Marketplace Terms of Use

Important - please read

These Terms form a legally binding agreement between you and BOHAN Machines Limited. In particular, section 6 (payment), section 7 (keeping business on the platform), section 11 (disclaimers), section 12 (limits on our liability) and section 13 (release and indemnity) affect your legal rights. By creating an account or using the marketplace you confirm that you have read and understood them.

The marketplace is operated by BOHAN Machines Limited ("BOHAN", "we", "us"). These Terms apply together with the Marketplace Privacy Notice and, for specialists, the Specialist Agreement. If you do not agree, do not use the marketplace. These Terms cover the marketplace only; purchases from our shop and our own consulting and field services are covered by our Terms of Sale and Terms of Service.

1. What the marketplace is

• The marketplace is an online platform that introduces customers who need industrial equipment service to independent specialists, and provides tools to post jobs, request a specialist, communicate, track jobs, price work, invoice, collect payment and leave reviews.
• BOHAN is not a party to the contract for services between a customer and a specialist (a "Service Contract"). That contract is formed directly between them when a specialist is assigned to a job. BOHAN does not itself perform, supervise, direct or guarantee the work, and nothing on the marketplace is engineering, safety, legal or tax advice.
• We may add, change, suspend or remove features, categories and listings at any time.

2. Accounts

• You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding contract. If you sign up for a business, you confirm you are authorised to bind it, and that business is bound by these Terms.
• Give accurate and complete information and keep it current. Keep your password private. You are responsible for everything done through your account. Tell us promptly if you suspect unauthorised use.
• We may refuse or cancel any registration. One person or business should not hold more than one account of the same type without our written agreement.
• You may close your account at any time, subject to finishing or cancelling jobs in progress and paying amounts owing.

3. Specialists and verification

• Specialists are independent businesses or individuals, not employees, agents, partners or franchisees of BOHAN.
• An approved or "verified" profile means only that, at the time of review, our team looked at the documents the specialist uploaded. It is not an endorsement, certification, guarantee of competence, insurance, licence validity or outcome. Documents can expire or change after we review them.
• Customers are solely responsible for deciding whether a specialist is suitable for their job, for checking any qualifications, licences, insurance and references they consider important, and for supervising the work on their site.

4. Jobs, direct requests and assignment

• Customers must describe each job honestly and completely, including hazards, access rules, permits, lock-out requirements and any information a competent specialist needs. Customers are responsible for the safety and condition of their site and equipment, for obtaining permissions, and for having suitable insurance.
• Specialists see job details but not the customer’s identity. Do not put your name, company, personal contact details or exact address in job titles, descriptions or file names unless the job truly requires it; we may remove them.
• A specialist may express interest in a posted job, or accept or decline a direct request. A job is assigned only when the customer chooses a specialist (or a requested specialist accepts) and the marketplace records the assignment.
• Scope, schedule or hour changes must be agreed through the job record so that both sides and BOHAN have the same information. Work outside the recorded scope is at the risk of the person who asked for it.
• Cancellation: a customer may cancel before work starts. If a customer cancels or is not ready within 24 hours of the scheduled start, or after work has begun, the customer must pay for time worked and the specialist’s reasonable time and costs already incurred (up to two hours’ charges where no work was done), plus the platform fee on those amounts, unless the job record says otherwise.

5. Prices and fees

• Specialists set their own hourly rates. The price shown to a customer is the specialist’s rate plus BOHAN’s platform fee, shown as one price. Prices are in dollars and exclude applicable taxes, which are added where required.
• We may change our platform fee, categories, minimum charges or payment methods. A change applies to jobs posted after it takes effect, and we will give notice before it does.
• Customers are charged for approved time worked, agreed expenses, applicable taxes and any cancellation charges.

