Terms of use for the marketplace.

1. Scope, provider and changes

These terms of use apply to the marketplace on marketplace.getdogwalkers.com, the client portal at app.getdogwalkers.com and the accounts that dog owners and businesses create for them (together the “platform”). They also apply to the websites of our sister brands that refer to these terms of use. The provider is Cogswell IT, owner Joshua Cogswell, Georg-Moller-Weg 29, 64625 Bensheim, Germany (“we”). Full details are in the imprint.

For businesses that subscribe to the GetDogWalkers app, the terms and conditions also apply to the app and the server account. Where they conflict, these terms of use prevail for the marketplace and the terms and conditions for the app and the subscription. Users’ own terms do not apply.

We may change these terms if laws, case law, platform features or fees change. We will announce changes at least 30 days in advance by email or in your account and tell you what is changing. Businesses can object to the change and terminate their use free of charge before it takes effect; otherwise the new terms apply to them, which we will point out in the announcement. We ask consumers for their express consent. If you do not consent, the previous terms continue to apply to you, and we may end your use with 30 days’ notice. Confirmed bookings continue under the terms that applied when they were made.

2. What GetDogWalkers is and is not

The platform is an online marketplace. Businesses such as dog walkers, dog sitters, boarding kennels, dog daycares and dog schools present their offers there. Dog owners can book or request appointments online and arrange a meet and greet. Through the client portal, dog owners see appointments, contracts and invoices that their business shares with them.

We are only an intermediary. We do not walk, care for, board, train, transport or treat dogs, and we do not employ the businesses. The businesses are not our employees, agents or representatives and are not subject to our instructions. The contract for each service is made solely between the business and the dog owner. We do not become a contracting party, a representative of either side, or the keeper or custodian of an animal within the meaning of sections 833 and 834 of the German Civil Code (BGB).

The respective contracting party alone is responsible for the content, performance, quality and safety of the services, for the accommodation, care and handling of the dog, and for vet and other third-party costs. We do not inspect businesses on site and give no assurance that a business is suitable or that a booking will take place.

We do not give veterinary, legal or tax advice. Our support helps with questions about the platform and bookings. Information on a dog’s health, feeding or behaviour does not replace the assessment of a vet or other professionals.

3. Who may use the platform, account and security

You can create an account if you are at least 18 years old and have full legal capacity. Anyone creating an account for a business confirms that they are authorised to represent it.

Your details must be true, complete and up to date. You may hold only one account per person or business, may not transfer it and may not let anyone else book with it. Keep your password and the links in our emails secret. If you suspect someone else is using your account, tell us immediately.

You can book, send requests, arrange a meet and greet and write messages without an account. You then get a personal link for each booking, meet and greet and conversation. Anyone who knows this link can see the booking or conversation and act there, so do not pass it on.

You use the platform as a consumer if you book privately for your own dog. Businesses declare to us whether they offer their services as a trader within the meaning of section 14 BGB, that is commercially or as a self-employed professional, and in that case state their name and address. We show both on the profile and before you book, so that you know who you are contracting with. If a business says it offers its services as a private individual, EU consumer protection rules, such as the right of withdrawal, do not apply to your contract with it.

4. Booking, requests and meet and greet

How a contract with the business is made depends on the service:

• Instant booking: For services with instant booking, the contract with the business is made when you submit the booking with “Book and pay”.
• Booking request: Otherwise you send the business a request with “Send request and pay”, and the contract is made when the business accepts it within 24 hours. Until then the amount is only reserved. If the business does not accept, the request lapses and the reservation is released.
• Meet and greet: Many businesses offer a free meet and greet before the first booking. It does not oblige anyone to book. If a business requires a meet and greet first, your booking remains a request until the business confirms after the meeting.

Before you pay, you see the total price with the service fee, the business’s cancellation policy, whether the business says it is a trader, and its acceptance rules, for example on vaccinations, neutering, size, age or how the dog gets on with other dogs. Check them before you book. After booking, you receive a confirmation by email.

