Terms & Conditions — Carriers

These Terms and Conditions ("Carrier Terms") govern your use of The Carrier Hub platform as a carrier. By registering as a carrier, you agree to be bound by these Carrier Terms, our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, Acceptable Use Policy, and Payment Terms (together, the "Agreement").

1. Definitions

"Platform" means the online freight platform operated by The Carrier Hub Ltd at www.thecarrierhub.com. "Carrier" means any individual or business registered on the Platform to transport goods. "Load" means a freight consignment posted by a Shipper. "Bid" means a price offer submitted by a Carrier for a Load. "Sub-Carrier" means a driver or vehicle operator added to a Carrier's fleet on the Platform.

2. Eligibility and Registration

To register as a Carrier, you must:

• Be at least 18 years of age
• Hold a valid operator's licence (where required by law) for the vehicle type used
• Maintain valid motor insurance including goods in transit cover
• Maintain valid public liability insurance
• Ensure all vehicles used are roadworthy, hold a valid MOT (where applicable), and are taxed
• Provide accurate business registration details including company number and VAT number (where applicable)

You are responsible for ensuring all compliance documentation uploaded to the Platform is accurate, current, and valid. We reserve the right to suspend your account if compliance documentation expires or is found to be invalid.

3. Subscription

Access to bidding on loads requires an active paid subscription. Subscription tiers, pricing, and features are described on our Pricing page. All prices shown are inclusive of any applicable VAT unless stated otherwise. Subscriptions are billed monthly in advance via Stripe.

3a. Cancellation and Renewal (DMCCA 2025)

In compliance with the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 (DMCCA), the following subscription terms apply:

• Cancellation: You may cancel your subscription at any time through your account settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period. Access to bidding continues until the period end. No partial-month refunds are issued.
• Renewal reminders: We will send you an email reminder at least 3 days before your subscription renews, confirming the renewal date, the amount that will be charged, and how to cancel if you do not wish to renew.
• Easy cancellation: Cancellation is available in one step via your account settings. You do not need to contact us to cancel.
• Cooling-off period: If you are a consumer (not acting in the course of a business), you have a 14-day right to cancel a new subscription from the date of purchase under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013. This right does not apply once you have used the subscription to bid on loads, as you will be deemed to have requested immediate performance of the service.

4. Bidding and Load Acceptance

By submitting a Bid on a Load, you are making a binding offer to transport the goods at the stated price. Acceptance of your Bid by the Shipper constitutes a binding contract between you and the Shipper for the carriage of goods. The Carrier Hub is not a party to this contract and acts solely as a technology intermediary.

You must not submit Bids on Loads you do not intend to fulfil, or on Loads for which you do not have appropriate capacity, licences, or insurance.

4a. Quote Requests (Shipper Invitations)

Shippers may send you a personal invitation to quote on a specific load. These invitations are valid for 48 hours from the time they are sent. You will receive an email notification and an in-app notification when an invitation is received. A reminder email will be sent approximately 24 hours before the invitation expires. Invitations that are not responded to within 48 hours will automatically expire. Expired invitations cannot be reinstated.

5. Vehicle Metrics and Capacity Accuracy

The Platform provides AI-assisted tools to estimate vehicle cargo capacity metrics (including payload, volume, and internal dimensions) based on publicly available manufacturer specifications. These estimates are provided for convenience only and are not guaranteed to be accurate for any specific vehicle, variant, or configuration.

You are solely responsible for ensuring that all vehicle metrics recorded on the Platform accurately reflect your vehicle's actual payload capacity and cargo dimensions. Before recording or confirming any vehicle metrics, you must verify the values against your vehicle's manufacturer plate, V5C registration document, or operator's handbook. By confirming vehicle metrics on the Platform, you acknowledge and accept this responsibility.

The Carrier Hub accepts no liability whatsoever for any loss, damage, delay, refused delivery, or regulatory non-compliance arising from inaccurate vehicle metrics, whether AI-estimated or manually entered by you. This includes but is not limited to:

• Goods damaged as a result of exceeding your vehicle's actual payload capacity
• Loads refused at collection or delivery due to vehicle size or capacity constraints
• Fines or penalties arising from operating an overloaded vehicle
• Claims by Shippers arising from your failure to transport goods due to capacity constraints

You must not submit Bids on Loads that exceed your vehicle's actual payload or volume capacity, regardless of the metrics recorded on the Platform.

