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Advisor Terms and Conditions

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These Advisor Terms and Conditions ("Advisor Terms") govern your access to and participation as an agony aunt or advisor ("Advisor") on the Instant Agony Aunts website, mobile applications and associated platforms (the "Platform"). By applying to become an Advisor or by offering your services on the Platform, you confirm that you have read, understood and agree to be legally bound by these Advisor Terms.

If you do not agree, do not apply or offer your services on the Platform.

1 Eligibility & Acceptance

1.1 You must be 18 years of age or older, legally capable of entering binding contracts and legally permitted to offer your services as a self-employed advisor in the country where you live.

1.2 By applying, you affirm that all information you provide is accurate, truthful and complete. Providing false information may result in immediate termination and forfeiture of earnings.

1.3 By applying to or using the Platform as an Advisor, you accept these Advisor Terms, the general Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy and any additional policies or guidelines we publish.

2 Nature of the Platform

2.1 Instant Agony Aunts operates solely as a digital marketplace connecting customers with independent Advisors. We do not ourselves provide advice, counselling, therapy or any other service to customers.

2.2 Advisors are independent contractors, not employees, workers, agents, partners or representatives of Instant Agony Aunts.

Nothing in these Advisor Terms creates any partnership, employment, agency, franchise or joint venture.

2.3 You are solely responsible for:

  • your services
  • your conduct
  • the content, accuracy and safety of your replies
  • the content you provide, including your profile, photo and video
  • legal compliance in the country where you live

3 Independent Contractor Status

3.1 You acknowledge and agree that:

  • you are self-employed and offer your services to customers through the Platform as an independent business
  • this is not a job and you are not our employee or worker
  • you set your own hours and availability, and you are under no obligation to log in, be online or accept any question
  • we are under no obligation to send you any customers or work
  • you decide how to answer customers, within these Advisor Terms
  • you are responsible for your own tools, devices, internet connection and expenses
  • you are free to offer your services elsewhere, including on other platforms, provided you do not move Platform customers off the Platform (see section 4.5)

3.2 Because you are self-employed, you are not entitled to a salary, the minimum wage, holiday pay, sick pay, a pension or any other employment benefit from us, and we do not deduct tax or National Insurance from your earnings.

3.3 You have no authority to bind Instant Agony Aunts to any contract, representation or obligation.

4 Advisor Responsibilities

As an Advisor, you agree to:

4.1 Reply to customer messages professionally and promptly while your status shows you as available.

4.2 Offer your replies as personal opinions, perspectives and emotional support, and make clear where appropriate that nothing you say is medical, psychological, legal, financial or other professional advice.

4.3 Maintain accurate profile information, including:

  • a genuine personal photo and introduction video
  • a truthful description
  • your true experience and qualifications

4.4 Respect all confidentiality rules and never disclose customer information outside the Platform.

4.5 Offer your services to Platform customers only through the Platform. You must not attempt to:

  • exchange personal contact information with customers
  • move customers off the Platform
  • solicit external payments
  • market or promote other services to customers

4.6 Comply with all applicable laws and regulations.

5 Prohibited Services & Advice

Advisors must NOT:

  • diagnose or treat medical or mental health conditions, or present themselves as a doctor, therapist, counsellor or psychologist unless we have expressly authorised it and they are legally entitled to do so
  • give legal advice or advice on criminal matters or law enforcement
  • give financial, tax or investment advice
  • encourage gambling, betting or games of chance
  • encourage the use of controlled substances or any illegal activity
  • encourage self-harm or harm to others

If a customer appears to be in danger or at risk of harm, you should encourage them to contact the emergency services or an appropriate support service, and you may end the conversation and report your concerns to us. Instant Agony Aunts is not an emergency or crisis service.

Violation may lead to immediate termination.

6 Earnings & Payment Terms

6.1 Revenue share: you earn a percentage of the price the customer pays for each question you answer with a paid reply. Your revenue share is shown in your dashboard and next to each paid reply. The standard revenue share is currently 30%. Free replies do not earn anything.

6.2 Cashout: you can request a payout whenever your available balance reaches $100 USD and your payment details are complete. Payouts are made by bank transfer to the account in your payment details, and we do not charge a cashout fee. Any fees or conversion charges applied by your own bank are your responsibility.

6.3 Invoices: each payout is documented by an invoice issued in your name for your services. You are responsible for checking that your name, address and payment details are correct.

6.4 Adjustments: we may withhold or reverse earnings if:

  • customer complaints are upheld
  • fraud, chargebacks or disputes occur
  • you breach these Advisor Terms or our policies
  • suspicious activity is detected

6.5 No guaranteed earnings: we do not guarantee visibility, traffic, ratings, questions or income.

7 Chargebacks, Fraud & Refunds

7.1 If a customer initiates a chargeback, receives a refund or is found to be fraudulent, the related Advisor earnings may be fully deducted from your balance.

