Terms of Service

1. Draft status, operator, and acceptance

Version 2026-08-18. This is the version presented today, and the version recorded against anyone who accepts it at signup — the same string in both places, so what a person was shown and what we hold on file cannot drift apart.

These draft Terms of Service (“Terms”) are intended to govern access to haulhand.io and the HaulHand marketplace (“HaulHand” or the “Platform”). The legal name, jurisdiction, and business address of the entity operating HaulHand must be inserted here before launch after confirmation by counsel. In these Terms, “we,” “us,” and “our” mean that operator, and “you” means the person or business accepting these Terms.

These Terms form the agreement between you and HaulHand concerning the Platform. They do not replace the separate transportation contract between a Shipper and a Hauler. You accept these Terms only through an affirmative acceptance flow tied to the version then presented. Merely joining a waitlist does not create a transportation contract.

2. What HaulHand is—and is not

HaulHand is a marketplace intended to connect a person or business seeking transportation (“Shipper”) with an independent transportation provider (“Hauler”). A person may use one account in both roles. HaulHand does not itself transport cargo, take possession of cargo, operate a vehicle, employ the Hauler, or insure a load.

When a Shipper accepts a Hauler's bid, the Shipper and Hauler enter into their own transportation contract. HaulHand is not a party to that contract and does not control the route, vehicle, equipment, personnel, loading method, securement, or other means by which transportation is performed.

HaulHand's regulatory classification, including whether any activity is subject to federal or state freight-broker requirements, remains under review. This draft does not assert that HaulHand is, or is not, a broker, carrier, freight forwarder, or other regulated transportation entity. That classification and any required authority must be confirmed by counsel before launch.

3. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter a binding contract for yourself or the business you represent.
• You may maintain one personal account. That account may carry more than one role. You may not create duplicate accounts to avoid a restriction, fee, dispute, or enforcement action.
• Registration, contact, business, authority, insurance, vehicle, and payment information must be current, complete, and accurate.
• You are responsible for safeguarding access to your account and for promptly reporting suspected unauthorized use.
• You may not transfer an account or allow another person to present themselves as you. Authorized personnel acting for a business must have authority to bind that business.

4. Loads, bids, and bookings

A load posting is a request for bids, not an offer that HaulHand or any Hauler must accept. A Hauler's bid is a firm, all-in transportation price for the load as posted, subject to any stated expiration. Fuel is part of the Hauler's own rate calculation and is not added as a separate booking charge.

A booking is created when the Shipper accepts an open, unexpired bid. The accepted bid, fee rate, and other financial terms are recorded at acceptance and are not recomputed from later plan or fee changes. Other open bids on that load are rejected. A booking remains subject to successful payment authorization and any conditions disclosed before acceptance.

HaulHand provides records and workflow for the parties. It does not guarantee that a load will receive a bid, that a user will complete a booking, or that any user-provided statement or document is accurate.

5. Platform fee, authorization, capture, and payout

HaulHand charges the Shipper a platform fee added to the accepted bid and disclosed before booking. The launch fee is banded on the accepted bid: 10% on the first $2,000, then 5%. Each band applies only to the portion of the bid within it, so a bid crossing a band boundary is charged the lower rate on the excess alone. A future change applies prospectively and must be disclosed before a later booking; it does not alter an existing booking's recorded terms. The Hauler's payout before any agreed refund or cancellation is exactly the accepted bid. HaulHand absorbs payment-processing costs from its platform fee rather than deducting them from that payout.

Payment is authorized on booking and captured on confirmed delivery. Under the launch configuration, if the Shipper does not confirm delivery or open a dispute, capture is scheduled 72 hours after the Hauler marks the load delivered. The system calculates that deadline from an administrative setting when delivery is marked; that setting must remain 72 hours unless a different period is disclosed before the affected booking. An open or under-review dispute blocks capture. Processor failures may require a new authorization or another payment attempt, but do not change the amount the parties agreed to pay.

Payment services are provided through Stripe and may also be subject to Stripe's terms. HaulHand never takes custody of the Shipper's money. An authorization is a restriction imposed by the card issuer, not a transfer to HaulHand. Hauler payout timing can depend on successful capture, processor review, bank processing, and the Hauler's completed payout onboarding.

You authorize HaulHand and its payment processor to carry out payment, cancellation, capture, refund, and payout instructions that these Terms or a matching instruction from both booking parties permits. You remain responsible for amounts validly owed under a booking and for keeping an eligible payment method available.

