OSTA Terms & Conditions

1. Introduction, Acceptance of Terms and Definitions

Welcome to Osta (OSTA), a digital platform for home and professional services operated by El Sane Group — ELSANE Group, hereinafter referred to as "Osta", "the Platform" or "we".

By accessing the Platform, creating an account, or requesting or providing a service through it, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agreed to these Terms, the Privacy Policy and the policies related to the services you use.

"Customer": a person who requests a service through Osta.

"Technician" or "Service Provider": an independent person registered and accepted on the Platform to provide a professional or trade service.

"Assistant": a service provider registered on the Platform who works on an order alongside a technician or team.

"Team": a group of technicians or assistants who take part in carrying out a single order.

"Establishment" or "Company": a professional or commercial entity registered on the Platform that provides services through people employed by or contracted with it.

"Order": a booking or service created and managed through Osta.

2. Registration and Account Eligibility

Users must be at least 18 years old to create an independent account.

Users must provide accurate, up-to-date information and must not impersonate any other person.

Osta may request additional documents from technicians and establishments to verify identity, qualifications or activity, including official, professional and commercial documents depending on the type of service.

Osta may refuse, suspend or restrict an account if it finds falsified data, fraud or an attempt to circumvent the Platform's systems.

3. The Nature of Osta and the Technician's Relationship with the Platform

Osta is not merely an advertising directory of service providers; it operates a technical and operational system that includes, depending on the service: verifying service providers, organising orders, pricing or estimating, matching customers with technicians, scheduling, payments, ratings, support, complaints, revisits, and the warranty programmes the Platform announces.

At the same time, technicians and service providers registered on Osta work as independent service providers and are not permanent employees of El Sane Group — ELSANE Group, unless a separate written employment relationship with a specific person expressly states otherwise.

Use of the Platform alone does not create an employment, partnership or general agency relationship between the technician and Osta.

The technician's independence does not release Osta from the obligations the Platform expressly undertakes towards the customer, such as managing payments, support or any warranty announced by Osta, nor does it diminish any mandatory consumer rights established by law.

4. Osta's Commitment to Quality

Osta aims to provide a reliable level of service, and may therefore apply procedures to verify service providers and to monitor ratings, complaints, performance, punctuality and professional conduct.

Technicians are subject to operating rules, conduct rules and quality standards set by the Platform, and Osta may warn, suspend or ban a service provider in case of repeated complaints or a serious violation.

A technician's presence on Osta means they met the registration or verification requirements in force when they were approved, but it is not a promise that any field work will be entirely free of errors or that the circumstances of every order will be identical.

Osta handles any service-quality issue under the complaints, warranty, revisit and refund system applicable to the order.

5. Obligations of the Technician and Service Provider

The technician or service provider undertakes to provide only services they have the appropriate skill to perform; to protect the customer's property; to use safe tools and methods; to respect the customer and the privacy of their home; to keep, as far as possible, to the agreed time and scope of work; not to impose unapproved additional charges; and not to harass, threaten, assault, steal, abuse, discriminate or engage in any unlawful conduct.

They also undertake not to photograph the customer, the home or property beyond the photos needed to carry out the order without obtaining the required consent.

Any serious violation of these rules may lead to suspension or termination of the account and referral of the incident to the competent authorities where its nature so requires.

6. The Technician's Personal Conduct

Each technician or service provider is responsible for their own personal and unlawful acts, including assault, harassment, theft, intentional damage, threats, or any crime or personal conduct contrary to law.

El Sane Group — ELSANE Group does not automatically become liable for such acts merely because the person met the customer through Osta or received an order through it, to the extent permitted by law.

Nevertheless, Osta takes such incidents seriously and may immediately freeze the service provider's account during an investigation, preserve the relevant order records, cooperate with the competent authorities in accordance with the law, and take appropriate operational measures to protect customers.

This clause does not exclude any legal liability that the Platform may not exclude under the law, or any damage resulting directly from Osta's breach of a legal obligation imposed on it.

7. Service Definition and Price Quotes

The app displays the service details and the available price or estimate before the order is confirmed whenever possible.

For services whose cost cannot be determined accurately before an inspection, the technician may submit a quote through the system, and any increase or additional work is approved only after the customer consents in the manner the Platform provides.

The service provider may not force the customer to pay any additional cost that has not been agreed.

8. Payments and Wallet

Osta may offer cash or electronic payment, use of an in-platform balance, or other approved payment methods.

Osta or the approved payment provider may collect and manage certain amounts for the purpose of completing the order and settling what the parties are owed.

The price, fees, discounts and amounts due are shown in the app according to the order's status.

Osta does not store full bank card details when payment is made through an independent electronic payment gateway.

9. Cancellation and Cancellation Fees

The customer or the service provider may cancel the order in the cases the system allows.

Cancellation fees may vary according to the order's stage, such as whether the technician has accepted the order, set off, arrived at the location or started the work.

Any fee or financial effect of a cancellation is shown to the user before it is confirmed whenever possible.

Osta may waive or adjust fees in exceptional cases or where an error or circumstance warranting review is established.

