Terms and Conditions

§ 1 General provisions

  1. These Terms and Conditions set out the terms and conditions for the use of the Consultly Portal and the mutual rights and obligations of Consultly and Users.
  2. The Consultly Portal allows Specialists to make their Consultation offer available to potential Clients, and Clients to find a Specialist and order a Consultation in their chosen field.
  3. Users of the Portal, when establishing cooperation, concluding agreements and performing transactions using the tools offered by the Portal, undertake to comply with the laws commonly applicable in each country, including tax laws, good customs, and the provisions of these Terms and Conditions. 
  4. By using the Portal, you acknowledge that you have read these Terms and Conditions and agree to be bound by and abide by them. 

§ 2 Definitions

a) Consultly – the Portal Provider, which is Consultly Ltd with the address of its registered office at 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ.

b) Portal – the Internet portal operated by Consultly at consultly.com, app.consultly.com.

c) Terms and Conditions – these terms and conditions for the provision of electronic services by the Provider.

d) Specialist – a natural person having full capacity to make acts in law who went through with the Registration on the Portal, engaged in a gainful or professional activity consisting in the provision of electronic services on the Portal.

e) Client – a natural person having full capacity to make acts in law who, upon individual request, received from the Specialist at the indicated email address a link generated using the Portal for payment for the Consultation and/or to the Consultation or who booked the Consultation via the Specialist’s Page, using the service provided electronically by the Specialist.

f) Specialist’s Page – a public website created using the Portal, containing information provided by the Specialist, allowing the Client to book a Consultation or pay for a Consultation.

g) Registration – the process of creating an Account on the Portal (available only to the Specialist).

h) Account – an entry in the Portal’s database from which the Specialist’s ability to access certain services of the Portal is derived.

g) Service – a service provided by Consultly electronically, consisting in sending and receiving data via public ICT systems at the individual request of the service recipient – the Client and/or the Specialist, without the parties being present in one place at one time.

h) Consultation – a service provided electronically by the Specialist through the Portal, which takes the form of a video/audio consultations with the Client.

i) Payment processor – a separate online platform that provides electronic payment processing and security services.

l) Subscription – as a general rule, a paid service provided by Consultly electronically to grant access to the Portal to a Specialist.

m) Subscription Period – the period for which the Specialist has access to the Portal under the Subscription.

n) Auto-Renewable Subscription − a form of Subscription provided for successive auto-renewable Subscription Periods.

§ 3 Types and Scope of Services

  1. The service of access to the Portal is provided through the website, at consultly.com, app.consultly.com .
  2. Consultly provides the following Services, among others:

a) automates the process of arranging a Consultation between the Client and the Specialist;

b) provides tools and technologies to enable the Consultation;

c) enables and automates payments between the Client and the Specialist by integrating the Portal with the Payment Processor.

  1. Consultly provides software to enable and automate the process of arranging and conducting Consultations between the Client and the Specialist, and provides tools to facilitate payment, communication and data transfer between the Client and the Specialist.
  2. In order to provide the services referred to in paragraph 2, Consultly may enter into contractual relationships with third parties that are necessary for the provision of these services. In particular, Consultly may enter into agreements to enable the use of Payment Processor’s services.

§ 4 Terms of Service

  1. In order to use the Services of the Portal, the following technical conditions must be met:

a) access to the Internet with a minimum data transmission speed of 10 Mbps;

b) one of the following web browsers: Chrome, Safari, Firefox, updated to their latest version;

c) a working microphone and webcam and access permission turned on for the Portal;

d) an email address;

e) if you intend to use a paid Consultation, a bank account or payment card to make payment for the Consultation;

f) in order to provide paid consultations in the case of Specialists, a bank account into which payments from Clients for the Consultations performed will be transferred,

g) in the case of Specialists, a payment card to pay for the subscription.

§ 5 Fees for using the portal

  1. For Clients. 

1.1. Access to the services of the Portal for the Client is free of charge.

1.2. Services provided by Specialists to Clients may be subject to fees under the terms and conditions set forth separately in these Terms and Conditions.

  1. For Specialists. 

2.1. Access to the Portal for the Specialist is based on an Auto-Renewable Subscription.

2.2. Access to the services of the Portal for the Specialist is exempt from the Subscription fee for the first 14 days from the date of Registration on the Portal. Free use of the Portal by the Specialist is possible only once. 

2.3. If the Specialist does not cancel the Subscription before the expiration of the period referred to in paragraph 2(2), the Auto-Renewable Subscription recurring fee of USD 9 will be automatically charged.

2.4. The Subscription Period begins on the 15th day from the date of registration and is one month.

2.5. The monthly billing period begins on the day of payment for the Subscription and ends one day before the corresponding day of the following month. If the following month does not have an analogous day from the previous month, the monthly accounting period ends on the last calendar day of the following month.

2.6. For the collected fee referred to in paragraph 2(3), the Specialist each time receives a billing invoice to the email address provided during Registration.

2.7. Specialists may cancel their Subscriptions using the “Cancel Subscription” option under the “Account” tab in their Specialist Account.

2.8. If the Specialist cancels the Subscription, the Subscription expires at the end of the monthly billing period.

2.9. In the event that the payment for the Subscription cannot be made due to expiration of the payment card, lack of funds or other reasons, Consultly has the right to suspend access to the Portal until the payment for the Subscription is collected.

2.10. Consultly reserves the right to change the fee referred to in paragraph 2(3) and at the same time undertakes to inform the Specialist of the changes well in advance by email to the Specialist’s email address provided during Registration.

2.11. Consultly charges a commission of 10% on the money paid by the Clients to the Specialist. This is the only commission charged on funds paid by Clients to the Specialist.

2.12. For the commissions collected by the Portal, the Specialist receives a monthly summary invoice by the 5th day of the following calendar month to the email address provided during Registration.

§ 6 Registration. Login

  1. Clients may use the Portal without registering and logging in. 
  2. Specialists may use the Portal after registering and logging in. 
  3. To complete the Registration, the Specialist fills out the Registration form available at app.consultly.com/register.
  4. You may log in to the Portal using the functionalities provided by the Provider on the Portal.
  5. You may not share your Account with third parties.
  6. You may not use Accounts belonging to third parties.
  7. Consultly reserves the right to refuse to carry out a Registration of an Account, among other things, if the Account has been previously deleted due to non-compliance with these Terms and Conditions.
  8. Registration on the Portal involves concluding a contract for the provision of Services.
  9. The conclusion of the contract for the provision of Services involves consent to all the terms and conditions of these Terms and Conditions, without the need to make any additional statements for this purpose. 
  10. By concluding the contract for the provision of Services, the Specialist confirms the authenticity of the data provided by them.
  11. The contract for the provision of Services is concluded for an indefinite time.
  12. In the event that the Specialist withdraws their consent to any of the terms of the Terms and Conditions, they must immediately delete their Account or notify Consultly of the withdrawal of consent.
  13. Consultly provides the Specialist with access to their own personal data and allows them to rectify and supplement it.
  14. If there are reasonable doubts about the authenticity of the data entered by the Specialist, Consultly may require the submission of relevant documents to confirm the data.
  15. The Specialist may terminate the contract for the provision of Services by deleting their Account.
  16. Consultly reserves the right to terminate the contract for the provision of Services by deleting the Account if the Specialist’s actions are unlawful, in violation of the Terms and Conditions, or detrimental to the image of the Portal. Termination of the contract has immediate effect.

§ 7 Consultation

  1. Upon individual request, the Client receives an email message from the Specialist at the email address indicated by the Client, containing the name of the Specialist, the date, time, price, and duration of the Consultation and a link leading to:

a) the payment page for the Consultation, in the event that this is a paid Consultation, as agreed between the Client and the Specialist; or

b) the page of the Consultation, in the event that this is a free Consultation, as agreed between the Client and the Specialist;

or 

c) books the Consultation and/or makes the payment for the Consultation through the Specialist’s Page.

  1. The start of the Consultation (connection with the Specialist) occurs as a result of clicking the link to the appointment received at the indicated email address at the appointed time.
  2. The Client is responsible if they provide an email address to which they do not have access, in particular, an incorrect address or one belonging to another entity, and is responsible for the consequences, i.e., the inability to participate in the Consultation.
  3. The Portal does not provide the Client or the Specialist with tools for recording the Consultation.
  4. Recording of Consultations with external tools without the knowledge and consent of the Client and the Specialist is prohibited.

§ 8 Payment for Consultation

  1. The feature of collecting payments from Clients using the Payment Processor is available only to entrepreneurs (including sole proprietors), in the countries listed at https://stripe.com/global .
  2. Specialists may commence providing paid Consultations through the Portal and withdraw accumulated funds only after successful verification of their identity in the Payment Processor system, using the form available after registering on or logging into the Portal.
  3. By creating an account in the Payment Processor’s system, the Specialist accepts the Payment Processor’s agreements and privacy policy: Stripe Services Agreement, Stripe Connected Account Agreement, Stripe Privacy Policy.
  4. Whether the Specialist undergoes positive verification in the Payment Processor’s system is dependent on meeting the requirements specified in the Stripe Services Agreement.
  5. The Client pays for the Consultation after receiving a payment link from the Specialist to the email address provided or when booking a paid Consultation through the Specialist’s Page using the Payment Processor form integrated with the Portal.
  6. The available forms of payment for the Consultation depend on the payment currency selected by the Specialist and the Client’s browser provider.
  7. After payment for the Consultation is made, the Client receives an email to the indicated email address containing a link leading to the Consultation page.
  8. The Specialist receives information that the Client has paid for the Consultation, and the paid funds appear in the Specialist’s individual account created with the Payment Processor.
  9. The Specialist is responsible for issuing and delivering to the Client a billing invoice for the paid Consultation.
  10. The Client agrees to receive the billing invoice for the paid Consultation electronically, to the email address provided when booking the Consultation.

§ 9 Disbursement of funds

  1. All funds received from Clients are kept in the Specialist’s individual account created with the Payment Processor.
  2. The funds accumulated in the Specialist’s individual account created with the Payment Processor are paid to the bank account designated by the Specialist on each last day of the calendar month.
  3. Disbursement of funds accumulated in the Specialist’s individual account may involve the need to meet additional conditions specified by the Payment Processor, related to identity verification.
  4. Once the Client has made a payment, the funds may be converted to the currency of the Specialist’s bank account in line with the rules set by the Payment Processor. Consultly and the Client are not liable for the costs incurred by the Specialist as a result of currency conversion. 

§ 10 Right of withdrawal

  1. The provisions of this Section apply to consumers from the countries of the European Union, the United Kingdom and other territories, if the mandatory provisions of the law applicable to the consumer so provide (Right of withdrawal). 
  2. A Client who is a consumer, as defined by the relevant legislation, has the right to withdraw from the Consultation contract within 14 days of its conclusion and to receive a full refund of the consultation costs, without giving any reason. Withdrawal from the contract is done by submitting a statement of withdrawal from the contract (Appendix 1). To satisfy the deadline for withdrawal from the contract, it is sufficient to send the statement before its expiration. 
  3. The statement referred to in paragraph 2 is to be sent by the Client to the Specialist’s email address, available in the email confirming payment for the Consultation.
  4. If, at the express request of the Client who is a consumer, the performance of the Consultation began before the expiration of the deadline for withdrawal referred to above, the Client loses the right to withdraw from the contract. 
  5. Compliance with the Client’s right of withdrawal is the responsibility of the Specialist.
  6. A Specialist who is a consumer has the right to withdraw from the contract for the use of the Portal within 14 days of its conclusion, without giving any reason. Withdrawal from the contract is done by submitting a statement of withdrawal from the contract. The statement of withdrawal should be sent electronically to: contact@consultly.com. To satisfy the deadline for withdrawal from the contract, it is sufficient to send the statement to Consultly before its expiration.

§ 11 Cancellation of Consultation

  1. Cancellation of a paid Consultation – except in cases of withdrawal referred to in § 10 above – is carried out on the terms agreed between the Specialist and the Client.
  2. In the case of cancellation of the Consultation, the Commission collected by the Portal is not refundable to the Specialist’s account.
  3. Unless the Specialist and the Client agree otherwise between themselves, the Specialist and the Client are deemed to accept the following Good Practices suggested by Consultly under these Terms and Conditions:

a) Cancellation of a paid Consultation for reasons attributable to the Specialist, or failure of the Specialist to appear at the agreed time for the Consultation, obliges the Specialist to fully reimburse the Client for the cost of the Consultation.

b) The cost of a Consultation cancelled using the tools of the Portal is to be reimbursed automatically, by deducting from the account of the Specialist created with the Payment Processor the amount of money paid by the Client. If the balance of funds accumulated in the account created with the Payment Processor does not allow automatic reimbursement to the Client, the Specialist is obliged to reimburse the Client for the cost of the consultation in another manner agreed with the Client.

c) Failure of the Client to appear at the scheduled Consultation without prior cancellation or withdrawal in accordance with the law results in the forfeiture of monies paid to the Specialist.

§ 12 Rights and Obligations of Users

  1. The Client and the Specialist are held fully responsible for any violation of the law or damage caused by their actions on the Portal, in particular the provision of false data, disclosure of professional secrets, other confidential information or trade secrets, violation of personal rights or copyright and related rights.
  2. The Specialist is responsible for maintaining the confidentiality and security of the password to their Account. Consultly is not responsible for unauthorized access to the Specialist’s Account as a result of third parties gaining access to the password. If the password is disclosed to a third party, the Specialist undertakes to immediately change the password or contact Consultly for this purpose.

§ 13 Consultly’s responsibility

  1. To the extent permitted by governing law, the Portal is provided on an “as is” basis without any warranties of any kind with respect to the software, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of design, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose or integrity. All risks arising from the use or operation of the software are borne by the User. In no event is Consultly liable for any damage resulting from the use or inability to use the Portal, even if Consultly is informed of the possibility of such damage. The above exclusions and limitations apply to all claims and actions of any kind, whether based on contract, tort, or any other basis.
  2. Consultly stipulates that the use of the Portal and the Services provided by it is at the sole risk of the Client or the Specialist. Any services provided through the Portal are not warranted as to their value, suitability, completeness or usefulness.
  3. Consultly is not liable for the consequences of non-performance or improper performance of the obligations incurred by anyone, through the Portal, and for the ability of such persons to incur obligations.
  4. Consultly does not provide any guarantee for the proper operation of the Portal in whole or in part.
  5. In the event that the Portal fails to function properly, Consultly is not liable for lost profits.
  6. Consultly reserves the right to temporarily suspend the provision of Services due to the modernization or reconstruction of the Portal or maintenance work on the ICT system. Consultly endeavors to ensure that Service interruptions do not inconvenience those using the Portal.
  7. Consultly is not liable for interruptions in the provision of Services resulting from causes beyond its control, in particular those constituting force majeure (fires, floods, natural or weather disasters, etc.).
  8. Consultly is not responsible for the failure of the Specialist or the Client to comply with the laws of the respective countries, including the Client’s right to withdraw from the contract.
  9. In the event of a proven violation of the laws of the respective countries, or non-performance or improper performance by the Specialist of the contract concluded with the Client using the tools offered by the Portal, Consultly performs all necessary actions, within the limits of the law, to enable the Client to pursue their claims through legal means.

§ 14 Procedure for reporting reservations and complaint procedure

  1. Consultly will make every effort to ensure the proper operation of the Portal and provide assistance in solving problems related to its operation.
  2. All reservations, as well as comments, suggestions and errors of the Portal can be reported by writing to the following email address: contact@consultly.com.
  3. The Client may complain about the disturbances in the operation of the Portal, and report problems and comments related to the services provided on the Portal within 14 days from the date of the event, by reporting to the email address: contact@consultly.com.
  4. The complaint is processed by the Provider within 14 days from the date of its filing. If this deadline cannot be met, Consultly communicates the reasons for the delay before its expiration and sets another deadline.
  5. Consultly reserves the right to leave a complaint unprocessed if it is based on ignorance of these Terms and Conditions, its appendices, or the law.
  6. If you are a copyright owner or are authorized on behalf of a copyright owner, and believe that a copyrighted work has been copied in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please report it to contact@consultly.com.

§ 15 Final provisions

  1. The Portal, its content (excluding user-provided content), features and functionality are the exclusive property of Consultly and its licensors. The Portal is protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of foreign countries. Our trademarks may not be used in connection with any product or service without Consultly’s prior written consent.
  2. Consultly reserves the right to unilaterally change the Terms and Conditions in important cases, in particular, in the event of changes in the functionality of the Portal, changes in Consultly’s business profile, or changes in the law.
  3. Consultly communicates the changes made to the Terms and Conditions by publishing the new Terms and Conditions on the portal, and in addition, informs the Specialist about them by email to the email address indicated during Registration, at least 14 days before they take effect.
  4. The Specialist is responsible if they provide an email address to which they do not have access, in particular an incorrect address or one belonging to another entity, and is responsible for the consequences of not receiving the notification referred to in paragraph 3.
  5. Unless mandatory provisions for consumers under their governing law provide otherwise, the following stipulations apply. The law of the United Kingdom shall govern these Terms and Conditions and disputes arising from the provision of the Services. The exclusive jurisdiction and venue for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions or your use of the Portal is in the United Kingdom courts having jurisdiction over Consultly, and you irrevocably agree to submit to the jurisdiction of such courts.

Appendix 1 to the Terms and Conditions

Withdrawal form template (this form must be completed and returned only if you wish to withdraw from the contract)

Addressee: ………………………………………………………………………………………………… [here, the Client should enter entrepreneur's name and email address]

I am informing you of my withdrawal from the contract .................................................................................................................................

Date of contract .......................

Client’s full name: …………………..

Client’s address: ……………………………..

Client’s signature: ........................................... (only if form is sent in hard copy)

Date: ……………………….