Terms of Service

Welcome to Garisea. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Garisea platform — including the public website at garisea.com, the Garisea mobile apps for iOS and Android, and any related services (collectively, the “Platform”). By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms. If you don't agree, please don't use Garisea.

Garisea is operated by Francton LLC. The Platform is a vehicle classifieds marketplace that connects buyers with verified car dealers in Kenya. Garisea is NOT a party to any vehicle sale, financing arrangement, or insurance contract — those are transactions between you and the relevant dealer, financing partner, or insurance partner.

Dealers using the dealer dashboard at dealer.garisea.com are additionally bound by the Dealer Terms published at that URL. Where the Dealer Terms differ from these Terms, the Dealer Terms apply to dealer-only conduct.

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or transact on Garisea.
• You must be legally capable of entering into binding agreements under Kenyan law.
• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating an account.
• You may not use Garisea if you have previously been banned or suspended from the Platform.
• You may not use Garisea on behalf of someone else (e.g. through a shared family account) without that person's informed permission.

To inquire about a vehicle, save favourites, leave a review, request a test drive or trade-in valuation, or use AI-assisted features, you need a Garisea customer account. You can browse listings and read reviews without signing up.

You can create an account using:

• Email address + password
• Sign in with Apple (iOS)
• Sign in with Google

You're responsible for keeping your password confidential and for everything that happens under your account. Notify us immediately if you suspect unauthorized access. We'll temporarily lock your account after 5 failed login attempts in 30 minutes and email you about it.

You can close your account anytime: Profile → Delete Account in the app or on web. Personal data is removed within 30 days, with some legally-required exceptions (KRA-mandated transaction records, 7-year audit logs) — see our Privacy Policy for the full retention schedule.

Garisea is a marketplace facilitator. We list vehicles posted by verified dealers, connect buyers with dealers, and provide tools (messaging, test-drive scheduling, trade-in valuation requests, financing/insurance quote requests).

What Garisea is NOT:

• Not a vehicle seller— we don't own or stock vehicles. The seller is the dealer listing the vehicle.
• Not a party to the transaction — when you buy a vehicle, the sale contract is between you and the dealer. Payment, delivery, registration, and warranty are arranged between you and the dealer directly.
• Not a financing institution— financing is offered by licensed third-party partners. Garisea is not a credit issuer and doesn't make lending decisions.
• Not an insurance provider — motor insurance is offered by licensed third-party partners. Garisea is not an insurance broker.
• Not a payment processor — payments to dealers (subscriptions, packs, advertising credit) are processed by iPay, a licensed Kenyan PSP. Buyer-to-dealer payments for the vehicle itself are arranged off-platform between buyer and dealer.

Because we're a facilitator and not the seller, we don't guarantee the accuracy of listings, the quality or condition of vehicles, the truthfulness of dealer claims, or the outcome of any transaction. Verify everything independently before transacting — inspect the vehicle in person, do a test drive, request the logbook, run a KRA-stamped TIMS check.

Dealers are solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and legality of their vehicle listings, including:

• Make, model, year, mileage, fuel type, transmission, body type, condition
• Price, currency, financing terms (if quoted)
• Photos and video walkthroughs
• Vehicle history disclosures (accidents, service, modifications)
• Title status (logbook, NTSA registration, customs clearance for imports)
• Availability (whether the vehicle is sold, reserved, or still active)

Garisea reviews dealer applications before granting listing privileges (verification badges signal this), but we do not verify every individual listing. If you suspect a listing is fraudulent, misleading, or violates our Acceptable Use Policy, tap the Report flag on the listing page and our trust & safety team will review within 24 hours.

When you decide to buy a vehicle through a dealer you found on Garisea, the transaction is between you and the dealer. Garisea facilitates discovery and initial contact but is not a party to the sale. You and the dealer agree your own terms — price, payment method, delivery, registration transfer, warranties.

We strongly recommend:

• Inspect the vehicle in person before paying.
• Test drive the vehicle.
• Verify the logbook is in the dealer's name and matches the vehicle's chassis number.
• Run a TIMS check at NTSA to confirm there's no outstanding chattels mortgage or theft report.
• Get every commitment (price, included accessories, warranty terms) in writing before paying.
• Use traceable payment methods (M-Pesa with full reference, cheque, EFT) — avoid large cash payments without a receipt.

Garisea provides in-app messaging so you have a record of pre-sale communication. Once a sale is agreed, you're free to communicate off-platform. Garisea has no visibility into off-platform interactions and is not responsible for outcomes there.

Garisea partners with licensed financing institutions and motor-insurance providers in Kenya. When you submit a quote request through Garisea, we share your contact details and request information with the relevant partner so they can contact you with options.

Financing quotes are not pre-approvals or commitments. Final approval, interest rate, and terms are at the partner's sole discretion based on their underwriting criteria. Garisea isn't a party to the loan agreement.

Insurance quotes are subject to the partner's underwriting and risk assessment. The insurance contract, if you accept a quote, is between you and the insurer.

Partners may have their own privacy policies — review them before accepting any quote. Garisea is not responsible for partner conduct beyond the initial referral.

You can leave reviews on dealers and vehicles after interacting with them. Reviews must be:

• Honest — reflect your actual experience.
• Based on first-hand experience— don't review dealers you haven't actually interacted with.
• Free of personal attacks, hate speech, or threats — critique the experience, not the person.
• Free of confidential information— don't post phone numbers, ID numbers, or other personal data of dealer staff.

