General Terms and Conditions of Use

1.Definitions

In these General Terms and Conditions, the definitions listed below shall have the following meanings:

Buddy Guard - Buddy Guard Bulgaria Ltd., a commercial company registered in the Commercial Register with UIC: 206679605, with headquarters and management address: Sofia, 1504, Oborishte St. No. 24, entrance A, floor 1, apt. 3, Bulgaria.

Pet Sitter – any natural person who is a User of the Platform and is registered on it as a pet sitter.

Pet – Any animal raised by the Client in their home or another place designated by them, regardless of its type, breed, size, or other characteristics.

Assignment Contract - the contract between Pet Sitter and Client, concluded by confirming an Order on the Buddy Guard Platform for the provision of pet care services (including watching, feeding, walking, visiting, and entertaining the animal, activities related to its health and hygiene, as well as additionally agreed activities) and with content according to Sample Appendix No. 1, with payment and additional conditions determined by the parties.

Insurance – an insurance contract for insurance events for Civil Liability (premises and operations), including care, storage, and control, concluded between Buddy Guard and Collonade Insurance S.A. - Bulgaria branch.

Commission – the remuneration payable by Pet Sitter and Client for using the Service of Buddy Guard.

Order – using the order form on the Platform, by which the Client declares their request to a specific Pet Sitter to provide a service under an Assignment Contract.

General Conditions – these General Terms and Conditions, which can be changed by Buddy Guard at any time.

Platform – the online platform of Buddy Guard accessible through the website (www.buddyguard.bg) and the Buddy Guard mobile application.

"Privacy Policy" - The privacy policy of Buddy Guard, as published in the respective place on the online Platform/Mobile application of Buddy Guard, subject to change at any moment.

User – any person who is a user of the Platform (including for the purposes of seeking information or providing access to it), including any visitor to the website (www.buddyguard.bg) and the mobile application (Buddy Guard), as well as anyone who has used the registration, contact, or request form, or otherwise established contact with Buddy Guard in connection with the Services provided through the Platform.

Client – any natural person who is a User of the Platform and is registered on it as a pet owner.

Service - The service provided by Buddy Guard to site users is an information society service within the meaning of the Electronic Commerce Act, i.e., services, including providing commercial communications, which are remunerated and provided remotely through the use of electronic means following an explicit statement by site Users. The Service includes:

Receiving access to the information resources/data on the Platform provided through the online platform or mobile application after Registration.
Opportunity to create and personalize a User profile through registration.
Submission of Requests from Clients to Pet Sitters.
Confirmation of Requests from Pet Sitters to Clients.
Facilitating the conclusion of an Assignment Contract between Clients and Pet Sitters;
Paying the price under the Assignment Contract.
Paying the commission to Buddy Guard.
Receiving email notifications and messages.
Insurance of certain risks associated with the performance of the Assignment Contract according to the terms of the Insurance.

2.Who are we?

Buddy Guard is a commercial company that provides Users with a service for providing information resources and access to an online Platform for contact between them in connection with the conclusion of an Assignment Contract for pet care.

Buddy Guard does not directly provide pet care services but offers information society services and acts as a provider of information and facilitates the conclusion of an Assignment Contract between pet owners and those who can care for them.

3.What are the Service and the Platform?

The Service provided by Buddy Guard allows Clients to find and negotiate a specific Order for a Pet Sitter for their pet through the Platform in exchange for payment of a Commission.

The Platform is a web-based application, the use of which constitutes an information society service, provided by Buddy Guard to Users.

The Platform facilitates pet owners in finding a suitable Pet Sitter who, for payment, will take care of their pets in their absence, at the Client's home or at the Pet Sitter's home.

At the same time, the Platform allows people who have the necessary desire and skills to take care of pets to turn their hobby into a source of income and reach more potential clients.

Buddy Guard aims to connect the two parties - Client and Pet Sitter, and to facilitate them in the process of ensuring pet care, by providing them with information, ways, and forms of contact, negotiation, and payment processing in connection with the Assignment Contract.

