[Draft for solicitor review before publication]
Last updated: [DATE]
These terms apply to anyone who creates a breeder profile or publishes a listing on caninebreeder.co.uk (the “Site”), operated by [COMPANY NAME] (company number [COMPANY NUMBER], registered office [ADDRESS], email [EMAIL]). They add to our Terms of use, Listing rules and Privacy notice. If there is a conflict, these terms take priority for advertisers.
Are you a consumer or a trader?
This document has three parts. Part A applies to every advertiser. Part B adds rights for consumers. Part C adds terms for traders.
You are a consumer if you are an individual advertising for purposes wholly or mainly outside your trade, business, craft or profession. A typical example is a hobby breeder with an occasional litter from a family pet, who does not hold and does not need a dog breeding licence.
You are a trader if you advertise for purposes relating to your trade, business, craft or profession. This includes anyone who holds, or is required to hold, a dog breeding licence; anyone breeding three or more litters in twelve months; anyone offering stud services as a business; and any company, partnership or other organisation.
We ask you to declare which you are when you register. We may reclassify your account if the evidence (for example a licence number, the volume of your listings or how you describe yourself) points the other way. Our classification is only for these terms. It does not decide your legal status as a seller to puppy buyers, and it does not replace your own duty to check whether you need a licence.
Part A: terms for all advertisers
Your account
You must be 18 or over and give us accurate identity and contact details. Keep your login secure. We may ask for proof of identity, address or licence at any time.
Our services and prices
We sell advertising: breeder profiles, litter and puppy listings, and stud listings, each for the fixed period shown at checkout. All prices are in pounds sterling and include VAT at the current rate. We take no payment from buyers, no deposits and no commission on any sale.
A listing goes live once payment has cleared and the listing has passed our checks. We aim to review new listings within [X] working hours.
Your content and warranty of authority
You keep ownership of the photos, text and documents you upload. You grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide licence to host, store, resize, display and promote that content on the Site and in our marketing (for example search-engine snippets and social media posts) for the life of the listing, and to keep archive copies for up to [X] years for record-keeping and dispute purposes.
You warrant that:
- you own the content or have written permission to use it;
- you are the owner or keeper of every dog you advertise, or the keeper’s authorised agent;
- every statement in your listing is true, complete and current, including breed, age, sex, price, microchip status, health tests, registrations and licence details;
- every document you upload is genuine and unaltered;
- you hold every licence you need, and you have the legal right to sell or offer each dog (for example, it is not a type banned under section 1 of the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991);
- your listing complies with the Listing rules and with the law in the part of the UK where the dog is kept.
Indemnity
You will compensate us for any loss, damage, cost or claim (including reasonable legal fees) we suffer because you have broken these warranties, published unlawful or inaccurate content, or breached the law in your dealings with buyers.
Moderation and takedown
We may edit, hold, refuse or remove any listing that we reasonably believe breaks the Listing rules or the law. We aim to remove non-compliant listings within 12 working hours of finding them or being told about them. We will tell you why, unless the law prevents us.
Verification
Verification badges show that we checked a document you supplied on the date shown. They are not a guarantee, an inspection or an endorsement. See How we verify. We may remove a badge if the underlying document expires or is called into question.
Buyer enquiries
Enquiries are sent to the contact details on your account. You may only use a buyer’s details to reply to that enquiry, and you must handle them in line with data protection law.
Suspension and the three-strikes rule
A strike is recorded when we confirm a serious breach: for example an illegal advert, a false or altered document, a banned type, a puppy offered for transfer under eight weeks, or a materially misleading claim. Three strikes within 24 months result in a permanent ban, in line with the Pet Advertising Advisory Group standards. We may also suspend an account immediately, without strikes, for suspected fraud, cruelty, threats, or at the request of a court or regulator. You can appeal through Reporting content, complaints and appeals.
Our liability to advertisers
Nothing limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything that cannot lawfully be excluded. We are not responsible for the conduct of buyers, for lost sales or for the commercial results of your listing.
Ending your account and changes
You may close your account at any time. We may close accounts for breach, non-payment or where the law requires. The warranty, indemnity and liability sections survive closure. We may change these terms for future purchases; changes do not affect a listing you have already paid for unless the law requires them.
Part B: additional terms for consumers
Your 14-day right to cancel
Under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you may cancel a listing contract for any reason within 14 days of the day after you place the order.
At checkout we ask you to confirm that you want your listing to go live during the 14-day period (an express request to start). If you ask us to start and then cancel within the 14 days, you pay only a proportionate amount for the days the listing has been live, and we refund the rest.
Refunds
- Cancel within 14 days and nothing has been published: full refund.
- Cancel within 14 days after publication at your request: pro-rata refund for the days not yet run.
- Cancel after 14 days: you may cancel at any time; there is no refund, but your listing stays live until the end of the period you have paid for and will not renew unless you have chosen renewal.
- We remove your listing for a breach: no refund. If we later accept that the removal was wrong, we will restore the listing or refund pro-rata.
- We fail to provide the service: if the Site is unavailable for more than [X] consecutive days, we will extend your listing or refund pro-rata.
Refunds go to the original payment method within 14 days of your cancellation.
How to cancel
Email [EMAIL] with your account email and listing reference, or use the cancellation option in your account. You may use the model cancellation form in the Regulations, but you do not have to.
Your statutory rights
We must provide our service with reasonable care and skill under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Nothing in these terms takes those rights away.
Disputes
These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may rely on your local mandatory consumer law and courts.
Part C: additional terms for traders
- The statutory 14-day cooling-off period does not apply to traders. As a matter of goodwill we apply the same refund schedule as Part B.
- Our total liability to you in any twelve-month period is limited to the fees you paid us in that period. We are not liable for loss of profit, business, goodwill or indirect loss.
- You are responsible for complying with all law that applies to you as a seller, including your licence conditions, the advertising requirements in your nation’s licensing regulations, consumer protection law and the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024.
- If you choose auto-renewal, we will remind you by email at least [X] days before each renewal, and you can turn it off in your account.
- These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, whose courts have exclusive jurisdiction.
Contact
[COMPANY NAME], [ADDRESS]. Email: [EMAIL].