terms & conditions

The stepaheadshoes.co.za web site (“the Site”) is a service of One Step Ahead CC (“Step Ahead”)

These Conditions of Service, along with any other terms and conditions that may appear on the site from time to time (collectively, “Conditions”), set forth the terms and conditions under which you may use and access the Site.

BY ACCESSING THE SITE, YOU AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS.  IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE CONDITIONS (WITHOUT MODIFICATION), YOU ARE NOT AUTHORISED TO ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE THE SITE.

1. Use of Site and Content
   • Use of Site. You may access and use the Site solely for your personal use in accordance with these Conditions.  You agree not to access or use the Site in any manner that is prohibited by these Conditions or is otherwise unlawful.   We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to terminate or suspend your access to , and/or use of, the Site, or any portion thereof, at any time, with or without notice and for any reason (or no reason), and you agree that (a) if your authorisation to access the Site is terminated, you will not thereafter access, or attempt to access, the Site, directly or indirectly, and (b) if your authorisation to access the Site is suspended, you will not thereafter access, or attempt to access, the Site, directly or indirectly, until your suspension is removed and we give you express notice thereof.
   • Use of Content. All information displayed or transmitted on the Site (including, but not limited to, logo typed, trademarks, service marks, directories, guides, news articles, opinions, reviews, test, photographs, images, illustrations, audio clips, video, html, source and object code, software, data, and the like, collectively “Content”) is protected, and written approval must be received from One Step Ahead CC before use.
   • You agree not to decompile, reverse engineer or disassemble any software or other products or processes accessible through the Site, and not to insert any code or product or manipulate the Content in any way that affects the user’s experience. You further agree not to sue any data mining, web crawlers, robots, cancelbots, spiders, Trojan horses, or any data gathering or extraction method in connection with your use of the Site except for customary search engines used in accordance with instructions directed  to search engines and available on the Site.

2. Product Information and Colours.
   • We have made every effort to display as accurately as possible the colours of our product that appear on the Site.  However, as the actual colours you see will depend on your monitor, we cannot guarantee that your monitor’s display of any colour will be accurate.  Most products displayed on the Site are available in select Step Ahead stores in the Republic of South Africa.  In some cases, merchandise displayed for sale on the Site may not be available in Step Ahead stores.  The prices displayed on the Site are quoted in South African Rands and are valid and effective only in South Africa.

3. Registration
   • Certain areas if the Site may require registration. If you register or provide information to us in any manner, you agree to provide only true, accurate, current and complete information.  If we issue a username and/or password to you, you agree to protect such information by, among other things, keeping your password and other information relating to your account confidential.  If, notwithstanding the foregoing obligation, you allow another party to use your account, you will be responsible for all use of the Site by the party using your account.

4. Linking and Third Party Dealings
   • Links to External Sites. We may provide hyperlinks to other web sites and Internet resources operated by parties other thank Step Ahead.  We have no control over such sites and resources or their privacy policies.  Such hyperlinks are provided for your reference only.  The inclusion of hyperlinks to such web sites does not imply any sponsorship, affiliation or endorsement of the material on such web sites or with their operators.
   • Third-Party Dealings. Some portions of the Site may direct you to a web site of a third party. Your dealings or communications through the Site with any party other than us are solely between you and that third party.  Please review carefully that third party’s policies and practices and make sure you are comfortable with those policies and practices before you engage in any transaction.  Any complaints, concerns or questions you may have relating to materials provided by third parties should be forwarded directly to the third party.

5. Intellectual Property
   • Except for Content that is in the public domain, all Content, as well as the selection and arrangement of the Content, is owned by (or licensed to) Step Ahead, its affiliates or suppliers and is protected by copyright, trade dress, trademark, unfair competition, and/or other laws and may not be used, copied or imitated in whole or in part except as expressly provided in these Conditions. Except as otherwise expressly provided in these Conditions, all rights in and to the Content are expressly reserved by Step Ahead.

6. Indemnification
   • You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Step Ahead and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, shareholders, information providers, suppliers and licensees (collectively, “Indemnified Parties”) from and against any and all liability and costs including, without limitation, reasonable attorney’s fees, incurred by the Indemnified Parties in connection with any claim arising out of (a) your access and/or use of the Site, (b) any breach of any of these Conditions by you or any user of your account, and/or (c) any allegation which, if true, would constitute a breach of any of these Conditions by your or any user of your account.

