Terms and Conditions

1. About Us and These Terms

London Tree Surgeons Ltd ("we", "us", "our") operates www.londontreesurgeons.co.uk, a lead generation marketplace that connects members of the public ("consumers") seeking tree surgery services in London with vetted tree surgery businesses ("suppliers"). These Terms govern two distinct relationships: (1) consumers who submit enquiries through this website, and (2) suppliers who register on the platform to receive and purchase leads. Additional Supplier-specific terms are set out in Section 6 onwards.

We reserve the right to update these Terms at any time. Continued use of the website following notification of changes constitutes acceptance. Material changes will be communicated via email or a prominent site notice with a minimum of 14 days notice.

2. Consumer Terms

2.1 The Service We Provide to Consumers

We provide a free enquiry submission service. When you submit an enquiry, we will attempt to match your request with up to three (3) vetted tree surgery businesses operating in your area. We do not guarantee that a match will always be available. The service is provided free of charge to consumers.

We are a lead generation intermediary only. We are not a tree surgery business, we do not carry out tree surgery work, and we are not a party to any contract formed between you and a supplier. Any contract for tree surgery services is solely between you and the supplier.

2.2 What You Agree to as a Consumer

By submitting an enquiry you confirm that:

• You are aged 18 or over
• You are the property owner or have authority to commission the requested work
• The information you provide is accurate and complete
• You consent to your contact details being shared with up to 3 matched suppliers for the purpose of receiving quotes
• You understand that suppliers are independent businesses and we do not guarantee their quality, conduct, or workmanship
• You may receive follow-up messages from us asking about the job outcome and inviting you to rate the supplier

2.3 Our Liability to Consumers

We do not endorse, warrant, or guarantee any supplier listed on or matched through this platform. We carry out initial vetting of suppliers including checking public liability insurance and NPTC certification, but this does not constitute a guarantee of quality, safety, or professionalism.

We are not liable for:

• The quality or safety of any work carried out by a matched supplier
• Any loss, damage, or injury arising from work carried out by a supplier
• Any failure by a supplier to make contact following a matched lead
• Any dispute between you and a supplier regarding price, quality, or conduct
• Any inaccuracy in the information a supplier provides to you

Our total liability to any consumer in connection with this service shall not exceed £100.

2.4 Consumer Complaints About Suppliers

If you have a complaint about a supplier who was matched through our platform, we encourage you to contact us at legal@londontreesurgeons.co.uk. We will investigate complaints and may take action against suppliers who repeatedly receive poor reviews or who breach our Supplier Terms. However, we are not obligated to resolve disputes between consumers and suppliers and cannot compel suppliers to refund or remedy work.

2.5 Follow-Up Communications

After your enquiry is accepted by a supplier, you may receive a small number of follow-up SMS and email messages from us asking whether the job went ahead and inviting you to rate the supplier. These messages are sent in connection with our fraud prevention and quality assurance processes. You may opt out at any time by replying STOP to any SMS or clicking the unsubscribe link in any email. Opting out will not affect your ability to receive quotes or use the service.

3. Acceptable Use

You must not use this website or service to:

• Submit false, misleading, or fraudulent enquiries
• Submit enquiries on behalf of a third party without their knowledge or consent
• Attempt to reverse-engineer, scrape, or harvest data from this website
• Interfere with the platform's operation, security, or infrastructure
• Use automated tools, bots, or scripts to submit enquiries or access the platform
• Submit enquiries for the purpose of gathering competitor pricing information
• Engage in any conduct that is unlawful, harmful, or reputationally damaging to us or our suppliers

We reserve the right to block, suspend, or remove access to any user who breaches these acceptable use terms without notice.

4. Intellectual Property

All content on this website including text, design, graphics, logos, page layouts, and code is owned by or licensed to London Tree Surgeons Ltd. You may not copy, reproduce, republish, distribute, or commercially exploit any content from this website without our prior written permission.

