PetHour™ (“PetHour”, “we”, “us”) operates a pet care marketplace at pethour.app that enables pet owners (“Owners”) to discover and book independent pet care providers (“Sitters”). PetHour is a marketplace platform and booking facilitator only — not an employer, staffing agency, franchisor, insurer, guarantor, or surety of any kind. PetHour is not a party to any service contract between an Owner and a Sitter. Sitters are independent contractors, not employees or agents of PetHour.
PetHour does not supervise, direct, control, or in any way manage the actions or omissions of any Sitter or Owner during or in connection with a booking. PetHour does not verify the completeness or accuracy of any representation made by any user beyond the specific verifications described in these Terms. No agency, partnership, joint venture, employer-employee, or franchisor-franchisee relationship is created between PetHour and any user.
Use of this platform is entirely at your own risk. By creating an account you agree to these Terms in full. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.
Pet care services involve inherent and unavoidable risks. By using PetHour, you expressly acknowledge and voluntarily accept that:
You voluntarily assume all risks associated with using this platform, interacting with other users, and the provision or receipt of any pet care service. You agree not to hold PetHour responsible for any loss, harm, damage, injury, illness, or death arising from a booking or your use of the platform, except to the limited extent required by applicable law.
A single PetHour account may be configured as an Owner, a Sitter, or both simultaneously. Role selection is not required at signup — you activate the sides of the marketplace you want to use from your account settings.
Each person may hold one PetHour account only. Because a single account already functions as both Owner and Sitter, no one needs more than one. Creating, operating, or controlling more than one account is prohibited — whether to obtain additional free-tier or trial benefits, to evade a suspension, cancellation, search-suppression, or eligibility rule, to inflate Reliability Scores, or for any other reason. Mandatory identity and phone verification (Sections 3.4 and 16.1) exist in part to enforce this. If we determine that one person controls multiple accounts, we may merge or suspend the duplicate accounts and, where the duplication was used to gain an unfair or fraudulent advantage, terminate all affected accounts and reverse any benefit obtained. The only exception is a team member account operating under an Elite business (Section 17); a team member may not separately hold a personal Sitter account while active on a team.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and accept bookings as a Sitter. Owners must be at least 18 years old. By creating an account, you represent and warrant that you meet the applicable age requirement and are legally capable of entering into a binding agreement.
Identity verification through Stripe Identity is required for all members before booking features are unlocked. This verification is a platform access requirement, not a character endorsement or guarantee of future conduct. PetHour does not retain copies of government-issued ID documents — they are processed by Stripe Identity and only a pass/fail outcome is recorded on your account.
You are solely responsible for keeping your account information accurate and current, including pet profiles, qualifications, certifications, medical disclosures, and behavioral history. Providing false information — including fabricated reviews, fake pet profiles, misrepresented qualifications, or undisclosed bite histories — is grounds for immediate account suspension and may expose you to legal liability for any resulting harm.
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at support@pethour.app if you suspect unauthorised access. PetHour is not liable for any loss, damage, or unauthorized activity resulting from your failure to protect your account credentials.
All bookings must be made through PetHour to receive platform protections including GPS tracking, AI reports, dispute resolution, and backup protection. When an Owner completes checkout, the payment method is authorised (held), not charged. The hold is captured when the Sitter confirms the booking, and funds are released to the Sitter upon service completion. If no confirmation occurs within the applicable reply window, the hold is released in full.
PetHour does not prohibit an Owner and a Sitter from agreeing to contact one another, or to arrange and pay for care, off the platform. This is a choice both members make together, and PetHour charges no service fee on a genuinely off-platform arrangement. However, off-platform arrangements carry no platform protections of any kind — no dispute resolution, no GPS tracking, no backup network, no payment escrow, no masked calling, and no AI reports. PetHour bears zero responsibility for any off-platform arrangement, outcome, or dispute, and will not mediate, refund, or otherwise become involved in a transaction that took place off the platform.
Choosing to transact off the platform is different from the conduct prohibited in Section 18. What is not permitted is evading fees on a booking that was arranged through PetHour, technically defeating the masked-number system, or manipulating platform payment processing, subscription billing, or escrow. Deciding by mutual agreement to handle a job entirely outside PetHour is permitted — you simply do so without any of the protections above.
