Effective date: [[EFFECTIVE DATE]] · Version: [[VERSION]]
These terms apply when you use CredCheck to check a product: on the CredCheck app, the website at [[VERIFY DOMAIN]], USSD ([[USSD CODE]]), SMS ([[SHORTCODE]]) or WhatsApp ([[WHATSAPP NUMBER]]). CredCheck is provided by [[LEGAL ENTITY NAME]] ("CredCheck", "we"), [[REGISTERED ADDRESS]], Lagos, Nigeria.
By using CredCheck you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the service. Our consumer privacy policy explains how we handle your information.
1. What CredCheck does
Manufacturers register their products with CredCheck and put unique codes on their packs. When you check a code, we tell you what our records say about it. We can also:
- tell you whether a seller is authorised by the brand
- pass your concern about a product to the brand
- let you know if a product you checked is recalled
- where a brand offers them, give you reward points
2. Verification results are information, not a guarantee
Results are based on the manufacturer's records and our fraud signals at the moment you check. Here is what each one means:
| Result | What it means | What it doesn't mean |
|---|---|---|
| Verified | The code is a real code registered by the manufacturer, and nothing we know of suggests a problem. | It is not a guarantee that the item in your hand is genuine, safe, stored correctly or fit for use. A genuine code can be copied onto a fake pack. Always check the packaging, seller and expiry date. Warnings shown with a result (for example "checked many times before") matter. |
| Suspected counterfeit | Our records or fraud signals suggest the code or product may not be genuine. | It is not a legal finding that a seller has committed an offence. Don't use the product. Report it, and follow the safety guidance shown. |
| Recalled or expired | The manufacturer has recalled the batch, or the batch is past its expiry date. | Follow the guidance shown and the manufacturer's instructions. |
| Unable to verify / not found | We couldn't confirm the code. It may be mistyped, not yet activated, or not registered with CredCheck. | This is not a safety verdict. It does not mean the product is fake. Check the code and try again, or ask the seller or the manufacturer. |
| Service error / "CredCheck is busy" | Something went wrong on our side or on the network, or we're temporarily overloaded. | This is never a verdict about the product. Try again shortly. |
Packaging photo checks (beta) and other AI-assisted features give advice only. They never change your verification result and may be wrong.
If you think a product may be harmful, don't use it. Contact a health professional or the relevant authority, for example [[REGULATOR CONTACT, e.g. NAFDAC in Nigeria]]. CredCheck is not an emergency service.
3. Your responsibilities
- Enter codes accurately and use CredCheck only to check products you have, or are thinking of buying, for yourself or someone you are helping.
- Keep your phone secure. Your app's device ID is what links your rewards to you.
- Charges from your mobile network or internet provider may apply to USSD, SMS, WhatsApp and data use [[COUNSEL/COMMERCIAL: state whether USSD/SMS are zero-rated]].
4. Reporting a concern
When you report a product:
- Tell the truth, and only report products you have genuine concerns about.
- Only upload photos you took or have the right to share. Don't include other people's faces, personal documents or anything unrelated to the product.
- Don't include abusive, threatening, defamatory or discriminatory content, or personal information about other people (including seller staff).
- You give CredCheck and the brand a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use your report, photos and description to investigate, act on the concern, share it with authorities, and improve counterfeit detection. You keep ownership of your content.
We moderate reports. Reports may be hidden from the brand, removed, or passed to authorities. We may block devices or numbers that send false, abusive or automated reports.
5. Rewards
Some brands fund reward points for checking their genuine products. If rewards are offered:
- Earning. You can earn points the first time a genuine code is checked, once per code ever, on the channels where the brand's programme applies. Brands decide whether to run a programme and set the points and budget. A programme can change, pause or end at any time, including when the brand's budget runs out.
- Holding period. New points are pending for a holding period (currently [[24]] hours) before you can use them.
- Fair use. Points are for genuine individual consumers. Using many devices, emulators, scripts, shared networks or collected codes to earn points is not allowed. Our systems check for these patterns automatically and may cancel pending points, pause rewards for a device or number, or reverse points that were earned unfairly. You can ask for a human review by contacting [[SUPPORT CONTACT]] within [[30]] days.
- Redemption. You can swap points for mobile airtime, within limits (currently up to [[3]] redemptions a day, minimum and maximum amounts shown in the app), to a mobile number in a supported country. Check the number carefully. We can't reverse airtime sent to a wrong number you entered. If a top-up fails, the points are returned.
- No cash value. Points have no cash value, can't be transferred or sold, and aren't property you own. Unused points [[EXPIRE AFTER — COMMERCIAL DECISION]] or may be cancelled if the programme ends [[COUNSEL: notice period and treatment of available balances]].
- Taxes and eligibility. Rewards are void where prohibited. [[COUNSEL: age, promotion-law registration and tax treatment per country]]
6. Acceptable use
Don't:
- try to guess, generate, collect or test large numbers of codes, or use CredCheck to find valid codes to copy
- scrape, automate or overload the service, get around rate limits or CAPTCHAs, or access it other than through our apps, website, USSD, SMS, WhatsApp or published APIs
- interfere with security, probe for vulnerabilities (except under our [[VULNERABILITY DISCLOSURE POLICY URL]]) or reverse-engineer the app beyond what the law allows
- make CredCheck results look like they came from somewhere else, or create fake result pages. Genuine result links use [[VERIFY DOMAIN]].
- use CredCheck to harass sellers or anyone else, or break any law
We may limit, suspend or block access (by device, number or network) if we reasonably believe these terms are being broken.
7. Intellectual property
CredCheck, its apps, website, content and marks belong to us or our licensors. Brand names, logos and product information belong to the manufacturers. You may use CredCheck for your personal, non-commercial use. You may share result receipts.
8. Availability and changes
We work hard to keep verification available, but we don't promise it will always be available, error-free or instant. USSD, SMS and WhatsApp depend on mobile networks and third parties we don't control. We may change, suspend or stop features, including beta features.
9. Liability
[[COUNSEL TO DRAFT and check against mandatory consumer law]]. Intended position:
- CredCheck is provided free to consumers, "as is". To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for loss caused by relying on a result where we acted in line with these terms and the manufacturer's records, by a manufacturer's product or records, by sellers, or by network outages.
- Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud, or your statutory rights as a consumer.
- The manufacturer, not CredCheck, is responsible for the safety and quality of its products and for recalls.
10. Ending use
You can stop using CredCheck at any time and delete the app. To delete data we hold, see the privacy policy. We may end or suspend your access as described in section 6.
11. Law and disputes
These terms are governed by the laws of [[the Federal Republic of Nigeria — COUNSEL TO CONFIRM; consider local mandatory law for consumers in KE, GH, ZA]]. Before going to court, please contact us at [[SUPPORT CONTACT]] so we can try to resolve the issue. [[COUNSEL: dispute forum; mediation or arbitration clauses may not bind consumers]]
12. Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. If a change is significant, we will tell you in the app or on the website before it applies. Continuing to use CredCheck afterwards means you accept the updated terms.
Contact
[[LEGAL ENTITY NAME]] · [[SUPPORT CONTACT]] · [[POSTAL ADDRESS]]