Terms, Conditions and Policies

thescuba.club TERMS AND CONDITIONS

1. ACCEPTANCE

All bookings and/or orders accepted by thescuba.club are subject to these Terms and Conditions that are deemed to have been accepted in full by the Client / Student / Member.  Payment of a Booking-, Training-, Course-, Membership- or Travel Fee, or Product / Equipment Order also indicates acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

2. TRAINING

Reservations and Payment:

• Your booking is only confirmed following receipt of payment of the Booking Fee (50% non-refundable deposit). 

• When a booking is made, 50% of the total course fee (Booking Fee) is required in advance to confirm the reservation. 

• Within 2 working days following receipt of the Booking Fee you will receive access to your digital learning material as well as confirmation of the relevant training date/s if applicable.

• The balance (if any), of the course fee (Training Fee) is to be paid 7 days (1 week) before the commencement of the training course.  If we do not receive full payment by this time the reservation may be cancelled and the Booking Fee forfeited subject to the option of postponing training as in clause 1.3 (ii) below.

• When a booking is made less than 7 days prior to the training date, the full booking charge is required to confirm the reservation. 

• Payment must be made in South African Rand (ZAR) and must be clear of all bank charges, exchange rate variations and any other deductions. 

• Payments will be accepted via the available channels on thescuba.club or on the Invoice.

• Under no circumstances will training be provided until we have received cleared funds. 

• Failure to pay in accordance with the agreed terms of payment may result in suspension of service delivery. 

• All rates are per course and are subject to 15% VAT.

 Pre-Course Preparations and Expectations:

• It is a requirement for any scuba or snorkel training at thescuba.club that the student must be able to swim and stay afloat in water too deep to stand in with the head out of the water.  Entry-level programs, like Open Water Diver, require the student to complete a water fitness evaluation. This evaluation can also be used to re-evaluate students before any continuing education program. To satisfy this requirement a student must be able to:

• All digital learning material must be completed and online reviews and/or exams passed 1 week in advance of the training.  Note that we are able to monitor and track progress of students.

• For the Open Water Diver Course the Final Exam will be written on day one of the training course.  Students are expected to be adequately prepared for the exam in order to pass in line with the SSI Training Standards.  Any special requirements regarding the exam (example; Oral exam request) must be communicated at least 7 days (1 week) prior to the commencement date of the course training.
• thescuba.club may request and assess proof of certification records and or dive logs before accepting or commencing training for any continuing education courses, Scuba Skills Update course and or casual / experience dive/s in accordance with SSI Standards.

• All training records which may include any or all of the following must be completed and uploaded to the student’s MySSI Account / App 1 week in advance of the training.

• thescuba.club will only proceed with training once it is satisfied that all the pre course Student preparations and expectations have been completed.

• Gear rental requirements / specifications. Your length, weight and shoe size will be required in order to prepare the best fitting total diving system for you. Please notify us in advance if you will be bringing any of your personally owned gear for the training course.

 Training Course Changes:

• For safety and enjoyment purposes training dates and or location may be changed at the discretion of thescuba.club.  Any changes will be communicated to students in advance and as soon as reasonably possible.  Changes may be due to any circumstance our of our control including but not limited to; weather conditions,  gear availability/condition/maintenance, training facility availability/condition.

• Requests for postponement of training by a student are limited to three requests, whereafter the full Course Fee will be forfeited.  An additional admin fee will be charged for the 2nd and 3rd request for postponement.

 Included and Excluded Services:

• The course fee includes:

• The student will be responsible for the following which are not included in the Course Fee:

 On-Course Conduct, Liabilities and Permission:

• All our scuba diving instructors and assistants conduct training subject to the SSI Training Standards and SSI Professional Agreement and is committed to ensure that you enjoy a safe,  high quality scuba training experience. 

• Our instructors are further trained in providing emergency medical care and will take all reasonable care to ensure that emergency first aid kits and equipment are readily available and in good condition and to provide the best reasonable care in the case of an emergency. 