6. Shipper cancellation

The cancellation stage is derived from the booking's recorded departure and pickup markers. Unless a different rule was disclosed before booking, a Shipper cancellation is treated as follows:

• Before the Hauler marks departure: no charge. The payment authorization is voided.
• After departure and before pickup: the greater of $75 or $2.25for each recorded deadhead mile from the Hauler's dispatch point to pickup. If no deadhead estimate was recorded at acceptance, the $75 floor applies — and no estimate is recorded today, because nothing in HaulHand measures that distance yet, so in practice every cancellation at this stage is the $75 floor. The entire charge goes to the Hauler; HaulHand charges no platform fee on a cancellation.
• Late-Hauler exception: if the Shipper cancels after the posted pickup window has ended and the load has not been picked up, no deadhead charge applies and the authorization is voided. A cancellation exactly at the window end is not yet after that window.
• After pickup: the full accepted bid is owed to the Hauler. HaulHand charges no platform fee on the cancellation.

The deadhead rate is a published launch proxy for operating cost, not a finding about a particular Hauler's actual expense. The amount displayed in the cancellation flow controls for that cancellation.

7. Hauler and administrative cancellation

A Hauler-initiated cancellation does not charge the Shipper at any stage, and the authorization is voided. The same rule applies when HaulHand administratively cancels a booking for platform enforcement, suspected fraud, legal compliance, or safety reasons. An administrative cancellation is not a decision that either transportation party is financially responsible to the other.

A Hauler may cite that the load presented at pickup does not match the posting. That citation records the Hauler's claim; it is not a finding by HaulHand. Any additional payment or reimbursement arising from an alleged mismatch requires matching instructions from both parties or an external legal or card-network process.

A booking with an open or under-review dispute cannot be cancelled through the ordinary cancellation workflow because doing so could decide the payment outcome while the claim is active.

8. Disputes between Shipper and Hauler

Either booking party may open a dispute. Opening it blocks capture and starts a 72-hour evidence window. Each party may submit material to the dispute record, and each party can read what the other submitted.

HaulHand does not currently provide a way to record an agreed financial instruction. These Terms previously said that the parties could each propose full payment, a partial refund, or a full refund, and that HaulHand would execute a matching pair. No such control exists in the product, so no dispute has ever been settled that way. Every dispute is decided by the published default rule below when the window closes. The Shipper and Hauler remain free to settle between themselves; HaulHand is not a party to and does not record any such settlement.

HaulHand does not adjudicate a dispute. HaulHand does not score evidence, decide fault, determine whether cargo was damaged, or choose between competing proposals. Submission of evidence does not create a promise that HaulHand will investigate or rule on it.

At the end of the 72-hour window, one of these versioned, published default rules applies:

• Delivered—not substantiated, version 1: when the booking record shows delivery and no substantiated restraint or matching alternative instruction is recorded by the deadline, capture proceeds for payment to the Hauler.
• Undelivered—unresolved, version 1: when the load was not delivered and no matching instruction is recorded by the deadline, the authorization is voided, nobody is charged, and the booking closes unresolved.

A default rule is an agreed operational rule, not a finding about who was right. Nothing in this workflow waives or limits either party's remedies against the other. A Shipper retains applicable rights with the card issuer, including the right to initiate a chargeback. A card issuer or card network, rather than HaulHand, decides that external process.

9. Refunds and processing retention

No refund mechanism is currently in operation.Nothing in the product issues a refund: a booking's money can be authorized, released without charge, or captured in whole or in part, and there is no path that returns captured money. This section states the terms that will govern a refund when the capability exists, and it has never been applied to a booking.

A refund returns the agreed accepted-bid portion plus the proportional share of the platform fee, less a processing retention. The launch retention is 2.9% of the original authorized amount plus $0.30, applied once across all refunds for the booking and capped at the platform fee actually charged. It can never make a refund negative or leave the Shipper owing more than the original amount.

The retention covers the original payment-processing charge that Stripe does not return when a transaction is refunded. It is not an additional cancellation penalty. For a partial refund, the platform-fee share is calculated proportionally and the retention is applied cumulatively so repeated partial refunds do not repeat the fixed component. Processor and charge configuration may determine which account bears that cost, but not the published amount returned to the Shipper.