Owners may optionally attach up to 3 backup Sitters to each booking ($4.00 per backup slot). A backup role takes effect only when the invited Sitter accepts the standby request; the $4.00 slot fee is charged to the Owner at that moment and not before. If an invited backup declines or does not respond within the reply window, no fee is charged for that slot.
Once a backup has accepted, the slot fee is non-refundable — including when the Owner later removes the backup from the booking, cancels the booking, or the backup is never triggered. In each such case the backup Sitter retains the $2.50 availability fee. If the main Sitter cancels a confirmed booking, all accepted backups are notified simultaneously and the first to accept within 15 minutes secures the booking at the terms disclosed to the Owner when the backup was added. Backups who decline a triggered request forfeit their availability fee. If the main Sitter declines or does not confirm the original request, the Owner may offer the booking to an accepted backup (“promotion”); where the Owner has enabled automatic promotion, the Owner authorises PetHour to extend that offer on their behalf at the price disclosed at checkout.
PetHour does not guarantee that any backup Sitter will be available, will respond within any window, or will accept any particular request or promotion offer.
Owners are solely responsible for providing complete, accurate, and current information about their pet’s health, behavioral history, reactivity, bite history, medical conditions, medications, dietary requirements, and any other condition relevant to the service requested. Failure to disclose known risks may constitute negligent misrepresentation and expose the Owner to personal civil liability. PetHour is not responsible for any harm to a pet, a Sitter, a third party, or any property resulting from an Owner’s failure to provide accurate, complete pet information.
A Sitter has up to 24 hours to confirm a standard booking request (shortened proportionally when the service start time is near; the exact deadline is shown on every request). Backup standby requests carry their own reply windows, also shown on the request. If a Sitter declines or does not respond within the window, that request lapses; where the lapsed request is the main booking request and no replacement is arranged, the payment hold is released in full. PetHour does not guarantee that any Sitter will confirm any particular booking.
PetHour provides in-app messaging so members can coordinate about a booking or Care Bundle, and — where enabled — message one another before any booking is made. To start a new conversation with another member you must have completed identity verification and confirmed a phone number. Before a booking is confirmed, member-to-member contact is limited to in-app messaging: no phone number — masked or real — is shared until a booking exists, and the masked call and text relay described in Section 15 begins only once a booking is confirmed. Messaging another member, whether or not you go on to book, carries no fee and does not by itself affect your Reliability Score. Messaging is provided as a convenience tool for marketplace coordination; it is not monitored in real time and PetHour does not guarantee the accuracy, appropriateness, or lawfulness of anything a member sends.
You are solely responsible for your own communications. You must not use messaging to harass, threaten, defraud, spam, or send unlawful or infringing content. Any member may block another member (which is mutual and closes messaging between the two) and report conduct to PetHour; you may also turn off receipt of new pre-booking messages at any time in your preferences. PetHour may review reported conversations and may suspend or remove members who violate these Terms, but is under no obligation to monitor, mediate, or resolve disputes arising from member communications.
Members may choose to share contact details or arrange care off the platform. As stated in Section 4.2, off-platform arrangements carry no platform protections of any kind and PetHour bears zero responsibility for them. Booking and paying on-platform is what preserves payment escrow, dispute support, masked calling, and visit reporting.
Owners may submit Last Minute Requests for urgent pet care through the platform’s wave-dispatch system. By submitting a Last Minute Request, you agree:
Sitters on Pro, Growth, or Elite plans may offer bundled service packages (“Care Bundles”) at a discounted combined price. By purchasing a Care Bundle, you agree:
Owners pay a 10% service fee on every booking, added transparently on top of the Sitter’s listed rate. This fee is shown at checkout before confirmation and is non-negotiable. The Sitter receives their listed rate in full. The 10% fee also applies to billing adjustments approved by both parties after a booking. The service fee applies only to bookings arranged and paid through PetHour; PetHour does not process, invoice, or take any fee on off-platform arrangements (Section 4.2).
