1. Introduction and Acceptance

These Terms & Conditions (‘Terms’) govern your use of the Etheco website at etheco.com and all related services, features, and content (collectively, the ‘Service’). By accessing or using our Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use our Service.

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will notify registered users of material changes by email and will post a notice on our website. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not accept the changes, you should stop using the Service and may delete your account.

2. About Etheco

Etheco is an ethical consumer information and switching platform. We provide:

• independent ratings of brands and companies across four pillars: People, Planet, Pocket, and Performance (‘the 4Ps Framework’);
• information and editorial content to help consumers make more informed ethical purchasing decisions;
• comparison information and referral or switching services for ethical products, including in the banking and energy sectors;
• a newsletter and marketing communications to opted-in subscribers.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United Kingdom to use our Service. By using our Service, you confirm that you meet these requirements.
If you are using our Service on behalf of a business or organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and references to ‘you’ in these Terms include that entity.

4. Account Registration and Security

4.1 Registration

To access certain features you may need to create an account. When registering you must provide accurate, current, and complete information and keep it up to date.

4.2 Your Security Responsibilities

You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account. You must:

• not use automated scripts, bots, or credential-stuffing tools to access your account.
• choose a strong, unique password that you do not use for any other account;
• keep your password and any verification codes strictly confidential and not share them with any third party;
• enable any multi-factor authentication (MFA) option we offer, which we strongly recommend;
• log out of your account at the end of each session, particularly on shared or public devices;
• ensure that any device used to access your account is kept secure and has appropriate up-to-date security software;

You are responsible for all activity that occurs under your account, whether or not authorised by you. If you suspect your account has been compromised, you must notify us immediately at hello@etheco.com and change your password without delay.

4.3 Our Security Responsibilities

We will notify you promptly if we become aware of any unauthorised access to your account or a security breach that affects your personal data and is likely to result in a high risk to your rights and freedoms, in accordance with Article 34 UK GDPR and our Privacy Policy.

4.4 Account Inactivity

We reserve the right to suspend or close accounts that have been inactive for a continuous period of 24 months. We will provide not less than 30 days’ prior notice by email before closing an inactive account.

5. Etheco Ratings — Methodology and Limitations

5.1 Our Ratings Methodology

Our ratings are produced using a combination of publicly available data, third-party assessments, company-reported information, and our own proprietary editorial judgement. Full details of our methodology are available on our website.

5.2 Editorial Independence

Our ratings are editorially independent. We do not accept payment from companies in exchange for favourable ratings or editorial coverage. Where we have an affiliate or commercial relationship with a rated company, this is disclosed on the relevant page. Affiliate commission income does not influence our ratings methodology or outputs.

5.3 No Warranty on Ratings

To the fullest extent permitted by law, we make no warranty that our ratings are accurate, complete, current, or suitable for any particular purpose. Ratings reflect the information available to us at the time of publication and may not reflect subsequent changes to a company’s practices, ownership, or performance.

6. Switching Services and Affiliate Relationships

6.1 Third-Party Providers

Where we facilitate or refer you to a switching service, you enter into an agreement directly with the relevant third-party provider. We are not a party to that contract and accept no liability for the provider’s performance, products, pricing, or conduct.

6.2 Affiliate Commission Disclosure

Etheco earns referral commissions when you click through to a third-party provider via our platform and complete a sign-up or switch. This commission is paid by the third party. We clearly label affiliate links on our platform. Commission income does not affect the price you pay.

6.3 Energy Switching

Energy switching services available via Etheco are provided in partnership with appropriately authorised third parties. Etheco itself does not hold Ofgem authorisation and acts solely as an introducer. You will be directed to the relevant authorised provider to complete any switch.

6.4 Financial Products

Where we refer you to financial products (including bank accounts and savings products), we do so as an introducer only. We are not authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to provide regulated financial advice. Our company-level ratings do not constitute regulated financial promotions. Any content that does constitute a financial promotion will be clearly identified and handled in compliance with applicable FCA rules.

7. Consumer Rights and Cancellation

7.1 Consumer Rights Act 2015

If you are a consumer (an individual acting outside your trade, business, craft, or profession), you have certain non-excludable rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other applicable UK consumer protection law. Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts those rights.

7.2 Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 — Right to Cancel

Where you enter into a digital services contract with us (for example, a paid subscription) online, you have a right to cancel within 14 calendar days of the date of contract without giving a reason.
This is called your ‘cooling-off period’. To exercise this right, you should notify us clearly in writing (email to hello@etheco.com is sufficient).
If you have asked us to begin providing a digital service within the 14-day cooling-off period and you then exercise your right to cancel, you may be charged a pro-rata amount for the service delivered up to the point of cancellation.
Note: free-to-access services and features do not give rise to a cancellation right as no payment is involved.

7.3 Complaints Procedure

If you have a complaint about our Service, please contact us in the first instance:

Email: hello@etheco.com (subject line: Complaint)

Post: 175b Reculver Road, Herne Bay, Kent, England, CT6 6PY, United Kingdom
We will acknowledge your complaint within 5 business days and aim to resolve it within 28 days. If you remain dissatisfied after our internal process is complete, you may refer the matter to your legal rights under applicable law or, where an applicable ADR scheme exists, to that scheme. We will provide details of any applicable scheme at the conclusion of our internal process.

8. Acceptable Use

8.1 General Conduct

When using our Service, you agree not to:

• use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in a manner that violates any applicable UK or international laws or regulations;
• access, tamper with, or attempt to gain unauthorised access to our systems, accounts, or data, which may constitute an offence under the Computer Misuse Act 1990;
• use automated tools, bots, scrapers, crawlers, or scripts to access, extract, or copy content from our platform without our prior written consent — this includes but is not limited to our ratings data, methodology documentation, and editorial content;
• circumvent or attempt to circumvent any access controls, rate limiting, authentication mechanisms, or other security features of our platform;
• introduce or attempt to introduce viruses, trojans, ransomware, spyware, or other malicious code into our systems;
• conduct or facilitate denial-of-service attacks or any other activity that interferes with the availability or performance of the Service;
• submit false, misleading, or fraudulent information, including in account registration;
• impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity;
• harvest, compile, or export personal data about other users obtained through the Service;
• use the Service to send spam, unsolicited communications, or in violation of PECR.

8.2 Responsible Security Research

Notwithstanding the above restrictions, we recognise and support the role of independent security research. If you discover a potential vulnerability in our platform, you must not exploit it, access or retain any data beyond what is strictly necessary to verify the issue, or disclose it publicly before giving us a reasonable opportunity to respond.
Please report suspected vulnerabilities to our Data Protection Officer at dpo@etheco.com with the subject line ‘Security Vulnerability.’ We will acknowledge receipt within 5 business days and keep you informed of our investigation. We will not pursue legal action against researchers who act in good faith in accordance with this responsible disclosure principle.

8.3 Consequences of Misuse

Violation of our acceptable use policy may result in immediate suspension or termination of your account, reporting to relevant law enforcement authorities, and/or civil legal action. We reserve all rights to pursue remedies available to us under law.

9. Intellectual Property

All content on the Etheco platform — including our ratings methodology, editorial content, brand name, logo, design, software, and data compilations (collectively, ‘Our Content’) — is owned by or licensed to Etheco and protected by UK and international intellectual property law.
You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use Our Content for your own personal, non-commercial purposes. You may not reproduce, redistribute, sell, licence, modify, create derivative works from, or commercially exploit Our Content without our prior written consent.
Third-party trademarks and brand names referenced on our platform remain the property of their respective owners. No affiliation with or endorsement by Etheco should be implied.

10. Marketing Communications

If you opt in to receive marketing communications from us, we may contact you by email about Etheco news, product features, ethical consumer guides, and third-party products and services we believe may interest you.
You can withdraw your consent at any time by:

• clicking the ‘unsubscribe’ link in any marketing email;
• updating your preferences in your account settings; or
• contacting us at hello@etheco.com or our DPO at dpo@etheco.com.

