Grass Geeks — Terms of Service

⚠️ DRAFT — not legal advice. Reviewed by counsel before publishing.

Effective Date: [Effective Date]

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Grass Geeks lawn-care marketplace, including the website and web application at app.grassgeeks.us (the "Platform"), operated by [Legal Entity Name] ("Grass Geeks," "we," "us," or "our"). By using the Platform you agree to these Terms.

1. Acceptance of Terms

1.1. By creating an account, requesting service, submitting payment, or otherwise using the Platform, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and by our Privacy Policy.

1.2. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Platform.

1.3. During checkout you affirmatively agree to these Terms and the Privacy Policy before completing a booking.

2. Description of the Service

2.1. Grass Geeks operates a marketplace that connects residential customers who want recurring lawn-care service ("Customers") with independent contractor lawn-care crews ("Crews") who perform that service.

2.2. Grass Geeks is not a lawn-care provider. We do not ourselves mow, trim, or otherwise perform lawn services. Crews are independent contractors, not employees, agents, partners, or joint venturers of Grass Geeks. Grass Geeks does not control the manner or means by which a Crew performs a service, and no agency, employment, franchise, or partnership relationship is created between Grass Geeks and any Crew by these Terms.

2.3. Grass Geeks facilitates the connection, scheduling, billing, and payment between Customers and Crews. We collect payment from Customers and, after an administrator reviews the crew's completed-job photos, release payouts to Crews.

2.4. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] The independent-contractor classification of Crews, and the marketplace-intermediary framing of Grass Geeks, should be confirmed by counsel against applicable federal and [State/Jurisdiction of governing law] worker-classification and marketplace-liability law.

3. Eligibility

3.1. You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use the Platform.

3.2. Service is available only in ZIP codes we currently serve. Entering a ZIP code outside our service area will redirect you to an out-of-service notice.

3.3. You represent that the information you provide is accurate and that you are authorized to request service for, and provide access to, the property you submit.

4. Account Registration

4.1. Customers create an account during onboarding. Account authentication is handled through our authentication provider (Supabase). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials and for all activity under your account.

4.2. You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information and to keep it up to date. You may edit your contact information (name, phone, email) from your dashboard. Your service address is not editable in-app after signup and requires contacting us to change. [verify — current dashboard restricts address self-edit]

4.3. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use of your account.

5. Subscription Terms, Billing, and Auto-Renewal

5.1. Committed term. Service is sold as a committed subscription term of 3, 6, or 12 months. You select your term, service frequency, and payment plan during onboarding.

5.2. Service frequency and seasonal cadence. Service is scheduled on a recurring weekly or biweekly basis according to the plan you select. The number and cadence of visits varies seasonally, and the delivered visit schedule follows a seasonal pattern generated by the Platform. [verify — confirm the exact seasonal step-down behavior against docs/prd/schedule-generation.md before describing specific visit counts to customers.]

5.3. Payment plans. You choose one of:

Monthly installments — your total contract price is billed in equal recurring monthly charges through a Stripe subscription for the length of your term; or
Pay-in-full (upfront) — a single charge for the full contract at signup.

5.4. Server-calculated pricing. All prices are calculated by Grass Geeks server-side and are not set or altered by the client. Pricing may reflect term-length and payment-plan adjustments that are incorporated into the quoted price.

5.5. Auto-renewal. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED — confirm whether subscriptions auto-renew at the end of the committed term, and if so, on what terms, notice, and cancellation rights. The billing implementation includes annual-renewal reminder notifications, which implies renewal; the exact renewal mechanics and any legally required auto-renewal disclosures (e.g., ARL-style laws) must be confirmed and stated here by counsel.]

5.6. Payment authorization. By enrolling, you authorize Grass Geeks (through Stripe) to charge your payment method for all amounts due under your plan, including installments, one-time charges, approved change orders, and any applicable cancellation fee.

5.7. Failed payments. If a payment fails, your account may enter a grace period (currently 7 days). If payment is not resolved during the grace period, service (job generation) may be suspended.

6. Overgrowth and Change-Order Charges

6.1. Overgrowth charge. If your lawn is overgrown at or before first service, a one-time overgrowth cleanup charge applies (a standard overgrowth charge is presented to you during onboarding; the amount shown in-app at the time of this draft is $125.00 [verify current amount before publishing]). You may add this charge proactively during onboarding, or it may be assessed if overgrowth is identified.

6.2. Change orders. After first service, a Crew may propose adjustments to your plan or scope (a "change order") — for example, additional optional services. Change orders proposed by a Crew are surfaced to you, and you may accept or decline them. Charges for a change order apply only to items you keep/accept.

7. Cancellation and Refunds

7.1. Free cancellation window. You may cancel free of charge before your second completed service (i.e., while fewer than two services have been completed on the property). No cancellation fee applies in this window, for both monthly and pay-in-full plans.

7.2. Cancellation after the free window. If you cancel after your second completed service, a cancellation fee of at least $99 applies. The fee is the greater of (a) a base floor of $99, or (b) the "deficit" between the value of services delivered to you and the revenue collected from you to date. In plain terms: the fee is $99 unless the value of services you have already received exceeds what you have paid by more than $99, in which case the fee equals that larger shortfall.

Services delivered is calculated as the number of completed services multiplied by your per-visit price.
Revenue collected is, for monthly plans, the installments collected to date; for pay-in-full plans, the full contract amount paid at signup.

