Website and booking terms

1. About us

Pattern Interrupt Consulting is not a member of a self-regulatory or accreditation body, and does not subscribe to a code of conduct or an alternative dispute resolution code.

We provide POPIA compliance, AI governance and training services. Where a matter needs litigation or other work that only a practising legal practitioner may do, we will tell you and refer it to Rudi Heydenrych Attorneys and Associates, where René Mattheus practises as an attorney. That work is then done under a separate attorney engagement with that firm.

2. Using this website

The content on this website is general information about South African law at the date shown on the page. It is not legal advice for your situation, and you should not act on it without advice on your own facts.

Using this website, sending us an email or booking a scope call does not create a client relationship. A client relationship starts only when we both accept a written quote or engagement letter.

Please don't send us confidential or sensitive information until we have agreed to work together.

This website links to other sites, such as Calendly, Google, LinkedIn and Keep Me Safe Online. Those sites have their own terms and privacy policies, and we are not responsible for their content.

3. Booking a scope call

What you get

A 30-minute video call on Zoom with René Mattheus about your business, your systems and your concerns about POPIA and AI. After the call we send you a written quote for any review or further work. The call itself is a scoping discussion, not a compliance review or a legal opinion.

We record our calls with Fathom and use Zoom's meeting summary feature, so that we have an accurate record. We tell you at the start of the call. If you would rather not be recorded, say so and we will switch recording off. We can send you a link to the recording on request.

Price and payment

The call costs R1,200. There are no other fees. When you choose a time through Calendly, your booking is provisional. We email you an invoice, which you pay by electronic funds transfer. Your booking is confirmed only once we have received your proof of payment by email at rene@piconsulting.tech and confirmed the booking in writing. If we have not received proof of payment 24 hours before the call, we may release the time slot. See our booking page for the steps.

Our banking details appear only on our invoice, and we will never change them by email. If you receive a message saying our banking details have changed, phone us on +27 21 023 2692 before you pay. See our privacy notice for how we handle your personal information.

Credit against further work

If you accept our quote within 60 days after the call, we deduct the R1,200 from the fee in that quote. After 60 days the credit falls away.

Timing and your record of the booking

The call takes place at the date and time you choose when you book. Calendly emails you a notice of your booking request, we email you an invoice, and we confirm the booking in writing once payment is received. The Calendly email does not by itself confirm the booking. Keep these emails as your record of the transaction. You can ask us for a copy at any time.

4. Rescheduling, cancellation and refunds

• Rescheduling: you can move your call free of charge up to 24 hours before it starts, using the link in your confirmation email.
• Cancelling 24 hours or more before the call: we refund the full R1,200.
• Cancelling less than 24 hours before the call, or not attending: the fee is not refunded, because we cannot fill the time at short notice. This is subject to section 5 and to the next point.
• Death or hospitalisation: if you cannot attend because the person the call was booked for has died or been hospitalised, we refund the full fee, as section 17(5) of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 requires.
• If we cancel: if we need to cancel, we offer you a new time or a full refund, whichever you prefer.

If you cancel before paying, nothing is owed. We pay refunds by electronic funds transfer to the account you paid from, within 30 days.

5. Your cooling-off right

If you book as an individual (a natural person) rather than on behalf of a company or other organisation, section 44 of ECTA gives you the right to cancel the booking without reason and without penalty within seven days after you book. We will refund the full fee within 30 days.

This right does not apply once the call has taken place with your consent within those seven days (section 42(2) of ECTA). If you book a call for a date within seven days, you agree to the call taking place before the cooling-off period ends.

Under section 43(3) of ECTA, if we have not given you the information this section requires, you may also cancel within 14 days after receiving the service.

6. Quotes and further work

Any review, drafting, training or other work after the scope call is done only under a separate written quote or engagement letter, which sets out the scope, fees and timing for that work, together with our business terms of service. If that document conflicts with these terms, that document applies to that work.

7. Speaking requests

Sending the speaking request form is an enquiry, not a booking. We reply by email with availability and a fee proposal. An engagement is confirmed only when we both agree to it in writing. For in-person events outside Cape Town, the organiser covers flights and accommodation.

8. Liability: please read this section carefully

We take care to keep this website accurate, but the law changes and the content is general. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for loss arising from reliance on the general information on this website, or from the website being unavailable.

Nothing in these terms limits any right you have under ECTA, the Consumer Protection Act or any other law that cannot be excluded by agreement.

9. Copyright

The content, design and branding of this website belong to Pattern Interrupt Consulting (Pty) Ltd, except where we say otherwise. You may view, download and print pages for your own use or for internal use in your organisation. Please don't republish them or use them commercially without our written permission. Client reviews are quoted from our public Google profile.

10. Complaints and governing law

If you are unhappy with anything about our website or a booking, please email rene@piconsulting.tech and we will reply within two business days. South African law governs these terms.

11. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. The date at the top shows when they last changed. The terms in force when you book apply to that booking.