Complaints & Takedown Procedure

1. Purpose

Website Design Office (Pty) Ltd provides domain registration, domain management, website hosting, email hosting and related digital services.

We provide this complaints procedure so that suspected abuse, unlawful activity, security incidents and other concerns associated with services under our control can be reported and reasonably investigated.

2. What Can Be Reported

Complaints may relate to matters including:

• phishing websites;
• fraudulent websites or email activity;
• malware or malicious software;
• spam or abusive email activity;
• compromised websites or hosting accounts;
• domain name abuse;
• impersonation;
• unlawful or harmful content;
• intellectual-property concerns;
• security incidents; or
• violations of Website Design Office policies.

3. How to Submit a Complaint

Complaints should be submitted in writing to:

Please include sufficient information for Website Design Office to understand and investigate the complaint.

4. Information to Include

Where applicable, a complaint should include:

• the domain name involved;
• the relevant website URL;
• a clear description of the complaint;
• the date and approximate time of the incident;
• screenshots or supporting evidence;
• copies of relevant correspondence;
• full email headers where an email complaint is involved;
• the complainant's name and contact details; and
• any other information that may assist the investigation.

5. Initial Review

Website Design Office will review the information supplied and determine whether the matter relates to a domain, hosting account, website, email service or other service under our control.

We may request additional information where the original complaint does not contain enough information to reasonably investigate the matter.

6. No Automatic Takedown

Submission of a complaint does not automatically result in the suspension or removal of a website, domain, hosting account or email service.

Website Design Office will consider the available evidence, the seriousness of the alleged conduct, applicable registry requirements and any relevant legal obligations before deciding what action is appropriate.

7. Urgent Security or Abuse Cases

Where credible information indicates an immediate risk such as active phishing, malware distribution, credential theft, a network attack or another serious security threat, Website Design Office may take temporary protective action while the matter is investigated.

This may include temporarily restricting access to an affected service where reasonably necessary to prevent further harm.

8. Possible Actions

Depending on the circumstances, Website Design Office may:

• take no action where the complaint is unsupported;
• request further information from the complainant;
• contact the affected customer;
• request removal or correction of offending material;
• require security remediation;
• temporarily restrict a hosting or email service;
• escalate a domain matter to the applicable registry;
• comply with a valid legal or regulatory instruction; or
• take another reasonable action appropriate to the circumstances.

9. Domain Name Complaints

Website Design Office acts as a registrar for supported ZA domain namespaces.

Certain complaints involving ownership, entitlement, trademarks or competing rights to a domain name may fall outside the scope of a normal abuse complaint.

In such cases, the complainant may be required to use the applicable registry dispute-resolution process or another appropriate legal procedure.

10. Content Hosted by Third Parties

Website Design Office may manage a domain name while the associated website, email or other content is hosted by another service provider.

Where Website Design Office does not host or control the complained-about content, we may not be technically able to remove it.

In those circumstances, the complainant may also need to contact the relevant hosting provider or service operator.

11. Intellectual Property Complaints

A person reporting alleged copyright, trademark or other intellectual-property infringement should provide sufficient information identifying:

• the protected work or right;
• the allegedly infringing material;
• where the material is located;
• the complainant's relationship to the rights concerned; and
• supporting documentation where available.

Website Design Office does not act as a court or determine complex legal disputes between competing parties.

12. Customer Response

Where appropriate, Website Design Office may notify the affected customer and allow them an opportunity to respond to the complaint.

This may not be possible where immediate security action is required, where notification is prohibited by law or where doing so could interfere with an investigation.

13. False or Malicious Complaints

Complaints must be submitted in good faith.

Website Design Office may disregard complaints that appear to be deliberately false, misleading, abusive, repetitive or intended primarily to harass another person or business.

14. Confidentiality and Personal Information

Information supplied as part of a complaint may be processed for the purpose of investigating, managing and responding to the complaint.

Personal information will be handled in accordance with Website Design Office's Privacy Policy .

15. Law-Enforcement and Regulatory Matters

Website Design Office may cooperate with valid requests from courts, law-enforcement agencies, regulators or other competent authorities where required by applicable law.

16. Relationship With Other Policies

This procedure should be read together with:

• Acceptable Use & Abuse Policy
• Domain Registration & Transfer Policy
• Privacy Policy
• Terms & Conditions

17. Contact Information

Submit complaints, abuse reports and takedown enquiries to: