Legal
Terms of use
These terms of use (together with the documents referred to in them) outline the terms under which Commetus Limited (referred to as we, us, our, Commetus ) permit you to subscribe to the Commetus services which will enable you to, via www.commetus.co.uk (the “Site”) and the Commetus app, depending on the type of account you hold: Create postings for jobs that need to be undertaken at a property, such as (but not limited to) maintenance jobs, building works, plumbing and heating installations, woodwork and carpentry, electrical works (referred to as “Jobs” ). Provide quotes to complete Jobs that have been posted (referred to as “Bids” ). Manage and view the status of any active Jobs in progress. Communicate between the managing agent, the contractor undertaking any Jobs, and the tenant whose property any Jobs are being undertaken on. Invoice for, and pay invoices for, Jobs that have been completed. Report maintenance issues to the managing agent. (the above together are referred to as the “Commetus Services” ). Any data uploaded and stored via the Commetus Services, such as Jobs (including text and images), Bids, and correspondence, is referred to as “Commetus Data” . A full description of the Commetus Services can be found at the Site. We reserve the right to add and/or change features and functionality provided as part of the Commetus Services without notice to you. Please read these terms of use carefully before you start to use our Commetus Services and the Site. We recommend that you print a copy for future reference. Your use of the Commetus app is also governed by these terms and conditions, as well as the licence you agree to upon downloading the Commetus app. By using the Commetus Service, the Site and the Commetus app, you confirm that you accept these terms of use and that you agree to comply with them. If you do not agree to these terms of use, you may not make use of our Commetus Services, the Site, or the Commetus app.
Changes to these terms
We may revise these terms of use at any time by amending this page. Please check this page from time to time to take notice of any changes we make, as they are binding on you.
Changes to the Site and Commetus app
We may update the Site or the Commetus app from time to time and may change the content of it at any time. However, please note that any of the content may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update it. We do not guarantee that the Site and the Commetus app, or any content on them, will be free from errors or omissions.
Registering on the Site
Save for the aspects of the Commetus Services that require a valid, paid-for account — being Managing Agent accounts and Contractor accounts — the Commetus Services are provided free of charge. To use the Commetus Services you will need to register by providing: Your company name; Your full name; Your full address; Your email address; and Your contact telephone number. Upon submitting the above, you will be requested to create a password, unique to you, which you will use to access the Commetus Services. This password must be kept confidential and must not be shared with anyone else. If we have reason to believe that you have provided your login details to someone else, or your account has been compromised, we reserve the right to suspend your access to the Site and/or the Commetus app. We will not be liable for any losses that may arise as a result of this suspension.
Access to the Commetus Services
Commetus offers 3 types of account for use of the Commetus Services, depending on whether your use is as a managing agent, a contractor, or a tenant: Account Managing Agent £99.00 per user / month For landlords and/or managing agents responsible for the upkeep of tenanted buildings. Account Contractor 10% commission net of VAT, per invoice For contractors looking to undertake work at premises operated by Managing Agent account holders. Account Tenant Free of charge For tenants of buildings where the managing agent or landlord holds a Managing Agent account. Managing Agent A ‘Managing Agent’ account is for landlords and/or managing agents that hold responsibility for the upkeep of tenanted buildings. The Commetus Services will allow the account holder, and any of its authorised users, to: Post Jobs; Award Jobs; Update Jobs; Manage Jobs being undertaken by Contractors; Communicate with the Contractor and Tenant regarding any Jobs, including providing status updates; Receive invoices for Jobs; Make payment for any invoices received. The subscription fee payable for a Managing Agent account is £99.00 per user per month, or part of a month . Contractor A ‘Contractor’ account is for contractors looking to undertake work at premises operated by Managing Agent account holders, for jobs published on the Site and the Commetus app. The Commetus Services will allow the account holder, and any authorised users, to: Review Jobs; Communicate with the Managing Agent and Tenant regarding any Jobs, including status updates; Place Bids to undertake any Jobs; Be awarded Jobs by the Managing Agent; Invoice for Jobs; Receive payment for any invoices raised. All payments will be made via the Commetus Services, and Commetus will remit to the Contractor the amount received in respect of any invoice (which has been paid by the relevant payee), less Commetus’ commission, which is 10% of the total invoice value, net of VAT . The Managing Agent can also add in a commission due to them in respect of any Jobs, which Commetus will deduct, as appropriate, prior to remitting any balance to the Contractor. Commetus will remit all payments, via Stripe, within 7 days of receipt of the sums from the relevant payee. Commetus does not take any responsibility for chasing overdue invoices and will have no liability, or responsibility, for any invoices that remain unpaid. Tenant A ‘Tenant’ account is for tenants of buildings where the managing agent or landlord has a Managing Agent account with Commetus. The Tenant account allows the user to: Make requests for maintenance to be undertaken at their premises. When making a request the Tenant can: provide an overview of the maintenance required; state whether it is urgent and, if so, why; and provide pictures of the maintenance required; Communicate with the managing agent or landlord regarding active maintenance requests; Receive updates from the managing agent, landlord, or contractor regarding the status of any active maintenance requests. Access to the Commetus Services via a Tenant account is free of charge.
