Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using Paws of London ("the Platform"), operated at pawsof.london, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and Paws of London ("we", "our", or "us"). We recommend that you print or save a copy of these Terms for your records.

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age to create an account or use the Platform. By registering, you represent and warrant that you are 18 years of age or older and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

3. Description of Service

Paws of London is a platform that helps dog owners discover dog-friendly venues in London. Our services include:

• Venue discovery, search, and filtering by type, location, amenities, and availability
• Interactive map-based exploration with real-time distance calculations
• User reviews, ratings, and photo uploads
• Check-in features, loyalty rewards, and badge achievements
• Dog walking route discovery and planning
• Social features including user profiles, following, activity feeds, and playdate requests
• Dog profiles and breed information
• Venue management tools for business owners, including analytics and co-manager access
• Community discussions and Q&A on venue pages

4. User Accounts

To access certain features, you must create an account. When creating and maintaining an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information
• Maintain and promptly update your information to keep it accurate
• Maintain the security and confidentiality of your account credentials
• Not share your account credentials with any third party
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to or use of your account
• Accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account

We reserve the right to disable any username that, in our sole judgement, violates these Terms, is offensive, or infringes on the rights of others.

5. User Conduct

When using Paws of London, you agree not to:

• Post false, misleading, defamatory, or fraudulent content
• Harass, abuse, threaten, or intimidate other users
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation
• Upload content that is obscene, hateful, discriminatory, or promotes violence
• Upload malicious software, viruses, or any code designed to interfere with the Platform
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform, other accounts, or connected systems
• Use automated means (bots, scrapers, crawlers) to access the Platform without our prior written consent
• Engage in any activity that places an unreasonable load on our infrastructure
• Collect or harvest personal information of other users without their consent
• Use the Platform for any commercial purpose not expressly permitted by these Terms
• Violate any applicable local, national, or international law or regulation

6. User Content

6.1 Your Content

You retain all ownership rights to content you submit to the Platform, including reviews, photos, check-in captions, discussion posts, and dog profiles ("User Content"). By posting User Content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable licence to use, reproduce, modify, display, distribute, and create derivative works from your User Content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform.

6.2 Content Representations

By posting User Content, you represent and warrant that:

• You own or have the necessary rights and permissions to post the content
• Your content does not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party
• Your content is accurate and not misleading
• Your content complies with these Terms and all applicable laws

6.3 Content Moderation

We reserve the right, but are not obligated, to review, edit, or remove any User Content at our sole discretion, including content that we believe violates these Terms, is objectionable, or may expose us or our users to harm or liability. Users may report content they believe violates these Terms through our reporting tools.

7. Venue Owners and Business Users

If you claim, register, or manage a venue on the Platform, you additionally agree to:

• Provide accurate and up-to-date business information, including name, address, opening hours, and contact details
• Have the legal authority to represent and manage the venue listing
• Keep venue details current, including opening hours, amenities, and dog-friendliness policies
• Not manipulate, fabricate, or solicit fake reviews or ratings
• Respond to customer feedback and reviews professionally and constructively
• Comply with all applicable business, consumer protection, and data protection regulations
• Accept that venue claims are subject to our verification process and may be approved or rejected at our discretion

Venue owners may appoint co-managers with varying permission levels (full, editor, viewer). The venue owner remains responsible for all actions taken by their co-managers.

8. Reviews and Ratings

Reviews and ratings are a core feature of the Platform. When submitting reviews, you agree that:

• Your reviews must reflect genuine, first-hand experiences
• You will not submit reviews for venues you have not visited
• You will not accept compensation or incentives in exchange for reviews (other than loyalty rewards provided by the Platform)
• Venue owners may respond to your reviews publicly
• We may display an aggregate rating calculated from all user reviews

9. Check-Ins, Badges, and Rewards

The Platform offers gamification features including check-ins, badges, and venue loyalty rewards:

• Badges and rewards have no monetary value and cannot be exchanged for cash
• Venue-specific rewards are provided at the sole discretion of the venue owner and may be modified or withdrawn at any time
• We reserve the right to revoke badges or rewards obtained through fraudulent means
• Reward redemption is subject to the terms and conditions set by each venue

10. Intellectual Property

The Paws of London name, logo, and all related content, features, functionality, design elements, and source code are owned by Paws of London and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws of England and Wales and international treaties.

You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any material from the Platform, except as permitted by these Terms or with our prior written consent.

11. Third-Party Services and Links

The Platform may contain links to third-party websites or services, including venue websites, social media profiles, and mapping services. We are not responsible for the content, privacy policies, or practices of third-party services. Your use of third-party services is at your own risk and subject to their respective terms and conditions.

12. Disclaimers

The Platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant or guarantee:

• The accuracy, completeness, or reliability of venue information, opening hours, or user reviews
• The actual dog-friendliness, safety, or suitability of any listed venue
• Uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free operation of the Platform
• The behaviour, conduct, or reliability of other users, venue owners, or venue staff
• The accuracy of walking routes, distance calculations, or navigation information

Important: Always verify venue policies directly before visiting with your dog. You are responsible for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of your dog at all times. Exercise appropriate caution when visiting new locations.

13. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, Paws of London, its directors, employees, agents, and affiliates shall not be liable for:

• Any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses
• Any damages arising from your use of or inability to use the Platform
• Any damages arising from the conduct of any third party on the Platform
• Any injury to you, your dog, or any third party arising from venue visits facilitated through the Platform

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

14. Indemnification

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

• Your use of or access to the Platform
• Your violation of these Terms
• Your User Content
• Your violation of any rights of another person or entity

15. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account and access to the Platform at any time, with or without notice, for conduct that we believe:

• Violates these Terms or applicable law
• Is harmful to other users, venues, third parties, or the Platform
• Involves fraudulent, abusive, or illegal activity

You may delete your account at any time through your profile settings. Upon termination or deletion:

• Your right to access and use the Platform will immediately cease
• We may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes
• Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will continue in effect (including Sections 6, 10, 12, 13, 14, and 18)

16. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by updating the "Last updated" date and, where appropriate, by sending a notification via email or through the Platform. Your continued use of the Platform after the revised Terms become effective constitutes your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Platform.

17. Dispute Resolution

We encourage you to contact us first to resolve any disputes informally at legal@pawsof.london. If a dispute cannot be resolved informally, it shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

18. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any disputes arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

19. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable while preserving its original intent.

20. Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Paws of London regarding your use of the Platform and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and communications, whether written or oral.

21. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us at:

• Legal enquiries: legal@pawsof.london
• General enquiries: hello@pawsof.london