Supplier reviews and ratings submitted by consumers remain the intellectual property of the submitting consumer, but by submitting a review you grant us a perpetual, royalty-free, worldwide licence to display, reproduce, and use that review in connection with the platform and our marketing.

5. Website Availability and Accuracy

We do not guarantee that this website will be available at all times or that it will be free from errors or viruses. We reserve the right to suspend, withdraw, or restrict access to the website at any time for operational or technical reasons.

We take reasonable care to ensure that information on this website is accurate and up to date, but we make no warranty as to the accuracy, completeness, or currency of any information provided, including supplier listings, service descriptions, or pricing guidance. Pricing ranges shown on service pages are indicative estimates only and not contractually binding.

6. Supplier Terms

These terms apply to all businesses that register an account on the London Tree Surgeons platform, whether on the free Revenue Share tier or the Verified Partner subscription.

6.1 Supplier Eligibility and Registration

To register as a supplier you must:

• Be a legally incorporated or registered sole trader business operating in the United Kingdom
• Hold valid public liability insurance of a minimum of £1,000,000 per claim
• Hold current and valid NPTC certification or equivalent professional qualification for the services you intend to offer
• Operate within at least one London borough
• Be authorised to enter into legally binding agreements on behalf of your business
• Not have been previously suspended or removed from this platform

By completing registration you warrant that all information provided is accurate and that you meet the above eligibility criteria. We reserve the right to suspend or remove any supplier account where eligibility cannot be confirmed or where information is found to be inaccurate.

6.2 The Lead Generation Service

We will use reasonable endeavours to match your account with consumer enquiries based on your registered service areas and service categories. We do not guarantee a minimum number of leads, a minimum lead quality, or that any lead will result in a won job. Lead volumes will vary based on consumer demand, geographic area, and the number of suppliers competing in your area.

Leads are delivered to a maximum of three suppliers per enquiry. You will receive a preview of each lead before accepting. By clicking "Accept Lead" you confirm that you have read the lead details and agree to contact the consumer promptly to arrange a quote.

6.3 Revenue Share Commission

On the free tier, you pay no upfront or monthly fee. Instead, when you win a job that originated from a lead delivered through this platform, you agree to pay us a commission of 12% of the gross invoice value charged to the consumer.

On the Verified Partner tier, your commission rate is reduced to 10% of the gross invoice value.

Commission is triggered when you mark a lead as Won in your supplier dashboard and enter the gross invoice value. You authorise us to collect the applicable commission amount automatically from your connected Stripe account. Commission is due and payable at the point of job completion.

6.4 Honest Reporting Obligation

You are under a strict obligation to report all job outcomes honestly and accurately. This means:

• Marking every accepted lead as Won, Lost, or Waiting within 7 days of job completion
• Entering the true and complete gross invoice value charged to the consumer for any won job
• Not under-reporting invoice values for the purpose of reducing commission liability

6.5 Stripe Connect and Payment Authorisation

By completing Stripe Connect onboarding during registration, you authorise London Tree Surgeons Ltd to instruct Stripe to collect commission payments from your connected bank account upon job reporting. This is a continuing authorisation that applies to all future commission charges until your account is closed or you withdraw authorisation in writing. You are responsible for maintaining a valid and funded Stripe Connect account. Failed commission payments will be retried. Persistent payment failures may result in account suspension.

6.6 Lead Slot Exclusivity

Each lead is made available to a maximum of three suppliers. Once three suppliers have accepted a lead, it is closed and no further suppliers can accept it. We do not guarantee exclusive delivery of any lead to a single supplier unless you are the sole supplier in a given area and service category. Verified Partner suppliers receive a 2-hour priority window on all leads before standard tier suppliers are notified.