By posting a review, message, photo, or any other content (collectively, “User Content”), you grant Garisea a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable licence to host, display, reproduce, and modify it for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform. This licence ends when you delete the content or your account (except where the content has been re-shared beyond our control or is required to be retained by law).

You represent that User Content you post is your own, you have the right to share it, and posting it doesn't violate anyone else's rights (copyright, privacy, defamation).

We may moderate, hide, or remove User Content that violates these Terms, our Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable law. Take-down requests for IP infringement are handled per our DMCA / IP Takedown procedure.

You agree not to:

• Post false, misleading, fraudulent, or stolen content.
• Use Garisea to harass, threaten, defame, or impersonate any person.
• Scrape, crawl, or automatically harvest data from the Platform without our written permission.
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract source code from the Platform.
• Bypass authentication, rate limits, or other security measures.
• Interfere with the Platform's normal operation (e.g. denial-of-service, mass-account creation, fake leads).
• Use the Platform for any illegal purpose, including selling stolen vehicles, vehicles imported in violation of Kenyan law, or vehicles with tampered chassis numbers / odometers.
• Use Garisea to launder money, finance terrorism, or facilitate corruption.
• Solicit Garisea users to take their transaction off-platform specifically to avoid platform fees if you're a dealer (dealer-specific rule — see Dealer Terms).

The full conduct rules are in our Acceptable Use Policy.

Every listing, dealer profile, message, and review on Garisea carries a Report flag. Tap it, pick a reason, and our moderation team reviews within 24 hours. Take-down on confirmed violations is same-day during business hours.

You can also Block any dealer (customer side) or any customer (dealer side) from your dealer profile, inquiry thread, or lead detail screen. Blocking stops the other party from messaging you and removes their messages from your inbox. They can still see your public listings (blocking is for direct interaction, not visibility). Unblock anytime from Profile → Blocked Users.

The Garisea name, logo, designs, software, and all original content published by Garisea (excluding User Content posted by users) are owned by Francton LLC and protected by Kenyan and international copyright, trademark, and trade-secret laws.

You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works of any part of the Platform without our explicit written permission. You may share links to public pages on social media or via direct messaging — that's encouraged.

If you believe content on Garisea infringes your intellectual property, see our DMCA / IP Takedown Notice procedure for how to file a takedown notice.

Garisea is provided “as is” and “as available.”We don't warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses. We don't warrant the accuracy, completeness, or legality of dealer listings, financing offers, insurance quotes, or user reviews. Use of the Platform is at your own risk. To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, we disclaim all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

To the maximum extent permitted by Kenyan law, Garisea, Francton LLC, and its directors, employees, contractors, and affiliates will not be liable for:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill.
• Loss arising from your transaction with any dealer, financing partner, or insurance partner introduced through Garisea.
• Loss arising from your reliance on any vehicle listing, dealer description, review, or other User Content.
• Unauthorised access to your account caused by your failure to keep your credentials confidential.
• Service interruptions due to maintenance, sub-processor outages (Neon, Upstash, Vercel, Railway, etc.), or force majeure.

Our total aggregate liability for any direct damages, whatever the cause, is limited to the greater of (a) any amount you paid to Garisea in the 12 months immediately before the event giving rise to the claim (for buyers, this is typically zero since buyers don't pay Garisea directly), or (b) Ksh 5,000. This limit does not apply to liability that can't legally be limited under Kenyan law (e.g. death or personal injury caused by our negligence).

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Francton LLC and its directors, employees, and affiliates from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your breach of these Terms, your User Content, your use of the Platform, or your transaction with any dealer or partner introduced through Garisea.

You can close your account at any time from Profile → Delete Account.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform if you breach these Terms, our Acceptable Use Policy, or applicable law; if you engage in fraudulent or abusive behavior; or if your account is dormant for more than 24 months. Where possible we'll notify you and give you a chance to appeal, but we reserve the right to act immediately when the Platform or its users are at risk.

Sections of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (Intellectual Property, Disclaimers, Limitation of Liability, Indemnification, Governing Law, Dispute Resolution) will survive.

We may update these Terms from time to time to reflect changes to our service, sub-processors, applicable law, or business model. Material changes will be communicated by email at least 14 days before they take effect, with an in-app notice. The “Last updated” date at the top of this page will reflect the most recent revision. Continuing to use Garisea after a Terms update means you accept the updated Terms.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of Kenya. Any dispute arising from or relating to your use of Garisea will first be addressed through good-faith negotiation between you and Francton LLC. Email [email protected] with a clear description of the issue and what you'd like to see happen.

If informal resolution fails, the dispute will be submitted to mediation in Nairobi, Kenya. If mediation also fails, the dispute will be referred to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Kenya, with the High Court in Nairobi as the primary venue.

Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive relief from any competent court.

• Entire agreement. These Terms (together with the Privacy Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, Cookie Policy, and DMCA notice referenced) constitute the entire agreement between you and Garisea about the Platform, and supersede any prior agreements.
• Severability. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full effect.
• No waiver.Our failure to enforce a right or provision in any one instance doesn't waive our right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not transfer your account or obligations under these Terms without our written consent. We may assign these Terms to a successor in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.
• Notices. We send notices to the email address on your account. You give notice to us at [email protected].
• Force majeure. Neither party is liable for failure to perform under these Terms due to events beyond reasonable control (e.g. natural disaster, war, government action, internet backbone failure, sub-processor outage).

• Legal: [email protected]
• Support: [email protected]
• Trust & safety: [email protected]
• Operated by: Francton LLC, Nairobi, Kenya