Terms of service

1. Who we are

TechQuotes (the "platform") is operated by Tech Quotes, whoseaddress is at Cork, Ireland ("we", "us"). You can contact us at hello@techquotes.ie or through our contact page. This email address is also our single point of contact for users and for authorities under the EU Digital Services Act. We communicate in English.

By creating an account or using the platform you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, please don't use the platform.

2. What the platform does

TechQuotes is an online marketplace that introduces people and businesses who need IT and web services ("customers") to independent businesses and self-employed professionals who provide them ("providers"). We are not a party to any contract between a customer and a provider. We do not carry out the work, and providers are not our employees or agents.

Providers are traders. Everyone who registers as a provider confirms they offer their services as a business or self-employed professional. When you hire a provider, your contract is with that provider, and your consumer rights (for example under the Consumer Rights Act 2022) are against them, not us.

3. Accounts

• You must be at least 18 and give accurate information, including your name and contact details.
• Keep your password secure. You are responsible for activity on your account.
• Business accounts must be used by someone authorised to act for that business.
• You can download your data or delete your account at any time from your account settings. If we are dealing with a report or decision involving your account, we delete it once that is settled.
• You can turn on two-step login (a code from an authenticator app) in your account settings.

4. Customers

• Posting a request is free and you are under no obligation to hire anyone.
• Describe your project honestly. Don't post requests for illegal work or to collect quotes for resale.
• When a provider responds to your request, we share your name, email address and phone number (if you gave one) with that provider so they can discuss your project with you.
• Prices, timescales, payment and the work itself are agreed between you and the provider. Check their profile, reviews and terms before you hire them.
• Pressing Hire tells the provider you'd like to go ahead and stops your request taking new quotes. It is not itself a contract: agree the final price and terms with the provider directly.

5. Providers

• Your profile must be accurate. You must hold any qualifications, insurance, registrations or permissions your work needs, and comply with the law, including consumer and data protection law.
• We review provider accounts before they can respond to requests, and may ask for evidence such as your CRO or VAT number.
• Quotes to private individuals must state the total price including VAT (where you charge VAT), and you must give consumers the information and cancellation rights Irish consumer law requires.
• Use customers' details only to discuss the request they posted. Don't add them to marketing lists or share them with anyone else. You are an independent controller of the personal data you receive.
• Fees. Responding to requests is currently free. If we introduce paid credits, we will give you at least 15 days' notice, together with the prices and the full credits terms. Credit prices will include VAT where it applies, you will get an invoice for each purchase, and credits will be non-refundable except where the law requires otherwise or a lead is withdrawn for a reason that is our fault.

Data you can access as a provider

• When you respond to a request, you can see the customer's name, email and phone number and your conversation with them. Use them only for that request.
• We keep your profile, quotes, messages and reviews to run the platform. Requests, quotes and messages are deleted 2 years after the request closes. Reviews about you stay on your profile while your account is open, unless we remove them under section 8 or the reviewer deletes their own account.
• You can download your data or close your account at any time from your account settings. When you close it, your profile, quotes and the reviews you received are deleted. We keep payment records for 6 years because tax law requires it.
• We don't share provider data with other providers, and we don't sell it.

When we may restrict, suspend or close a provider account

• your profile is false or misleading, or you can't show the permissions, registrations or insurance your work needs;
• you misuse customers' personal data, send spam, or contact customers about anything other than their request;
• you post or encourage fake or incentivised reviews;
• you post illegal content, harass anyone, or use the platform for fraud;
• you don't pay for credits you used (once credits are introduced);
• we receive repeated, substantiated complaints about you; or
• you don't pass, or stop meeting, our approval checks.

A member of our team reviews every decision. We tell you what we decided and why, and you can ask us to look at it again by replying to that email.

6. Content you post

You keep ownership of what you post (profiles, logos, photos, quotes, reviews, replies, messages and files). Only upload photos and files you own or have permission to use, and don't upload pictures that show other people's personal details without their agreement. You give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to store it and show it on the platform and, for public content such as provider profiles and reviews, in search engine results and social media previews of our pages. The licence ends when the content is deleted, although search engines may take some time to update.

7. How leads and providers are ranked

A request is shown to approved providers who have declared they are traders, who offer that service, and who are based in the customer's county or have chosen to cover it, cover all of Ireland, or work remotely (if the customer is happy with remote work). Up to 5 providers can respond to each request, on a first-come basis, and leads are listed newest first.

In provider lists, verified providers are shown first, because we have checked their business details. Then come providers with more reviews, because customers find reviews most useful, then providers who joined earlier. No one can pay for a higher position. If this ever changes, we will update this section and tell providers in advance.

8. Reviews

Only a customer who hired a provider through TechQuotes can review that provider, once per request, so every review comes from a real customer of that provider. Reviews are shown with the reviewer's first name and last initial. We don't pay for, write or edit reviews, and we don't hide reviews because they are negative. We remove reviews that are fake, abusive, unlawful or not about the provider's service, and we tell the reviewer why; a removed review can't be posted again. If a reviewer deletes their account, their reviews are deleted with it. Provider profiles show the newest 20 reviews with a link to all of them, and the rating counts every review.

Providers can post one public reply to each review of their business. Replies must be polite, must not include the customer's personal details, and follow the same content rules; we may remove a reply that breaks them and tell the provider why.

9. Content rules and moderation

Don't post content that is illegal, misleading, abusive, discriminatory, spam, or that infringes someone else's rights, don't send files containing malware, and don't use the platform to scam or harass anyone. Anyone can report content or a user through our report form, on every profile, review and conversation. A person on our team reviews every report. We also apply automatic limits to prevent spam and abuse, for example a maximum of 5 requests a day per customer, and limits on how many messages, reports and contact-form messages can be sent in a short time. We don't use automated tools to remove content or close accounts. For serious or repeated breaches, such as harassment or fraud, we may remove messages or suspend a customer's account (their open requests are then closed).

If we remove your content or restrict, suspend or close your account, we will tell you and explain why (a "statement of reasons"), unless the law prevents it. You can ask us to review the decision by replying to that email or writing to hello@techquotes.ie, and you can also go to the Irish courts. For providers, we give 30 days' notice before closing an account, except where the law requires otherwise or in cases of serious or repeated breaches, fraud or illegal activity.

10. Complaints

If you have a complaint about the platform, email hello@techquotes.ie. We aim to reply within 5 working days. If you are a provider, we will deal with complaints about how we treat you on the platform in the same way, and we are willing to use mediation to resolve disputes where appropriate.

11. Our liability

We work hard to keep the platform available and to check providers, but we can't guarantee that a provider will respond to a request, or the quality, safety or legality of any work. To the extent the law allows, we are not liable for losses arising from dealings between customers and providers, or for indirect losses. Nothing in these terms limits liability that can't be limited by law, such as liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, or for fraud, and nothing affects your statutory rights as a consumer.

12. Privacy

Our privacy policy explains how we use your personal data.

13. Changes and governing law

We may update these terms. We will email providers at least 15 days before changes that affect them take effect, and you may close your account before then if you don't accept them. We tell all users about significant changes, and keep previous versions available on request. These terms are governed by Irish law and the Irish courts have jurisdiction. If you are a consumer living elsewhere in the EU, you also keep the protection of the mandatory laws of your country and can bring proceedings there.