Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of these terms

By creating an account, requesting a booking, or otherwise using Angelica The Pet Sitter (the “Service”), you agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, please do not use the Service.

These terms constitute a binding legal agreement between you and the operator of Angelica The Pet Sitter. If you are using the Service on behalf of a business or organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that entity to these terms.

2. Definitions

In these terms, the following words have the meanings given below:

• Customer - an individual who creates an account to request and receive pet-sitting services through the Service.
• Sitter - an individual who has been vetted and approved by Angelica The Pet Sitter to deliver pet care services to Customers.
• Admin - a member of the Angelica The Pet Sitter team who manages and coordinates bookings, assigns Sitters, and oversees platform operations.
• Booking - a confirmed reservation for a specific pet-sitting service, for a defined period, assigned to a named Sitter.
• ATS Booking & Coordination Fee - the fee charged by card at the time of booking, covering the cost of coordinating the booking, vetting and assigning the Sitter, and administering the platform. This fee is non-refundable.
• Pet Sitting Service Fee - the fee covering the actual pet care delivered by the Sitter. Payment routing and timing for this fee are set out at checkout and confirmed in your booking summary.
• Service - the Angelica The Pet Sitter website, platform, and all associated services operated by us.

3. The service we provide

Angelica The Pet Sitter is a coordination platform. We match pet owners with vetted, experienced Sitters in Malta, manage the booking lifecycle from initial request through to delivery, and provide a layer of oversight and support throughout.

While we carefully vet every Sitter and actively coordinate each booking, the pet care itself is delivered by the assigned Sitter. By using the Service you acknowledge that Angelica The Pet Sitter is not the direct provider of every individual act of pet care, but acts as the coordinating party responsible for the quality and organisation of the overall service.

We offer a range of services including, but not limited to: live-in home care, boarding, dog walks, pet visits, and wedding pet handling. The current catalogue of available services, together with pricing, is published on our website and may change from time to time.

4. Your account

To book a service you must create an account. By doing so you confirm that:

• You are at least 18 years of age.
• All information you provide during registration - including your name, email address, telephone number, and home address - is accurate and kept up to date.
• You are the owner or authorised carer of the pets you register, or have the permission of the owner to book services on their behalf.
• You will keep your login credentials confidential and not share them with any third party. You are responsible for all activity that takes place under your account.
• You will hold a single role - either Customer or Sitter - per account. If you wish to use the Service in both capacities, please contact us.

You must notify us immediately at hello@angelicathesitter.com if you suspect unauthorised access to your account.

5. How bookings work

The booking process on Angelica The Pet Sitter follows these stages:

• Request - you submit a booking request through the platform, selecting the service type, dates, and relevant pet details.
• Payment - the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee is collected at this stage by card via Stripe. The Booking is not confirmed until this fee has been successfully charged.
• Assignment - an Admin reviews your request and assigns a primary Sitter and a backup Sitter. You will be notified once Sitters have been assigned.
• Meet & greet - where the service type warrants it, your Sitter will arrange a meet-and-greet with you and your pet prior to the service commencing.
• Delivery - the Sitter delivers the agreed care. You will receive photo and/or video updates during the service so you can see how your pet is getting on.

A Booking is only confirmed once you have received written confirmation from Angelica The Pet Sitter (by email or through the platform). We reserve the right to decline or cancel a booking request where we are unable to assign a suitable Sitter, or where the booking falls outside our service area or capabilities.

6. Payments

All payments are processed in euros (EUR) via Stripe, our payment processor. By providing your payment details you authorise us to charge the amounts described below.

ATS Booking & Coordination Fee

When you submit a booking request, the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee is charged to your card immediately. This fee covers the administrative and coordination work involved in processing your booking, vetting and assigning a Sitter, and supporting your booking throughout its lifecycle. The ATS Booking & Coordination Fee is non-refundable once charged, regardless of whether the booking subsequently proceeds or is cancelled, except where we cancel the booking due to our own inability to assign a Sitter.

Pet Sitting Service Fee

The Pet Sitting Service Fee covers the cost of the care delivered by your Sitter. The amount and payment timing for this fee are shown at checkout and confirmed in your booking summary email. Different service types may have different payment schedules; please refer to the checkout information specific to your booking.

