Terms of Service

Version 2.5 · Effective: 1 September 2026. These Terms form Part A of the PayTrader Terms of Service & Privacy Policy; the Privacy Policy (Part B, clauses 16–27) is published at paytrader.net/privacy.

Contents

Part A — Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of the PayTrader mobile application and the website at paytrader.net (collectively, the "Platform"), operated by PayTrader Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17164786 with registered office at the address stated at clause 16.

By creating an account or using the Platform, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Platform. You will be presented with these Terms before account creation; if you create an account, you confirm that you have read and understood them.

1. Pre-contract information (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013)

This clause sets out the information PayTrader is required to give consumers before a distance contract is concluded, under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. It is presented to you during signup and is summarised here for reference.

Who we are

PayTrader is a trading name of PayTrader Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17164786) with registered office at the address stated at clause 16. You can contact us at support@paytrader.net.

What we provide

PayTrader is a technology platform that helps Clients and Tradespeople agree, fund, and complete home-improvement jobs using a milestone-based escrow system. PayTrader is not a party to the contract for services between any Client and any Tradesperson, and is not a court, arbitrator, or legal authority. Funds paid by Clients are received and held by our Payment Provider — an authorised payment institution or e-money institution, or a firm holding funds on the regulated infrastructure of such an institution — in accounts segregated from the Payment Provider's own funds. The identity and regulatory status of the current Payment Provider for your Job is shown in the app and listed at clause 20. PayTrader does not at any point hold customer funds.

Price

PayTrader charges a 2% platform fee to the Client and a 2% platform fee to the Tradesperson on each Milestone amount. The total cost (including the Client's platform fee) is shown to the Client before the Client confirms any Milestone payment. The 2% Tradesperson fee is deducted from each Milestone payout to the Tradesperson at the point of release. Fees are inclusive of VAT where applicable. The current fee rates are visible at all times in your in-app fee summary.

Payment, performance, and complaint handling

Payments are taken by debit card, credit card, or bank transfer. Funds are released to your Tradesperson on your confirmation that a Milestone is complete, or by automatic release after the period stated at clause 6 if you do not confirm or raise a dispute. If you are unhappy with our service, please contact us at support@paytrader.net. If we cannot resolve your complaint, you may refer the matter to the independent alternative dispute resolution scheme named in the ADR Schedule at clause 7.5 (see clause 7). Details of how each funding mode works — including staged funding, where only the currently funded stage is held in escrow — are set out at clause 5 and shown to you before you pay.

Your right to cancel

You have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period expires 14 days after the day on which you create your account. The full mechanics of the right to cancel are set out at clause 11.

Effect on funded Jobs

If you have funded any Jobs through the Platform, those funds remain held in escrow with our Payment Provider until you confirm Milestones, the Tradesperson completes the work, the funds are auto-released under clause 6, or you raise a dispute. Cancelling your account does not by itself release escrowed funds to you; please contact support if you need to recover funds in escrow.

2. Parties and definitions

"PayTrader" means PayTrader Ltd, registered in England and Wales (company number 17164786).

"Client" means a homeowner or individual who uses the Platform to engage and pay a Tradesperson for home-improvement or related work. Where the Client is acting as a consumer, references in these Terms to consumer rights apply to that Client.

"Tradesperson" means a contractor, tradesperson, or trade business who uses the Platform to receive payment for completed work. Tradespeople are required to use the Platform in the course of business and are treated as business users for the purpose of these Terms.

"Job" means a project created on the Platform between a Client and a Tradesperson, comprising one or more Milestones.

"Milestone" means a defined stage of work within a Job, with an agreed description and payment amount.

"Escrow Funds" means money paid by a Client into the payment system and held by our Payment Provider in safeguarded accounts on behalf of the relevant Client and Tradesperson, pending Milestone confirmation, dispute resolution, or auto-release.

"Payment Provider" means the payment services firm with whom PayTrader has a service arrangement to provide payment processing and escrow-style fund-holding to users of the Platform — being an authorised payment institution or electronic money institution, or a firm that holds transaction funds on the regulated infrastructure of such an institution. PayTrader does not itself hold customer funds and is not authorised under the Payment Services Regulations 2017 in its own right. References to "escrow" in these Terms and in the Platform describe the commercial function of the arrangement; the regulated activity of holding funds is carried on within the Payment Provider's stack, not by PayTrader.

