Refund and Cancellation Policy

1. Core principle

• GlobeCerti provides document authentication, verification, apostille, legalisation, and related coordination services. Our fee covers professional coordination, document review, administration, and communication and, where applicable, amounts paid on your behalf to third parties. Once Commencement has occurred, refunds are assessed in accordance with this Policy, subject to any statutory rights that may apply.
• All fees quoted are inclusive of GlobeCerti's coordination charge unless stated otherwise. Where a service is billed as “all-inclusive”, any third-party authority fee is included in that price. Where a service is billed with third party fees “quoted separately” (for example, SAQA Verification), those amounts are disclosed to you before payment and are treated as Disbursements under clause 4.2.
• DIRCO Apostille and High Court Apostille fees are GlobeCerti's own coordination charges, not amounts paid over to DIRCO or the High Court. Neither DIRCO nor the High Court charges a fee for issuing an apostille, so no part of these fees is a Disbursement — refunds for these services are assessed under clauses 3 and 4.1, not clause 4.2.

2. Definitions

"Commencement" means GlobeCerti begins any work in relation to your order, including document review, route confirmation, correspondence with you or a receiving authority, preparation of paperwork, or booking of courier collection — whichever occurs first.

"Disbursement" means any amount paid by GlobeCerti to a third party on your behalf. This includes fees paid to Umalusi, the Department of Basic Education, SAQA, an embassy, or a courier provider. It does not include DIRCO Apostille or High Court Apostille fees, which are GlobeCerti's own coordination charges (see clause 1.3).

"Lodgement" means the point at which your document, or an application relating to it, has been submitted to the relevant receiving authority (DIRCO, the High Court, SAQA, Umalusi, DBE, or an embassy).

"Notarial Act" means a signature witnessed, a copy certified, or a document notarised by an admitted notary.

3. Cancelling before Commencement

If you cancel before Commencement, GlobeCerti will refund amounts paid, subject to any non-recoverable third-party costs and, where legally permissible, payment processing or refund charges actually incurred in processing the original transaction or refund, and permitted by applicable law.

4. Cancelling after Commencement

4.1 If you cancel after Commencement but before any Disbursement has been paid or any Lodgement has occurred, we will refund our coordination fee less a reasonable amount for work already completed, and less any non-recoverable payment processing or refund charges actually incurred.

4.2 Once a Disbursement has been paid to a third party, or Lodgement has occurred, that Disbursement will generally be non-refundable, because it has already been incurred on your behalf, subject always to clause 7 and any rights you may have under applicable law. GlobeCerti's coordination fee for a completed step will likewise generally be non-refundable once that step has been performed.

4.3 Where you cancel partway through a multi-step order, refunds are assessed step by step: completed steps are non-refundable under clause 4.2; steps not yet begun are refunded under clause 3. For example:

5. If a receiving authority rejects, delays, or requires more of a document

Where GlobeCerti has correctly performed the agreed service and the issue arises from a requirement, decision, delay, or other circumstance outside GlobeCerti's reasonable control — including issues with the underlying document itself, its age, its origin, or that authority's own internal requirements — the fees for work performed and any Disbursements already incurred will generally be non-refundable. We will always tell you plainly, before you order, if we think a document is likely to run into this kind of issue.

The customer remains responsible for ensuring that the documents supplied to GlobeCerti are genuine, complete, and suitable for their intended purpose. GlobeCerti does not guarantee that a particular document will be accepted by a foreign authority, employer, educational institution, court, embassy, or other recipient, unless such acceptance is expressly included as part of the agreed service. An apostille or authentication verifies the relevant signature, seal, or capacity — it does not guarantee that the receiving party will accept the underlying document for its substantive purpose.

6. Notarial and legal services

6.1 Where a GlobeCerti order requires a notarial or other legal service, that service is performed separately by Semira Hristov Inc, an appropriately authorised legal practice, or by another appropriately qualified and authorised legal practitioner or notary, as applicable.

6.2 Notarial services may include the certification of copies, authentication of signatures, witnessing of signatures, affidavits, powers of attorney and other notarial acts agreed with the customer.

6.3 Once a Notarial Act has been performed, the professional fee for that act has been earned and will generally be non-refundable, subject to any rights or remedies available to the customer under applicable law, including where the act was not performed in accordance with the required professional standard or an error attributable to the legal practitioner or notary has occurred.

6.4 GlobeCerti's coordination of a notarial or legal service does not constitute the provision of legal advice by GlobeCerti. Any legal advice or legal service is provided by the appropriately authorised legal practitioner or notary responsible for that service.

7. Where the error is ours

7.1 If a delay, rejection, or mishandling results from an error on our part — the wrong service was recommended, a document was lodged incorrectly, or a clear instruction was not followed — we will first attempt to correct the error at no additional charge (re-lodgement, re-preparation, or an equivalent remedy).

7.2 Where correction is not possible, we will refund the amount specifically tied to the error — not the full order — and may ask you to confirm in writing that this settles the matter. This is not an admission that any other part of the order was deficient.

8. Your rights under the CPA and ECT Act

8.1 Nothing in this Policy limits or excludes any right that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded. Where these laws apply to you as a consumer, the following rights are preserved:

8.2 CPA – quality of service. If GlobeCerti fails to provide services to the standard required by the CPA, you may have a right to have the defect remedied or to receive a refund of a reasonable portion of the price paid, depending on the extent of the failure.

8.3 CPA – reasonable cancellation charges. Where you cancel an order, we may retain a reasonable amount reflecting work already done or costs already committed, as set out in clauses 3 and 4. This is not intended as an excessive or unfair penalty.

8.4 ECTA – 7-day cooling-off. Where section 44 of ECTA applies to an electronic transaction for services, you may have a statutory right to cancel within seven days without penalty. This right does not apply where the service has already commenced with your consent before expiry of the cooling-off period, as provided for in ECTA. Where you expressly request GlobeCerti to commence processing before expiry of the applicable cooling-off period, your request constitutes consent to the commencement of the service.

9. How refunds are paid

Approved refunds are returned to the original payment method, subject to that payment method's applicable refund rules — for example, PayFast card refunds can only be issued to the same card used for the original payment. Processing typically takes 7 business days from approval, plus any further time PayFast or your bank requires reflecting the refund. We do not issue cash refunds or pay refunds to a different card, account, or method than the one used originally.

10. Turnaround times

Turnaround estimates we give you are based on current published timelines from the relevant authority, not guarantees. Delays caused by the receiving authority, courier, postal service, or public holidays are outside our control and do not on their own entitle you to a refund, subject always to any statutory cancellation, refund, or other rights that may apply.

11. Chargebacks and payment disputes

If you initiate a PayFast chargeback or payment dispute without first contacting us under clause 12, we may suspend the order and any further work on it. You remain liable for any Disbursement already paid to a third party on your behalf, and we reserve the right to recover that amount, including through legal process where necessary. We had much rather resolve a concern directly — please contact us first.

12. How to request a refund or cancellation

Contact us at info@globecerti.co.za or 067 554 1293 with your order number, a description of the issue, and what you are asking for. We will acknowledge your request within 2 business days and confirm what stage your order has reached and what, if anything, is refundable.