App Terms of Service

1. Company Information

These Terms of Service govern your use of the Qruuze platform, operated by:

2. Definitions

• •"Platform" means the Qruuze mobile application, website, and all associated services operated by Qruuze Ltd.
• •"Host" means a registered user who offers seats in their private vehicle for a journey and lists that journey on the Platform.
• •"Passenger" means a registered user who requests and books a seat in a Host's vehicle through the Platform.
• •"Ride" means a journey listed by a Host on the Platform.
• •"Booking" means a confirmed reservation made by a Passenger for a seat on a Ride.
• •"Platform Fee" means the fee charged to Passengers per seat booked, currently set at £2.00 per seat, which is non-refundable once charged, except as set out in Section 6.3.
• •"Ride Cost" means the cost charged to a Passenger for the journey itself, calculated based on the route distance and the Host's chosen price per mile.
• •"User", "you", or "your" means any registered individual using the Platform, whether as a Host, Passenger, or both.
• •"We", "us", or "our" means Qruuze Ltd.

3. Eligibility and Account Registration

3.1 Age Requirement

You must be at least 18 years of age to register for and use the Qruuze Platform. By creating an account, you confirm that you are 18 or older. We reserve the right to terminate any account where this requirement is found to have been breached.

3.2 Account Registration

To use the Platform, you must create an account and provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information including your name, email address, phone number, date of birth, and gender. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account.

3.3 Host Verification

To list Rides as a Host, you must complete our driver verification process, which includes:

• •Uploading a valid UK driving licence.
• •Providing a vehicle registration and associated details.
• •Connecting a bank account via Stripe to receive earnings.
• •Adding a payment card to your account. This is required so that Qruuze can charge cancellation penalties in the event that you cancel a confirmed booking.

Verification is conducted manually by Qruuze Ltd. We reserve the right to reject any application without providing a reason. Hosting privileges may be suspended or revoked at any time if a user is found to have provided false information or violated these Terms.

3.4 Passenger Verification

Passengers are required to verify their email address and phone number. Verified Passengers receive a Verified Passenger badge, which increases trust within the community.

4. Nature of the Qruuze Platform

4.1 Peer-to-Peer Carpooling

Qruuze is a peer-to-peer carpooling platform. We connect private individuals who are already planning a journey and wish to share the cost of that journey with others travelling in the same direction. Qruuze is not a taxi service, private hire vehicle operator, or transport provider.

4.2 Cost-Sharing Only

Hosts may only charge an amount that represents a fair share of the actual journey costs, including fuel, insurance contribution, and vehicle wear. Hosts must not use the Platform to generate a profit from carrying passengers. Charging amounts that generate profit may constitute operating an unlicensed private hire vehicle service under the Transport Act 1985 and related legislation, which is a criminal offence.

4.3 No Employment Relationship

Hosts are not employees, agents, or contractors of Qruuze Ltd. Qruuze provides a technology platform only. We do not control the manner in which Rides are conducted and are not responsible for the actions of Hosts or Passengers.

4a. Women-Only Rides

Qruuze offers an optional Women-Only Rides feature which allows female Hosts to restrict bookings to female Passengers only, and allows female Passengers to filter for Women-Only Rides.

This feature is provided under the single-sex services exemption of the Equality Act 2010 (Schedule 3, Part 7) on the grounds of privacy and personal safety. Participation in this feature is entirely voluntary for both Hosts and Passengers.

Gender is collected as a mandatory field at the point of account registration. Where a user identifies as female, they may access the Women-Only Rides feature. This data constitutes special category personal data under UK GDPR and is processed only on the basis of explicit consent given at registration, which may be withdrawn at any time by contacting us at support@qruuze.co.uk.

5. Pricing, Fees, and Payments

5.1 Platform Fee

When a Passenger's booking request is accepted by a Host, a Platform Fee of £2.00 per seat is charged immediately to the Passenger's payment method. This fee is retained by Qruuze Ltd and is non-refundable under any circumstances, except as set out in Section 6.3 or where required by applicable law.

5.2 Ride Cost

The Ride Cost is calculated based on the Mapbox-calculated route distance between the agreed pickup and drop-off points and the Host's chosen price per mile. The Ride Cost is charged to the Passenger's payment card 24 hours before the scheduled departure time.

5.3 Host Earnings

Hosts receive 85% of the total Ride Cost paid by Passengers. Qruuze Ltd retains 15% as a service fee. Earnings are held for a period of 7 days following completion of the Ride before being transferred to the Host's connected bank account via Stripe Connect.

5.4 Payment Processing

All payments are processed through Stripe, a third-party payment provider. Qruuze Ltd operates as a Stripe Connect platform. Hosts who wish to receive earnings must agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement in addition to these Terms. By using the Platform, you agree to Stripe's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Qruuze Ltd does not store your full card details and is not responsible for delays in payouts caused by Stripe or by banking processing times.

