Questions to ask before you sign anything

Drivers sign a lot of things. A rental agreement with an owner. A fleet contract. A loan on a phone screen at night. Most of it gets signed in a hurry, because the car is waiting or the rent is due.

The fine print is where the cost lives. So here is a list of questions I would ask before signing anything, sorted by what you are signing. Ask them out loud. Write down the answers. If someone will not answer, that is an answer too.

Before you borrow money

1. If I borrow this amount, what is the total I pay back, in rands?
2. When is it due, and is that one payment or many?
3. How is it collected: from my earnings, or by debit order from my bank?
4. What happens if the money is not there on the day? Are there penalties or extra fees?
5. Can it be rolled over or extended? If yes, what does that cost?
6. Who is the lender, and are they a registered credit provider?
7. Will I get the quotation and agreement to read before I accept?

Write the answers side by side. If you have two offers, compare the total you pay back and the date it ends, not the amount you get today. Say one lender gives you R1 000 and wants R1 300 back in a week, and another wants R1 200 back. The second is cheaper, even if the first one feels easier to get.

Be most careful with anything that can roll over. A short loan that is extended again and again is how a small gap turns into months of repayments. If the answer to question five is yes, ask what the total would be after three extensions, in rands.

Before you take a car

1. What exactly does the weekly amount include? Insurance, services, tyres, tracking, roadside help?
2. Is there a deposit, and do I get it back? Under what conditions?
3. Who pays when the car breaks down, and do I still pay the weekly amount while it is in the workshop?
4. Is there a kilometre limit?
5. Do I own the car at the end? If yes, is there a balloon payment?
6. How do I end the agreement, and what does that cost?

Before you join a fleet or a driver platform

1. What happens to my Uber profile and my rating? Do I keep them if I leave?
2. Where do my earnings land, and when do they reach me?
3. What comes off my earnings each week, item by item?
4. If a fee changes, how much notice will I get?
5. Who do I talk to when something goes wrong, and how do I reach a person?

On the first question, our answer is that your profile and your rating are yours, whichever way you come in to Detour. If you drive a Detour car, your profile moves into our Uber fleet while you are with us, and we tell you that in the application before you commit.

The answers that should worry you

• 'Don't worry about that, it's standard.'
• 'It depends.' With no explanation of what it depends on.
• 'Just sign here, I'll send you a copy later.'
• 'Give me your bank card and PIN, it's easier.' Never do this.
• Any total that changes each time you ask.

Why this matters to us

A product that only works when drivers do not understand it is broken from the start. We would rather lose a sign-up than win one with a driver who did not know what they were agreeing to. That is why every Detour cost is written in rands on the site, and why the legal terms are public for anyone to read.

Hold us to these questions too. If anything we show you is unclear, ask Kairah, our assistant, or speak to a person on WhatsApp before you sign.