Terms of Service

Commencement and Duration

This Agreement shall be deemed to have commenced on the date the Client is connected to the Services ('Commencement Date'). The Agreement shall continue from the Commencement Date until terminated by the Client or SawaSawa pursuant to the Agreement. These Domain Products Terms and Conditions are supplemental to the General Terms and Conditions, including the Acceptable Use Policy and the Data Protection Policy and apply to the provision of any domain related services by Sawasawa.com Limited. The ordering of Domain services from SawaSawa (A Sawasawa.com Limited company) constitutes acceptance by the Client of the General Terms and Conditions and the Domain Products Terms and Conditions.

Application of Terms

  1. By submitting a completed registration form to SawaSawa and/or utilising its services you confirm that you have read, understood and accepted the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
  2. The terms and conditions set out in this Agreement are the only terms on which SawaSawa is prepared to deal with the Client in relation to the provision of the Domain Name services.
  3. No terms or conditions endorsed upon, delivered with or contained in the Client's quotation, acknowledgement, purchase order, delivery note or other documents will form a part of this Agreement and the Client waives any right which it otherwise might have to rely on such terms and conditions.
  4. The Client acknowledges that it may use the Services in conjunction with other SawaSawa products and services and accepts it will comply with the terms and conditions of such other SawaSawa products and services while utilising the same in addition to the terms and conditions set out in this Agreement.
  1. General Domain Terms

    1. The Client acknowledges that registration of a Domain is subject to third party terms and conditions including those from the relevant registry for the Domain extension. The Client confirms that it will at all times and in all aspects comply with ICANN's and any relevant registry's terms and conditions for domain registration and use. Further, the Client indemnifies both SawaSawa and the applicable registry for a Domain in respect of the Client's use of the Domain and in respect of the Client's failure to comply with the terms of this Agreement or any failure to comply with ICANN or the registry's terms and conditions.
    2. The Client acknowledges and accepts that domain registration and renewal services are limited to the forwarding by SawaSawa of the Client's request to register or renew a domain to the relevant registry for that domain. It is at all times the Client's responsibility to check that a Domain has been registered and/or renewed with the registry as appropriate.
    3. The Client warrants that the registration of a domain name requested by a Client ('a Domain') and the manner in which it is to be used, either directly or indirectly:
      1. will not infringe any third party rights, including third party intellectual property rights;
      2. Is not being made in bad faith or could otherwise be considered to be an abusive registration under the dispute resolution procedures or policies of any relevant registry or of ICANN; and
      3. will at no time be used for an unlawful purpose whatsoever.
    4. While SawaSawa shall use reasonable endeavours to register a Domain, the Client accepts that SawaSawa is not required to accept any request to register a Domain or to continue with any attempt to register a Domain if the Domain is not capable of registration.
    5. SawaSawa makes no representations, express of implied, that a particular Domain is available for registration and SawaSawa accepts no liability for failure to register a Domain for any reason.
    6. SawaSawa may from time to time change the registrar that a Domain is held with, at its discretion and without notice to the Client.
    7. The Client accepts and consents to SawaSawa making the Client's registration details in relation to the Domain available to third parties including ICANN and the applicable registry for the Domain as applicable including to law enforcement and governmental bodies as required by law.
    8. The Client accepts and consents to SawaSawa making publically available certain of the Client's information, for example by inclusion in the whois database, as required by law or for any other purpose required or permitted by ICANN, a relevant registry or any regulatory body. The Client consents to any and all such disclosures as set out in clauses 1.7 and 1.8 and waives any cause of action it may have against SawaSawa in this respect.
    9. In the event that the Client has not purchased the Whois Privacy Service, the Client must ensure that its details on the whois database are accurate and current failing which the Domain may be suspended by SawaSawa, ICANN or the relevant registry until such time as the Client can prove that the details on the whois database are accurate.
    10. The Client consents to Domains registered through SawaSawa having [locks] automatically applied to such Domains. ( The client consents to have “locks “ automatically applied to Domains registered through SawaSawa).

  2. Domain Renewals

    1. SawaSawa shall endeavour to automatically renew a Domain on a Client's behalf when it is due for renewal subject to the following:
      1. the Client has a valid and up-to-date payment method of its account; and
      2. the Client has not set the Domain to either cancel or manual renewal in the Client's control panel.
    2. If either 2.1.1 or 2.1.2. above apply then SawaSawa shall not automatically renew a Domain and the Client is entirely responsible for any consequences of a Domain not being renewed.
    3. Domains which are automatically renewed by SawaSawa will be ordinarily renewed for the same duration as the initial registration period. Clients may select a different renewal period by making amendments on the Client Extranet accounts or sending an email request via the Registrant email address.
    4. Domain renewals shall be charged at SawaSawa's prevailing rate at the time of the renewals. SawaSawa's prevailing rates can be located on the Webspace (A SawaSawa company) website.
    5. If a Domain is not renewed by the applicable renewal date then the Domain shall become an Expired Domain and clause 6 below shall apply.
    6. Most Domains can be registered and/or renewed for up to ten years, however, certain Domains are subject to restrictions on the length of initial registration or renewal. These restrictions are set by the respective registries and are not in the control of SawaSawa provisions.

