Terms of Service

By accessing or using the PhoneSteward website and services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, you must not use our services.

• These terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and PhoneSteward Ltd.
• By creating an account, you confirm you are at least 18 years old and have the authority to bind your organisation to these terms.
• We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised terms.

PhoneSteward provides professional virtual receptionist services, including:

• Live call answering by trained UK-based receptionists during agreed service hours.
• Call screening, qualification, and message-taking based on your custom scripts.
• Appointment scheduling via integration with your calendar and booking systems.
• Call recording, transcription, and note delivery via dashboard, email, or SMS.
• CRM and case management integrations (Clio, Salesforce, HubSpot, etc.).
• Dashboard access for real-time call activity, analytics, and account management.

To use our services, you must create an account and provide accurate, complete information.

• You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.
• You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account.
• We reserve the right to suspend accounts where we suspect unauthorised use or security breaches.
• You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account.

Our services are provided on a subscription basis. Billing terms are as follows:

• Subscription plans — billed monthly or annually as selected at sign-up. Annual plans receive a discount as advertised.
• Overage charges — calls exceeding your plan's included minutes are billed at the per-minute rate specified in your plan.
• Payment — all fees are charged in GBP via Stripe. Payment is due at the start of each billing period.
• Failed payments — if payment fails, we will attempt to charge again for up to 7 days. After that, your service may be suspended.
• Taxes — all prices are exclusive of VAT, which will be added where applicable.

We may offer a free trial period for new accounts:

• Trial duration and included features are specified at sign-up.
• No payment is required during the trial period. You must provide payment details to continue after the trial ends.
• We will notify you at least 3 days before your trial expires.
• If you do not subscribe, your account will be deactivated and data retained for 30 days before deletion.

When using our services, you agree to:

• Provide accurate call handling instructions and keep them up to date.
• Not use the service for any unlawful, fraudulent, or harmful purpose.
• Not attempt to overload, disrupt, or gain unauthorised access to our systems.
• Comply with all applicable laws regarding call recording, data protection, and telecommunications.
• Inform your callers of call recording where required by law (we provide standard disclosures, but you are responsible for compliance in your jurisdiction).

All intellectual property rights in PhoneSteward's platform, software, branding, and content remain our property.

• We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the dashboard during your subscription.
• You retain ownership of your call data, recordings, transcriptions, and any custom scripts you provide.
• You grant us a licence to use your data solely for the purpose of providing and improving our services.
• You may not copy, modify, distribute, or reverse-engineer any part of our platform.

Both parties agree to maintain the confidentiality of any proprietary or sensitive information exchanged during the course of the service:

• Our receptionists are trained and contractually bound to handle all call information confidentially.
• We will not disclose your business information to third parties except as required to provide the service or as required by law.
• You agree not to disclose our proprietary processes, pricing structures, or internal systems.

We strive to maintain high service availability and call quality:

• Uptime target — 99.9% platform availability, measured monthly (excluding scheduled maintenance).
• Average answer time — we target answering calls within 10 seconds during agreed service hours.
• Scheduled maintenance — we will provide at least 48 hours' notice for planned maintenance windows.
• Service credits — if uptime falls below 99.5% in any calendar month, you may request a pro-rata credit for the affected period.

To the fullest extent permitted by law:

• PhoneSteward shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from or related to your use of the service.
• Our total aggregate liability for any claim shall not exceed the fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the claim.
• We are not liable for losses arising from missed calls due to circumstances beyond our reasonable control (force majeure).
• Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death, personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PhoneSteward Ltd, its officers, directors, and employees from any claims, losses, or damages arising from:

• Your breach of these Terms of Service.
• Your use of the services in a manner not authorised by these terms.
• Any content or instructions you provide that infringe third-party rights.
• Your failure to comply with applicable laws, including data protection regulations.

Either party may terminate the subscription as follows:

• By you — cancel anytime via the dashboard or by contacting support. Your service continues until the end of the current billing period.
• By us — we may terminate or suspend your account immediately if you breach these terms, fail to pay fees, or use the service in a way that harms our platform or other users.
• Effect of termination — upon termination, your access to the dashboard and services will cease. We will retain your data for 30 days, during which you may export it. After 30 days, data is permanently deleted.
• Refunds — no refunds are provided for partial billing periods, except where required by applicable consumer protection law.

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales:

• Any disputes arising from these terms or the services shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.
• Before initiating legal proceedings, both parties agree to attempt resolution through good-faith negotiation for at least 30 days.
• Nothing in this clause prevents either party from seeking injunctive or other equitable relief where necessary.

The following general provisions apply to these terms:

• Entire agreement — these terms, together with the Privacy Policy and any signed order forms, constitute the entire agreement between you and PhoneSteward.
• Severability — if any provision is found invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions continue in full force.
• No waiver — failure to enforce any right under these terms does not constitute a waiver of that right.
• Assignment — you may not assign your rights under these terms without our written consent. We may assign our rights in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.