Terms of Use

1. Acceptance of terms

By accessing or using the hellopinas website at hellopinas.com ("Website") or any services we provide ("Services"), you confirm that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms of Use ("Terms"), our Privacy Policy and our Cookie Policy, which are incorporated here by reference.

If you are accessing or using our Services on behalf of a company, organisation, or other legal entity, you represent and warrant that you have the authority to bind that entity to these Terms, and references to "you" shall refer to that entity.

If you do not agree to these Terms in their entirety, you must immediately cease using our Website and Services.

2. Definitions

• "hellopinas", "we", "us", "our": a digital solutions company headquartered in the Philippines.
• "Website": the website located at hellopinas.com and all associated subdomains.
• "Services": all digital services we offer, including web development, mobile application development, AI integration, data analytics, e-commerce solutions, marketing automation, and business dashboard solutions.
• "User", "you", "your": any individual or entity accessing or using the Website or Services.
• "Content": all text, images, graphics, video, audio, software, data, and other materials available on or through the Website.
• "Client": a User who has entered into a separate service agreement with us for the provision of Services.
• "Confidential Information": any non-public information disclosed by either party in connection with the Services.

3. Description of services

hellopinas provides enterprise digital solutions to businesses and organisations. Our Services include, but are not limited to:

• Custom web development and web application engineering
• Native and cross-platform mobile application development
• Data analytics, business intelligence, and AI integration
• E-commerce platform development and payment system integration
• Marketing automation and digital marketing solutions
• Business dashboard and real-time reporting solutions
• Technical consultation and digital strategy advisory

The Website serves as an informational and enquiry platform. Specific service terms, deliverables, timelines, and pricing are governed by separate written service agreements or statements of work entered into with each Client.

4. Eligibility

By using our Website or Services, you represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 years of age, or the age of majority in your jurisdiction, whichever is greater.
• You have the legal capacity to enter into a binding agreement.
• Your use of the Website and Services does not violate any applicable law or regulation.
• You are not located in a country subject to a US, EU, or UN embargo or sanctions regime.
• You are not listed on any government list of prohibited or restricted parties.

5. Enquiries & registration

Certain features of our Services may require you to submit contact information or register for an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information during any registration or enquiry process.
• Maintain and promptly update your information to keep it accurate and complete.
• Maintain the confidentiality of any credentials or access information.
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorised use of your account or any other security breach.
• Accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account.

We reserve the right to refuse service, terminate accounts, or remove content at our sole discretion.

6. Acceptable use policy

You agree to use the Website and Services only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not:

• Use the Website in any way that violates applicable local, national, or international law or regulation.
• Transmit any unsolicited or unauthorised advertising or promotional material.
• Impersonate any person or entity, or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity.
• Engage in any conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website.
• Use the Website to transmit material that is defamatory, offensive, or otherwise objectionable.
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Website, its servers, or any connected systems.
• Introduce viruses, trojans, worms, logic bombs, or other malicious or technologically harmful material.
• Conduct denial-of-service attacks, port scanning, or any form of network interference.
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the Website without our prior written consent.
• Use automated tools to access the Website in a manner that exceeds normal human usage patterns.
• Reverse engineer, decompile, or disassemble any software or technology used in connection with the Website.
• Use the Website or Services to develop competing products or services.

Violation of this Acceptable Use Policy may result in immediate termination of your access and may be reported to relevant law enforcement authorities.

7. Intellectual property

All content on the Website, including text, graphics, logos, icons, images, audio clips, digital downloads, data compilations, and software, is the property of hellopinas or its content suppliers and is protected by applicable intellectual property laws, including Republic Act No. 8293 (the Intellectual Property Code of the Philippines), as amended, and international copyright treaties.

• The hellopinas name, logo, and all related marks are our trademarks. You may not use them without our prior written consent.
• You are granted a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to access and use the Website for personal, non-commercial purposes.
• You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, republish, download, store, or transmit any content from our Website without our prior written consent.
• Any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you provide to us may be used without restriction or compensation to you.

Work product created for Clients under a service agreement is governed by the intellectual property provisions of that specific agreement. Unless otherwise agreed in writing, we retain ownership of all pre-existing intellectual property, tools, frameworks, and methodologies used in delivering Services.

8. User-submitted content

When you submit information through our contact forms, email, or other communication channels, you grant hellopinas a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to use, reproduce, and process that information solely for the purpose of responding to your enquiry and providing the requested Services.

You represent and warrant that any content you submit does not infringe any third-party intellectual property rights, is not defamatory or unlawful, and does not contain malicious code or harmful content.

9. Payment terms

Payment terms for specific Services are set out in individual service agreements or statements of work. General payment terms include:

• All fees are quoted in the currency specified in the applicable service agreement.
• Invoices are due and payable within the timeframe specified in the service agreement, typically 14 or 30 days from invoice date.
• Late payments may incur interest at 1.5% per month or the maximum rate permitted by applicable law, whichever is lower.
• We reserve the right to suspend Services for accounts with overdue balances after providing written notice.
• All fees are exclusive of applicable taxes, duties, and levies, which are the responsibility of the Client.
• Refunds are subject to the terms of the applicable service agreement. In the absence of a specific refund provision, fees paid for completed work are non-refundable.
• We reserve the right to adjust pricing for ongoing services with 30 days' written notice.

10. Confidentiality

Each party agrees to keep confidential all Confidential Information received from the other party and to use such information only for the purposes of performing obligations or exercising rights under these Terms or any applicable service agreement.

