SpecialCarer

Summary

SpecialCarer is a marketplace operated by All Care 4 U Group Limited that connects families needing care with self-employed caregivers. We are not the employer of caregivers and we are not a party to the care agreement between a family and a caregiver — the booking contract is directly between the two of you. We provide the platform, the vetting workflow, the payment-processing rails, and the tracking tools that make those bookings safer and easier.

Please read these terms in full. By creating an account or making a booking you agree to them.

The agreement

These Terms of Service form a legally binding agreement between you and All Care 4 U Group Limited (company number 09428739, registered at 85 Great Portland Street, London, England, W1W 7LT). "SpecialCarer", "we", "us" and "our" refer to that company.

Eligibility & accounts

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
You must provide accurate, current, and complete information and keep it up to date.
You are responsible for the security of your password and for all activity under your account. Notify us immediately at office@allcare4u.co.uk if you suspect unauthorised access.
One personal account per person. Caregivers and families may hold one account each in either capacity but not multiple.

Our role as a marketplace

Caregivers on SpecialCarer are self-employed independent contractors, not our employees, agents, or partners.
Each booking is a direct contract between a caregiver and a family. We facilitate the booking and the payment but we are not a party to the care that is delivered.
We vet caregivers (see Background checks), but we do not warrant the suitability, judgement, or behaviour of any individual user. Families remain responsible for their own due diligence.

If you are a caregiver

You must complete the country-specific background-check bundle before you can accept paid bookings.
You must hold all licences, insurance, and immigration permissions required to deliver the services you list.
You are responsible for your own taxes. In the UK that includes self-assessment tax returns and National Insurance contributions. In the US, SpecialCarer will issue a Form 1099-NEC where annual earnings exceed the IRS threshold; you remain responsible for income and self-employment tax filings.
Payouts are processed via Stripe Connect. By onboarding to payouts you also agree to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement.
Funds are held by SpecialCarer (via Stripe) until the shift is complete and a 24-hour review window has passed, at which point your share (the booking total minus the platform commission) is released to your Stripe Connect account for payout.
You must keep accurate records of hours worked and respond honestly to any incident review.

If you are a family/seeker

You are responsible for accurately describing the care need, the home environment, and any health or safety risks the caregiver should know about.
You agree to pay the booking total when you book. Payments are captured by SpecialCarer (via Stripe) and held until the shift is complete.
You may dispute a charge within 24 hours of the scheduled shift end (see Cancellations & refunds).
You agree not to circumvent the platform — you must not arrange or pay for off-platform shifts with a caregiver you met on SpecialCarer for at least 12 months after first contact.

Bookings, fees & payments

The booking total includes the caregiver's rate × hours, plus our platform commission (currently 30%).
Payment is captured at the time of booking via Stripe. SpecialCarer holds the funds until the shift completes plus a 24-hour review window before releasing the caregiver's share.
Currency is GBP for UK bookings and USD for US bookings.
Receipts and invoices are available in your dashboard at any time.

Cancellations & refunds

Family-initiated cancellations:
- More than 24 hours before scheduled start: full refund.
- Less than 24 hours before scheduled start: 50% refund (the caregiver receives 50% × their share).
- No-show or after start: no refund except in the circumstances below.
Caregiver-initiated cancellations: full refund to the family. Repeated late cancellations may result in account suspension.
Force majeure: emergencies (illness, severe weather, family bereavement, public-transport disruption that made attendance impossible) are reviewed case-by-case and full refunds may be granted at our discretion.
Disputes: contact disputes@allcare4u.co.uk within 24 hours of the scheduled shift end. We may pause the payout to the caregiver until the dispute is resolved.

Background checks

Caregivers must clear a country-specific background-check bundle before they can accept paid bookings:

UK: Enhanced DBS + Children & Adults Barred Lists, Right to Work, Digital Identity verification.
US: criminal history (county + federal), healthcare-sanctions screening, optional MVR.

We pay the vendor fee. The clearance status is shown to families on the caregiver profile. A clear background check is a snapshot in time and does not guarantee future conduct.

Live tracking during shifts

While a shift is in its scheduled window the caregiver may share live location with the booking family via the SpecialCarer app. This is opt-in for each booking. Tracking is automatically clamped to the period from 15 minutes before the scheduled start to 15 minutes after the scheduled end. See the privacy policy for full detail.

Prohibited conduct

You agree not to:

Use SpecialCarer for any unlawful purpose, including human trafficking, exploitation, harassment, or discrimination.
Misrepresent your identity, qualifications, immigration status, or background.
Bypass safety, payment, or vetting controls.
Solicit payments off-platform from users you met through SpecialCarer (see family obligations).
Scrape, copy, or resell platform data.
Upload malware, spam, defamatory content, or content that infringes another person's rights.

Your content

You retain all rights to the content you upload (profile photos, bio, messages, reviews). You grant SpecialCarer a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to host, display, and transmit that content as needed to operate the service.

Intellectual property

The SpecialCarer name, logo, brand, software, and underlying technology are owned by All Care 4 U Group Limited or its licensors. Nothing in these Terms grants you ownership of them.

Disclaimers

The service is provided "as is". To the fullest extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties (express or implied), including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

Care provided by caregivers is not medical care. SpecialCarer is not a healthcare provider, a regulated care agency, an employment agency, or an introductory agency under the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations.

Limitation of liability

Nothing in these Terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Subject to that, our total aggregate liability to you in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of (a) the platform commission we collected from you in that period and (b) £100 (or US$120). We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, lost profits, lost savings, or loss of data.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless All Care 4 U Group Limited and its officers, employees, and processors from claims, losses, and expenses arising out of (a) your breach of these Terms, (b) your conduct on or off the platform in connection with a booking, or (c) your violation of any law or third-party right.

Termination

You can close your account at /account/delete at any time. We can suspend or terminate your account immediately if you breach these Terms, if a background check fails, or if continuing to host you on the platform would expose other users to material risk. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (payment obligations, IP, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, governing law) will survive.

Disputes & governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that consumer-protection law in your country of residence may give you the right to bring proceedings in your local courts.

We strongly prefer to resolve disputes informally. Email disputes@allcare4u.co.uk and we will respond within 14 days.

Additional US terms

If you reside in the United States the following also apply:

The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation of any arbitration clause.
You and SpecialCarer agree to resolve disputes arising under these Terms by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Rules, except that either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court. You waive the right to participate in a class action.
Arbitration takes place in the venue closest to your residence or remotely. SpecialCarer covers AAA filing fees for claims under US$10,000.
You may opt out of this arbitration provision by emailing legal@allcare4u.co.uk within 30 days of creating your account, with the subject "Arbitration opt-out".

Changes to these Terms

We will post any changes here and bump the "last updated" date. For material changes affecting your rights we will give at least 14 days' notice by email to active account holders. Continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance.

Contact

General office: office@allcare4u.co.uk
Legal: legal@allcare4u.co.uk
Disputes: disputes@allcare4u.co.uk
Post: All Care 4 U Group Limited, 85 Great Portland Street, London, England, W1W 7LT