5.5 App Credits

Qruuze may issue App Credits to users as compensation for certain events, such as Host cancellations or referral rewards. App Credits have no cash value, are non-transferable, and may be applied to future Platform Fees at checkout.

5.6 Referral Programme

Users may refer new users to the Platform using a unique referral code. When a referred user completes their first Ride, both the referrer and the referred user receive £3.00 in App Credits. Qruuze reserves the right to modify or terminate the referral programme at any time.

Self-referral, the creation of fake accounts, and any other form of referral fraud is strictly prohibited. Qruuze Ltd reserves the right to void any referral credits and suspend or permanently ban any account where abuse is suspected, without notice or compensation.

5.7 Host No-Show Penalty

Where a no-show dispute raised by a Passenger is upheld by Qruuze Ltd following review, the following financial penalties apply to the Host:

• •£5.00 per booked seat will be charged to the Host's payment card, or deducted from their pending balance if the card charge fails.
• •£2.00 per booked seat of this amount is issued to the affected Passenger as App Credits by way of compensation.
• •£3.00 per booked seat is retained by Qruuze Ltd as an administration and compensation fee.

Hosts will be notified by push notification and email when a penalty is applied. Penalties are applied immediately upon the decision being made by Qruuze Ltd and are non-refundable except where Qruuze determines an error has been made.

6. Booking, Cancellation, and Refunds

6.1 Booking Process

Passengers submit a ride request to a Host. The Host may accept or decline the request. Upon acceptance, the Platform Fee is charged immediately and the Passenger's booking is confirmed. The Ride Cost is charged 24 hours before departure.

6.2 Passenger Cancellations

If a Passenger cancels a confirmed Booking, the following refund policy applies to the Ride Cost only. The Platform Fee is non-refundable in all circumstances.

6.3 Host Cancellations

Hosts may cancel a Ride at any time. When a Host cancels:

• •The Passenger receives a full refund of the Ride Cost to their payment card.
• •The Platform Fee is always refunded to the Passenger as App Credits, regardless of when the Host cancels.
• •If the Host cancels more than 24 hours before departure with confirmed Passengers: Platform Fee is retained by Qruuze. A cancellation penalty of £1.00 per confirmed seat is deducted from the Host's pending earnings.
• •If the Host cancels within 24 hours of departure with confirmed Passengers: Platform Fee refunded as App Credits. Host penalised £5.00 per confirmed seat — £2.00 per seat goes to affected Passengers as App Credits, £3.00 per seat is retained by Qruuze Ltd.

6.4 Host Cancellation After Passenger's Early Exit Fee

If a Passenger previously cancelled their Booking within the 12–24 hour or less-than-12-hour window and paid a cancellation fee, and the Host subsequently cancels the entire Ride, the Host's share of that cancellation fee is returned to the affected Passenger as App Credits. The portion retained by Qruuze from the original cancellation is not returned.

• •12–24 hour window example: Passenger paid 50% cancellation fee. Host received 25% of Ride Cost. If Host later cancels, that 25% is returned to the Passenger as App Credits.
• •Less than 12 hour window example: Passenger paid 75% cancellation fee. Host received 60% of that remainder. If Host later cancels, that amount is returned to the Passenger as App Credits.
• •Qruuze's share of the original cancellation fee is always retained and is non-refundable.

6.5 Ride Removal

If a Ride reaches its scheduled departure time with no confirmed Passengers, it will be automatically removed from the Platform. The Host will receive a notification informing them of this.

7. Safety, Conduct, and Community Standards

7.1 Safety PIN

Each confirmed Booking is assigned a unique 4-digit Safety PIN. The Host must verify this PIN with the Passenger at the point of pickup before commencing the journey. This is a mandatory safety step.

7.2 No-Show Policy — Passenger No-Show

If a Passenger fails to appear at their designated pickup point after the Host has confirmed arrival, the Host may mark the Passenger as a no-show via the app. No refund is issued. The Host receives 50% of the Ride Cost. Qruuze retains the remaining 50% of the Ride Cost plus the Platform Fee. Repeated no-shows may result in account suspension.

7.3 No-Show Dispute — Host No-Show

If a Passenger believes the Host has failed to arrive at the agreed pickup point, the following process applies:

• •The Passenger must first press "I'm At My Pickup" in the app to confirm their presence at the pickup point. This records the Passenger's GPS location at that time.
• •After waiting at least 15 minutes from the time they confirmed their arrival, the Passenger may press "Host Not Here Yet" to report a potential no-show.
• •The app will automatically check the Host's last known GPS location and movement history before allowing the report to proceed. If the Host is within 500 metres of the pickup point or approaching it, the report will be blocked.
• •If the report proceeds, a no-show dispute is created and reviewed by Qruuze Ltd. Both the Host and Passenger are notified immediately.
• •If the dispute is upheld in favour of the Passenger: full refund of Ride Cost issued, Platform Fee restored as App Credits, and £2.00 per seat compensation added to the Passenger's App Credits. A penalty of £5.00 per booked seat will be charged to the Host's payment card, or deducted from their pending balance if the card charge fails. If the dispute is dismissed, no refund or penalty is applied.
• •All dispute decisions made by Qruuze Ltd are final, subject to your statutory rights under applicable UK law.