10. Osta Warranty and Revisits

Osta provides an actual warranty on services shown in the app as covered by a warranty.

For each service or plan, the app specifies: the warranty period, its scope, the work it covers, the exclusions, and whether the basic warranty is included in the price or an additional warranty plan is available.

If a problem directly related to the original work appears during the warranty period, the customer can submit a claim through the Platform.

Osta reviews the order and the available evidence, and the appropriate remedy may be, depending on the case: a revisit, redoing the defective part, fixing the problem, a full or partial refund, credit for the customer, or another suitable remedy under the warranty terms.

The warranty does not usually cover a new problem unrelated to the original work, damage resulting from misuse, modifications made by another person after the work was completed, materials supplied by the customer that are shown to be defective, or circumstances outside the scope of the original service, unless the offered warranty plan states otherwise.

Consumer rights established by law remain applicable regardless of these Terms.

11. Damage Resulting from Carrying Out the Service

The service provider undertakes to exercise appropriate professional care while carrying out the work and to protect the customer's property.

In the event of a claim of damage related to the work, Osta must be notified as soon as possible, with the available information, photos or evidence attached.

The Platform reviews the incident and may take action under the warranty, complaints or settlement programme depending on the nature of the case.

Providing a complaints or settlement system does not make Osta an insurer of all users' property, nor does it automatically bear all losses from whatever source.

12. Assistants, Teams and Establishments

Some orders may require more than one technician or assistant, and in some cases the system may allow the technician to add an optional assistant.

Anyone added to an order must be registered or approved in the manner Osta specifies.

A registered establishment bears its legal responsibilities for the people through whom it works, according to the nature of their relationship and the law.

The presence of more than one independent service provider on a single order does not automatically create an employment relationship between them and Osta.

13. Emergency Services

Osta may offer urgent or priority services in order to reach a suitable service provider faster.

However, Osta is not a government emergency service and is not a substitute for the police, ambulance, civil defence, or gas or electricity companies.

Where there is a danger to life, a fire, a serious gas leak or a serious electrical hazard, the competent authorities must be contacted immediately.

Arrival times shown in the app are estimates and may be affected by distance, traffic, technician availability and circumstances beyond control.

14. Prohibited Conduct and Anti-Circumvention

It is prohibited to use the Platform for fake bookings, manipulating ratings, discount or referral fraud, fake accounts, attempting to breach the system, uploading illegal content, or communicating for the purpose of unlawful activity.

Osta may also set rules preventing the Platform from being used merely to introduce customers and technicians and then moving the transaction off the Platform to circumvent fees, warranties or protection systems.

Accounts may be suspended and suspicious transactions investigated in accordance with the law.

15. Complaints, Refunds and Problem Resolution

Osta provides a support centre for receiving order-related complaints.

When examining a complaint, Osta may review the order history, conversations, photos, times, the service location, payments, work status, ratings and any documents submitted by either party.

Osta determines the appropriate action according to the nature of the problem and the applicable policies, which may include a revisit, a full or partial refund, rejecting the claim, or taking action against the service provider.

Osta's complaints mechanism does not prevent users from exercising any other right guaranteed to them by law, including their rights under Egyptian Consumer Protection Law No. 181 of 2018.

16. Limits of the Platform's Liability

Osta is liable for the services the Platform itself provides within the limits set out in these Terms and the law, including operating the system, the amounts it collects and the warranty programmes it expressly announces.

Conversely, to the fullest extent permitted by law, Osta is not liable for: users' independent personal or criminal acts; false information provided by a user despite reasonable verification; damage resulting from the customer or service provider breaching safety instructions; events beyond reasonable control; and outages of communications or external services not under Osta's direct control.

No provision of this agreement is intended to exclude or limit any liability that the law does not allow to be excluded.

17. Taxes and Professional Licences

The service provider or establishment bears the legal, tax and professional obligations that apply to it according to the nature of its activity.

It must obtain any mandatory licence the law imposes on a particular activity where legally required.

Osta may request proof of these documents at registration or review.

18. Force Majeure

No party is liable for delays resulting directly from events beyond reasonable control, such as natural disasters, public unrest, government decisions or widespread outages of communications or electricity networks.

In such cases, Osta endeavours to notify the parties and manage the order appropriately whenever possible.

19. Intellectual Property

Rights in the Osta — OSTA name and trademark and in the software, designs and content owned by the Platform belong to El Sane Group — ELSANE Group or the licensing rights holders, as the case may be.

Protected material may not be copied or reused without permission.

20. Changes to the Terms and Account Suspension

Osta may update these Terms when adding new services, amending policies or responding to legal requirements.

In the case of material changes, users are notified appropriately and may be asked to accept them again.

An account may be suspended or terminated for fraud, abuse, serious violations or security risks, subject to the legal obligations concerning balances and outstanding transactions.

21. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws in force in the Arab Republic of Egypt.

This agreement does not affect any mandatory rights the consumer or data subject enjoys under the law.

By using Osta you acknowledge that you have read and agreed to these Terms. Operator: El Sane Group — ELSANE Group.