Terms & Conditions

Agency agreement between the Client or Service Users and the Company

Care Franchises Limited (trading as Friends Helping at Home) is pleased to make its Service, as described below, available to you on the following terms and conditions. The Terms of Service are a legal contract between the individual using the Service (“you”) and the local Friends at Home branch operating under licence of Care Franchises Limited (“Introducer”, “Company,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) as referenced in this agreement, “Site,” or “System” means the website and App for booking purposes operated by the Company and currently located at www.friendshelpingathome.co.uk,  as it may be updated, relocated, or otherwise modified from time to time, and includes any and all information, text, images, and other materials and content appearing on or incorporated into that website. The terms “Friends Helping at Home”, or “Service” mean the Site or any other web sites, networks, embeddable widgets, downloadable software, mobile applications including tablet computer applications (each an “App”), features, messages such as emails that we may send you, and services, whether on-line or off-line, owned or operated by the Company.

By using the Service, you:

acknowledge that by accessing or using the Service, you agree that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by the Company’s Terms of Service (the “Terms” or “Terms of Service”) as updated from time to time, which govern your use of the Service. You may use the App and the Service only as set forth in these Terms;

consent to the collection, use, sharing and transfer of your data, including, but not limited to, location data, as outlined in our privacy policy (available at https://www.friendshelpingathome/privacy)  as updated from time to time, which is incorporated within these terms by reference.

  1. Terms Governing Service Use

Your access to and use of the Service is expressly conditioned on your agreement to and compliance with these Terms. You agree that by browsing, clicking in or accessing the site that you have read these Terms and agree to be bound by them.

  1. The System or Friends Helping at Home Platform

Friends Helping at Home is a System for connecting persons who are looking to engage self-employed professional domiciliary carers, enablers or providers of related services to provide in-home care (each a “Visit”), and self-employed care professionals that are part of Friends Helping at Home’s network of Visitors (each a Service Provider “SP”) that may be available to perform such Visits. The Company’s Introducer or agents checks the backgrounds of each SP; however, the Company, Introducer or agent does not guarantee or warrant, and makes no representations regarding, the reliability, quality or suitability of such care professionals or providers of services. It is solely the responsibility of each SP, and not the Company, to determine whether they are qualified and capable of completing a particular Visit. Even when accurate, reference checks do not necessarily predict future behaviour of an SP. When you book a Visit or deal with an SP, you should ensure that you use common sense and caution to ensure protection of you and others’ personal property and safety, including by supervising SP’s as you would supervise anyone who provided a service to you that you did not know. The Company, Introducer or agent will not be liable, to the extent permitted by law, for any claim, injury or damage arising in connection with your use of the Friends Helping at Home System and the Company, Introducer or agent is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any user of the Friends Helping at Home System.

  1. Fees

When you make a Visit booking, the Company, Introducer or agent will help facilitate the transaction by providing an arrangement or mechanism with the SP for paying amounts due in connection with each Visit (“Fees”). Fees for Visit are non-refundable (unless at least 48 hours’ notice of cancellation has been provided) and will be charged to you in accordance with Introducer’s pricing schedule in force at the time a Visit is requested, which the Introducer may update from time to time on a going-forward basis. You are liable for any and all taxes (other than taxes based on the Company’s or Introducer’s or agent’s income) related to the Visit performed by the SPs.

The Service Provider will charge you for each Visit through the payment method specified in your account (e.g. cheque, BACS payment, credit card or debit card).

Discounted and free Visits included in promotional literature are subject to a minimum of 2 visits booked by the customer. In the event that the customer cancels after the first 2 Visits which are free, the Introducer retains the discretion to charge a £25 administration fee.

  1. SMS Messaging

When you sign up for the Service, the Company may need to send you SMS Messages in order to confirm your phone number or keep you informed about your Visit an SP may be performing for you. Some of these messages may be necessary for the fulfilment of the Service and cannot be opted out of.  Depending on your current phone carrier plan, you may incur Fees for these SMS Messages, and agree to not hold the Company liable for any Fees incurred.

  1. Feedback

You may provide the Introducer or Company with information and feedback regarding the features and performance of the Service, including reports of failures, errors, or other malfunctions you encounter on the Service along with any associated error messages (the “Feedback”). Feedback provided to the Introducer or Company may be used by the Introducer or Company to improve the Service, and accordingly, you hereby grant the Introducer or Company a non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty free, worldwide right and license to use, reproduce, disclose, sublicense, distribute, modify and otherwise exploit such Feedback without restriction.

  1. Privacy

Our Privacy Policy (a current copy of which may be viewed at https://www.friendshelpingathome/privacy) is hereby incorporated into the Terms by reference. Please read this policy carefully for information and notices concerning our collection, use, and disclosure of certain information we receive when you register for, use, or access the Service. You hereby agree to abide by our Privacy Policy and to stay informed of any changes to the posted policy.