  3. Domain Cancellations

    1. Domain cancellations by Clients must be done through the Client's control panel and must be completed at least 24 hours prior to any payment date. The payment date is at least 7 days prior to the renewal date and varies by both payment method and by domain extension.
    2. If the Domain is purchased alongside another SawaSawa service then the Client must cancel both the Domain and the other SawaSawa service separately. Cancellation of either the Domain or any other service will not automatically cancel the other.

  4. Domain Refunds

    1. Domain registrations and/or renewals are non-refundable by SawaSawa in whole or in part.
    2. Once a Domain has been registered by the applicable registry, SawaSawa is unable to refund any refund in respect of that Domain. This is due to the bespoke nature of Domains and the Client accepts this to be a fair apportionment of risk given SawaSawa’s inability to claim a refund from the relevant registry.
    3. Any refund on a Domain prior to registration with the relevant registry is entirely at SawaSawa's discretion.
    4. The Client accepts that SawaSawa is unable to verify or check for errors in Domain registration requests. Accordingly, the Client is solely responsible for ensuring that a Domain has the correct or intended spelling.
    5. As set out in the General Terms and Conditions and above, Domain registrations are a bespoke purchase to the Client's specification and accordingly the Client, when a consumer, waives any right to a cooling off period that may be applicable. If the Client as a consumer is not willing to waive such right then the Client must make SawaSawa aware of the same and SawaSawa will be unable to register a Domain until after the applicable cooling off period has expired.

  5. Domain Transfer & Ownership Terms

    1. SawaSawa shall determine the ownership of a registered Domain by reference to the details held on the whois database. If the whois database details are not determinative then SawaSawa shall be entitled to request whatever supporting evidence it may require to ascertain ownership.
    2. In the event that ownership of a registered Domain is disputed then the Client agrees to make all reasonable efforts to resolve such dispute with the third party, including before involving SawaSawa and at SawaSawa's request. All .KE domain domain names as managed by the Kenya Network Information Centre (KENIC) that are under dispute, will be resolved using the provided Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy (ARDP) without involvement of SawaSawa unless otherwise instructed by the registry. Any dispute involving all .KE domain names shall be resolved using the provided Alternative Dispute Resolution Policy (ARDP) without involvement of SawaSawa unless otherwise instructed by the registry(Kenya Network Information Centre).
    3. If a Client wishes to transfer ownership of a registered Domain to SawaSawa, the Client must:
      1. ensure that all necessary consents and permissions to that transfer have been obtained;
      2. deliver to SawaSawa documentary evidence of all such relevant consents and permissions;
      3. accept that SawaSawa is under no obligation to carry out any transfer request if the Client fails to satisfy SawaSawa that the documentation provided shows the transfer to be properly requested or authorised or where the Client has not complied with this clause 5.3.
    4. The transfer service offered by SawaSawa is supplied on the basis that the Client is solely responsible for changing the tag of the domain to SawaSawa and to ensure that the transfer completes to the Client's specifications. If a transfer is cancelled, the Client will be responsible for contacting SawaSawa to request a refund for the incomplete transfer, if applicable
    5. The Client accepts that the transfer of a gTLD Domain may require SawaSawa to carry out a manual transfer. In such event, the Client agrees to pay the applicable manual transfer fee to SawaSawa as stated on SawaSawa's website and as updated from time to time.
    6. On transfer, the Client accepts that the transferred domain name will be automatically renewed for a minimum term of one year. The Client acknowledges that the maximum terms for a particular domain may vary and are available on an 'as is' basis as displayed by SawaSawa. Clients acknowledge that one year may be added and charged to some domain extensions when transferred.
    7. SawaSawa will only allow a domain name owned or managed by the Client to be attached to the IPS tag of SawaSawa or any of its Associated Companies if the Client has an active hosting account with SawaSawa or one of its Associated Companies or when the Client is holding the domain name within a SawaSawa account.
    8. The Client agrees that on to transferring ownership of a registered Domain to another person or registering a Domain on behalf of another person (the 'Transferee') the Client will confirm and prove that the Transferee agrees in writing to be bound by the terms of the Agreement at SawaSawa's request.
    9. SawaSawa will not transfer ownership of a Domain until all the accrued fees for the account have been paid by the Client to SawaSawa.
    10. In the event that SawaSawa receives a complaint in regards to trademark / brand infringement, SawaSawa has the right to place a Domain on hold and move into the SawaSawa holding account. SawaSawa shall take this action if in receipt of a decision from a Domain Dispute Resolution and/or a settlement agreement between the parties concerned. Any renewal payments must be paid to SawaSawa by the Client.
    11. In the event of receiving documentation which matches the WHOIS details, SawaSawa reserves the right to move a Domain from the current Domain holder's account into a SawaSawa holding account, lock the domain and place a registrar hold on it. SawaSawa shall not move the Domain from this status until it is satisfied that the dispute has been resolved between the parties concerned, with documentation provided to SawaSawa by both parties proving the same. This documentation may include a court order, an email/letter/legal document from the current domain holder and the complainant both stipulating the transfer of the domain to the complainant.
    12. For all applicable gTLDs the Client agrees that SawaSawa will act as a Designated Agent, in accordance with ICANN's Transfer Policy, for the Client whenever a request is made to update the registrant contact details associated with a Domain. In that respect, the Client expressly authorises SawaSawa to approve a change of registrant of any change to the registrant's details on behalf of the Client.
    13. The Client acknowledges and accepts that where SawaSawa takes an action on a Domain as a Designated Agent under clause 5.12 then such Domain will be opted out from any 60-day transfer lock period.