6. Performance Obligations

Upon acceptance of a Bid, you must:

• Collect the goods at the agreed time and location
• Transport the goods safely and in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations
• Deliver the goods to the stated destination within the agreed timeframe
• Upload a valid Proof of Delivery (POD) photograph within 24 hours of delivery
• Comply with all road transport legislation including drivers' hours regulations

7. Sub-Carriers

You may add Sub-Carriers to your fleet via the Platform. You are responsible for ensuring all Sub-Carriers are legally entitled to drive, hold appropriate licences and insurance, and comply with these Terms. You are liable for the actions of your Sub-Carriers in connection with loads accepted through the Platform.

7a. Identity Verification and Biometric Data Consent

As a condition of using the Platform, Carriers and Sub-Carriers are required to provide a live selfie photograph for identity verification purposes. By submitting your selfie, you explicitly consent to the processing of your biometric data (facial image) under UK GDPR Article 9(2)(a) for the purposes of identity verification and fraud prevention.

Your facial image will be analysed by an AI liveness detection system (Google Gemini) to confirm that the image shows a real, live person. The AI system does not perform facial recognition against any external database. The result of the liveness check and any associated notes will be stored alongside your image and reviewed by our compliance team.

You may withdraw your consent at any time by deleting your photo from your profile settings. Withdrawal of consent will result in the removal of your ability to bid on loads (for Carriers) or be assigned to jobs (for Sub-Carriers) until a new verified selfie is provided.

For full details of how we process biometric data, including your rights, data retention periods, and third-party processors, please see Section 2a of our Privacy Policy.

8. Payment

Payments are processed exclusively through Stripe using the Destination Charges model. When a Shipper pays for your accepted Bid, the funds are designated for your Stripe Connect account from the moment of payment. The Carrier Hub does not hold, pool, or control these funds. Upon your upload of a valid Proof of Delivery (POD), payment is released automatically and immediately to your Stripe Connect account by Stripe. There is no manual review window and no platform approval step. There is no platform commission on completed jobs. Stripe's own payment processing fees apply to each transaction (typically 1.5% + 20p for UK cards). See our Payment Terms for full details.

You must complete Stripe Connect onboarding before Shippers can pay for your accepted Bids. If you have not completed onboarding, Shippers will be unable to make payment and will be directed to contact you to complete your setup.

9. Multi-Stop Jobs and Payment Release

For jobs involving multiple collection or delivery stops, payment is not released until the Sub-Carrier or Carrier confirms completion of all stops on the job. Partial completion does not trigger payment release. This applies regardless of whether individual stops are marked as delivered. Payment is released automatically by Stripe upon confirmation that all stops are complete.

10. Disputes

Because payment is released automatically upon POD upload, the Platform cannot reverse or suspend payment releases after a POD has been submitted. Disputes between Carriers and Shippers regarding delivery quality, goods condition, or non-delivery are matters between the contracting parties. The Carrier Hub is not a party to these disputes and does not adjudicate them. Shippers are directed to contact you directly and, if unresolved, to use independent ADR services -- IDRS Ltd (idrs.london), CIArb (ciarb.org), the RHA Dispute Resolution Service (rha.uk.net), or the Small Claims Court (moneyclaim.gov.uk). See our Payment Terms (Section 10) for the full ADR signposting table. Your statutory rights are unaffected.

11. Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account immediately if you breach these Terms, engage in fraudulent activity, allow your compliance documentation to lapse, or misuse the Platform. Upon termination, any outstanding payments for completed jobs will be processed in the normal course.

12. HMRC Platform Reporting (DAC7)

The Carrier Hub is a reporting platform operator within the meaning of the Income Tax (Digital Platform Reporting) Regulations 2023 (SI 2023/817), which implement the OECD Model Reporting Rules for Digital Platforms (commonly referred to as "DAC7") in the United Kingdom.

This means that we are required by law to collect, verify, and report to HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) certain information about Carriers who provide transport services through the Platform and earn income from those services. The information we are required to collect and report includes your full legal name, registered address, National Insurance number or Unique Taxpayer Reference (UTR), date of birth (for individuals) or company registration number (for companies), and details of the transactions and income earned through the Platform in each calendar year.

