Terms and Conditions

1. About these terms

These terms govern use of the It's Broken. Help! website and platform operated by It's Broken. Help!. You can contact the platform team securely.

2. The network and local groups

The platform helps people find and communicate with independent Community Repair Groups and helps volunteers organise network activity. Unless a group is expressly identified as being operated by us, each group is responsible for its own events, volunteers, repair decisions, safety procedures, insurance, public communications and legal compliance. The platform does not appoint, employ or supervise local volunteers.

Groups must complete our verification process before public listing, public enquiries, donations, payout onboarding or paid promotion are enabled. Applicants must be authorised by the proposed organisers, provide independently checkable organiser and venue contacts, and commit to offering repair help without a compulsory service, attendance or labour charge. Groups may accept voluntary donations and recover parts costs only where those costs are explained and agreed in advance. A verified badge records a point-in-time identity, organiser and venue review. It is not an endorsement or guarantee of workmanship, repair safety, financial standing, event availability, or individual conduct. We may request updated evidence, hide a listing, suspend financial features, or withdraw verification while investigating inaccurate information, compulsory charging, impersonation, fraud or safety concerns.

3. Public enquiries and repairs

An enquiry is a request for information, not a booking or promise that an item can be inspected or repaired. A group may decline an item, require attendance at a session, stop work for safety reasons, or recommend a qualified professional. Repairs are carried out by volunteers on the terms communicated by the relevant group. Nothing in these terms excludes consumer rights or duties that cannot lawfully be excluded.

You must disclose known hazards, remove sensitive personal data where practical, back up devices, and follow safety instructions. Do not submit dangerous, unlawful or inappropriate items or content.

4. Volunteer accounts

Accounts are intended for repairers, volunteers, coordinators and people helping to operate a group. You must provide accurate information, protect sign-in links and MFA credentials, use only your own account, and tell us promptly about suspected compromise. Volunteering through the platform does not by itself create employment, worker, agency, partnership or representative status.

5. Acceptable use

You must not misuse personal information, harass others, impersonate anyone, upload malicious code, bypass access controls, scrape the service, interfere with availability, use content unlawfully, or use the platform for unsolicited marketing. Group administrators must grant the minimum permissions needed and remove access promptly when responsibilities end.

6. Content and moderation

You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant us a non-exclusive licence to host, copy, display and process it only as needed to operate, secure and improve the service. You must have the rights and permissions needed to submit it. We may restrict, remove or preserve content, suspend accounts, or report activity where reasonably needed for safety, moderation, legal compliance or service protection.

Visitor reviews require a valid single-use feedback code and email verification. Reviewers must describe a genuine first-hand visit, use an identity they are entitled to use, and avoid unlawful, abusive, misleading or privacy-intrusive content. Verification confirms control of the submitted email and use of a group-issued code; it does not independently prove every statement. Groups may publish an identified official response or flag a review for platform assessment, but cannot remove it themselves. A flagged review remains public unless a core moderator decides removal is justified.

Group administrators publishing gallery photos must have an appropriate lawful basis and any permission needed from identifiable people, with particular care for children and vulnerable people. Do not publish confidential records, unsafe working practices, identifying documents or images that unreasonably intrude on someone's privacy. Remove or report a photo promptly if consent is withdrawn or a valid objection is raised.

7. Donations

Donations are voluntary and do not purchase a repair, appointment, membership benefit or preferential treatment.

• Network donations are paid to us to support operation and development of the network.
• Group donations are processed for the selected group through its connected Stripe or PayPal account. The provider splits a 5% platform handling fee to us at payment, inclusive of VAT where applicable. The provider's processing fee is charged separately to the group and is not included in our 5% fee.
• The amount, recipient, provider and fee treatment are shown before payment. Payment credentials are handled by Stripe or PayPal and are not stored by us.
• A group's net share is normally held by the payment provider for 21 days before release. A hold reduces early refund and chargeback exposure but does not prevent a later dispute.
• Donations are not currently processed as Gift Aid donations, and receipts are not Gift Aid or tax-deduction certificates.

8. Refunds, failed payments and disputes

If a payment was made in error, contact us or the recipient group promptly. Refunds are considered reasonably and remain subject to law, the selected provider's processes and funds available in the relevant connected account. A refund of a group donation reverses the corresponding share of our handling fee. We may hold or cancel an unreleased group payout while a refund, fraud review, dispute or compliance concern is open.

9. Group payment responsibilities

A group enabling donations must complete the selected provider's verification, provide accurate legal and payout details, keep its account secure, maintain its own accounting records, and determine its tax, reporting, charity-law and regulatory obligations. The group authorises Stripe or PayPal to deduct processing and dispute fees, split the disclosed 5% handling fee to us, delay release for the disclosed hold period, and recover refunds, chargebacks and provider fees from its provider balance or future receipts. A dispute can arise after release and may create a negative provider balance for which the group remains responsible under the provider's terms. We may withhold future releases while an amount remains recoverable. The provider controls payment acceptance, reserves, recovery and final cash-out under its own terms.

10. Paid group promotion

Authorised group administrators may purchase a clearly labelled promotional placement for their Community Repair Group. The price, duration, VAT treatment and proposed start date are shown before submission. We review campaign content before payment; approval confirms only that the content is eligible for placement and is not an endorsement of the group or its claims.

• The group confirms that its campaign is accurate, lawful, socially responsible, and does not omit material information or misuse another person's content, name or rights.
• Paid placements appear in a separate advertisement area and do not change organic directory ordering. Campaigns rotate with other eligible promotions; we do not guarantee a particular number of views, visits, enquiries or repairs.
• The campaign period begins when payment is confirmed or on the approved future start date, whichever is later. Delayed approval or payment may move the start date while preserving the purchased duration.
• We may reject, pause or remove content where reasonably necessary for advertising-code compliance, safety, accuracy, service integrity or legal obligations. We will provide a reason where practical.
• Full refunds may be issued where we cannot provide the purchased placement. Other refund requests are considered reasonably in light of delivery already received, Stripe's processes and rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

11. Availability and changes

We aim to keep the platform available but do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We may maintain, change, withdraw or limit functions for security, legal, supplier or operational reasons. We will use reasonable care and provide proportionate notice of material changes where practical.

12. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, fraudulent misrepresentation, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited. Subject to that, we are not responsible for the acts or omissions of independent groups or volunteers, the condition or value of items, loss of data that should reasonably have been backed up, or indirect or consequential loss. For business users, our aggregate liability relating to the platform in any 12-month period is limited to the fees that user paid us in that period.

13. Suspension and closure

You may stop using the service at any time and may request account closure. We may restrict or close access for serious or repeated breach, safety risk, fraud, legal obligation or material risk to other users or the service. Records may still be retained where required by law, safeguarding, disputes or legitimate security needs.

14. Privacy and third-party services

Our Privacy Policy explains how personal information is used. Third-party services such as Stripe and PayPal are also governed by their own terms and privacy information.

15. General

If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder continues. Delay in enforcing a right is not a waiver. You may not transfer your rights under these terms without our consent; we may transfer ours as part of a legitimate reorganisation or transfer of the service, without reducing your protections. No person other than you and us has a right to enforce these terms.

16. Law and disputes

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. Consumers retain any mandatory right to bring proceedings in their home courts. Otherwise, the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. Please contact us first so we can try to resolve a concern promptly.