Reservation: when you go to payment, we hold the chosen appointment for you for 30 minutes. If you do not complete the payment in that time, the reservation lapses and no contract is made.

Regular appointments: with instant booking you can book walks, visits, sitting and daycare as a series, weekly for a set number of weeks (at most 52) or until further notice. Each appointment in a series is a separate booking with its own service fee and is handled individually under the cancellation policy. We create appointments on a rolling basis up to 28 days in advance; if the business is not free for an appointment, it is skipped and you are both informed. The price stays the same from when the series is created. You can pause, resume or end a series; future appointments are then cancelled under the cancellation policy. Businesses can end a series with 14 days’ notice; appointments already created remain.

Requests without payment: services that cannot be booked directly on the marketplace, for example monthly services, are requested without payment. No service fee or commission is charged, and a contract is only made outside the marketplace directly with the business.

The details of each booking are in the confirmation email, behind the link to your booking and in your account. The contract language is German.

We explain the order of search results, ads and boost on the page How we rank. Ads are always labelled.

Businesses can improve their placement for payment: with boost (a higher score in return for extra commission on the first booking of new clients), with ad slots above the results and with the Pension Premium plan, which raises the score by a factor of 1.10. Ads are labelled “Ad”, paid improvements in the list “Sponsored”, each with the business’s name. Paid placement never overrides the fixed rules (service, service area, availability, acceptance rules). The page How we rank is part of these terms; if we change the main parameters, we inform businesses in advance under section 1.

5. Obligations of dog owners

You choose the business yourself and decide whom to entrust your dog to. Profiles, reviews and badges help, but they do not replace your own judgement. Use the meet and greet where possible.

You give the business all the information it needs for safe care, truthfully and completely, in particular:

• state of health, previous illnesses, medication, allergies and feeding;
• vaccination status, worming, flea and tick protection and, if the business asks for it, proof of them;
• behaviour towards people and other dogs, lead manners, recall, hunting behaviour and any previous bite incidents;
• a reachable emergency contact and your vet.

You only hand over a dog for care if it is healthy and does not have a contagious disease that could endanger other dogs, or if the business has expressly agreed. You discuss a female dog in season with the business beforehand.

As the keeper of the dog, you are liable under section 833 BGB for damage it causes. We strongly recommend dog owner’s liability insurance that also covers care by third parties; it is mandatory in some German states, and many businesses require it.

6. Obligations of businesses

Businesses confirm that they are competent and legally permitted to provide the services they offer, in particular that they hold the permit required under section 11 of the German Animal Welfare Act, have registered a trade where required, and hold suitable business liability insurance.

Businesses state truthfully whether they offer their services as a trader and keep their name and address up to date. Profiles, photos, services, prices, availability, capacity and acceptance rules must be accurate and up to date. Photos show the business’s own premises. Prices for consumers are final prices including VAT where applicable.

Businesses accept or decline requests within the time shown, honour confirmed bookings and cancel only for good reason. Towards consumers, they comply with the statutory information duties that apply to their service and issue proper invoices.

Clients who found a business through the marketplace may not be asked to pay for bookings outside the platform in order to avoid fees.

Businesses keep their calendar in the app up to date, because the marketplace calculates free appointments from it. They inform dog owners without delay of incidents, injuries or illness of an animal, use dog owners’ data only for the booking concerned and are responsible for employees and other helpers they use.

Under the German Platform Tax Transparency Act we must collect information about businesses that earn income through the marketplace and report it to the Federal Central Tax Office. Businesses provide this information completely and correctly on request. If a business does not do so despite two reminders, we must restrict its use or withhold payouts. We send each reported business the information we reported about it.

7. Emergencies, vets and dogs not collected

Before the first care, dog owner and business agree who takes the dog to a vet in an emergency, such as an injury or sudden illness, up to what cost treatment may go ahead without checking back, and who bears the costs. If the dog owner cannot be reached, the business may get veterinary help in the dog’s interest. The costs are governed by the contract between business and dog owner and by law.

In an emergency where people or animals are at risk, call the vet, emergency services or police first. Our support is not an emergency service.

Dogs do not always behave predictably. Even with careful care, a dog can get injured, fall ill, run away or harm other animals, people or property, especially in groups. Clarify before booking, for example at the meet and greet, what applies to your dog. We do not take out insurance for dog owners or businesses; whether insurance covers damage depends solely on their insurance contracts.

If a dog is not collected after a booking ends and the dog owner cannot be reached, what happens next is governed by the contract with the business and by law. The business may continue to care for the dog at the agreed or usual prices. In such cases we may pass contact details to the business and, where the animal’s welfare requires it, to the competent authorities.

8. Prices, service fee and commission

The business sets the price of the service. Searching, requests and meet and greets are free for dog owners.

Service fee: On bookings by marketplace clients paid through the platform, we charge dog owners a service fee of 10% of the booking amount, at least €1.49 and at most €49 per booking. No service fee applies to a business’s own clients or to bookings through the direct link of a business with a subscription. The service fee is the charge for our intermediary service and for running the platform. Whether it applies and how much it is, you see in the total price before you book.

Commission: Businesses pay a commission on bookings paid through the marketplace. The rate depends on the plan and on whether the client came through the marketplace. The rates are on the pricing page; businesses without a subscription pay the higher rates stated there. Optional ads and boost only cost something if a business books them.

Anyone who found a business through the marketplace search or an ad counts as a marketplace client of that business permanently, including for later bookings via the direct link; so does an own client who has not booked for 365 days and then finds the business through search. For series, the service fee is charged per appointment. Stripe’s fees are paid by the business. For each booking we store the price breakdown at the time of booking; later changes to prices, fees or commission rates do not apply to it.

All prices on the platform include statutory VAT where applicable. Businesses are responsible for paying tax on their income. We report information about businesses to the tax authorities where the German Platform Tax Transparency Act requires it.

9. Payment through Stripe

Payments through the marketplace are processed by the payment provider Stripe. The money goes to the business through Stripe; Stripe retains the service fee and the commission for us. We do not accept or hold money for businesses ourselves. Stripe’s terms also apply to the payment.

For overnight stays, you pay 30% of the price plus the service fee as a deposit when booking and the rest 48 hours before the start if the start is later. If another appointment is more than six days in the future, your payment method is saved when you book and the amount is charged 48 hours before the start. If the charge still fails after a grace period, the booking may be cancelled.

Businesses that receive payments need a Stripe account and go through the legally required identity check there. Stripe or we may withhold payouts while there is a reasonable suspicion of fraud, an open complaint about the booking or a chargeback.

If a business offers payment on site and you choose it, you pay the price directly to the business. No money then flows through the platform, and you settle refunds directly with the business.

10. Cancellation, dropout and refunds

Each business chooses one of three cancellation policies for its services. The one that applies is shown with the service and before you pay. If you cancel, you get the booking amount back as follows:

On cancellation, you get the service fee back in full up to 24 hours after booking, but not after that; your right of withdrawal under section 10a applies in addition. If the business does not accept a request, you get everything back, including the service fee.

If, when you cancel, nothing or less has been collected than the business keeps under the cancellation policy, we collect the difference as a cancellation fee from your stored payment method. Before you cancel, we show you which amount is refunded or retained.

Business dropout: If the business cancels a confirmed booking paid online or does not show up, you get everything back, including the service fee. If there are suitable other businesses, we suggest them to you at the original price, and you choose within 24 hours between a replacement and the refund. We cover the extra cost of a replacement up to €25. This is voluntary help, not a guarantee for a business’s service; claims against the business remain unaffected.

The dropout rule only applies to bookings paid online through GetDogWalkers, not to payment on site. If a business cancels, we also refund its commission. Cancellations and no-shows by businesses count towards reliability in the ranking; cancellations 48 hours or less before the start and no-shows count double. For good cause, for example suspected fraud, danger to animals or people or suspension of a business, we can cancel a booking; amounts paid online are then refunded in full, including the service fee.

