Provider Terms & Conditions

Last updated: September 10 2019

Introduction

These terms of use (together with any documents referred to in them) tell you the terms on which you may make use of our website www.helpling.ie (the Site) and/or our mobile application (the App) and the connection service that we provide through them (collectively, Helpling).

Please read these terms of use carefully before you start to make any use of Helpling.ie, as they will apply to your use of it. We recommend that you have these terms of use translated into your own language (if necessary) and that you consult a lawyer if you do not understand anything. We also recommend that you print a copy of these terms of use or save them to your computer or device for future reference. Please note that these terms do not form an exclusive agreement and do not affect your right to contract with third parties outside of these terms.

By using Helpling (including downloading the App), you confirm that you have read and accepted these terms of use and that you agree to comply with and be bound by them. If you do not agree to them, you must not use Helpling.

Please note that these terms of use do not apply to any cleaning or other services that you provide to Users (as defined below).

Other applicable terms

These terms of use refer to our privacy and cookie policy, which sets out the terms on which we process any personal data we collect from you or that you provide to us, as well as information about the cookies and/or other similar technologies (for example, analytics) we use. By using Helpling, you consent to such processing and you warrant that all data provided by you is accurate.

These terms of use also refer to our price sheet, which along with our Site sets out the fees and charges associated with our Services (as defined below) (Price Sheet). This price sheet is valid at the time of arranging the service and we reserve the right to modify the price sheet at any time.

Information about us and how to contact us

Helpling is a technology platform, accessed through the Site or the App, that connects users (Users) with third party providers of cleaning services and certain other services as listed on the Site such as you (Service Providers). It enables Users to engage the services of a Service Provider in their area for the provision of those services (Services).

Helpling is operated and owned by Hassle Online Limited (we or us). We are a limited company registered in Ireland under company number 543781 and have our registered office at 8-9 Marino Mart, Fairview, Clontarf Dublin 3, D03 P590, Ireland. Our VAT number is IE 3277501BH.

If you wish to contact us in writing, have a complaint or are required to give us notice in writing, you can send this to us by email at [email protected] or by pre-paid post to our main trading address referred to above. If we have to contact you or give you notice in writing, we will do so by email to any email address you provide to us.

Registration by the Service Provider

You acknowledge that, in determining whether to include you on the Site as a potential supplier of Services, we rely on the accuracy and completeness of the information supplied by you during the registration process. You therefore confirm that all such information is accurate and not misleading and that we may use it to carry out any of the searches or checks referred to below.

You also confirm that you possess all approvals and authority (including the necessary immigration status) required to work in Ireland on a self-employed basis and, in particular, to provide Services to Users.

You authorise us and/or any of our appointed agents to carry out all necessary searches, including searches of consumer credit records, in order to verify the information you have provided.

You must promptly disclose to us all matters which are material to your ability and suitability to provide Services to Users, as well as any material changes thereto.

Before including you on the Site as a potential supplier of Services to Users, Service Providers must submit to and pass a background check through us or our background check partner, which will be conducted in accordance with applicable law. After being included as a Service Provider on the Site we may from time-to-time, in our reasonable discretion and in accordance with applicable law, conduct additional background checks on Service Providers through our background check provider.

You must promptly disclose to us all matters which are material to your ability and suitability to provide Services to Users, as well as any material changes thereto.

Relationship between the parties

If we decide in our absolute discretion to accept your registration, we will include you on the Site as a potential supplier of Services subject to these terms of use. In such case, you authorise us to act as booking agent for you whereby we will process bookings, and contractually commit you to supply Services to Users on the basis of these terms of use.

You will act as an independent contractor and will not be our employee. You shall be fully responsible for any tax and national insurance and social security contributions and any other liability, deduction, contribution, assessment or claim arising from, or made in connection with, these terms of use or your provision of the Services. You shall indemnify us against all reasonable costs and expenses and any tax, penalty, fine or interest incurred or payable by us in connection with, or in consequence of, any such liability, deduction, contribution, assessment or claim, other than where such liability, deduction, contribution, assessment or claim arises out of our negligence or wilful default. We may at our option satisfy such indemnity (whether in whole or in part) by way of deduction from any amounts due to you from us under these terms of use.

