Terms and Conditions

1. About These Terms

These Terms and Conditions govern your registration for and use of the PepUp website, software platform, questionnaires, metabolic-health programmes, care-coordination services, health products and related platform features.

By creating an account, selecting a programme or using PepUp’s services, you agree to these Terms.

You must also read PepUp’s:

• Privacy Policy;
• Medical Disclaimer;
• Patient Consent documentation;
• PepUp Shop Terms and Returns Policy.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not register for or use the PepUp platform.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits a right or remedy that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under South African law.

2. PepUp’s Details

The PepUp platform is operated by:

Legal entity: PepUp (Pty) Ltd

Trading name: PepUp

Registration number: K2026467043

Place of registration: South Africa

Registered and physical address: 12 Bordeaux Ave, Constantia, 7806, Cape Town, SA

Email: support@pepup.co.za

Privacy email: security@pepup.co.za

Website: https://pepup.co.za

PepUp provides technology, health-information, administrative, programme-management and care-coordination services.

PepUp is not a medical practice, pharmacy or medicine manufacturer.

3. Eligibility

You may use PepUp only if:

• You are at least 18 years old;
• You have legal capacity to enter into an agreement;
• You are located in a territory in which PepUp offers the relevant service;
• You provide accurate and complete information; and
• You use the platform for your own lawful personal purposes.

PepUp may request reasonable proof of identity and age.

You must not create an account for another adult without that person’s authority.

4. Your Account

You are responsible for:

• Keeping your login details confidential;
• Preventing unauthorised use of your account;
• Providing current and accurate information;
• Updating your information when it changes; and
• Informing PepUp promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.

Activities undertaken through your account may be treated as authorised by you unless you notified PepUp of unauthorised access or PepUp should reasonably have been aware of it.

PepUp may suspend access where reasonably necessary to protect a patient, investigate misuse, maintain security or comply with law.

5. PepUp’s Platform Services

Depending on the programme selected, PepUp may provide:

• Registration and identity-verification tools;
• Health and lifestyle questionnaires;
• Automatically generated metabolic-health profiles;
• Educational information;
• Access to participating independent healthcare practitioners;
• Appointment scheduling;
• Telehealth technology;
• Laboratory coordination;
• Secure information exchange;
• Prescription-routing technology;
• Programme dashboards;
• Progress tracking;
• Reminders;
• Administrative support; and
• Customer-service functions.

The precise services included in your programme and the applicable platform fee will be displayed before you enrol.

PepUp may add, modify or discontinue non-essential platform features. PepUp will provide reasonable notice if a material change negatively affects a paid service.

6. Questionnaires and Automated Profiles

You must answer questionnaires accurately and completely.

PepUp’s automated questionnaires, scoring systems and metabolic-health profiles:

• Organise information provided by you;
• Highlight matters for discussion with a practitioner;
• Provide educational and administrative support; and
• May assist an independent practitioner’s review.

They do not independently:

• Diagnose a medical condition;
• Determine clinical eligibility;
• Select treatment;
• Select a medicine or dosage;
• Issue a prescription; or
• Replace a healthcare practitioner’s professional judgment.

Incomplete, incorrect or outdated information may result in an inaccurate profile or may affect a practitioner’s ability to assess you safely, and may incur additional charges for services provided.

7. Independent Partner Doctor Network

PepUp facilitates access to independent healthcare practitioners participating in PepUp’s partner doctor network.

Participating practitioners:

• Are not employees of PepUp;
• Are not agents of PepUp for clinical purposes;
• Provide professional services independently;
• Exercise their own clinical and professional judgment; and
• Remain responsible for their professional registrations, conduct and clinical records.

The clinical relationship is between you and the practitioner.

Each practitioner is independently responsible for:

• Determining whether telehealth is appropriate;
• Reviewing your history and information;
• Conducting the clinical assessment;
• Requesting examinations or laboratory tests;
• Diagnosing medical conditions;
• Recommending treatment;
• Deciding whether to prescribe;
• Selecting any medicine, formulation, dosage and duration;
• Monitoring treatment;
• Modifying or discontinuing treatment; and
• Making referrals.

PepUp does not require a practitioner to prescribe a medicine and does not guarantee that you will:

• Be considered clinically suitable;
• Receive a diagnosis;
• Receive a prescription;
• Receive a particular medicine; or
• Achieve a particular result.

A practitioner may require an in-person examination, additional testing, specialist referral or emergency care.