7.4 Acceptable Use

The following conduct is strictly prohibited:

• •Harassment, abuse, discrimination, or threatening behaviour of any kind.
• •Transporting illegal goods or substances.
• •Using the Platform to facilitate unlicensed private hire or commercial transport.
• •Creating fake accounts, manipulating ratings, or providing false information.
• •Soliciting payments outside of the Platform.
• •Recording other users without their consent.

7.5 Rating System

All users start with a rating of 4.0 out of 5.0. Ratings adjust by +0.05 for positive ratings (4 or 5 stars), remain neutral for 3-star ratings, and decrease by 0.05 for negative ratings (1 or 2 stars). Users whose rating falls to 3.5 or below will receive a warning. Users whose rating falls to 2.9 or below will have their account suspended.

7.6 Host Strikes

Hosts may receive strikes as a result of upheld no-show disputes:

• •1 strike: Warning issued. No immediate restriction.
• •2 strikes: Hosting privileges temporarily suspended pending review.
• •3 or more strikes: Permanent removal of hosting privileges and account suspension.

7.7 Account Suspension and Banning

Qruuze Ltd reserves the right to suspend or permanently ban any user account at any time, with or without notice, where a user is found to have violated these Terms, received a sufficiently low rating, accumulated strikes as a Host, or engaged in behaviour that poses a risk to other users or the integrity of the Platform.

8. Host and Driver Compliance

8.1 Driving Licence

All Hosts must hold a valid UK driving licence for the category of vehicle they intend to use. Hosts must inform Qruuze immediately if their licence is revoked, suspended, or subject to any endorsements that may affect their ability to drive legally.

8.2 Vehicle Insurance

Hosts are solely responsible for ensuring that their vehicle insurance policy covers the carriage of passengers for cost-sharing purposes. Standard fully comprehensive policies may not automatically include this cover. Hosts must check with their insurer and obtain any necessary additional cover before listing Rides.

Qruuze Ltd does not verify Host insurance and accepts absolutely no liability for any losses, injuries, damages, claims, or expenses of any kind arising from inadequate, invalid, or absent insurance cover.

8.3 Vehicle Roadworthiness

Hosts must ensure their vehicle is roadworthy, has a valid MOT certificate (where required), and holds a current Vehicle Excise Duty (road tax) licence.

8.4 HMRC and Tax

Hosts are responsible for understanding and complying with their obligations under HMRC's approved mileage allowance payment (AMAP) rates. Hosting on Qruuze at reasonable cost-sharing rates is generally considered not to be taxable income. However, Qruuze Ltd does not provide tax advice and Hosts should consult a qualified accountant or HMRC directly if uncertain of their obligations.

9. Intellectual Property

All intellectual property rights in the Qruuze Platform, including the application, brand, logo, design, and software, are owned by or licensed to Qruuze Ltd. You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to use the Platform for its intended purposes only. You may not copy, reproduce, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from any part of the Platform without our prior written consent.

10. Limitation of Liability

10.1 Platform Role

Qruuze Ltd is a technology intermediary only. We do not operate vehicles, employ Hosts, or guarantee the safety, punctuality, or quality of any Ride.

10.2 Limitation

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Qruuze Ltd's total liability to any user in connection with the Platform shall not exceed the total amount of Platform Fees paid by that user in the 12 months preceding the relevant claim.

10.3 Excluded Losses

We shall not be liable for any indirect, consequential, special, or incidental losses, including loss of profits, loss of data, or loss of opportunity, whether arising in contract, tort, or otherwise.

10.4 Consumer Rights

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded under the laws of England and Wales.

11. Disputes Between Users

Qruuze Ltd provides an in-app customer support system for users to raise concerns, including a live chat feature accessible via the Contact Us section of the app. Where a dispute arises between a Host and a Passenger, we will attempt to assist in resolving the matter at our discretion. However, Qruuze Ltd is not obligated to mediate disputes and any decision we make is final.

Support conversations are conducted between the user and Qruuze Ltd staff only. All support chats are private and are retained for a reasonable period for quality assurance and regulatory compliance purposes. Once a support case is marked as resolved by our team, users may open a new conversation at any time if further assistance is required.

12. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time. Where we make material changes, we will notify you via the application or by email. Your continued use of the Platform following notification of changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the revised Terms, you must stop using the Platform.

13. Governing Law and Jurisdiction

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising under or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.