VAT

VAT is applied to applicable fees in accordance with Maltese law and the applicable European Union VAT rules. Where VAT applies, it will be shown separately at checkout.

Pricing changes

Prices shown at the time your Booking is confirmed are locked for that Booking. We will not retroactively apply price changes to confirmed bookings.

7. Cancellations and refunds

ATS Booking & Coordination Fee

As set out in Section 6 above, the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee is non-refundable. This applies regardless of the reason for cancellation, whether initiated by you or by us (except in the limited circumstance where we are unable to provide a Sitter for your confirmed Booking, in which case the fee will be refunded in full).

Pet Sitting Service Fee

If you cancel a confirmed Booking, the treatment of the Pet Sitting Service Fee will depend on the timing of your cancellation relative to the start of the service:

• Cancellations made more than 7 days before the service start date are eligible for a full refund of any Pet Sitting Service Fee already paid.
• Cancellations made within 7 days but more than 48 hours before the service start date: any refund of the Pet Sitting Service Fee in this window is assessed case-by-case at Angelica The Pet Sitter’s sole discretion, based on the circumstances and the notice given. Where a refund is approved, the amount and basis will be confirmed to you in writing. The ATS Booking & Coordination Fee remains non-refundable in all cases.
• Cancellations made within 48 hours of the service start date, or after the service has commenced, are not eligible for a refund of the Pet Sitting Service Fee.

We may, at our sole discretion, offer a credit or reschedule option in lieu of a cash refund. All refunds, where applicable, will be processed to the original payment method within 5–10 business days.

Cancellation by us

If Angelica The Pet Sitter cancels a confirmed Booking because we are unable to provide a suitable Sitter (or otherwise without cause on our part), we will refund both the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee and any Pet Sitting Service Fee already paid, in full.

Where a Booking is cancelled by us as a result of the Customer’s breach of these terms or misconduct, the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee remains non-refundable (consistent with Section 6 above and Section 15 below), and any refund of the Pet Sitting Service Fee will be at our discretion.

8. Sitter obligations

Each Sitter approved to work through Angelica The Pet Sitter agrees to the following obligations, which are conditions of their ongoing participation in the platform:

• Maintain all required vetting documentation, references, and any certifications requested by Angelica The Pet Sitter, and promptly update us of any changes.
• Behave professionally and respectfully in all interactions with Customers and their pets, and with the Angelica The Pet Sitter team.
• Deliver the agreed service to the standard described in the Booking and in any guidance provided by Angelica The Pet Sitter.
• Provide timely photo and/or video updates to Customers during the service, as directed by the platform.
• Care for pets responsibly, following any care instructions provided by the Customer, and acting in the best interest of the pet at all times.
• Notify Angelica The Pet Sitter immediately of any incident, injury, illness, or concern relating to a pet in their care.
• Not arrange or accept bookings directly from Customers outside the Angelica The Pet Sitter platform (see Section 13).

9. Customer obligations

As a Customer, you agree to the following obligations when using the Service:

• Provide accurate, complete, and up-to-date information about each pet you register, including breed, age, weight, temperament, dietary requirements, and any known health conditions or behavioural issues.
• Ensure that your pet’s vaccinations are current and that all required vaccination records are provided to the Sitter prior to the commencement of the service.
• Disclose any information that could affect the safety or wellbeing of the Sitter, the Sitter’s household, or other animals in the Sitter’s care.
• Ensure the Sitter has safe, lawful access to any location required for the delivery of the service (for example, your home for live-in or boarding services).
• Remain reachable during the period of the service, or nominate an emergency contact who can be reached in your place.
• Pay all fees in full as described at checkout and in these terms.
• Treat Sitters with respect and not make unreasonable demands outside the scope of the booked service.

10. Pet health and emergencies

You confirm that, to the best of your knowledge, your pet is fit and healthy enough to undergo the booked service, and that you have disclosed any known health conditions to us and to your Sitter.

In the event of a veterinary emergency during the period of care, you authorise the assigned Sitter and Angelica The Pet Sitter to seek emergency veterinary attention for your pet on your behalf. We will attempt to contact you or your nominated emergency contact immediately, but in a genuine emergency we will prioritise the welfare of your pet and act without waiting for your response if necessary.

