Terms and Conditions

When you use or create an account with the Support Finder service you agree to abide by the following terms and conditions. They are legally binding on you.

Support Finder www.supportfinder.org.uk is a website created, owned and managed by Surrey Independent Living Charity (SILC). SILC is based at Astolat, Coniers Way, Guildford, Surrey, GU4 7HL and can be contacted on: admin@supportfinder.org.uk or 01483 458111.

Throughout these "Terms and Conditions" the following terms apply:

"Website" means www.supportfinder.org.uk.

"Material" means any information, text, graphics, data, links, programming code or other material published, contained or available on our website.

"You", "your" and "yours" means the person(s) accessing our website.

"We", "us" and "our" means SILC/Support Finder.

"Employer" means a person who engages another in employment or purchases services from another person or company.

"PA" means a Personal Assistant – a person who is available to provide support services to an "Employer" as defined herein.

"Trader" means a company or sole trader who provides support services to an "Employer" as defined herein.

"Profile" means the section of the website which holds your personal and contact details.

"Listing" means the section of website which holds information about the support you need or the support/service you can provide.

"Match" means a listing which is identified by Support Finder as containing one or more terms which match a listing that you have created.

1. General

1.1 These terms and conditions relate to your usage of the Website. These terms will be emailed to you when you first set up your account.

1.2 These terms and conditions may be varied by SILC from time to time and it is your responsibility to keep up to date with them. You can find them by visiting the Terms and Conditions page, displayed at the bottom of each webpage.

No other terms and conditions shall apply to this Website or have any effect on the applicability of these terms and conditions.

1.3 You should be 18 years old or over and resident in the United Kingdom to create an account on the Website.

By creating an account, you are giving consent to us to use any 'Special Category' information you provide for the purposes of delivering the Support Finder service.

1.4 If you are aged 18 or over and resident in the United Kingdom, you can create an account on behalf of someone else who requires support, for example a child.

If you are doing so, you must either be legally able to provide consent on their behalf for us to use their 'Special Category' information for the purposes of delivering the Support Finder Service, or you must have obtained their consent for us to use their 'Special Category' information for the purposes of delivering the Support Finder service.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet this requirement. You confirm that you have done so by completing the relevant tick box on the Create an Account page.

1.5 It is your responsibility to provide accurate and complete details when you create an account on the Website and to keep those details up to date. We are entitled to rely on the account details you provide to us.

1.6 It is your responsibility to keep your account details secure, including keeping your password confidential. If you suspect someone has accessed your account without your permission, you must Contact Us immediately.

1.7 Each account is for a single user only and not for multiple users.

1.8 You must provide a valid email address when you create an account. In doing so you warrant to us that you are entitled to receive email to that email address. You also accept that we may stop sending emails to you without prior notification.

1.9 Once you have created an account, you are solely responsible for everything done using your account, including managing your account and for the information that you include in your profile, listings and messages on the Website. If you think that another person may have access to, or be using, your account details, you must Contact Us immediately.

1.10 Once you have paid your membership fee or entered your voucher code, your membership will run for the minimum period required for the level of account you have chosen. This period is stated on the Website prior to your payment being taken. You can also review our membership levels and associated prices on each of the following pages: Employer, Personal Assistant and Trader.

Your membership will automatically renew once the minimum period has expired unless you cancel your recurring payment.

2. Purpose of this Website

2.1 The Website aims to connect people who need support to live independently (Employers) with those who can provide that support, both PAs and Traders who provide relevant services.

2.2 By posting listings on the Website, Employers can provide information about the support they need; PAs can detail their availability for work; and Traders can promote their services. The content of these listings is created and managed by the user themselves. Employers, PAs and Traders can search these listings to identify users who may meet their needs /require their services.

2.3 The Website uses these listings to identify where matches or partial matches exist to help Employers, PAs and Traders to connect with people who might meet their needs.

2.4 The Website also offers a secure messaging service for users to contact each other about their listings. Please note that while it is the intention of the Website to facilitate connections, Support Finder does not offer any guarantee that users will find a match for their needs.

2.5 The Website does not make any automated decisions about the suitability or otherwise of any matches it identifies, nor does it make any recommendations. The users themselves are solely responsible for making all decisions about who they connect with.

3. Disclaimer

By accepting these terms and conditions, you accept the following:

3.1 The Website is not a care or recruitment agency and therefore cannot be held responsible or liable in any way for your selection or recruitment process. We strongly recommend that Employers follow a thorough recruitment process, including: interviews; following up references; and carrying out Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks.