We will process unsubscribe requests promptly and within 10 business days at most. Withdrawal of marketing consent does not affect service communications, which we may continue to send as necessary to administer your account.

11. Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability

11.1 Service Provided ‘As Is’

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, our Service is provided on an ‘as is’ and ‘as available’ basis. We make no warranty, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement.

11.2 Availability

We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access to the Service. We may suspend or restrict access for maintenance, security, or operational reasons, and will provide advance notice where reasonably practicable.

11.3 Third-Party Content and Services

We are not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, reliability, or suitability of third-party content, products, or services referenced or linked from our platform. Your use of any third-party service is at your own risk and subject to that third party’s own terms.

11.4 Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, our total aggregate liability to you for any claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Service — whether in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, or otherwise — shall not exceed the greater of £100 or the total amount you have paid to us in the 12 months preceding the claim.

11.5 Excluded Liabilities

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (b) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (c) any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under English law, including under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Unfair Contract Terms Act 1977.

11.6 Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Etheco and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any claims, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from or relating to: (a) your violation of these Terms; (b) your misuse of the Service; or (c) your infringement of any third-party rights. This indemnity does not limit your statutory rights as a consumer.

12. Links to Third-Party Websites

Our Service may include links to third-party websites. These are provided for convenience only.
We have no control over third-party content and accept no responsibility for it or for any loss or damage arising from your use of those sites. Accessing third-party sites is at your own risk and subject to their own terms and privacy policies.

13. Force Majeure

We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performing our obligations under these Terms where that failure or delay results from any cause beyond our reasonable control. This includes but is not limited to: acts of God, fire, flood, earthquake, epidemic, pandemic, war, terrorism, civil unrest, strikes or industrial action (whether by our staff or third parties), failure of third-party networks or infrastructure, cyberattack or distributed denial-of-service attack, or government action.
If a force majeure event continues for more than 30 days, either party may terminate any paid service agreement by providing written notice, without liability to the other.

14. Suspension and Termination

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Service at any time, with or without notice, where we reasonably believe you have violated these Terms, where required by law, or for any other legitimate operational reason.
You may stop using our Service at any time. To close your account, please contact hello@etheco.com. We will handle the deletion of your personal data in accordance with our Privacy Policy and applicable data retention obligations.
On termination, all licences granted to you under these Terms cease immediately. Sections 8 (Acceptable Use), 9 (Intellectual Property), 11 (Disclaimers and Limitation of Liability), 11.6 (Indemnification), 15 (Governing Law), and any other provisions that by their nature should survive, will continue to apply after termination.

15. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them or their subject matter or formation (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales.
We aim to resolve disputes informally in the first instance. Please contact hello@etheco.com. If we are unable to reach a resolution, both parties submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales, without prejudice to your rights as a consumer to bring proceedings in the courts of your country of residence (if different).
If you are an eligible small business, you may also have access to the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators or other recognised ADR schemes. We will provide details of any applicable scheme on request.

16. General Provisions

16.1 Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy and any other policies referenced herein, constitute the entire agreement between you and Etheco concerning the Service and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

16.2 Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, unlawful, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be severed from the remaining Terms, which will continue in full force and effect.

16.3 Waiver

Our failure or delay in enforcing any provision of these Terms on any occasion does not constitute a waiver of our right to enforce it on a subsequent occasion. No waiver of any breach shall be construed as a waiver of any subsequent breach.

16.4 No Partnership or Agency

Nothing in these Terms creates or implies any partnership, joint venture, agency, employment, or franchise relationship between you and Etheco.

16.5 Assignment

You may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations to a successor entity as part of a merger, acquisition, or corporate restructuring, provided this does not materially prejudice your rights.

16.6 Notices

Notices to us under these Terms should be sent to hello@etheco.com or by post to 175b Reculver Road, Herne Bay, Kent, England, CT6 6PY, United Kingdom. We will send notices to the email address registered on your account.

17. Contact

For questions about these Terms or our Service: