Client Terms of Service

1. Who We Are and What You Are Agreeing To

GatU is operated by Judea Holdings LLC, a North Carolina limited liability company doing business as GatU ("GatU," "we," or "us"). These Client Terms of Service ("Terms") govern the GatU Customer mobile application and any other GatU application, website, or service made available to customers (the "Client Services"). The Client Services, the GatU Business application, and our website are together the "Platform."

The Platform lets you ("Client" or "you") find, book, communicate with, and pay independent home-service professionals ("Providers"). By creating an account or using the Client Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don't agree, don't use the Client Services.

2. Eligibility and Your Account

You must be at least 18, located in the United States, and have the right to authorize work at the service address. Give us accurate information and keep it current. Keep your login secure; you're responsible for activity under your account, and you can't share or transfer it. We may verify your identity, phone number, or payment method before you can book. The Platform isn't for anyone under 18.

3. Providers Are Independent

GatU is a marketplace. We don't perform home services, employ Providers, or act as a contractor or insurer. Providers are independent businesses responsible for their own work, licenses, permits, and insurance. When you book, your contract is with the Provider, not with GatU. We verify Providers' government ID and collect the license and insurance information they submit, but we don't guarantee that information or the quality or safety of any Provider's work. Use reasonable judgment when choosing a Provider and supervising access to your property.

4. Booking, Cancellation, and Payment

Booking. A booking is confirmed when a Provider accepts it. Prices shown are the Provider's estimate or quote; if the scope changes, any new price must be agreed between you and the Provider through the Platform before the extra work is done. You must give the Provider safe and reasonable access at the scheduled time.

Cancellation. You can cancel through the Platform. Cancellation fees may apply, including for late cancellations, cancellations after the Provider is en route, or no-shows. The cancellation window and any fee are shown before you confirm a booking, and by confirming you agree to them. If a Provider cancels, you won't be charged.

Payment. All payments must go through the Platform and are processed by Stripe, Inc. under Stripe's terms (stripe.com/legal); we don't store your full card number. By adding a payment method you authorize us, through Stripe, to place a hold at booking and charge the final agreed amount when the service is complete (or at booking where the Platform says so), plus any cancellation fees, service fees, tips, and taxes. Any GatU service fee is shown before you confirm. Tips are optional and go entirely to the Provider.

Off-platform payment. Paying a Provider directly for work booked or started through the Platform is prohibited. Such payments aren't covered by our dispute process and may result in account suspension.

5. Refunds and Disputes with Providers

If you're unhappy with a service, raise it with the Provider first. If that doesn't resolve it, open a dispute through the in-app dispute tool promptly and within any window shown on the Platform, and provide supporting information (such as photos) when asked. We may review the dispute and take the action we think is fair, including a full or partial refund, holding or releasing the Provider's payment, or acting against either account. Because we don't perform or supervise the work, refunds aren't guaranteed. Our decision about funds handled through the Platform is final as between you and GatU for that booking; it doesn't limit your right to pursue the Provider directly, and it doesn't waive any consumer rights the law says you can't give up.

6. Communications and Text Messages

You agree to receive communications from us electronically: in the Platform, by email, by push notification, and by text message or phone call as described below. Electronic notices satisfy any legal requirement that they be in writing.

Text messages. When you provide and verify your mobile number, you agree to receive automated texts from GatU about your account and bookings, including verification codes, security alerts, booking confirmations and updates, Provider arrival notices, reminders, Provider messages, receipts, and support replies. GatU does not send marketing texts. Consent to receive texts is not a condition of any purchase. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out (you'll get one confirmation message); reply START to re-enroll. Reply HELP for help, or contact us using the details in Section 14. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. If you opt out, we may send time-sensitive notices by email or push notification instead.

Your mobile number and text-message opt-in consent will not be shared with or sold to third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes.

In-app messaging and calls. Use in-app messaging and calling only for services requested through the Platform, and keep it respectful. Messages and calls may be logged, recorded, and reviewed for safety, fraud prevention, dispute resolution, and legal compliance, and you consent to this.

