Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms & Eligibility

By downloading, accessing, browsing, registering for, or using any component of the DinePort ecosystem—including the DinePort Customer App, the DinePort Merchant App, web dashboards, APIs, or the Pentfield Admin Console—you explicitly acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must immediately cease all access and uninstall our applications. You must be at least 18 years of age (or the legal age of majority in your jurisdiction) to form a binding contract and register an account.

2. Strict Cross-Portal Authentication & Account Security

DinePort maintains strict technical and organizational isolation across its constituent portals:

• Customer Portal: Dedicated exclusively to end-user consumers for discovering menus, placing delivery, pickup, dine-in, or advance orders, tracking deliveries, and submitting verified ratings.
• Store Merchant Portal: Dedicated exclusively to verified staff of approved retail stores, kitchens, and restaurants. Store staff accounts are granted three distinct roles (Master Admin, Manager, Attendant) and cannot access customer accounts or platform administrative functions.
• Pentfield Admin Console: Strictly restricted to authorized Pentfield Technologies personnel for compliance auditing, KYC merchant approvals, financial settlements, and dispute resolution.

Any attempt to bypass portal isolation, tamper with cryptographic JWT session tokens, perform cross-portal authentication attacks, or access administrative endpoints will result in immediate permanent account termination, potential forfeiture of accrued merchant balances, and referral to law enforcement authorities under the Nigerian Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act.

3. Dining Modes, Seat QR Ordering & In-Store Verification

DinePort supports four distinct fulfillment modalities, each governed by specific legal requirements:

1. Dine-In Walk-In Ordering: Customers seated at a participating merchant table may submit orders directly specifying their Table Number. An automated cryptographic QR verification code (HER-QR-...) is generated. The customer must present this code to an authorized store attendant. Scanning of the QR code constitutes legal confirmation that the order has been delivered to the table.
2. Advance Outside Ordering: Customers ordering outside the restaurant agree to arrive within the merchant's stated preparation window. Upon arrival, the customer must tap the "I am in the Store!" button to alert kitchen staff and present their verification QR code. If a customer fails to claim an advance order within 45 minutes of preparation, the food will be discarded for sanitary reasons, and the order is strictly non-refundable.
3. Takeout / Counter Pickup: The customer is responsible for picking up the packaged meal from the store counter upon receiving the "Ready for Pickup" alert.
4. On-Demand Delivery: Deliveries are carried out by merchant-designated couriers. Delivery fees are calculated dynamically based on base rates and distance per kilometer from the merchant's GPS location.

4. Payments, Pricing & Paystack Settlement

All financial transactions on DinePort are processed securely through licensed payment gateway partners, primarily Paystack Payments Limited. All prices are quoted and settled in Nigerian Naira (NGN).

• Customer Charges: When placing an order, the customer's payment method is debited for the total order amount, comprising food items, delivery fees (if applicable), and statutory taxes. Payment authorization is required before order dispatch to the store.
• Store Payouts & Net Balances: Store merchant earnings are calculated net of platform commission fees (typically 3.5% or per the agreed merchant tier). Weekly payouts are disbursed directly to the store's verified Nigerian commercial bank account via automated settlement batches.
• Chargebacks & Fraudulent Disputes: Initiating frivolous or fraudulent payment disputes or chargebacks with your issuing bank without first utilizing the in-app Hermott Dispute Resolution Center constitutes a material breach of these Terms. Pentfield Technologies reserves the right to recover chargeback fees, administrative costs, and ban offending accounts.

5. Store Merchant Obligations & Three-Tier Role Permissions

Each store onboarding on Hermott agrees to the following compliance standards:

• KYC Approval & Compliance: Stores must submit authentic Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) business registration documents, valid bank verification numbers (BVN/NIN where applicable), and physical commercial address proof. Stores remain in "pending verification" status until audited and approved by the Pentfield Admin Platform.
• Food Safety & Preparation: Merchants warrant that all food items are prepared under hygienic conditions, comply with the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) standards, and contain accurate allergen information.
• Master Admin Role Protection: The individual registering the store is designated as the Master Admin. The Master Admin bears primary legal and operational responsibility for the store account, assigning staff roles (Managers and Attendants), maintaining settlement bank details, and overseeing menu listings.
• Role Hierarchy & Permissions:
  • Admins: Possess full store management privileges, staff invitation and role assignment, store profile settings, and audit log access.
  • Managers: Permitted to manage menu catalog items, prices, and stock availability, take and confirm orders, and scan customer QR codes. Managers are strictly prohibited from managing staff or altering settlement bank accounts.
  • Attendants: Floor staff authorized solely to view incoming orders, take and confirm orders, and scan customer verification QR codes. Attendants are strictly blocked from editing catalog items, modifying prices, or accessing store settings.

6. Tamper-Evident Store Audit Trail

To safeguard financial transparency and resolve operational disputes, Hermott implements an automated, immutable audit trail system. All critical actions—including store registration, compliance approvals, staff role modifications, menu price alterations, dine-in/advance QR verifications, and settlement account updates—are permanently logged with user attribution, IP addresses, and UTC timestamps in the AuditLogs database. Merchants and staff consent to this auditing as a condition of using the platform.

7. Verified Diner Reviews & Rating Policy

To maintain authentic marketplace integrity, customer ratings and reviews are strictly restricted to verified fulfilled orders. Customers cannot submit a review for an order that has not been delivered or completed.

Reviews must reflect genuine personal dining experiences. Prohibited reviews include defamatory, obscene, fraudulent, or extortionist statements. Merchants may report reviews through the app for moderation. Pentfield Technologies reserves the right to remove reviews that violate our community standards or result from malicious competitor manipulation.

8. Limitation of Liability & Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE DinePort platform AND ALL ASSOCIATED SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND.

PENTFIELD TECHNOLOGIES LTD, ITS DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AND AGENTS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR:

• Any foodborne illness, foreign object contamination, allergic reaction, or adverse health effect resulting from items prepared by independent store merchants.
• Any loss, damage, or delay arising from actions of independent dispatch riders or store delivery personnel.
• Indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages, including loss of profits, data, goodwill, or business interruption.
• Temporary platform service disruptions, telecommunications failures, or payment gateway downtimes.

IN NO EVENT SHALL PENTFIELD TECHNOLOGIES' TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT ACTUALLY PAID BY THE CUSTOMER FOR THE DISPUTED ORDER, OR TWENTY THOUSAND NIGERIAN NAIRA (NGN 20,000), WHICHEVER IS LESS.

9. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Pentfield Technologies Ltd, its parent company, subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with:

1. Your access to or use of the DinePort platform;
2. Your breach or alleged breach of these Terms or any applicable statutory regulation;
3. Any food preparation, packaging, sanitary, or labor violation committed by your store (for Store Merchants);
4. Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property or privacy rights.

10. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by, construed, and enforced in accordance with the laws of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

Any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the breach, termination, or validity thereof shall first be submitted in writing to the Pentfield Dispute Resolution Desk at disputes@pentfieldtechnologies.com for amicable resolution within thirty (30) business days. If unresolved, the dispute shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration in accordance with the Arbitration and Mediation Act, 2023. The seat of arbitration shall be Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria, and proceedings shall be conducted in English.

11. Contact Information

For legal notices, corporate inquiries, or questions regarding these Terms, please contact:

Pentfield Technologies Ltd (Hermott Operations)
Legal & Corporate Affairs Department
Abuja, Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nigeria
Email: legal@pentfieldtechnologies.com
Support Desk: support@dineport.com