these Terms are terminated for any reason.
20.6. The arbitrator’s award shall be final and binding on the Parties and incapable of appeal.LEGAL DISCLOSURE
21.1. Website owner: Hopscotch Travel Proprietary Limited (trading as “Hopscotch Travel”), registration number 2016/396801/07.
21.2. Legal status: Hopscotch Travel is a private company, duly incorporated in terms of the applicable laws of the Republic of South Africa.
21.3. Director: C Halliday
21.4. Description of the main business of Hopscotch Travel: Hopscotch Travel work and travel experiences s to its clients through various structured experiences.
21.5. Email address: connect@hopscotchtravel.co.za.
21.6. Website address: https://hopscotchtravel.co.za/.
21.7. Physical address: 117 Hatfield Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001.
21.8. Registered address: 117 Hatfield Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001.
21.9. Postal address: 117 Hatfield Street, Gardens, Cape Town, 8001.GENERAL
22.1. Suspension of the Website: we may temporarily suspend the Website for any reason, including repairs or upgrades to the Website or other systems. We will make reasonable efforts to notify you of such suspensions in advance.
22.2. Entire Agreement: These Terms are the whole agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter of these Terms and supersede any other discussions, agreements, and/or understandings regarding the subject matter of these Terms.
22.3. Confidentiality: neither party will disclose any confidential information to any third party without the prior written approval of the other party unless required by law.
22.4. Law and jurisdiction: These terms and all obligations connected to them or arising from them shall be governed and interpreted in terms of the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Each party submits to the jurisdiction of the South African courts.
22.5. Good faith: the parties shall in their dealings with each other display good faith.
22.6. Breach: if either party breaches any material provision or term of these Terms and fails to remedy such breach within 7 (seven) calendar days of receipt of written notice requiring it to do so then the aggrieved party will be entitled without notice, in addition to any other remedy available to it at law or under these Terms (including obtaining an interdict), to cancel these Terms or to claim specific performance of any obligation whether or not the due date for performance has arrived, in either event without prejudice to the aggrieved party’s right to claim damages. Termination of these Terms in terms of clause 22.6 will not result in the refund of any Deposit that has been paid unless the refund provisions set out in clause 6.2 apply.
22.7. No waiver: the failure of Hopscotch Travel to insist upon or enforce strict performance by the User of any provision of these Terms, or to exercise any right under these Terms, will not be interpreted as a waiver or relinquishment of Hopscotch Travel’s right to enforce any such provision or right in any other instance.
22.8. No assignment: the User will not be entitled to cede its rights or delegate its obligations in terms of these Terms without the express prior written consent of Hopscotch Travel.
22.9. Relationship between the parties: the parties agree that neither party is a partner or agent of the other party and neither party will have any right, power, or authority to enter into any agreement for, or on behalf of, or incur any obligation or liability of, or to otherwise bind the other party.
22.10. No representation: to the extent permissible by law, no party will be bound by any express or implied or tacit term, representation, warranty, promise, or the like not recorded herein, whether it induced the contract and/or whether it was negligent or not.
22.11. Severability: any provision in these Terms that is or may become illegal, invalid, or unenforceable will be ineffective to the extent of such prohibition or unenforceability and shall be severed from the balance of these Terms, without invalidating the remaining provisions of these Terms.
22.12. No stipulation: no part of these Terms will constitute a stipulation in favour of any person who is not a party to these Terms unless the provision in question expressly provides that it does constitute such a stipulation.
22.13. Notices:
22.13.1. Hopscotch Travel selects connect@hopscotchtravel.co.za as its email address for the service of all formal notices and legal processes in connection with these Terms, which may be updated from time to time by updating these Terms.
22.13.2. You hereby select the email address specified in your Account as your address for service of all formal notices and legal processes in connection with these Terms, which may be changed by providing Hopscotch Travel with 7 (seven) calendar days’ notice in writing.
22.13.3. Service via email shall be accepted in all cases where notice is required unless alternative service is required by law. Service via email is deemed to be received at the time and day of sending.