7. Privacy and Third-Party Services

Our Privacy Policy explains what information we collect and how we use it. All Platform data is hosted in the United States. We use service providers to run the Platform, including Stripe (payments), Twilio (text messages and calls), MongoDB Atlas (database hosting), PostHog (product analytics), and Sentry (error monitoring). They may use your information only to provide services to us.

8. Your Conduct

You agree to describe the work, the location, and any known hazards accurately; provide a safe work area and secure pets, valuables, and children; obtain any HOA, landlord, or permit approvals the work requires unless the Provider agrees to; treat Providers with respect and without unlawful discrimination; and leave honest reviews.

You agree not to give false information or impersonate anyone; request unlawful or unsafe work; pay or solicit Providers off-platform; harass or harm Providers, other users, or GatU staff; use Provider contact details for anything other than the booked service; post fake reviews or file fraudulent disputes or chargebacks; or scrape, reverse-engineer, or interfere with the Platform.

9. Suspension and Termination

You can close your account at any time; amounts you owe remain payable. We may suspend or remove your account, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe you have broken these Terms or our policies, acted fraudulently or abusively (including fraudulent chargebacks), tried to get around our payment or dispute rules, received repeated substantiated complaints, or created legal risk for GatU or others. Sections 3, 4, 5, 7, and 10 through 14 survive termination.

10. Intellectual Property

The Platform and the GatU name and logos belong to GatU or our licensors. We grant you a limited, revocable license to use the Client Services for personal, non-commercial use in booking services. You own the content you post (such as requests, photos, and reviews) and grant us a royalty-free license to use it to operate, promote, and improve the Platform, including sharing it with Providers to perform your services. We may use any feedback you give us without obligation.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DON'T PROMISE THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, AND WE MAKE NO WARRANTY ABOUT THE QUALITY, SAFETY, TIMELINESS, OR OUTCOME OF ANY PROVIDER'S WORK OR THE ACCURACY OF ANY PROVIDER'S PROFILE, LICENSE, INSURANCE, OR RATINGS.

Claims about a Provider's work, including injury or property damage, are between you and the Provider. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, GATU AND ITS OWNERS, EMPLOYEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS ARE NOT LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID THROUGH THE PLATFORM IN THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM OR $100. THESE LIMITS DON'T APPLY WHERE THE LAW DOESN'T ALLOW THEM, INCLUDING FOR OUR OWN GROSS NEGLIGENCE OR WILLFUL MISCONDUCT.

12. Governing Law and Arbitration

These Terms are governed by North Carolina law and the Federal Arbitration Act. Before starting arbitration or a lawsuit, you and GatU agree to send the other written notice of the dispute and try to resolve it for 30 days.

Any dispute between you and GatU that isn't resolved informally will be decided by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, in the county where you live or by video. GatU will pay arbitration fees beyond what you would pay to file in court, as the AAA consumer rules provide. Either party may instead bring an individual claim in small-claims court, or go to court for injunctive relief to protect intellectual property or stop misuse of the Platform.

Opt-out. You may opt out of arbitration by emailing or writing to us (Section 14) with your name and account email within 30 days after you first accept these Terms. Opting out doesn't affect the rest of these Terms.

CLASS ACTION WAIVER: You and GatU may bring claims only individually, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding. If this waiver is unenforceable for a claim, that claim proceeds in court and the rest are arbitrated. Any court proceeding will be in the state or federal courts in Forsyth County, North Carolina, unless consumer law lets you sue where you live.

13. Changes and General Terms

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will give you reasonable advance notice on the Platform, by email, or by text; other changes take effect when posted. Continuing to use the Client Services after a change means you accept it.

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and GatU about the Platform. If any part is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a right isn't a waiver of it. You may not transfer these Terms or your account without our consent; we may transfer them, including in a merger or sale. We aren't liable for delays caused by events outside our reasonable control. If you download a GatU app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, that store's terms also apply, and the store is a third-party beneficiary of these Terms.

14. Contact

By using the Client Services, you confirm that you have read and agree to these Terms and our Privacy Policy.