PetHour does not profit from Owners. The 10% service fee offsets the cost of processing payments, holding funds in escrow, masked calling, and running the GPS, visit-report, and other platform integrations that protect a booking — it is not a commission taken from the Owner as platform income. PetHour’s revenue comes from Sitter subscriptions (Section 8.2), not from Owners. Owners are never charged a subscription, membership, or listing fee.
Sitters choose a subscription tier: Explorer (free), Pro ($29/month), Growth ($59/month), or Elite ($99/month). The Explorer tier is free until the Sitter’s first accepted commitment (Section 8.3). Subscription pricing is subject to change with 14 days’ advance notice.
A Sitter on the Explorer tier is upgraded to Pro automatically at the moment of their first accepted commitment of any kind: confirming a standard booking request, accepting (replying to) a Last Minute Request, or accepting a backup standby invite. Immediately before the acceptance takes effect, one full month of Pro subscription is charged to the stored payment method; if the charge fails, the acceptance does not take effect. This sequence is disclosed on the request itself and requires explicit acknowledgment before the charge is made.
This charge is non-cancellable and non-refundable under any circumstances — including where the Owner subsequently cancels the booking, removes the Sitter from a booking’s Care Team, cancels the Last Minute Request, or selects a different Sitter, and where the Sitter is never triggered or never performs the service. The charge purchases one full month of Pro subscription benefits, which are delivered in full regardless of the outcome of the commitment that triggered the activation. This policy is prominently disclosed during onboarding and must be acknowledged before a Sitter profile goes live, and again at the moment of first acceptance. A Sitter who disputes this charge will have their account suspended pending review.
An Elite Sitter may invite other Sitters to join their business as team members. A team member sets their own prices, chooses their own services, service areas and availability, and is never charged a subscription of any kind; accepting an invitation cancels any paid plan of their own at the end of its current period and removes their individual listing from search. A team member may leave at any time; leaving restores their independent listing, services, service areas, availability and wallet, and they may not leave while holding a confirmed booking that has not yet been completed or cancelled.
Pay. When a team member completes a booking, two flat amounts — never a percentage of any kind — are deducted from the price that member set: a dispatch fee retained by the business, posted per service by the Elite account and capped by the service’s catalogue tier, and a team fee of $2.00 retained by PetHour in place of the subscription the member does not pay. Because both are deducted from the price rather than added to it, the Owner pays exactly what they would pay booking that Sitter directly. Both amounts are disclosed to the member before they accept an invitation and again beside each price they set, and the amounts in force when a booking is assigned are the amounts that apply to it. The business may change a service’s dispatch fee at any time; when it does, its team members are notified, and any change applies only to bookings assigned after it takes effect.
Allocation. Bookings are assigned to team members automatically, by an algorithm that selects whoever has waited longest for a turn among those who cover the location, offer the service and are available at the requested time. The Elite account holder participates in the same rotation on the same terms and cannot select, skip, reassign or exclude any member from an individual booking. Declining an assignment passes it to the next member in rotation and does not restore the decliner’s earlier position. There is no “usual sitter”: a repeat Owner is allocated by the same rotation as anyone else, and neither the Owner nor the business can request or steer who serves a given booking. An Owner who wants a particular individual may book a Sitter who lists independently rather than as part of a team.
Reputation. Reviews and reliability scores for team-executed work accrue to the business. PetHour separately records which member performed each reviewed booking, so that a member who later leaves the team retains a verifiable record of the work they performed.
If a Sitter’s 3-month average GMV exceeds a tier threshold ($650/month for Growth, $1,300/month for Elite), an automatic tier upgrade is triggered at the start of the next billing cycle. Sitters receive 7 days’ advance written notice before the upgrade. By continuing to use the platform after receiving upgrade notice, you authorize the increased subscription charge. PetHour is not liable for any upgrade charge where proper notice was delivered.
PetHour never automatically downgrades a Sitter. When the 3-month average falls below the current tier threshold, a downgrade option is surfaced. A Sitter may not downgrade during their first mandatory month, or while holding confirmed bookings beyond the current billing cycle end date.
