These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of RespondMate's services.
RespondMate is the trading name of Alex Morgan, an unincorporated business operating as a sole trader in the United Kingdom.
Address: 10 Example Street, London, EC1A 1AA, United Kingdom Email: contact@respondmate.co.uk
By signing up for, purchasing, or using RespondMate, you agree to these Terms.
1. The Services
RespondMate provides automated WhatsApp conversational software and AI-powered booking and concierge services for businesses.
Depending on your Order, the Services may include:
- setup and configuration of your RespondMate assistant;
- automated responses to guest or customer questions;
- WhatsApp-based booking and reservation handling;
- calendar availability checks and bookings;
- facility or service booking functionality;
- automated handling of WhatsApp voice notes;
- escalation of complex requests to your staff; and
- ongoing monitoring, maintenance and support.
The specific features, configuration and scope of your Services may be set out in an Order, proposal, checkout page or other written agreement between you and RespondMate ("Order").
If there is a conflict between these Terms and an Order, the Order will take precedence for the specific matter covered by that Order.
2. Pilot Period
Unless otherwise agreed in writing, new customers may receive a 7-day risk-free pilot.
No service fee is payable during the Pilot Period.
Unless you cancel before the end of the Pilot Period, the Services will automatically continue as a paid monthly subscription from day 8.
Where payment details have been provided during signup or checkout, you authorise RespondMate to use those details for the applicable subscription charges.
RespondMate will provide a reminder before the Pilot Period ends.
You may cancel the Services at any time before the end of the Pilot Period and no subscription fee will become payable.
3. Monthly Subscription
Following the Pilot Period, the Services continue on a rolling monthly basis unless otherwise agreed in the Order.
3.1 Fees
The applicable monthly fee will be the amount stated in your Order, proposal, checkout page or other agreed pricing document.
Unless otherwise agreed:
- subscription fees are payable monthly in advance;
- invoices are payable within 14 days;
- applicable VAT or other taxes will be added where required; and
- third-party charges incurred specifically for your use of the Services may be charged separately where stated in the Order.
3.2 Cancellation
Either party may end a monthly subscription by giving at least 14 days' notice.
Any fees already due remain payable following cancellation.
3.3 Late Payment
If an invoice is not paid when due, RespondMate may charge interest and compensation in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, where applicable.
RespondMate may also suspend the Services following reasonable notice where undisputed fees remain unpaid.
3.4 Price Changes
RespondMate may change its subscription fees by giving at least 30 days' notice.
If you do not wish to continue at the new price, you may cancel before the new price takes effect.
4. Your Responsibilities
You are responsible for providing RespondMate with accurate and up-to-date information necessary to operate the Services.
This includes, where applicable:
- hotel, business and venue information;
- room, service or facility information;
- prices;
- opening hours;
- availability;
- booking rules;
- cancellation policies;
- menus and other customer-facing information;
- contact details; and
- any other information used by the AI assistant when responding to customers.
You are responsible for reviewing the configuration of the assistant and ensuring that the information supplied to RespondMate is accurate.
You remain responsible for:
- honouring bookings and reservations made through the Services;
- providing appropriate human oversight;
- responding to matters escalated to your staff;
- maintaining any third-party accounts or platforms required for the Services;
- complying with WhatsApp, Meta, Google and other applicable platform requirements;
- completing any required Meta Business verification;
- ensuring that you have a lawful basis and any required permissions or consents to communicate with your customers or guests;
- ensuring that your use of the Services does not constitute spam, unlawful marketing or otherwise breach applicable law; and
- providing customers and guests with any privacy information required by applicable data protection law.
You must not knowingly use the Services for unlawful, fraudulent, abusive or harmful purposes.
5. AI-Generated Responses
The Services use artificial intelligence to generate conversational responses.
AI-generated responses may occasionally be inaccurate, incomplete or inappropriate. The Services are intended to assist your staff and customers, not to replace appropriate human judgement.
