Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using BeExpertly ("the Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not access or use the Platform.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and BeExpertly LLC, a California Limited Liability Company ("we", "us", or "our").

2. Eligibility

You must be at least 16 years old to use the Platform. By using the Platform, you represent and warrant that you meet this age requirement and have the legal capacity to enter into these Terms.

3. Account Registration

To access certain features of the Platform, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during registration.
• Maintain and promptly update your account information.
• Keep your login credentials secure and confidential.
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account.
• Accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account.

3.1 Usernames, Handles and Identity

Choosing a handle. Usernames and handles are public identifiers, separate from display names. Available handles are generally allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, subject to these Terms and any reservations. Selecting a handle does not guarantee permanent entitlement to it or grant rights in another person's name, brand or identity. A handle alone does not indicate identity verification or endorsement by BeExpertly.

Misleading use and squatting. You must not use a handle, display name, photograph, biography or other profile information to impersonate another person or organisation, or falsely suggest an affiliation or endorsement. You must not register or hold handles primarily to prevent another person's legitimate use, demand payment for their release, or buy, sell or trade handles without BeExpertly's written authorisation.

Reservations and reassignment. BeExpertly may reserve unclaimed handles for platform functions, brands, public figures or invited creators. We may restrict allocation of disputed handles and require a change, remove a handle, or reassign it where reasonably necessary to address impersonation, squatting, fraud, infringement of rights, other violations of these Terms, or legal requirements.

Competing claims. We assess competing claims using the information reasonably available to us, including existing legitimate use, the risk of misleading users, and evidence supporting each party's claim. Fame, follower count, a matching personal name, or apparent account inactivity does not, by itself, entitle someone to another user's handle. We do not guarantee that a requested handle will be released or reassigned.

Evidence and requests for review. We may request information reasonably necessary to assess a claim, such as evidence of control of an established official website or social account, or authorisation to represent a person or organisation. Personal information provided for this purpose is handled under our Privacy Policy. To report misuse or request reconsideration of a handle decision, contact legal@beexpertly.com with the relevant handle and supporting information. Do not send passwords or authentication codes.

Effect of reassignment. Reassigning a handle does not transfer the previous holder's account, content, followers, memberships or funds to the new holder.

4. User Roles

4.1 Learners

Learners can browse educator profiles, subscribe to educators, attend live sessions, purchase workshop tickets, and participate in community features.

4.2 Educators

Educators can create and host live sessions, offer subscriptions, sell workshop tickets, and build communities. Educators must complete identity verification (KYC) before receiving payouts.

5. Subscriptions and Payments

5.1 Subscription Terms

Subscriptions to educators are billed on a recurring monthly basis. By subscribing, you authorise us to charge your payment method automatically each billing cycle until you cancel.

5.2 Cancellation

You may cancel your subscription at any time. Upon cancellation, you will retain access until the end of your current billing period. No refunds are provided for partial billing periods, except as set out in section 10.4.

5.3 Workshop Tickets

Workshop tickets are one-time purchases for specific events. Refund policies for workshops are governed by our Workshop Policies.

5.4 Payments and merchant of record

BeExpertly is the merchant of record for all transactions on the platform. Payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. and its affiliates ("Stripe") acting as our payment services provider. By making a purchase you also agree to the Stripe Services Agreement. We do not receive or store your full payment card details; these are transmitted directly to Stripe.

5.5 Refunds

Refunds are issued by BeExpertly in accordance with the cancellation and delivery policies set out in these Terms, and are returned to the original payment method via Stripe. Where a refund is due under an automatic policy — expert cancellation, expert non-attendance, under-delivery, or a platform incident — it is initiated by us without the need for a request. Processing times are determined by your card issuer and are typically five to ten business days.

5.6 Taxes

As merchant of record, BeExpertly is responsible for determining, collecting and remitting any sales tax, VAT, GST or equivalent transaction tax due on your purchase in jurisdictions where we are registered to do so. Prices are displayed inclusive of such tax where your jurisdiction requires it. Experts are independently responsible for their own income tax obligations on amounts paid to them.