Changes to these terms of use

We reserve the right to modify these terms of use at any time. If we make changes to these terms of use, we will post the revised terms of use on the Site and update the “last updated” date of these terms. We will also provide you with written notice of the modification reasonably in advance. By accessing or using Helpling after the effective date of the changes, you agree to be legally bound by the amended terms (or, as applicable, other documents referred to in them). If you do not wish to continue using Helpling under the new version of the terms of use, you may terminate your agreement with us by contacting us in writing.

We may (but are under no obligation to) update the Site and/or the App from time to time, and may change the content on them at any time. You may, following an update, need to download the latest version of the App in order to continue using it.

Some of the provisions contained in these terms of use may also be superseded by provisions or notices published elsewhere on Helpling.

Services

If you accept a contract with a particular User, whether on a one-off or other basis, you agree to supply Services to that User in accordance with these terms of use. You acknowledge that, notwithstanding your obligations to us herein regarding the standard of such Services, you will contract direct with each User for the supply of Services and, in the event of a dispute with the User, your recourse is against the User and not us.

If you cause any damage to a User’s property in the course of providing the Services to them, you will be fully responsible for such damage and will reimburse the User accordingly. We therefore recommend that, for so long as you are providing Services to Users, you take out and maintain in force with a reputable insurer appropriate general liability insurance cover in respect of any such damage.

You promise that you have the necessary skills to supply the Services.

You shall supply the Services in accordance with a high degree of professionalism and the highest industry standards.

You shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the provision of the Services and otherwise in connection with these terms of use.

You shall agree with the relevant User as to the provision and procurement of materials required by you to provide the Services to that User. We are not responsible for the provision of any tools, equipment or materials.

You acknowledge that we will notify you of any User cancellation by email and it is your responsibility to monitor your emails frequently.

If you have to cancel a scheduled booking or are otherwise unable or unavailable to attend the agreed location to provide the Services requested, you must notify us and the relevant User by email or telephone as soon as possible and without undue delay.

If you cancel a scheduled booking less than 24 hours before the scheduled start time of the visit, you agree to pay a cancellation administration fee as set out in the Price Sheet to cover our reasonable costs arising as a result of the cancelled booking which we may, at our election, deduct from any amounts due to you from us.

If you fail to attend the agreed location at the scheduled time of the visit, you agree to pay a non-attendance administration fee as set out in the Price Sheet to cover our reasonable costs arising as a result of the missed booking which we may, at our election, deduct from any amounts due to you from us.

You shall promptly notify us:

if, for any reason, you cannot attend any scheduled visit (in which case you must promptly notify the User also) or otherwise become unable or unavailable to supply the Services as contracted;
if you receive any oral or written complaints from Users; and
of any grievance that you may have in relation to Users.

You shall first attempt to resolve any complaint by a User directly with said User.

You shall provide reasonable co-operation to us in connection with these terms of use and comply with our reasonable requirements, including prompt provision of such information and documents as we may reasonably request in connection with these terms of use.

You shall only use User contact information insofar as is reasonably necessary to provide the Services. You shall keep such information confidential and shall delete it if requested to do so by us.

We do not guarantee that that you will receive any, or any particular level of, contracts or revenues from the arrangements contemplated by these terms of use.

We do not carry out any checks on Users and cannot provide any guarantees as to the conduct of Users or the suitability or safety of their premises. You attend User visits at your own risk. You must leave immediately if you have any concerns as to such matters.

By registering to use Helpling, you agree that all bookings between you and Users will be made through Helpling and that you will not supply any Services to any Users who have previously booked you through Helpling, or whose contact details you have received from us, other than through Helpling. If a User offers to engage or employ you to provide Services other than through Helpling, you must refuse such offer and notify us immediately. If you accept any such offer or if you make a similar offer to a User, we will immediately withdraw your right to use Helpling and you will be required to compensate us in respect of any losses we suffer as a result up to a maximum of € 500.

