Terms of use

1. Who we are and what these terms cover

NoWahala is a marketplace run by Midas-Xerxes Limited (RC 7443563), 5 Nsukka Road Orba, Enugu state, Nigeria. (“NoWahala”, “we”, “us”). These terms apply when you use the NoWahala website or app to buy, sell, chat or promote a listing. By creating an account or placing an order you agree to them.

NoWahala is not the seller of items listed by users. The contract for an item is between the buyer and the seller. We provide the marketplace, hold the buyer’s payment until the buyer confirms the item, and arrange the hub check and delivery through our logistics partners.

2. Your account

• You sign in with your email address. You must give true details and keep your account to yourself. You are responsible for what happens on your account.
• You must be 18 or over to buy or sell.
• We ask you to verify your phone number by SMS after you pay for or sell something, so hubs and riders can reach you and you can receive your pickup code.
• Before a seller’s first payout we check their identity once (BVN or NIN). The name must match the bank account the money goes to. Until the check is done, the seller’s money is held; their listings stay up.
• You can download your data or close your account from your account page. See the Privacy policy.

3. Selling

• You may only list items you own and have in hand, described honestly, with real photos, the correct condition and, for phones, the correct IMEI for each unit.
• Keep your stock up to date. If you can’t fulfil an order, cancel it from the order page straight away so the buyer is refunded.
• After payment you must drop the item at your chosen hub by the deadline shown on the order, or have it ready when a rider the buyer paid for comes to collect it. Hub staff photograph, weigh and seal it. If the parcel is in a bigger size band than you declared, the difference in delivery cost comes out of your payout; the buyer never pays more.
• If a rider comes and the item isn’t ready, the rider fee is taken from your payout and refunded to the buyer.
• You are paid when the buyer taps Received, or when the collection time ends without the buyer collecting. Payment goes to your verified bank account by Paystack transfer, less any deductions listed on the payout.
• Prohibited: fake or counterfeit goods, stolen goods, items you don’t have, anything illegal to sell in Nigeria, and weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, medicines, adult content and live animals. We may remove listings and suspend accounts that break these rules.

4. Buying and the buyer protection fee

• At checkout you see the item price, delivery and the buyer protection fee before you pay. The protection fee pays for the hub check, sealing, and holding your money until you confirm the item. If you came through a seller’s own link or shop, you get a discount on it, shown at checkout.
• You pay by bank transfer to an account in NoWahala’s name, processed by Paystack, within the time shown. NoWahala will never ask you to pay into a personal account.
• You must confirm your pickup hub (or delivery address) on every order. Collect from the hub by the date on your order page, with your pickup code.
• At collection, open the sealed bag in front of staff, check the item against the listing and the checklist for that kind of item, and either tap Received or report a problem. Once you tap Received, the seller is paid and the sale is final.

5. Refunds

You get a full refund, including delivery and the protection fee, if:

• the seller doesn’t drop the item off by the deadline, or cancels the order;
• the seal is broken, the weight is wrong, or the item is lost or damaged while with the hub or a rider;
• you report a problem at collection and the dispute is decided in your favour (the item goes back to the seller).

There is no refund if:

• you change your mind and the item matches its listing;
• you don’t collect by the date on your order. The seller is then paid; any storage arrangement is between you and the hub;
• you have already tapped Received. There are no returns after the seller is paid.

NoWahala verification (optional, on some phones and laptops): if you pay for it, the item goes to our verification desk before it reaches you. If it fails a must-pass check, or we find smaller issues and you decline them (or don’t answer in time), the order is cancelled, you’re refunded and the item goes back to the seller. The verification fee pays for the checks, so it is not refunded in those cases unless checkout said it would be. If you accept the issues found, the item is sent on to you.

Refunds go back to the account you paid from. How quickly they arrive depends on Paystack and your bank.

6. Disputes

• To report a problem you must do it at collection (or before the rider leaves), choose what failed on the checklist, and record a short video in the app. Hub staff note what they saw.
• The seller can accept or explain within the time shown. If they don’t answer, it counts as accepting.
• If the seller disagrees, we decide using the listing, the hub’s drop-off photos, your video and the chat. Our decision on whether to refund is final on NoWahala, but doesn’t affect your rights under Nigerian law.
• Upheld disputes add a strike to the seller. Sellers who keep cancelling orders get a warning and then a strike. After too many strikes (three at present) a seller can no longer sell.

7. Chat, ratings and the NoWahala Score

• Keep chats and deals on NoWahala. Phone numbers, bank details, emails and links are hidden in chat. We only read a conversation if someone reports it.
• Buyers of completed orders can rate the seller once, within the rating window. Ratings and the seller’s one public reply are visible to everyone. Don’t post abuse or personal details.
• Each seller has a public NoWahala Score based on completed sales, quick drop-offs, ratings, cancellations, missed drop-offs, wasted rider trips and upheld disputes. It affects where listings appear. How it works.

8. Promotions

Sellers can pay to promote a listing. Promoted listings are always labelled. The promotion starts once payment is confirmed, pauses while the listing can’t be bought and resumes when it can. Promotions aren’t refunded once started.

9. Our responsibility

• We check that an item matches its listing only as far as the hub check and your checklist allow. We don’t test or guarantee items, and we’re not responsible for what a seller says about them.
• Our liability for any order is limited to the amount you paid for it through NoWahala, except where Nigerian law doesn’t allow us to limit it.
• We may suspend or close accounts that break these terms, put other users at risk, or that we reasonably suspect of fraud, and hold money connected to suspected fraud while we look into it.

10. Changes and the law

We may update these terms. We’ll show the date at the top and tell you of important changes before they apply. Orders already placed follow the terms in force when they were placed. These terms are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

Questions: Contact us.