These terms are everything you agree to when you book with Dear John, in one place: how we work, what it costs, when we deliver, how cancellations and refunds work, and how we keep your private life private. How we handle your personal information is explained separately in our Privacy Policy.
The basics · Prices and payment · Service levels · Delivery · Cancellations and refunds · Confidentiality · The legal part
1. The basics
1.1 Who we are
Dear John (Pty) Ltd (registration number 2025/829242/07), Heartbreak House, Turley, Lonehill, Sandton (“Dear John”, “we”, “us”). Email: hello@dearjohn.co.za. This is also our address for the service of legal documents. We work online and by email and do not see visitors. These terms apply to every booking made at dearjohn.co.za. By placing an order you confirm that you have read and accept them, together with our Privacy Policy.
1.2 What we do
We write and deliver communications on your behalf to end or change a relationship, and arrange optional gifts and deliveries. We are not a legal, counselling, mediation or therapy service. Nothing we write is legal or professional advice.
1.3 How we work
Dear John is a services company working on a time and materials basis. Every booking is handled by a real person on our team. When you buy, you ask us to start work immediately, and we do: your booking is confirmed, your confidential briefing is opened to you and a member of our team is assigned to it.
1.4 Your responsibilities
You must be 18 or older, be a party to the relationship concerned, give us accurate and complete information, tell us about any safety concerns, and approve the final message before delivery. You may not use our service to harass, threaten, intimidate, deceive or defame anyone, to contact someone in breach of a protection order or court order, or for any unlawful purpose.
1.5 Approval
Nothing is delivered until you approve it in writing. Once an approved message has been delivered, it cannot be withdrawn. You are responsible for the content you approve.
1.6 Our right to decline
We may pause, decline or stop any booking that involves harassment, intimidation, deception, a risk to anyone’s safety or anything unlawful. Service levels are suspended while we review a concern. Refunds in that case are set out in section 5.5.
2. Prices and payment
2.1 Prices
Prices are in South African rand. Dear John is not registered for VAT, so no VAT is charged. The prices on The Breakup Menu are the prices you pay. Orders that include a physical item carry a flat local delivery fee of R150, anywhere in South Africa, shown at checkout before you pay. The Handwritten Card is R150, delivery included. Payments are processed securely by our payment provider. We do not see or store your card details.
2.2 Gift vouchers
Dear John gift vouchers are valid for three years from the date of purchase and may be used once, towards any service on The Menu. They are not exchangeable for cash, and any unused balance on a single order is forfeited. A voucher must be redeemed by the person whose relationship it concerns; we never end a relationship on someone else’s behalf, and buying a voucher does not entitle the buyer to instruct us about someone else’s relationship. Gift vouchers are non-refundable, subject only to your statutory rights. Please keep your code safe: we can only reissue a lost voucher to the original buyer, on proof of purchase.
3. Service levels
3.1 Business hours
Our business days are Monday to Friday, excluding South African public holidays. Our business hours are 08:30 to 17:00 South African Standard Time. Every time in these terms is measured in business days or business hours unless it says otherwise.
3.2 Our commitments
| Stage | Our commitment |
|---|---|
| Order confirmation and briefing link | Immediately after payment, on screen and by email |
| Acknowledging your briefing | Within 1 business day of receiving it |
| Your first draft | Within 2 business days of receiving a complete briefing |
| Revisions | Up to 2 rounds included, each returned within 1 business day |
| Delivery of letters and calls | Within 5 business days of your written approval of the final draft |
| Same-Day Service | Delivered the same business day for drafts approved by 12:00, subject to availability |
| Physical items | Delivery date confirmed with you in writing before dispatch, depending on supplier availability and location |
| Replies to your emails | Within 1 business day |
| Complaints | Acknowledged within 2 business days and resolved, where possible, within 14 business days |
3.3 What we need from you
- Submit your confidential briefing within 14 days of purchase, with accurate and complete information, including the recipient’s correct contact details.
- Review each draft and reply with your approval or changes within 7 days of receiving it.
- Approve the final wording in writing. Nothing is delivered without it.
- Tell us straight away if anything changes, including any safety concern or legal matter involving the recipient.
Our service levels run from the moment we have what we need from you. If you are late, our timelines move by the same amount.
3.4 Bookings that go quiet
If we have not received your briefing within 30 days of purchase, or your reply to a draft within 30 days of sending it, we will remind you twice by email. If we still hear nothing, your booking is closed and treated as a cancellation under section 5, including its 50% cancellation fee.
3.5 If we miss a service level
If we miss a commitment in section 3.2 for a reason within our control, we will tell you as soon as we know, explain why and give you a new date. If delivery of your approved message is more than 5 business days late for a reason within our control, you may cancel the undelivered part of your booking and receive a full refund for it.
3.6 What is outside our control
Our service levels do not apply to delays caused by you, by the recipient (for example, being unreachable or refusing a delivery), by suppliers or couriers, by incorrect details, or by events beyond our reasonable control, including load-shedding, network or platform outages, public holidays, severe weather, civil unrest and the actions of any authority. If a delay of this kind happens, we will keep you informed and deliver as soon as we reasonably can.
4. Delivery
4.1 What we deliver
We deliver two kinds of things: messages (letters and telephone calls) and physical items (flowers, chocolates, champagne, tequila, cards, gifts and returned belongings).
4.2 Messages
- Letters are delivered digitally, by email or messaging app, unless you add a Handwritten Card.
- Calls are made by a Dear John team member.
- We introduce ourselves honestly, and we stop contacting the recipient if they ask us to.
4.3 Delivery areas and fees
- Physical items are sourced from trusted partners in the recipient’s own city and delivered locally, anywhere in South Africa. Letters and calls can reach anyone, anywhere.
- Orders that include a physical item carry a flat local delivery fee of R150, shown at checkout before you pay.
- We do not currently send physical items outside South Africa.
- Flowers and chocolates are perishable and are supplied by our local partners. Their appearance may vary slightly from any example shown.
4.4 Failed and refused deliveries
If the recipient is unavailable, our delivery partner makes one further attempt. If that also fails, perishable items cannot be kept and the delivery is treated as completed; non-perishable items are returned to you, and you pay only the courier cost of the return trip, which we quote in advance. A recipient is free to refuse a delivery; a refused delivery is treated as completed.
4.5 Alcohol
Champagne and tequila are sold and delivered by a licensed liquor retailer, only where permitted by law, and only to recipients who are 18 or older. Proof of age may be requested on delivery. Alcohol is never left unattended or handed to anyone under 18. If the recipient cannot show proof of age, the alcohol is not handed over and is treated as a failed delivery.
4.6 Return to Sender
We arrange collection of belongings from you and delivery to the recipient in the same city, with a personalised letter, for the same flat local delivery fee. If you and the recipient live in different cities, we will agree the arrangements with you before collection. We never enter anyone’s home or collect items from the recipient. We do not transport cash, jewellery, firearms or weapons, illegal items, animals, medication, or items worth more than R5,000 in total. Please pack items securely; we are not responsible for damage caused by inadequate packing. If the recipient refuses the parcel, it is returned to you at the courier cost of the return trip.
5. Cancellations and refunds
Nothing in this section limits any right you have under the Consumer Protection Act 68 of 2008 or the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002.
5.1 We start work when you book
When you place your order, you ask us to start work on your booking straight away, and you confirm this at checkout. Because the service begins with your consent, the 7-day cooling-off period in section 44 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act does not apply to it (section 42(2)(d)). It also does not apply to perishable or personalised items, such as flowers, chocolates and a cake with your message on it, once ordered from our supplier.
5.2 Why our refund policy is strict
Every booking is handled by a real person on our team, who reads your briefing, shapes your words, revises them with you and stands behind every line that goes out in your name. There is no template and no autopilot. From the moment your booking is confirmed we commit our time, our people and any materials to it, and none of that can be resold or recovered. Our time is money, so we have a strict refund policy.
5.3 Breakup services
You can cancel at any time after purchase. Because we work on time and materials, a cancellation fee of 50% applies from the moment you book.
| When you cancel | Cancellation fee | Refund |
|---|---|---|
| After purchase, before you approve your draft | 50% | 50% |
| After you approve your draft | 100% | No refund and no returns |
Once you have approved your draft, your booking is final, whether or not the message has been delivered yet, and no refunds or returns are given on the service or on anything ordered with it. The cancellation fee reflects the time and materials committed to your booking and is a reasonable cancellation charge under section 17 of the Consumer Protection Act.