Administration of accounts
All Managing Agent and Contractor accounts must have a nominated ‘super user’. The super user will have added functionality compared to any authorised users managed by them. Super Users will be able to: Control what information individual authorised users can see, and what information they can change; Add and remove authorised users; Change account information, including payment information; Terminate the account.
Payment of subscription fees
All subscription fees are payable monthly in advance. Commetus reserves the right to increase the subscription fees, or to charge subscription fees for Tenant accounts, at any point by giving the account super user not less than 1 month’s advance notice. Subscription fees are due and, where appropriate, will be taken and/or invoiced on the same day of each month, corresponding with the date on which the subscription was started. For example, if your subscription commenced on the 10th of February, payment will be due on the 10th of each month thereafter. If the payment date falls on a non-working day, payment will be taken and/or invoiced on the next working day. Where Commetus has retained an account’s credit card information (with the account holder’s consent) it will automatically charge the card for the subscription fees on the relevant date each month. Where Commetus does not have retained credit card information, the subscription fees will be invoiced on the relevant date each month, with such invoice being due and payable upon receipt. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, Commetus will not allow for payment via invoice for any account other than Contractor accounts.
Anti-circumvention
In order to protect the integrity of the Commetus Services and to ensure the proper payment of any commissions due to Commetus, any holder of a Contractor account or a Managing Agent account agrees that it, and its authorised users, shall not circumvent, avoid, bypass, or obviate Commetus, directly or indirectly, for the purpose of avoiding payment of any fees or commissions due. Any attempt to negotiate, contract, or make payment for Jobs outside the Commetus platform, or to otherwise avoid any monies due to Commetus, is strictly prohibited. In the event of a breach of this clause, Commetus reserves the right to recover all commissions due, suspend or terminate user accounts, and pursue any other remedies available at law or in equity.
Account termination and suspension
Holders of Tenant accounts can terminate membership and their account at any time by selecting the ‘cancel account’ option in the ‘account’ Commetus dashboard. The user will be prompted to confirm; upon confirmation the Tenant account will be deleted and will no longer be accessible. The Managing Agent also has the right to cancel any Tenant account for any property they are managing, at any time, via their Commetus dashboard. Subscriptions for Managing Agent accounts are on a monthly basis. Only the super users of Managing Agent accounts can terminate their subscription, via the Managing Agent’s Stripe account. Upon confirmation the account will be limited and the Managing Agent will not be able to post any more Jobs or view their saved contractors. If there is an ongoing Job, they will still be able to view the status and manage the Job until the invoice is paid. Upon termination of an account, all data linked to that account will be removed and will no longer be accessible, even if the account is recreated at a later date. Commetus shall have no liability to an account holder, or authorised user, for any losses they may suffer as a result of the data on an account being unavailable following termination. Commetus shall be entitled to suspend access to any account for the following reasons: Any breach of these terms by any user of an account; or Non-payment of subscription fees. Should a suspension event occur, Commetus will give the super user notice of our intention to suspend, and will give 5 days to remedy the issue. If not remedied within this 5-day period, Commetus shall be entitled to suspend all access until the issue has been remedied to Commetus’ satisfaction. If the issue remains unresolved for a period of 1 calendar month or longer, Commetus shall be entitled to terminate the account immediately and without any liability to the account holder or any of the users.
Access to the Site and the app
We do not guarantee that the Site, or the Commetus app, or any content on it, including current or previous Commetus Data, will always be available or be uninterrupted. We may suspend, withdraw, discontinue or change all or any part of the Site, or Commetus app, without notice. We will not be liable to you if for any reason the Site, or Commetus app, is unavailable at any time or for any period. You are responsible for making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Site and/or the Commetus app. You are also responsible for ensuring that all persons who access them through your internet connection are aware of these terms of use and other applicable terms, and that they comply with them.
Intellectual property rights
We are the owner or the licensee of all intellectual property rights in the Site and the Commetus app, and in the material published on it. Those works are protected by copyright laws and treaties around the world. All such rights are reserved. The Commetus Data belongs to Commetus, and obtaining account access to the Commetus Services means that Commetus is granting to you a worldwide, exclusive (but not to the exclusion of Commetus), revocable and terminable licence to any Commetus Data. This licence shall automatically terminate upon the suspension or termination of your account access. In the event that your account or account access is suspended or terminated, Commetus makes no guarantees that it will be able to restore any or all data that you may have had access to prior to such suspension or termination.
