Terms.

Notch is run by [company or trading name: to fill in], [address: to fill in] ("we", "us"). You can reach us at [contact email: to fill in].

These terms apply when you use Notch: the free tree protection check, asking for quotes as a homeowner, the waitlist, or the app as a tree surgeon. By using Notch you agree to them. If you don't agree, please don't use it.

Notch is in a pilot. Features may change, and we may pause or end parts of the service, telling you where we can.

The check ("Is my tree protected?" and "Check a tree") uses open planning data published by the UK government at planning.data.gov.uk. That data is incomplete and not every council has published its Tree Preservation Orders or conservation areas, so:

• a result is a guide to the risk, never a confirmation that a tree is or isn't protected;
• "Low" means nothing was found in the data, not that the tree is safe to cut;
• you must check with the local planning authority before any work on a tree that might be protected.

Working on a protected tree without consent can be a criminal offence. Responsibility for checking and getting consent stays with whoever does or orders the work. The check contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

When you ask for quotes, we share your request and photos with tree surgeons on Notch who cover your area. Up to 3 can choose to quote; your name and contact details are shown only to those who do. Requests close after 14 days.

Quotes come from the tree surgeons, not from us. If you accept one, your contract for the work is with that tree surgeon. We are not a party to it, we don't carry out or supervise the work, and we don't take payments: any deposit or payment goes directly to the tree surgeon.

Quotes based on photos may change after the tree surgeon has seen the job; many will say they are subject to a site visit. Your legal rights, including any right to cancel a contract made away from the tree surgeon's premises, are with the tree surgeon.

Tree surgeons join Notch by invitation. We ask them about their work and insurance, but we don't guarantee their work, qualifications or insurance. Please check these with them before work starts.

Please only ask for quotes for trees you own or have permission to have worked on, and only send photos you have the right to share.

Where no tree surgeon on Notch covers your area yet, you can join the waitlist. We'll send you one message when one does. Joining doesn't commit you to anything, and we can't promise when, or whether, a tree surgeon will cover your area.

Accounts are by invitation during the pilot. Keep your sign-in to yourself; you're responsible for what is done with your account. You must be running a genuine tree surgery business and hold the insurance your work requires.

You set your prices. Notch suggests a draft price from your day rate and the job details, and its AI reads photos to suggest heights, access, hazards and species. These are guesses to save you typing: check them. The price, the description of the work and the quote you send are yours, and so are the contracts you make with your customers.

You are responsible for checking whether a tree is protected and for getting any consent needed, whatever Notch's check says. When the check shows a High risk, Notch asks you to confirm you have checked or will check with the council before sending.

For your own customers' details (names, contact details, addresses and photos in your quotes), you decide how they're used and we process them for you, to provide Notch. The privacy notice explains this.

The marketplace. When you take a place on a homeowner's request, you get their contact details to quote them. Use them only for that job, follow the law on contacting people (including marketing rules), and treat them as your own customer data from then on.

Notch is free during the pilot. We'll tell you in advance, and ask you to agree, before any charges start.

• Don't send false requests, quotes or details, or use someone else's details.
• Don't try to get around the limits, reach data that isn't yours, or overload or copy the service with scripts.
• Don't upload anything unlawful, offensive, or that you don't have the right to share.

We provide Notch with reasonable care and skill, but during the pilot it may sometimes be unavailable or contain mistakes. Information from the protection check, AI suggestions and draft prices is a guide only.

If you are a consumer, nothing in these terms affects your legal rights. We are not responsible for losses that weren't foreseeable, for the work tree surgeons do, or for agreements between homeowners and tree surgeons.

If you use Notch for business, we aren't liable for loss of profit, business or opportunity, and our total liability is limited to [a cap, e.g. £100 or fees paid in the last 12 months: to fill in].

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else the law doesn't allow us to limit.

You can stop using Notch at any time. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms, telling you why where we can.

We may update these terms. We'll show the date of the change at the top, and tell tree surgeons by email about anything important first.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and its courts can deal with any dispute. If you live elsewhere in the UK, you may also bring a claim where you live.