Membership T&C's

1. These Terms set out how You become a Member; what terms and conditions apply to Your Membership and what Membership Services We will provide to You.

2. On the sales call You request which postcodes and trade categories You would like to receive Membership Services in and which Membership Tier You would like. If You wish to sign up to a PPL Membership, we will advise you of the unit rates applicable per Lead on the sales call. We confirm and accept your requests in a Confirmation Email at which point the contract is formed between Us and You.

3. By applying for Membership and/or by continuing to enjoy the benefits, rights and privileges of the Membership You agree to be bound by Our Agreement. Our acceptance of Your application for Membership, continuation of Your Membership and inclusion of Your Member Details on Our Platform depends on You complying with Our Agreement.

4. We may sometimes need to update these Terms by posting a new version on the dedicated Members Area and/or in the Trade App. Once such new version is posted, the updated Terms shall take effect and replace these Terms. We recommend that You access the Members’ Area regularly for any such updates or other important Membership notifications. Please contact Us if You have any questions about these updated Terms. If these Terms materially adversely affect You, please see Your rights under the termination clause below.

5. We reserve the right from time to time to market promotional discounts and offers to potential Members. Such promotional discounts and offers will not affect the Agreement unless we notify You in writing.

6. Any changes to Your account or Membership that are agreed between Us, will be incorporated into the contract between Us and You via a Confirmation Email or if you have a PPL Membership you may be able to update Your account through functionality in the Member’s Area and/or Trade App.

7. We both agree to abide by the Agreement. If Your application is accepted as a Member and in consideration for payment of the Membership Fee, We will provide You with the Membership Services.

8. Where there is any inconsistency between these Terms and any other purported contract documents, the Confirmation Email, the Policies or any other linked policies or terms and conditions, these Terms shall take precedence.

9. Your contract with Us shall begin on the Commencement Date and shall continue for 12 months unless otherwise set out in a Confirmation Email or terminated in accordance with these Terms. Any promotional offer or free period given to You is not a trial period. Should You have doubts about signing up for Membership, We allow You two Business Days from the Commencement Date to cancel the contract without having to pay anything further. Should You not cancel within these two Business Days, You agree to be bound by this contract and its obligations.

10. Your Membership will automatically be renewed for 12 months on the expiry date of the current term (each a ‘Renewal Date’). We’ll contact You prior to Your Renewal Date with Your renewal terms and conditions and details of the Membership Fee payable by You. If You don’t want Your Membership to automatically renew, You’ll need to tell Us that by calling us no earlier than 35 days before Your Renewal Date.

11. If Your Membership includes a Directory, We may automatically include You in the next edition of the same Directory. We will send You an email to notify of the details of the next edition and the corresponding Membership Fee. If You don’t want to be included in the next edition of the Directory, You’ll need to tell Us that by calling Us as soon as possible, but no later than the cancellation deadline of that Directory as notified by Us to You (the “Cancellation Deadline”). We reserve the right to charge for the Directory if You don’t call Us to cancel prior to the Cancellation Deadline. Inclusion in a Directory is conditional upon You having at least an active Approved Membership at the date that the Directory goes to print (the “Print Deadline”). If You do not have Approved Membership two (2) months before the Print Deadline, or We reasonably believe that You will not have Approved Membership at the Print Deadline, We may remove You from the Directory but still charge You for the corresponding Membership Fee.

12. To ensure the quality of Our Members We have an established application process, and Your entitlement to become a Member is subject to You having been vetted and accepted by Us.

13. You acknowledge that accepting You as a Member is entirely at Our discretion and We may decide for any reason to reject Your application or refuse to renew Your Membership. Should We decline Your Membership during vetting, We are under no obligation to disclose the reason for declining.

14. Except for cancelling your Membership which can only be done by the Business Owner, You may nominate personnel to manage Your Membership on Your behalf. This nomination must be carried out by the Business Owner in writing and any changes to such personnel must be notified to us by the Business Owner.

15. To enable Us to build Your Profile, carry out the vetting process and for You to get the full benefit of Your Membership, You will be required to provide certain information relating to You and/or Your business as well as its owners, officers, directors, partners, employees, agents, suppliers or contractors. You will also be asked to upload Business Content and photos. You must make sure You have the necessary consent and rights to share this information (including any individual’s personal data) with Us.

16. You promise that all information You provide is complete and accurate. You must report to Us without delay any changes to Your circumstances or other developments that could affect Your ability to comply with the Agreement or Your Membership or that may affect the accuracy or relevance of information about You on Our Platform. Failure to comply with this paragraph will entitle Us to immediately terminate Your Membership on written notice without liability to You.

17. To fulfil Our vetting, monitoring and membership requirements, You agree that We may: a) share Your information with third parties including credit reference agencies or checked against third party databases for checking credit worthiness or for fraud prevention purposes; b) share Your information with third parties who provide membership services or benefits including, as applicable, Our authorised provider of electronic payment services; c) share information with certain local authority Trading Standard bodies and other regulatory bodies including HMRC, and d) to the extent We are legally permitted to do so, carry out criminal background checks if necessary. Further information on the sharing of personal data can be found in our Privacy Notice.

18. You promise to co-operate with Us at all times in relation to any checks that We conduct and in particular respond promptly and appropriately to any of Our related queries. Should You not, We reserve Our rights in relation to Suspension, Probation and Termination and in relation to refusing Your Membership application or withdrawing any offer of Membership.

19. Following acceptance of Your application by Us and payment of Your Membership Fee, You will be entered on to Our Platform.

