Terms, privacy and policies

Open business and legal decisions

These must be settled and the wording reviewed before public launch. Nothing below has been decided.

1. D1. Who contracts with the customer, and who is responsible for the work. The current payment flow takes the customer's payment into Tradey's account and pays the contractor afterwards, which resembles Tradey acting as the seller (principal). The alternative is Tradey as a marketplace/agent with the contractor as the seller. The consumer-law consequences differ (who gives pre-contract information, who must put things right, who is liable). The drafts are written so the choice is visible; they do not assume it.
2. D2. Insurance and liability arrangements. No insurance details are recorded in the business configuration. Needed: public liability cover and limits held by Tradey/HMD, what each contractor must hold, who handles damage claims, and any excess. No limits of liability are drafted; statutory rights cannot be excluded.
3. D3. Cancellation, rescheduling and no-access charges. No cancellation or no-access fee policy is configured. Needed: free cancellation window, any late/no-access fee (must be reasonable), and refund timing.
4. D4. Cancellation right for callouts (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). A 14-day cancellation right normally applies to services bought online, unless an exception applies (regulation 28(1)(e) covers contracts where the consumer specifically requested a visit for urgent repairs or maintenance - not additional services). If the exception is not relied on, the trader may only start within the 14 days after an express request, and the customer pays proportionately if they cancel. The draft includes a separate express request; legal review must confirm the approach and wording.
5. D5. Return visits and workmanship guarantee. Existing return-visit workflow handles access failures and unresolved problems, but no guarantee period or free-return policy has been decided.
6. D6. Data retention periods. No retention schedule exists. Needed per category: customer profile and date of birth, bookings and receipts (accounting duty), photos, contractor identity/insurance/DBS documents and vetting notes, review content, security and diagnostic logs, marketing consent records.
7. D7. Data protection roles, ICO registration and contact. Confirm the controller (HMD Building & Maintenance Ltd?), ICO registration number, data protection contact email, whether contractors are independent controllers of customer details they receive, and any international transfers by the service providers.
8. D8. Contractor status and structure. Confirm contractors are self-employed/independent businesses (not employees or workers), the exact contracting entity, and any minimum-notice, exclusivity or area terms. Employment-status advice recommended.
9. D9. Commission, payout timing and recovery. Draft states the agreed splits (50% of the callout entitlement, 90% of approved additional work) and that the senior discount is funded by Tradey. Needed: payout timing, handling of refunds/chargebacks after payout, and any recovery rights.
10. D10. Safeguarding and DBS requirements. Vetting records DBS status; no policy states which work needs which DBS level or how vulnerable-occupant visits are handled. Needed before public launch.
11. D11. Complaints procedure and ADR. No complaints procedure or alternative dispute resolution body is configured. Traders in some sectors must tell consumers about ADR; confirm whether it applies and name the provider if so.
12. D12. Governing law, courts and consumer wording. Draft assumes England and Wales; confirm and have the consumer-facing wording checked for fairness (Consumer Rights Act 2015).
13. D13. Review system compatibility with CMA/DMCC guidance. The CMA's review guidance (Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024, in force April 2025) says genuine reviews should not be edited, removed or delayed and reviewed businesses must not be able to block reviews. This design holds reviews until both parties submit or 14 days pass (equal for both sides), lets the AUTHOR choose public/private (private by default), and only counts released public ratings in the public average. Legal review should confirm that the hold, the private default and the public-only average are acceptable, how many reviews/ratings are described, and whether incentives are ever used (none are).
14. D14. Marketing consent and cookies at launch. No analytics, advertising or marketing technologies are used by the marketplace today (only strictly necessary storage). If any are added, consent and an updated cookie notice are needed first. Confirm marketing channels (email only?) and the sender details.
15. D15. What customer details contractors receive. Confirm exactly what a contractor sees after assignment (address, name, contact) and when, and the contractor's own data protection obligations for it.
16. D16. Out-of-hours safety route. Safety concerns reach the existing office incident workflow immediately, but no out-of-hours contact or emergency-services wording has been agreed.