Terms of Service

1.1Sport Freelancers is an online marketplace at sportfreelancers.com (the Platform). It is run by SportFreelancers Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17031149, whose registered office is at Butts Business Centre, Butts Road, Chiseldon, Swindon, England, SN4 0PP (we, us, our).

1.2These terms apply to everyone who creates an account on the Platform — people who buy services (Buyers) and people who sell them (Sellers). Where we say you, we mean you as a user, whether you are a Buyer, a Seller, or both.

1.3By creating an account you agree to these terms and confirm you have read our Privacy Policy, which explains how we use your personal information. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use the Platform.

1.4You can contact us about these terms at legal@sportfreelancers.com.

• Listing — a service a Seller offers on the Platform, including its packages, prices, description, delivery time and free cancellation window.
• Order — a Buyer's purchase of a Listing package.
• Service — the coaching, training, therapy, analysis or other sports service a Seller provides under an Order, whether in person or online.
• Held Payment — money a Buyer has paid for an Order that we are holding before it is passed to the Seller.
• Platform Fee — our commission, deducted from what the Seller receives for an Order.
• Content — anything a user uploads, writes or sends on the Platform: text, photos, videos, files, documents, reviews and messages.

3.1You must be 18 or over to create an account, whether as a Buyer or a Seller.

3.2Services for children. Many Services are for people under 18. A parent or legal guardian must hold the account and place the Order on the child's behalf. Children must not hold their own accounts or use another person's account.

3.3The Platform is for users in the United Kingdom. We do not currently offer it to people in other countries.

3.4You must give us accurate information, keep it up to date, and keep your login details secure. You are responsible for everything done through your account. If you think someone else has accessed it, tell us straight away at legal@sportfreelancers.com.

3.5You may hold one personal account. Do not create an account for anyone else, or a new account after we have suspended or closed one of yours.

4.1We provide the Platform. We do not provide the Services. Sport Freelancers is a place where independent Sellers list their own services and Buyers find and book them.

4.2The contract for a Service is between the Buyer and the Seller. When a Buyer places an Order, a contract is formed directly between the Buyer and the Seller. We are not a party to it. The Seller is responsible for the Service they provide.

4.3Sellers do not work for us. Sellers are not our employees, workers, agents or partners. We do not direct, supervise or control how Sellers provide their Services. See section 5.

4.4The one thing we do on a Seller's behalf is collect payment. Each Seller appoints us as their limited agent to accept payment from Buyers. See section 7.

4.5Verification. We check Sellers' identity (through our payment provider) and the qualifications they submit for the sports and services they list, before those Listings can go live. This helps keep the Platform trustworthy, but it is not a guarantee. We cannot vouch for the quality or safety of any particular Service, and we do not supervise Services as they take place.

4.6Buyers should decide for themselves whether a Seller and a Service are right for them — or for their child — before booking. If you have concerns about a Seller or a Listing, do not book it, and report it using the Platform's reporting tools.

5.1You run your own business. As a Seller you are self-employed, or trading through your own business. You decide:

• which services you offer and how you describe them;
• your prices, packages and delivery times;
• your free cancellation window;
• how, when and where you provide your Services, and the methods you use;
• which Orders you take on, and whether to cancel an Order before you deliver.

5.2You are free to work elsewhere. Nothing in these terms stops you working on other platforms or directly with your own clients, subject only to section 10 (payments for people you met here go through the Platform).

5.3Tax and legal duties. You are responsible for your own income tax, National Insurance, VAT (if you are registered), business records and any licences or registrations your work needs. We do not deduct tax from your earnings.

5.4Qualifications. You must hold, and keep current, every qualification, registration or licence needed to provide the Services you list, and only list Services you are qualified to provide. If a qualification lapses or is withdrawn, you must stop offering the Services that depend on it and tell us.

5.5Insurance.

• (a) We strongly recommend every Seller holds suitable public liability insurance.
• (b) If you offer hands-on or clinical services — for example physiotherapy or sports massage — you must hold suitable public liability and professional indemnity insurance, and provide proof of it as part of verification.