3. The PayTrader service

PayTrader provides a technology platform that facilitates secure milestone-based payments between Clients and Tradespeople. PayTrader acts as a technology platform connecting Clients with Tradespeople. PayTrader is not a party to the contract for services between any Client and any Tradesperson, and is not party to the payment relationship between any user and the Payment Provider, save as expressly set out in these Terms.

We do not endorse, guarantee, or take responsibility for the quality, suitability, safety, timeliness, or completion of any work performed by any Tradesperson listed or used via the Platform.

Funds paid by the Client are received and held by our Payment Provider, in accounts segregated from the Payment Provider's own funds in line with the regulatory requirements applicable to it (or to the authorised institution on whose infrastructure it holds funds), on behalf of the relevant Client and Tradesperson. PayTrader does not at any point hold customer funds. PayTrader transmits payment instructions to the Payment Provider on behalf of users in accordance with these Terms and our published dispute-resolution process.

4. Account registration and eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and resident in the United Kingdom to create an account. By registering, you confirm that the information you provide is accurate and that you are legally entitled to enter into these Terms.

Tradespeople are required to complete identity verification (KYC) before receiving any payments through the Platform. This involves providing government-issued photo ID and a selfie, processed by our identity verification provider. Identity verification supports compliance with the Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds (Information on the Payer) Regulations 2017. Clients may also be required to complete verification for certain transaction values.

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials. You must notify us immediately at support@paytrader.net if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

5. Payments and escrow

Each Job is funded in one of two modes — staged (Milestone by Milestone) or upfront (the whole Job at once) — described in the "Funding modes" subsection below. Which modes are available, and which is the default, depend on the Payment Provider for the Job; the funding mode is shown clearly before the Job is accepted and before any payment is taken. When a Client funds a Job or a Milestone, the amount is charged to the Client's chosen payment method by the Payment Provider and held as Escrow Funds.

Escrow Funds are held in accounts maintained within the Payment Provider's stack that are segregated from the Payment Provider's own funds, in line with the safeguarding or segregation requirements applicable under its regulatory regime. PayTrader does not at any point hold customer funds and Escrow Funds are not available to PayTrader's creditors.

PayTrader works only with payment partners that are authorised payment institutions or e-money institutions, or that hold transaction funds on the regulated infrastructure of such an institution, and maintains contractual protections in respect of the Payment Provider's performance. PayTrader is not, however, responsible for the regulated activity carried on within the Payment Provider's stack, and your statutory rights against the relevant regulated firm are unaffected by these Terms.

Payments may be made by debit card, credit card, or bank transfer. PayTrader and the Payment Provider reserve the right to decline a payment method or transaction at their discretion, including where required by law, fraud-prevention systems, or sanctions screening.

Funding modes: staged and upfront

The funding mode is set when the Job is created, is confirmed when both the Client and the Tradesperson accept the Job, and cannot be changed afterwards (changing it requires cancelling and recreating the Job):

In staged mode, only the Milestone the Client has currently funded is held in escrow. Future Milestones carry no Escrow Funds until the Client funds them, and neither the Payment Provider nor PayTrader holds anything in respect of an unfunded Milestone. The Tradesperson is told not to begin a Milestone until it has been funded. PayTrader's escrow protection applies only to funded Milestones, and PayTrader is not responsible for any work a Tradesperson chooses to carry out on a Milestone that the Client has not funded.

If the next stage is not funded. Where a staged Job's next Milestone is not funded, the Job waits for funding and the Client is reminded. After a period (currently 14 days) either party may close the Job. On close-out, every completed and released Milestone stands as final, the remaining unfunded Milestones do not proceed, and the Job is closed. Because unfunded Milestones never held Escrow Funds, there are no platform-held funds to return on close-out.

Fees in staged mode. The platform fees described at clause 8 are charged for each Milestone as it is funded and released, rather than for the whole Job at the outset. Over a completed staged Job the total fees are the same as they would be in upfront mode; only the timing differs.

Your right to cancel. Your statutory right to cancel under clause 11 is unaffected by the funding mode. Funding the first Milestone of a staged Job is a request for PayTrader to begin providing the platform service for the purposes of clause 11.4, in the same way as funding an upfront Job; funding each later Milestone continues that same platform service rather than beginning a new contract.