Subscription cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle. After cancellation, the Sitter’s search placement drops to free-tier rank for 30 days. A Sitter may not cancel if they have confirmed bookings scheduled beyond the current billing cycle end date. PetHour is not liable for any loss of bookings or revenue arising from the search suppression period.
Sitters may pause their profile visibility for up to 60 consecutive days per calendar year. Subscription billing continues during vacation mode. Any booking confirmed during vacation mode immediately ends vacation mode. PetHour is not responsible for any booking opportunity missed while a profile is in vacation mode.
| Event | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Sitter cancels booking | Full refund to Owner including service fee |
| Owner cancels more than 48 hours before service | Full refund including service fee |
| Owner cancels less than 48 hours before service | Listed price retained by Sitter; service fee refunded to Owner |
| Owner no-show | Full listed price retained by Sitter; service fee non-refundable |
| Backup slot fee — backup has accepted standby | Non-refundable in all cases (removal, cancellation, or completion); backup Sitter retains $2.50 |
| Backup slot fee — invite declined, expired, or withdrawn before acceptance | Never charged |
Refunds are processed back to the original payment method. Processing times are determined by your payment provider and financial institution. PetHour has no control over third-party processing timelines and is not liable for any delay.
Each account carries a Reliability Score calculated from verified platform activity: cancellation rate, response time, repeat-client percentage, and review average. Scores are visible to the other party before any booking is confirmed.
Scores are economically gated — they cannot be inflated without incurring real costs. GPS completion is structurally required for walk services. Reviews are escrow-gated — neither party can review until payment clears and the booking is marked complete.
A high Reliability Score is an informational indicator only — it is not a guarantee of safe, professional, adequate, or satisfactory service in any specific booking. Owners and Sitters are strongly encouraged to conduct their own due diligence, including meeting prior to the first booking, before entering into any service arrangement. PetHour is not liable for any harm arising from reliance on Reliability Score data.
Attempting to manipulate scores through collusive fake bookings, multi-account activity, or device/IP spoofing is grounds for permanent ban and potential legal action.
Identity verification through Stripe Identity is mandatory for all members before booking features are unlocked. This is a platform requirement, not a character endorsement.
Background checks ($32 one-time) are optional add-ons for Sitters, performed by our third-party partner Checkr. These checks award verified badges displayed on the Sitter’s public profile.
Background check and identity verification badges indicate only that a third-party screening was performed and passed at a specific point in time. PetHour does not continuously monitor users and expressly disclaims any responsibility for any act, omission, or harm occurring after the date of any check. A passing background check is not a guarantee of character, fitness, competence, honesty, or future conduct of any kind. Owners must not rely solely on badge status when selecting a Sitter. PetHour makes no representation that any check is complete, accurate, or reflective of a user’s full history.
PetHour does not provide insurance of any kind — and offers no insurance, protection plan, or platform guarantee product to purchase. The platform is a marketplace facilitator only — not an insurer, guarantor, surety, or financial underwriter. This may change in the future, but as of today no such product exists, and nothing on the platform should be understood as providing coverage, compensation, or a guarantee of any booking outcome. All liability for pet care services — including but not limited to pet injury, illness, death, escape, loss, property damage, personal injury to third parties, and veterinary costs — rests solely and exclusively with the Owner and Sitter involved in the booking. PetHour is not a party to any service transaction and assumes no liability for any booking outcome.
We believe in plain language, so here it is: PetHour connects pet owners with independent sitters — that is the whole of our role. Owners love their pets and are expected to make their own informed choice of sitter and, if they want coverage for veterinary costs, loss, or injury, to carry their own pet insurance. Sitters should only accept bookings they are genuinely able and prepared to handle, and are personally responsible for the services they provide, including any harm to a pet, an Owner’s property, or their own belongings; carrying their own liability coverage is their decision and their responsibility. Both parties enter every booking as independent adults making a direct commitment to each other to provide — and pay for — quality care.
Accordingly, PetHour bears no responsibility for injured, ill, lost, or deceased pets; bites or other animal-inflicted harm to any person; damage to an Owner’s home or property; or damage to a Sitter’s belongings or equipment. Each party bears its own risk in full.
