Terms of Service

By creating an account or using the Shwaber website, mobile app, or any related services (collectively, the “Service”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”) and our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, do not use the Service.

These Terms form a contract between you and Shwaber, Inc. (“Shwaber,” “we,” “us”).

Shwaber is a marketplace. We connect consumers (“Customers”) who post local-service jobs with independent service providers (“Pros”) who bid on and perform those jobs.

Pros are independent contractors, not employees, agents, partners, or franchisees of Shwaber. We don’t employ Pros, set their work schedules, train them, or supervise their work. We don’t guarantee the quality, timing, legality, or outcome of any service performed.

Any agreement to perform a job is directly between a Customer and a Pro. Shwaber facilitates payment, escrow, and dispute resolution, but is not a party to the underlying services contract.

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
• You must be able to form a legally binding contract under applicable law.
• If you’re signing up on behalf of a business, you represent that you have authority to bind that business.
• You may not use Shwaber if you’ve been previously suspended or removed.

You’re responsible for the activity that happens under your account. Keep your password confidential and notify us immediately at legal@shwaber.com if you suspect unauthorized use.

You agree that the information you provide (name, email, phone, address, business details) is accurate and up to date. Pros who provide services must verify their email and identity before accepting payouts.

• Describe the job honestly. Don’t exaggerate scope, omit safety hazards, or hide budget constraints to extract lower bids you can’t pay.
• You can accept or decline any bid. Accepting a bid forms a binding agreement with the Pro for the work described.
• When you accept a bid you authorize Shwaber to charge your payment method for the agreed amount plus any applicable taxes and fees. Funds are held in escrow until you confirm completion.
• You agree to release escrowed funds promptly when work is completed as agreed. Disputes are governed by Section 9.

• You represent that you hold all required licenses, permits, certifications, and insurance to perform the services you bid on, and that you’ll comply with all applicable laws, including tax laws.
• You set your own bid prices. Bids are binding once accepted; you must perform the agreed services or face cancellation, refund, and rating consequences.
• Shwaber charges a platform fee on completed transactions (currently disclosed at bid acceptance; subject to change with notice). Net payouts are remitted via our payment processor (Stripe Connect) per your linked account.
• You’re solely responsible for your own taxes, including any 1099 reporting that may apply.

Shwaber’s safeguards (escrow, dispute resolution, reviews, fraud monitoring) only work when conversations and payments happen on Shwaber. You agree not to:

• Solicit or accept payment for jobs originating on Shwaber outside of the platform’s payment system.
• Share personal contact info (phone, email, off-site links) in messages for the purpose of moving conversations or payments off-platform. Our chat actively detects and blocks these patterns.

Violations may result in account suspension and forfeiture of any pending payouts.

Customers may cancel a job before a Pro begins work for a full refund of escrowed funds. Cancellation after work has begun may result in a partial refund based on the work performed; the Pro and Customer should attempt to agree on a fair amount, and Shwaber may mediate.

Pros may decline or withdraw a bid before the Customer accepts it without penalty. Withdrawing after acceptance, or no-showing, may result in penalty fees and rating consequences.

If a Customer and Pro disagree about the work performed or payment owed, either party may open a dispute through the platform within fourteen (14) days of job completion. Shwaber will review evidence (chat history, photos, third- party invoices) and make a good-faith determination about release of escrowed funds.

Shwaber’s determination is binding on the parties as to release of escrow but does not preclude either party from pursuing remedies against the other outside the platform.

You agree not to:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
• Post discriminatory, harassing, threatening, fraudulent, or sexually explicit content.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity.
• Scrape, crawl, or otherwise extract data from the Service without our written permission.
• Probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Shwaber system, or attempt to bypass any security measure.
• Use the Service to send spam, phishing, or unsolicited commercial messages.

You retain ownership of content you post (job descriptions, photos, reviews, profile content). By posting it, you grant Shwaber a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, modify, display, and distribute that content as needed to operate and promote the Service.

You represent that you have the rights to grant this license, and that the content doesn’t infringe any third-party rights.

Reviews must reflect your honest, first-hand experience. You may not pay for, solicit, exchange, or coordinate reviews. Shwaber may remove reviews that violate these Terms, but is not obligated to do so.

The Shwaber name, logo, brand assets, and all software, text, graphics, and other materials we publish are our property (or our licensors’) and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws. We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive license to use the Service for its intended purpose. Nothing in these Terms transfers any of our intellectual property to you.

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or uninterrupted operation.

Shwaber does not warrant the quality, safety, legality, or outcome of any service performed by a Pro, nor the accuracy of any user-submitted content. You use the Service at your own risk.

To the maximum extent permitted by law, Shwaber will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits, revenue, data, or goodwill, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service.

Shwaber’s total liability to you for any claim arising out of or relating to the Service or these Terms will not exceed the greater of (a) the total fees you paid to Shwaber in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim, or (b) one hundred US dollars (US$100).

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Shwaber, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of your use of the Service, your violation of these Terms, your violation of any third-party right, or any dispute between you and another user.

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate your account, or restrict your access, for any reason, including violation of these Terms or risk to other users. Pending escrow balances will be handled per Section 9. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (e.g. disclaimers, limitation of liability, dispute resolution) will survive.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Pennsylvania, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-laws provisions.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that isn’t resolved through informal good- faith negotiation will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules, seated in Pennsylvania. The arbitrator’s decision is final and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

You and Shwaber waive any right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or representative proceeding.

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing legal@shwaber.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms.

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced in-app or by email at least 14 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

Questions about these Terms? Email us at legal@shwaber.com.