20. The Membership Services We provide to You are set out in the Confirmation Email and will vary depending on what is agreed with you, including whether you select Approved, PPL or a Searchable Membership Tier and/or inclusion in a Directory. The different Membership Services are as stated in Schedule 1 of these Terms. In Our sole discretion, We may provide You with an account manager for a period of time to help You manage Your Membership Services.

21. With an Approved Membership, You will only be visible on Our Website when the Homeowner searches You by name. We will not provide You with Leads but will provide You with vetting, an online profile and marketing assets. Approved Membership is designed to allow You to manage Your reputation by being endorsed by Us and allows You to maintain a Profile, showcase Your business and have the flexibility to sign up to our lead generating Searchable Membership Tiers or PPL Membership when You wish to grow Your business or fill gaps in Your diary.

22. With a Searchable Membership Tier, PPL Membership or a Directory, We will provide You with Leads. We will provide you with an estimate of the amount of Leads You can expect. This is only an estimate. The amount of Leads You get is dependent on how many reviews You get, how up to date and appealing You make Your Profile and is affected by seasonality, Homeowner demand and other market and environmental forces. You must not pass any Leads to any third party, except a subcontractor. If a subcontractor is required, You will agree this directly with the Customer in advance.

23. Not all Searchable Membership Tiers or Directories are available in all areas, but We will discuss this with You and will work with You to help You get what You need out of Your Membership.

24. You will receive an online profile page where Homeowners can read Your reviews, view Your Profile and photos and contact You. If You have a webpage or website that is solely dedicated to advertising Your business (Your “Webpage”), we may provide You with the ability to link this Webpage to Your Profile (we call this the “Weblink”). Use of the Weblink is subject to the following terms:

a) Your Webpage must: i) be solely dedicated to advertising You or Your business; ii) not be a shared website or platform for advertising multiple businesses or a social media page or profile; iii) not contain any content or material which is or may reasonably be considered to be threatening, defamatory, obscene, indecent, offensive, pornographic, abusive, liable to incite racial hatred, instigate acts of terrorism, discriminatory, menacing, scandalous, inflammatory, blasphemous, or in breach of confidence; iv) not infringe the copyright or any intellectual property rights of any person (and, where such content relates to an image, You must ensure that all necessary consents and authorisations have been obtained); v) not be, or may reasonably be considered to be, illegal or infringe the rights of any third party, in any country in the world or promote illegal activity; vi) not contain anything that brings, or is likely to bring, Our name, business, or brand into disrepute (in our reasonable opinion); or g) not give the impression that the content emanates from Us.

b) You must provide and maintain the Webpage. The Webpage is Your sole responsibility and We shall not be liable for any claims or losses arising from the Webpage. You shall indemnify Us in full and keep Us indemnified for any for any liabilities, losses, claims, demands, damages and any other costs and expenses (including reasonable legal costs) We might incur arising out of or in connection with the Webpage or any of its content.

c) You must not include a link to the Webpage or any other website or webpage link or reference anywhere within Your Profile other than as provided by the Weblink. We reserve the right to remove any links or references to websites or webpages (including the Webpage) from anywhere else within Your Profile.

d) We may charge you a fee for the Weblink which will be as set out in a Confirmation Email.

e) Without prejudice to any other rights or remedies We may have, We may temporarily suspend the Weblink immediately on notice to You if the fee for the Weblink is overdue or if You fail to comply with any of the terms in this clause 24. You will remain liable for paying the fee for the Weblink during such suspension.

f) We may remove the Weblink for any reason at any time by giving You no less than 30 days notice.

25. You may choose to be included in a Directory and We will discuss and agree with You which Directory You would like to be included in, the type of box You would like in that Directory and the associated Membership Fee. We will confirm what We have agreed with You by sending You a Confirmation Email. We will give You the opportunity to review the content of Your Directory box before publication and You can provide us with feedback on that content, however We will retain the full right to decide on the content that is published.

26. As part of Membership all Members will receive unique Secure Contact details which Checkatrade will monitor to assess the number and quality of calls You receive. You agree that these Secure Contacts will be the only contact details appearing on Your Profile and no further details will be added by You. We may provide You with a separate Secure Contact for any Directory box(es) You are included in and We reserve the right to suspend or redirect that Secure Contact at any time following the expiry of the applicable Directory (or Directories).

27. If you are a PPL Member, where there is availability of space within a Directory, We reserve the right to at Our discretion, to automatically include You in the Directory and You hereby consent to such inclusion. Any leads coming from inclusion in the Directory shall be charged to You as per the terms of this Agreement. Should You want to book a confirmed place within the Directory, this will be on the basis of paid inclusion on the rates and any other terms agreed with Us and confirmed in the Confirmation Email.

28. We (and Your Customers) require and expect a high level of quality from Our Members and as such it is a condition of Your Agreement with Us that You at all times meet and uphold the Checkatrade Standard.

29. To enable Your Customers to have full confidence in the services You offer and to ensure We can stand behind the integrity of Our Members listed in Our Directory and on Our Website You must maintain up to date certificates of PLI Insurance and provide Us with a copy of Your current PLI Insurance immediately upon request and annually upon renewal of these insurances. Failure by You to do so will result in Us indicating to Homeowners that you do not hold current PLI Insurance, Your Work will not be covered under the Checkatrade Guarantee and on enquiry, Homeowners will be told that You don’t carry PLI Insurance. We reserve the right to put Your Membership into Suspension or termination should you be in breach of this Clause.