  1. Notifications; Modification of Terms

We may provide notices to you either by posting them on the Site or by email to the address you provided when you registered for an account. All notices are effective upon posting or when sent. Additionally, we may modify the Terms of Service and/or our Privacy Policy at any time by posting the modified version on the Site or by sending you a copy by email. Please check the Terms periodically for changes. By continuing to access or use the Service after we have posted or emailed any such modifications, you agree to be bound by the modified Terms of Service or Privacy Policy (as applicable), but solely on a going forward basis. Material changes to the Terms will automatically become effective, on a going forward basis, thirty (30) days after they are posted to the Site or sent to you via email.

  1. Company Property

Your rights with respect to the Service are limited to those rights expressly granted in the Terms of Service. You acknowledge and agree that the Company and its licensors own all right, title, and interest in and to the Service, including all intellectual property rights therein, even if the Company or its licensors incorporate any materials provided or made available by you into subsequent versions of the Service. The Service is protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other laws of both the United Kingdom and foreign countries. Except as expressly permitted in the Terms of Service, you may not reproduce, modify, or prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, or otherwise use or exploit any portion of the Service, including without limitation any information provided through the Service.

The content of the Service includes copyrighted materials, trademarks, trade secrets, and other proprietary information, which may include, without limitation, personal information of users, text, software, photos, video, audio visual recordings, graphics, music and sound. The entire contents of the Service and subsets thereof are also protected by copyright as collective works. The Company owns a copyright in the selection, coordination, arrangement, and enhancement of such content, as well as in the content original to the Company. You may not create a database or other archival collection in electronic or physical form by downloading and storing, transcribing, or otherwise utilizing by any manual or automated means, any materials contained on the Service.

  1. Insurance

The Company, Introducer and its agents has Public Liability insurance. In addition, each Service Provider is responsible for providing necessary public liability insurance and motor insurance where applicable. The details of each Service Provider’s insurance for providing services in clients’ properties, including accidental damage to client property. Details of each SP’s insurance is available on request.

  1. General Prohibitions

You agree not to do or attempt (or request that any third party do or attempt) any of the following during or in connection with yours (or there) use of the Service:

  • circumvent or attempt to circumvent any access or use restrictions, data encryption, or content protection related to the Service;
  • engage in spidering, screen scraping, database scraping, harvesting of e-mail addresses, wireless addresses, content available through the Service, including Content, other contact or personal information, or any other automatic means of obtaining lists of users or other information from or through the Service, including without limitation any information residing on any server or database connected to the Service;
  • copy, modify or distribute the computer code used to generate web pages on the Service (other than as may be expressly permitted under a separate license agreement);
  • access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Service, our computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of our providers;
  • probe, scan or test the vulnerability of any system or network or breach any security or authentication measures;
  • access or search the Service with any engine, software, tool, agent, device or mechanism other than the software and/or search agents provided by the Company or other generally available third party web browsers;
  • send unsolicited email, bulk email, junk mail, spam or chain letters, or promotions or advertisements for products or services, including without limitation those which are designed to promote, directly or indirectly, a product or service with which you have a business relationship or other commercial connection;
  • in any way use the Service to send altered, deceptive or false source-identifying information;
  • decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Service;
  • interfere with, or attempt to interfere with, the access of any user, host or network, including, without limitation, sending a virus, overloading, flooding, spamming or mail-bombing the Site or the Service;
  • impersonate or misrepresent your affiliation with, or your lack of affiliation with, any person or entity;
  • use the Service in violation of the Company’s or any third party’s intellectual property or other proprietary or legal rights;
  • use the Service in violation of any applicable law or request that a SP provides a service which would violate applicable law; or
  • upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available materials that infringe or misappropriate any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights of any party;

Termination of Use; Discontinuation and Modification of the Service.

If you violate any of the Terms of Service, your permission to use the Service will automatically terminate. You also agree that we may, at any time and without notice to you, suspend or revoke your access to and use of the Service, and any account(s) you may have in connection with the Service: (i) for any reason or no reason at all; (ii) where we determine in our sole discretion that such action is reasonable in order to comply with legal requirements or to protect the rights or interests of the Company or any third party; or (iii) in connection with any general discontinuation of the Service. We also reserve the right to modify the Service at any time without notice to you. We will have no liability whatsoever on account of any change to the Service or any suspension or revocation of your access to or use of the Service. You may terminate this Agreement, and your account, at any time by contacting your Introducer by email.

  1. Cancellation Policy

If either party wishes to cancel the Services, a minimum of 14 days’ notice of cancellation is required. Notification by the Customer must be sent by email to your Introducer by email.

  1. Indemnity

You agree that you will be personally responsible for your use of the Service, and you agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Introducer or Company and its officers, directors, employees, consultants, affiliates, subsidiaries and agents (collectively, the Company Entities) from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses, including reasonable solicitors’ and accounting fees and costs, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) your access to, use of or alleged use of the Service; (ii) your violation of the Terms of Service or any representation, warranty, or agreements referenced herein; (iii) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any intellectual property right, publicity, confidentiality, property or privacy right; (iv) any claim or allegation of a third party that the Company has referred to you, to the extent based on any actual or alleged act or omission on your part or behalf, or any other claim or allegation arising as a result of such referral; and (v) any disputes or issues between you and any Service Provider or third party. We reserve the right, at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defence and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, and in such case, you agree to cooperate with our defence of such claim. You will not, in any event, settle any claim or matter without our written consent.

