Terms of Service (Seekers)

A private individual acting outside any professional or business activity. The Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) does not apply to the relationship with a private helper. Advice is based on personal knowledge and experience — not professional advice.

A self-employed person, sole trader, or company acting in the course of professional or business activity. Mandatory consumer protection applies in full. Even with a professional helper, advice is informational unless recognised professional qualifications are explicitly stated.

Helpers set their own price per 10-minute block, within a minimum and maximum rate set by VDGT Consultancy BV. The total session price is shown in the app before you confirm payment. You choose a fixed session duration (10, 20 or 30 minutes) at confirmation. Billing is per started 10-minute block. The minimum and maximum rates may be updated with at least 30 days' advance notice in the app and do not require a new version of these Terms.

Payments are processed via Stripe (PCI DSS certified). Your payment data is stored exclusively with Stripe. VDGT Consultancy BV never sees your card details. Payments made outside Stripe are a breach of these Terms and are not eligible for any refund, dispute resolution or intervention by VDGT Consultancy BV.

Free cancellation at any time.

If the helper does not join within 1 minute of payment confirmation, the payment is automatically refunded in full.

For demonstrable technical issues you may contact [email protected]. Refunds are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Once started, payment is final. Dissatisfaction with the content of advice does not entitle you to an automatic refund.

As a consumer you have in principle a withdrawal period of 14 calendar days from the conclusion of the contract (Art. VI.47 CDE, Directive 2011/83/EU). Pursuant to Art. VI.53 CDE you lose this right when the service is fully performed before the expiry of the withdrawal period, provided the service commenced at your explicit request and you acknowledged in advance that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal. ℹ This explicit acknowledgement takes place in the app via a separate, pre-unchecked checkbox on the payment page, before payment confirmation.

The Consumer Rights Directive does not apply to C2C sessions. No statutory right of withdrawal applies in relation to a private helper.

Via [email protected]. We aim to handle complaints within 14 business days.

Via the "Report" button in the app or by blocking the helper.

Via the dispute function in the app or [email protected]. The platform handles technical and billing disputes only.

• Belgium: ombudsman.be
• EU ODR: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr

VDGT Consultancy BV as technical intermediary is not liable for the quality or accuracy of helpers' advice, nor for any acts or omissions by helpers. Except in cases of intent or gross negligence by VDGT Consultancy BV, liability for direct damage is limited to the platform fees paid in the preceding 3 months. Liability for indirect damage, consequential damage and loss of profit is excluded, except in cases of intent or gross negligence.

The help seeker shall indemnify VDGT Consultancy BV against any and all third-party claims — including claims by other platform users — arising from their acts or omissions on or in connection with the platform, including breaches of these Terms or applicable law. This indemnification covers all reasonable costs, including attorneys' fees, court costs, settlement amounts and commercial damages incurred by VDGT Consultancy BV as a result.

All intellectual property rights in the platform, app and the brand name HelpingHands vest in VDGT Consultancy BV. You may consult the platform and reproduce or print its pages strictly for personal use. Any other use — including reproduction, modification, distribution, transmission or republication — is prohibited without our prior written consent.

By submitting content to the Platform (including help request titles and descriptions, attached photos, ratings and free-text review comments, and messages sent through the Platform), you grant VDGT Consultancy BV a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, display, adapt (for technical or presentation formats — e.g. resizing, compression, translation) and distribute that content for the purposes of operating, improving, promoting and securing the Platform, including moderation and fraud prevention. This licence lasts as long as the content remains on the Platform and ends on its removal, except for reasonable retained use in back-ups, audit logs and already-distributed communications. You warrant that you have all necessary rights to the content you submit and that it does not infringe third-party rights (copyright, image rights, privacy, trade secrets) or applicable law.

You may close your account at any time via the in-app settings or by email to [email protected]. Closure does not release you from obligations in respect of sessions already booked, in progress or due for payment at the time of closure.

We may suspend, restrict or terminate your account — in whole or in part, with immediate effect and without compensation — where: (a) you breach these Terms or the Agreement; (b) we have serious grounds to believe your behaviour endangers other users, helpers, the Platform or third parties; (c) you engage in fraud, payment abuse, manipulation of ratings or commissions, or unlawful activity; or (d) we are required to do so by law, by a competent authority or by our payment provider. Where reasonably possible and proportionate, we will notify you first and give you an opportunity to remedy the breach.

You may contest a suspension or termination via [email protected]. We aim to respond within 14 business days.

We endeavour to keep the Platform available 24/7 but provide it on a best-efforts basis. We may temporarily suspend access for maintenance, updates or security reasons, preferably with advance notice. We are not liable for unavailability, interruptions, bugs, data loss or corruption, except in cases of intent or gross negligence on our part.

We operate as a technical intermediary. We do not vet or guarantee a helper's identity, qualifications, solvency, insurance status, tax status or the accuracy of their profile, beyond the basic identity verification performed by Stripe Connect. You are solely responsible for assessing a helper before confirming a session.

The help seeker and the helper act as independent parties. Nothing in the Agreement creates an employment, agency, partnership or joint venture relationship, either between the help seeker and the helper, or between either of them and VDGT Consultancy BV.

VDGT Consultancy BV may assign or transfer its rights and obligations under the Agreement, in whole or in part, to an affiliate or a successor (including in the context of a merger, reorganisation or sale of assets). You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations without our prior written consent.

If any provision of these Terms is held invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be replaced by a valid provision that reflects as closely as possible the original intent.

Our failure to enforce any provision of the Agreement on a given occasion does not constitute a waiver of that provision or of our right to enforce it later.

The Agreement (as defined in section 4) constitutes the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Platform and supersedes any prior understandings or representations on the same subject matter.