6. Payment

• BOHAN collects payment from customers as the specialist’s limited payment-collection agent and then pays the specialist. A customer’s payment to BOHAN discharges the customer’s obligation to the specialist for that amount. Specialists agree not to demand or accept payment for marketplace work in any other way.
• When a specialist marks a job complete, the customer has five business days to approve it or to dispute it in writing, with reasons, through the marketplace. A job not disputed in that time is treated as approved and invoiced. That approval is for payment purposes only and does not waive a customer’s claim against the specialist for latent or non-conforming work. Undisputed amounts remain payable on time even if part of an invoice is disputed; invoices may be disputed within five business days of receipt.
• Unless the invoice says otherwise, invoices are due on the invoice date. Overdue amounts bear simple interest at 1.5% per month (18% per year), or the maximum rate the law allows if lower, until paid, and the customer must pay our reasonable costs of collection, including legal fees on a solicitor-and-own-client basis.
• If a payment fails, is reversed or is charged back, the customer must immediately repay the amount plus a reasonable administrative fee and any fees we incur. We may set off amounts a user owes us against amounts we owe that user, suspend accounts, and refuse further jobs until the balance is cleared.
• Platform fees are earned on the amounts invoiced for a job (including any cancellation charges) and are non-refundable, except where we decide otherwise at our discretion. No fee is charged if a job ends before any charge arises. Refunds of amounts paid for work are handled through the dispute process below and, where approved, are paid back to the original payment method.
• If there is a dispute about a job, we may (but are not obliged to) help the customer and specialist reach agreement, and we may hold the disputed amount until it is resolved. Our help is not arbitration, and it does not make BOHAN responsible for the outcome. Our decisions about holding, releasing or refunding amounts held by us are final for the purposes of the marketplace, without limiting either party’s other legal rights against the other.
• Payment methods, timing, taxes and card processing are described further in our Payment Terms. A card-processing surcharge described there applies to marketplace payments only if it is shown to you before you pay, and it is not part of the "one price". If those documents conflict with this section for marketplace jobs, this section applies.

7. Keeping business on the platform

• The marketplace introduces customers and specialists to each other, and our fees pay for it. An "Introduction" happens when a customer and a specialist first connect through the marketplace, by a specialist responding to a posted job or by a direct request. From the Introduction until 12 months after the last job between that customer and that specialist on the marketplace (or 12 months after the Introduction, if they never did a job), neither may arrange, pay for or accept work between them outside the marketplace, and neither may solicit the other to do so.
• This does not apply to a relationship that existed before the Introduction and that the person can show in writing. It does not stop either of you working with others.
• If this section is breached, the person in breach must pay BOHAN the platform fees we would have earned, at the rate that would have applied, on the work done outside the marketplace, which is a genuine estimate of our loss, plus our reasonable costs of enforcing this section. We may also suspend or close the account and seek any other remedy the law allows, including an injunction. We may, in writing and at our discretion, agree to release a customer and specialist from this section in return for a fee.
• You may not use the marketplace to collect contacts for use outside it.

8. Reviews and your content

• You keep ownership of what you upload (job descriptions, photos, manuals, documents, profile text, reviews). You give BOHAN a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive licence to store, copy, display, adapt and use it to operate, secure, promote and improve the marketplace, and to keep it for as long as reasonably needed for those purposes and for legal reasons. Do not upload anything you do not have the right to share, and do not include other people’s personal information without their permission.
• Only the customer who had a job completed may review it, once per job, with a rating from 1 to 5 and optional comments. Reviews must be honest, based on the actual job, and must not contain contact details, threats, hate speech, confidential or private information about others, or anything unlawful. A customer chooses whether the review shows their first name and last initial or "Verified customer". Specialists see the review but never the customer’s identity, and may post one public reply.
• Do not offer or accept payment, discounts or other rewards for a particular rating, post reviews of your own work or a competitor’s, or pressure anyone over a review.
• We decide, in our discretion, what is displayed. We may edit, hide or remove any content, review, reply or profile that breaks these Terms, that we consider misleading or harmful, or that we are required to remove, and we have no duty to monitor content.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• break any law, or use the marketplace to defraud, harass or mislead anyone
• misrepresent your identity, qualifications, licences, insurance, experience or authority
• upload malware, scrape or copy the site, or try to access accounts, documents or data that are not yours
• interfere with the marketplace or try to get around its security, fees, privacy protections or identity controls
• try to find out a customer’s identity where the marketplace withholds it, or contact anyone outside the marketplace about a job or review to pressure them
• use the marketplace to compete with BOHAN by copying its listings, data or users

10. Safety, compliance and insurance

Industrial equipment involves real risk. Specialists are responsible for following applicable laws, codes and standards (including occupational health and safety rules), lock-out and safety procedures, and site rules. Customers are responsible for site conditions, for telling specialists about known hazards, and for supervising access to their equipment. Each user is responsible for holding the licences, permits, insurance and workers’ compensation coverage that their role requires. Nothing on the marketplace replaces professional judgement on site.

11. Disclaimers

• THE MARKETPLACE AND ALL CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE". TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, BOHAN DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES AND CONDITIONS, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING THOSE OF QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
• We do not promise the marketplace will be uninterrupted, secure or error free, that any job will be filled, started or finished, that any user is who they say they are, or that any specialist or customer will meet any standard of skill, safety, honesty or payment.
• We do not control and are not responsible for the conduct, work, statements, advice, quality, safety, timeliness or legality of any specialist or customer, or for any content or links from third parties. Any warranty on work is given by the specialist (if at all), not by BOHAN.
• Information, ratings and any automated suggestions on the marketplace are general and are not professional advice. You use them at your own risk.