30. In order for You to receive Your full benefit of the Services, You must:

a) provide a detailed Search and Profile Page Description that accurately reflects Your business; and

b) provide regular reviews from Your Customers for publication on Checkatrade.com.

31. You acknowledge and agree that if you use our Payment Processing Services, the Product Terms for Payment Services at here shall apply and shall be deemed to be Terms. The "Payment Processing Services are those services we make available through a payments service provider on an "As Is" and "As Available" basis to tradespeople to enable them to receive payment from their customers through an approved electronic payment service provider for services provided in connection with their use of the Checkatrade platform.

32. We are in a unique position in that We are outward facing to Your Customers but that You carry out the Work for the Customers. We are not liable for the Work You carry out or responsible for the way in which You conduct yourself. As a result You shall reimburse Us for any demands, damages, and corresponding costs and expenses We might incur (including professional legal fees) and hold Us harmless from any liability or claims made arising out of or in connection with the following:

a) any claims under an agreement or arrangement made between You and Your Customer or other User of Our Platform;

b) any false, inaccurate, out of date or misleading Member Details or other information provided by You to Us;

c) any third-party claims or actions against Us arising out of You acting or omitting to do something in breach of this Agreement or applicable law;

d) where We are joined into any legal action or proceedings brought by Your Customer, regulatory body or other third party against You in relation to Your alleged acts or omissions; or

e) any payment We make to Your Customer under the Guarantee.

33. To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, We shall not be liable for any of the following types of losses:

a) loss of profits;

b) loss of sales or business or anticipated sales or business;

c) loss of agreements or contracts;

d) loss of anticipated savings;

e) loss of use or corruption of software, data or information;

f) loss of or damage to goodwill or reputation;

g) indirect or consequential loss even if We were advised of or could reasonably foresee the possibility of such losses; and

h) any other event or circumstance beyond Our reasonable control, including but not limited to any delay, error or omission committed by royal mail or any other reputable delivery company who We engage to deliver Directories on Our behalf.

34. Except as expressly set out in these terms, We disclaim all representations, warranties, conditions or terms relating to availability, quality or fitness for particular purpose or results achieved from Your being a Member or using Membership Services.

35. Notwithstanding the above provisions of Our liability won’t be limited or excluded in the case of fraud or for death or personal injury caused by Our negligence.

36. You are responsible to ensure anyone who works on Your behalf including Your employees and contractors conduct themselves and perform all Works in accordance with the standards and obligations required under the Agreement. Any breach of the Agreement by someone who works for you is considered a breach by You.

37. As a Member, You warrant to Us that at all times:

a) You have legal authority and capacity to provide to enter into the Agreement.

b) You have the ability and resource to provide and are suitably fit and qualified to supply the Works You are listed for on Our Membership Database and are not aware of any legal ruling, prohibition or order that could impact on Your ability to do so.

c) You will provide Your Work lawfully at all times and not infringe any regulations, codes of conduct, regulatory guidance, any regulatory decisions or court orders.

d) You won’t act in any way which in Our reasonable opinion is likely to have an adverse impact on Our Platform, Our brand, Your Customers or the public in general.

e) You will agree a clear scope of Works with Your Customers beforehand and where possible you will perform Work to Your Customers under and in accordance with a written contract. including the agreed scope of Works.

f) You will perform Work in accordance with ‘good industry practice’ meaning such professional standards of skill, care, timeliness and diligence that a competent tradesman with Your professed expertise would be expected to conform to.

g) You will not discriminate against any Customers on the grounds of age, disability, gender reassignment, pregnancy or maternity, marriage or civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex or sexual orientation, nor any other ground, from time to time prohibited by law, under the Equality Act 2010.

h) If, You receive a Lead, You will not pass the Lead on to another third party, except if You enter into a contractual relationship with a subcontractor to undertake some of the work and/or services on Your behalf.

i) If, at any time, We decide it is necessary to initiate an investigation into Your conduct or background in order to maintain the integrity of Our Platform, You agree to obtain (without delay) up to date criminal background checks or such relevant information as We may reasonably request to assist such investigation.

j) Should you choose to display one of Our van vinyls on Your van, You understand that You are a brand ambassador for Us. You promise that You (or whoever drives Your van) shall:

i) at all times drive and park the van carrying the van vinyl safely and considerately to other road users and pedestrians; and

ii) not carry out fly-tipping or any other criminal acts.

38. You accept and acknowledge that:

a) We will work with you to help You grow Your business, but any increased business and leads You might expect will be at all times subject to consumer demand and other market forces, the performance of Your business and the level of Reviews You collect and how up to date You make Your profile. We do not provide any warranties or guarantees as to the quality or amount of leads that You will receive under or in connection with the Membership Services or the Agreement.

b) The oversight of Your business; safeguarding of its reputation; Your professional conduct; Your provision of Works; and management of Your customer relationships remains solely Your own responsibility.

c) Use of Our Website is subject to Our Terms of Use. We can't guarantee that Our Website, Trade App or Membership Services will be available on a continuous basis and there may be interruptions due to maintenance or other events beyond Our control.

d) On occasion, We may add to, remove or update Our Platform, (including its design, contents or presentation) as We deem appropriate, without any liability to You as to when or how We do this.