5.6Who delivers the Service. You are responsible for delivering each Service as your Listing describes it. If anyone other than you will deliver any part of a Service, you must tell the Buyer first and get their agreement. That person must be suitably qualified, and you remain fully responsible for the Service.

5.7Safeguarding. You are responsible for meeting the safeguarding duties that apply to your work, including any background checks, guidance from your sport's governing body, and the law. You must follow section 12.6 on images of children.

5.8Getting paid. To publish Listings and receive payouts you must complete onboarding with our payment provider, Stripe, including its identity checks. Stripe's own terms apply to your Stripe account.

6.1Choosing a Service. Read the Listing — its description, packages, delivery time and free cancellation window — before you book.

6.2Health and fitness. Sport carries a risk of injury. Before a Service, tell the Seller about any injury, medical condition or other issue that could affect your safety (or your child's). Follow the Seller's reasonable safety instructions, and stop if you feel unwell or unsafe.

6.3Children. If you book a Service for a child, you are responsible for making sure it is suitable for them and for arranging their supervision, unless you have agreed otherwise with the Seller.

6.4Requirements. Some Listings ask questions before the Seller can start. Answer them fully and accurately. The Seller cannot start until you do.

7.1Placing an Order. You place an Order by choosing a Listing package and paying at checkout. The Order is confirmed once payment succeeds.

7.2Prices. Sellers set their own prices. The price shown at checkout is the total the Buyer pays.

7.3We collect payment as the Seller's agent. Each Seller appoints SportFreelancers Ltd as their limited agent to collect payments from Buyers. Once a Buyer has paid us for an Order, the Buyer has paid the Seller for it, and the Buyer owes the Seller nothing further for that Order.

7.4Held Payment. We hold the Buyer's payment while the Order is in progress. We do not pass it to the Seller until:

• (a) the Order is complete — the Buyer accepts the delivery, or does not accept it or raise a problem within a set period after delivery, in which case it completes automatically; and
• (b) a further holding period after completion has passed, during which problems can still be raised (section 9).

The periods that apply are shown on the Order page.

7.5Paying the Seller. After the holding period we transfer the payment, minus our Platform Fee, to the Seller's Stripe account. Stripe then pays it to the Seller's bank account on a regular schedule, currently monthly.

7.6Platform Fee. Our Platform Fee is a percentage of each Order's price, deducted from what the Seller receives. The current rate is shown to Sellers on the Platform. Changing the rate never changes the fee on an Order already placed.

7.7Withholding and set-off. We may keep holding a payment, or use it to refund a Buyer, where:

• a dispute or chargeback is open on the Order;
• we are investigating a possible breach of these terms (section 14); or
• the law or our payment provider requires it.

7.8Changes to timings. We may change the periods in this section — including the automatic-completion period, the holding period and the payout schedule. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of any change, and it will not affect Orders placed before it takes effect.

7.9Payment processing. Payments are processed by Stripe. We do not see or store your full card details.

8.1Your legal right to cancel (Buyers). When you buy a Service from a Seller acting in the course of business, you normally have a legal right to cancel within 14 days of placing the Order, for any reason.

8.2Asking the Seller to start straight away. At checkout we will ask you to confirm that you want the Seller to start within those 14 days. If you do:

• (a) you can still cancel within the 14 days, but you will have to pay for the part of the Service already provided; and
• (b) you will lose the right to cancel once the Service has been fully provided.

8.3Some Services booked for a specific date — for example, a session on a set day — may not carry this 14-day right under the law. Where that applies, the Seller's free cancellation window (8.4) and section 9 still apply.

8.4The Seller's free cancellation window. Each Listing shows a free cancellation window, set by the Seller. Within it, you can cancel from your Order page for a full refund, no questions asked. The window counts from when you paid.

8.5Before you send requirements. If a Listing asks you questions before the Seller can start, you can cancel for a full refund at any time before you send your answers.

8.6After the window closes, or once the Seller has delivered , you cannot cancel yourself. Use Contact support on your Order page and we will look at the Order, or raise a problem under section 9.

8.7Sellers cancelling. A Seller may cancel an Order at any time before they deliver. The Buyer then receives a full refund automatically.