You also agree not to supply any Services to any Users who have previously booked you through Helpling, or whose contact details you have received from us, for a period of six months after the date of termination of the legal agreement between us.

Helpling offers you additional services for which we may charge you a fee. The nature of these additional services and their associated fees will be listed on the Site and you will be notified of any fee in advance.

Use of the Site and the App

In consideration of you agreeing to abide by these terms of use, we grant you a non-transferable, non-exclusive licence to use the App on any mobile telephone or other handheld device (Mobile Device) controlled or owned by you. All other rights in the App are reserved by us and by our licensors and we remain the owners of the App at all times.

In addition to these terms of use and our privacy and cookie policy, your use of the App is also subject to any rules or policies applied by any appstore provider or operator from whose site (Appstore) you downloaded the App (although please note that the Appstore has no responsibility for the App or its content). To the extent that there is a conflict between those rules or policies and these terms of use and our privacy and cookie policy, these terms of use and our privacy and cookie policy shall take priority.

You acknowledge that any changes you make to your profile on Helpling (including any content you post or upload to Helpling) must be accurate and must comply with the content standards set out below. We reserve the right to make such changes to your profile as we see fit if we consider, in our absolute discretion, that you have failed to comply with those content standards.

We give no guarantee as to the availability of the Site or the App and we are entitled to suspend the Site or the App temporarily without prior notice for the purposes of repair, maintenance or improvement.

Personal data

You acknowledge and agree that we are entitled to process your personal data in accordance with the terms of our privacy and cookie policy which is subject to change from time to time.

Fees and payment

All payments due to you for the Services shall be paid to you directly by the User via the third party payment service provider that Helpling is using on your behalf. You are entitled to charge the rate agreed between you and the User at the time of booking through Helpling. You are free to set the amount you charge for the Services you provide to Users.

You agree to pay Helpling a commission for connecting you with Users and for facilitating and arranging the Service. The commission depends on a number of factors, including: the number of hours agreed with the User according to the booking request, the type of booking (multiple booking or single order),the number of recurring appointments, and the place of execution. The commission payable is calculated according to the Price Sheet.

Payment processing services for Service Providers on Helpling are provided by Stripe and are subject to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement, which includes the Stripe Terms of Service (collectively, the “Stripe Services Agreement”). By agreeing to these terms or continuing to operate as a Service Provider on Helpling, you agree to be bound by the Stripe Services Agreement, as the same may be modified by Stripe from time to time. As a condition of Helpling enabling payment processing services through Stripe, you agree to provide Helpling accurate and complete information about you and your business, and you authorize Helpling to share it and transaction information related to your use of the payment processing services provided by Stripe.

The third party payment service provider will, on Helpling’s behalf, hold the amounts paid by the User for the Services. The payout of the amounts paid by the User to the payment service provider (Stripe) are processed on the 1st and the 15th of each month (or the following business day should these dates fall on a non business day). The amounts which are then available for payment at the payment service provider shall be paid to the Service Provider by the payment service provider. The service provider may, for a fee, instruct Helpling to arrange for the payment of the amounts available for payment to be made to the payment service provider outside the regular payment rhythm. The amount of the fee will be listed on our Site and notified to you prior to completing the order. All information that you provide in connection with a transaction must be accurate, complete and current.

You agree that the commission due to Helpling shall be subtracted from any fees payable to you. The payment of the commission to Helpling shall take place immediately after completion of the booking.

The Service Provider is liable to pay all applicable commission to Helpling whether the booked Services have been carried out or not.

You agree to pay Helpling a registration fee in order to access Helpling and use our Services. The fee is due when signing up to Helpling, which will be listed on our Site and notified to you prior to completing registration.

