What you need to know when dealing with us
Please note, these are not our official terms and conditions, but just an attempt at trying to explain more clearly what to expect from us.
Our legal company name is Solar Online shop (Pty) Ltd, Registration Number: CK. We started in the solar business in 2014 doing solar hot water sales and installations and have grown from there. We have been running Solar Shop since late 2018.
We are an online only store and don’t have physical stores. All our goods are delivered directly to your door via one of our couriers. This means our overheads are considerably lower than traditional brick and mortar shops.
A big advantage to this is that we are able to offer you very competitive prices.
A disadvantage is that there is nowhere for you to physically visit and see the goods. If there was, then everything would necessarily be more expensive. If you need this kind of physical shopping experience, then Solar Online Shop is probably not for you at this stage.
Solar Online Shop, its employees and owners have good knowledge of the products we sell, solar photovoltaic concepts in general and the suitability of our products in certain common use scenarios.
As such, we may offer you opinions (free of charge) on technical solutions, product suitability, interoperability between products and general solar photovoltaic concepts. Since solar PV equipment can be quite complicated and product specs can change quickly, all advice given to you is non-binding and could, in rare instances, be wrong!
Additionally, since there is a high degree of technicality to solar solutions, it may be that either you or Solar Shop has misinterpreted answers or questions. For this reason, while we take the greatest care to avoid misinformation, we aren’t responsible for the suitability of your purchase to address your needs. Notwithstanding this, please remember you still have 7-days to return your order anyway.
Our online shop displays the cost of each item we sell (including VAT). In general, if you are looking to purchase some items, you would simply click the “Add to Cart” button for each product you are interested in. Once you have added your required items to the cart, you can simply click “proceed to checkout” and the total cost together with shipping fees (if any) will be shown. At this point, you can decide whether to proceed with your order.
In some cases, you may prefer that you receive a quote for your items via email before making a final decision. Here, you should use the “Request a quote” button. In this scenario, the quotes request is sent through to us for vetting and then emailed to you for you to use as required.
The standard way to purchase goods from us is to order online, through our website's online ordering process. While simple for some, we understand that this can be onerous for many people, so a simpler way is to request a quote which you can have a look at, and then decide whether you wish to order or not. The quote will show any delivery fees that may be charged. If you’d like to go ahead, you can then just click the “Buy now” button in the email, or just reply to the email saying you’d like to go ahead.
Unfortunately, we do not offer collections at this point in time, since our warehousing is contracted out to 3rd parties who do not have this facility in place.
Part of our online offering is to deliver country-wide. Since we ourselves do not have a country-wide physical presence, we make use of courier companies to deliver your order. The couriers deliver to well-defined street addresses only (postal code required!) – they can’t go on dirt roads or any other off-road environment.
The couriers we use offer guideline delivery times only. They are NOT guaranteed delivery times, and while in the vast majority of cases deliveries are completed within the guideline time frames, there will occasionally be instances where these time frames are not met (for example, if the delivery van has an accident, or they can’t get hold of you to affect the delivery).
The risk of damage or loss of your product during the delivery process remains with Solar Online Shop. Risk is transferred to you upon your physical receipt of the goods.
The Consumer Protection Act (CPA) affords you certain rights which we cannot override with our own conditions of sale, so if any of our terms and conditions clash with the CPA, the CPA will apply.
We want you to be confident when buying from us, so, for this reason, we offer a 7-day no questions asked returns policy. This should give you enough time to check whether what you bought is what you had in mind. Please note that, unfortunately, this does NOT apply to solar panels purchased. This is because they are big and bulky and carry significant transport risk. They are also a problem to restock since we have to take them off pallets, etc. Solar panel returns will attract a 25% re-stocking fee.
If you decide to return goods within this 7-day window period, you will have to cover the cost of returning them. You will also need to return them unopened in their original packaging so that we can re-sell them.
We will pay for the cost of returning the goods if the goods are faulty or damaged on delivery - We ask that you check the delivery when it arrives, match the delivery note to your order and report any damaged or missing goods to us asap. (If there are items damaged or missing, please make sure you write this on the driver's copy of the way bill before they leave!)
All the goods we sell carry a warranty that is offered by the distributor of these goods. These warranties will vary from product to product, but the warranty can never afford you fewer rights than the Consumer Protection Act offers.
When you make a warranty claim, we will apply the warranty claim process of the distributor or manufacturer that supplied those goods.
In most cases, the warranties are carry-in warranties, that is, you must return the item either to us or directly to the distributor. In a few cases, the distributor will collect the item at their own expense in order to process the warranty claim. This is not the norm, however, so it is best to assume you will need to return the item under warranty at your own expense.
Warranty returns require a minimum of 14 - 30 days working days to be assessed or repaired.
The warranty claim process usually requires that you provide the distributor with information about your set-up that they may require. This may include things like what batteries were connected to the inverter and how? Were the necessary circuit breakers present, etc. It is a good idea to photograph your set-up when it is complete so that you have a record of the working solution which can be presented if required.
In general, if the item is shown to have been damaged through misuse or incorrect installation, the claim will not be approved.
If the claim is approved, the distributor will return the repaired or replaced item to you at their cost, and you will not be out of pocket.
If, however, the claim is not approved, you will either need to get a quote for the repair or arrange to get the item back at your own expense.
Solar Online Shop itself does not hold the warranties. We will merely act as a conduit to the warranty process and help with the communications between you, the customer, and the distributor. The distributor's decision regarding your warranty claim is therefore by default also our decision.
While we endeavor to keep everything on our website up to date, we take no responsibility for any incorrect information that may appear. Stock holding and availability dates are estimates only and can vary. To the extent allowed by law, we are not liable to you or any other person or entity whatsoever for any loss or damage that arises from the use of this site or the application of information contained on it.