Refund policy
Scope of This Policy
This policy explains how returns, exchanges and refunds work when you buy from Kova. It applies to every purchase made through our online store by consumers in South Africa, and it works alongside — not instead of — the rights the law already gives you. Nothing here takes away or limits a right you have under South African law. Where we offer something more generous than the law requires, that's a voluntary extra, not a legal minimum.
Your 7-Day Cooling-Off Right
Because Kova sells through an online store, your order is an electronic transaction under section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002 (ECT Act). This means you can cancel your order and return the goods for any reason — you don't need to give one — within 7 days of receiving them.
- The only cost you carry is the direct cost of shipping the item back to us.
- Once we receive the returned goods, we'll refund everything you paid within 30 days of your cancellation, as the law requires.
- To keep this right, only handle and use the product as much as reasonably necessary to check it, the same way you would in a physical shop. Items that have been worn, washed, or used beyond that reasonable inspection may fall outside this window — see the hygiene section below — though that never affects your separate right to return something that's actually faulty.
- This right doesn't apply to gift cards, or to goods made or personalised specifically to your order.
Faulty, Unsafe or Defective Goods (6-Month Warranty)
Separately from the cooling-off period above, sections 55 and 56 of the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 (CPA) give you an implied warranty of quality on everything we sell. If a product is defective, unsafe, or doesn't perform the way goods of that kind reasonably should, you can return it within 6 months of delivery, at our risk and expense, and you choose — not us — whether we:
- repair it,
- replace it, or
- refund you in full.
If we repair the item and the same problem comes back within 3 months of that repair, the law requires us to replace the item or refund you outright — we can't simply repair it again. This warranty doesn't cover damage from misuse, normal wear and tear, or a specific defect you were told about and accepted before buying (for example, a marked-down display or sample unit).
Change-of-Mind Returns Outside the Cooling-Off Window
Once the statutory 7-day cooling-off period has passed, Kova doesn't owe you a change-of-mind return or refund as a matter of law, and we don't offer one automatically. At our discretion, we may accept a change-of-mind return for store credit within 14 days of delivery, provided the item is unused, unworn, undamaged, and returned in its original packaging with all tags and seals intact. We can decline this if the item doesn't meet these conditions, and none of this affects your rights under the two sections above.
Hygiene-Sensitive Products
Many Kova products — ankle and knee braces, compression sleeves, and similar support items — are worn directly against the skin or used during exercise. For hygiene and safety reasons, we can't resell an item once it's been worn, so beyond the reasonable try-on-and-inspect handling covered in the cooling-off section above, we don't accept the return or exchange of a hygiene-sensitive item that shows signs of wear, sweat, washing, or a broken hygiene seal — unless the item is genuinely faulty, in which case the warranty section above applies in full regardless of wear. If you're unsure about sizing, check our size guide or contact us before wearing the item.
How to Request a Return
- Contact us (details below) within the relevant window, with your order number and the reason for the return.
- Wait for our confirmation and return instructions before sending anything back — this helps us process it quickly and avoid lost parcels.
- Pack the item securely, ideally in its original packaging, and include your order number.
- Ship it back using a trackable courier and keep your proof of postage until the return is resolved.
Returns sent back without contacting us first may take longer to process.
Refunds
Once we've received and checked a returned item, we'll process your refund to your original payment method. Cooling-off and warranty refunds are paid within 30 days of us receiving the goods back, usually much sooner. Store-credit exchanges under the change-of-mind section are issued once we've confirmed the item is unworn and resellable.
Return Shipping Costs
For a cooling-off or change-of-mind return, you cover the cost of shipping the item back to us. If the item is faulty, unsafe, or otherwise defective, we cover the return shipping — the law requires this — and we'll reimburse a reasonable, pre-agreed courier cost, or arrange a collection or pre-paid label where we can.
Exchanges
We're happy to exchange an item for a different size or colour, subject to stock, provided it's unworn, unwashed, and either returned within the 7-day cooling-off period or approved under the change-of-mind terms above.
Damaged, Incorrect or Missing Items on Arrival
Please check your order as soon as it arrives. If something arrived damaged, faulty, or isn't what you ordered, contact us within 7 days with photos and your order number, and we'll arrange a replacement, repair, or refund at our cost — you don't need to wait for the cooling-off or warranty process for this.
Contact Us
For any return, exchange, or refund query, contact us at [insert support email] or [insert phone number]. Our trading address is [insert Kova business/trading address].
This policy is intended to comply with South African consumer protection legislation, including the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 and the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, as at the date above. It's provided as a starting point and isn't a substitute for legal advice — we'd recommend having a South African attorney review this policy, and your website's full terms and conditions, before relying on them commercially.