8. Fees and Payment Structure

8.1 PepUp Platform Fees

PepUp charges its own fees for technology, programme-management, facilitation, administrative and care-coordination services. The services included and the applicable PepUp fee will be displayed before payment.

8.2 Independent Practitioner Fees and Collection by PepUp

Independent practitioners charge their own professional fees and remain the suppliers of their consultations and related clinical services.

Where stated at checkout, the relevant practitioner appoints PepUp as a limited payment-collection agent. PepUp may collect the practitioner fee, issue payment confirmation, record the payment against the consultation, administer an authorised refund or chargeback and settle the amount with the practitioner under PepUp’s agreement with that practitioner.

Payment received by PepUp as the practitioner’s authorised collection agent satisfies your corresponding payment obligation to the practitioner to the extent of the amount successfully received and not reversed.

The practitioner remains responsible for setting or approving the professional fee, providing the professional service, maintaining clinical records and issuing any professional or tax invoice required by law.

Payment of a practitioner fee does not guarantee a diagnosis, treatment recommendation, prescription, particular medicine or clinical outcome.

PepUp’s remuneration does not depend on whether a practitioner issues a prescription, which medicine is prescribed, the price of a medicine, the pharmacy selected or a particular clinical outcome.

8.3 PepUp Shop Purchases

PepUp may sell non-prescription health, wellness, cosmetic and other consumer products through the PepUp Shop. The product price, applicable taxes and delivery charge will be displayed before an order is submitted.

Shop purchases are separate from clinical services and do not guarantee access to a practitioner, a prescription or a particular health outcome.

8.4 Prescription Medicine Charges

PepUp does not sell prescription medicines and does not accept or process payment for prescription medicines. Prescription medicine, compounding, dispensing and related medicine-delivery charges are invoiced and collected directly by the relevant pharmacy or other lawfully authorised medicine supplier.

9. Prescriptions

Only an appropriately registered and authorised healthcare practitioner may issue a prescription.

Where a practitioner decides independently that prescription treatment is appropriate, the practitioner may:

• Send it to a pharmacy registered with the South African Pharmacy Council and lawfully authorised to dispense the prescribed medicine; or
• Transmit it to an integrated medicine provider.

PepUp may provide secure prescription-routing technology but does not:

• Issue prescriptions;
• Approve prescriptions;
• Alter prescriptions;
• Select the prescribed medicine;
• Determine the dosage;
• Decide whether a medicine should be compounded; or
• Guarantee fulfilment.

Attempting to falsify, alter, duplicate, misuse or circumvent a prescription or clinical process is prohibited.

10. Pharmacies and Medicine Suppliers

A prescription may be sent to:

• A pharmacy registered with the South African Pharmacy Council;
• A pharmacist or other person lawfully authorised to dispense the medicine; or
• A SAHPRA-licensed manufacturer or other medicine establishment, but only where that entity is specifically authorised to supply the prescribed medicine directly to the identified patient within the scope of its licences and permissions.

The relevant pharmacy, pharmacist, manufacturer or medicine supplier is independently responsible for:

• Confirming its authority to provide the medicine;
• Reviewing the prescription;
• Confirming patient details;
• Determining whether the medicine may lawfully be supplied;
• Lawful patient-specific compounding, where applicable;
• Ingredient sourcing;
• Manufacturing or preparation;
• Quality control;
• Packaging and labelling;
• Dispensing;
• Patient counselling;
• Storage;
• Delivery;
• Complaints;
• Recalls; and
• Medicine-safety obligations.

PepUp does not manufacture, compound, package, store, dispense or deliver prescription medicines.

The availability of a medicine, formulation, dosage, strength or delivery service is not guaranteed.

11. Medicine Payments

PepUp does not sell prescription medicines and does not accept or process patient payments for prescription medicines.

Charges relating to:

• Prescription medicines;
• Compounding;
• Dispensing;
• Packaging;
• Medicine counselling; and
• Medicine delivery

are invoiced directly to you by the independent pharmacy, pharmacist, manufacturer or other authorised medicine supplier.

PepUp does not:

• Set the medicine supplier’s retail price;
• Charge your payment method for prescription medicines;
• Receive a percentage of the medicine price; or
• Receive a commission based on the medicine prescribed or dispensed.

Questions about medicine pricing, payment, refunds, delivery or fulfilment must be directed to the provider shown on the relevant quotation or invoice.