We will provide you with a copy of the information reported to HMRC by 31 January following the end of each calendar year. This information is provided to assist you with your own tax reporting obligations and does not constitute tax advice. You remain solely responsible for ensuring that all income earned through the Platform is correctly declared to HMRC in your Self Assessment tax return or company accounts.

13. Limitation of Liability

Our liability to you is limited as set out in our Limitation of Liability statement. We are not liable for loss or damage to goods in transit, which is your responsibility as carrier.

14. Governing Law

These Carrier Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

15. Changes

We may update these Terms at any time. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of material changes by email or prominent notice on the Platform. Continued use of the Platform after the effective date of changes constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree to the updated Terms, you must stop using the Platform and cancel your subscription before the effective date.

16. Platform Status -- Technology Intermediary Only; Independent Business Acknowledgement

16.1 Platform Status

The Carrier Hub is a technology platform. It is not an employment agency, employment business, or labour provider as defined under the Employment Agencies Act 1973 or the Conduct of Employment Agencies and Employment Businesses Regulations 2003 (SI 2003/3319). The Platform does not introduce, supply, or provide workers or labour to any person.

16.2 Independent Business Acknowledgement

By registering as a Carrier and completing the independent business acknowledgement step in the onboarding process, you confirm, represent, and warrant that:

(a) Independent business status. You are operating as a genuinely independent business -- either as a self-employed sole trader, a partnership, or an incorporated company -- and not as a worker, employee, or agency worker of The Carrier Hub, any Shipper, or any other party. You have made this determination independently and, where appropriate, have taken professional advice.

(b) No employment or worker relationship. Nothing in these Terms, the Agreement, or your use of the Platform creates, or is intended to create, any employment relationship, worker relationship (within the meaning of section 230(3)(b) of the Employment Rights Act 1996), or agency worker relationship between you and The Carrier Hub or between you and any Shipper. You do not have, and do not claim to have, any of the rights conferred on workers or employees by the Employment Rights Act 1996, the Working Time Regulations 1998, the National Minimum Wage Act 1998, or any other employment legislation.

(c) Substitution right. You have the right to provide a suitably qualified substitute to perform transport services in your place, subject to the substitute meeting the Platform's compliance requirements. This right of substitution is genuine and is not fettered by any obligation to perform services personally.

(d) Control over work. You retain full discretion over which Loads you bid on, which Bids you submit, when you work, and how you organise and perform transport services. The Platform provides a technology tool for finding work; it does not direct, supervise, or control the manner in which you perform transport services.

(e) Multiple engagements. You are free to provide transport services to other platforms, businesses, and customers concurrently with your use of this Platform, and you are not required to make yourself exclusively available to The Carrier Hub or to any Shipper.

(f) Tax and National Insurance. You are solely responsible for registering with HMRC, filing your own Self Assessment tax returns, paying your own income tax, Class 2 and Class 4 National Insurance contributions, and accounting for VAT (where applicable). The Carrier Hub does not deduct income tax or National Insurance from any payments made to you. You acknowledge that the off-payroll working rules (Chapter 10, Part 2, Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003, commonly referred to as "IR35") may apply to your engagement with Shippers if the nature of that engagement meets the statutory tests for deemed employment. You are responsible for assessing your own IR35 status and for any tax liability arising from it. The Carrier Hub accepts no responsibility for your tax position.

(g) Dedicated Runs. Where a Shipper posts a Dedicated Run (an exclusive vehicle and operator reserved for a fixed service duration), this constitutes a commercial contract for the provision of freight transport services between you and the Shipper. It does not constitute the supply of labour, the provision of a worker to a third party, or any arrangement regulated under employment agency legislation. The existence of a Dedicated Run arrangement does not, of itself, create an employment or worker relationship.

(h) No mutuality of obligation. The Carrier Hub is under no obligation to make Loads available to you, and you are under no obligation to bid on or accept any Load. There is no mutuality of obligation between you and The Carrier Hub.

16.3 Acknowledgement of Risk

You acknowledge that the question of employment and worker status is a matter of fact and law determined by the courts and tribunals, not solely by the terms of a written agreement. While these Terms accurately reflect the commercial reality of the Platform's operation, you should seek independent legal advice if you are uncertain about your employment status or tax obligations. The Carrier Hub accepts no liability for any tax, National Insurance, or employment law liability that may arise from your use of the Platform.