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Terms of Service

Last updated: 26 June 2026

These terms cover your use of Sowo, run by SOWO LIMITED (company number SC890878, registered in Scotland with a registered office at Stirling FK8). “Sowo”, “we” and “us” mean the company; “you” means anyone using the site, whether a user looking for a service or a provider offering one.

By creating an account, posting a request, listing a service, or sending a message, you agree to these terms. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

1. What Sowo does

Sowo is a marketplace that connects users with personal- service providers in the UK: hair stylists, braiders, nail technicians, makeup artists, barbers, photographers, videographers, event decorators, tailors and caterers. Users post requests or browse providers. Providers list their services. We do not provide the services ourselves. Every provider is self-employed and contracts directly with the user who books them.

Where you see a blue verified seal next to a provider's name, Sowo has checked their ID and any qualifications they submitted. Verification is a trust signal, not a guarantee of outcome.

2. Accounts

You need to be 18 or over to use Sowo. One person per account. You are responsible for keeping your sign-in details secret and for everything that happens on your account. Tell us immediately if you think someone else has access.

You can deactivate at any time from /account/settings. We keep a deactivated profile for 30 days so you can sign back in to restore it; after that we delete it (subject to the retention rules in the Privacy Policy).

3. Users (people booking a service)

When you book a provider you are entering a contract with that provider, not with Sowo. You agree to:

  • Give accurate details when you post a request or message.
  • Turn up, on time, for any appointment you confirm.
  • Pay through the Sowo checkout, not in cash on the side.
  • Treat providers with respect.

4. Providers (people offering a service)

Sowo is a discovery and booking surface; you remain a self- employed sole trader or company. By listing, you agree to:

  • Be legally entitled to work in the UK.
  • Handle your own tax and National Insurance.
  • Hold the qualifications and insurance your service requires.
  • Honour quotes you send and bookings you accept.
  • Tell the user as soon as you know you cannot make an appointment.
  • Keep your listing accurate (services, prices, availability).

See the Provider Terms for the longer version with verification and cancellation rules.

5. Payments, holds and refunds

The contract for the service is between the user and the provider. Sowo facilitates the booking; the payment is authorised on your card through Stripe, our payment provider, and is not paid out to the provider until the work is done. This is not an escrow account: nothing is held on deposit by anyone, and Sowo does not hold your money itself.

Payments run through Stripe. When a user pays for a booking in full, Stripe authorises the amount on the card and holds it. The money is taken and released to the provider when the user confirms the job is done, or automatically 5 days after the provider marks it complete if the user has not confirmed or raised a problem by then. A card authorisation lasts 7 days, so a job booked further ahead than that is quoted with a deposit instead: a deposit is charged immediately and the balance is paid nearer the date. If Sowo takes a platform fee, the amount is shown to both sides at checkout before the booking is confirmed.

If the service does not happen, the user can ask for a refund from inside the conversation. If the provider agrees, the payment is reversed in full, and where it was never captured the hold simply lapses and no money leaves the account. If the two sides disagree, Sowo will look at the conversation, any photos, and the booking timeline, and decide. We aim to respond within 5 working days; complex cases may take longer and we will keep both sides informed.

Where the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 apply (services bought online before the work has started), the user has a 14-day cancellation right against the provider. If the user asks the provider to start straight away, they may lose this right once the work begins, in line with those regulations. Statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (reasonable care and skill) always apply.

6. Buying and selling items

Section 5 covers booking a service. This section covers buying a physical item from a provider's catalogue. The contract for the item is between the buyer and the seller. Sowo facilitates the sale; we are not the seller and we do not own or handle the items.

Listings. Sellers must describe items honestly, including condition, and use their own photos. A seller may set a flat delivery fee for a listing. The item price, quantity and any delivery fee are shown at checkout before you pay. Sellers must not list anything that is illegal, unsafe, recalled, counterfeit, or otherwise restricted for sale in the UK, including age-restricted goods sold to anyone under 18.

Payment. Payment runs through Stripe. When you buy an item, the payment is taken straight away and the money goes to the seller through their connected Stripe account. Unlike a service booking (Section 5), an item payment is not held at all: it is captured at checkout. What protects an item purchase is the returns window shown on the listing and the report-a-problem route below, not a held payment. Sowo currently charges no platform commission on item sales. Payment-processing and applicable payout costs charged through Stripe may be deducted from the seller's proceeds. They are shown separately from the Sowo platform fee, which is currently £0, and are not an additional charge to the buyer. If Sowo introduces a platform fee, the seller will be told before it applies.