PetHour’s aggregate liability to any user for any and all claims of any nature — whether arising in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, or otherwise — is limited to the greater of: (a) the total service fees actually paid by that user to PetHour in the 12 months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim; or (b) $100.00 USD. This limitation applies to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
PetHour uses artificial intelligence (Anthropic Claude API) to generate visit summaries, pet memory highlight videos, and sitter business insights from visit media, GPS data, and platform activity. By using the platform and uploading visit media, you grant PetHour the right to process that content through AI systems for these purposes.
AI-generated content is provided for informational and communication purposes only. It may contain errors, inaccuracies, hallucinations, or material omissions. AI-generated content must not be relied upon for:
PetHour disclaims all liability for any harm arising from reliance on AI-generated content. AI-processed content is shared only with the booking participants and is not sold to third parties. Anthropic does not retain platform data submitted through the API for model training purposes under our service agreement.
PetHour’s AI and machine-learning systems operate only on visit media, GPS data, and PetHour platform activity. They do not process any Google user data — including any Google Workspace or Google Photos data, or data obtained through Sign in with Google or Calendar Sync (whether raw, aggregated, or derived) — and no such data is ever used to develop, improve, or train any generalized or foundational AI or ML model. PetHour’s use of information received from Google APIs adheres to the Google API Services User Data Policy, including the Limited Use requirements; see the Privacy Policy for details.
Sitters are solely responsible for accurately representing their qualifications, experience, certifications, and any declarations required for Specialist or Professional Services. Misrepresenting qualifications is grounds for immediate account termination and may expose the Sitter to personal legal liability for harm resulting from services rendered beyond their actual competence.
Specialist Services require a written declaration visible on the Sitter’s public profile. Professional Services require credential upload reviewed by PetHour admin before the service becomes bookable. PetHour does not independently verify the authenticity, validity, currency, or completeness of any credential or qualification — this responsibility rests entirely with the Sitter. Owners should independently verify any credential claim before relying on it to select a Sitter.
GPS walk tracking, AI visit reports, AI pet memory videos, push notifications, SMS dispatch, and the Last Minute request system are platform-provided tools for transparency, communication, and marketplace coordination. They are not guarantees of service quality, safety, punctuality, or booking fulfillment.
GPS accuracy is subject to device hardware, operating system, network conditions, and geographic factors beyond PetHour’s control. PetHour does not guarantee GPS accuracy and is not liable for any harm, misunderstanding, or dispute arising from GPS data errors, gaps, or interruptions.
Push notifications and SMS messages are delivered on a best-effort basis through third-party providers (Firebase Cloud Messaging, Twilio). PetHour does not guarantee delivery, timing, or receipt of any notification and is not liable for missed notifications, delayed notifications, or any consequence of notification failure. SMS messages are sent only to the categories you have opted in to — see Section 16.
Masked contact numbers. During an active booking or care bundle we may provide a temporary, masked phone number that relays calls and text messages between the owner and sitter (and, for the sitter, a private connection to the owner’s emergency contact) so that real phone numbers are not disclosed. This number is a coordination tool tied to the active engagement: it is relayed through a third party (Twilio), delivery and timing are not guaranteed, and it stops working once the booking or bundle is complete or cancelled. Calls and messages carried over it are transactional and are handled subject to the Section 16 terms.
Every PetHour account must have a verified mobile phone number. Verification is a security and trust requirement: it confirms you are a real, reachable person, prevents one person from operating multiple accounts, secures account recovery, and allows an Owner and Sitter to reach each other during an active booking. When you enter your number and tap Send Code, you request and consent to receive a single one-time passcode by SMS. We may also send a passcode when you sign in from a new device or reset your password. These messages are transactional security messages, not marketing, and are required to use the platform. Message and data rates may apply.
Verifying your phone number does not subscribe you to any ongoing text messages. Ongoing SMS is off unless you affirmatively opt in by checking the box — presented unchecked — during phone verification, or by enabling it later in Preferences → Notifications → Text messages (SMS). There is a single opt-in:
PetHour does not send marketing or promotional text messages, and does not send account-security alerts by text. Offers, referral bonuses, product news, and security alerts such as new-device sign-ins and payout changes are sent by email only.