12. Payment Processing and Itemised Charges

All prices are displayed in South African rand and will state whether VAT or other applicable taxes are included.

Before you submit payment, PepUp will display the total amount, billing frequency, programme or service period, material exclusions, cancellation terms and separate line items for the applicable charges. These may include:

• A PepUp platform, programme or administrative fee supplied and collected by PepUp;
• A professional fee supplied by the identified independent practitioner and collected by PepUp as the practitioner’s disclosed payment agent;
• A laboratory or other independent-provider fee where PepUp is expressly authorised to facilitate that payment;
• The purchase price and delivery charge for products sold through the PepUp Shop; and
• A clear statement that prescription medicine, compounding, dispensing and prescription-medicine delivery charges are excluded and invoiced directly by the relevant medicine provider.

Payments may be processed through PayStack or another payment processor identified to you at checkout. By submitting payment details, you authorise PepUp and its payment processor to charge the displayed total in accordance with the selected billing or transaction terms.

PepUp will provide or make available an electronic payment record identifying the transaction, the charges collected and, where applicable, the relevant practitioner or other independent provider. The practitioner remains responsible for any professional or tax invoice required by law.

Before final submission, the checkout will provide a reasonable opportunity to review the transaction, correct errors or withdraw from the transaction.

PepUp does not intentionally receive or store complete payment-card numbers or card security codes where these are submitted directly to the payment processor.

13. Programme Duration

PepUp programmes are generally designed to operate for approximately three months. The checkout summary will state whether the applicable agreement is month to month or for a stated fixed period.

For a month-to-month programme, future renewals may be cancelled before the next billing date in accordance with the disclosed cancellation process.

Where a programme is sold as a fixed-term agreement, any early cancellation, notice period and reasonable cancellation charge will be handled in accordance with applicable consumer law.

The recommended clinical or wellness duration of a programme does not guarantee continued clinical suitability, continued access to a practitioner, continuation of a prescription or admission to another programme.

A new programme may require updated information, consent, payment and independent practitioner review.

14. Price Changes

The price displayed and accepted for a completed order, paid billing period or specifically defined programme period will apply to that transaction or period.

PepUp may change prices prospectively. A price change will not affect an order or billing period that has already been accepted and paid for.

PepUp will provide reasonable advance notice before changing the price of a recurring or fixed-period service. You may cancel future renewals before the new price applies, subject to the disclosed cancellation terms.

Prices for PepUp Shop products may change before an order is accepted but will not be increased after the order has been confirmed, except where a manifest pricing error is handled in accordance with applicable law and the Shop Terms.

15. Cooling-Off and Statutory Cancellation Rights

You may have cooling-off or cancellation rights under the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act, Consumer Protection Act or other applicable law.

Where an applicable cooling-off right permits you to cancel an online service within a prescribed period, PepUp will honour that right.

If you expressly request that PepUp begin providing the platform service immediately, the legal treatment of a cooling-off right may differ to the extent permitted by applicable law.

PepUp or the relevant independent provider may charge for services already properly supplied to the extent permitted by applicable law.

Nothing in these Terms requires you to waive a statutory right that cannot lawfully be waived.

Where a programme is expressly sold as a fixed-term consumer agreement, any early cancellation, notice and reasonable cancellation charge will be handled in accordance with applicable consumer law.

16. Refunds

PepUp platform and programme fees are not ordinarily refundable merely because you change your mind after any applicable cooling-off period, do not use available features, a practitioner does not issue a prescription, a practitioner considers you unsuitable for treatment or a medicine is unavailable.

PepUp will provide a refund, credit or other remedy where required by law, including where a valid cooling-off right applies, an incorrect or duplicate amount was charged, a charge was processed after an effective cancellation, or a paid PepUp service was materially unavailable, defective or not supplied.

The relevant practitioner remains responsible for determining whether a professional fee is due or refundable under the disclosed consultation cancellation policy. PepUp may administer the practitioner-fee refund as the practitioner’s payment agent, including where the practitioner authorises the refund, the consultation was not supplied, the payment was duplicated or processed incorrectly, or applicable law requires it.

Returns, refunds, exchanges and statutory remedies for PepUp Shop products are governed by the PepUp Shop Terms and Returns Policy and applicable law.

Refund requests relating to PepUp charges or practitioner fees collected by PepUp must be submitted to support@pepup.co.za with sufficient transaction details. Prescription medicine refunds must be requested directly from the pharmacy or other medicine supplier that invoiced the patient.