The amounts retained are a flat rate for the business’s loss. You remain free to prove that the business suffered no loss or a substantially lower one. Refunds go to the payment method you used. How long this takes depends on your bank, usually a few working days. Statutory rights, for example if the business does not provide the service or provides it defectively, and your right of withdrawal for the service fee under section 10a remain unaffected. Whether you have a right of withdrawal towards the business is governed by law and the business’s information.

10a. Right of withdrawal for the intermediary service (service fee)

If you pay a service fee as a consumer, you make a contract with us for the intermediary service. The following information applies to this contract. It does not concern the contract with the business; the business tells you whether you can withdraw from that one.

Withdrawal information

Right of withdrawal. You have the right to withdraw from this contract within fourteen days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day the contract is concluded. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Cogswell IT, Joshua Cogswell, Georg-Moller-Weg 29, 64625 Bensheim, Germany, phone +49 6251 9743990, email hallo@getdogwalkers.com) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by a clear statement (for example a letter sent by post or an email). You may use the model withdrawal form below, but it is not obligatory. You can also withdraw through our withdrawal function: the button “Withdraw from contract” at the bottom of every marketplace page and on the page of your booking. To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning the exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal. If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse all payments received from you without undue delay and in any event not later than fourteen days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement. If you requested to begin the performance of services during the withdrawal period, you shall pay us an amount which is in proportion to what has been provided until you have communicated to us your withdrawal from this contract, in comparison with the full coverage of the contract.

Early expiry. The right of withdrawal expires when we have fully performed the intermediary service, that is when the booking has been confirmed by the business, and you expressly requested before submitting the booking that we begin the service immediately and confirmed that you know your right of withdrawal will then expire.

Model withdrawal form (complete and return this form only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

• To Cogswell IT, Joshua Cogswell, Georg-Moller-Weg 29, 64625 Bensheim, Germany, email hallo@getdogwalkers.com:
• I/We (*) hereby give notice that I/We (*) withdraw from my/our (*) contract for the provision of the following service: intermediary service through GetDogWalkers, booking number …
• Ordered on (*) / received on (*): …
• Name of consumer(s): …
• Address of consumer(s): …
• Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper): …
• Date: …

(*) Delete as appropriate.

Withdrawal from the care contract

Whether you can withdraw from the care contract with the business depends on the law and the business’s information. A right of withdrawal only exists if the business is a trader and you are a consumer. If the care is to start within the withdrawal period, we ask you before booking whether you expressly request this; if you withdraw after the care has started, the business can claim a proportionate amount. You can declare withdrawal from the care contract to the business or through our withdrawal function; we pass withdrawals that reach us on to the business.

11. Problems with a booking

If something went wrong with a booking, report it within 72 hours after the appointment through the link to your booking. If the business did not show up, you can report this there straight away; the business then has 24 hours to respond.

We look at every report, hear both sides and may refund a booking in full or in part if the service was not provided. We are not a court and do not decide on damages. You assert claims under the contract with the business, for example because your dog was injured, directly against the business and its insurer.

Additional costs that you agreed with the business or that your dog causes, such as late collection, emergency vet visits or damage, are charged to you directly by the business.

The business can respond to your report within 48 hours. Our decision only concerns processing through the marketplace, i.e. refund, the option to review and reliability; we do not decide on claims under the contract with the business, and both sides remain free to go to court. We only arrange a refund at the business’s expense if dog owner and business agree or the facts are clear.

12. Reviews

Only people who booked through GetDogWalkers and whose appointment took place can leave a review; for payment on site, the dog owner first confirms that the appointment took place. Dog owner and business review each other blind; the reviews become visible when both have reviewed or after 14 days. We publish positive and negative reviews alike and do not check in advance whether they are accurate.

A business’s review of a dog owner is not public. Businesses the dog owner later sends a request to or books with see the average and the most recent reviews.

Reviews must be honest and based on your own experience. Prohibited are bought, swapped or fake reviews, reviews in return for something, reviews of your own business and content that insults, discloses third-party data or breaks the law. We check reported reviews and remove them if they break these rules. Businesses can reply publicly to a review.

We publish reviews in the order of their publication, without selection and without payment. Businesses can reply once to each review. Reviews from Google do not come from us; we do not check whether their authors used the service, show them separately from our reviews and do not let them affect stars, ranking or badges.

13. Messages and notifications

You can exchange messages with businesses through the platform. Use them for everything about a booking; that way we can see what was agreed if there is a problem. Until the first confirmed booking, the platform automatically replaces phone numbers, email addresses and web addresses in messages with a placeholder. We only read messages if one side reports them, if we are investigating a suspicion of fraud or abuse, or if the law requires it.

We send you emails about your bookings, requests, payments and account. We only send advertising with your consent; you can unsubscribe at any time.

14. Rules for everyone

In particular, the following is prohibited on the platform:

• false information about yourself, your business or your dog, other people’s photos or identities;
• offers or requests that break the Animal Welfare Act or other laws, and selling or rehoming dogs through the platform;
• insults, threats, harassment, discrimination and content that shows or approves of violence against people or animals;
• spam, advertising for other platforms and poaching marketplace clients to avoid fees;
• automated scraping of the platform, attacks on its security and any use that disrupts its operation;
• using contact details from the platform for purposes other than the booking or request concerned.

People who met through the marketplace are free to decide whether to keep working together. If you book outside the marketplace, neither the dropout rule nor the procedure for problems applies, and there is no review on the marketplace. For breaches of the ban on circumvention we first give a notice, and for repeated or serious breaches we restrict or suspend; there is no contractual penalty or arrangement fee.

15. Your content

You are responsible for texts, photos, reviews and other content you post on the platform. You confirm that you hold the necessary rights and that any people shown have agreed.

You grant us a simple, free right, limited to the duration of publication, to store, display and technically adapt this content for running the platform and to show it on the platform and in search results and link previews. We only use your content for advertising outside the platform with your consent. Reviews remain visible without a name after an account is closed, so that the picture of a business stays complete.

We do not adopt third-party content as our own. We may remove or block content that breaks these terms of use or the law.

16. Illegal content, suspension and termination

You can report illegal content or breaches of these terms through “Report” on reviews and profiles or through the support form with the topic “Report content”, even without an account. Details are in the legal notices under the Digital Services Act. Please say where the content is and why it is illegal. We review reports promptly, carefully and objectively and tell you our decision. Our point of contact for authorities and users under the Digital Services Act can also be reached through support, in German or English.

Depending on the severity of a breach, we may remove content, remove a profile from search, restrict features or suspend an account temporarily or permanently. We give reasons for such decisions unless the law prohibits it, and you can object through support within six months. A person will then review the objection again.

We choose the mildest suitable measure and take into account whether a breach was culpable and whether it was the first. If someone frequently posts manifestly illegal content or frequently sends manifestly unfounded reports, we can suspend their use or reports for a reasonable period after a prior warning. We report criminal offences that give rise to a suspicion of a threat to life or safety to the competent authorities. For disputes about our decisions you can also contact an out-of-court dispute settlement body certified under Art. 21 DSA; recourse to the courts remains open.

We inform businesses of a restriction or suspension, with reasons, before or at the latest when it takes effect. We give businesses at least 30 days’ notice of an ordinary termination of their use; immediate termination only if the law requires it or there is a serious or repeated breach.

You can close your account at any time, see Delete account. We can end use by consumers with 30 days’ notice, and without notice for good cause. Confirmed bookings are completed before closing or cancelled under section 10.

17. Identity checks and badges

Businesses that accept bookings prove their identity through Stripe Identity, and Stripe checks businesses that receive payments under anti-money-laundering rules. We only show badges for liability insurance or a permit under section 11 of the Animal Welfare Act if proof has been submitted to us; we check that it exists and is valid, not its scope, quality or suitability. We do not check businesses’ expertise or premises, and we do not obtain criminal record certificates.

