Terms of Use

1. General provisions

The Thames Compass portal (“the Portal”) is operated by [OPERATOR — FULL NAME OR COMPANY NAME], an individual trading as a sole trader in the United Kingdom under the name Thames Compass, address for service (virtual office): [UK VIRTUAL OFFICE ADDRESS] (“the Operator”, “we”). The Portal provides news and guides, job, housing and classified ads, a business directory and an events calendar.

You do not need an account to browse the Portal. You need to register to post ads, business profiles and events and to use favourites. As at the date this version was published, using the Portal is free of charge.

By using the Portal, you accept these Terms and our Privacy Policy. Accounts may only be created by people aged 18 or over.

2. User account

• To register you need a genuine email address, a display name and a password. You must confirm your email address.
• You need a confirmed email address to publish ads.
• Each person should have only one account. Do not share your password with anyone and keep it secure.
• Creating a business profile gives your account the “Business” role. The editor, moderator and administrator roles are granted only by the Operator.
• You can delete your account at any time in your privacy settings. Deletion cannot be undone.

3. Rules for publishing content

• Ads are published as soon as they are posted. Moderation takes place after publication, mainly in response to reports.
• Events and business profiles first go to the moderation queue and appear publicly once approved.
• Content must be true, up to date and posted in the right section and category. Ads that are no longer current should be closed.
• Job ads must give accurate information about the pay and its period (per hour, month or year) and about the requirements. Housing ads must give the price with its period (per week or month); the deposit and bills are shown separately.
• Ads expire after a set time. The advertiser can renew or close them. The Portal may limit the number of ads posted within a short time.
• The exact address of a property can only be shown if the relevant option is deliberately ticked. By default, we show an approximate location.

4. Prohibited content

You must not publish content that:

• is unlawful in the United Kingdom or is used to commit a crime, including fraud,
• discriminates on the basis of protected characteristics, especially in job and housing ads (for example race, nationality where this is not permitted, sex, age, disability or religion),
• requires a candidate to pay a fee just for finding them work, or promises unrealistic earnings,
• impersonates another person, business or institution, including government bodies and employers,
• contains other people’s personal data without their consent, or an exact address without the consent of the person concerned,
• is offensive or hateful, promotes violence or contains sexual content,
• is spam: repeated ads, hidden links, or advertising unrelated to the section,
• infringes copyright or other third-party rights, including photos you do not hold the rights to,
• concerns goods or services whose sale is prohibited or restricted in the UK.

Uploaded photos must be in JPEG, PNG or WebP format and must not exceed the size limit shown in the form. Photos are processed automatically and location data (EXIF) is removed.

5. Moderation and reports

• Any content can be reported using the “Report” button or the Report a problem form.
• Moderators may hide, edit or remove content that breaches these Terms and may suspend accounts. After several reports about the same content, the system may hide it automatically until a person has checked it.
• If we reject an event or a business profile, we give the reason. You can challenge the decision by writing to us via the contact form.
• Moderators’ actions are recorded in an internal log.

Reports about illegal content (for example fraud, illegal goods or copyright infringement) are dealt with first. They can be made via the “Report a problem” form or the “Report” button next to content. The Operator ([OPERATOR — FULL NAME OR COMPANY NAME]) is responsible for handling such reports. Once we receive a report, we assess the content without undue delay and, if it is illegal or breaches these Terms, we hide or remove it. We do not send the person who made the report a separate notice of the outcome; the status of a report is not public. We tell the author of hidden or removed content the reason by email (including where an ad was hidden automatically after reports from users). The procedure described here is a draft that is subject to legal review, including against the Online Safety Act 2023.

6. Contact between users

• The advertiser’s email address is not published. A message sent through the contact form is forwarded to the advertiser by email. The advertiser receives your name, your email address and the message, and can reply to you directly.
• A phone number is shown only if the advertiser has chosen to display it.
• The Portal is not a party to agreements made between users and does not handle payments between them. Be careful: do not send money or documents to people you do not know, and do not pay a deposit for a property you have not seen.
• Messages must not be used for spam, harassment or sending advertising unrelated to the ad.