Posting of Jobs — acceptable use policy
All job postings must be truthful and accurately represent the maintenance required. Managing Agent account holders are strictly prohibited from posting jobs that are fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive in nature. Job postings must not contain offensive images, including but not limited to nudity or any content that is obscene, abusive, or otherwise inappropriate. Commetus reserves the right to remove any job postings that violate these acceptable use standards. For the avoidance of all doubt, Commetus will not have any involvement in any dispute between any Contractor, Managing Agent and/or Tenant regarding the quality of any work undertaken pursuant to a Job. Commetus is not an arbitrator or adjudicator and will refer any requesting party to raise their concerns with the Contractor or Managing Agent, as the case requires. Commetus accepts no liability to any party arising from any work undertaken pursuant to a Job.
No reliance on information
Although we make reasonable efforts to update the information on the Site and the Commetus app, we make no representations, warranties or guarantees, whether express or implied, that the content is accurate, complete or up to date. By using the Site and the Commetus app you understand that Commetus does not actively moderate or monitor ‘job’ postings, and the content of any ‘job’ posting is at the control of the user who posts it. If we are alerted to any ‘job’ posting that is potentially in breach of the acceptable use requirements, we will review it and, if we determine that it should be removed, will remove it without liability and without the requirement to provide any explanation for our actions.
Data protection
By supplying personal data to us you warrant that you have the right to supply such information to us and that we have the right to process it on your behalf for the purposes of supplying the Commetus Data to you. We warrant that we will process all personal data relating to you, Engineers, or your customers, supplied to us via the Site, the Commetus app and the Services, in accordance with all relevant data protection laws, regulations and codes of practice, and that we will not pass the personal data you supply to any third party outside of Commetus without yours, or the data subject’s, prior consent. Where we process any personal data on behalf of the data owner when performing our obligations, the data owner shall be the controller of that data and we shall be the processor. The party that uploads any data will ensure that it has all necessary appropriate consents and notices in place to enable lawful transfer of the personal data to us for the duration and purposes of this agreement. We shall, in relation to any personal data processed in connection with our obligations: process that personal data only on the data owner’s instructions, unless we are required by applicable EU or UK law to process it; not transfer any personal data outside of the European Economic Area unless: appropriate safeguards are in place; the data subject has enforceable rights and effective legal remedies; we provide an adequate level of protection; and we comply with reasonable instructions notified to us in advance by the data owner; assist the data owner, at the data owner’s cost, in responding to any request from a data subject and in ensuring compliance with the data owner’s obligations regarding security, breach notifications, impact assessments and consultations with supervisory authorities; notify the data owner without undue delay on becoming aware of a personal data breach; at the written direction of the data owner, delete or return personal data and copies thereof on termination of the agreement, unless required by law to store it; and maintain complete and accurate records to demonstrate compliance, and immediately inform the data owner if, in our opinion, an instruction infringes any relevant data protection legislation. All parties shall ensure that they have in place appropriate technical and organisational measures to protect against unauthorised or unlawful processing of personal data and against accidental loss, destruction or damage. Where we make use of any third-party processors, we have entered (or will enter) into a written agreement incorporating substantially similar terms, and as between Commetus and the data owner, we shall remain fully liable for all acts or omissions of any third-party processor appointed by us.
Limitation of our liability
Nothing in these terms of use excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury arising from our negligence, or our fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited by English law. To the extent permitted by law, we exclude all conditions, warranties, representations, or other terms which may apply to the Commetus Services and/or the Site and/or the Commetus app or any content on it, whether express or implied. We will not be liable to any user for any loss or damage, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, even if foreseeable, arising under or in connection with: any information, results, figures or recommendations given by us in the Commetus Data or derived from your use of the Commetus Services, the Site, and/or the Commetus app; any delay in payment you may receive from your customer(s) for works performed that arises due to the Commetus Data not meeting your customer’s minimum standards or requirements, or as a result of the figures or recommendations given as part of the Commetus Data; or use of, or inability to use, the Site and the Commetus app. Where you are a business user, please note that in particular we will not be liable for: loss of profits, sales, business, or revenue; business interruption; loss of anticipated savings; loss of business opportunity, goodwill or reputation; or any indirect or consequential loss or damage. If you have a Tenant account, please note that we only provide the Commetus Services, the Site and the Commetus app for information purposes only and make no assurance, guarantees, promises or warranties that any work you request will be completed, or will be completed to any set standard or quality. Any issues relating to any Job completed are as between you, your landlord and their managing agent, as well as the contractor that undertook the Job in question. We will not be liable for any loss or damage caused by a virus, distributed denial-of-service attack, or other technologically harmful material that may infect your computer equipment, computer programs, data or other proprietary material due to your use of the Site and the Commetus app, or to your downloading of any content on it, or on any website linked to it.
Viruses
We do not guarantee that the Site and the Commetus app will be secure or free from bugs or viruses. You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform in order to access the Site and the Commetus app. You should use your own virus protection software.
Applicable law
If you are a consumer, please note that these terms of use, their subject matter and formation, are governed by English law. You and we both agree that the courts of England and Wales will have non-exclusive jurisdiction. However, if you are a resident of Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in Northern Ireland, and if you are a resident of Scotland, you may also bring proceedings in Scotland. If you are a business, these terms of use, their subject matter and formation (and any non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by English law. We both agree to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.