Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

AccessHands ("the Platform") is operated by Palmer Initiatives Ltd (trading as AccessHands), a company registered in England & Wales under company number 13795320 ("AccessHands", "we", "us"). By accessing or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, you may not use the Platform.

2. Description of Service

AccessHands is a marketplace connecting businesses ("Customers") with independent data centre technicians and service organisations ("Technicians") for remote-hands and on-site data centre support services. We provide job posting, bidding, communication, evidence capture, payment orchestration, dispute tooling, and operational records. Unless we expressly agree otherwise in writing, the work itself is performed by the Technician, not by AccessHands.

3. User Accounts

• You must provide accurate, current, and complete information when creating an account.
• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials.
• You must be at least 18 years of age to use the Platform.
• You must keep your profile, organisation, billing, verification, and payout information accurate.
• You may not share accounts, impersonate another person, or create accounts to evade suspension, verification, fees, or platform rules.

4. Marketplace Payments, Fees, and Invoices

• Payments are processed by Stripe and are denominated in GBP unless a job or invoice states otherwise.
• When a Customer accepts a bid or checks out, the Customer authorises Stripe to place an authorisation or payment hold according to the payment flow shown at checkout. This is not a bank escrow account, trust account, or regulated deposit account operated by AccessHands.
• Stripe card authorisations can expire under card network rules. If a job runs beyond the available authorisation window, the Customer may need to create a new payment authorisation or follow the payment recovery flow before work can be released or completed.
• AccessHands may charge a platform fee, subscription fee, payment processing recovery amount, VAT, or other listed charge. Platform fees are shown in the product, invoice, checkout, bid, or billing area where applicable.
• Technician payouts require a valid Stripe Connect account with charges, transfers, and payouts enabled. AccessHands may delay, block, retry, or reverse a payout if Stripe, sanctions checks, risk controls, dispute review, or legal obligations require it.
• Customers and Technicians are responsible for their own tax, VAT, accounting, and invoice treatment unless AccessHands expressly states otherwise in writing.

5. Consumer Right to Cancel (Distance Selling)

If you are a consumer in the United Kingdom (acting outside your trade, business, or profession), the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give you a statutory right to cancel a service contract made at a distance within 14 days of the contract being formed (for Platform jobs, the day you accept a bid), without giving a reason.

• To cancel within the 14-day period, cancel the job through the Platform or contact [email protected]. Any payment authorisation that has not been captured will be released, and captured amounts will be refunded.
• If you expressly request that the work begins within the 14-day period (for example by authorising payment and scheduling the Technician), and the service is then fully performed, you acknowledge that you lose the right to cancel once the work is complete.
• If you cancel after work has begun (confirmed by the Technician's check-in) but before completion, you may be charged a proportionate amount for the work performed up to cancellation.
• This section does not limit your separate rights to raise a dispute under section 8, or any rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. For independent advice, contact Citizens Advice (citizensadvice.org.uk).

6. Technician Responsibilities

• Technicians are independent contractors or third-party service providers, not employees, workers, agents, or partners of AccessHands.
• Technicians must hold and maintain all qualifications, certifications, right-to-work permissions, insurance, tools, safety training, and site approvals required for the work they accept.
• Technicians must complete required identity, KYC, right-to-work, certification, or data centre access checks truthfully and keep them current.
• Technicians must attend jobs on time, follow the agreed scope, protect customer equipment and confidential information, capture accurate job evidence, and report incidents immediately.
• Technicians must comply with all site rules, access controls, health and safety requirements, security procedures, escort rules, photography restrictions, and clean-room or data hall policies.

7. Customer Responsibilities

• Customers must provide accurate job descriptions, scope, site address, access requirements, security instructions, risk information, and acceptance criteria.
• Customers must ensure they have authority to request the work and to grant any required site, system, rack, cage, or equipment access.
• Customers must not ask Technicians to perform unsafe, unlawful, unapproved, or materially different work outside the agreed scope.
• Customers must review completion evidence promptly, approve satisfactory work, raise disputes in good faith, and maintain a valid payment method for accepted bids.

8. Dispute Resolution

Either party may raise a dispute through the Platform when job scope, quality, attendance, evidence, completion, payment, access, or safety is contested. AccessHands may review job records, messages, uploads, GPS check-ins, site notes, provider records, and payment events to decide whether to release payment, retry payment recovery, refund the Customer, partially refund, request more evidence, suspend accounts, or take another reasonable action. Card network rules, Stripe requirements, and legal obligations may also affect refund timing and availability.

9. Acceptable Use and Prohibited Conduct

• Circumventing the Platform to arrange payments directly.
• Submitting false information or fraudulent claims.
• Harassing, threatening, or discriminating against other users.
• Attempting to gain unauthorised access to the Platform or other user accounts.
• Uploading malware, unlawful content, secrets you are not authorised to share, or material that violates another person's rights.
• Interfering with rate limits, security controls, identity checks, payment controls, logging, monitoring, or dispute workflows.
• Using job data, customer data, data centre information, photos, or evidence outside the purpose of delivering or supporting the agreed job.

10. Confidentiality, Evidence, and Records

Users must treat non-public job details, site information, customer infrastructure information, credentials, photos, messages, documents, and operational records as confidential. AccessHands may store job evidence, verification records, payment records, messages, notifications, audit data, and support notes to operate the Platform, resolve disputes, meet legal obligations, and protect users.

11. Limitation of Liability

AccessHands provides the Platform "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, AccessHands is not liable for indirect, consequential, special, punitive, loss-of-profit, loss-of-data, business interruption, data centre access, third-party provider, payment network, Stripe, Didit, email provider, hosting, connectivity, or Technician performance losses. Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

12. Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms. You may delete your account at any time through Settings.

13. Governing Law

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

14. Contact

For questions about these Terms, contact us at [email protected].