39. As a condition of Your Membership being activated and its continuation, You will pay the Membership Fee. This will be payable in such instalments and at such intervals (which may also include payment in advance as part of the Membership Fee) as agreed initially at the point of sale and as agreed in writing from time to time. If You are a PPL Member we may require a deposit from You at the time of signing up of an amount up to twice your total PPL Lead Budget(s) as advised to Us at the time of signing up. If You increase your PPL Lead Budget(s), we may increase your deposit amount. If You fail to pay an invoice from Us within 7 Business Days of notice that the invoice is overdue, without prejudice to any other of Our rights or remedies, We may pay the invoice using Your deposit and require You to increase Your deposit to match Your then current PPL Lead Budget. Any failure to increase the deposit as required could lead to the Suspension of Your Membership (and any rights, privileges or benefits derived from such Membership may be withheld) until such payment is received in full. We also reserve the right to terminate Your Membership for non-payment. Any deposit We hold from You will be returned to You on termination or expiry of your Membership.

40. We will advise You of Your Membership Fee at the point of sale and will confirm in a Confirmation Email following. If You are a PPL Member on Variable Pricing, We will discuss Your PPL Lead Fees with you at the point of sale and thereafter You will be able to access the current PPL Lead Fees in the Members Area. If You are a PPL Member You may request changes to the trade categories applicable to Your Membership by providing Us with at least 14 Business Days notice prior to the start of the next billing month. We will confirm the change and the effective date of such change in a Confirmation Email.

41. Unless agreed otherwise, payment of Membership Fee for each Directory will be taken in two monthly instalments. The first instalment will be invoiced to You in the month prior to the publication of the corresponding Directory and the second instalment will be invoiced in the month the Directory is published.

42. If You are a PPL Member, at the end of the month or shortly thereafter You will receive an invoice showing You the amount of Leads and the price per Lead You have received for that month. Unless agreed otherwise in a Confirmation Email, PPL Membership Fees will be collected by direct debit or Card Payment Authorisation on or around the 14th of the following month.

43. Should You fail to complete the vetting process due to reasons beyond Our control, We reserve the right to charge an Application Fee which is intended to cover Our reasonable costs of vetting and dealing with Your application.

44. We will take direct debit details or Continuous Card Payment Authorisation from You at the point of sale. The direct debit instruction or Continuous Card Payment Authorisation must be in place and active during the application and vetting process for You to go live on Our Platform. If the direct debit instruction is cancelled or the Continuous Card Payment Authority is revoked at any point during Your membership, We reserve the right, at Our discretion, to terminate Your Membership with immediate effect. For the avoidance of doubt, ceasing payment of Your Membership Fee by cancelling Your direct debit or revoking Your Continuous Card Payment Authorisation doesn’t constitute a termination by You of Your Membership and You shall remain liable to pay the full Membership Fees for Your remaining Membership term. In certain instances, you will be required to make a debit/credit card payment in advance of your membership commencement. If you select the direct debit payment option and if your direct debit payment fails, we reserve the right to attempt to take payment from the card details you provided at your onboarding of membership stage. Acceptance of our terms and conditions is your authority for us to attempt to take this payment.

45. Other than as set out in clause 45 below, from time to time We may vary Our Membership Fees giving reasonable notice to You either directly or through a general notification in Our Members’ Area. Should You have any issue with the variation you must call us to discuss no later than 14 days before the next billing period when the changes would take effect. If You are a PPL Member on Variable Pricing, We reserve the right to vary PPL Lead Fees at any time and such variation shall be confirmed by one of the following methods: (a) email; (b) through the Members Area; or (c) in the Trade App.

46. We may increase the Membership Fee once during each 12 month term of Your Membership, any such increase shall be based on the latest available figure for the percentage increase in the Retail Prices Index. For the avoidance of doubts Your termination rights do not apply to this type of price increase which is only designed to keep our Membership Fees in line with inflation.

47. Fees are payable in UK pounds sterling by via direct debit instruction or Card Payment authorisation (in cleared funds) to Our nominated bank account. Additional payment methods such as credit card, debit card, bank transfer, standing order may also be accepted in certain situations if, for example, We are collecting any missed or failed payments, but this is only where agreed by Us on an exception basis. All Fees or other payments due by You under Our Agreement shall be paid in full without any deduction, set-off, counterclaim or withholding (unless required by law).

48. Where any Fees or charges are overdue (without prejudice to Our other rights or remedies) We shall be entitled to charge interest on such overdue amount at a rate of 8 per cent per annum above the published base rate of Barclays Bank plc. Such interest will accrue daily from the date the amount became due until it is paid in full, accruing after as well as before judgment. In the event We have had to initiate our debt collection process to pursue You for overdue Fees or charges, we reserve a right to a late payment compensation charge of £40.

49. Without prejudice to any other right, claim or action, where You fail to pay any outstanding Fees by the due date for payment, We will request payment within such period as We determine. Failure to pay may lead to the Suspension of Your Membership (and any rights, privileges or benefits derived from such Membership may be withheld) until such payment is received in full and/or lead to the referral of current and remaining membership fee debt to a third-party debt recovery business. Appointment of this business remains at Our sole discretion. We also reserve the right to require an Administration Fee to meet the costs of such referral and these fees will be added to your current/remaining debt. We also reserve the right to terminate Your Membership for non-payment. If Your membership is Suspended or terminated and You request that Your membership is reactivated, We also reserve the right to request an Administration Fee to meet the costs of such reactivation as well as an advance payment or deposit (or other form of guarantee) where We reasonably consider this necessary to reduce Our credit risk.

50. Where You upload Business Content onto Our Platform (including the Community Forum) You allow Us to Use such Business Content for as long as We require and without any restrictions or payment to You. You also permit Us to Use and display Your Member Details on the Website. You ensure you have the relevant consents and rights to upload all of your Business Content and Member Details onto Our Platform and hold us harmless in case any third party claims that we do not have the authority to host such Business Content.

