Terms and Conditions

1. About ePuP

ePuP operates an online marketplace that enables users to advertise dogs, puppies, stud services, rehoming opportunities and permitted dog-related services and to communicate with other users.

Unless ePuP expressly states otherwise in relation to a particular service, ePuP is not the buyer, seller, breeder, rehoming organisation, keeper, owner or agent of an animal advertised by a user.

Contracts for the sale, transfer, rehoming or provision of services are generally made directly between the relevant users.

2. Eligibility to use ePuP

You must have legal capacity to enter into the relevant transaction and must comply with all applicable age, licensing and legal requirements.

You must not create an account or use ePuP on behalf of another person without appropriate authority.

You must provide accurate information and must not impersonate another person or misrepresent your identity, business, qualifications, licence, experience or relationship with an animal.

3. Account security

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for activity carried out through your account where permitted by law.

You must notify ePuP promptly if you believe your account has been compromised or used without permission.

ePuP may require additional verification, password resets, telephone verification or other security steps where reasonably necessary to protect the marketplace.

4. Seller responsibilities

Sellers, breeders, rehomers and service providers are responsible for ensuring that their adverts, activities and transactions comply with applicable law.

This includes responsibility for:

• providing accurate and non-misleading advert information;
• ensuring photographs and videos genuinely relate to the animal or service being advertised;
• accurately stating age, sex, breed, health, ownership and other material information;
• disclosing material health or welfare information where required or appropriate;
• complying with microchipping, breeding, licensing, welfare and sale requirements that apply to them;
• obtaining any licence, registration, permission or consent legally required for their activities;
• treating animals humanely and maintaining appropriate standards of welfare;
• ensuring that they have lawful authority to advertise and transfer the animal;
• complying with the ePuP Marketplace Rules, Seller Standards, Prohibited Adverts Policy and other applicable policies.

5. Animal welfare

Animal welfare must take priority over completing a transaction.

Users must comply with applicable animal-welfare legislation, including requirements relating to suitable living conditions, health, welfare, handling, transport and treatment.

ePuP may remove content, restrict an account, suspend activity or refer information to an appropriate authority where we reasonably believe an animal may be at risk.

Further requirements are set out in our Animal Welfare Policy .

6. Dangerous and prohibited dogs

Users must not advertise, sell, exchange, transfer or otherwise use ePuP in a way that would breach legislation concerning prohibited or dangerously controlled dogs.

This includes compliance with the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 and subsequent amendments, exemptions, regulations and other applicable legislation.

The legal status of a dog may depend on characteristics, circumstances, exemptions and current law. Users are responsible for obtaining appropriate legal advice where necessary.

ePuP may remove or restrict an advert where there is a reasonable concern that a dog or proposed transaction may be unlawful, prohibited or unsafe.

Please also read our Dangerous Dogs guidance .

7. Prohibited adverts and activities

You must not use ePuP to advertise or facilitate unlawful, fraudulent, abusive, misleading or prohibited activity.

Examples may include:

• animals that you do not have authority to advertise;
• fraudulent or fabricated adverts;
• misleading breed, health or ownership claims;
• stolen animals;
• unlawful breeding or selling activity;
• prohibited or unlawfully transferred dogs;
• animal fighting or cruelty;
• fake documents or verification information;
• attempts to evade ePuP moderation or enforcement systems;
• spam, scams, phishing or deceptive payment requests.

Our Prohibited Adverts Policy forms part of these Terms.

8. Buyer responsibilities

Buyers must carry out their own reasonable checks before committing to a purchase, transfer or rehoming arrangement.

Buyers should, where appropriate:

• meet the seller and animal in person;
• see the animal in its normal environment where appropriate;
• check relevant documentation;
• ask appropriate health and welfare questions;
• independently verify licences where relevant;
• avoid unsafe or unusual payment requests;
• report suspicious behaviour to ePuP.

Verification badges, reviews and Trust Scores are useful signals but are not substitutes for buyer due diligence.

9. Advert moderation

ePuP may review adverts and other marketplace content before or after publication.

Moderation may involve automated systems and human review, including checks relating to:

• advert text;
• photographs;
• videos;
• duplicate content;
• account history;
• IP and technical risk indicators;
• verification status;
• fraud or scam indicators;
• animal-welfare or prohibited-content concerns.

Passing automated checks does not constitute an endorsement, guarantee or certification by ePuP.

10. Trust Scores and verification badges

ePuP may calculate Trust Scores or display verification indicators using available marketplace information.

These may consider matters such as identity, email, telephone or address verification, account history, moderation results and appropriate risk indicators.

Trust Scores and verification badges are informational marketplace signals only. They do not guarantee honesty, legality, identity, animal health, seller conduct or the outcome of a transaction.

11. Messaging

ePuP provides marketplace messaging to help users communicate.

You must not use messaging to:

• threaten, harass or abuse another person;
• send spam or unsolicited advertising;
• attempt fraud, phishing or deception;
• share unlawful content;
• circumvent marketplace enforcement;
• facilitate prohibited transactions.