If we are unable to collect any amounts you owe under these terms of use, we may; (a) offset any amounts that are payable by you to us (in reimbursement or otherwise) against any payment we make to you or amounts we may owe you; or (b) engage in collection efforts to recover such amounts from you. We will deem any owed amounts overdue when thirty (30) days have elapsed after the date of the invoice issued from us to you. Any overdue amounts not collected within one hundred and eighty (180) days after they become overdue will be deemed to be in default. You hereby explicitly agree that all communication in relation to amounts owed will be made by electronic mail or by phone, as provided to Helpling by you. Such communication may be made by Helpling, or by anyone on their behalf, including but not limited to a third- party collection agent. You shall pay interest on overdue sums at 2% per annum over the base rate for the time being of European Central Bank.

Intellectual property rights

We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in Helpling and in the material published on it. You acknowledge that you have no rights in or to Helpling or the technology used or supported by it other than the right to use it in accordance with these terms of use. If you use any part of Helpling in breach of these terms of use, your right to use Helpling will cease immediately.

You must not use any part of the content on Helpling for commercial purposes without obtaining a licence or other written consent to do so form us or our licensors.

“Helpling” is a registered trade mark of our affiliate Helpling GmbH. All rights in this trade mark, the Helpling domain name and all related domains and sub-domains and any other logos, service marks, brand names, trading names and/or trade marks appearing anywhere on Helpling are reserved to their respective owners or licensors and nothing in these terms of use should be construed as granting any licence or right to use any of the foregoing.

Liability and indemnity

Any provisions in these terms of use excluding or limiting liability will apply regardless of the form of action, whether under statute, in contract or tort (including negligence) or otherwise. Nothing in these terms of use is in any way intended to exclude or restrict either party’s liability for negligence causing death or personal injury or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation or for any liability which may not legally be excluded or limited.

We shall not be liable for breach of these terms of use unless you have given us prompt written notice of the breach and a reasonable opportunity thereafter to rectify the breach at our expense.

Our total liability under, or in connection with, these terms of use in respect of any act or omission, or any series of connected acts or omissions, shall be limited to the amount paid to you in the six months preceding the relevant act or omission.

In no circumstances shall we be liable for any consequential, indirect or special loss or damages or for economic losses (including, without limitation, loss of revenue, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings) or for damage to, or loss of, data or for damage to, or loss of, reputation or goodwill.

Both parties exclude all terms that are not expressly stated herein, including, but not limited to, any implied warranties as to quality, fitness for purpose or ability to achieve a particular result.

You agree to indemnify us and to hold us and our successors, assigns, parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, directors, officers, employees and agents harmless against all losses, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of your breach of these terms of use or your provision of the Services. We shall have the right to withhold our reasonable estimate of the total damages and costs from sums otherwise payable to you pursuant to these terms of use or any other agreement between the parties and to apply such sums to payment of such damages and expenses. We shall have the sole right to control the defence and settlement of any such claim, save that we shall consult with you prior to any settlement. You agree to provide reasonable assistance to us at your expense in the defence of the same.

Restrictions on use of Helpling

You may only use Helpling for lawful purposes. You may not use it:

in any way that breaches any applicable local, national or international laws or regulations;
in any way that is unlawful or fraudulent or has any unlawful or fraudulent purpose or effect;
to send, knowingly receive, upload or download, use or re-use any material which does not comply with our content standards as set out below;
to transmit, or procure the sending of, any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material or any other form of similar solicitation (spam);
knowingly to transmit any data, send or upload any material that contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time-bombs, keystroke loggers, spyware, adware or any other harmful programs or
similar computer code designed adversely to affect the operation of any computer software or hardware;
in a way that could damage, disable, overburden, impair or compromise our systems or security or interfere with other users of Helpling; or
to collect or harvest any information or data from Helpling or our systems or attempt to decipher any transmissions to or from the servers running Helpling.

