Refund & Cancellation Policy

This Refund and Cancellation Policy applies to fees paid to the Debt Mediation Association of South Africa NPC (“DEMASA”) in connection with Provider Accreditation and membership.

DEMASA aims to apply its cancellation and refund arrangements transparently and fairly.

The once-off application fee relates to DEMASA’s accreditation assessment, verification, administration and approval process.

Once an application has been assessed and approved and the applicable invoice has been issued and paid, the once-off application fee is non-refundable, except in the case of:

• an accidental duplicate payment;
• an incorrect payment;
• an error attributable to DEMASA; or
• circumstances where a refund is required by applicable law.

The application fee is separate from the annual accreditation fee.

DEMASA accreditation is provided for a 12-month membership period.

A member who voluntarily cancels during that period may qualify for a pro-rata refund of the unused portion of the annual accreditation fee, subject to the one-month notice period described below.

Members wishing to cancel must provide DEMASA with one full calendar month’s written notice.

Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing to DEMASA’s official membership or compliance contact.

The membership remains active, and the member remains bound by DEMASA’s requirements, during the notice period.

The annual accreditation fee will be divided by 12 to determine the monthly accreditation value.

A refund will then be calculated based on the number of complete unused months remaining after expiry of the applicable cancellation notice period.

The month in which notice is received and the applicable notice period are not treated as unused membership for purposes of calculating the refund.

The once-off application fee is excluded from this calculation and remains non-refundable.

No refund will be provided for:

• months during which accreditation was active;
• the applicable cancellation notice period;
• benefits already received or consumed where separately chargeable; or
• the once-off application fee, subject to the exceptions stated above.

Where DEMASA terminates accreditation because of:

• serious or repeated non-compliance;
• breach of the DEMASA Code of Conduct;
• fraud or dishonesty;
• material misrepresentation;
• consumer harm;
• misuse of DEMASA accreditation;
• failure to comply with a disciplinary instruction; or
• another material breach attributable to the member,

the member will not ordinarily be entitled to a pro-rata refund of the annual accreditation fee.

This provision does not limit any statutory right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

A period of disciplinary suspension does not constitute voluntary cancellation and does not automatically entitle a member to a refund or extension of the membership period.

Where a member accidentally makes a duplicate payment or pays an incorrect amount, the member should notify DEMASA as soon as reasonably possible.

Once verified, an amount paid in error will be refunded or otherwise corrected.

Where payment has been accepted but DEMASA is unable to activate or provide the accreditation for reasons attributable to DEMASA, DEMASA will assess the circumstances and refund any amount properly due to the applicant.

Approved refunds will ordinarily be processed using an appropriate payment method and may, where technically possible, be returned through the original payment channel.

DEMASA may request information reasonably necessary to verify the payer and process the refund securely.

DEMASA will endeavour to process an approved refund within 7–14 business days after approval of the refund and receipt of any information reasonably required to process it.

The time taken for the funds to reflect thereafter may depend on the payment provider and the recipient’s bank.

Once cancellation becomes effective:

• the member’s accreditation ends;
• the Accreditation Certificate ceases to evidence current accreditation;
• the member may no longer represent itself as actively DEMASA accredited;
• the DEMASA Authorised Provider Badge must be removed from websites, social media, email signatures and marketing material;
• the DEMASA provider number may no longer be used as evidence of active accreditation; and
• DEMASA may update the Public Register to reflect the member’s changed status.

Cancellation requests must be submitted in writing and should contain:

• the registered company name;
• DEMASA membership/provider number;
• name of the authorised representative;
• reason for cancellation, where the member wishes to provide one; and
• contact details for confirmation.

Requests may be submitted to compliance@demasa.co.za.

DEMASA will confirm receipt and advise the member of the effective cancellation date and, where applicable, the calculated refund amount.

Nothing in this policy is intended to remove or limit any right available to a person under applicable South African law where that right cannot lawfully be waived or excluded.

Questions regarding cancellations, payments or refunds may be directed to the Debt Mediation Association of South Africa NPC (DEMASA) at compliance@demasa.co.za, or via www.demasa.co.za.