7. Businesses and events

• A business profile must relate to a trading business, and its contact details must be genuine.
• The directory has no “Verified” label. Being listed in the directory does not mean that the Portal recommends the business or has checked the quality of its services.
• Some business profiles are added by our editorial team based on information the business itself makes public. Such profiles are marked. The business can claim, correct or ask us to remove them free of charge; we act on removal requests promptly.
• Event times are given in UK time (Europe/London).

8. Promoted and sponsored content

Paid content or content featured on commercial terms is labelled “Promoted”, and sponsored articles are labelled “Sponsored”. Partner (affiliate) links, for which we may earn a commission, are labelled “Affiliate link”. Details are on the Advertising page.

8a. Paid promotion

• Account holders can buy promotion for their own published content: an active ad, an approved business profile or an approved event that has not yet ended.
• Prices: ad £4.99 for 7 days or £7.99 for 14 days; business profile £19.99 for 30 days; event £9.99 until the end of the day of the event, for up to 30 days. Prices are in pounds sterling (GBP) and do not include VAT, because the Operator is not registered for VAT.
• Payments are handled by Stripe (card, Apple Pay, Google Pay). The contract is formed when the payment is received, and Stripe sends a confirmation by email. We do not receive your card details.
• Promotion starts immediately after payment. If the content is already being promoted, the new period starts when the current one ends. If an ad would expire during the promotion, we extend it until the promotion ends.
• Promotion means a “Promoted” label and a higher position in lists and on the home page. We do not guarantee any particular number of views, replies or customers.
• As a consumer, you have 14 days to cancel the contract (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013). Before paying, you ask for the promotion to start immediately; once the promotion has ended, the right to cancel no longer applies, and if you cancel earlier, we refund an amount proportionate to the unused period.
• We refund the fee if the promotion did not start or if we removed the content through no fault of yours. We do not refund the fee if the content was hidden or removed for breaching these Terms. Refunds are made to the payment method used with Stripe; the promotion ends once a refund is made.
• Send questions and complaints about payments via the contact form or to kontakt@thamescompass.com. You can find your payment history in your account, under the “Payments” tab.

9. Liability

• The authors of ads, business profiles and events are responsible for their content. The Portal does not check offers or advertisers before ads are published.
• Articles and guides are for information only and are not legal, tax, medical or immigration advice. Rules change, so before making a decision, check the information at the source (for example gov.uk or nhs.uk) or get advice from a professional.
• We do our best to keep the Portal running without interruption, but we do not guarantee that it will always be available.
• Content labelled “Sample” is for demonstration only and is not a genuine offer.
• Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law (including for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence), or your rights as a consumer. Otherwise, the Operator’s liability for loss or damage connected with using the Portal is limited to the extent permitted by law (this clause requires legal review).

10. Rights to content

You keep the rights to the content you publish. You grant the Operator a free, non-exclusive licence to display it on the Portal, including in search results and in material promoting the Portal, for as long as it is published. The Portal’s editorial content, graphics and branding are protected by copyright. They must not be copied for commercial purposes without permission.

11. Account deletion and suspension

The Operator may suspend or delete an account if the user seriously or repeatedly breaches these Terms, in particular by publishing fraudulent or illegal content. We tell you about a suspension by email, unless the law or security considerations require otherwise. When an account is deleted, we delete the ads and data linked to it in line with our Privacy Policy.

12. Complaints

Send complaints about how the Portal works, about moderation decisions or about content via the contact form or to kontakt@thamescompass.com. We reply within a reasonable time, usually within [NUMBER OF WORKING DAYS TO REPLY] working days.

13. Changes to these Terms and governing law

We announce significant changes to these Terms on the site and, where possible, by email to registered users with reasonable notice. If you continue to use the Portal after the changes take effect, you accept them. These Terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and disputes are decided by the courts of England and Wales. If you are a consumer living in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring a claim in the courts where you live, and the consumer protection laws that apply there are not affected. Your statutory rights as a consumer are not affected.