You also agree:

not to permit Helpling or any part of it to be combined with, or become incorporated in, any other programs;
not to reproduce, duplicate, copy or re-sell any part of Helpling in contravention of these terms of use;
not to access without authority, penetrate, interfere with, damage or disrupt (or attempt to do any of the same): (i) the accounts of other users of Helpling; (ii) any part of Helpling or its security measures; (iii) any equipment or network on which Helpling is stored; (iv) any software used in the provision of Helpling; or (v) any equipment or network or software owned or used by any third party;
not to copy the App except where such copying is incidental to normal use of the App or where it is necessary for the purpose of back-up or operational security;
not to disassemble, decompile, reverse-engineer or create derivative works based on the whole or any part of the App or attempt to do any such thing except to the extent that (by virtue of section 296A of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988) such actions cannot be prohibited because they are essential for the purpose of achieving inter-operability of the App with another software program, and provided that the information obtained by you during such activities: (i) is used only for the purpose of achieving inter-operability of the App with another software program; (ii) is not unnecessarily disclosed or communicated without our prior written consent to any third party; and (iii) is not used to create any software that is substantially similar to the App;
not to provide or otherwise make available the App in whole or in part (including object and source code) in any form to any person without prior written consent from us; and
not to use the Site or contacts made through Helpling to request, make or accept a booking independent of Helpling, to circumvent any fees or for any other reason that contravens the spirit of these terms of use. If you do so, you acknowledge and agree that you: (i) will be in material breach of these terms of use; (ii) accept all risks and responsibility arising under or as a consequnces of such action; and (iii) hold Helpling harmless from any liability or loss in respect of the Services and/or these terms.

Content standards

These content standards apply to any and all content that you post or upload to Helpling and/or to any interactive services associated with it (including, without limitation, any messaging service that allows you to contact Users). You must comply with the spirit and the letter of the following standards. The standards apply to each part of any post or upload, as well as to its whole.

If you make use of any feature that allows you to post or upload any content to Helpling (for example, when making contact with Helpling) or to send messages to Users, any such content and messages (as the case may be) must be accurate and genuine and must not:

be defamatory of any person;
be obscene, offensive, hateful, inflammatory or otherwise objectionable;
promote violence or indecent or sexually explicit material;
promote discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation or age;
infringe or violate any copyright, database right, trade mark or any other intellectual property right of any other person;
be likely to deceive any person;
be made in breach of any laws or any legal duty owed to a third party, such as a contractual duty or a duty of confidence;
advocate, promote, assist or enable any illegal or unlawful activities (including, without limitation, copyright infringement or computer misuse) or intend to defraud, swindle or deceive other users of Helpling;
be threatening, abuse or invade another’s privacy or cause annoyance, inconvenience or needless anxiety;
be likely to harass, upset, embarrass, alarm or annoy another person;
be used to impersonate any person or to misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person;
give the impression that they emanate from us, if that is not the case;
relate to commercial activities (including, without limitation, sales, competitions and advertising, links to other websites or premium rate telephone numbers); or
disseminate or otherwise disclose another person’s personal information without his or her prior permission or collect or solicit another person’s personal information for commercial or unlawful purposes.

We will not be responsible, or liable to you or any third party, for any content posted or uploaded to Helpling and we do not recommend or endorse any such content or accept any responsibility for its accuracy.

You acknowledge that any content posted or uploaded to Helpling about you (including User comments, reviews and/or ratings relating to the Services provided by you) may be publicly available for viewing and that we do not monitor or edit such content. You also acknowledge that such content may be critical or defamatory of you or otherwise in breach of our content standards as set out above. You agree to release us from any liability in connection with any such defamatory statements, although we will allow you a reasonable opportunity to reply to any such content if we consider it appropriate.

Any content posted or uploaded to Helpling will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary and we have the right to use, store, copy, distribute and disclose the same to third parties (including the relevant authorities) for any purpose whatsoever without any liability or payment to, or recognition of, you of any kind.

We have the right to remove or delete any content you post or upload to Helpling or to disclose it to the relevant authorities if, in our opinion, it does not comply with our content standards as set out above. If so, you must not attempt to re-post or re-upload the relevant content.