7.3. How the fee is applied.

Monthly plans: the cancellation fee is charged directly to your payment method (typically the $99 floor; higher only where the delivered-services shortfall exceeds $99).
Pay-in-full plans: the cancellation fee is netted against the value of services you have not yet received. If undelivered value exceeds the fee, you are refunded the difference; if the fee exceeds undelivered value, you may be charged the remaining gap.

7.4. Account deletion. If you delete your account while an active subscription exists, we will cancel the subscription. Account deletion does not currently route through the cancellation-fee calculation described above. [verify / LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED — confirm the intended interaction between account deletion and the cancellation fee before publishing, since deletion currently cancels without assessing the fee.]

7.5. No other refunds. Except as expressly stated in this Section 7, fees are non-refundable. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — confirm refund policy is compliant with [State/Jurisdiction of governing law] consumer-protection law.

8. Payment Processing

8.1. Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe"). Your card details are collected and processed directly by Stripe through Stripe Elements.

8.2. Grass Geeks does not store your full card number, expiration, or CVC. We retain only limited, non-sensitive billing metadata (such as the billing ZIP code associated with your card and Stripe identifiers needed to manage your subscription). Your payment-card data is handled under Stripe's terms and PCI compliance.

8.3. Crew payouts are made through Stripe Connect. Crews must complete Stripe Connect onboarding to receive payouts.

8.4. Your use of Stripe is subject to Stripe's own terms and privacy policy.

9. Customer Responsibilities

9.1. Property access. You are responsible for providing the Crew safe, unobstructed access to the property on scheduled service days (e.g., unlocked gates, cleared access paths). If a Crew cannot access the property, the service may be skipped and still counted as scheduled where applicable.

9.2. Accurate information. You must provide an accurate service address, lot details, and contact information.

9.3. Pets and hazards. You are responsible for securing pets and for disclosing and removing hazards (e.g., debris, hidden obstacles, sprinkler heads, unsafe conditions) before scheduled service. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — allocate liability for property conditions, undisclosed hazards, and pet-related incidents.

9.4. Prohibited use. You agree not to misuse the Platform, interfere with its operation, attempt unauthorized access, or use it for any unlawful purpose.

10. Crews and Service Disclaimers

10.1. Crews are independent contractors who set and perform their own work. Service quality, timing, and results are provided by the Crew.

10.2. Scheduled service days and arrival windows are estimates and may change due to weather, access issues, or scheduling needs. A Crew may reschedule or skip a visit (for example, due to weather or inability to access the property), with notice sent to you.

10.3. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — disclaimers regarding acts, omissions, negligence, property damage, or misconduct of Crews, and the scope of any Grass Geeks recourse, guarantee, or remediation program, must be set by counsel.

11. Photos of Your Property

11.1. As part of documenting completed service, Crews take and upload photos of your property through the Platform. These photos are stored by Grass Geeks (via Supabase Storage) and are used to verify completed work, support administrative review before crew payout, and for customer service and record-keeping.

11.2. By using the Platform you consent to Crews capturing and uploading such photos for these purposes. See the Privacy Policy for how photos are handled.

12.1. Transactional email. We send service-related emails (e.g., welcome, receipts, appointment reminders, service updates, payment notices) through SendGrid.

12.2. SMS. We send text-message reminders and updates (e.g., day-before appointment reminders) through TextMagic. By providing your phone number at checkout, you consent to receive SMS messages about your service appointments. Message and data rates may apply.

12.3. Opt-out. You can opt out of SMS at any time by replying STOP to any message; opt-outs are honored automatically. Opting out of transactional SMS may limit appointment reminders. See the Privacy Policy for details.

13. Intellectual Property

13.1. The Platform, including its software, design, text, graphics, and logos, is owned by Grass Geeks or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Except as expressly permitted, you may not copy, modify, distribute, or create derivative works from the Platform.

13.2. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Platform for its intended purpose, subject to these Terms.

14. Disclaimers of Warranty

14.1. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — the following is a starting point and must be finalized by counsel.

14.2. THE PLATFORM AND ALL SERVICES ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Grass Geeks does not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free, or guarantee the acts, omissions, or work quality of any Crew.

15. Limitation of Liability

15.1. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — liability caps and exclusions below are placeholders and must be set by counsel for enforceability in [State/Jurisdiction of governing law].

15.2. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GRASS GEEKS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS OR DATA, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM OR ANY SERVICE PERFORMED BY A CREW.

15.3. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GRASS GEEKS' TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THESE TERMS OR THE PLATFORM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO GRASS GEEKS IN THE [12 / ] MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) [$_]. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED]

16. Indemnification

16.1. You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Grass Geeks and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to (a) your use of the Platform, (b) your breach of these Terms, (c) property conditions, hazards, or access issues at your property, or (d) your violation of any law or third-party right. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED]

17. Dispute Resolution and Governing Law

17.1. These Terms are governed by the laws of [State/Jurisdiction of governing law], without regard to conflict-of-law rules.

17.2. [LEGAL REVIEW NEEDED] — arbitration, class-action waiver, jury-trial waiver, and venue provisions are intentionally left as placeholders. If binding arbitration and/or a class-action waiver are desired, counsel must draft enforceable, conspicuous provisions and any required consumer opt-out mechanism.

17.3. Venue. Any dispute not subject to arbitration will be brought exclusively in the courts located in [State/Jurisdiction of governing law].

18. Changes to These Terms

18.1. We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be reflected by updating the Effective Date and, where appropriate, by additional notice. Your continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

19. Contact

Questions about these Terms:

Email: info@grassgeeks.us [confirm contact email]
Mailing address: [Business mailing address]
Entity: [Legal Entity Name]