5.4 Physical items and extras
- Before we order from our supplier and before you approve your draft: 50% cancellation fee, as in section 5.3.
- After you approve your draft, or once we have ordered or dispatched: no refund and no returns, as flowers, chocolates, cakes and alcohol cannot be resold.
- Faulty, damaged or incorrect items: please tell us as soon as possible, ideally within 24 hours as many items are perishable, with a photo. We will repair, replace or refund the item as the Consumer Protection Act requires.
5.5 When we cancel
If we decline a booking before starting work, you receive a full refund. If we stop part-way because information was withheld from us, we refund the amount for any part of the service not yet performed.
5.6 The recipient’s reaction
We cannot control how someone responds. A refund is not available because the recipient was upset, did not reply or wants to reconcile.
5.7 How to cancel or request a refund
Email secondthoughts@dearjohn.co.za with your order number. Approved refunds are paid to your original payment method within 10 business days.
6. Confidentiality
This section is our confidentiality and non-disclosure agreement with you. You accept it when you place an order and again before you submit your briefing.
6.1 Our promise
We keep confidential everything you share with us about yourself, your relationship and the recipient (“Confidential Information”).
6.2 Permitted disclosures
We disclose Confidential Information only: (a) as the communication you approve, to the intended recipient; (b) to delivery partners, limited to what they need to deliver (for example a name and address); (c) where the law requires it, including where we reasonably believe there is a serious risk of harm to anyone.
6.3 Our people and partners
Everyone at Dear John who works on your order, and every delivery partner, is bound by confidentiality obligations at least as strict as these. Courier waybills carry a generic description, so nothing on the parcel reveals what it is.
6.4 No publicity
We never publish your story, screenshots or details, or use them in marketing, without your separate written permission.
6.5 Special personal information
You consent to us processing any special personal information you choose to share (for example about sex life or health), only for the purpose of preparing and delivering your communication.
6.6 Handling and deletion
We store your information securely and delete briefings and drafts 90 days after delivery, unless you ask us to keep them longer.
6.7 Your confidentiality
We ask you to keep our drafts and working materials private until delivery. We do not ask you to keep the recipient’s reply confidential, and nothing here restricts you from speaking to a lawyer, doctor, counsellor or the authorities.
6.8 Duration
Our confidentiality obligations continue after your order is complete.
7. The legal part
7.1 Your rights and online transaction information
Before you place an order you can review it, correct any errors and withdraw. Your cancellation rights are set out in section 5.
7.2 Intellectual property
We license the message we write to you for its intended purpose. Our website, branding and content remain ours.
7.3 Important: limits on our liability
We cannot control how a recipient reacts. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for a recipient’s response, for emotional distress, or for indirect or consequential loss, and our total liability for any order is limited to the amount you paid for it. This does not exclude or limit our liability for gross negligence or anything else the law does not allow us to exclude, and nothing in these terms limits your rights under the Consumer Protection Act.
7.4 Indemnity
If you give us false information or ask us to deliver content that is unlawful, you are responsible for the consequences of that content.
7.5 Complaints and disputes
Please raise any complaint with us first at ohshit@dearjohn.co.za. We acknowledge complaints within 2 business days and aim to resolve them within 14. If we cannot resolve a complaint, you may refer it to the Consumer Goods and Services Ombud (cgso.org.za) or the National Consumer Commission (thencc.org.za). South African law applies, and courts in Gauteng have jurisdiction.
7.6 Acceptance record and changes
We record the version of these terms you accepted and the date and time of acceptance. We may update these terms; the version published when you place your order applies to that order.
7.7 Who to write to
New bookings: letsbreakup@dearjohn.co.za. Existing orders: itsdone@dearjohn.co.za. Gift deliveries: specialdelivery@dearjohn.co.za. Cancellations and refunds: secondthoughts@dearjohn.co.za. Confidentiality and privacy: hushhush@dearjohn.co.za. Complaints: ohshit@dearjohn.co.za.