Suspension and termination

We may at any time, whether with or without cause and whether with or without notice, immediately suspend your right to use Helpling (including removal of your profile from the Site and the App) and/or terminate the legal agreement between us and close your account.

You may terminate the legal agreement between us and request the closure of your account at any time on not less than 14 days’ notice by emailing us at [email protected].

We will determine, in our discretion, whether there has been a breach of these terms of use through your use of Helpling and, if such a breach has occurred, we may take such action as we deem appropriate, including all or any of the following actions:

immediate, temporary or permanent withdrawal of your right to use Helpling (including termination of the legal agreement between us and closure of your account);
immediate, temporary or permanent removal of any content posted or uploaded by you to Helpling;
issue of a warning to you;
legal proceedings against you for reimbursement of all costs on an indemnity basis (including, but not limited to, reasonable administrative and legal costs) resulting from the breach;
further legal action against you; and
disclosure of such information to law enforcement authorities as we feel is reasonably necessary.

We exclude liability for actions taken in response to breaches of these terms of use. The responses described in these terms of use are not limited and we may take any other action we deem reasonably appropriate.

If we withdraw your right to use Helpling:

all rights granted to you under these terms of use shall cease;
you must immediately cease all activities authorised by these terms of use, including your use of Helpling;
you must, if applicable, immediately delete the App from all Mobile Devices; and
you must not attempt to re-register to use Helpling.

Linking to the Site

You may link to the Site’s homepage, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it. You must not establish a link to the homepage in any website that is not owned by you or in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists. The Site must not be framed on any other site, nor may you create a link to any part of the Site other than the homepage.

We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. The website in which you are linking must comply in all respects with our content standards as set out above.

If you wish to make any use of any content on the Site other than that set out above, please contact us at [email protected].

Links to third party websites and resources

The Site and/or the App may contain links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, including, without limitation, advertisers. We have no control over those websites or resources or their availability and any links to them are provided for your information only. You will need to make your own independent judgement regarding your interaction with any such websites or resources, including the purchase and use of any products or services accessible through them. We are not responsible for, and do not endorse, their content or their privacy policies (if any) and we will not be liable for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Events outside our control

We will not be liable or responsible for any failure to perform, or any delay in the performance of, any of our obligations under these terms of use that is caused by any event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control, including any failure of public or private telecommunications networks or any delays or latency due to your physical location or your wireless data service provider’s network.

Other important terms

You agree not to disclose, divulge or communicate directly or indirectly to any third party any information regarding us, Helpling or any Users (including their contact details) without our (or their, as applicable) prior written consent. You must not use any such information other than is necessary to provide the services requested by Users.

We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms of use to another organisation, but this will not affect your rights or our obligations under these terms of use.

You may not transfer your rights or obligations under these terms of use to another person. However, at the approval of the relevant User, you may sub-contract your obligations and work exclusively to other Service Providers. If we fail to insist that you perform any of your obligations under these terms of use, or if we do not enforce our rights against you, or if we delay in doing so, that will not mean that we have waived our rights against you and will not mean that you do not have to comply with those obligations. If we do waive a default by you, we will only do so in writing, and that will not mean that we will automatically waive any later default by you.

Each of the conditions of these terms of use operates separately. If any court or competent authority decides that any of them are unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining conditions will remain in full force and effect.

These terms of use are not intended to confer rights on anyone other than you and us.

Applicable law

These terms of use, their subject matter and formation are governed by Irish law.

The courts of Ireland will, subject to the paragraph below, have exclusive jurisdiction over any claim arising from, or related to, these terms of use.

Nothing in the foregoing paragraph will limit our right to take proceedings against you in any other court of competent jurisdiction, nor will the taking of proceedings in any one or more jurisdictions preclude us from taking proceedings in any other jurisdiction, whether concurrently or not, to the extent permitted by the law of such other jurisdiction.