Terms and Conditions
Effective date: 29 September 2026
1. About SD Law
Simon Dippenaar and Associates Inc., trading as SD Law, provides legal consultations, advice and representation in South Africa. Our services include family law and divorce, evictions and property disputes, criminal defence and bail, liquor licensing and general litigation. Our legal practice is regulated by the Legal Practice Council.
Company and contact details
- Company registration number: 2017/159175/21.
- Place of registration: South Africa.
- Director: Simon David Dippenaar.
- Office and address for service of legal documents: Level 2, Radio House, 92 Loop Street, Cape Town City Centre, 8001, South Africa.
- Email: sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za
- Telephone: +27 (0)86 099 5146
- Website: www.sdlaw.co.za
Our practitioners are subject to the Legal Practice Council’s Code of Conduct.
2. Website information and accepting instructions
Our website provides general information, not advice tailored to your circumstances. Contacting us, sending documents or making a payment does not by itself confirm that we have accepted instructions to act in your matter. Acceptance remains subject to conflict checks, any required identity verification, agreement on scope and fees, and our confirmation.
Online consultation bookings are subject to manual confirmation by our team. We will confirm the appointment, its format and any preparation required. If we cannot accept a booking or instruction, we will refund payment received for services we will not provide.
Please tell us about any urgent deadline. Do not assume that we are attending to it until we have confirmed this expressly.
3. Services, fees and payment
The service description, written quotation or engagement terms specify the agreed work, fees, VAT, payment requirements, exclusions and any third-party costs. Fees are in South African rand (ZAR), unless expressly agreed otherwise. The total payable, including applicable VAT and agreed charges, must be made clear before payment. Additional work or costs require agreement where they fall outside the authorised scope.
We generally require payment before beginning the relevant work or phase. A payment in advance is not automatically non-refundable. Money that must be held in trust will be dealt with in accordance with applicable professional requirements; please use only the payment route we specify for your matter.
Where Payfast is offered, it processes the payment; SD Law remains responsible for the legal services and any refund due from us. Enter payment details only through the authorised payment screen. Do not send full card details, passwords or one-time passwords to us by email or messaging service. See the payment provider’s security and privacy information when making payment.
4. Delivery of services
Consultations take place in person, by telephone or online, as confirmed with you. Advice and documents are supplied by the agreed method. Timing for other work is recorded in the quotation or engagement correspondence and depends on the agreed scope, information supplied and relevant court or third-party processes. We do not guarantee a legal outcome or a court’s timetable. No physical goods are supplied under these terms.
5. Cancellation and rescheduling policy
To cancel or request a new consultation time, email sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za, identifying the booking or matter. Please give as much notice as possible. For an imminent appointment, please also telephone us. We will confirm the cancellation or any alternative appointment in writing. Our acknowledgement is not a condition for cancellation to take effect.
You may end our mandate by written notice. Subject to your statutory rights, fees properly earned under the agreed engagement and authorised disbursements properly incurred remain payable. We will account for amounts received and refund the balance due to you. Any necessary withdrawal from court proceedings or transfer of the matter will be handled under the applicable professional and procedural rules.
Any separate booking cancellation charge must have been disclosed before booking and must be reasonable and lawful, taking account of the notice given, the service and the prospect of filling the appointment. There is no automatic forfeiture of the entire payment. Where the Consumer Protection Act applies, no booking cancellation fee is charged if death or hospitalisation of the person for whom the booking was made prevents attendance.
6. Cooling-off and consumer rights
Where section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act applies to an online service agreement, you may cancel without giving a reason and without penalty within seven days after concluding the agreement. Payments covered by that cancellation must be refunded in full within 30 days of cancellation.
That cooling-off right does not apply where the services have actually begun with your consent before the seven-day period expires. If you want work to start during that period, we will obtain your express consent. Payment alone is not treated as that consent. Other applicable consumer rights, including rights relating to deficient services and qualifying direct-marketing transactions, remain unaffected.
7. Refund policy
We will correct duplicate payments and overpayments. If services are cancelled, we will assess the refund against the agreed scope, work properly performed, authorised costs properly incurred and applicable law, and provide an explanation of any deduction. Unused money due back to you will be returned; it is not retained merely because it was paid in advance.
An unfavourable legal result does not, by itself, entitle a client to a refund for services properly provided. This does not limit remedies for services that fail to meet the applicable legal or professional standard.
Send refund requests to sdippenaar@sdlaw.co.za with your name, booking or matter reference, payment date, amount and reason. We will assess the request promptly, explain the outcome and advise the expected processing date. Refunds will be processed without undue delay and within applicable statutory deadlines. A request for information or internal approval does not extend those deadlines.
Card refunds are returned to the card used for payment. Other refunds are made through the original payment route where supported, or through an appropriately verified alternative. We provide a refund receipt or written confirmation showing the refund details when it is processed. Your bank or payment provider may take additional time to reflect it.
8. Privacy, website use and complaints
Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information. Use this website lawfully and do not interfere with its security or infringe our or another person’s intellectual property rights. You may save or print these terms for your records.
Please raise service, fee or payment concerns with Simon Dippenaar at the email address above. This does not prevent you from using the Legal Practice Council’s complaints process, approaching a competent court or another appropriate body, or exercising any statutory or payment-dispute right. Nothing in these terms excludes liability or professional obligations that cannot lawfully be excluded.
9. Applicable law and changes
South African law applies, subject to any mandatory rights that apply to you. These website terms complement the specific written terms agreed for your matter. Neither can override mandatory legal or professional obligations. An update to this page does not retrospectively change an existing engagement or accrued rights.