The General Conditions aim to regulate the relations between Buddy Guard on one side and the Users of the Platform on the other side. The relations between Buddy Guard and the Users of the Platform are limited to the rights and obligations regarding the provision of the Service by Buddy Guard and the use of the Platform by the Users. They do not affect the individual relations between Clients and Pet Sitters, which arise on the occasion of a concluded Assignment Contract.

Buddy Guard, its employees, and related persons do not directly provide services for watching and taking care of Pets. Buddy Guard is not in an employment relationship with the Pet Sitters; they are not workers or employees of Buddy Guard.

4.How does the Platform work?

By using the Platform, you become its User and agree to these General Terms and Conditions, regardless of whether you choose to use the Services provided through it or visit it for informational or other purposes.

To provide or use the Service offered through the Platform, registration as a Pet Sitter or Client on the website or mobile application of Buddy Guard is required. To register successfully, you must be a capable natural person (over 18 years old). During registration, you will need to provide certain personal data, considering your identification and the creation/maintenance of your profile on the Platform. The personal data you need to provide may vary depending on whether your user profile is a Pet Sitter or a Client. More information on why and how we process your personal data can be found in our Personal Data Protection Policy.

To complete the registration, you need to fill in all the mandatory fields and declare that you are a capable natural person (over 18 years old), and that you are aware of and accept the General Terms and Conditions and the Personal Data Protection Policy of Buddy Guard.

By activating your profile through the email you received, you make an electronic statement, confirming the conclusion of a contract with Buddy Guard for the use of the Platform under these General Terms and Conditions. With this, you agree that the electronic statements made by you to Buddy Guard and from Buddy Guard to you will be considered signed with a simple electronic signature, which will be used with the force of a handwritten signature. The authorship of these statements is established according to Art. 13, para. 1 in connection with Art. 13, para. 4, item 2 of the Law on Electronic Document and Electronic Certification Services ("ZEDEU").

Any necessary communication between you and Buddy Guard in connection with the use of the Platform will be carried out with electronic statements through the email address you provided. According to Art. 5 of ZEDEU, you agree to be the recipient of electronic statements from Buddy Guard in electronic form.

After successful registration and activation of your profile, you can use the functionalities of the Platform, according to the rules described in these Conditions, as well as according to the current possibilities and functionalities.

Closing, Deactivating, or Blocking Your User Profile

Your user profile may be closed, deactivated, or blocked under the following conditions:

At your discretion, you can request the closure or temporary deactivation of your user profile at any time through the Platform's functionalities;
Buddy Guard may close your user profile after notifying you in advance if your user profile has not been used for more than 2 years;
Buddy Guard may close or temporarily block your user profile in case of violation of the General Terms and Conditions, other conditions provided by law, or generally accepted norms of good behavior;
Buddy Guard may close or temporarily block your user profile upon request from a competent state authority;
Buddy Guard may close or temporarily block your user profile in other cases at its discretion after notifying you in advance.
Upon closing your user profile and terminating your contract with Buddy Guard, the data stored about you will be deleted in accordance with Buddy Guard's Personal Data Protection Policy.

5.Fees and Commissions for the Service. Order Cancellation and Cancellation Fee

Fee for using the platform?

For using the Service, as described in these Terms, Users owe a service fee to Buddy Guard amounting to 10%. Users give their explicit and irrevocable consent for Buddy Guard to automatically withhold its due remuneration for providing the Service before processing and paying the remuneration under the Assignment Contract.

Order Cancellation Fee - Up to 7 days before the start of the order, the Client can cancel at any time free of charge. Between 7 and 2 days before the start of the order, they will be charged 50% of the total amount of the reservation. If a reservation is canceled after the 48th hour before the start of the order, the full amount will be charged.
It is possible that in connection with your use of the Platform, you may incur additional fees from third parties (e.g., your bank for online payments, your internet provider, or mobile operator for internet access or mobile data use). These fees are your responsibility and are based on your service agreement with them according to your personal subscription plan.

6.Relationships Between Clients and Pet Sitters

For each Order made, the Client, at their discretion, chooses a specific Pet Sitter for their pet, and each Pet Sitter decides whether to accept the Order or not.

