Terms of Service
Welcome to Hostking (Pty) Ltd ("Hostking", "we", "us", "our"). By accessing or using our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Agreement"), our Privacy Policy, and our Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP").
Hostking (Pty) Ltd is registered in South Africa (2013/095847/07) and operates internationally. These Terms are governed by the laws of South Africa.
1. Acceptance of Terms
By using our services, you agree to comply with this Agreement and all applicable laws.
2. Services
Hostking provides shared hosting, VPS servers, dedicated servers, domain registration, website design, and related services.
Hostking may modify service specifications, pricing, and features at any time.
3. Accounts & Security
You are responsible for maintaining account security and all activity under your account. Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is recommended.
Hostking may suspend services immediately where required to protect security or other customers.
4. Billing & Payments
Services are billed in advance on monthly, quarterly, semi-annual, annual, biennial or triennial cycles.
Unpaid services after 3 days may be suspended. After 30 days, services may be terminated and data deleted.
VAT may be charged where required by law.
5. Chargebacks & Payment Disputes
Chargebacks or disputes result in immediate suspension. Services reinstated after resolution and settlement.
6. Terms and Conditions for Automated Recurring Payments (Stripe)
These terms govern automated recurring payment services provided through Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe"). By using recurring billing, you agree to these terms in addition to this Agreement.
Definitions
Company: Hostking (Pty) LtdCustomer: Individual or entity making payment
Stripe: Stripe, Inc.
Service: Automated recurring payment service
Recurring Payments
You authorize Hostking to charge your payment method automatically.
Cancel at least 14 days before next due date.
Payment Processing
Payments processed through Stripe. Hostking not responsible for Stripe platform security incidents.
Fees & Charges
Customer responsible for bank/Stripe fees.
Privacy & Data
Hostking complies with POPIA. Stripe handles payment data under its own policies.
Termination
Either party may terminate with 14 days notice.
7. Refund Policy
7-day money-back guarantee on first shared hosting order only.
No refunds on domains, transfers, licenses, VPS, dedicated servers, setup fees, or promotions.
8. Affiliate Commissions
Minimum PayPal payout $50 USD. Wire/WISE minimum payout $200 USD.
Hostking may withhold commissions in cases of fraud, abuse, or chargebacks.
PayPal changes must be emailed to billing@hostking.host.
9. SMS Notifications
Operational SMS may be sent for invoices, domain expiry, and suspension notices.
You may opt out of non-essential SMS at any time.
10. Backups & Data Responsibility
Backups are provided as a convenience only and are not guaranteed.
Customers are solely responsible for maintaining their own backups.
11. Acceptable Use & Fair Usage
Illegal activity, malware, phishing, spam, gambling, adult content, and abusive usage are prohibited.
11A. Resource Usage (Shared Hosting)
Users may not:
Use 25% or more of system resources for longer than 90 seconds.
Run stand-alone or unattended server-side processes or daemons (including IRCD).
Run web spiders, crawlers, or indexers.
Run software interfacing with IRC networks.
Run BitTorrent applications or clients.
Participate in peer-to-peer file sharing.
Run game servers.
Create cron jobs shorter than 15 minutes.
Run MySQL queries longer than 15 seconds.
Best Practices:
MySQL tables must be indexed.
Use local file includes instead of URLs.
Do not force HTML to process server-side code.
Use HTTPS only where required.
11B. Excessive Usage & Websites Allowed
Excessive usage includes:
Databases larger than 8GB (10GB max).
Inode counts above 2,000,000.
Excessive CPU, RAM, disk I/O, bandwidth, or email usage.
Using hosting as storage or backup repository.
Not permitted on shared hosting:
Gambling or lottery sites.
Pornographic content.
Large crypto exchanges.
Music/movie streaming platforms.
High-traffic SaaS platforms.
Traffic exceeding 300GB/month may be deemed excessive if it affects others.
12. Email & Spam Policy
Sending unsolicited bulk email may result in immediate termination.
13. Abuse & Takedown
Content may be removed upon receipt of valid abuse complaints.
14. Domains
Domain registrations, renewals, and transfers are non-refundable.
WHOIS details must be accurate.
Domains auto-renew only with sufficient credit.
Expired domains may enter redemption and incur high fees.
Hostking not liable for domain registration, renewal, or transfer failures.
Free domains apply only to selected annual packages.
No support provided to reseller end-users.
15. VPS & Dedicated Servers
Unmanaged servers do not include backups.
Dedicated server data deleted 30 days after cancellation.
16. Free Website Design
Free design must remain hosted for 12 months.
17. Resellers
Resellers responsible for their customers.
18. Uptime Guarantee
99.9% uptime target. Credits sole remedy.
19. Marketing & Data Protection
Hostking complies with POPIA and applicable laws.
20. Disclaimer of Warranties
Services provided "as-is".
21. Limitation of Liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Hostking shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, including but not limited to loss of profits, loss of data, business interruption, or other commercial damages arising out of or related to your use of, or inability to use, the services.
Hostking’s total cumulative liability for any claim arising under this Agreement shall not exceed the total amount paid by you to Hostking for the affected service during the previous billing period.
22. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Hostking, its directors, officers, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from:
(a) your use of the services;
(b) your violation of this Agreement;
(c) any content hosted, transmitted, or distributed through your account; or
(d) your violation of any law or third-party rights.
23. Force Majeure
Hostking shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to acts of God, war, terrorism, labor disputes, power failures, network outages, natural disasters, government actions, or failures of third-party providers.
24. Severability
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.
25. Entire Agreement
This Agreement constitutes entire agreement.
26. Governing Law
Laws of South Africa apply.
27. Contact Information
Email: support@hostking.host