10. Shipper obligations

• Describe the cargo, quantity, condition, weight, dimensions, handling needs, hazardous status, pickup and delivery access, and timing accurately and completely.
• Update or cancel a posting if a material fact changes before booking; after booking, disclose a change to the Hauler before performance.
• Have the legal right to tender the cargo and ensure it is lawful to possess and transport.
• Provide safe, lawful, and reasonably accessible pickup and delivery locations, together with people and equipment the posting assigns to the Shipper.
• Provide documents, declarations, inspections, permits, and special instructions for which the Shipper or cargo owner is responsible.
• Inspect delivery promptly, confirm delivery when complete, and raise a dispute within the available window if necessary.

11. Hauler obligations and independent status

• Maintain the licenses, operating authority, registrations, endorsements, permits, insurance, equipment, qualifications, and records required for the Hauler, vehicle, route, and cargo.
• Independently assess whether the posted load can be transported safely and lawfully. A Platform form or document field is not legal advice and does not establish compliance.
• Comply with applicable safety, securement, hours-of-service, animal welfare, hazardous-material, inspection, tax, employment, and transportation laws.
• Keep booking markers and communications accurate. Do not mark departure, pickup, delivery, or confirmation at a time when the event did not occur.
• Promptly report a delay, incident, cargo issue, or inability to perform.

A Hauler is an independent business and not an employee, agent, partner, or joint venturer of HaulHand. The Hauler controls the lawful means and manner of performance and is responsible for personnel, equipment, expenses, insurance, and taxes. Nothing in these Terms authorizes a Hauler to bind HaulHand.

12. Prohibited cargo and acceptable use

You may not use the Platform to:

• offer, request, or perform transportation of stolen property, contraband, people, unlawful drugs, or anything unlawful to possess or transport;
• tender hazardous, controlled, oversize, overweight, regulated, or live cargo without disclosing it or without the authority, qualifications, documents, equipment, and conditions the law requires;
• transport cargo excluded by the performing Hauler's insurance or violate animal-welfare, environmental, safety, sanctions, trade, or other applicable law;
• impersonate another person, provide materially false information, falsify a marker or document, manipulate a bid, coordinate sham transactions, misuse a payment method, or evade a valid fee;
• threaten, harass, discriminate against, exploit, or unlawfully track another person;
• scrape, reverse engineer, disrupt, overload, introduce malicious code, probe access controls, or use the Platform to violate another person's privacy or intellectual-property rights; or
• use another user's bid, contact, document, location, or booking information for any purpose unrelated to evaluating or performing the applicable haul.

13. Documents, insurance, and authority

HaulHand may require a Hauler to file insurance, authority, identity, or other records before bidding or receiving payout. Filing or displaying a document does not mean HaulHand guarantees that it is genuine, current, sufficient, applicable to a load, or that an insurer will pay a claim. The parties remain responsible for checking coverage and authority appropriate to the haul.

HaulHand does not provide cargo, liability, health, workers' compensation, or any other insurance for a booking unless a separate written product is expressly offered and accepted. No such product is promised by these Terms.

14. Taxes and records

Each user is responsible for determining and paying taxes, fees, tolls, permits, assessments, and reporting obligations arising from that user's activity. HaulHand may collect tax information, issue forms, withhold amounts, or report transactions when law requires it. Platform records are not a substitute for a user's own legally required books and records.

15. Suspension, cancellation, and termination of access

HaulHand may restrict or suspend access, bidding, posting, payment, or payout where reasonably necessary to address suspected fraud, unauthorized payment use, material inaccuracy, an expired or facially invalid required document, safety risk, legal process, sanctions, repeated nonperformance, abuse, or a material violation of these Terms. An urgent restriction may take effect without advance notice when delay would create risk.

A user may stop using the Platform and request account deactivation. Deactivation does not cancel an active booking, remove an amount owed, end a dispute, or require deletion of a record that must be retained for safety, fraud prevention, tax, accounting, legal, or enforcement reasons. Sections that by their nature should continue—including payment, records, disclaimers, liability, indemnity, and dispute provisions—survive termination.

16. User content, communications, and Platform rights

You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant HaulHand a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, reproduce, format, and share it only as reasonably needed to operate, secure, and improve the Platform, perform a booking, comply with law, or exercise legal rights. You represent that you have the rights needed to submit that content.

HaulHand and its licensors retain all rights in the Platform, software, design, trademarks, and original content. No right is granted except the limited right to use the Platform under these Terms. Booking messages and notices may form part of the transaction record; users should keep communications factual and relevant.