7. Typographical Errors and Cancellation of Orders
   • In the event a Step Ahead product is mistakenly listed at an incorrect price, or with incorrect information, Step Ahead will have the right to refuse or cancel any orders placed for the product listed at the incorrect price. In addition, Step Ahead reserves the right any time after receipt of your order to refuse or cancel your order for any reason, whether or not the order has been confirmed and your credit card charged. If your credit card has already been charged for the purchase and your order is cancelled, Step Ahead will issue a credit to your credit card account in the amount of charge.

8. No Warranties on Site
   • The Site is provided on an “as is”, “as available” basis. Price and availability information, product descriptions and promotions are subject to change without notice, and we reserve the right to change or update such information at any time. In addition, we make no representation that materials or content available through the Site are appropriate or available for use outside the Republic of South Africa and access to them from territories where their contents are illegal is prohibited.  The Site is controlled, operated and administered by us from our offices within the Republic of South Africa.

9. Limitation of Liability
   • Except where prohibited by law, in no event will Step Ahead, its affiliates, and/or suppliers be liable for (a) any damages of any nature whatsoever resulting from, or related to, the loss, delay or inability to use the Site (including, without limitation, any content), the loss of any content obtained through the Site, and/or (b) any indirect, consequential, special, incidental or punitive damages whatsoever including, without limitation, damages for loss of profits arising out of or in any way connected with these conditions and/or otherwise arsing out of the use or performance of the Site (including, without limitation, any content), in each of (a) and (b) above whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability or otherwise and even if Step Ahead, its affiliates, and/or suppliers have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

10. Additional Conditions and Modifications to Conditions
    • We may add additional conditions that govern your use of the Site by posting such conditions on the Site from time to time. In addition, we may revise these Conditions at anytime.  When we do, we will also revise the “last updated” date at the top of these Conditions.  You are responsible for regularly reviewing the current Conditions.  The most current version of the Conditions can be reviewed by clicking on the “Terms and Conditions” hypertext link located at the bottom of our web pages.  Your continued use of the Site after we post any revised Conditions constitutes your agreement to any such revised terms.  If you object to any of these Conditions or any subsequent changes, you may not use the Site.

11. Modifications to the Site
    • For further clarity, (a) we may modify, suspend, discontinue and/or restrict the use of all or any portion of the Site including the availability of any data or other information contained on the Site at any time for any reason and without notice or liability, and (b) we reserve the right, with or without notice to you, to change any of the services offered on the Site including, but not limited to, hours of operation, access procedures and/or other services.

12. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
    • The Site is hosted on servers located in the Republic of South Africa and is intended to be viewed by resident of the Republic of South Africa. You agree that we may initiate a suit against you arising out of or relating to the Site (including, without limitation, the Content of the Site) and/or these Conditions in such courts and you hereby waive all rights you may have or which may hereafter arise to contest jurisdiction or venue in such courts.

13. Payment
    • Orders may currently be paid for by credit card (Visa, Mastercard, Dinners Club and Amex only, debit card (PayD and Autopay only), Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) and direct deposit only.
      • Bank account details into which Electronic Funds Transfers (EFT’s) and Direct Deposit’s should be made are:

Standard Bank

Account number:  023337710

Fourways Crossing

Branch code:  009953

Proof of payment should be emailed to care@stepaheadshoes.co.za along with the order number.  Funds need to reflect in our bank account before order is finalised and item/s shipped.

• All orders are processed in South African Rands and quoted prices are inclusive of Value Added Tax (VAT at 15%).
• At the time of placing the Order, the transaction details are presented to the bank and an authorisation is obtained for the amount of the order. If such authorisation is not obtained, payment is usually immediate.
• You warrant that you are fully authorised to use the credit card or debit card supplied for purposes of paying for your order and that this credit card or debit card has sufficient available funds to cover all of the costs incurred as a result of using the services.

14. Security Policy
    • Virtual Card Services process all credit card transactions. All credit card transactions are 128 bit Secure Socket Layers (SSL) encrypted.  The company registration documents and the site’s registered domain name are checked and verified by Thawte, ensuring the cardholder and merchant that nobody can impersonate VCS to obtain confidential information.
    • Virtual Card Services is committed to providing secure online services. All encryption complies with international standards.  Encryption is used to protect the transmission of personal information when completing online transactions.  Virtual Card Services Internet servers are protected by firewalls and intrusion detection systems.
    • The Merchant does not have access to credit details.
    • Virtual Card Services continually reviews and enhances its security in line with technological changes.

