1. We The Hands Group, The Community Trader provides www.thecommunitytrader.com website. Our registered office is Liverpool Business Centre, 25 Goodlas Road, Speke, Liverpool, L24 8HJ.
2. By accessing or using any part of the website, www.thecommunitytrader.com, ("the Website") or submitting a form to become a registered user of the Website you agree to be bound by the following conditions of use. If you do not wish to be bound by these conditions, you may not access or use the Website
3. You will not use the Website/Services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these Terms and Conditions. By using the Website/Services you are fully accepting the terms, conditions and disclaimers contained in this notice. If you do not accept these Terms and Conditions you must immediately stop using the Website/Services.
4. The Community Trader reserves the right to update or amend these Terms and Conditions at any time and your continued use of the Website/Services following any changes shall be deemed to be your acceptance of such change. It is therefore your responsibility to check the Terms and Conditions regularly for any changes.
5. We legally own the intellectual property rights used in and relating to this website, including:
6. The trademark “trusted trader logo”
7. The business-listings directory database ('the database') which you can get access to using this website.
8. The design, Text, Graphics and other content of the web pages on this website.
9. The Community Trader permits the use of branding only in accordance with the guidance notes which successful applicants get in their membership pack.
10. Members can use documentation and branding relating to the scheme in the following ways:
11. On business documentation
12. On business premises
13. On business vehicles
14. On their website
15. In other advertising media.
16. Current and prospective members must co-operate fully with the initial application check and any subsequent checks carried out by us.
17. The Information you provide in relation to your business must be accurate and truthful.
18. In deciding whether an applicant is suitable for membership of the scheme, The Community Trader will carry out at least 2 of the following checks:
19. Website of any trade association that the applicant claims membership of
20. Companies House (limited and public limited companies only)
21. Registry of County Court judgements
22. An assessment of previous complaints made to trading standards concerning the applicant. This may involve seeking further information from any consumers concerned
23. An assessment of previous complaints made to any consumer body concerning the applicant. This may involve trading standards service approaching complainants and/or the complainant’s local trading standards service.
24. Necessary checks to confirm public liability cover
25. The Community Trader reserves the right to carry out any appropriate checks to ensure that members of the scheme continue to satisfy this code of practice.
26. Members will be required to have suitable and current Public Liability Insurance, Professional Indemnity Insurance (if applicable).These documents will need to be submitted to The Community Trader as part of the application process. Members will need to provide current certificates to The Community Trader for each subsequent renewal.
27. Where information or documentation is requested by us it should be provided within a reasonable time. As a guide, we would expect this to be within 14 days of the request being made.
28. Members must notify The Community Trader of any:
29. Civil court judgements
30. Convictions, or
31. Current legal proceedings against them relating to matters covered by this code of practice.
32. Convictions involving fraud or dishonesty against a ‘controlling mind’ of a business will preclude membership for five years from the date of conviction.
33. Members undertake that all promotional material relating to their business shall be clear and truthful and will comply with any relevant national advertising code of practice and/or legislation.
34. Failure to disclose information will affect membership of The Community Trader.
35. The Community Trader reserves the right to refuse membership to any applicant who it feels does not satisfy the criteria laid down in this code of practice.
36. The Community Trader reserves the right to suspend or revoke membership should there be:
37. A significant breach of this code of practice
38. Information supplied by another person or organisation, which casts doubt upon the suitability of any particular business to be a member
39. A justified customer complaint, but for which no reasonable redress is offered by the trader
40. A number of customer complaints, each of which may individually fall outside the scope of e. above, but which collectively indicate a failure to comply with the letter or spirit of this code of practice
41. Abuse of the feedback system by repeatedly failing to provide customers with the opportunity to provide feedback or falsely influencing the feedback provided for the member in question or for any other member of the scheme.
42. Without prejudice The Community Trader may decide to suspend membership until such time as a full investigation can be concluded. It may also suspend membership in order to monitor whether a particular business remains suitable for inclusion within the scheme.
43. Where membership is suspended or revoked or an application is refused by us, we will provide the member with a written explanation of the reasons for its action.
44. As an alternative to suspension or revocation of membership, The Community Trader reserves the right, when considered appropriate, to implement other disciplinary measures (for example, a written warning).
45. Any sanction imposed on any scheme member will be made accessible to consumers by the most appropriate method The Community Trader deems necessary.
