Terms & Conditions

Guard U is a platform that facilitates bookings between customers and independent, vetted private security companies and their officers. Guard U facilitates the booking and the payment and is not itself the provider of the physical security service.

These terms are issued by Guard U (Pty) Ltd, company registration number 2026/649320/07, incorporated in the Republic of South Africa. The service is currently available to users located in South Africa.

You must be at least 18 years old to create and hold a Guard U account, whether as a customer, a security company representative or a security officer. By registering, you confirm that you are at least 18 years old and that the date of birth you provide is accurate. Guard U does not currently perform third-party identity or age verification.

Children under 18 may receive security services only through an authorised adult account holder, who is responsible for the booking and for any minors covered by the service.

You are responsible for keeping your credentials secure and for activity on your account. You can delete your account from in-app Settings → Account Management → Delete Account; see the Account Deletion page. Guard U may suspend or terminate an account where it is used in breach of these terms, where required for safety, or where required by law. Companies and officers are also subject to the approval and review processes in section 6.

Pricing is confirmed before each booking and is charged server-side. The Guard U platform commission is 12% of the service price (VAT-exclusive); this is the platform's share and is deducted from the provider's payout — it is not a surcharge added on top of the price you pay. The price you see before confirming a booking is the full amount you pay.

Any applicable VAT is determined by the provider's VAT-registration status and is shown before you confirm. VAT treatment for providers is being finalised and is not yet applied to bookings. Where a provider's VAT treatment has not been established, checkout is blocked and a warning is shown before payment.

Card and wallet top-up payments are processed by our payment provider, Paystack (currently in test/sandbox mode). The Guard U Wallet lets you hold a balance and pay for bookings and SOS from that balance. Guard U does not store full card numbers. Live production card processing is activated only when the payment account is moved to live mode by the merchant.

For SOS / emergency response, a fixed call-out fee between R0 and R600 applies per activation, set by each responding security company; R0 is accepted as a free call-out. The fee is shown before you confirm and is snapshotted at the time you commit so a later change to the company's rate does not alter your charge.

Cancellation & refund policy

• You may cancel free of charge before an officer is dispatched, including where the security company has accepted the booking but has not dispatched an officer. Eligible pre-dispatch cancellations receive a full refund of the amount paid.
• After an officer is dispatched, a reasonable and clearly disclosed cancellation charge may apply, subject to applicable South African consumer-protection law.
• Once a service has commenced, refund eligibility depends on the unused portion of the service, the circumstances and applicable law.
• If the security company fails to provide the agreed service, you are entitled to an appropriate refund — normally a full refund where no service was provided.
• Duplicate or incorrect payments are reviewed and refunded where verified.
• SOS cancellations distinguish between an unassigned request and an actual dispatched response. No dispatch cancellation fee is imposed before dispatch is confirmed.

No fixed cancellation fee or percentage is set out here. Payment- processing fees are not automatically deducted from an otherwise full refund. Refunds are processed server-side and are only shown as completed once the payment provider confirms them. Where a cancellation fee or refund amount cannot be determined safely, the request is flagged for manual review. The detailed cancellation, no-show and refund wording is being finalised with legal review under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and applicable law.

SOS connects you with participating private security providers based on geographic availability. Guard U does not guarantee a response, does not replace public emergency services, and is not liable for the outcome of any emergency. False SOS alerts are a criminal offence.

SOS dispatch is a safety-critical feature. Live SOS dispatch and automated provider matching are not yet activated on the platform; until they are, an SOS request may not result in a dispatch. The full liability and disclaimer wording for SOS is being finalised with legal review.

Security companies are independent providers responsible for the conduct and licensing of their officers. Each security company must verify and approve its own security officers before they become eligible for dispatch; pending, rejected, suspended or unverified officers are not available for dispatch.

Every security company must be manually reviewed and approved by Guard U administration before it can receive or accept bookings, appear as an available provider, or participate in SOS dispatch. New companies default to Pending Verification and are never automatically approved. Only Guard U administrators may approve, reject, suspend or reinstate security companies. Companies must provide their company registration details, CIPC registration number, applicable PSIRA registration details and supporting verification documents for review.

On the current platform tier, Guard U does not independently verify PSIRA or CIPC registration. Admin approval confirms receipt of the submitted details and manual review only, not that any registration has been independently verified with the issuing authority. The full vetting, PSIRA compliance and partner-obligation wording is being finalised with legal review.

You agree not to misuse Guard U. Without limiting the foregoing, you must not:

• raise a false or frivolous SOS alert, or misuse the SOS or panic features;
• use the service for any unlawful purpose, or to harm, harass, threaten or deceive any person;
• impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity, qualifications or registration details;
• submit fraudulent, duplicated or falsified bookings, payments or refund requests;
• attempt to access data, accounts or systems you are not authorised to access, or reverse-engineer, scrape or overload the platform;
• interfere with the proper operation of dispatch, tracking, payments or notifications.

Violation may result in suspension or termination of your account and, where relevant, referral to the authorities.

Guard U facilitates bookings between you and independent security providers and is not the provider of the physical security service. The service is provided on an "as available" basis and Guard U does not guarantee a response, an outcome, or uninterrupted availability.

To the extent permitted by law, Guard U's liability is limited. Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded under South African law, including liability for gross negligence, wilful misconduct, or rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008. The full limitation and exclusion wording is being finalised with legal review.

These terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa. Any dispute is referred to the courts of the Republic of South Africa that have jurisdiction over the matter, unless we agree on an alternative dispute-resolution mechanism in writing.

We may update these terms from time to time. Where a change is material we will highlight it on the Support page. Continuing to use Guard U after a change takes effect means you accept the updated terms.

For legal queries, contact Guard U (Pty) Ltd using the in-app Help Centre (sign in and submit a support ticket). A dedicated legal contact email will be published on the Support page once it is active.