Terms of Use

1. Who we are

SVCS Steel-SA makes and installs steel carports, awnings, driveway and security gates, gate automation, fencing and balustrades for homes and businesses in Gauteng, mainly through contractors we work with. Our contact details are on the Get In Touch page.

2. Using this website

You may use this site for lawful purposes only. You may not try to gain unauthorised access to any part of the site, its server or any connected database, or introduce malicious code or disrupt the service. We may change, suspend or withdraw any part of the site at any time.

3. Estimates, site visits and quotations

We start with an estimate. You can work out a price on this website (at the moment for carports only), or give us enough information - measurements, photos, what you have in mind - for us to estimate it. If you approve the estimate, we schedule a site visit to measure and confirm that the estimate has not missed anything, and then send your quotation.

Where a project is too complex to estimate, we go straight to a site visit. A site visit to take measurements carries a call-out fee, which we tell you before we come out.

Prices on this website, including those worked out online, are estimates for the design, size and options chosen. They are shown excluding and including VAT. An estimate is not a quotation. If a price on the website is clearly wrong because of a typing or system error, we are not bound by it.

Your quotation lists the work, what is included and what is not. It is valid for 7 (seven) working days from the date it is issued.

4. What is not included unless quoted

Any work, materials or third-party services not listed in the quotation are excluded. We discuss them with you and quote them separately. This includes, but is not limited to:

• Electrical work - lights, plugs and power for gate motors, done by a qualified electrician we bring in.
• Floors and paving - concrete, paving or any other floor, laid by a contractor we work with.
• Removals - taking down an old carport, lapa or structure. Lapas take longer and cost more, as they must be taken down safely.
• Site preparation - levelling, removing obstructions and similar work.
• Changes you ask for after accepting the quotation (see section 8).
• Compliance and regulatory upgrades needed to existing structures or installations.
• Building plans and approval - plans, council approval and any body-corporate or estate approval are arranged by you, the property owner, before the work starts.

5. Accepting a quotation

You accept a quotation by signing it, confirming it in writing, or making a payment towards it. Payment of the deposit is acceptance and authorises us to buy materials, schedule the work and install it.

Work does not start until the deposit reflects in our account and we have received proof of payment.

6. Payment

• 80% deposit to confirm the order and buy the materials.
• 20% balance due on completion, before handover or final delivery.
• Installation usually starts about 7 business days after the deposit reflects. In peak seasons it can take up to 14 business days; we will tell you when we book your job.
• Late payments may carry interest of 2% per month, calculated daily, until paid.

7. Cancellation and refunds

If you cancel after accepting a quotation, the following are payable:

• a cancellation fee of 25% of the quoted price;
• travel of R5.00 per km for distances already travelled;
• the full cost of goods already ordered, bought or made for your job; and
• services already rendered, including logistics and hours of labour already worked.

The settlement is: deposit(s) received, less the cancellation fee, travel, and goods and services rendered. If this leaves a balance in your favour, we refund it; if it leaves an amount owing, it is payable immediately.

An approved refund or credit is paid into your nominated bank account within 14 business days. No interest is payable on refunds. Goods you have paid for under these cancellation terms are delivered as agreed once nothing is outstanding.

8. Changes to the work

If you ask for a change after accepting the quotation - a different size, design, sheeting or position - we tell you what it does to the price and the timing first. A change is only made once you agree to it in writing.

9. Who makes and installs your structure

We mainly use subcontractors to make our structures, and many times they also handle the installation. We remain responsible to you for their work under these terms.

Most carports and structures are built to measure on your property. Bolt-together carports and some parts are made in our workshop(s) first and installed on site. Gates are mainly made in our workshop(s).

10. Site access and your part on the day

• Give us safe, clear and uninterrupted access to the site, and a place to work and park, on the agreed days.
• Tell us before we start where underground pipes, cables, irrigation and drains run. We are not responsible for damage to services we were not told about.
• Make sure the walls or structures we fix our structures to are yours, or that you have the owner's or neighbour's permission.
• Keep children and pets away from the work area.

Delays caused by restricted access, unsafe conditions or a site that is not ready may add to the cost. We may stop work if safety requirements are not met.

11. Ownership and risk

All goods and materials remain the property of SVCS Services (Pty) Ltd until they are paid for in full, including VAT, transport and any additional charges. If they are not paid for, we may remove them without notice, and you accept the risk of any damage or loss this causes.

Risk in the goods passes to you on delivery or installation, even before ownership passes. Any payment, or accepting delivery, confirms your agreement to these terms.

12. Guarantee

Our workmanship is guaranteed for 12 months from sign-off, as stated in your quotation. The guarantee does not cover wear and tear, damage from misuse, accidents, storms, alterations by others or a lack of reasonable maintenance. Products such as roof sheeting, gate motors and batteries carry the manufacturer's own guarantee, on the manufacturer's terms.

Please tell us about a defect in writing within 7 days of finding it.

13. Your rights

Nothing in these terms takes away your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 68 of 2008, or any other law that protects you.

14. Limitation of liability

To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for loss or damage except where caused by our gross negligence. We are not responsible for defects that were there before we started, for hidden site conditions, or for events beyond our control (section 15).

15. Events beyond our control

We are not liable for a delay or failure caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, fire, flood, rain and storms, strikes, theft, riots, epidemics, government restrictions, load shedding, transport delays, supply-chain disruptions or war. In such a case the timeline is extended reasonably without penalty, or either of us may cancel without liability - except for payment for work already done and costs already incurred.

16. Your information

We use the details you give us - on the website, by WhatsApp, email or phone - to answer you, estimate, quote and do the work, as set out in our Privacy Policy and in line with the Protection of Personal Information Act.

17. Website content

All content on this site - text, photos, drawings, layout, logos and the price calculator - belongs to us or our licensors and may not be copied or reused without our written permission.

18. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the law of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute is subject to the courts of the region where the work was done.

19. Acceptance of these terms

By signing a quotation, or by making any payment (deposit or in full), you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted these terms.

20. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Each change is kept as a numbered version, listed at the foot of this page. The version on this page on the day you accept a quotation applies to that job.