8.8How refunds are paid. Refunds go back to the original payment method, usually within 5–10 working days. When an Order is refunded in full, our Platform Fee on it is refunded too.

8.9Your other rights. Nothing in these terms affects your legal rights as a consumer, including your right to a Service provided with reasonable care and skill and as described.

9.1Talk to each other first. If something goes wrong with an Order, the Buyer and Seller should first try to sort it out between themselves, using the Order's messages.

9.2Raising a dispute. If you cannot agree, either the Buyer or the Seller can raise a dispute on the Order — at any time before the Order completes, or within the period after completion shown on the Order page. Both sides can add evidence.

9.3We decide how the Held Payment is released. Our team will review the Order, its messages, and the evidence from both sides. We will then decide how the Held Payment is dealt with — for example, a full refund, a partial refund, or payment to the Seller. We may ask either side for more information.

9.4Our decision is final on the Platform. Our decision settles how the Held Payment is released and what happens to the Order on the Platform. It does not take away anyone's legal rights. The Buyer and Seller can still take their dispute to court against each other, for example through the small claims court.

9.5What we can review. We can only review what happens on the Platform. We cannot verify conversations, agreements or events that take place outside it, so our dispute process does not cover them.

9.6Chargebacks. If a Buyer asks their bank or card provider to reverse a payment (a chargeback), that is a separate process decided by the bank, not by us. We may pause the Order while it is open, and we may share Order information with the bank to respond to it.

10.1All payments go through the Platform. If you met a Buyer or Seller through Sport Freelancers, every payment for Services between you must go through the Platform — including repeat bookings. Asking for, offering or accepting payment outside the Platform is a serious breach of these terms and may lead to your account being closed.

10.2Keep communication on the Platform where you can. Platform messaging keeps a record that protects both sides, and helps keep everyone — especially children — safe. We understand that sometimes you will need to share contact details, for example to arrange a meeting point or where there is poor signal at a venue. That is allowed.

10.3Outside the Platform is outside our view. Anything said, agreed or done outside the Platform is at your own risk, and we cannot help resolve problems that arise from it (see 9.5).

11.1Buyers can review a Seller after a completed Order.

11.2Reviews must be honest, and based on your genuine experience of the Order.

11.3You must not:

• (a) write, or arrange for anyone to write, a fake or misleading review;
• (b) review yourself, or a Seller you are connected with or competing with;
• (c) as a Seller, offer anything — a discount, refund, free session or other benefit — in return for a review or for changing one;
• (d) pressure or threaten anyone to write, change or remove a review;
• (e) swap reviews with another user.

11.4Anyone can report a review. We may hide or remove reviews that break these rules or our content rules (section 12), and act against accounts involved.

11.5We do not remove reviews just because they are negative.

12.1You keep ownership of the Content you upload. You confirm you have the right to upload it, and that it does not break the law or anyone else's rights.

12.2Public content: our licence. For Content you publish on the Platform — your Listings (including their photos and videos), your profile, and reviews — you give us a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive, transferable and sub-licensable licence to use, copy, adapt, display and share it:

• (a) to run the Platform; and
• (b) to promote Sport Freelancers in any media, including our website, social media, advertising and marketing.

This licence continues after you remove the Content or close your account, for material already created, but we will stop new uses once it is removed.

12.3Stopping marketing use. You can ask us at legal@sportfreelancers.com to stop using your Content in future marketing, and we will do so.

12.4Private content. Messages, requirements answers, files sent within an Order, dispute evidence and qualification documents are used only to run the Platform — providing Orders, verifying Sellers, resolving disputes, keeping users safe and meeting our legal duties. We never use them in marketing.

12.5Content rules. Content must not be:

• unlawful, false or misleading;
• abusive, threatening, discriminatory or sexual;
• infringing someone else's rights;
• other people's personal information shared without their permission; or
• spam or advertising for services outside the Platform.

12.6Images of children. Sellers must not publish photos or videos of anyone under 18 without the written consent of their parent or guardian. Even with consent, do not publish anything that identifies the child, such as their full name, school or where they live. The Seller is responsible for obtaining and keeping that consent. We may remove any such Content without notice.