Consent to receive booking text messages is not a condition of creating an account, booking a service, working as a Sitter, or purchasing any goods or services. If you decline, the platform works normally and you receive the same information by email and in-app notification. Note that opting out of SMS for Last Minute Requests means you will receive those alerts by push notification only, which may reduce your ability to respond within the required time window.
Message frequency varies as described above. Message and data rates may apply under your plan with your mobile carrier. PetHour does not charge you for text messages. Our messages are supported on major US carriers, and carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. If you change or relinquish your mobile number, you must update it in your profile so that we do not send messages to a number that is no longer yours.
When you grant or withdraw consent, we record the date and time, the exact wording you were shown, the method used, and the originating IP address. We retain these records to honor your choices and to demonstrate compliance if a carrier or regulator requests it. Your mobile number and your SMS consent are never sold, and are never shared with third parties or affiliates for their own marketing or promotional purposes — they are shared only with the messaging vendor that delivers our messages on our behalf. See the Privacy Policy for details.
Elite Sitters may add up to 10 team members who take bookings as part of the business under a single Elite subscription. Each team member performs the bookings the automated rotation assigns them and is paid into their own PetHour wallet; the business earns a flat dispatch fee on each such booking, as set out in Section 8.3a. By adding team members, you represent and warrant that:
Compensation between the business and its team members runs on-platform through the flat dispatch and team fees described in Section 8.3a: each member is paid into their own wallet for the work they perform and withdraws it themselves, and the business retains its posted dispatch fee. PetHour facilitates these payments but is not a party to, and takes no responsibility for, any additional or off-platform arrangement between a business and its members, nor for any wage claim, contractor dispute, or employment law violation arising from a team arrangement.
Violation may result in immediate suspension or permanent termination, forfeiture of all pending payouts, wallet credits, and referral rewards, reversal of manipulated reliability scores, and referral to law enforcement where applicable. PetHour reserves the right to pursue civil damages for losses caused by fraudulent or manipulative conduct.
PetHour is a pet care marketplace — not a bank, money transmitter, or money-services business. Payments, wallet balances, payouts, and identity checks are processed by our regulated payment partner, Stripe, under Stripe’s own know-your-customer (KYC), anti-money-laundering (AML), and sanctions-screening programs. You may use PetHour’s payment, wallet, gift certificate, escrow, and payout features only for genuine pet care transactions between real Owners and Sitters.
You must not use PetHour, or any PetHour payment, wallet, gift certificate, escrow, or payout feature, to:
At any time, and as a condition of processing any payment, withdrawal, or payout, we (or Stripe) may require you to re-verify your identity, confirm your source of funds, or provide additional documentation. We may decline, delay, or limit any transaction until we are reasonably satisfied. Providing false, incomplete, or misleading information in response is a material breach of these Terms.
Where we reasonably suspect money laundering, fraud, sanctions evasion, or any other prohibited financial conduct — or where we are required to act by law or by our payment partner — we may, without prior notice and to the fullest extent permitted by law: suspend or close your account; decline, delay, reverse, or cancel any transaction; and freeze or hold any affected payout, wallet balance, or funds for as long as is reasonably necessary to investigate, or as required by law or legal process. Funds held under this Section are not forfeited to PetHour by reason of the hold alone; they are released, returned, or otherwise disbursed as required by applicable law, by a court or other competent authority, or by our payment partner’s determination. We may withhold payout of any funds until any related investigation, chargeback, or legal process is resolved.
We cooperate with law enforcement, regulators, and our payment partners, and we disclose account, transaction, and identity information as required or permitted by applicable law, including in response to a subpoena, court order, or other lawful request. Where the law requires or permits it, we may report suspected money laundering or other suspicious activity to the appropriate authorities. We are not required to notify you of, or to explain the reason for, any hold, decline, closure, report, or disclosure, and in some cases the law prohibits us from doing so. Nothing in these Terms requires PetHour to take any action that would itself violate applicable law.