3.2 The information contained in this Website does not represent any statement by Support Finder/SILC as to the suitability or otherwise of any potential employers or employees. Matches are generated on the Website by identifying listings that have similar requirements selected. Any decision you take to view and/or contact (or not) a user based on the fact that their listing matches your search criteria is made at your own discretion.

3.3 Support Finder/SILC does not accept any responsibility or liability whatsoever for the quality, suitability or timeliness of work done by a PA or Trader found using the Website. It is entirely the responsibility of the Employer to ensure that the PA or Trader and their terms and conditions of employment are appropriate and meet their requirements.

3.4 Content published on the Website is for your information only and cannot be taken as professional advice. Personalised advice is available from the Support Finder team depending on the level of membership purchased.

4. Our Responsibilities

In providing this Website, we commit to the following responsibilities:

4.1 We are committed to the principles of fairness and mutual respect. We will treat all users equally regardless of any protected characteristics they may possess.

4.2 We will respect your personal information and will comply with all applicable data protection legislation in force in England and Wales (see clause 10).

4.3 We will keep the Website live and available for use as far as is reasonably possible.

4.4 We will make information about membership options, services and pricing available to you before requiring you to make a purchase. You can review our membership levels and their associated prices on each of the following pages: Employer, Personal Assistant and Trader.

4.5 We will provide a secure means for making payments on the Website.

4.6 We will provide you with access to the Website once your membership payment has been processed.

4.7 If you wish to purchase additional services, these will be processed separately to your membership payment. You should Contact Us to discuss your requirements.

4.8 You can contact the Support Finder team via our Contact Us page. We will respond to enquiries within 3 working days after receipt. Queries received after 5pm on a working day or during a weekend or bank holiday will be treated as being received on the next working day.

4.9 We will acknowledge complaints sent to the Support Finder team within 3 working days after receipt and will provide a response to the complaint in a timely way (see Clause 14). Complaints received after 5pm on a working day or during a weekend or bank holiday will be treated as being received on the next working day.

4.10 We will review new listings for Bronze level PAs and all Traders within 3 working days after the listing being submitted for approval. New listings received after 5pm on a working day or during a weekend or bank holiday will be treated as being received on the next working day.

4.11 We will notify you in advance of any changes that we may make to the list of services that are available to you as part of your membership.

4.12 We reserve the right to amend or remove any text, graphics or URL links within any profile or listing.

4.13 We will provide spot-check monitoring of the Support Finder messaging service and will sanction any user whose communications are not appropriate or do not meet the requirements set out in Clause 5 herein.

4.14 We will suspend the account of any user who does not make the necessary payment for their membership.

4.15 We will suspend the account of any user who infringes the requirements set out in clause 5.

4.16 We may archive the accounts of users who have not signed in to the Website for a period of twelve months or more.

4.17 We reserve the right to archive, suspend or delete any profile or listing that we consider to be a problem or causing concern. For example, if a user infringes the requirements set out in Clause 5; repeatedly fails to respond to communications; intentionally wastes other users' time; or pending any investigations that need to be carried out by the Support Finder team.

5. Your Responsibilities

In agreeing to these terms and conditions, you accept the following:

5.1 You will adhere to the terms and conditions as set out herein including any future updates.

5.2 You are solely responsible for any information that you enter onto the Website. You will ensure that you have the right to use the information you enter and that the information you use is appropriate.

The following non-exhaustive list gives some examples of what will be considered inappropriate. Information that:

5.2.1 Is defamatory, plagiarised, abusive, malicious, threatening, false, misleading, offensive, insulting, discriminatory, profane, harassing, racist, sexist, indecent, obscene, pornographic or hateful;

5.2.2 Is in breach of confidentiality or another person's privacy;

5.2.3 Prejudices any active legal proceedings of which you are aware;

5.2.4 Infringes any intellectual property rights proprietary to us or any other third party;

5.2.5 Is technically harmful (including without limitation computer viruses, logic bombs, trojan horses, worms, harmful components, corrupted data or other malicious software, harmful data or conduct);

5.2.6 Impersonates another person or otherwise misrepresents your identity, affiliation or status;

5.2.7 Would be considered a criminal offence, or gives rise to civil liability, or is otherwise unlawful.

5.3 If you are creating an account on behalf of someone who you support, you must obtain their consent to do this prior to creating the account. You must show due regard for their privacy at all times. We will not be held responsible for any failure to do this on your part.