51. You promise to post Your Business Content in accordance with Our Website Terms of Use which, along with Our Privacy Notice, You shall observe at all times when Using Our Platform.

52. We may remove or disable access to any Member Content in the Community Forum that We deem unfit and We may also, at Our absolute discretion, take steps up to and including Suspending the Member from the Members Community or putting the Member on Probation.

53. Mis-use of our brand, logo and Trademarks can result in Homeowners or potential Customers being mis-lead as to whether a trade is associated with Checkatrade and whether they are subject to Our rigorous vetting and monitoring processes. Mis-use can amount to a criminal offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 enforceable by Trading Standards. We therefore take mis-use of our logo Brand and Trademarks very seriously and regularly monitor and run investigations as to the use of Our brand, logo and Trademarks by ex-Members. Where We find infringements or mis-use we reserve our rights under this Agreement and under law to take appropriate action which may include charging the IPR Charge.

54. Our IP belongs to Us and except to the extent expressly set out in these Terms You acquire no right, title or interest in Our IP.

55. Your IP belongs to You and You give us permission to copy and use Your IP to the extent necessary to provide the Services.

56. You must not Use any of Our IP for any commercial purpose without Our prior written consent. The only exception is that for as long as You are a Member (except where You are Suspended or put on Probation) You (but not any person other than the named Member) are allowed to accurately reproduce the Trademarks and Our logo on Your Business Materials to indicate that You are a Member and for no other purpose. We can take this right away at any time in accordance with this Agreement and nothing stops Us being able to grant this right to whoever We choose. You can’t give this right to anyone else including any of Your group companies, contractors or suppliers. Any goodwill generated by the Use of Our IP belongs to Us.

57. Any Use of Our IP shall be in accordance with such Brand Guidelines as We issue from time to time and You shall not do anything to damage or dilute the Marks or the goodwill associated with Our brand.

58. You will not Use Our Marks and/or logos (including the colourways): a) as part of a business name or domain name; b) in a deceptive or unlawful manner; and c) You will not seek to register the Mark or Use any confusingly similar name that resembles the Marks or Our logos.

59. Where a User of Our Platform posts a Review about You, they as the author retain ownership over the Review. The User gives Us the exclusive right to Use their Review on Our Platform and for Us to allow You the right to Use such Reviews in Your Business Material, provided that: a) such Review is reproduced in a fair and accurate manner; b) in all cases Reviews are properly attributed to Checkatrade; and, c) where the Reviews are published online, a link should be provided back to Your listing on Our Website.

60. Your rights in relation to Reviews cease after termination of the Agreement and they must be deleted from all Your Business Materials.

61. As a condition of being a Member, You accept that We have the right to Use, and publish on the Platform or elsewhere any Reviews provided in relation to You or Your business.

62. Where You receive a negative Review (a score of 5 or lower) We will endeavour to give You a reasonable opportunity to comment before such a Review is published on the Platform. Any comments You decide to provide, (subject to them being in a form suitable for publication), will be placed next to the Review on the Platform. Should You receive more than 10% negative reviews we will work with you to manage such negative complaints. Should you receive more than 20% negative reviews, we shall reserve our rights to suspend or terminate you Membership for breach.

63. You shall ensure that any comments in response to Reviews are provided by a person who was personally engaged in the delivery of the Work to which the Review relates and that the details provided in response are accurate; delivered in a professional and reasonable manner; and are not misleading, defamatory, abusive or illegal.

64. We are not liable for any losses, arising from the publication of any Reviews or other posting published on the Platform or elsewhere by a Customer or User of Our Platform;

65. You accept that We have limited control over any comments or Reviews posted or uploaded to Our Platform and We can’t remove comments or Reviews which You disagree with, except where We determine there is a genuine technical or legal basis for doing so following You notifying Us in accordance with Our Notice and Takedown Procedure.

66. Our Notice and Takedown Procedure allows You to signal Your objection to Reviews posted about You or Your business on the Website. You shall use all reasonable steps to Use Our Notice and Takedown Procedure. Where You have failed to follow this Notice and Takedown Procedure or any other published channels provided to Members for dealing with complaints, We may not be able to respond to issues that You raise.

67. You acknowledge that in some cases, where We have reason to suspect that a new Member is effectively under the same management or control as a previous Member and has merely been reconstituted as a new entity or has adopted a new trading name to disguise that fact, in order to maintain the integrity of Our Platform, We may in relation to that new Member reproduce or link back to Reviews relating to that previous Member and/or a publish a notice on Our Platform to publicise the connection.

68. We take the provision of fake reviews very seriously. You must not ask someone to write a fake review about You or write one Yourself. Should we reasonably suspect a review about You or written by You is fake we shall take the review down and reserve our rights to Suspend or terminate Your Membership.

69. We reserve the right to either Suspend Your Membership or place Your Membership on Probation in the event We have reasonable cause to do so including (but not limited to) where: a) We need to investigate an allegation which affects You and/or Your Membership; b) You are involved in a legal dispute/action or some other event which in Our view could damage Our reputation or impact on Our Operations; or c) You fail to pay any Membership Fees or other sums when due in accordance with these Terms including paying any Membership Fees by the Renewal Date.

70. Should We need to Suspend Your Membership, We will notify You of the period of Suspension, the reason for doing so and the action We need You to take so that We can reinstate Your rights as a Member. If you are Suspended Your Secure Contact number will be diverted to Checkatrade.