You acknowledge that:
- the assistant may make mistakes;
- important information should be reviewed where appropriate;
- RespondMate does not guarantee that every response will be accurate;
- RespondMate may identify the assistant as an automated or AI-powered service; and
- you remain responsible for decisions made by your business based on information provided through the Services.
RespondMate may use third-party AI model providers to operate the Services. RespondMate is responsible for its own arrangements with those providers and you are not made a party to those arrangements merely by using RespondMate.
RespondMate will not use guest conversations to train AI models. AI providers used to provide the Services are engaged on terms that restrict them from using guest data for their own purposes, including model training.
Where RespondMate processes personal data on your behalf, the processing of that data by RespondMate and its authorised subprocessors is governed by the Data Processing Agreement ("DPA") between you and RespondMate.
RespondMate may change or replace AI model providers where reasonably necessary to operate, improve or maintain the Services.
6. Service Availability
RespondMate will use reasonable care and skill in providing the Services but does not guarantee that the Services will always be available, uninterrupted or error-free.
The Services depend on third-party systems and infrastructure, which may include WhatsApp, Meta, Google, cloud hosting providers, telecommunications providers and AI service providers.
RespondMate is not responsible for interruptions, delays or failures caused by third-party services outside its reasonable control.
Unless expressly stated in an Order, RespondMate does not provide a guaranteed uptime commitment or service-level agreement.
RespondMate may temporarily suspend access to the Services where reasonably necessary:
- to address security issues;
- to carry out maintenance;
- to comply with applicable law;
- to comply with a third-party platform requirement;
- where your use presents a material security or operational risk; or
- where payment remains overdue.
Where reasonably practicable, RespondMate will provide advance notice of planned maintenance or suspension.
7. Intellectual Property
RespondMate retains ownership of all intellectual property rights in the Services, including its software, workflows, prompts, configurations, templates, processes, systems and underlying know-how.
Subject to these Terms and payment of applicable fees, RespondMate grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Services for your internal business purposes during the term of your subscription.
You retain ownership of content, information and data that you provide to RespondMate.
You must not, except where permitted by law:
- copy or reproduce the Services;
- resell or sublicense the Services;
- attempt to reverse engineer the Services;
- access the Services to build a competing product; or
- remove proprietary notices or branding belonging to RespondMate.
8. Data Protection
8.1 Data Processing
Where you provide personal data to RespondMate for processing through the Services, you generally act as the controller and RespondMate acts as your processor.
The DPA sets out the parties' respective data protection obligations and forms part of the agreement between you and RespondMate.
RespondMate may use authorised subprocessors to provide the Services, including providers of:
- WhatsApp and messaging infrastructure;
- cloud hosting and database infrastructure;
- calendar and productivity services;
- AI model services; and
- other technical infrastructure necessary to operate the Services.
The applicable subprocessors and processing arrangements are addressed in the DPA.
8.2 Your Data Protection Responsibilities
You are responsible for ensuring that you have an appropriate lawful basis for processing and sharing personal data with RespondMate.
You are also responsible for providing customers and guests with appropriate privacy information about how their personal data is processed.
RespondMate will process personal data in accordance with your documented instructions, the DPA and applicable UK data protection law.
8.3 Privacy Policy
RespondMate's Privacy Policy explains how RespondMate processes personal data in connection with its own business operations and the Services.
The Privacy Policy forms part of the overall contractual framework between RespondMate and you where applicable.
9. Confidentiality
Each party agrees to keep confidential information received from the other party confidential and to use it only for the purposes of performing or receiving the Services.
This obligation does not apply to information that:
- is already publicly available;
- was lawfully known before disclosure;
- is independently developed without using confidential information; or
- must be disclosed by law, court order or a competent authority.
10. Warranties and Disclaimers
RespondMate will provide the Services with reasonable care and skill.
Except as expressly stated in these Terms, RespondMate does not guarantee that:
- the Services will meet every particular business requirement;
- AI-generated responses will always be accurate;
- every booking request will result in a completed booking;
- the Services will generate a particular amount of revenue;
- customers or guests will be satisfied with the Services; or
- the Services will operate without interruption.