Messages may be retained and reviewed where reasonably necessary for fraud prevention, safety, moderation, dispute handling or legal compliance.

12. Reviews and reputation

Reviews must reflect a genuine eligible marketplace interaction and must be truthful and fair.

Users must not:

• submit fabricated reviews;
• review themselves;
• organise coordinated review manipulation;
• offer improper incentives for positive reviews;
• threaten users with reviews to obtain an improper advantage;
• publish unlawful, abusive or knowingly false content.

ePuP may moderate, hide, reject, restore or investigate reviews where reasonably necessary.

13. Payments to ePuP

Certain ePuP features may require payment, including listing packages, promotions, featured placements or other optional services.

Applicable prices should be displayed before payment is completed.

Payments may be processed by third-party payment providers.

Purchasing a promotion or paid feature does not guarantee enquiries, sales, rehoming success, search position, traffic or any particular commercial result.

14. Refunds and consumer rights

Refund eligibility depends on the service purchased, the circumstances and applicable law.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts statutory consumer rights that cannot lawfully be excluded.

Where mandatory consumer cancellation or refund rights apply, ePuP will comply with those rights.

15. Transactions between users

Unless expressly stated otherwise, ePuP is not a party to the contract between a buyer and seller.

Users are responsible for agreeing transaction terms, carrying out appropriate checks, complying with applicable law and resolving issues arising directly from their transaction.

ePuP may provide support, reporting or moderation tools but is not obliged to act as an arbitrator between users.

16. Intellectual property

ePuP and its branding, design, software, marketplace features, graphics and original content are protected by intellectual property laws.

You must not copy, scrape, reproduce, republish, reverse engineer, exploit or commercially reuse protected ePuP material except as permitted by law or with our permission.

17. Content you upload

You retain ownership of content that you own, subject to the rights granted in these Terms.

By uploading content to ePuP, you grant ePuP a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, format, display and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate, promote, secure and improve the marketplace.

You confirm that you have the rights and permissions necessary to upload the content.

18. Availability of the service

We aim to keep ePuP available and reliable, but uninterrupted or error-free operation cannot be guaranteed.

We may modify, maintain, suspend or discontinue features where reasonably necessary.

19. Enforcement

Where reasonably necessary to protect users, animals, ePuP or the integrity of the marketplace, we may:

• reject or remove adverts;
• restrict marketplace features;
• request additional verification;
• hold content for manual moderation;
• hide or remove reviews;
• suspend or terminate accounts;
• preserve relevant records;
• refer matters to appropriate authorities where lawful.

20. Reporting concerns

Users should promptly report suspected fraud, scams, animal welfare concerns, unlawful adverts or serious marketplace abuse.

Guidance is available through our Report page and Reporting & Enforcement Policy .

21. Law-enforcement and regulatory cooperation

ePuP may preserve or disclose information where required or permitted by applicable law, including in response to valid legal process or appropriate requests from courts, regulators, law-enforcement agencies, local authorities or animal-welfare authorities.

22. Our responsibility to you

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where doing so would be unlawful.

In particular, nothing in these Terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited.

Subject to applicable law, ePuP is not responsible for the acts or omissions of independent marketplace users, the accuracy of information supplied by users, the condition or behaviour of an animal, or losses arising solely from a transaction between users where ePuP is not a party to that transaction.

We do not warrant that every advert, user, verification result, review or marketplace communication is accurate, genuine, lawful or risk-free.

23. Business users

Where you use ePuP wholly or mainly for business purposes, additional commercial limitations or obligations may apply to the extent permitted by law.

Business users remain responsible for compliance with applicable licensing, consumer-protection, advertising, tax and trading requirements.

24. Indemnity for unlawful business use

To the extent permitted by law, a business user may be required to compensate ePuP for reasonably incurred losses, liabilities, costs or claims arising directly from that business user's unlawful activity, material breach of these Terms or infringement of another person's rights.

This section does not apply where such an obligation would be unlawful or unfair under applicable law.

25. Suspension and termination

You may stop using ePuP subject to outstanding obligations.

ePuP may suspend, restrict or terminate an account where reasonably necessary because of serious or repeated policy breaches, fraud, security concerns, animal-welfare risks, unlawful activity or misuse of the marketplace.

Where appropriate, we may take proportionate action rather than immediate termination.

26. Privacy

Personal information is handled in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

27. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect legal, regulatory, operational or marketplace changes.

Where appropriate, material changes may be communicated through the website, account notices or another reasonable method.

28. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, unenforceable or unlawful, the remaining provisions will continue to apply to the extent permitted by law.

29. No waiver

If ePuP does not immediately enforce a provision of these Terms, that does not necessarily mean that the provision or our right to enforce it has been waived.

30. Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory rights that apply to consumers in other parts of the United Kingdom or elsewhere.

Nothing in these Terms removes any mandatory right a consumer may have to bring proceedings in a court that has jurisdiction under applicable law.

31. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be submitted through the ePuP Contact page.