Each time a Client assigns an Order to a Pet Sitter, and it's confirmed, a separate Assignment Contract is concluded through the Platform between the respective Client and Pet Sitter, with content according to Appendix No. 1 to these General Terms. The Assignment Contract is an independent agreement between the Client and the Pet Sitter. In it, they may further agree on the type and number of pets, their care regime and method, necessary activities related to the hygiene and health of the animal, the period of care, the duration and number of visits or walks, the place where the animal will be cared for, contact person in emergency situations, payment, other conditions regarding animal care, and additional services agreed between the parties.

Buddy Guard is not a party to the Order and Assignment Contract between the Client and Pet Sitter and has no control over their performance. All rights and obligations under the Assignment Contract are the responsibility of the Client and Pet Sitter, as Buddy Guard is not a party to this legal relationship.

Each Client independently and at their own risk selects a specific Pet Sitter for a specific Assignment. Each Pet Sitter independently and at their own discretion and risk decides whether to accept a specific Order from a Pet Sitter.

7.Rights and Obligations of the User

To use the Platform and the Services provided through it, Users must be of legal age and capable persons (over 18 years old and without imposed restrictions).

To access the Platform, it is necessary to use an electronic device with compatible software and meet the technical and system requirements for accessing the Platform. These factors may affect your ability to effectively use the Platform.

The User may use all contact forms for communication with Buddy Guard provided in the Platform, including on the website (www.buddyguard.bg) and the mobile application (Buddy Guard).

The User has all the rights provided in the Personal Data Protection Policy in connection with the personal data processed by Buddy Guard.

The User must provide true and accurate information both when creating their user profile and when using the Platform and the Services provided through it. The User must update the information in their user profile upon any change in the circumstances mentioned in it.

To use the Services provided through the Platform, the User must register as a Client or Pet Sitter. When registering and confirming your user profile, you must use your real names, as using a pseudonym or other name is prohibited.

To create a Pet Sitter User profile, you must not be prohibited from working with people or animals, must have the right to provide services in the territory of Bulgaria, must not have been convicted with a final sentence for an intentional act, and must not be accused in criminal proceedings at the time of registration.

The User may share the Platform or information available on it through various communication means, citing Buddy Guard as the owner of the Platform, respectively the author of the information from it, and complying with the legal requirements of copyright and related rights.

Such sharing should only be done in favor of Buddy Guard, and the User is obliged to act according to good ethics and morals and without damaging the good name and reputation of Buddy Guard.

You declare that you meet the specified conditions for registration and that the information you provide to identify yourself is complete and accurate.

You undertake to provide true, complete, and current data at registration and maintain it as such. If the data is inaccurate, you are not entitled to use the Platform or the Service provided through it until its correction.

You are responsible for all actions performed through your user profile using your username and password, and if you have doubts about unauthorized access to your profile, you must immediately notify Buddy Guard.

In connection with the use of the Platform and the Services provided through it, Users may access information and personal data of other people. In these cases, Users undertake to use them only for the purposes for which they were disclosed in accordance with the Personal Data Protection Policy of Buddy Guard.

Users of the Platform agree and undertake to use only the functionalities of the Platform when making Service Requests, and to refrain from communicating with other Users for purposes other than the scope of the specific Service Order.

8.Rights and Obligations of Buddy Guard

In addition to what is described above in the General Terms and Conditions, Buddy Guard has the following rights and obligations:

Buddy Guard has concluded Insurance, which provides insurance coverage for certain risks for Pet Sitters in carrying out activities for pet care, according to the conditions specified in the insurance policy.
Buddy Guard may periodically make changes to the Platform, including adding, deleting, or modifying the content, design, and functionalities of the Platform, without the need to inform Users in advance.
Buddy Guard reserves the right to refuse or cancel access to the Platform for a User who uses the Platform or the Services provided through it unlawfully, contrary to the law, the General Rules, or good norms of behavior.

9.Personal Data Protection

The rules according to which Buddy Guard processes your personal data as natural persons - Users of the Platform and your rights regarding the protection of your personal data are contained in the Personal Data Protection Policy of Buddy Guard.