6. Milestones and fund release

When a Tradesperson believes a Milestone is complete, they submit evidence through the Platform (photographs and a written note). The Client is notified and given the opportunity to review the evidence.

If the Client confirms the Milestone is complete, PayTrader instructs the Payment Provider to release the corresponding Escrow Funds to the Tradesperson's registered bank account within 1–2 business days, less the Tradesperson's 2% platform fee.

Auto-release. If the Client does not confirm the Milestone and does not raise a dispute under clause 7 within 14 days of evidence submission by the Tradesperson, the Escrow Funds for that Milestone will be automatically released to the Tradesperson. Before auto-release occurs, the Client will receive at least one in-app and email reminder during the 14-day window. The Client retains the right to raise a dispute at any point during the 14-day window; raising a dispute pauses the auto-release timer immediately and the Milestone funds remain frozen until the dispute is resolved or withdrawn.

Once funds are released to a Tradesperson, they cannot be recalled by PayTrader except in cases of fraud, regulatory requirement, or chargeback by the Client's card issuer.

7. Disputes

7.1 If you believe a Milestone has not been completed to the standard agreed between you and your counterparty, you may raise a dispute through the Platform. On a dispute being raised, the relevant Escrow Funds are frozen and neither party can instruct their release until the dispute is resolved or withdrawn. Raising a dispute pauses any auto-release timer for that Milestone.

7.2 The Platform's dispute process is described in our Help Centre and operates as follows: a 48-hour evidence window during which both parties can submit written and photographic evidence; a 72-hour ruling window during which our Disputes team reviews the evidence and issues a ruling; and possible escalation to alternative dispute resolution as described at clause 7.5. The process is intended to resolve disputes about the release of Escrow Funds quickly and fairly.

7.3 Our Disputes team's decision is binding on both parties for the purpose of releasing the relevant Escrow Funds. It is not a determination of your underlying legal rights against your counterparty. Whatever the outcome of the platform's process:

7.4 PayTrader may decline to handle a dispute through the Platform process where the matter is materially unsuited to that process (including where one party is no longer resident in the United Kingdom or where the dispute involves issues outside the scope of milestone completion). In such cases, the parties retain their rights against each other and may pursue resolution through the courts or any independent ADR scheme they jointly agree.

7.5 ADR Schedule. If you are a consumer and you are unable to resolve a complaint about our service to you through our internal complaints process, you may refer the matter to the independent alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme identified in accordance with the ADR Schedule set out below, which forms part of these Terms. The scheme determines complaints about PayTrader's platform and escrow-release service; it does not determine disputes about the quality of a Tradesperson's work, which remain between you and your Tradesperson. If we cannot resolve your complaint within 8 weeks, or we issue a final response you are unhappy with, we will remind you in writing of your right to refer the matter to the scheme, with its contact details. Use of ADR does not affect your right to take legal proceedings.

ADR Schedule. PayTrader is not required by law, and has not agreed through any trade association or scheme membership, to use an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) provider, and does not commit in advance to ADR. If our internal complaints process (clause 14) has been exhausted and your complaint remains unresolved, we will write to you stating that position (a "deadlock letter"); in that letter we will identify an ADR entity certified under the Alternative Dispute Resolution for Consumer Disputes (Competent Authorities and Information) Regulations 2015 that would be competent to deal with the complaint, and state whether we are prepared to submit the dispute to it. Nothing in this Schedule limits your right to bring proceedings before the courts, and clause 14.2's reference to the scheme named in this Schedule is to be read accordingly.

7.6 PayTrader is not a court, arbitrator, or legal authority. Our dispute process is a contractual mechanism for releasing Escrow Funds and is not a substitute for legal advice or a legal determination.

8. Fees

PayTrader charges the following fees, which are deducted automatically:

The current fee rates are shown to you in-app and on our website before any chargeable action is taken. Fees are inclusive of VAT where applicable. Once PayTrader becomes VAT-registered, all fee invoices and remittance statements will display the net amount, the VAT element, and the gross amount separately, in line with HMRC requirements; the displayed in-app rate will be specified consistently as VAT-inclusive at that time.