You remain solely responsible for all veterinary costs incurred, including those arising from any emergency treatment sought during the service. Angelica The Pet Sitter and the Sitter are not liable for veterinary costs, except to the extent that injury or illness was caused by the negligence of the Sitter or us.

11. Liability

Angelica The Pet Sitter will provide the Service with reasonable care and skill. However, to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law:

• We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation of the platform.
• We are not liable for any indirect, consequential, or incidental loss arising from your use of the Service, including loss of profits, loss of data, or emotional distress.
• Our total liability to you in connection with any Booking shall not exceed the total fees paid by you for that specific Booking.
• Nothing in these terms limits or excludes our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Sitters who are approved to work through the platform operate independently; we do not warrant that any individual Sitter holds personal liability insurance, and we recommend that Customers satisfy themselves on this point before booking. If you have any concerns about insurance cover, please contact us at hello@angelicathesitter.com.

12. Acceptable use

When using the Service, you must not:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable Maltese or European Union law or regulation.
• Provide false, misleading, or fraudulent information at any point, including during registration, booking, or review submission.
• Harass, threaten, or abuse any Sitter, Customer, or member of the Angelica The Pet Sitter team.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the platform or another user’s account.
• Use automated tools, bots, or scraping software to access or extract data from the Service.
• Post or transmit any content that is defamatory, obscene, or infringes the intellectual property rights of another party.
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent any security or access control measures.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account that we reasonably believe is being used in breach of these acceptable use standards.

13. No off-platform arrangements

A core condition of using the Service - for both Customers and Sitters - is that all bookings must be made through the Angelica The Pet Sitter platform. You must not contact a Sitter you have met through the Service to arrange pet-sitting services directly, nor must a Sitter accept such an arrangement.

Off-platform arrangements undermine the safety, accountability, and quality assurance that the Service provides. They remove the protections that both Customers and Sitters benefit from when bookings are managed through us.

Breach of this obligation may result in the immediate suspension or permanent termination of your account without refund of any fees paid.

14. Intellectual property

All content on the Angelica The Pet Sitter website and platform - including text, photographs, graphics, logos, icons, and software - is owned by or licensed to Angelica The Pet Sitter and is protected by applicable intellectual property law.

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable licence to access and use the Service for its intended purpose. You must not reproduce, redistribute, modify, or create derivative works from any content on the platform without our prior written consent.

When you upload content to the platform (for example, photos of your pets), you retain ownership of that content but grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to use, store, and display it as necessary to provide the Service.

15. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at hello@angelicathesitter.com.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time if we reasonably believe you have breached these terms, engaged in unlawful conduct, or if it is otherwise necessary to protect the integrity of the platform or the safety of Sitters, Customers, or their pets.

Where a termination affects an active or upcoming Booking:

• If we terminate your account without cause, we will refund the Pet Sitting Service Fee for any affected future Booking.
• If we terminate your account due to a breach of these terms, you will not be entitled to a refund of the ATS Booking & Coordination Fee, and any refund of the Pet Sitting Service Fee will be at our discretion.

Termination does not affect any rights or obligations that have already arisen prior to the date of termination.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms of Service are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Malta, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute arising out of or in connection with these terms or your use of the Service shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Malta.

Before initiating formal legal proceedings, we encourage you to contact us at hello@angelicathesitter.com so that we can try to resolve the matter informally.

17. Changes to these terms

We may update these Terms of Service from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, applicable law, or for other operational reasons. When we make a material change, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page and, where required, notify you by email.

Your continued use of the Service after we post updated terms constitutes your acceptance of the new terms. If you do not agree to any updated terms, you should stop using the Service and close your account.

18. Contact

If you have any questions, concerns, or complaints about these Terms of Service, or about your use of the Angelica The Pet Sitter platform, please contact us:

• Email: hello@angelicathesitter.com
• Operator: [LEGAL ENTITY NAME / REGISTERED ADDRESS / COMPANY NO. / VAT NO. - to be completed]

We aim to respond to all enquiries within 3 business days.