15. Delivery
    • We aim to deliver the order to you at the place of delivery requested by you in your order.
    • Delivery address must be within the Republic of South Africa.
    • Orders delivered within the Republic of South Africa are free of charge.
    • Orders paid for by Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT’s) and Direct Deposits need to reflect in our bank account before order/s are finalised and item/s shipped.
    • We shall aim to meet our delivery timelines however these are estimates and are not guaranteed. Delivery timelines are listed below for different areas around the Republic of South Africa:
      • Main Centres (Hubs & Branches) – we aim to deliver within four (4) business days, but we cannot guarantee any dates. Main Centres (Hubs & Branches) include:  Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban, Port Elizabeth, East London and Bloemfontein, Aliwal North, Bethlehem, Cradock, Empangeni, George, Kimberley, Klerksdorp, Lichtenburg, Makhado/Louis Trichard, Mthatha, Nelspruit, Newcastle, Paarl, Pietermaritzburg, Polokwane, Port Shepstone, Rustenburg, Secunda, Swellendam, Tzaneen, Upington, Van Der Bilj Park, Vredenburg, Welkom, Witbank .
      • Regional Towns - we aim to deliver within Five (5) business days, but we cannot guarantee any dates.  Please contact our customer care staff at our head office for confirmation of regional towns and estimated delivery times.
      • Outlying Areas – we will aim to deliver within seven (7) business days , but we cannot guarantee any dates. Unfortunately there may be certain outlying areas that we cannot deliver to due to the distance from the nearest regional town.

Please contact our customer care staff at our head office for confirmation of outlying areas and estimated delivery times

• We shall aim to let you know if we expect that we are unable to meet our estimated delivery date, but, to the extent permitted by law, we shall not be liable to you for any losses, liabilities, cost, damages, charges or expenses arising out of late delivery.
• The estimated delivery times are dependent on us having the item/s in stock, and we may require additional business days should we need to source some/all of the item/s from another Step Ahead store to fulfil the order.
• On delivery of the order, you or a representative will be required to sign for delivery. You agree to inspect the item/s for any obvious faults, defects or damage before you sign for delivery.  You need to keep receipt of the delivered order in case of future discussions with us about it.
• Please note that it might not be possible for us to deliver to some locations within the Republic of South Africa. If this is the case, we will inform you using the contact details that you provide to us when you make your order and arrange for cancellation of the order or delivery to an alternative delivery address
• We deliver in our standard packaging.
• All risk in the items within the order shall pass to you upon deliver, except that, where delivery is delayed due to a breach of your obligations under a Contract, risk shall pass at the date when delivery would have occurred but for your breach. From time when risk passes to you, we will not be liable for loss or destruction of the items within the order.
• You must take care when opening the parcel so as not to damage the items within, particularly when using any sharp instruments.
• If you are not available to take delivery or collection you may assign a representative to accept delivery on your behalf.
• If delivery or collection is delayed through your unreasonable refusal to accept delivery or if you do not accept delivery, then we may (without affecting any other right or remedy available to us) do either or both of the following:
  • Charge your for all costs reasonably incurred by us; or
  • No longer make the item/s available for delivery or collection and notify you that we are immediately cancelling the applicable order, in which case we will refund to your credit or debit card as applicable any money already paid to us under the applicable order, less our reasonable administration charges (including for attempting to deliver and then returning the items, and any storage fees)
• It is your responsibility to ensure that the items are sufficient and suitable for your purposes and meet your individual requirements. We do not warrant that the items will meet your individual requirements.  You acknowledge that the items are standard and not made bespoke to fit any particular requirements that you may have.