Fees on cancellation or refund. PayTrader's Service Fees are charged for the escrow and platform service actually provided in respect of funded work, and are therefore treated as earned when a Milestone is funded. If a Job or a funded Milestone is cancelled and Escrow Funds are refunded: (a) the Client transaction fee for each funded Milestone (whether or not released) is retained; (b) the Tradesperson transaction fee arises only on payout, so no Tradesperson fee is charged where no payout occurred; (c) any deduction for payment-processing costs is limited to the actual third-party cost incurred for that transaction, as disclosed before payment. This is subject always to your statutory rights, which these Terms do not exclude: in particular, where you cancel under clause 11 within the 14-day cancellation period, the amount you must pay is limited to what the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 permit for the service supplied before cancellation, and if the pre-contract information or your express request to begin the service was not properly captured, you are entitled to a full refund including fees. Where nothing was funded, nothing is charged. PayTrader reserves the right to change its fee structure in accordance with clause 13 (Variation).

8A. Chargebacks

Definition

8A.1 A "chargeback" means the reversal of a card payment initiated by the cardholder's bank or card issuer, rather than a refund agreed or processed through PayTrader. Chargebacks are decided by the card issuer under card scheme rules, not by PayTrader or by our payment partner, and may arise weeks or months after a payment was made — including after funds have been released to a Tradesperson. A chargeback is not a refund, and the refund processes under clause 7 (Disputes) and clause 11 (Your right to cancel) do not apply to it.

Allocation

8A.2 Card payments on PayTrader are processed by our escrow partner, Trustap, as merchant of record. Where a chargeback is raised in respect of a payment to a transaction, it is handled and contested by Trustap under card scheme rules.

8A.3 As between Trustap and PayTrader, liability for chargebacks arising from payments made through the Platform rests with PayTrader as the platform.

8A.4 As between PayTrader and the Tradesperson, these Terms allocate that liability to the Tradesperson where the chargeback arises from a payment for their Job: the Tradesperson shall reimburse PayTrader for the chargeback amount and reasonably incurred associated fees, and PayTrader may recover such amounts by deduction or set-off against pending or future payouts to the Tradesperson, or by invoice payable within 14 days.

8A.5 PayTrader's fees and Trustap's fees are retained in accordance with clause 8 (Fees — "Fees on cancellation or refund") notwithstanding any chargeback.

Disputes must go through the Platform first

8A.6 If you believe a payment you made through PayTrader was taken in error, or that you are entitled to money back in respect of a Job, you must first raise the matter through PayTrader's dispute process (clause 7) and allow it to complete, before contacting your bank or card issuer to dispute the payment.

8A.7 The dispute process exists to resolve exactly these situations: it can pause the release of funds, require evidence from both sides, and result in a refund where appropriate. Raising a chargeback instead of, or in parallel with, the dispute process can delay resolution and may result in you receiving less than the dispute process would have awarded, because chargebacks are decided by your card issuer on card scheme criteria without reference to the milestone evidence held on PayTrader.

8A.8 If you raise a chargeback in respect of a payment without first completing the dispute process, we may: (a) provide the card issuer and Trustap with the transaction records, milestone evidence, and communications relevant to the payment; (b) suspend your account while the chargeback is open; and (c) treat a chargeback found by the card issuer to be without merit as a material breach of these Terms. We will never penalise you for exercising legal rights you actually have; this clause exists to route genuine disputes to the process built to resolve them.

Card protections statement

8A.9 Because payments made through PayTrader are made to our escrow partner rather than directly to the Tradesperson, the statutory protection under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974 (which can make a credit card issuer jointly liable for a supplier's breach) may not apply to payments made through the Platform.

8A.10 This does not affect your chargeback rights under card scheme rules, your rights under these Terms, or your statutory rights against the Tradesperson. The escrow structure itself is the protection the Platform provides: funds are not released to the Tradesperson until the relevant Milestone is confirmed in accordance with these Terms.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Platform to:

If your breach of this clause results in PayTrader incurring chargeback losses, fraud-related costs, regulatory fines, or third-party recovery costs, you agree to reimburse PayTrader for the actual amount of those losses. This obligation is a primary obligation enforceable by PayTrader as a debt and is not a penalty.

Violations may result in immediate account suspension and reporting to relevant authorities where required by law.

10. Limitation of liability

10.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits PayTrader's liability for:

10.2 PayTrader provides the Platform with reasonable care and skill but does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or fit for any purpose other than facilitating payments and dispute resolution between Clients and Tradespeople as described in these Terms.