10.Liability and Disclaimer

The rules set forth herein aim to limit or exclude the liability of Buddy Guard and its managers, partners, directors, employees, subcontractors, agents, and subsidiaries, in accordance with the terms agreed herein.

Buddy Guard is not an employer of individuals providing services under the Assignment Contract concluded through the Platform and does not act as an intermediary between workers and employers providing employment brokerage. All Pet Sitters and Clients are responsible for their due taxes and social security contributions, their declaration, and payment.

Buddy Guard is not responsible under any circumstances for losses, damages, expenses, or other compensations, suffered or incurred by the User of the Platform through action or inaction, directly or indirectly, in connection with the Services provided through the Platform.

Buddy Guard is not responsible and does not guarantee the qualities or qualifications of the Users of the Platform.

Buddy Guard is not responsible for relationships between Users of the Platform that are not related to an Order for concluding an Assignment Contract through it, even in cases where Users are registered as Client and Pet Sitter on the Platform, have established contact with each other using the information on the Platform, or between Users, relationships related to pet care or other activities similar to the activities provided as Services through the Platform have arisen.

Buddy Guard is not responsible if Users are unable to use the Platform, in case they do not use an electronic device meeting the software, technical, and system requirements for compatibility and access to the Platform, as these factors are beyond the control of Buddy Guard and are the sole responsibility of each User.

At its discretion, Buddy Guard has the right to require additional information to confirm the identity of the User. If Buddy Guard has doubts or cannot establish the true identity of the User or other information necessary regarding the use of the Platform or the Services provided through it, Buddy Guard may take measures, including temporarily or permanently canceling the User's access to the Platform (by closing or temporarily blocking the user profile), and some of the Services may be inaccessible.

Buddy Guard is not responsible for damages or lost profits caused in connection with the access or use of the Platform or the inability to use or access it to the extent permissible by applicable law.

Buddy Guard is not responsible for damages or lost profits related to the provision of the Service and the Service Contract between the Client and Pet Sitter, including, but not limited to:

Property or non-property damages caused to the Client
Property or non-property damages caused to the Pet Sitter
Upon termination of the contract for the use of the Platform, Buddy Guard is not responsible for missed profits and/or suffered damages in connection with the inability to use the Services after closing your user profile.

11.About the Terms of Use

These General Terms and Conditions regulate the rules for using the Buddy Guard Platform, accessible through the website (www.buddyguard.bg) and the BuddyGuard mobile application, as well as the rights and obligations of BuddyGuard and the Users of the Platform in connection with the Services provided through the Platform for intermediation and assistance in concluding a Pet Care Assignment Contract.

By using the Platform, you agree to these General Terms and Conditions, and they will be applicable to you in regulating your relations with Buddy Guard and the other Users of the Platform in connection with the Services provided through the Platform.

Buddy Guard reserves the right at its discretion to make periodic changes to the General Terms and Conditions, for which you will be notified. As the Platform can only be used in accordance with the current General Terms and Conditions, including the Personal Data Protection Policy to them, if you do not agree with the changes provided in the General Terms and Conditions, you should notify Buddy Guard before the changes take effect that you wish to terminate your contract with Buddy Guard. In this case, your profile will be closed, and the use of the Platform will be discontinued. If an objection is received against the changes in the General Terms and Conditions, all started but unfinished Services will be provided based on the General Terms and Conditions that were in force at the time of their conclusion until their completion.

Regarding Users who use the Platform without registration, it is considered that they accept the new General Terms and Conditions from the moment of using the Platform after the introduced change, without the need for explicit notification of the change by Buddy Guard.

The declaration of the possible invalidity of any of the provisions of these General Terms and Conditions does not lead to the invalidity of the entire contract or the remaining provisions of the General Terms and Conditions.

For issues not regulated in the General Terms and Conditions, the applicable Bulgarian legislation applies, and any disputes that may arise between Buddy Guard and the Users will be resolved by the competent Bulgarian court or the Consumer Protection Commission.

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Terms of use