Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern your use of Gigisto — the website and services at gigisto.com operated by Bright Valley s.r.o., registered office Podskalská 1512/22, Nové Město, 128 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic, Company ID (IČO) 30019028, registered in the Commercial Register kept by the Municipal Court in Prague under file no. C 455977 ("Gigisto", "we", "us"). By creating an account you agree to these Terms, the Privacy Policy, the Acceptable Use Policy and the Fees page. The contract is concluded in English; we store these Terms and you can view the current version here at any time.

1. What Gigisto is

Gigisto is an online marketplace where clients find independent technology professionals ("freelancers") and agree on work. Clients and freelancers contract directly with each other. We are not a party to those contracts, we do not employ freelancers and we do not supervise their work. We provide the platform, hold payments in escrow according to these Terms, issue the documents described in section 10 and help resolve disputes.

2. Accounts

1. You must be at least 18 and able to enter into binding contracts. If you act for a company, you confirm that you may bind it.
2. One person may have one account. Information in your account and profile must be true, complete and current.
3. Keep your password secret and turn on two-factor authentication. You are responsible for everything done through your account. Tell us immediately at legal@gigisto.com or through the Help centre if you suspect misuse.
4. You can act as a client, a freelancer or both and switch at any time.

3. Businesses and consumers

1. Freelancers offer their services either as a business (a trader) or as private individuals. The consumer protection rules of EU law apply to a contract between a consumer and a trader; they do not apply to a contract with a private individual. If this matters to you, ask the freelancer before you hire.
2. Our own service to clients is free of charge. Nothing in these Terms limits the rights you have as a consumer under mandatory law.

4. Verification

Freelancers verify their identity (an identity document and a selfie) before they can start contracts, and provide tax details before their first withdrawal. We may ask any user for more information to meet our legal obligations — anti-money-laundering rules, sanctions screening and platform tax reporting under Council Directive (EU) 2021/514 ("DAC7"). We may refuse, limit or close accounts when verification fails.

5. Ways to work together

• Fixed-price contracts. The client sends an offer with one or more milestones. Each milestone is funded into escrow before the work on it starts.
• Service orders. The client buys one of the packages a freelancer offers. The price is paid into escrow when the order is placed; the delivery time and number of revisions are those of the package.
• Hourly contracts. The freelancer logs time against a weekly limit set by the client. Hours are invoiced weekly; the client pays each invoice into escrow and has 5 days to review it.

The scope, price, deadlines and deliverables agreed in the contract room form the contract between client and freelancer. Changes must be agreed in the contract room (for example as a new milestone).

6. Escrow, approval and release

1. Money paid by a client for a milestone, order or invoice is held in escrow on the client's behalf and is not available to the freelancer until it is released.
2. Money is released when the client approves the work, or automatically when the client takes no action within 14 days after the work is submitted (or the invoice review period ends).
3. The client may ask for changes instead of approving. For service orders, the number of revisions is limited to the package.
4. A freelancer may refund any escrowed amount to the client at any time.
5. While a dispute is open, the money stays in escrow until it is resolved.

7. Fees

Clients pay no service fee. Freelancers pay a service fee of 10% of every amount released to them; the current rate and any minimum or maximum are shown on the Fees page and before every contract starts. Currency conversion inside the wallet includes a disclosed conversion fee. Payment-method fees, if any, are shown at checkout. We may change fees with at least 30 days' notice; changes never apply to money already released.

8. Gigisto credits (client wallet)

1. Clients can buy Gigisto credits by card or bank transfer. One credit is worth €1. Credits can only be used on Gigisto to pay milestones, service orders, hourly invoices and bonuses — the money still goes into escrow under section 6.
2. Credits do not expire, earn no interest, cannot be transferred to another account and are not a bank deposit.
3. Unused purchased credits can be refunded to the payment method they were bought with: card top-ups in the wallet, bank-transfer top-ups through support. When escrow you paid with credits is refunded, the money returns to your credits.
4. You can close your account only after your purchased credits are spent or refunded.

9. Bonus credits and promotions

1. From time to time we offer bonus credits for top-ups (for example "1 credit for every €20"). The conditions are shown with each offer before you pay. If several offers apply, you get the single best one.
2. Bonus credits are a gift from Gigisto. They are spent before purchased credits, cannot be refunded to a card, withdrawn, exchanged for money or transferred.
3. If you refund a top-up that earned a bonus, the bonus is removed in proportion. If that bonus has already been spent, its value is deducted from the refund.
4. Bonus credits lapse when the account is closed. We may end or change an offer at any time; bonuses already granted are not affected. We may remove bonus credits obtained in breach of these Terms, for example through multiple accounts or fake top-ups and refunds.

10. Receipts and invoices

1. You receive a numbered receipt for every payment and every top-up.
2. Self-billing. When escrow is released to a freelancer, Gigisto issues the invoice from the freelancer to the client in the freelancer's name and on the freelancer's behalf. By using Gigisto as a freelancer you agree to this self-billing arrangement, confirm that the details you give us for invoices (legal name, address, tax residency and tax ID) are correct and up to date, and accept each invoice issued this way unless you object to it through support within 14 days. You remain responsible for declaring and paying the taxes on your income.
3. Freelancers receive an invoice from us for every service fee (Earnings → Fee invoices).