12. Limits on our liability

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT LIMITS WHAT YOU CAN CLAIM FROM US.

• TO THE FULLEST EXTENT THE LAW ALLOWS, BOHAN AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, CONTRACTORS AND AFFILIATES ARE NOT LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE, PRODUCTION, USE, GOODWILL, BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY OR DATA, OR FOR DOWNTIME, EVEN IF WE WERE TOLD THEY WERE POSSIBLE.
• FOR ANY OTHER CLAIM RELATED TO THE MARKETPLACE, OUR TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU IN AGGREGATE IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE PLATFORM FEES BOHAN ACTUALLY RECEIVED FOR THE JOB THAT GAVE RISE TO THE CLAIM AND (B) ONE HUNDRED CANADIAN DOLLARS (CAD $100). FOR SPECIALISTS, THE SPECIALIST AGREEMENT’S CAP APPLIES INSTEAD.
• THESE LIMITS APPLY WHATEVER THE LEGAL BASIS OF THE CLAIM, INCLUDING CONTRACT, NEGLIGENCE AND OTHER TORT, AND EVEN IF A REMEDY FAILS OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE. They reflect a reasonable allocation of risk, and our fees would be higher without them.
• Nothing in these Terms limits liability for our fraud or wilful misconduct, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited. If you are an individual using the marketplace for personal, family or household purposes, any rights you have under consumer protection law that cannot be waived are not affected.
• Your claims about a specialist’s or customer’s work or conduct lie against that person, not BOHAN.

13. Release and indemnity

• You release BOHAN and its directors, officers, employees, contractors and affiliates from all claims, demands and damages arising from disputes or dealings between users, or from any work, act or omission of another user, except to the extent caused by BOHAN’s gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
• You will defend, indemnify and hold harmless BOHAN and its directors, officers, employees, contractors and affiliates against all claims, losses, damages, penalties and costs (including legal fees on a solicitor-and-own-client basis) arising from: your content, jobs or work; your breach of these Terms or the law; your negligence or wilful misconduct; the condition of your site or equipment; any injury, death or property damage connected with work you request or perform; or the acts of your workers or contractors, except to the extent caused by BOHAN’s gross negligence or wilful misconduct.
• We may take over the defence of any matter at your expense, and you will cooperate. You may not settle a claim that affects BOHAN without our written consent.

14. Suspension and termination

We may suspend, restrict or end any account, profile, job, review or access, with or without notice, if we reasonably believe these Terms have been or may be broken, there is a safety, fraud, legal or reputational risk, a specialist’s documents are invalid, payments are overdue, or for any other reasonable business reason, including ending the marketplace. Where we reasonably can, we will tell you why. Ending an account does not affect amounts owing or any section that by its nature continues, including sections 6, 7, 11, 12, 13 and 17.

15. Messages and electronic communication

You agree that we may communicate with you electronically, including by email and portal notices, and that these satisfy any legal requirement for writing. Notices to you are effective when sent to the email on your account; notices to us must be sent to machines@thebohan.com. We send service emails about your account and jobs (confirmations, assignments, reviews, password resets), which you cannot opt out of while you have an account. Marketing messages are sent only with your consent and always have an unsubscribe link.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. For material changes we will email you or show a notice in the portal, and the version number at the top of this page will change. Changes apply from the date stated, and to jobs already open unless the notice says otherwise. If you keep using the marketplace after a change takes effect, you accept it. If you do not agree, close your account.

17. Governing law and disputes

• These Terms are governed by the laws of the Province of Alberta and the federal laws of Canada that apply there.
• Before starting a claim, the person with the dispute must give the other written notice describing it and try in good faith to resolve it for at least 30 days. Time limits under the law keep running during this period.
• The courts of Alberta, sitting in Calgary, have exclusive jurisdiction, except that BOHAN may seek urgent injunctive relief in any court. Each party will bring claims against the other only in its own name and not as part of a class or representative action, to the extent the law allows.

18. General

• These Terms, together with the documents they refer to, are the entire agreement about the marketplace and replace earlier discussions. If a part is unenforceable, the rest still applies and the part will be read down to the extent needed.
• Our delay or failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of it. You may not assign or transfer your account or rights; BOHAN may assign these Terms to an affiliate or a successor to its business.
• We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events outside our reasonable control, including power or internet failure, supply or carrier disruption, labour disputes, severe weather, emergencies and government action.
• Nothing here makes anyone an employee, agent, partner or joint venturer of BOHAN, and no one other than the parties has rights under these Terms.

19. Contact

• BOHAN Machines Limited
• Email: machines@thebohan.com