46. The Community Trader reserves the right to publicise the removal of traders from the scheme where appropriate.
47. Any false information provided to us by a member may result in suspension of membership
48. An appeals procedure exists and members wishing to take advantage of this should writing to the appeals department.
49. Appeals will be assessed by a senior manager, or that person’s nominated officer.
50. a decision on an appeal can take up to 30 days.
51. The fees will be subject to annual review.
52. Where application for membership is unsuccessful the application fee will be refunded.
53. The Community Trader may introduce or amend any fees or charges pertaining to this scheme on giving members three months written notice.
54. Where membership is suspended or withdrawn, there will be no refund of any membership fees paid.
55. Should the scheme be suspended or terminated, no reimbursement will be made in respect of advertising material or documentation.
56. All Trusted Trader branding on business premises, businesses documentation and in any other form of advertising must be removed, destroyed or cancelled immediately. Failure to do so could constitute an offence under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008.
57. No publicity should be generated that implies any wider approval other than membership of the Trusted Trader scheme
58. All members have a 7 day cancellation period to cancel their order from the date of order. All cancellations must be in writing by the person who placed the order.
59. By default, when you sign up to the community trader as a business you accept that your company can be reviewed by your customers and other users of the site. We reserve the right to remove any reviews that we believe haven't been posted by the customers themselves or where we believe the reviews may not be genuine.
60. If your company receives a negative review, you have the ability to respond underneath the review, posting your side of the story. It's very possible that you can turn the bad review into a positive situation by publicly demonstrating your level of customer support. Please note that we have implemented many automated checks and controls which help us to identify false, inaccurate and offensive reviews before they even go live
61. All reviews that are submitted to Community Trader must be constructive, i.e. they describe what products / services were received (or not received) and objectively explain why the customer was happy or not. Reviews which don't conform to these rules may be removed.
62. At our discretion, reviewers who make personal attacks on individuals will have their account closed.
63. Negative reviews will only be removed from a company's profile if:
- They are posted under a false name.
- They are not constructive as described in point a) above.
64. We reserve the right to remove any reviews that do not conform to our terms and conditions without any recourse or communication with the company the review was written about.
65. We will carry out an annual review of each member. This will require the co-operation of scheme members
66. The frequency of the review mentioned will be at The Community Traders Discretion.
67. The Community Trader reserves the right Members to impose random inspection and checks on members to ensure that the requirements of the scheme continue to be met.
68. Monitoring processes will be clearly communicated to scheme members, and made accessible to consumers by The Community Trader.
69. The Community Trader will document the findings of reviews and any subsequent actions taken.
70. The Community Trader makes no warranty that the functionality of the Website/Services will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected or that the Website/Services or the server that makes them available are free of viruses or anything else that may be harmful or destructive.
71. We will not be liable for any loss or damage, financial or otherwise as a result of you using the information provided on the Website, nor does The Community Trader guarantee the suitability or quality of any products or services featured on the Website.
72. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the information appearing on the website, the data has been compiled from information supplied by various individuals and businesses and The Community Trader cannot be held responsible for any omissions or inaccurate claims that may appear and recommend that consumers ask to see relevant qualifications and documentation from the contractor before accepting a quote.
73. The Community Trader cannot be held responsible or liable for the quality of workmanship or service of any of the listed trades and services.
74. To the extent permitted by law, The Community Trader will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss or damage whatsoever (including without limitation loss of business, opportunity, data, profits) arising out of or in connection with the use of the Services.
75. Nothing in these Terms and Conditions shall be construed so as to exclude or limit the liability of The Community Trader for death or personal injury as a result of the negligence of The Community Trader or that of its employees or agents.
76. If any of these Terms and Conditions should be determined to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason by any court of competent jurisdiction then such Term or Condition shall be severed and the remaining Terms and Conditions shall survive and remain in full force and effect and continue to be binding and enforceable
77. The laws of England and Wales apply to your use of the website and these conditions. We control the website from within the United Kingdom. However, you can get access to the website from other places around the world. Although these places may have different laws from the laws of England and Wales, by using the website you agree that the laws of England and Wales will apply to everything relating to you using the website and you agree to keep to these laws. We have the right to take you to court in the country you live in.
78. If you see any content on the site that is incorrect, is illegal or breaches anyone else's rights, please contact us.