71. Should We need to put Your Membership on Probation, We will notify You of the period of Probation the reason for Probation and the remedial action We need You to take to end Your Probation.

72. At the end of the period of Suspension or Probation We may in Our sole discretion and on notice extend the Suspension or Probation to allow any outstanding issues to be remedied or We may elect to terminate Your Membership.

73. You may terminate Your Membership ‘for cause’ on giving Us written notice, where: a) We have committed a material breach of any of these Terms that can’t be remedied or where We have committed such a breach that can be remedied but fail to do this within 14 Business Days of You notifying Us of such a breach; or

b) We provide You with (i) notification of an update to these Terms which materially and adversely affects Your rights as a Member or (ii) notice of a variation to the Membership Fees (except for the permitted variation to PPL Lead Fees in accordance with clause 44 or increase inline with RPI Index in accordance with clause 45) that You don’t accept, provided that in either case that You terminate Your Membership within 14 Business Days of such update or variation coming into effect.

74. Termination of Your Membership is only valid where the Business Owner notifies Us by phone call in accordance with this Agreement.

75. We may terminate Your Membership immediately on Us giving You notice if:

a) You have breached the Agreement, failed to uphold the Checkatrade Standard or You have received a complaint of a serious nature or a high volume of complaints and such breach can’t be remedied or, where such a breach can be remedied, You have failed to do this within 14 days of Us notifying You of the breach;

b) You behave in a manner that is unacceptable towards any person or use language (verbal or in any other media) that We consider to be abusive, offensive, defamatory or unlawful;

c) You become Insolvent;

d) we are notified that You have failed to participate in, or You have withdrawn from any alternative dispute resolution procedure initiated by Your Customer, or You fail to abide by an alternative dispute resolution decision;

e) You cease to carry on the business or trade for which You are listed on Our Membership Database or threaten to do so;

f) We discover that any information provided by You is false, incorrect or incomplete or You have withheld material information that is relevant to Your Membership;

g) You infringe the Our IP;

h) You do anything that (in Our view) brings, or is likely to bring Our reputation into disrepute or is likely to damage Our goodwill;

i) You fail to pay any Fees or other sums when due in accordance with the Agreement;

j) There are material changes to the ownership, personnel or composition of Your business although We may request that You apply as a new Member;

k) We suspect You have attempted to mislead or deceive Us or the public by rebranding or reconstituting Your business under a new name, or the posting of false information or the taking of other steps to artificially improve or manipulate Your Reviews or ratings on the Website;

l) We become aware of any Police or Government Body investigation involving You (although We may not be able to share such information with You due to confidentiality obligations or other legal restrictions);

m) We have to pay out under the Checkatrade Guarantee to Your Customer for Work where We have deemed Your Work to be sub-standard as defined in the Checkatrade Guarantee; and/or

n) You discriminate against any Customer under the Equality Act 2010.

76. If You Terminate:

a) You shall be entitled to a refund of any Membership Fee or part of it which has been paid for months of Your Membership Term not being used as a result of Termination; and

b) We shall cease to take any payments from any existing Card Payment Authorisation or Direct Debit upon termination, save for any payment of PPL Lead Fees accrued prior to the date of termination. If Your Membership includes a Directory at the time of Termination, we reserve the right to charge for that Directory if Termination takes place after the Directory has been sent for print or publication.

77. If We Terminate:

a) You shall not be entitled to a refund of Your Membership Fee or any part of it;

b) You will need to make any remaining payments up until the end of Your current Membership Term, including payment of any PPL Lead Fees accrued prior to the date of termination; and

c) On termination, We shall process any remaining owed payments as a lump sum from the existing payment details You provided to Us including under any existing Card Payment Authorisation or Direct Debit. Should We be unable to retrieve payment due to Us and You don’t provide an alternative payment mechanism, We shall pursue this as a debt in accordance with Our usual debt collection processes.

78. In any event, when Your Membership terminates:

a) Termination of Your Membership shall be without prejudice to the rights of either party, which accrued prior to the date of such termination including any payment obligations;

b) Your listing in Our Platform will, at Our discretion, be moved to a Previous Member status (as described in Schedule 1);

c) If You were subscribed to a Directory at the time of termination, the Secure Contact number will be diverted to Checkatrade, but You are still responsible to pay any Membership Fees associated with Directories which have already been published or sent to print;

d) We will retain Your full Membership Details for a reasonable period to allow Us to deal with any customer complaints, issues or investigations relating to Your time as a Member or for legal or regulatory purposes; and

e) After termination or expiry of Your Membership We may continue to keep any Community Content left by You on the Forum. If any of the Community Content left by You is classed as personally identifiable information, You may request that We anonymise such Community Content.

79. On termination for any reason: a) Your right to use the Our IP or Reviews shall cease immediately; b) You must remove the Our IP, Reviews and any reference to Your Membership from all Your Business Materials without delay including removing van vinyls from Your van; c) You must not do or say anything from that date to give the impression that You continue to be a Member or are in some way associated with or endorsed by Us or trade off Our goodwill in any way; and d) Where requested to do so, You must provide evidence to demonstrate that You have complied with Your obligations.