The Services are an automated assistance tool. You remain responsible for appropriate human oversight and business decisions.
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits any warranty, condition or right that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.
11. Liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for:
- death or personal injury caused by negligence;
- fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; or
- any other liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
Subject to the above, RespondMate will not be liable for any indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of:
- profits;
- revenue;
- bookings;
- business;
- anticipated savings;
- goodwill; or
- business opportunities.
Subject to the above, RespondMate's total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with the Services or these Terms will not exceed the total fees paid by you to RespondMate during the three months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim.
Where no fees have been paid, including during a free Pilot Period, RespondMate's total aggregate liability will be limited to £100.
RespondMate will not be responsible for losses arising from:
- inaccurate, incomplete or outdated information supplied by you;
- your failure to follow the agreed configuration or instructions;
- your failure to maintain required third-party accounts or integrations; or
- failures of third-party services outside RespondMate's reasonable control.
12. Termination
Either party may terminate the Services in accordance with the cancellation provisions in sections 2 and 3.
Either party may terminate these Terms immediately by written notice if the other party:
- commits a material breach and, where the breach can be remedied, fails to remedy it within a reasonable period after being notified; or
- becomes insolvent or ceases, or threatens to cease, carrying on business.
RespondMate may suspend or terminate the Services where you materially breach these Terms, misuse the Services, fail to pay applicable fees or where a third-party platform withdraws or materially restricts the functionality required to provide the Services.
Upon termination:
- your right to use the Services will end;
- outstanding fees will remain payable;
- RespondMate will handle personal data in accordance with the Privacy Policy, DPA and your lawful instructions; and
- any applicable data return or deletion obligations will be handled in accordance with the DPA and applicable retention requirements.
Unless otherwise instructed or required by the DPA, guest personal data will be handled in accordance with the default retention periods set out in the Privacy Policy.
Sections which by their nature should continue after termination will remain in force, including provisions concerning intellectual property, confidentiality, liability, data protection and payment obligations.
13. Force Majeure
RespondMate will not be liable for failure or delay caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control.
This may include:
- internet or telecommunications failures;
- cloud infrastructure failures;
- third-party platform outages;
- failures of WhatsApp, Meta, Google or other providers;
- cyber incidents not caused by RespondMate's failure to take reasonable security measures;
- natural disasters;
- war, terrorism or civil unrest;
- government action; or
- other events outside RespondMate's reasonable control.
RespondMate will take reasonable steps to minimise the effect of such events.
14. General
14.1 Entire Agreement
These Terms, together with any applicable Order, the DPA and documents expressly incorporated into them, form the agreement between you and RespondMate concerning the Services.
14.2 Changes to These Terms
RespondMate may make reasonable changes to these Terms from time to time.
Where a change materially affects your rights or obligations, RespondMate will provide at least 30 days' notice, unless a shorter period is required to comply with law, regulation, security requirements or a third-party platform change.
If you continue using the Services after the effective date of the updated Terms, you will be deemed to have accepted the changes.
14.3 Assignment
You may not transfer or assign your rights or obligations under these Terms without RespondMate's prior written consent.
RespondMate may transfer these Terms as part of a business sale, restructuring or transfer of the Services, provided that your rights are not materially reduced.
14.4 Waiver
A failure or delay by either party to exercise a right under these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that right.
14.5 Severability
If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in effect.
14.6 Notices
Formal notices under these Terms should be sent by email to the relevant party's most recently provided business email address.
14.7 No Partnership
Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency or employment relationship between the parties.
14.8 Third-Party Rights
Unless expressly stated otherwise, a person who is not a party to these Terms has no right to enforce any provision of them under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
15. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
The courts of England and Wales will have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory rights you may have under applicable law.
Before commencing formal proceedings, the parties will make reasonable efforts to resolve any dispute through good-faith discussions.
16. Contact
If you have any questions about these Terms or the Services, contact:
RespondMate Alex Morgan, sole trader 10 Example Street London, EC1A 1AA United Kingdom
Email: contact@respondmate.co.uk