17. Third-party services

The Platform relies on third-party services for functions such as payments, hosting, maps, communications, and identity or document workflows. Their terms and privacy practices may apply to their direct services. HaulHand is not responsible for a third party's independent service, outage, or decision, but this provision does not excuse HaulHand from duties that applicable law places on it.

18. Disclaimers

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the Platform is provided “as is” and “as available.” HaulHand disclaims implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, non-infringement, and any warranty arising from course of dealing or usage of trade.

HaulHand does not warrant that a user is who they claim to be; that a document, authority, insurance policy, bid, route, cargo description, marker, or message is accurate; that a Hauler is suitable; that a load is lawful or safe; that transportation will be timely or damage-free; or that the Platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. Some jurisdictions do not allow particular disclaimers, so they apply only to the extent permitted.

19. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, HaulHand and its officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, or for lost profits, business, opportunity, use, goodwill, or data, arising from the Platform or a haul, even if advised that such damage was possible.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, HaulHand's aggregate liability arising from a booking will not exceed the platform fee charged on the booking giving rise to the claim. This cap does not apply where it would be unlawful, and it does not limit a user's payment obligations to another user. Allocation of liability for HaulHand's own gross negligence, willful misconduct, data-security obligations, personal injury, and other non-waivable claims requires counsel's review before these Terms are published.

20. Indemnity

To the fullest extent permitted by law, you will defend, indemnify, and reimburse HaulHand and its officers, employees, contractors, and affiliates from third-party claims, damages, penalties, losses, and reasonable legal costs arising from your cargo, load, bid, transportation services, personnel, vehicle, equipment, content, breach of these Terms, infringement of another person's rights, or violation of law. HaulHand will give reasonable notice and may control the defense; you may not settle a claim in a way that admits fault by or imposes an obligation on HaulHand without written consent. This section does not require indemnity for a loss to the extent caused by HaulHand's own conduct where applicable law prohibits it.

21. Disputes between a user and HaulHand

21.1 Informal notice

Before filing a claim against HaulHand, the user and HaulHand will try in good faith for 30 days to resolve it after written notice describing the claimant, facts, requested relief, and contact information. The final operator name and physical notice address must be inserted before launch; until then, draft notices may be sent to legal@haulhand.io.

21.2 Governing law and arbitration

Subject to counsel's approval, these Terms and claims between a user and HaulHand are governed by Utah law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and the Federal Arbitration Act governs this arbitration clause. Except for an individual claim eligible for small-claims court or a request for temporary injunctive relief to protect intellectual property or system security, unresolved claims will be decided by binding, individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under the rules applicable to the claim. The arbitrator may award the same individual relief a court could award.

21.3 Individual proceedings and opt-out

Subject to counsel's approval, claims may be brought only on an individual basis and not as a plaintiff, claimant, or class member in a class, collective, coordinated, consolidated, mass, or representative proceeding. A user may opt out of arbitration and this waiver by sending signed written notice within 30 days after first accepting these Terms. The final notice method and address must be added before launch. For a claim that is not arbitrated, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction in the state and federal courts located in Salt Lake County, Utah, and waive a jury trial to the extent permitted by law.

This section concerns a dispute between a user and HaulHand. It does not make HaulHand the decision-maker for a transportation dispute between a Shipper and Hauler and does not limit card-issuer chargeback rights.

22. Changes to these Terms

HaulHand may update these Terms prospectively. The updated version will state its effective date. Where a change is material, HaulHand will provide notice through the Platform or the contact information on the account and will request renewed acceptance where law requires it. A change will not retroactively alter a recorded booking price, cancellation rule, or dispute default that applied when the booking was made.

23. Notices

Operational notices may be delivered through the Platform or to the email address or phone number supplied by the user, subject to the consent rules in the Privacy Policy. Legal notices to HaulHand must use the address identified in Section 21 after it is completed. You are responsible for keeping contact information current.

24. General terms

These Terms, the Privacy Policy, and terms expressly presented for a feature form the agreement between you and HaulHand about the Platform. A transportation contract between users remains separate. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be enforced to the greatest lawful extent and the remainder will continue. A waiver must be express and is not a continuing waiver. You may not assign these Terms without written consent; HaulHand may assign them in connection with a merger, financing, reorganization, or sale of the relevant business, subject to applicable law. Headings are for navigation and do not change meaning.

25. Contact

Questions about these draft Terms: legal@haulhand.io. The operator's legal name, physical address, registered-agent details, and a formal notice address must be added before launch.