80. Without prejudice to Our rights and remedies stated under this Agreement or any other rights under law, where You continue to use Our IP in breach of this Agreement, You agree to reimburse Us a sum equivalent to the a sum equivalent to the annual Membership Fee for the Approved Membership Tier for each annual period Membership Fee that You continue to use Our IP after termination ("IPR Charge"). The IPR Charge shall be paid on demand on a continuing basis for so long as You use Our IP on an unauthorised basis. This IPR Charge represents the sum that We would have charged You had the use of Our IP been authorised and survives termination of this Agreement however: a) in no way does paying the IPR Charge give You a licence to use Our IP after termination of Your Membership, nor does it mean Your Membership has in any way resumed; b) the IPR Charge does not represent or create a cap on Your liability (including in respect of any damages we may claim) for losses arising as a result of Your unauthorised use of Our IP or breach of this Agreement; and c) recovery of the IPR Charge as a debt is not Our sole, exhaustive or exclusive remedy for unauthorised use of Our IP or breach of this Agreement and does not prevent Us from seeking any other rights or remedies We may have under this Agreement or at law we might choose including the right to claim general damages or to claim injunctive or interim relief. We at all times fully reserve all Our rights and remedies under law and this Agreement. This clause survives termination of this Agreement.

81. You agree to promptly respond (in a professional manner) to any Customer complaints or issues that We notify You of from time to time or of which You become aware.

82. In the event of a Customer Dispute: a) You must use Your best efforts to try and resolve the Customer Dispute within 7 days of being notified of a complaint, whether or not Your Customer reports the complaint to Us directly; b) If the Customer Dispute can’t be resolved within 7 days, Your Customer has the option to make a claim under the Guarantee; c) You must advise Your Customer that there are alternative dispute resolution schemes available and that they might be eligible to claim under the Checkatrade Guarantee; d) should You not be able to resolve the Customer Dispute in the timescales above, You must refer Your Customer to Us so that We can help Your Customer to initiate a claim under the Guarantee; and e) If Your Customer decides to initiate a claim under an alternative dispute resolution scheme and they notify us of this, as a condition of Your Membership You accept that You must also participate and abide by the alternative dispute resolution process chosen and the final decision, which shall be binding on You to the maximum extent permitted by law, including any decision as to payments to be made to Your Customer.

83. We both agree that We will try to resolve any Membership Disputes between You and Us amicably and Use reasonable endeavours to avoid the need for court proceedings, following the procedure below:

a) You will provide a written notice to Us of any Membership Dispute, setting out its nature and particulars (which will be genuine and made in good faith);

b) On You providing Us with this notice of a Membership Dispute, Our customer services team and You will attempt to resolve the Membership Dispute through discussion and reasonable co-operation;

c) In the event that the Membership Dispute is then still not resolved within 30 days of such Membership Dispute notice it will be referred to a senior officer of each party; and

d) If the Membership Dispute is still not resolved within a further 30 days following referral to a senior officer, either party may exercise other legal rights or remedies available to it.

84. The commencement of the above dispute resolution procedure won’t prevent Us, if We deem it reasonably necessary, from taking action to protect Our business or reputation in the meantime, including exercising any rights of Suspension, Probation or termination of Your Membership as described in the Agreement nor will it restrict Us from taking court action (including seeking injunctive relief) or seeking other legal remedies We believe necessary to safeguard Our business, Platform or Our IP.

85. Unless this Agreement states otherwise, any formal notice or notification to be given under the Agreement must be in writing and must be sent: a) by You to Us at Our registered address by registered mail or by hand (if signed for at Our reception) or b) by Us to You at the most recent physical or email address provided to Us for inclusion on Our Membership Database.

86. Any notice shall be deemed to be received on delivery and for notices delivered by email, delivery shall mean when Our system indicates the email has been successfully delivered and no delivery error message has been received. Where You have provided Us with a mobile phone number to contact You, We shall try to follow any notice up with a text message to that number to bring Your attention to the notice.

87. If We need to provide You any information or notification of any matter which doesn’t require a formal notice under the Agreement, We will do so in the Members Area of Our Website and/or by email or SMS at the most recent email address or telephone number provided to Us by You.

88. Checkatrade is committed to being greener - reducing the impact of our business and supply chain. We are also committed to helping Homeowners make their homes greener too and our Members play a crucial part in that goal. Sustainability is central to our way of doing business and as such You commit to providing Your Works and services to Your Customer in a way that takes the environment and damage to it into consideration.

89. We are committed to conducting Our business in a fair, ethical and responsible way. Please read Our Modern Slavery Statement. You promise You a) shall comply with all applicable anti-slavery and human trafficking laws, statutes, regulations and codes of practice from time to time in force, including the Modern Slavery Act 2015; and b) have not been convicted of any offence involving slavery and human trafficking (and are not knowingly subject to any claim, investigation or proceedings alleging commission of such an offence). You also agree that from time to time You may be required by Us to provide further information or take such steps as may be reasonably required by Us to verify or confirm the forgoing.

90. You confirm that You did not enter into the Agreement in reliance of any representation made by Us other than those which are expressly set out in these Terms and in Your Confirmation Email in writing. All descriptions and other information in Our advertising and publicity material are illustrations only and don’t form part of the Agreement. Our Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between Us and You and supersede and extinguishes all previous agreements, promises, assurances, warranties, representations, understandings and terms and conditions between Us and You relating to Your Membership or Membership Services, whether written or oral.

91. Should any part of Our Agreement be declared invalid or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, this shall not affect the validity of any remaining portion which (if legally permitted) shall remain in full force and effect.

92. We may assign any of Our rights and transfer, delegate or subcontract any of Our obligations under the Agreement. Because of the nature of your membership, You will not transfer, delegate or subcontract any of Your rights or obligations under the Agreement

93. Any delay by either Us or You in enforcing any term or condition of the Agreement won’t be deemed a waiver or in any way prejudice any right of either Us or You to enforce that term or condition subsequently.