  1. Use of the Service Is Entirely At Your Risk

You expressly understand and agree that your use of the Service is at your sole risk and that the service is provided “as is” and “as available”. The Company expressly excludes all warranties and conditions, (whether implied by statute, common law or otherwise and including any warranty as to fitness for purpose and satisfactory quality, and non-infringement) to the maximum extent permitted by law.

When you use the Service to request and have an SP perform a Visit, you understand and acknowledge that no SP has any authority to make any amendments to these terms and that any statements, representations, or warranties made by an SP or any third party are disclaimed by the Introducer or Company and do not expand or otherwise modify these terms. Apart from the fact that the Introducer interviews each SP and performs two previous employment reference checks (all based on the identification information provided by each SP) the Introducer or Company makes no representation or warranty regarding the quality, reliability, safety, completeness, fitness, or nature of any Services provided by a SP.

  1. Limitation of Liability and Release

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Introducer or Company disclaims all liability to you in connection with the Introducer’s or Company’s performance under these Terms and Conditions, including but not limited to liability for loss of profits and other consequential losses. Except in the case of death or personal injury caused by the Introducer’s or Company’s negligence, the liability of the Introducer or Company under or in connection with these Terms and Conditions whether arising in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty or otherwise howsoever shall not exceed the Fees paid by you to the Introducer or Company in the last six months under these Terms and Conditions.

Neither Party shall be liable to the other Party in contract, tort, negligence, breach of statutory duty nor otherwise for any loss, damage, costs or expenses of any nature whatsoever incurred or suffered by that other Party of an indirect or consequential nature including without limitation any economic loss or other loss of turnover, profits, business or goodwill. The limitations of damages set forth above are fundamental elements of the basis of the bargain between the Company and you.

  1. Governing Law; Venue

These Terms, whether interpreted in a court of law or in arbitration, shall be governed by the laws of England and Wales as they apply to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely within England and Wales by UK residents, and without regard to conflict of law principles. To the extent that any lawsuit or court proceeding is permitted hereunder, you and Company agree to submit to the personal and exclusive jurisdiction of the courts located within England and Wales for the upurpose of litigating all such claims or disputes.

  1. General

The Terms of Service, together with the Privacy Policy constitute the entire and exclusive understanding and agreement between you and the Company regarding your use of and access to the Service, and except as expressly permitted above may only be amended by a written agreement signed by authorized representatives of the parties. You may not assign or transfer the Terms of Service or your rights hereunder, in whole or in part, by operation of law or otherwise, without our prior written consent. We may assign the Terms of Service at any time without notice. The failure to require performance of any provision shall not affect our right to require performance at any time thereafter, nor shall a waiver of any breach or default of the Terms of Service constitute a waiver of any subsequent breach or default or a waiver of the provision itself. Use of paragraph headers in the Terms is for convenience only and shall not have any impact on the interpretation of particular provisions. In the event that any part of the Terms of Service is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the unenforceable part shall be given effect to the greatest extent possible and the remaining parts will remain in full force and effect.

  1. Liability

Our liability to you in respect of the Visit will not exceed the total price paid by you for the Visit, whether such cause of action is brought in contract, tort, warranty or otherwise.

Notwithstanding the above, nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall limit any rights you might have as a consumer or other statutory rights that may not be excluded by law, nor exclude or limit our liability to you for any death or personal injury resulting from our negligence.

  1. Events beyond our control

We shall have no liability to you for any failure of the SP’s to perform the Visit you have ordered, or any delay in doing so that may be caused by an event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control including, without limitation, strikes, lock-outs and other industrial disputes, breakdown of systems or network access, failure of our SP’s, flood, fire, explosion, acts of terrorism or accident.

  1. Miscellaneous

19.1 Invalidity

If any of the terms of these Terms and Conditions are deemed invalid, void or unenforceable for any reason, they will be severed from the rest of these Terms and Conditions ,which shall remain unaffected.

19.2 Privacy

When you book a Visit, we collect certain personal and transactional information (eg name, address, email address, credit/debit card details). For details on how we use this information, please read our Privacy Policy at https://www.friendshelpingathome/privacy .

19.3 Entire Agreement

These Terms and Conditions, together with the Conditions of Use and Privacy Policy set out the whole of our agreement relating to your use of this Website and the supply of the products ordered by you via this Website.

19.4 Third Parties

Except for our affiliates, directors, employees or representatives, a person who is not party to the contract shall have no rights under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 (“Act”) to enforce any term of such contract. This does not affect any right or remedy of any person which exists or is available otherwise than pursuant to that Act.

19.5 Governing law and jurisdiction

Any matter arising from or in connection with these Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with English law and the English courts shall have jurisdiction to resolve any disputes between us.

19.6 Contact Information

If you have any questions regarding the Terms of Service or the Service, please contact us at director@friendshelping.co.uk or by mail at: Care Franchises Ltd., Registered Office, 220 Torquay Road, Paignton, TQ3 2HN