Delivery. You give a UK delivery address at checkout, and the seller is responsible for getting the item to you. Unless the listing says otherwise, the delivery method, cost and timing are as set out in the listing or as agreed between buyer and seller through Sowo messages. Sowo is not the carrier and is not responsible for postal delays once an item has been dispatched, although you can still raise a claim below if it never arrives.

If something goes wrong. If an item does not arrive, arrives damaged, or is significantly different from the listing, raise it with the seller through the order first, and tell us if you cannot sort it out together. We will look at the evidence from both sides and can require the seller to refund or replace the item where your legal rights below call for it. Refunds go back to your original payment method. This sits alongside those rights; it does not replace them.

Your rights as a buyer. Providers on Sowo sell as a business, so the Consumer Rights Act 2015 applies to your purchase: the item must be of satisfactory quality, as described, and fit for purpose, and you have the usual short-term right to reject faulty goods. Because you are buying online, you also normally have 14 days to change your mind and return the item under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, with the usual exceptions such as perishable, personalised or made-to-order items and sealed goods you have unsealed.

Returns and refunds. For a faulty item, the seller covers return postage. If you change your mind under the 14-day right, you usually pay return postage unless the listing says otherwise. Approved refunds go back to your original payment method.

If you sell items, you must own the right to sell them, describe them honestly, dispatch on time, and meet the consumer-law duties above where they apply to you. Keep your proof of postage, as it is your evidence if a buyer raises an issue. You are responsible for your own tax (see the Provider Terms).

Keep it on Sowo. Pay and arrange delivery through Sowo, not off-platform. Going off-platform loses you the order record and our help if something goes wrong, and may lead to the account being suspended.

7. Reviews and vouches

After a booking the user can leave a star rating and a short review. Reviews must be your honest experience. Other Sowo users can also vouch for a provider they trust.

We do not edit reviews to be more flattering. We may remove a review if it breaks the Trust & Safety rules (abuse, lies, personal data, off-platform contact), and we always tell the reviewer why.

8. Equality and prohibited conduct

SOWO LIMITED does not unlawfully discriminate based on protected characteristics under applicable UK equality legislation. Providers remain responsible for the lawful delivery of their services.

You also cannot:

  • Discriminate against a user or provider on any protected characteristic (Equality Act 2010).
  • Misrepresent your identity, qualifications or location.
  • Move conversations off-platform to dodge fees or the dispute process.
  • Use Sowo to send spam, scams, harassment, or sexually explicit content.
  • List services that are illegal in the UK.
  • Scrape the site or hammer the API.

9. Suspension and termination

If we believe an account breaks these terms, we may hide a listing, suspend the account, or revoke a verified badge. We will tell you why, in writing, and you can appeal by replying to that email. In serious cases (fraud, threats, illegal activity) we may act without notice and involve the police.

You can close your account at any time and that ends these terms for you, except for clauses that by their nature survive (payments owed, liability, disputes already raised).

10. Intellectual property

Sowo's name, logo, design and code belong to SOWO LIMITED. Photos, bios and reviews you upload belong to you. By posting them you give us a non-exclusive licence to show them on Sowo and use them for related promotion (search results, social cards). You can withdraw that licence by removing the content.

11. Liability

Sowo is the marketplace. The contract for the actual service is between the user and the provider. We are not liable for the quality of work a provider delivers, for missed appointments, or for anything that happens off-platform.

We do not exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud, or for anything the law does not let us limit.

For everything else, our total liability to you is capped at the amount you paid through Sowo in the 12 months before the claim, or £100 if that is greater.

12. Changes to these terms

If we change anything material, we will email registered users at least 14 days before the change takes effect. Continued use after that counts as acceptance. The latest version always lives at this URL.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of Scotland. Disputes can be brought in the Scottish courts, or in the courts of the part of the UK where you live if that gives you stronger consumer protection.

14. Contact

SOWO LIMITED
Stirling FK8
join@usesowo.com

Terms of Service · Sowo