17. Acceptable Use

You must not:

• Supply false or misleading information;
• Impersonate another person;
• Falsify or alter prescriptions or health records;
• Attempt to obtain medicine through deception;
• Share an account without authority;
• Interfere with platform security;
• Introduce malware or harmful code;
• Scrape or copy platform data without permission;
• Reverse-engineer protected platform components;
• Harass practitioners, staff or other users;
• Use the platform for unlawful medicine resale;
• Upload content that violates another person’s rights; or
• Use PepUp in breach of applicable law.

PepUp may suspend or terminate access where it reasonably believes that serious misuse, fraud, security risk, unlawful conduct or patient-safety risk has occurred.

Where reasonably possible, PepUp will give notice and an opportunity to respond.

18. Medical Emergencies

PepUp is not an emergency medical service and the platform is not continuously monitored for emergency communications.

Do not use questionnaires, email, support messages or appointment requests for emergency assistance.

In a medical emergency:

• Dial 112 from a cellphone;
• Contact emergency medical services on 10177; or
• Attend the nearest hospital emergency department.

19. Privacy

PepUp processes personal and health information as described in its Privacy Policy and Patient Consent documentation.

By using PepUp, you acknowledge that relevant information may need to be shared with independent practitioners and, with appropriate authority, laboratories, pharmacies and medicine suppliers.

Consent for health-data processing is separate from consent to receive marketing communications.

You may manage your marketing preferences without cancelling necessary service, safety, account or appointment communications.

20. Communications

You agree that PepUp may send necessary service communications electronically, including:

• Account notices;
• Appointment reminders;
• Payment notices;
• Security notifications;
• Programme reminders;
• Changes to these Terms; and
• Safety or operational messages.

Marketing messages will be sent only as permitted by law and may be opted out of using the mechanism provided.

You are responsible for keeping your contact details current.

21. Intellectual Property

The PepUp platform, branding, software, layouts, questionnaires, non-clinical programme materials and other proprietary content are owned by or licensed to PepUp.

PepUp grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable and revocable right to use the platform for its intended purpose during your authorised access.

You may not reproduce, sell, licence, distribute or commercially exploit PepUp materials without written permission.

You retain ownership of information and documents that you lawfully upload.

You grant PepUp the limited rights reasonably required to host, process, secure and transmit that information in order to provide the platform services and comply with law.

22. Third-Party Services

PepUp may integrate with or provide access to services operated by:

• Independent doctors;
• Laboratories;
• Pharmacies;
• Medicine suppliers;
• Payment processors;
• Video providers;
• Messaging providers; and
• Other technology providers.

Those services may have separate terms and privacy notices.

PepUp is responsible for its own platform services and for exercising reasonable care in selecting and managing its service providers. Independent providers remain responsible for the professional, clinical, pharmaceutical or other services they provide directly to you.

23. Platform Availability

PepUp aims to keep the platform reasonably available but does not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation.

Availability may be affected by:

• Maintenance;
• Network outages;
• Third-party provider failure;
• Security incidents;
• Practitioner capacity;
• Legal or regulatory requirements; and
• Events outside PepUp’s reasonable control.

PepUp will take reasonable steps to restore affected platform services and communicate material interruptions.

No provision in this section excludes PepUp’s obligations to provide services with the quality and timeliness required by applicable consumer law.

24. Disclaimers

General platform information is educational and administrative and is not medical advice.

PepUp does not warrant that:

• Every applicant will be accepted onto a programme;
• A practitioner will issue a prescription;
• A particular medicine will be available;
• A programme will produce a particular result; or
• Automated information will be complete without practitioner review.

These disclaimers do not limit the responsibility of PepUp or an independent provider for duties that cannot lawfully be excluded.

25. PepUp’s Responsibility

PepUp remains responsible for:

• Providing its platform, programme, administrative and care-coordination services with reasonable care;
• Correctly administering PepUp fees and practitioner fees collected as a disclosed payment agent;
• Processing PepUp Shop orders, refunds and returns in accordance with the transaction terms and applicable law;
• Supplying the correct PepUp Shop goods and honouring applicable statutory product warranties and remedies;
• Managing product-safety communications and recalls for goods sold by PepUp where applicable;
• Maintaining reasonable security measures;
• Handling personal information in accordance with applicable law;
• Correcting platform and payment errors within its control; and
• Performing obligations that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Independent practitioners, laboratories, pharmacies and medicine suppliers remain responsible for their respective professional and regulated services. PepUp is not responsible for an independent provider’s clinical or pharmaceutical decision merely because the provider was accessible through the platform. This does not apply where loss was caused or materially contributed to by PepUp’s own unlawful conduct, negligence, misrepresentation or breach of duty.