6.7 Prohibited Conduct by Suppliers

You must not:

• Contact consumers matched through this platform for any purpose other than responding to their original enquiry
• Add consumer contact details to any marketing list, CRM, or database for future outreach without the consumer's separate and explicit consent
• Share, sell, or transfer consumer data received through this platform to any third party
• Submit false or inflated invoice values to this platform
• Submit false job outcome reports (marking jobs as Lost when they were won, or Won when they were not)
• Attempt to circumvent the platform by encouraging consumers to contact you directly in future through channels that bypass our lead tracking
• Create multiple accounts to gain additional lead access
• Engage in any conduct that brings this platform or the tree surgery profession into disrepute

Breach of any of the above may result in immediate account suspension, recovery of outstanding commissions, and legal action where appropriate.

6.8 Verified Partner Subscription

The Verified Partner subscription is billed at £1,500 per calendar month via Stripe Billing. Subscriptions auto-renew monthly unless cancelled. You may cancel at any time via your dashboard and your subscription will remain active until the end of the current billing period. No refunds are issued for partial months.

Verified Partner benefits including priority lead access, branded profile page, and area page placement are active only while a paid subscription is in force. If your subscription lapses, these benefits are removed immediately and your account reverts to the free Revenue Share tier.

We reserve the right to modify the Verified Partner pricing or features with 30 days written notice. If you do not accept the new terms, you may cancel before the changes take effect.

6.9 Trust Score and Account Management

We maintain a trust score for every supplier account based on platform behaviour including job reporting accuracy, customer ratings, and compliance with these terms. Trust scores are used internally to assess account standing and are not publicly visible.

Trust score thresholds:

• Below 60: account flagged for internal review
• Below 40: account automatically suspended pending investigation

Where your account is flagged or suspended, you will be notified by email. You have the right to request a human review of any automated decision by emailing legal@londontreesurgeons.co.uk within 14 days of notification.

6.10 Account Termination by Us

We may suspend or terminate your supplier account immediately and without prior notice where:

• You breach any of these Terms
• You engage in fraudulent activity
• Your trust score falls below 40
• You fail to maintain valid public liability insurance or NPTC certification
• You receive three or more 1-star ratings within a 90-day period without satisfactory resolution
• You fail to pay outstanding commission charges after reasonable attempts to collect

On termination, all outstanding commission is immediately due and payable. We reserve the right to pursue outstanding balances through legal proceedings.

6.11 Account Termination by You

You may close your supplier account at any time by contacting legal@londontreesurgeons.co.uk. Account closure does not affect any commission liability for leads accepted prior to closure. Outstanding commission charges remain due after account closure.

7. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, special, or punitive loss or damage arising from use of this platform
• We are not liable for loss of profit, loss of revenue, loss of business, or loss of anticipated savings
• We are not liable for any loss arising from a consumer's failure to proceed with a job after accepting a quote
• We are not liable for any technical failure, data loss, or interruption to the platform
• Our total aggregate liability to any supplier in connection with this platform shall not exceed the total commission paid by that supplier in the three months preceding the event giving rise to the claim

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be limited by law.

8. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless London Tree Surgeons Ltd, its directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• Your breach of these Terms
• Any claim by a consumer arising from work carried out by you
• Any misuse of consumer personal data received through this platform
• Any fraudulent or inaccurate reporting submitted via your account
• Any infringement of third-party rights by you

9. Dispute Resolution

In the event of a dispute between us and a supplier, both parties agree to attempt to resolve the matter informally in the first instance by contacting legal@londontreesurgeons.co.uk. We will endeavour to respond to all formal complaints within 10 working days.

If a dispute cannot be resolved informally within 30 days, either party may refer the matter to mediation before pursuing legal proceedings. The costs of mediation shall be shared equally between the parties unless otherwise agreed.

Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive or other equitable relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.

10. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. Both parties irrevocably submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

11. General Provisions

• Severability: If any provision of these Terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, it shall be deemed severed from the remaining Terms which shall continue in full force.
• Waiver: Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms at any time does not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other.
• Entire Agreement: These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any Supplier Agreement, constitute the entire agreement between us relating to your use of the platform and supersede all prior agreements.
• Third Party Rights: Nothing in these Terms confers any rights on any third party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
• Force Majeure: We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control.