7.2 Advisors must cooperate promptly with fraud investigations.

8 Advisor Code of Conduct

Advisors must NOT:

  • engage in harassment, intimidation or abusive behaviour
  • use profanity, hate speech or obscene content
  • defraud or mislead customers
  • create fake customer accounts or testimonials
  • request tips or off-platform payments
  • operate multiple Advisor accounts
  • send spam or promotional content
  • manipulate ratings, testimonials or feedback
  • send copied, automated or repetitive replies
  • breach the confidentiality of any customer
  • disparage the Instant Agony Aunts brand

Violation may result in:

  • warnings
  • reversal of the related earnings
  • suspension
  • permanent termination
  • forfeiture of unpaid earnings

9 Confidentiality & Content

9.1 All customer information is strictly confidential. You must not store, screenshot, save, publish or share any customer communication outside the Platform.

9.2 Any content you create or upload on the Platform, including your profile text, photo and introduction video, may be used by us for:

  • showing your profile to customers
  • promotion and marketing of the Platform
  • platform operations
  • review and safety

You grant us a perpetual, royalty-free licence for such use.

10 Your Personal Data

10.1 To review your application and run the Platform we collect and keep information about you, which may include your identity and contact details, date of birth, photo ID and proof of address, your profile, photo and introduction video, your experience and qualifications, your right to work as a self-employed advisor, your payment and bank details, invoices, tax or business information where applicable, and records of your activity and earnings on the Platform.

10.2 We use this information to verify you, to decide whether to accept your application, to show your profile to customers, to pay you, to keep records we are required to keep, and to protect customers and the Platform. How we handle it is explained in our Privacy Policy.

11 Account Deactivation & Termination

11.1 If you remain inactive for a long period, your account may be deactivated.

11.2 We may suspend or terminate your account at any time if:

  • you breach any policy
  • you engage in prohibited conduct
  • you fail verification
  • we detect fraud or risk
  • we consider your activity harmful to customers or the Platform

11.3 You may stop offering your services and ask us to close your Advisor account at any time.

11.4 Where termination results from a breach of these Advisor Terms, fraud or bad faith, unpaid earnings may be forfeited.

12 No Liability for Security Breaches or System Issues

You acknowledge that no platform is immune to hacking, cyberattacks, data theft or unauthorised access.

To the extent permitted by law, Instant Agony Aunts is not liable for:

  • hacked accounts
  • data breaches
  • intercepted communications
  • loss of messages or content
  • technical errors, outages or downtime
  • device or network failures

Use the Platform at your own risk.

13 Advisor Tax Obligations

You are solely responsible for registering as self-employed where required, and for reporting and paying any tax, National Insurance or social security contributions on your income from the Platform.

14 Release of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, you release Instant Agony Aunts, its owners, affiliates, employees and partners from all claims, damages, losses, disputes, liabilities, lawsuits, costs and injuries resulting from your services, replies or interactions with customers.

15 Indemnification

You agree to fully indemnify, defend and hold harmless Instant Agony Aunts and its owners, directors, employees, partners and agents from any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, fines or legal fees arising from:

  • your actions or omissions as an Advisor
  • your advice, replies or content
  • your interactions with customers
  • your use of the Platform
  • your breach of these Advisor Terms
  • your violation of any law
  • any claim brought by a customer against the Platform because of your services

This clause survives termination.

16 Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

  • Instant Agony Aunts shall NOT be liable for any indirect, incidental, consequential, punitive or special damages.
  • Our total liability to you shall not exceed the amount paid to you in the 30 days before the claim.

17 Right to Refuse or Remove Advisors

Instant Agony Aunts operates a private digital marketplace and reserves the right, at our sole discretion and for any lawful reason, to refuse access to the Platform or remove any Advisor. This includes the right to:

  • decline new Advisor applications
  • suspend or terminate an Advisor profile
  • restrict or limit Advisor visibility, features or access to earnings
  • remove Advisors who pose operational, legal, reputational or safety risks
  • take immediate action to protect customers, other Advisors or the Platform

We may take such action at any time, with or without notice, and we are under no obligation to explain our decision. All decisions regarding Advisor access are final.

Nothing in this section permits unlawful discrimination. We do not refuse Advisors based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

18 No Guaranteed Outcomes

Instant Agony Aunts does not represent or endorse any Advisor as having professional qualifications or expertise unless we have expressly verified them. Advisors must not promise or guarantee that following their advice will lead to any particular result, such as saving a relationship.

All replies must be presented as personal opinions and perspectives. Making false, misleading or guaranteed claims may result in suspension or permanent removal from the Platform, with forfeiture of earnings where applicable.

We may suspend or terminate any Advisor account if the Advisor threatens legal action against the Platform, its staff or customers in bad faith, as such conduct breaks down the trust and cooperation needed to take part in the Platform. This does not limit any legal right you have.

20 No Guarantee of Storage

Instant Agony Aunts does not guarantee the storage, retention or continued availability of any Advisor data, messages, media files, profile information, analytics or account history, except where the law requires us to keep it. Content may be deleted, removed, archived or purged without prior notice.

Advisors are solely responsible for keeping any information they wish to keep for their own business records, such as invoices and earnings statements.

21 Governing Law

These Advisor Terms are governed exclusively by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be resolved in the courts of London, England.

22 Changes to These Terms

We may modify these Advisor Terms at any time. Updated versions will be posted on the Platform, and where a change is significant we will ask you to accept the new version before you continue.

23 Confirmation

By applying to become an Advisor or offering your services on the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood and agree to be bound by these Advisor Terms.