16. Return of Non-Faulty Item’s (Unworn Item’s)
    • You have 14 days from date of receipt to notify us of your intention to return the purchased item/s.
    • Return of unworn and undamaged item/s in their original packaging is free of charge.
    • Contact must be made with our customer care staff based at our head office via telephone (+27 11 465 1468) or email (care  @stepaheadshoes.co.za) to arrange a return.
    • The item/s being returned should be placed in the return packaging provided and a completed waybill attached to the exterior of the parcel. The address from which the item needs to be collected should be completed on the waybill and communicated to the member of staff dealing with the return at our head office.
    • Items must be returned in their original packaging and unworn.
    • You will be refunded full amount paid within 10 working days from receipt of the returned item, on condition that the item/s is in its original packaging and unworn.
    • We will usually refund any money received from you using the same method originally used by you to pay for the item/s. If you wish to receive the refund via another channel please advise the member of staff dealing with the return at our head office.
    • No cancellation fees shall apply if the item is returned in its original packaging and is unworn.

17. Return of Faulty Item/s (Worn Item/s)
    • Due to the nature of the product each item has a limited lifespan and is a depreciating item from general wear and tear.
    • Should you experience any manufacturing fault or unreasonable depreciation within six (6) months from date of receipt of the item/s you agree to follow the below procedures in order for us to assess the claim:
      • Contact our customer care staff based at our head office via telephone (+27 11 465 1468) or email (care @stepaheadshoes.co.za) and give details of the complaint.
      • If required we will arrange for the item to be collected from an address stipulated by yourself. You will be required to print an A4 Adobe document which will constitute the waybill which needs to be attached to the item/s being returned.
      • Once received we will assess the item/s and will communicate the decision within 5 working days from receipt of the item/s at our head office.
      • If deemed to be faulty we will refund you the full amount paid for the item.
      • If deemed to not be faulty cost of redelivery will be for your account.
      • Product may also be returned at any of our stores, which will then be sent to our head office via our internal post. After which the same process will be followed as if returned by courier in 17.2.3, 17.2.4 and 17.2.5 above.  If deemed to not be faulty there will be the option to collect the returned item/s from a Step Ahead store.

18. Cancellation of Order
    • We reserve the right, for purpose of suspected fraud, to refuse to accept or process payment on any order. We will notify you if this is the case and return any payment that you have made, and accept no liability which may arise as a result of such refusal to process any order.
    • We reserve the right to cancel any order concluded between you and Step Ahead, in whole or in part, if the product is not available for any reason. We will notify you if this is the case and return any payment that you have made, and accept no liability which may arise as a result of such refusal to process any order/sale.

19. Gift Cards
    • Any gift card purchased online is for use in store only, and may not be used as tender when purchasing online.
    • Gift cards may not be returned for refund or store credit.
    • We assume no liability for the loss, theft or illegibility of gift cards.

20. Circumstances Beyond Our Control (force majeur)
    • We shall not be liable to you for any breach, hindrance or delay in the performance of an order attributable to any cause beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation any natural disaster and unavoidable incident, actions of third parties (including without limitations hackers, suppliers, and governments), insurrection, riot, civil commotion, war, hostilities, warlike operations national emergencies, terrorism, piracy, arrests, restraints or detainments of any competent authority, strikes or combinations or lock-out of workmen, epidemic, fire, explosion, storm, flood, drought, weather conditions, earthquake, natural disaster, accident, mechanical breakdown, third party software, failure or problems with public utility supplies (including electrical, telecoms or Internet failure), shortage of or inability to obtain supplies, materials, equipment or transportation.

21. Miscellaneous
    • These Conditions including, without limitation, and any other terms and conditions that may appear on the site from time to time contain the full understanding with respect to your use and access of the Site and supersede all prior agreements, terms, conditions and understanding, both written and oral, with respect to such use and access of the Site. If any portion of these Conditions is held to be invalid or unenforceable portion shall be modified in accordance with the applicable law as nearly as possible to reflect the original intention of the applicable provision, and the remainder of these Conditions shall remain in full force and effect. A printed version of these Conditions of Use and of any notices given to you in electronic form shall be admissible in judicial or administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Conditions to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.  The failure of Step Ahead to insist upon or enforce strict performance by you of any provision of these Conditions shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision or right.  We may provide notice to you relating to the Site and/or these Conditions by sending an email to your last known email address, and any such notice shall be deemed given and received on the day it is sent.  You agree that any cause of action that you may desire to bring arising out of or related to these Conditions and/or the Site must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action arises; otherwise, such cause of action shall be permanently barred.  You may not use the Site or export the content in violation of the Republic of South Africa export laws and regulations.  If you access the Site from a location outside the Republic of South Africa, you are responsible for compliance with all local laws.