Terms of Service

§ 1 Scope

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern all business relationships between DocAccord Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom ("Provider"), and its customers regarding the use of DocAccord / LC Clear ("the System"). These Terms apply exclusively to business entities within the meaning of § 14 of the German Civil Code (BGB). Consumers within the meaning of § 13 BGB are excluded from use. Deviating terms proposed by the customer become effective only if the Provider expressly agrees to them in writing.

§ 1a Definitions

In these Terms, "Account" means the customer's registered access to the System, including the seats of its team members. "Customer Data" means all documents, files, data and content that the customer or its users upload to or enter into the System, including trade documents and the data extracted from them. "Output" means the results the System generates from Customer Data, such as check reports, findings, suggested wording, drafts and exports. "Services" means the System and everything the Provider makes available through it, including the website, the application, the API and support.

§ 2 Nature of the Service

DocAccord is a technical assistance system for the automated pre-check of trade documents (in particular commercial invoice, bill of lading/transport document, packing list, certificate of origin, insurance certificate) against the terms of a Letter of Credit, applying the Uniform Customs and Practice for Documentary Credits (UCP 600) and ISBP 821 of the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC). The System serves solely to support the customer's own review and does not replace either the customer's own expert review or the independent document examination by the bank(s) involved.

§ 3 Formation of Contract

The contract is formed by registering an account, accepting these Terms (checkbox with timestamped logging), and, where applicable, purchasing a paid plan or a single check. The presentation of the System on the website does not constitute a binding offer, but an invitation to register.

§ 4 No Guarantee of Successful Examination

Use of the System does not create any assurance or guarantee that the checked documents will be accepted without discrepancy by the issuing, advising, confirming, or otherwise involved bank. Under UCP 600, banks are required to conduct their own independent document examination and may reach a different conclusion, even on identical facts. A result issued by the System (e.g. "Bank-ready") reflects an assessment based on the data provided by the customer and extracted automatically, not a legally binding statement about actual acceptance by any bank.

§ 5 Customer's Ongoing Review Obligation

The customer remains obligated to independently review (engaging qualified third parties where necessary) any documents to be submitted to a bank for compliance with the Letter of Credit terms before submission. Use of the System does not relieve the customer of this obligation.

§ 6 Pricing, Payment, Subscriptions

The prices shown on the website under /billing at the time of contract formation apply. Subscriptions (Starter, Business, Enterprise) automatically renew for the respective billing period (monthly or annual) unless cancelled before expiry. Single checks (pay-as-you-go) are billed individually per purchase. Purchases are handled by Paddle as Merchant of Record: Paddle takes the payment, issues the invoice, accounts for the applicable VAT and pays out refunds. The Provider does not receive card data. Unused check credits do not automatically expire unless separately agreed.

Refunds are governed by our separate Refund Policy. In summary: a completed pre-check is final and non-refundable regardless of its outcome; unused Pay-As-You-Go credit can be refunded within 14 days of purchase if unused; charges resulting from a technical failure to deliver a result, or from a billing error, are refunded or not charged in the first place.

Check credit packs (available on every plan) are any chosen quantity of checks at the plan's own per-check rate, with no additional size discount. They follow the same refund rule as Pay-As-You-Go credit: a pack can be refunded within 14 days of purchase while none of its credits have been used; once any of its credits have been used, the purchase is final. Automatic top-up, where enabled, charges the selected quantity to the subscription's own payment method whenever the credit balance falls below a threshold chosen by the account owner, up to a monthly limit the owner also sets; it can be switched off at any time on the Billing page.

Doc Intelligence, the assistant that answers questions about DocAccord's own reference library and the customer's own records, is included with every subscription plan (Starter, Business, Enterprise) subject to fair use: a monthly allowance is reset every billing period. Once a period's allowance is used, Doc Intelligence continues to answer from the reference library, without a language model, until the next reset; this never affects document checks, credits or any other part of the service. Pay-As-You-Go and accounts without a subscription have access to the reference library search only.

§ 7 Term and Termination

Subscriptions may be cancelled at any time, effective at the end of the current billing period. Cancellation during an ongoing period does not entitle the customer to a pro-rata refund of amounts already paid, but access to the subscription's included services continues until the end of the paid period. The Provider may terminate the agreement without notice for serious violations of these Terms (e.g. abusive use, payment default).

§ 8 Limitation of Liability

a) The Provider is liable without limitation for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, and for damages caused by intent or gross negligence of the Provider, its legal representatives, or vicarious agents, as well as under any expressly assumed guarantee and under the mandatory provisions of the German Product Liability Act.

b) In the case of a slightly negligent breach of a material contractual obligation (a cardinal obligation), the Provider's liability is limited in amount to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract at the time the contract was concluded.

c) In all other respects, the Provider's liability for damages caused by slight negligence is excluded; this applies in particular to damages arising from a discrepancy not detected by the System being subsequently raised by a bank, provided there is no breach of a cardinal obligation and no gross negligence.

§ 9 No Legal or Tax Advice

The System and its output do not replace individual legal, tax, or other trade-finance professional advice.

§ 10 Privacy and Usage Rights

For the processing of personal data and uploaded documents, see our Privacy Policy. The customer retains all rights to the documents they upload. The Provider retains all rights in the System itself (software, rule engine, trademarks); the customer is granted only a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use it for the duration of the contract.

§ 10a Customer Data

The customer retains all rights in its Customer Data. It grants the Provider a limited, non-exclusive right to host, transmit and process Customer Data solely to provide, secure and maintain the Services for the customer, or as the customer separately allows, for example through the opt-in contribution of anonymised checks to test cases described in the Privacy Policy. The Provider does not use Customer Data to train AI models. The customer may use the Output generated from its Customer Data for its own business purposes.

§ 10b Confidentiality

Each party will protect the other party's confidential information with reasonable safeguards and use it only to perform or receive the Services. Confidential information includes, in particular, the customer's trade documents, the identities of the parties to its transactions and its financial terms, and, on the Provider's side, the non-public technology of the System. This obligation does not apply to information that is public without a breach of this section, was already lawfully known to the recipient, or was developed by it independently. If a party must disclose confidential information because the law or an authority requires it, it will inform the other party beforehand where legally permitted. The obligation continues after the contract ends for as long as the information remains confidential.

§ 10c Acceptable Use

The customer will use the Services only lawfully and in accordance with these Terms. In particular, the customer will not (a) misuse the Services or impair their operation, security or availability, for example by uploading malware or other harmful code, (b) test the security of the Services without the Provider's prior written authorisation (except as permitted by the vulnerability reporting rules on the Provider's security page, docaccord.com/security), or gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to the Services, their infrastructure or other customers' data, (c) share API keys, passwords or other credentials with unauthorised persons, or use another person's credentials, or (d) use the Services in breach of applicable sanctions or export control laws. The Provider may terminate under § 7 for serious breaches.

§ 11 Changes to These Terms

The Provider may amend these Terms with effect for the future, for instance following changes in the law or in the scope of the service. The customer will be notified of material changes by email; if the customer does not object within six weeks, the amended Terms are deemed accepted. The Provider will specifically draw attention to this period and the significance of silence in the notification of changes.

§ 12 Final Provisions

These Terms are governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). To the extent legally permissible, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with this contract is the Provider's registered seat (London). Should individual provisions of these Terms be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.

§ 13 Acknowledgment

The customer expressly confirms acknowledgment of these Terms upon registration (checkbox consent, logged with a timestamp pursuant to § 305(2) of the German Civil Code, BGB).