12.7We may remove or hide any Content that breaks these terms, or that we reasonably believe puts users at risk.

13.1You must not:

• (a) use the Platform for anything unlawful, fraudulent or harmful;
• (b) harass, abuse, threaten or discriminate against anyone;
• (c) misrepresent who you are, your qualifications or your Services;
• (d) interfere with the Platform's security or operation — including scraping, automated access, or introducing malicious code;
• (e) use another person's account;
• (f) break section 10 (payments outside the Platform).

13.2Reporting. If you see something that worries you — a Listing, a review, a user or a message — report it using the Platform's reporting tools or contact us. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact the emergency services first.

14.1What we can do. We may suspend or close your account, remove Listings or Content, or restrict what you can do on the Platform, if:

• (a) you break these terms;
• (b) we suspect fraud, misuse or a risk to other users' safety;
• (c) we are required to by law, a regulator or our payment provider; or
• (d) your account has been inactive for a long period.

We will give you notice and reasons where it is reasonable to do so. We may act without notice where there is a risk to safety, fraud, or a legal reason.

14.2What happens to Orders and payments.

• (a) We may cancel open Orders and refund the Buyers.
• (b) We may hold payments due to a Seller while we investigate, and use them to refund Buyers affected by the misuse.
• (c) Payment for Services genuinely completed will still be paid to the Seller, unless it is connected to the misuse or fraud.

14.3Closing your own account. You can close your account at any time from your settings, and download a copy of your data first. Open Orders must be finished or cancelled first. Some records — such as Orders and reviews — stay on the Platform because other users' records rely on them. Our Privacy Policy explains what we keep and for how long.

15.1We work hard to keep the Platform running, but we provide it "as available". We do not promise it will always be available, uninterrupted or error-free.

15.2We may suspend the Platform, or parts of it, for maintenance, updates or security. We will try to give notice of planned downtime.

15.3The Platform relies on third-party providers, including our hosting, payment and email providers. We are not responsible for their failures where we have taken reasonable care in choosing and using them.

15.4If the Platform is unavailable and that stops you meeting a deadline on an Order — such as delivering, accepting a delivery or raising a dispute — we may extend that deadline.

16.1What we never exclude. Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for:

• death or personal injury caused by our negligence;
• fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
• anything else that cannot be limited or excluded by law, including your legal rights as a consumer.

16.2We are not responsible for the Services. Sellers provide Services, not us (section 4). We are not liable for the quality, safety or outcome of any Service, or for anything a Buyer or Seller does or fails to do.

16.3No indirect losses. We are not liable for loss of profits, loss of business, loss of earnings, loss of opportunity, or any indirect or consequential loss.

16.4Cap. Subject to 16.1, our total liability to you for all claims arising out of or in connection with the Platform in any 12-month period is limited to:

• For a Buyer: the greater of £100 or the amount you paid for the Order the claim relates to;
• For a Seller: the greater of £100 or the Platform Fees you paid us in the 12 months before the claim arose.

We are not responsible for any failure or delay caused by events outside our reasonable control. These include failures of internet, hosting, payment or email providers; power cuts; cyber attacks; strikes; natural events; pandemics; and government action.

18.1We may update these terms, for example to reflect changes to the Platform, the law, or our business.

18.2For significant changes, we will give you at least 30 days' notice by email and on the Platform. If you keep using the Platform after the change takes effect, you accept the new terms. If you do not agree, you can close your account before then.

18.3Minor changes that do not affect your rights — such as corrections or clarifications — take effect when we publish them.

18.4We may ask you to confirm you accept updated terms before you continue using the Platform.

19.1Law and courts. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring proceedings in your local courts.

19.2Whole agreement. These terms, and the policies they refer to, are the whole agreement between you and us about the Platform.

19.3If part is invalid. If any part of these terms is found to be invalid, the rest still applies.

19.4No waiver. If we do not enforce a right straight away, we can still enforce it later.

19.5Transfer. We may transfer our rights and duties under these terms to another organisation, for example if our business is sold. We will tell you if this happens. You may not transfer yours without our written permission.

19.6Third parties. No one other than you and us has any right to enforce these terms.