11. Earnings and withdrawals

1. Released earnings are subject to a security hold of 5 days before they become available, to protect against fraud and payment reversals.
2. Withdrawals are paid in crypto-assets (stablecoins such as USDT or USDC) to a wallet address the freelancer adds to their account, after two-factor authentication and payout verification are turned on. Balances are kept in euros; the amount sent is converted at the exchange rate of the day we send it. You are responsible for giving a correct address and network — crypto sent to a wrong address or network cannot be recovered. Bank payouts (SEPA) are being prepared and will be offered when available. The minimum withdrawal is €20.00.
3. We review withdrawals and may delay or refuse a payout where we reasonably suspect fraud, a breach of these Terms or a legal requirement, and will tell you why unless the law forbids it.

12. Off-platform payments

You may not ask for or make payment outside Gigisto for work with a person you met on Gigisto for 24 months after you first connected here, unless we agree otherwise in writing. Contact details are hidden in chat until a contract exists. Work paid outside Gigisto is not protected by escrow or dispute resolution.

13. Disputes between users

1. Either party can open a dispute about funded work from the contract room. Both parties can add evidence.
2. Our team reviews the contract, messages and deliverables and decides how the escrowed amount is split. We decide only how escrowed money is distributed; we do not decide other claims between you.
3. Our decision is final for the escrowed money. It does not affect your right to go to court or to an out-of-court dispute resolution body.

14. Reviews

After a contract ends both parties may leave a review. Only the client and the freelancer of that contract can review it, so every review belongs to a contract on Gigisto. Reviews are published when both sides have reviewed or the review window of 14 days closes. We do not pay for reviews or let anyone buy them. We may remove reviews that break the Acceptable Use Policy; we do not remove reviews just because they are negative.

15. How search results are ranked

Only results that match your filters are shown (for example category, skills, budget or rate, delivery time). When you search with words, the best text matches come first. Otherwise services are ordered by the number of orders and then by rating, freelancers by average rating and number of reviews, and jobs from the newest. You can change the order with the sort options. Nobody can pay for a higher position; if we ever offer paid placement, it will be clearly labelled.

16. Content and intellectual property

1. You keep ownership of the content you post. You give us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, show and process it to run Gigisto.
2. Unless the parties agree otherwise in the contract, ownership of the deliverables (or, where ownership cannot pass, an exclusive licence to use them) passes to the client when the corresponding payment is released. The freelancer confirms that the deliverables do not infringe the rights of others.
3. The Gigisto name, logo and software belong to us.

17. Illegal content and notices

1. Anyone can tell us about content they consider illegal or against these Terms with the Report button or by email to legal@gigisto.com. Please explain why and where the content is.
2. We review notices promptly and objectively. When we remove content or restrict an account, we tell the person concerned what we did and why, and how to contest it; we tell the person who reported it what we decided.
3. Our single point of contact for users and for authorities under the Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065) is legal@gigisto.com. You can write to us in English or Czech.

18. Taxes

Freelancers are independent businesses or individuals responsible for their own taxes and social contributions. Where the law requires it, we report information about freelancers' income to the tax authorities (DAC7) and give each freelancer a copy of what we report about them.

19. Suspension and termination

1. You can close your account at any time in Settings → Privacy & data, once no contract is active and no money is in escrow, available or held as purchased credits.
2. We may suspend or close an account, remove content or withhold access to funds where the law requires it or where we reasonably believe the account breaks these Terms. We explain our reasons unless the law forbids it.
3. If you use Gigisto as a business, we give you at least 30 days' notice before we close your account, unless we must act sooner because of a legal obligation or a serious or repeated breach (Regulation (EU) 2019/1150).
4. Escrowed money is then handled according to sections 6 and 13.

20. Liability

1. We provide Gigisto with reasonable care and skill, but we do not guarantee that it will be uninterrupted or that users will perform their contracts.
2. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for the acts of clients and freelancers. Our total liability to you in any 12 months is limited to the fees you paid us in that period, or €100 if higher.
3. Nothing in these Terms limits liability for harm caused intentionally or by gross negligence, for harm to life or health, or any other liability that cannot be limited by law.

21. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. For material changes we will notify you at least 30 days in advance and ask you to accept the new version when you next sign in. If you do not accept, you can close your account before the change takes effect.

22. Law and jurisdiction

These Terms and the use of Gigisto are governed by the law of the Czech Republic, in particular Act No. 89/2012 Coll., the Civil Code. The UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply. Disputes are decided by the Czech courts competent for our registered office. If you are a consumer, you also keep the protection of the mandatory laws of your country of residence and may bring claims in its courts.

23. Out-of-court resolution of consumer disputes

If you are a consumer and we cannot settle a complaint with you directly, you can ask the Czech Trade Inspection Authority (Česká obchodní inspekce), ADR department, for out-of-court resolution: adr.coi.cz, adr@coi.cz. A proposal must be filed within one year after you first raised the complaint with us.

24. Contact

Bright Valley s.r.o. · Podskalská 1512/22, Nové Město, 128 00 Prague 2, Czech Republic · Company ID 30019028 · Email: legal@gigisto.com · or open a ticket in the Help centre.