Terms of Service

1 Definitions

“Services” means all web hosting, domain registration, email hosting, SSL certificates, software licences and any other products offered by HostGuru. “Account” means the unique account you create to access our Services. “Content” means any data, files, scripts or materials you store, transmit or display through our Services.

2 Account Registration & Eligibility

To use our Services you must be at least 18 years old and capable of forming a legally binding contract. You agree to provide accurate, current and complete information during registration and to update such information promptly if it changes.

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account.
• One person or legal entity may not maintain more than one free account.
• You may not use the Services for any illegal or unauthorised purpose.

3 Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Services to engage in any activity that violates applicable Kenyan law or international law. Prohibited activities include but are not limited to:

• Sending unsolicited bulk email (spam) or operating open mail relays.
• Hosting, distributing or transmitting malware, viruses or malicious code.
• Engaging in network attacks, port scanning or denial-of-service attacks.
• Hosting content that infringes intellectual property rights of third parties.
• Mining cryptocurrency without explicit written permission from HostGuru.
• Reselling Services without a valid reseller agreement.

4 Payment & Billing

All prices are displayed in Kenyan Shillings (KES) and are inclusive of applicable VAT unless otherwise stated. We accept M-Pesa, credit/debit cards and bank transfer.

• Invoices are generated automatically on your billing cycle date.
• Renewal invoices are sent at least 14 days before the due date by email to your registered address.
• It is your sole responsibility to ensure your contact email is current and that renewal invoices are acted upon.
• Services are suspended after 7 days of non-payment following the invoice due date.
• Services are permanently terminated after 14 days of suspension if payment is not received. Data may be deleted without further notice.
• Server plans (VPS, Cloud VPS, Dedicated): invoices are due and payable three (3) days before the plan expiry date. Failure to pay by this date will result in immediate suspension of the server.
• HostGuru reserves the right to adjust pricing with at least 30 days’ notice to your registered email address.

5 Service Availability & Uptime

HostGuru guarantees 99.9% monthly network uptime for all shared and VPS hosting plans as detailed in our Service Level Agreement. Scheduled maintenance windows are excluded from uptime calculations and will be announced at least 24 hours in advance where possible.

6 Intellectual Property

You retain all ownership of the Content you upload to our servers. By submitting Content, you grant HostGuru a limited, non-exclusive licence to store, copy and transmit that Content solely to the extent necessary to provide the Services. HostGuru retains all rights to its own software, trademarks, logos and service names.

7 Privacy & Data

Your use of the Services is also governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using our Services you consent to the collection and use of your data as described therein.

8 Termination & Suspension

Either party may terminate the Services at any time. We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your account immediately, without notice or refund, if we determine you have violated these Terms. Upon termination, your right to access the Services ceases immediately and we may delete your data after a 14-day grace period.

9 Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, HostGuru’s total liability to you for any claim shall not exceed the total fees paid by you in the three months preceding the event. We shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages.

10 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of Kenya. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Nairobi, Kenya. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in full force and effect.

11 Domain Name Renewals & Expiry

Domain name renewals are the sole responsibility of the registrant. HostGuru sends renewal reminder emails as a courtesy service only. The following conditions apply to all domain names registered through HostGuru:

• It is the registrant’s responsibility to ensure their domain name is renewed before the expiry date. HostGuru’s reminder emails do not constitute a guarantee of delivery and are provided as a convenience only.
• HostGuru accepts no liability for any loss, damage or expense arising from a client’s failure to renew a domain name, including but not limited to: loss of the domain name, website downtime, email service interruption, loss of business, reputational damage or any consequential loss.
• Expired domains may enter a Grace Period (typically 0–30 days, registry-dependent) during which standard renewal fees apply. After the Grace Period, domains may enter a Redemption Period (typically 30 days) during which significantly higher recovery fees — set by the registry — will apply.
• Following the Redemption Period, expired domain names may be released to the public and made available for registration by any third party. HostGuru accepts no obligation to hold, recover or otherwise protect an expired domain after this point.
• Domain registration fees paid to the registry are non-refundable under any circumstances. Please refer to our Refund Policy.
• KENIC (.ke, .co.ke, .or.ke, .ac.ke, .sc.ke) domains are subject to KENIC’s own terms and registry rules in addition to these Terms.

12 Server Billing & Cancellation

VPS, Cloud VPS and Dedicated Server services are subject to the following specific billing and cancellation terms in addition to the general Payment & Billing terms in Section 4:

• Payment due date: Server invoices must be paid three (3) days before the plan expiry date. This earlier due date exists because server provisioning requires advance resource allocation. Failure to pay by this date will result in server suspension without further notice.
• Cancellation notice: Cancellation of any VPS or Dedicated Server plan requires a minimum of thirty (30) days’ written notice submitted through your client area at https://hostguru.co.ke/portal/clientarea.php.
• Billing on insufficient notice: If a cancellation notice is not submitted at least 30 days before the next billing cycle, the full billing cycle will be charged and payment remains legally due regardless of whether the server is used during that period. No pro-rata or partial-period refunds will be issued.
• Immediate cancellation requests without the 30-day notice period will not be honoured. The service will remain active and billed for the remainder of the notice period.
• Server resources are allocated exclusively to your account from activation. Server plans are non-refundable — please see our Refund Policy for full details.

13 Refunds

Refunds are governed exclusively by our Refund Policy, which forms part of these Terms and is incorporated by reference. Key conditions include:

• A refund may only be considered where a service was not delivered or is completely unusable due to a fault on HostGuru’s infrastructure.
• A support ticket must have been opened and HostGuru given a minimum of 48 hours to resolve the issue before any refund request will be considered.
• Domain registrations, renewals, server plans, software licences and SSL certificates are non-refundable.
• Initiating a chargeback without first raising a support ticket will result in immediate account suspension and may result in legal proceedings.