Where PepUp is the retailer of a PepUp Shop product, PepUp will not treat a courier, warehouse or product supplier as removing PepUp’s own obligations to the consumer under applicable law.

26. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, PepUp will not be liable for indirect, incidental or consequential loss that was not reasonably foreseeable when the relevant agreement was concluded.

Subject to the exclusions below, PepUp’s aggregate liability arising from its platform services may be limited to the greater of the PepUp service fees paid by you during the 12 months preceding the event giving rise to the claim or any minimum amount or remedy required by applicable law.

No limitation or exclusion applies to the extent prohibited by law, including liability arising from:

• Fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation;
• Wilful misconduct or gross negligence;
• Death or personal injury where liability cannot lawfully be excluded;
• Mandatory consumer rights, statutory product warranties or product liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

27. Claims Concerning Independent Providers

A clinical complaint should be directed first to the relevant practitioner.

A medicine, compounding, dispensing or delivery complaint should ordinarily be directed first to the pharmacy or medicine supplier shown on the prescription, label or invoice.

A laboratory complaint should ordinarily be directed first to the relevant laboratory.

PepUp will reasonably assist with identifying the relevant provider and routing a complaint, but it cannot determine professional disciplinary complaints on behalf of a regulator.

28. Complaints About PepUp

Complaints concerning PepUp’s platform, billing or administration may be sent to:

Email: support@pepup.co.za

Please include:

• Your name;
• Account email or telephone number;
• The relevant transaction;
• A description of the complaint; and
• The outcome requested.

PepUp will acknowledge the complaint and seek to resolve it within a reasonable period.

Nothing in these Terms prevents you from approaching an applicable consumer-protection authority, industry ombud, professional regulator, tribunal or court.

29. Suspension and Termination by PepUp

PepUp may suspend or terminate your access where reasonably necessary because:

• You materially breach these Terms;
• Payment remains overdue after reasonable notice;
• Fraud or unlawful conduct is suspected;
• Platform or patient security is threatened;
• A practitioner or regulator raises a material safety concern;
• Continued service would violate law; or
• PepUp discontinues the relevant service.

Where appropriate, PepUp will provide notice and a reasonable opportunity to remedy the breach.

Termination does not affect rights and obligations that arose before termination.

PepUp will refund prepaid service fees for unused service where required by law or where PepUp terminates a paid service without cause and no equivalent service is provided.

30. Changes to These Terms

PepUp may update these Terms to reflect changes to:

• The platform;
• Pricing;
• Service providers;
• Law;
• Regulation;
• Security requirements; or
• Business operations.

The updated version will display its effective date.

Where required by law, PepUp will obtain renewed acceptance.

Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance only to the extent legally permitted.

31. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

The parties should first attempt to resolve a dispute through PepUp’s internal complaints process.

Nothing in these Terms prevents a consumer from approaching:

• The National Consumer Commission;
• An applicable provincial consumer-protection authority;
• The Information Regulator;
• An applicable healthcare or pharmacy regulator;
• An applicable ombud or tribunal; or
• Any court with jurisdiction.

Subject to mandatory consumer rights, legal proceedings may be brought in a competent South African court with jurisdiction over the parties and the dispute.

You are not required to institute every claim in the Western Cape High Court where another regulator, tribunal or court has jurisdiction.

32. General Provisions

If any provision of these Terms is unlawful or unenforceable, that provision will be limited or removed only to the extent necessary. The remaining provisions will continue to apply.

PepUp’s failure to enforce a provision immediately does not waive its right to enforce it later.

You may not transfer your PepUp account or rights under these Terms without PepUp’s written consent.

PepUp may transfer its rights and obligations as part of a lawful restructuring, business transfer or sale, provided that your rights are not materially reduced and personal information is handled in accordance with applicable law.

These Terms, together with the documents expressly incorporated into them and your checkout summary, constitute the agreement relating to PepUp’s platform services.

You should download or retain a copy of:

• These Terms;
• Your checkout summary;
• Payment confirmations;
• Cancellation confirmations; and
• Material service communications.

PepUp will retain an electronic record of the version of the Terms accepted by you for the period required by law and legitimate business purposes.