5.7 Chargebacks and disputes

If you believe a charge is incorrect, please contact us before initiating a chargeback with your card issuer — we can usually resolve it faster. Where a chargeback is raised we may suspend access to the affected content pending resolution. Amounts subject to an open dispute may be withheld from an expert's payable balance until the dispute is closed.

6. Educator Payouts

Amounts due to experts are paid via Stripe Connect. Experts must complete Stripe's identity verification before receiving a payout. Payouts are made monthly, subject to a minimum balance and a holding period set out in these Terms.

Workshop earnings are held for seven elapsed days (168 hours) after the workshop's scheduled end. Membership earnings are held for 168 hours after the end of the exact paid invoice period, not the payment date, calendar month-end or the subscription's current expiry. Late payment does not restart this service-based clock. Tips retain their payment-date holding period. Payment clearing through Stripe is also required; earnings with unknown settlement or service attribution remain held.

An eligible session report filed during the affected service or paid period, or within its seven-day holding period, holds the affected share until an explicit, audited financial resolution. Closing a moderation report alone does not release the money. Required or failed refunds remain held until financially resolved. Reports may still be submitted after the holding period. Becoming eligible does not promise immediate payment: the payout schedule, minimum balance and other applicable holds still apply.

Educators receive payouts for subscriptions and workshop sales according to our payout schedule. BeExpertly retains a platform fee from each transaction. The platform fee, including the lower fee on purchases from an expert's own new learners and who counts as one, is set out in section 8 of the Community Guidelines, which form part of these Terms. A rate we offer an expert individually in writing applies on that offer's terms.

7. User Content

7.1 Your Content

You retain ownership of content you create and upload to the Platform. By posting content, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, display, and distribute your content in connection with operating the Platform.

7.2 Content Standards

You agree not to post content that:

• Is illegal, harmful, threatening, abusive, or harassing.
• Infringes intellectual property rights of others.
• Contains malware, viruses, or harmful code.
• Is false, misleading, or deceptive.
• Violates the privacy of others.
• Promotes discrimination or hatred.

You must also follow our Community Guidelines, which form part of these Terms. They set out how we expect everyone to behave in live sessions, replays, community chat, direct messages and profiles.

7.3 Content Moderation

We may remove or restrict content that breaks these Terms or our Community Guidelines, or that we reasonably believe is illegal or puts someone at risk. We may do so without notice, and where we reasonably can, we will tell you what we removed and why.

7.4 Reporting, Illegal Content and Safety

You can report a person or content using the Report option on an expert's profile, or by emailing hello@beexpertly.com. If anyone is in immediate danger, contact your local emergency services first.

We review reports and act on them as described in section 10. When we become aware of illegal content, we remove it or restrict access to it. We may keep reported content and related records while we investigate, and for as long as we need them to resolve the matter and meet our legal obligations. Where the law requires us to report illegal content, such as child sexual abuse material, to the authorities, we do so.

8. Intellectual Property

The Platform and its original content (excluding user content), features, and functionality are owned by BeExpertly LLC and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws.

9. Prohibited Activities

You agree not to:

• Use the Platform for any unlawful purpose.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Platform.
• Interfere with or disrupt the Platform or servers.
• Use automated systems to access the Platform without permission.
• Impersonate another person or entity.
• Circumvent any security measures.
• Use the Platform to send spam or unsolicited communications.
• Record, copy or redistribute sessions, replays or chats without permission from the people in them and the expert who ran the session.
• Share your account, join links, passcodes or replays with anyone else.

10. Account Suspension and Termination

10.1 How we enforce these Terms

When someone breaks these Terms or our Community Guidelines, we respond in proportion to how serious it is and whether it has happened before. We may give a warning, remove content, remove someone from a session or community, limit features, suspend an account for a period, or close it permanently. Serious cases — threats of violence, sexual content involving anyone under 18, fraud or other illegal activity — can lead to immediate closure.

