18_VHMS_Customer_Terms_and_Deposit_Policy

Status: DRAFT v1.0 — for owner review before it becomes the binding click-through at sign-up. Replace "Very Handy Man Services" with the full legal name wherever a legal version lands.

Purpose

This document is the Customer Terms a new customer agrees to when creating a Very Handy Man Services (VHMS) account, before they can request their first booking. It exists to set clear expectations on billing, deposits, cancellations, materials, and dispute handling, so the first time a customer reads the fine print isn't after something has gone wrong.

Format mirrors how TaskRabbit structures their agreement — enumerated clauses, plain language, no lawyer-bait — adapted for a single-provider operation on a cash-app-style payment flow.

1. The Agreement

By creating an account, requesting a booking, or paying a deposit, you (the customer) agree to these terms. Very Handy Man Services LLC (Wyoming LLC 2026-001896160) ("we," "us," "VHMS") provides the service. If anything here conflicts with a quote we send you, the quote controls for that specific job.

We may update these terms; material changes require you to re-accept at your next sign-in. Every accepted version is recorded against your account with a timestamp.

2. How booking and scheduling work

1. You submit a booking request describing the work, the location, and preferred time slots.
2. We respond within 24 hours with a quote and a confirmed time slot.
3. Booking is not confirmed until we have received your deposit.
4. Same-day or same-hour requests carry a rush fee — see §4.

3. How billing works

1. Minimum billable time per booking: 1 hour, charged at the service's hourly rate. You will pay for at least one full hour even if the job takes less.
2. Time over 1 hour is billed in 15-minute blocks, rounded up to the next block. Example: 1h 18min = 1h 30min.
3. The hourly rate is the rate in effect when your booking is confirmed — shown on your confirmation and locked for that job. We don't surge-price mid-job.
4. Materials (hardware, paint, anchors, lumber, etc.) are billed at our cost plus a 10% handling fee. They're itemized on the final invoice with receipts available on request.
5. The final invoice includes: labor (minimum 1 hour + 15-min blocks after), materials (cost + 10%), applicable sales tax, less your deposit.

4. Rush fees

Rush fees only apply to labor, not materials. Rush availability is subject to our schedule; we may decline a rush request entirely.

5. Deposits

1. To confirm a booking, a 50% deposit of the estimated total is required, with a minimum deposit of $50.
2. Deposits are due within 24 hours of receiving the quote; otherwise the held slot is released.
3. Accepted deposit methods: Apple Cash, Venmo, Zelle, Cash App. Handles are shown on your confirmation page. Put your booking ID in the payment note so we can match it.
4. Payment is acknowledged manually by our team usually within a few hours of receipt. Your booking moves to Confirmed at that point and you receive a confirmation email.

6. Cancellations, reschedules, and no-shows

Reschedule requests made more than 48 hours out are free of charge, up to one reschedule per booking. Beyond that, or inside 48 hours, a reschedule is treated as a cancellation plus a new booking.

If we cancel (rare — typically weather, safety, or tool failure), your deposit is refunded in full or rolled to the next slot at your option.

7. On-site conduct

1. Our technician will arrive within the confirmed time window and notify you if they're running late.
2. We document work with photos at start, key milestones, and completion. These are attached to your booking record.
3. You (or someone you authorize, 18+) must be present to grant access, approve scope changes, and sign off on completion.
4. Scope changes during the job are only billable if you approve them in writing (text or email — a reply of "yes" counts).
5. We don't move or touch anything outside the agreed work area without your okay.

8. Damage and rework

1. We carry general liability insurance and will repair or credit for anything we damage in the course of work, at our cost.
2. Pre-existing damage we document at arrival is not our responsibility. The photos in §7.2 are the reference point.
3. If something we installed fails within 30 days due to our work (not normal wear, not a product defect), we come back and fix it free of labor. Replacement materials at cost.
4. Manufacturer defects on materials we supplied: we coordinate the exchange; you're not out of pocket on the replacement labor if the product is defective at install.

9. Payment of the final invoice

1. Balance is due on completion, via the same cash-app methods listed in §5.3.
2. We tap "Completed" in our system and send your final invoice by email; payment is expected within 24 hours of receipt unless we've otherwise agreed in writing.
3. Unpaid balances past 14 days may be referred to collections and may affect your eligibility for future bookings.

10. Service area

We currently serve specific areas in South Florida. If your address is outside our current service area, we'll tell you before you pay a deposit. Drive-time surcharges may apply to outlying jobs — these are always quoted upfront, never added later.

Current service area is listed on the website and updated as we expand.

11. Privacy and data

1. We collect only what we need to run your booking: name, email, phone, address, and job details. Photos of the work are stored in our project file for that booking.
2. We don't sell your data. We don't share it with third parties except for transactional services (Resend for email, Postgres hosting, payment-app receipts), and only to the extent necessary.
3. You can request deletion of your account and its data at any time by emailing hello@averyhandyman.com. We may keep financial records for the period required by applicable tax law (typically 7 years in the US) even after account deletion.

12. Disputes and governing law

1. We'd rather talk than litigate. Email hello@averyhandyman.com first; we'll respond within 3 business days with a proposal.
2. If informal resolution fails, these terms are governed by the laws of the State of Wyoming (our LLC's domicile), without regard to conflict-of-law rules.
3. Nothing in this agreement limits any rights you have under mandatory consumer-protection law in your state.

13. Limitation of liability

Our total liability for any dispute related to a booking is limited to the amount you paid for that booking. We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages (lost time, missed events, emotional distress), except where such limitation is void by law.

We carry liability insurance appropriate for handyman work and can provide a certificate on request.

14. Contact

• Support: hello@averyhandyman.com
• Payments: pay@averyhandyman.com
• Website: averyhandyman.com
• Mailing address: [to be added before launch]

Agreement version

• Version: 1.0
• Effective: [set at launch — whenever we flip the sign-up page live]
• Last reviewed by owner: [pending]

Customers record their accepted version (e.g. "1.0") and tos_accepted_at timestamp against their account; re-acceptance is required if we bump the version.