  6. Expired Domains

    1. In the event that a domain name is not renewed by its expiry date it shall cease to operate and shall be deemed to be expired.
    2. A registered Domain shall expire if SawaSawa is unable to take payment via the method stored on the Client's SawaSawa account, where the Client has set the Domain to expire or where the Client fails to manually renew the Domain by the renewal date.
    3. It is the Client's responsibility to ensure that the email address stored on its' SawaSawa account is up to date and is able to receive renewal reminders from SawaSawa.
    4. Following the expiry date a domain may enter a grace and/or redemption period. Certain registries do not allow for grace and/or redemption periods.
    5. Domains from registries which do not allow for a grace and/or redemption period may be unrecoverable by the Client or SawaSawa following the expiry date and in such circumstances SawaSawa's agreement with the Client for that Domain will terminate immediately and without liability to SawaSawa. Further, SawaSawa is under no duty to attempt to recover such Domain(s).
    6. The Client acknowledges that three (7) calendar days after the date of expiration of a Domain, SawaSawa may in its sole discretion carry out the following actions:
      1. renew the Domain;
      2. park the Domain on different name servers from those set by the Client including the SawaSawa name servers; and/or
      3. where the relevant registry does not allow for grace or redemption periods, clause 6.5 above shall apply.
    7. Provided that the relevant registry for the Domain(s) allows a grace period, the Client acknowledges that it has up to 14 days following expiry of the Domain(s) ('the Grace Period') to contact SawaSawa to retrieve and renew the Domain provided that the Client pays for said renewal in full and in cleared funds.
    8. On receipt of the renewal fee by SawaSawa within the Grace Period, the Client will retain ownership of the Domain(s) and as soon as reasonably practicable SawaSawa shall restore the Domain(s) to the Client's control panel.
    9. The Client acknowledges that following the end of the Grace Period SawaSawa may at its sole discretion carry out the following actions:
      1. auction the Domain;
      2. change the contact details; and/or
      3. transfer the Domain.
    10. If SawaSawa does not receive the renewal fee within the Grace Period then SawaSawa's agreement with the Client for that Domain will terminate immediately and without liability to SawaSawa.
    11. Provided that the relevant registry of the Domain(s) allows for a redemption period, if SawaSawa receives a request from the Client to renew the Domain after the end of the Grace Period ('the Redemption Period'), the Client agrees to pay the applicable redemption fee(s) plus the renewal fee(s) for the Domain(s). Both the length of the Redemption Period and the redemption fee varies depending on the registry involved and the applicable redemption fees can be located here....
    12. Clients acknowledges and agree that SawaSawa is not obliged to take any action to renew or recover a Domain in the Redemption Period and will only make such attempts once the Client has paid both the redemption and renewal fees to SawaSawa.
    13. SawaSawa endeavours to renew Domain(s) on behalf of the Client. However, SawaSawa makes no guarantee that attempted renewals, including attempts to renew expired domains, will be successful and it is the Client's responsibility to check the WHOIS database, and any other source, to ensure the Domain name has been renewed.