• thescuba.club including any of its staff cannot be held liable for any injury, illness or death caused by the student’s failure to:

(Please also refer to the SSI Assumption of Risk, Liability Release & Hold Harmless Agreement) 

• Students are expected to take care of their personal property and or equipment and thescuba.club including any of its staff cannot be held liable for any damage or loss incurred in whatsoever manner at any dive / training facility to the personal property and or equipment of the student.

• All students and divers are further subject to the SSI Responsible Diver Code and is expected to treat all thescuba.club staff, other students, training facilities and the environment with respect.  Should the behaviour of the student be in contravention of this clause the Student’s training may be cancelled immediately and at any time during the training with the Course Fee paid to the thescuba.club being forfeited.

• thescuba.club will take all reasonable care to ensure that you receive high quality, clean, well maintained and serviced scuba gear for use during training.

• The Student is responsible for taking all reasonable care of dive centre gear.  All dive equipment must be left clean and tidy at the end of any dive/training day and must be returned to thescuba.club.  No item/s may be removed from the equipment and no item may be taken with the Student.

• The Student will be held responsible for and will be charged the new retail price for replacing and or repairing any damage to the gear which has occurred due to negligence, wilful damage or irresponsible behaviour on the part of the Student.

• Smoking is not permitted around scuba or snorkel equipment.

• thescuba.club will not be held responsible for any personal injury, loss or damage to personal effects howsoever arising from rental gear.

• Students are expected to give their best effort to successfully complete the course within their abilities.

• The Student agrees that thescuba.club may capture training / diving moments on camera to share with the students and for the use for thescuba.club‘s own promotional material.  Should the Student wish to revoke permission the Student should notify us via email at hello@scuba.club.

 Certification:

• Our Instructors will do everything within the limits of the SSI training standards and the Instructor’s own expertise, training, experience and available resources to successfully train each Student to meet the certification requirements of the relevant course.  Certification is however not guaranteed and is subject to the Instructor’s approval of whether the Student met all the requirements as outlined in the SSI Training Standards.

• We are committed to train safe, capable and autonomous divers. The Instructor may therefore at their own discretion in the interest of the Student’s safety request additional academic, pool and / or open water training sessions.  Such additional training will be offered to the Student at a reduced fee.

• If a Student did not meet all the requirements for completion of the relevant course, the instructor may certify the Student on a lower certification level for which the Student does meet all the requirements for completion.  Although no refund or discount will be offered on the original Course Fee, the Student may be offered a reduced fee for a reattempt at the course in future. 

 Cancellation:

• The student may cancel their training at anytime before the commencement of the course by sending a notice of cancellation in writing to hello@thescuba.club.  The student will receive a refund of 50% of the full Course Fee (Training Fee). 

• Once the training course has commenced the full Course Fee will become non-refundable.

• In the event where a student is found to be medically unfit for diving, confirmed by providing a written letter / statement by a Medical Practitioner in accordance with the guidelines published by the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society (https://uhms.org/), the Student’s scuba training course will be cancelled and a 75% refund of the Course Fee will be processed to the student.

• thescuba.club may cancel a training course by sending a written (e-mail) notification to Students at any time and at its own discretion in the interest of the safety and enjoyment of the Students and its staff.  If the training cannot be postponed a 50% refund (Training Fee) will be processed to the Student.

3. EQUIPMENT SALES

 Guarantees and Warrantees:

• thescuba.club staff members will provide the best possible advise to clients regarding equipment to suit the client’s needs.  thescuba.club cannot however be held liable if any of the equipment features does not meet the client’s expectations.   Once a client has purchased equipment it is assumed that the client made a personally informed decision regarding all the product’s details and price. 

• All product guarantees and warrantees are not underwritten by thescuba.club, but are the commitments of the manufacturer of the product or equipment toward its buyers.

• The scuba.club can therefore not accept any responsibility and cannot be held liable for any default in the product or equipment itself or for any form of injury, loss or damage arising from the use of or due to a default in any product or equipment.   However acting in the interests of our clients we are committed to provide reasonable aid in facilitating the process to hold the manufacturer responsible in accordance with their respective guarantees and warrantees. 