10.3 PayTrader is not a party to the contract for services between any Client and any Tradesperson and is not liable for: the quality, safety, or completion of any work performed by a Tradesperson; any loss arising from a Tradesperson's failure to complete or perform work; or any other matter arising from the Client–Tradesperson contract.

10.4 Subject to clause 10.1, PayTrader's total aggregate liability to you arising under or in connection with these Terms (whether in contract, tort, breach of statutory duty, or otherwise) is limited to the greater of:

10.5 Subject to clause 10.1, PayTrader is not liable for any indirect, special, or consequential loss, or for loss of profit, loss of business, loss of goodwill, or loss of opportunity, however arising.

10.6 If you are a consumer, your statutory rights are unaffected by this clause 10. In particular, your rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 as to services performed with reasonable care and skill, and your rights as to information given to you about the Platform, remain in full force.

11. Your right to cancel (consumers only)

11.1 If you are a consumer, you have the right to cancel this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The cancellation period expires 14 days after the day on which you create your account.

11.2 To exercise the right to cancel, you must inform us of your decision to cancel by a clear statement, for example by email to support@paytrader.net. You may use the model cancellation form available in your account settings or by request to support, but you do not have to.

11.3 If you cancel within the 14-day period, we will reimburse to you any payments received from PayTrader for the platform service itself, without undue delay and not later than 14 days after the day on which we are informed of your decision to cancel.

11.4 If you asked us to begin providing the platform service during the cancellation period (including by funding a Job), you must pay us an amount in proportion to what we have provided up until the time you told us about your cancellation. By funding a Job during the 14-day cancellation period, you confirm that you ask PayTrader to begin providing the platform service immediately and you acknowledge that you may have to pay for service already provided if you subsequently cancel.

11.5 Cancellation of your account does not by itself release escrowed funds to you. Funds held in respect of any active Job are dealt with in accordance with clauses 6 and 7. If you need to recover funds in escrow on cancellation, please contact support@paytrader.net so we can coordinate with the Payment Provider.

12. Termination

You may close your account at any time using the in-app deletion flow or by contacting support@paytrader.net. Any funds held in escrow in relation to active Jobs must first be resolved (by completion, cancellation, or dispute resolution) before an account can be fully closed; the in-app deletion flow surfaces a clear list of any blockers and how to resolve them.

PayTrader may suspend or terminate your account immediately if we believe you have breached these Terms, if we are required to by law or regulation, or if continued operation of your account poses a risk to other users or the Platform.

On termination, your access to the Platform ends, but your data will be retained or deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy and our published Data Retention & Deletion design (clause 23). Any funds held in escrow at the point of termination will be dealt with in accordance with our dispute-resolution process.

13. Variation

13.1 PayTrader may make minor changes to these Terms at any time, including changes for legal, regulatory, security, or clarity reasons, or to reflect changes in the way the Platform operates that do not materially affect users' rights. We will give you reasonable notice of such changes by in-app notification or by email, and the changes will take effect from the date stated in the notice. Continued use of the Platform after that date constitutes acceptance.

13.2 PayTrader may make material changes that affect users' rights or obligations (including changes to the fee structure, dispute process, or liability provisions) by giving you at least 30 days' written notice by email and in-app notification. If you do not accept a material change, you may close your account during the notice period without penalty and any funds in escrow will be dealt with in accordance with clauses 6 and 7. Continued use of the Platform after the change takes effect constitutes acceptance.

13.3 PayTrader will not unilaterally change these Terms in a way that operates retroactively or that is fundamentally inconsistent with the basis on which a consumer entered into the contract.

14. Complaints handling

14.1 If you have a complaint about the Platform or our service to you, please contact us at support@paytrader.net. We will acknowledge your complaint promptly and aim to provide a substantive response within 15 business days.

14.2 If we cannot resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you may refer the matter to independent alternative dispute resolution in accordance with the ADR Schedule at clause 7.5. If your complaint relates to the handling of personal data, you may also refer the matter to the Information Commissioner's Office (clause 27).

15. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising under or in connection with these Terms is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, save that nothing in this clause prevents a consumer from bringing proceedings in the courts of the part of the United Kingdom in which the consumer is domiciled.