The marketplace has these awards; how to get them is explained on the page How we rank:

• Professional Partner and Premium Partner only show that a business uses a paid GetDogWalkers plan (Professional Partner: Starter, Pro or Pension; Premium Partner: Business or Pension Premium) while the subscription is paid, not during the trial. They are paid for with the plan and are not a statement about quality, suitability or reliability.
• Platinum Partner and Trusted by GetDogWalkers are granted only by us, always together, against the published criteria. They cannot be applied for or bought. We record which criteria were met when granting them and withdraw both if a criterion is no longer met; a grant can be time-limited. We inform the business of a withdrawal with reasons (section 16). The awards describe the situation at the time of the check and are no promise for individual bookings.

No award changes the order of search results. A paid improvement in placement only exists through boost, ads and the factor of 1.10 on the Pension Premium plan (section 4); it is always labelled as an ad or “Sponsored”.

18. Third-party services and links

The platform uses third-party services, such as Stripe for payments and identity checks, Google for showing Google reviews, and email providers. Their own terms apply to these services. We provide links to other websites for information only; their providers are responsible for their content.

19. Intellectual property

The software, design, texts, logos and the GetDogWalkers brand belong to us or our licensors. You may use the platform under these terms of use, but you may not copy, rebuild or modify it or use our brands and logos without our consent.

20. Availability and changes to the platform

We strive to keep the platform available around the clock but cannot guarantee it, for example during maintenance, outages at service providers or attacks. We develop the platform further and may change, add or discontinue features where this is reasonable for you. We will not materially restrict features you have paid for during the paid period.

21. Liability

We are liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence, for injury to life, body or health, under the Product Liability Act and where we have given a guarantee.

For slight negligence, we are only liable if we breach an essential obligation, that is, an obligation whose fulfilment makes use of the platform possible in the first place and on whose fulfilment you may rely. Liability is then limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this kind of contract.

Except where we are liable under the two preceding paragraphs, we are not liable for the businesses’ services, for the conduct of users, for damage caused by or to dogs during a service arranged through the platform or for third-party content, because we do not provide these services. The statutory liability of businesses and animal keepers remains unaffected. These liability rules also apply to our staff and agents. Mandatory consumer rights remain unaffected.

22. Indemnity

If you culpably breach these terms or third-party rights, for example with other people’s photos or impermissible reviews, you indemnify us against third-party claims made against us as a result, including reasonable legal defence costs. We will inform you without delay and agree the defence with you.

23. Data protection

How we process personal data in the marketplace is set out in the privacy policy. The business is responsible for data it keeps in the app about its clients and their dogs; we process it on the business’s behalf.

For each booking and request, businesses receive the information the dog owner provides for it, as well as the reviews of their profile. We ourselves use booking and search data in aggregated form to run the platform, calculate the ranking and prevent abuse, and do not pass it on to other businesses. After use ends, bookings are only kept for as long as retention obligations require.

24. Disputes, governing law and jurisdiction

If you have a complaint, write to us first through support; we will reply personally and look for a solution. We are neither willing nor obliged to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board. Businesses can also contact support with complaints under the P2B Regulation; we handle them free of charge and within a reasonable time.

German law applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. If you are a consumer habitually resident in another EU country, you keep the mandatory consumer protection rules of that country.

If users are merchants, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law, or have no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, the place of jurisdiction is Bensheim, Germany. For consumers, the statutory places of jurisdiction apply. These rules only concern contracts with us, not the contract between dog owner and business.

25. Force majeure and final provisions

We are not liable for outages caused by events beyond our control, such as natural events, epidemics, official orders, power cuts or disruptions at network operators and payment providers, for as long as they last.

If any provision of these terms of use is invalid, the remaining provisions remain valid; the statutory rule takes the place of the invalid provision. We may transfer this agreement to an affiliated company or a successor if your rights are not impaired; in that case you can close your account free of charge beforehand.

The contract language is German. This translation is for information; in case of differences the German version applies.

The German version of these terms of use is binding; the English version is provided for convenience.