Terms of Service

1. What Pata is

Pata is a marketplace and a set of business tools operated by Vilcom Networks Ltd. It lets traders publish a storefront and run their shop, and lets shoppers find those shops, see stock, rate them and reserve goods.

Pata is not a party to any sale. When you buy from a shop on Pata, the contract is between you and that trader. We are not the seller, the importer, or the guarantor of anything sold.

2. Pata does not handle your money

This is the most important thing on this page. Customers pay traders directly - to the trader's own M-Pesa Till, Paybill, Pochi la Biashara, Airtel Money number or bank account. Money does not pass through Pata, is not held by Pata, and Pata takes no commission from it.

It follows that Pata cannot reverse a payment, cannot refund one, and cannot release funds held in a dispute. A payment problem is between you, the trader, and your mobile money provider.

3. Your account

• You must be 18 or over.
• Give real details. An account opened with someone else’s number or a false name may be suspended.
• Your password and the codes we send you are yours to keep. Anything done from your account is treated as done by you.
• One person, one account per role. A trader who also wants to shop opens a separate customer account - a merchant account cannot rate shops, report them, follow them or hold loyalty cards.
• Tell us at once if you think someone else is in your account. Resetting your password signs out every other device.

4. Reservations

A reservation is a request, not a purchase. Nothing is set aside until the trader confirms it, and no money changes hands on Pata.

• Only signed-in customers can reserve, so a trader knows who to expect.
• A trader may decline, and does not have to say why.
• A confirmed reservation holds that stock, so it stops being sellable at the till. Not turning up costs the trader a sale - collect it or cancel it.
• A trader cannot reserve their own stock for themselves; that is stock control, not a booking.

5. Ratings, comments and reports

• Rate only shops you actually dealt with, and describe what happened.
• Merchant accounts cannot rate or report shops - their own or anyone else’s.
• Reports go to a person, who may dismiss them, hide the content, warn the trader or suspend the shop.
• We may remove content that is abusive, false, or posted to damage a competitor.
• What you post about a shop is public and carries your first name.

6. What we do not promise

Pata is provided as it is. We work to keep it running and accurate, but we do not promise that:

• the service is always available - it is a mobile-first product on Kenyan networks, and it will sometimes be down;
• stock levels, prices or opening hours shown on a storefront are correct, because traders enter them;
• a trader will honour a reservation, deliver, or be pleasant to deal with;
• a credit score or statement will persuade any lender of anything.

7. Who is liable for what

To the extent the law allows, Pata is not liable for losses arising from a dealing between you and a trader, from a payment made outside Pata, or from the service being unavailable. Nothing here limits liability for death, personal injury, or fraud - and nothing here removes rights you have under the Consumer Protection Act 2012, which apply whatever this page says.

8. Ending it

You can close your account whenever you like. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms or the Acceptable Use policy. Where the breach is fixable we warn first - a warning is a step, not a formality. Fraud or harm to other users gets no warning.

Closing an account does not erase a trader's tax records, which we keep for 7 years. See the Privacy Policy.

9. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of Kenya, and the courts of Kenya have jurisdiction. Talk to us first - most problems are a misunderstanding that a conversation settles faster than a filing.

Vilcom Networks Ltd, Nairobi, Kenya. Contact details for privacy requests are published on the Help Centre; the desk number and data-protection address must be filled in before launch.