10.2 When we may suspend or close your account

We may suspend or close your account if:

• You seriously or repeatedly break these Terms or our Community Guidelines.
• We reasonably suspect fraud, payment abuse, or misuse of refunds or chargebacks.
• We need to in order to comply with the law or to protect the safety of others.
• Your account appears to have been compromised. We will help you regain access where we can.
• We stop offering the Platform, or the part of it you use. We will give you at least 30 days' notice where we reasonably can.

You can close your account at any time by contacting us or, where available, from your account settings.

10.3 Notice

When we act on your account, we will tell you what we did and why, unless doing so would be unlawful, would put someone at risk, or would get in the way of an investigation. If we close your account, you must not open a new one to get around that decision.

10.4 Memberships, tickets and payouts

• If we suspend or close your account, we stop your memberships so you are not charged again.
• If we act because you broke these Terms or our Community Guidelines, we do not refund the unused part of a membership or tickets you can no longer use, except where the law requires us to.
• If we close your account for a reason that is not your fault — for example, because we stop offering the Platform — we refund the unused part of any membership you have paid for and any tickets for sessions that have not yet taken place.
• If we suspend or remove an expert, we cancel their upcoming paid workshops and refund ticket holders in full; we end their members' memberships so they are not charged again, and refund the unused part of the current period.
• While we investigate fraud, a serious breach of these Terms or a dispute, we may hold amounts due to an expert. If we refund learners because an expert broke these Terms, we may deduct those refunds from amounts due to that expert.

10.5 Appeals

If you think we have made a mistake, you can appeal by emailing hello@beexpertly.com within 30 days of our decision, with your account email and why you think the decision is wrong. We will review it and tell you the outcome. This does not affect your other rights, including under section 14.

10.6 After closure

When your account is closed, your right to use the Platform ends immediately. Sections 11 to 14 continue to apply.

11. Disclaimers

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE.

We are not responsible for the content, accuracy, or opinions expressed by educators or other users. Educator content does not represent our views.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, BEEXPERTLY LLC SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM.

Our total liability for any claims arising from these Terms or your use of the Platform shall not exceed the amount you paid to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless BeExpertly LLC and its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses arising from your use of the Platform or violation of these Terms.

14. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

14.1 Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

14.2 Informal Resolution

Before initiating any formal dispute resolution, you agree to contact us at hello@beexpertly.com and attempt to resolve the dispute informally within 30 days.

14.3 Binding Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING YOUR RIGHT TO FILE A LAWSUIT IN COURT.

If we are unable to resolve a dispute informally, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Platform shall be resolved exclusively through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court. Arbitration shall be administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures, or by another mutually agreed-upon arbitration provider.

The arbitration shall be conducted in Los Angeles County, California, or at another mutually agreed location. The arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction.

14.4 Class Action Waiver

YOU AND BEEXPERTLY AGREE THAT EACH PARTY MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not preside over any form of class or representative proceeding.

14.5 Exceptions to Arbitration

Notwithstanding the above, either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights. Claims eligible for small claims court in Los Angeles County, California may also be brought in that court.

14.6 Opt-Out

You may opt out of the arbitration and class action waiver provisions within 30 days of first accepting these Terms by sending written notice to hello@beexpertly.com with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" and including your name, email address, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out. If you opt out, disputes will be resolved in the courts of Los Angeles County, California.

15. Changes to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes by posting the updated Terms on the Platform and updating the "Last updated" date. Your continued use of the Platform after changes constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms.

16. Severability

If any provision of these Terms is found to be unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

17. Contact Us

If you have any questions about these Terms, please contact us:

• Email: legal@beexpertly.com
• Address: BeExpertly LLC, 9171 Wilshire Blvd, Suite 500 PMB 9015, Beverly Hills, CA 90210