HandyMan24 Platform Terms of Service

Previous versions: handyman24.eu/regulamin/archiwum (PDF)

The Terms of Service consist of this document and six appendices. The appendices form part of the Terms of Service and are as binding as the Terms of Service themselves:

• Appendix 1. Jobs, dates and cancellation
• Appendix 2. Offers, commission and refunds
• Appendix 3. Messages and contact details
• Appendix 4. Reviews
• Appendix 5. Violations and their consequences
• Appendix 6. Verification, levels and permissions

Each point has a permanent number (e.g. R-4-2 is § 4(2) of this document, Z5-3-1 is Appendix 5, § 3(1)). Once published, a number is never reused for different content.

You can download the Terms of Service as a PDF, print them and save them at any time.

§ 1. Who we are

1. The HandyMan24 Platform is run by the entrepreneur Oleksandr Chumakov, trading as Oleksandr Chumakov, ul. Zbigniewa Herberta 37 lok. 2, 05-120 Legionowo, NIP (tax ID) 5361994183, REGON 542617070, entered in CEIDG (the Central Register and Information on Economic Activity, the Polish business register) (the Operator, “we”).
2. How to contact us: info@handyman24.eu and the “Help” form in the app and on app.handyman24.eu. The form also works without logging in. Details are on the Contact and reports page.
3. The Platform operates at handyman24.eu and app.handyman24.eu and in the HandyMan24 mobile app for iOS and Android.

§ 2. Definitions

1. Platform – the HandyMan24 website and mobile app.
2. User – a person who has an account on the Platform. One account can act as a Client, as a Professional, or as both.
3. Client – a User who publishes a Job.
4. Professional – a User who submits Offers and carries out work. A Professional may be an entrepreneur or a natural person who does not run a business.
5. Job – a description of the work the Client wants to have done. One Job may cover several pieces of work.
6. Offer – a Professional’s proposal with their price for a specific piece of work from a Job.
7. Contract – the work from one Job entrusted to one Professional. The Client and the Professional conclude the Contract with each other at the moment the Client selects the Professional. One Job may cover several Contracts with different Professionals.
8. Minimum call-out – the lowest amount of one Contract (Appendix 2, § 3).
9. HandyCoin Account – a Professional’s prepaid account, kept in zloty, from which we collect commission. HandyCoin is the name of the account, not a currency or a means of payment.
10. Commission – the Operator’s fee for bringing about the conclusion of a Contract, paid by the Professional.
11. Consumer – a natural person who concludes a contract not directly related to their business or professional activity (Article 22¹ of the Kodeks cywilny (Polish Civil Code)). We also apply the consumer rules to a natural person running a sole proprietorship where the contract is not of a professional nature for them (Article 385⁵ of the Civil Code and Article 38a of the Consumer Rights Act).

§ 3. What the Platform does and does not do

1. The Platform connects Clients with Professionals. As part of the services provided electronically, we make available:
   1. a User account;
   2. publishing Jobs and showing them to Professionals who work in the relevant category and area;
   3. submitting Offers and choosing a Professional;
   4. messages between the parties (Appendix 3);
   5. reviews (Appendix 4);
   6. the HandyCoin Account and top-ups (Appendix 2);
   7. verification of Professionals (Appendix 6);
   8. tools based on artificial intelligence: automatic translation of texts between the parties, an assistant that helps describe a Job, and detection of contact details and special categories of data in texts (the Artificial intelligence in HandyMan24 page);
   9. the “Help” form and handling of requests.
2. The Operator is not a party to the Contract between the Client and the Professional. The work is carried out by the Professional, on their own account and at their own responsibility. We do not employ Professionals, we do not set how or when they work, and we do not set their prices.
3. The Client pays the Professional directly – in cash, or by card if the Professional accepts card payments (Appendix 2, § 7). We do not accept or hold the Client’s money for the work and we do not pass it on to the Professional.
4. With each Offer we show whether the Professional has declared that they are an entrepreneur. We rely on their declaration and on register data, if we have checked it (Appendix 6). If the Professional is not an entrepreneur, the consumer rights legislation does not apply to the Contract with them, including the right to withdraw from a distance contract. The provisions of the Civil Code still apply, including those on liability for defects in the work.
5. For our own services – the operation of the Platform, verification to the extent described in Appendix 6, and handling of reports and disputes – we are liable under the general rules. We are not liable for how the Professional did the work, or for the obligations of the Contract parties towards each other, unless the damage results from our own culpable act or omission. Towards a Consumer, we do not exclude or limit any liability that may not be excluded or limited.
6. Use of the Platform by the Client is free of charge. Only the services for Professionals described in Appendix 2 are paid.

§ 4. Technical requirements

1. You need a device with internet access and one of the following:
   1. an up-to-date browser (Chrome, Safari, Firefox or Edge in one of the last two versions) with JavaScript enabled and the cookies needed for logging in allowed;
   2. the HandyMan24 app for iOS or Android in a version supported by the app store.
2. You also need an active e-mail address. A Professional needs a mobile phone number, which they confirm with an SMS code.
3. HandyCoin Account top-ups are made on the website (also when opened from the app). We do not sell anything in the app through the app store.
4. Using the internet involves typical risks (malware, impersonation, password interception). We never ask for your password, SMS code or card details in a message, by e-mail or by phone.
5. The Platform includes Google Maps features and content: when you type an address, the suggestions come from the Google Maps Platform service. Use of Google Maps features and content is subject to the then-current versions of the Google Maps/Google Earth Additional Terms of Service and the Google Privacy Policy.

§ 5. Account

1. An account may be created by an adult with full legal capacity. Companies and other entities act through a person authorised to represent them.
2. You create an account with an e-mail address and password, with a Google account, or through a link sent to your e-mail. The account contract is concluded for an indefinite period when the account is created.
3. You give true data and update it when it changes. One person has one account; a second account created to get around restrictions or a block violates the Terms of Service (Appendix 5).
4. You keep your password confidential and do not share your account with others. If you suspect someone has taken over your account, report it straight away through “Help” (topic “Account hacked or money taken”).
5. You can end the contract at any time by deleting your account in the settings or on the app.handyman24.eu/account/delete page. Deletion takes place after 14 days. During that time you can cancel it with one button, and we send an e-mail to the account address. An account cannot be deleted while a Contract, a dispute or an open request is in progress, or while there are funds on the HandyCoin Account; the Platform shows exactly what needs to be closed. What remains after an account is deleted, and why, is described in the Privacy Policy.

§ 6. Content rules

1. You must not provide illegal content on the Platform. In particular, you must not publish or send:
   1. content that breaks the law, including fraud, threats, or incitement to violence or hatred;
   2. content that infringes other people’s personal rights, privacy or copyright, including other people’s photos without consent;
   3. jobs for work that is illegal or that requires qualifications the Professional does not have, where the law requires them;
   4. erotic, offensive or vulgar content;
   5. other people’s personal data without a legal basis, including PESEL numbers (Polish national ID numbers) and health data;
   6. advertising and content unrelated to the Job;
   7. malware and links to it.
2. The prohibitions on contacts and on bypassing the Platform are set out in Appendix 3, and those on reviews in Appendix 4.
3. By publishing content, you grant us a non-exclusive, free licence to store it, show it to the other party, translate it and make technical modifications (resizing photos, removing metadata, hiding contact details) to the extent needed for the Platform to work. The licence expires when the content is deleted, except for copies we must keep by law or as evidence in a dispute. We show “before and after” photos publicly on the Professional’s page only with the Client’s express consent (Appendix 4, § 5).

§ 7. How we moderate content

1. We check content in three ways:
   1. automatically before saving – the system looks for phone numbers, e-mail addresses and links (it hides them until a Professional is chosen) and for special categories of data, e.g. health data (it deletes them irreversibly); some of these searches are done by an artificial intelligence model;
   2. automatically after photos are saved – the system checks whether a photo contains prohibited content or contact details;
   3. by a human – after a User report, after a system signal, or on our own initiative.
2. The automated system may hide or mask part of the content. Decisions to restrict, suspend or block an account are made by a human. The only exception is the automatic assignment of weight 1 described in Appendix 5, § 2.
3. Anyone, including a person without an account, can report illegal content – with the “Report” button next to the content or in the way described on the Contact and reports page. We confirm receipt of the report and tell you our decision.
4. If we remove or restrict your content or account, we give you a statement of reasons: what we did, on what basis (the number of the Terms of Service point in the version in force at the time of the violation), whether the decision was automated and how to challenge it.
5. If content points to a crime that threatens people’s life or safety, we notify the competent authorities.

§ 8. Complaints about the Platform

1. You can file a complaint about our services (the operation of the Platform, the HandyCoin Account, commission, moderation decisions) through “Help” or at info@handyman24.eu. Say what it is about and give the Job, Contract or request number, if you have one.
2. We reply within 14 days of receiving the complaint, by e-mail or in the “My requests” tab.
3. A complaint about work done by a Professional is addressed to the Professional. The Platform helps: the “File a complaint” button next to a completed Contract reopens the conversation with the Professional and notifies both parties (Appendix 1, § 8). This does not change who is responsible for the work.
4. If we do not accept a Consumer’s complaint in full, we state in our reply (by e-mail, which you can save) whether we agree to out-of-court dispute resolution (§ 9). We agree to mediation before the provincial inspector of the Inspekcja Handlowa (Trade Inspection).
5. Challenging an account restriction (appeal) is described in Appendix 5, § 6.

§ 9. Out-of-court disputes

1. A Consumer may use the free help of a municipal or district consumer ombudsman or a consumer organisation (e.g. Federacja Konsumentów, the Consumer Federation), and may ask the provincial inspector of the Trade Inspection for mediation or apply to a permanent consumer arbitration court. The list of these bodies is kept by the President of UOKiK (Office of Competition and Consumer Protection) at polubowne.uokik.gov.pl. Participation in such proceedings is voluntary for both parties.
2. A dispute between a Client and a Professional about the work done can be resolved only by them, by a court, or by an out-of-court body they choose. A dispute on the Platform (Appendix 1, § 8) settles Platform matters – the Contract status and the commission refund – and not the parties’ claims against each other.

§ 10. Paid services for Professionals

1. Commission rates, when commission is collected, and the rules for refunds and HandyCoin Account top-ups are set out in Appendix 2. Prices are given in zloty and include VAT, if due.
2. We issue an invoice for each top-up in accordance with the law.
3. A Professional who is a Consumer may, within 14 days of the top-up, withdraw from the top-up contract without giving a reason, by sending a statement through “Help” or to info@handyman24.eu (they may use the model form). We then refund the unused part of the top-up within 14 days, using the same payment method. Commission collected for a Contract concluded at their express request before that period ends is not refundable on withdrawal, because the service has been fully performed to that extent.

§ 11. Termination and suspension of the contract by the Operator

1. We may terminate the account contract with 30 days’ notice, giving reasons. Valid reasons for termination are: the Platform or part of it ceasing to operate, a legal requirement or a decision of an authority, and repeated violations of the Terms of Service.
2. We may terminate the contract or block an account without notice only in the cases set out in Appendix 5, § 5 (among others, proven fraud, forged documents, bypassing the Platform) or where the law requires it. The decision is made by a human, and you receive a statement of reasons and can appeal.
3. After the contract ends, we refund unused top-up funds on the HandyCoin Account to the bank account the Professional indicates. Bonuses (Appendix 2, § 6) are not paid out.

§ 12. Changes to the Terms of Service

1. We may change the Terms of Service only for valid reasons. These are:
   1. a change in the law, or a court or authority decision, that concerns the Platform;
   2. a change in commission rates, bonuses or prices of services for Professionals;
   3. the introduction of a new service or feature, or the change or withdrawal of an existing one;
   4. a new threat to Users’ security or a new form of abuse that must be countered, including a new ground for restricting an account;
   5. a change of the payment, hosting or other service provider on which the operation of the Platform depends;
   6. the start of operations in a new country;
   7. the transfer of the running of the Platform to a company in which the Operator holds shares, if that company takes over all our obligations towards Users;
   8. the need to clarify provisions that have turned out to be unclear, without changing rights and obligations to the detriment of Users.
2. We give notice of a change at least 15 days before it takes effect: by e-mail with the new text attached as a PDF, in the app, and on the “What is changing” page, where the changes are described in plain words (what it was, what it is, why). If a change requires Professionals to adjust their business, the notice period will be longer.
3. If you do not agree with a change, you may, before it takes effect, delete your account or terminate the contract with immediate effect, free of any charges. Using the Platform after the effective date means you accept the new version.
4. A change does not apply retroactively. We assess a violation under the version of the Terms of Service that was in force on the day of the violation.
5. Purely editorial corrections (a typo, a broken link) are marked in the version history and are not treated as a change to the Terms of Service.

§ 13. Final provisions

1. The Polish version of the Terms of Service is binding. The Ukrainian, Russian and English versions are translations that we publish on the same day to make the text easier to understand.
2. The governing law is Polish law. For a Consumer, this choice does not deprive them of the protection given by the mandatory provisions of the country of their habitual residence.
3. Disputes with Users who are not Consumers are settled by the court having jurisdiction over the Operator’s registered office. Disputes with Consumers are settled by the court having jurisdiction under the general rules.
4. The processing of personal data is described in the Privacy Policy, and cookies in the Cookie Policy. These documents inform; they do not prohibit anything and are not a basis for account restrictions.
5. Help articles on the Platform explain the rules in simpler words. If the help and the Terms of Service say different things, the Terms of Service prevail.