5.4 You will provide accurate information in your user profile, any listings you post and all communications you make using the Website.

5.5 You will safeguard your identity, or the identity of the person you are supporting, in any publicly-viewable areas of the Website. For example, you will not post your full name or address in a listing that you create.

5.6 You will be polite and respectful to other users of the Website and the Support Finder team at all times, regardless of any protected characteristics you believe they may possess.

Protected characteristics include:

5.7 You will use the Support Finder messaging system only to communicate with other users of the site about the services they are seeking or the services you provide.

5.8 You understand that inappropriate behaviour on the Website will result in your account being suspended.

5.9 Where we suspend your account due to inappropriate usage, you must not attempt to create another account without our prior written consent.

5.10 You will make the necessary payments on time for the level of membership that you select. You understand that failure to make a payment will result in your account being suspended.

5.11 If you have opted in to receiving any newsletters or other communications, you can opt out by changing the settings in your 'Notification Preferences' section of your 'My account' area or by emailing us at admin@supportfinder.org.uk.

5.12 If you are an Employer, you understand that you are solely responsible for ensuring the suitability of PAs or Traders that you engage (see Clause 3).

5.13 You may not alter, adapt or reverse engineer any part of the Website.

5.14 You will notify the Support Finder team if you would like your information to be removed from the Website permanently.

6. Cancellation of Membership and Refunds

6.1 When you activate a membership on the Website, you confirm that you would like to have immediate access to the Website. In doing so, you agree to forfeit your right to receiving a full refund should you wish to cancel your membership within 14 days (a 'cooling off period').

This is necessary to allow you to have immediate access to the Website and the services included in your membership package. If you cancel your membership during the 'cooling off period', we will charge you a reasonable amount for the services we have provided during your membership.

6.2 Once you are outside the 'cooling off period', your membership will run for the full duration that you have paid for in accordance with the level of your membership. Your membership will automatically renew using the recurring payment that you set up when creating your account unless you change or cancel your membership.

6.3 If you no longer want to use the Website before the minimum period that you have paid for elapses, you may remove any listings that you have posted and/or delete your account. However, no fees will be refunded for the period of time that you do not use the Website. If you choose not to delete your account, you should ensure you cancel your membership (and therefore your recurring payment). This will make your account inactive but allow you to reactivate it by purchasing a new membership. If your account is inactive for 12 months, it will be deleted.

6.4 If you want to delete your account because it has been suspended due to you having infringed these terms and conditions, you will need to Contact Us. However, no refund will be made in these circumstances.

6.5 You may use all the services included in your membership package. However, no refund will be made for services which are not used.

7. Website maintenance

While we will endeavour to ensure the availability of the Website as far as possible, we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted or error free. From time to time, we may need to restrict your access to the Website in order to:

7.1 Fix defects and errors in the Website.

7.2 Install updates and undertake maintenance of the Website.

7.3 Undertake emergency maintenance and/or suspend access to the servers.

8. Third Party Content

The Website may provide links to other websites, webpages, resources or mobile services which are proprietary to third parties. Those resources are provided for your information only and you access them at your own risk. We are not liable or responsible for the content or operation of third party websites, webpages, resources or mobile services.

9. Use of Cookies

When you visit the Support Finder website, we capture some information about your visit using cookies. Cookies are small text files that are placed on your computer by websites that you visit. They help us analyse how the website is used and to identify areas for improvement.

In particular, we use cookies to authenticate your contact details when you set up an account and also to see the volume of visitors to the website and analyse how the content of our website is viewed. Some of this information is gathered by our web content management system and some is gathered by Google Analytics.

You can choose not to allow cookies to be used by adjusting your browser settings, however this may affect website functionality. For further information, visit www.allaboutcookies.org.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Please note that if you restrict cookies for this Website then there is a risk the Website may not function correctly.

10. Data Protection

10.1 By accepting these terms and conditions, you are entering into a contract with SILC for access to the Support Finder service. Where you are creating an account on behalf of another person, for example a parent creating an account for a child who needs support, you hereby confirm that you are either in a legal position to act on behalf of the other person or you have obtained the other person’s consent to act on their behalf. It is your responsibility to keep a record of their consent.

We will use the personal information you give us in order to provide the service. For more information on how your information is used, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

10.2 We will respect your information and will comply with all applicable data protection legislation in force in England and Wales.

10.3 We reserve the right to forward your contact details to any regulatory authorities when requested to do so, including the police.