94. A person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this Agreement, but this doesn’t affect any right or remedy of a third party which exists or is available apart from such Act.

95. The Agreement won’t constitute or imply any partnership, joint venture, agency, fiduciary relationship, employer/employee, contractor/supplier, or other relationship between the Parties other than the contractual relationship expressly provided for in the Agreement.

96. The Agreement is subject to English law. To the maximum extent legally permitted, but save as specifically set out in the Agreement or as agreed between You and Us, You agree that any dispute relating to the Agreement shall:

a) if Your Address is in England and Wales, be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales;

b) if Your Address is in Scotland, be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Scotland;

c) if Your Address is in Northern Ireland, be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Northern Ireland; or.

d) in all other cases, be subject to the jurisdiction of any court where Checkatrade deems it appropriate at their sole discretion, and any proceedings relating to a dispute shall be in the English language.

For the purposes of this clause “Address” shall mean:

a) If You are an individual or sole trader, Your home address where you ordinarily reside;

b) If You are a limited company incorporated under the Companies Acts, Your registered office;

c) If You are a partnership, limited liability partnership or a non-incorporated body, the address of Your principal place of business.

Search

As a Member on a Searchable Membership Tier or a PPL Membership, You will appear in searches on the Checkatrade.com website when a Homeowner searches for a trade category that You have elected as a skill within a reasonable distance of Your elected post code area. Homeowners may also locate Your details if searched by Your business name.

If you choose not to purchase a Searchable Membership Tier or a PPL Membership and remain on Our Platform as an Approved member (or an agreed equivalent level of Membership to Approved ), Homeowners will only be able to search for Your business name.

As a Member on a Searchable Membership Tier or a PPL Membership, we will use commercially reasonable endeavours to ensure that Search rankings will be evenly distributed between Members across Our Platform, taking account of local supply of trades and customer demand, and will vary principally by trade category, region and Membership Tier as well as vetting and payment status, and other factors to be considered at Our sole discretion.

Other factors will influence Your success at converting search appearances into customer contacts these include (but aren’t limited to):

• quality and content of Your profile,

• the amount of reviews both in terms in volume and regularity,

• valid and up to date insurance documentation;

• compatibility with the Homeowner’s search criteria in terms of location and type of job or trade;

• Homeowner demand;

• Market and environmental forces.

You will have access to a search description and a profile page description, which will be visible on Checkatrade.com. It is Your responsibility to complete an appropriate description that best fits Your business. Failure to complete this Description may result in reduced visibility on the Platform.

Your Profile Page Description will include the following:

• Business or Company name

• Key contact at the company

• Business or Company logo (where applicable)

• Business or Company address

• Business or Company description

• Details of the Postcodes or geographical areas where You elected to work

• Details of customer reviews and reviews score

• Photos of Your work

• Listing of the primary trade category and additional skills that You elected to display

• Details of Your Vetting Status, related accreditations and insurance details, with prominent visibility on Checkatrade.com if You have not sent a copy of Your current Public Liability Insurance documentation to Checkatrade, or other vetting requirements are overdue or expired

You will receive a dedicated Checkatrade Secure Contact number and messaging functionality will be enabled.

You will have the ability to collect reviews that, at Our discretion, will be published. If you receive a negative review, You may respond to the review by way of the “right of reply” process.

You will have access to two small or one medium van vinyl free on joining Checkatrade and may request further materials at a cost to be borne by You.

You will have access to the Checkatrade Member Area and Checkatrade Trade App.

If Your membership is terminated by You or by Us, Your membership will default to “Previous Member” status, except where You are in debt to us, or Your Membership was terminated by Us as a result of Your conduct. This will be a free listing.

As a Previous Member Homeowners may locate Your details if the Homeowner searches by Your business name. For the avoidance of doubt, in general You will NOT receive visibility in searches on the Checkatrade.com website, although We may at Our absolute discretion decide to include You in certain searches determined by Us. Your Profile Description will clearly state that You no longer have an active Membership with Checkatrade and may, at Our discretion, reference that We ended the Membership. Your profile page will include the following:

• Business or Company name

• Key contact at the company

• Business or Company address

• Business or Company description

• Details of a limited number of customer reviews and reviews score

• Notification that Your Vetting Status is no longer reviewed following termination of Your Membership

• Details of accreditations and insurance details up to the date of termination of Your Membership

If for any reason after termination You elect to re-join Checkatrade, and Checkatrade accepts Your application, only a limited number of reviews will be published on re-joining, all other reviews won’t be visible to Homeowners. On re-joining You will be requested to settle past payment arrears and may, at the discretion of Checkatrade be requested to pay an Application Fee and an upfront payment. We may collect negative reviews about You after the end of Your Membership and may share information with regulatory bodies or law enforcement or to assist with legal proceedings.

You will no longer enjoy the benefits of the Checkatrade Members’ Buying club, the Member Area, Checkatrade Trades App and the Member Community.

At the discretion of Checkatrade, all Members whose membership is terminated will automatically default to a ‘Previous Member’ status except, for:

• Members who specifically request in writing by email to be removed from Our Website at the point of cancellation.

• Members who have ceased trading or doing work which is relevant to Homeowners.

• Members who have been removed from the Checkatrade site due to breach of the Agreement, Policies or Checkatrade Standard.

Members who We otherwise determine should not have ‘Previous Member’ status including those Members where payment arrears exist who shall be cancelled and not moved to the “Previous Member “status.