 Product Availability:

Should a product ordered form the thescuba.club be out of stock we will notify you and may offer you the following:

• An alternative product or

• Placing an order on your behalf for the original product ordered subject to long back order waiting periods or

• A full refund.

 Delivery:

• We commit that all orders should be delivered within 3 to 5 working days.

• Any circumstance which may cause a delay in the delivery time will be communicated to you.  Such delays are normally out of our control and may include, but are not limited to; warehouse logistics issues, natural disasters, strikes or uprisings, national lockdown etc.

• thescuba.club cannot be held liable for any damage or loss suffered due to the a delay in the delivery process.

 Refunds and Returns:

• If you are not satisfied with the product received due to any reason excluding a  product default or incorrect product, the product may be returned to thescuba.club at the client’s own cost.  A full refund will be processed to the client if the product was not used, is in a good condition and is received in its original packaging.

• If you received an incorrect or faulty product, the client should immediately notify us in writing and include a photo of the incorrect product or description of the faulty product. thescuba.club will arrange for collection and replacement of the product.

4. TRAVEL BOOKINGS

 Tour Types:

• thescuba.club Guided Tours: One or more members of thescuba.club team will guide these tours.

• Tours arranged via one of our selected partners or external 3rd party service provider.

 Reservations and Payment:

Please refer to the tour specific details for information regarding the following:

• % Deposit required to secure your booking;

• When full payment will be required;

• Cancellation Policy; 

• Refund Policy.

 Liability Release:

• All travel, tour, flight and itinerary arrangements may be affected by circumstances out of our control which may include, but are not limited to; weather conditions, flight delays, local security issues, endemics, etc. 

• Although we will do our best to resolve any issue which may arise, thescuba.club cannot be held held liable for any loss or damage suffered as a result of any changes or delays to any travel, tour, flight and itinerary arrangements.

• The Client agrees and accepts responsibility for the client’s own personal travel documents which may include, but is not limited to the following:

5. CLUB MEMBERSHIP

 Payment / Active Membership

• Payment for active membership is required on a monthly basis.

• The membership fee will be automatically charged from the member on the 1st day of every calendar month.

• Sign-up for membership anytime after the 1st day of the calendar month will incur a pro-rata membership fee.

 Membership Levels

• Bronze: All new members.

• Silver: Awarded to members with 6 consecutive months of active club membership.

• Gold: Awarded to members with 12 consecutive months of active club membership.

• Any interruption between active months of membership will result in the member falling back to to Bronze Membership level.

 Membership Benefits

• Benefits for each membership level will be available to the member on their own Member Portal and may include all or any of the following:

• Member benefits will be defined and changed from time to time in order to allow maximum value for all members and sustainability for the future of thescuba.club social club.  Any updates and changes will be  communicated to members.

• Discounts cannot be guaranteed or offered on all products and or services.

 Cancellation

• Membership may be cancelled by the member at any time via the Member Portal, whereafter the membership and associated benefits will expire on the next upcoming billing date. 

• It is at the discretion of thescuba.club to cancel a member’s club membership at anytime with written (e-mail) notification to the member.  thescuba.club will refund the member with the pro-rata membership fee from the date of cancellation.

6. GENERAL

• The courts of the Republic of South Africa has jurisdiction over this agreement.

• No agreement varying, adding to, deleting from or cancelling this Agreement (including this clause) and no waiver of any right under this agreement shall be effective unless in writing and signed by or on behalf of the Parties.
• No indulgence or condonation by thescuba.club of any breach of any term of the Agreement by the student / client / member will constitute a waiver of any of the rights of thescuba.club in terms of the Agreement.

• This Agreement constitutes the whole agreement between the Parties and no agreements between the Parties other than those set our herein are binding on the Parties.

• If any provision of this agreement is invalid or unenforceable for any reason, it will not thereby invalidate the whole agreement.
• No Party will be deemed to be in default hereunder or liable for any delays in or failure of performance caused by an event out of such Party’s control provided that the affected Party notifies the other Party as soon as practical possible.