11. Commercial Use

No one may use the services offered through this Website for illegal and/or unauthorised uses. Any such action will be investigated and appropriate legal action may be taken including, without limitation, civil, criminal, and injunctive remedies.

12. Exclusion of Liability

12.1 You shall indemnify us on demand and keep us indemnified against all liabilities, losses, damages, costs, claims and expenses (including any professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by us arising out of or in connection with any breach or alleged breach by you of this clause.

12.2 You undertake to defend us from and against any claim or action by a third party that the use or possession of any content submitted or uploaded to the Website by you infringes the intellectual property of such third party ("IPR Claim"), and shall on demand indemnify us and keep us indemnified against all liabilities, losses, damages, costs, claims and expenses (including any professional costs and expenses) suffered or incurred by us arising out of or in connection with any such IPR Claim.

12.3 The following provisions of this clause set out our entire financial liability (including any liability for the acts or omissions of our employees, agents and sub-contractors) to you in respect of all losses, claims or liabilities arising under or in connection with these terms and conditions or your use of the Website generally, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise.

12.4 The information and material contained on the Website is for information purposes only and does not constitute advice. Such information and material may be incorrect or out of date and should not be considered as a definitive or complete statement of fact. You should check any information and material on the Website and use your own judgement before doing or not doing anything on the basis of such information or material. We make no representations or warranties with respect to the Website or its content. All warranties (express or implied) (including without limitation the implied warranties of satisfactory quality and fitness for purpose relating to the Website and/or its content) are hereby excluded to the fullest extent permitted by law. No representations or warranties are given as to the accuracy or completeness of the information or material provided on the website or any Website or webpage to which it is linked.

12.5 To the fullest extent permitted by law, we hereby expressly exclude any liability for:

12.5.1 loss of or corruption to data; or

12.5.2 loss of profit; or

12.5.3 loss of anticipated savings; or

12.5.4 loss of anticipated revenue; or

12.5.5 loss of business; or

12.5.6 loss of opportunity; or

12.5.7 adverse effect on reputation and/or goodwill; or

12.5.8 any indirect or consequential loss or damage save that for these purposes losses arising as a result of regulatory fines and damage to property shall to the extent arising as a natural consequence of the breach in question not be regarded as indirect or consequential.

12.6 Our total liability to you in respect of all losses and liabilities arising under or in connection with these terms and conditions, whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise, shall in no circumstances exceed an amount equal to the amount paid by you to us in the 12 month period immediately preceding the date on which such loss or liability arose or £200, whichever is greater.

12.7 Without prejudice to the generality of the exclusions of liability contained in this clause, we shall not be liable to you if you cannot access the Website properly or at all (wholly or partly) or if some of its features are unavailable to you due to events outside our control (which shall include without limitation the performance of any internet service provider, the performance of any internet browser or limitations of the device you use to access the Website).

12.8 We shall have no liability to you for any loss or inconvenience suffered due to the unavailability or withdrawal of any content, material or other information from the Website.

12.9 Whilst we monitor the Website with a view to locating and fixing defects, you acknowledge and agree that we cannot guarantee that the Website or any individual feature of the Website will be error free, be available at all times and/or be free from viruses and defects.

13. Governing Law

13.1 These terms and conditions and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.

13.2 The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim that arises out of or in connection with these Terms or its subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims).

13.3 If any provision of these terms and conditions is held invalid, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The headings are for convenience only and shall have no effect on interpretation.

14. Complaints

If you wish to make a complaint regarding the Website, please contact us in writing at the following address:

Support Finder Complaints
Surrey Independent Living Charity
Astolat
Coniers Way
Guildford
Surrey
GU4 7HL

Alternatively you can send us an email to: admin@supportfinder.org.uk

We will acknowledge complaints within 3 working days after receipt and will provide a response to the complaint within 14 working days. Complaints received after 5pm on a working day or during a weekend or bank holiday will be treated as being received on the next working day.

15. Intellectual Property Rights

SILC asserts ownership over the Website. No elements of the website may be reproduced without obtaining specific prior consent from SILC. All rights are reserved.

16. Contact us

Support Finder is run by Surrey Independent Living Charity (SILC). If you have any questions or concerns, please contact us via one of the following methods:

Email: admin@supportfinder.org.uk

Phone: 01483 458111

Text: 07771 108624

Address:
Support Finder Team
Surrey Independent Living Charity
Astolat
Coniers Way
Guildford
Surrey
GU4 7HL.