You are responsible for your own compliance with the laws that apply to you, including any tax and reporting obligations on income you earn through the platform. PetHour does not provide legal, tax, or financial advice. Violation of this Section is a material breach of these Terms and, in addition to our other rights and remedies (including Section 18 and Section 24), may result in immediate account termination, forfeiture of unearned platform credits and rewards, reversal of affected transactions, and referral to the appropriate authorities.
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PetHour, its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, and successors from and against any and all claims, demands, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs) arising from or relating to:
PetHour reserves the right, at its own expense, to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification by you. You agree to cooperate fully with PetHour’s defense in any such claim and not to settle any matter without PetHour’s prior written consent.
THE PLATFORM AND ALL SERVICES, TOOLS, CONTENT, AND FEATURES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS. PETHOUR EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO: IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT; WARRANTIES THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, SECURE, OR FREE FROM VIRUSES OR HARMFUL COMPONENTS; AND ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, TIMELINESS, QUALITY, SAFETY, OR COMPLETENESS OF ANY CONTENT, SITTER PROFILE, OWNER PROFILE, AI OUTPUT, GPS DATA, OR REVIEW AVAILABLE THROUGH THE PLATFORM.
PETHOUR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY SITTER IS QUALIFIED, COMPETENT, EXPERIENCED, LICENSED, HONEST, OR SAFE. PETHOUR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY OWNER WILL PROVIDE ACCURATE OR COMPLETE PET INFORMATION. PETHOUR DOES NOT GUARANTEE THE SAFETY, HEALTH, WELFARE, OR WELLBEING OF ANY PET PLACED IN A SITTER’S CARE. PETHOUR DOES NOT WARRANT THAT ANY LAST MINUTE REQUEST WILL BE FILLED, ANY CARE BUNDLE WILL BE FULLY DELIVERED, OR ANY NOTIFICATION WILL BE RECEIVED.
Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain implied warranties. In such jurisdictions, the above exclusions apply to the maximum extent permitted by law.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL PETHOUR, ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY OF THE FOLLOWING, REGARDLESS OF WHETHER PETHOUR WAS ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES AND REGARDLESS OF THE THEORY OF LIABILITY (INCLUDING CONTRACT, TORT, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE):
PETHOUR’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM — FROM ALL CAUSES OF ACTION COMBINED — SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE TOTAL SERVICE FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU TO PETHOUR IN THE 12 CALENDAR MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM; OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100.00 USD).
The limitations and exclusions in this section reflect a fair and reasonable allocation of risk between you and PetHour and are a fundamental basis of the bargain between the parties. They apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
In the event of a booking dispute between an Owner and a Sitter, either party may open a platform dispute within 72 hours of the booking end time by contacting support@pethour.app. PetHour will review available evidence (GPS data, visit media, messaging history, booking records) and issue a decision within 5 business days. PetHour’s decision determines only the disposition of funds held on the platform for that booking — it is not compensation, a guarantee payout, or an insurance settlement of any kind.
PetHour’s dispute resolution service is a discretionary facilitation only and is not a substitute for legal proceedings, arbitration, or mediation. Participation does not waive any legal rights either party may have. PetHour is not a party to the underlying dispute and its decision does not constitute legal adjudication, binding arbitration, or an admission of liability by either party or by PetHour.
Either party may close their account at any time by contacting support. PetHour reserves the right to suspend or terminate any account — with or without notice and at its sole discretion — for violation of these Terms, suspected fraud, or conduct harmful to other users or the platform. Upon termination, pending payouts for completed bookings will be released on the standard payout schedule. Subscription fees are not refunded upon termination for cause. Active Care Bundle escrow funds will be handled under the dispute and abandonment provisions in Section 6.
We may update these Terms as the platform evolves. Material changes will be communicated by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of PetHour after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms. If you do not agree to a material change, you must stop using the platform and close your account before the change takes effect.
These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles. Any legal action or proceeding arising out of or relating to these Terms or the platform that is not resolved through our internal dispute process shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Fairfax County, Virginia. You hereby consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts and waive any objection to venue.
Questions about these Terms: support@pethour.app