Confidential Information does not include information that: (a) is or becomes publicly available through no fault of the receiving party; (b) was already known to the receiving party prior to disclosure; (c) is independently developed by the receiving party without use of the Confidential Information; or (d) is required to be disclosed by law or court order, provided the receiving party gives prompt written notice to the disclosing party.

Confidentiality obligations survive termination of these Terms for a period of three (3) years.

11. Privacy & data protection

Your use of the Website and Services is subject to our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference. By using our Website, you consent to the collection and use of your information as described in that Policy.

Where we process personal data on behalf of a Client in connection with the provision of Services, the parties shall enter into a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that complies with applicable data protection laws including the GDPR and the Philippine Data Privacy Act.

12. Disclaimers & warranties

The Website and Services are provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without any warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement, or course of performance.

We do not warrant that:

• The Website will be uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
• The results obtained from use of the Website will be accurate or reliable.
• Any errors in the Website will be corrected.
• The Website is free of viruses or other harmful components.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties. In those jurisdictions, the above exclusions apply to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law. Consumers in the EU, UK, Australia, and other jurisdictions with mandatory consumer protection laws retain their statutory rights, which are not affected by these Terms.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall hellopinas, its directors, employees, partners, agents, suppliers, or affiliates be liable for any:

• Indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages
• Loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities
• Damages resulting from unauthorised access to or alteration of your transmissions or data
• Damages resulting from any third-party conduct or content
• Damages resulting from any interruption or cessation of transmission to or from the Website

This applies whether the claim is based on warranty, contract, tort (including negligence), strict liability, or any other legal theory, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

Our total cumulative liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Services shall not exceed the greater of: (a) the total fees paid by you to us in the twelve (12) months preceding the claim; or (b) USD 100.

The limitations above do not apply to: (i) death or personal injury caused by our negligence; (ii) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation; (iii) any liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law.

14. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless hellopinas and its officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your violation of these Terms
• Your use of the Website or Services
• Your violation of any third-party rights, including intellectual property rights or privacy rights
• Any content you submit, post, or transmit through the Website
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation

15. Security & prohibited access

Our Website operates security monitoring systems designed to detect and log unauthorised access attempts. By accessing our Website, you acknowledge that:

• Attempting to access restricted administrative areas of the Website without authorisation is strictly prohibited.
• Any such attempt may be logged, including your IP address, user agent, and behavioural data.
• Unauthorised access attempts may be reported to relevant law enforcement authorities.
• Such conduct may constitute a criminal offence under the Philippine Cybercrime Prevention Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10175), the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act (US), the Computer Misuse Act (UK), and equivalent laws in other jurisdictions.

16. Third-party links & services

The Website may contain links to third-party websites, services, or resources. These links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over the content of those sites and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them.

Your use of third-party services is governed by the terms and privacy policies of those third parties. We encourage you to review those policies before using any third-party service.

17. Service modifications

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue the Website or any part of it at any time, with or without notice. We shall not be liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Website or Services.

We may also update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated as described in section 25.

18. Termination

We may terminate or suspend your access to the Website and Services immediately, without prior notice or liability, for any reason, including if you breach these Terms.

Upon termination:

• Your right to use the Website and Services will immediately cease.
• Provisions that by their nature should survive termination will survive, including sections 7, 10, 12, 13, 14, 20 and 21.
• Any outstanding payment obligations remain due and payable.

You may terminate your use of the Website at any time by ceasing to access it. To request deletion of any personal data we hold about you, please refer to our Privacy Policy.

19. Force majeure

We shall not be liable for any failure or delay in performance of our obligations under these Terms or any service agreement to the extent such failure or delay is caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including:

• Acts of God, natural disasters, or extreme weather events
• War, terrorism, civil unrest, or government actions
• Pandemics, epidemics, or public health emergencies
• Internet or telecommunications infrastructure failures
• Cyberattacks, distributed denial-of-service attacks, or other malicious acts by third parties
• Power outages or failures of third-party service providers

We will notify affected Clients as soon as reasonably practicable and will use commercially reasonable efforts to resume performance as soon as possible.

20. Governing law & jurisdiction

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of the Philippines, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Subject to section 21, you agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Philippines for the resolution of any disputes arising under these Terms.

Notwithstanding the above, we reserve the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to protect our intellectual property or confidential information.

21. Dispute resolution

In the event of any dispute, controversy, or claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or their breach, termination, or invalidity, the parties agree to the following process:

• Negotiation: the parties shall first attempt to resolve the dispute through good-faith negotiation for 30 days from written notice of the dispute.
• Mediation: if negotiation fails, the parties agree to attempt mediation through a mutually agreed mediator before initiating formal proceedings.
• Arbitration: if mediation fails, disputes shall be finally resolved by binding arbitration under the rules of the Philippine Dispute Resolution Center, Inc. (PDRCI), seated in Manila, Philippines, conducted in English.
• The arbitral award shall be final and binding and may be enforced in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Nothing in this section prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive or interim relief from a court of competent jurisdiction.

22. Consumer protection carve-outs

These Terms do not affect any statutory rights you may have as a consumer under applicable law that cannot be excluded or limited by contract. Specifically:

• EU/EEA consumers retain all rights under EU consumer protection law, including the Consumer Rights Directive (2011/83/EU) and applicable national implementing legislation.
• UK consumers retain all rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and other applicable UK consumer protection legislation.
• Australian consumers retain all rights under the Australian Consumer Law, including statutory guarantees that cannot be excluded.
• Philippine consumers retain all rights under Republic Act No. 7394 (Consumer Act of the Philippines).
• California residents retain all rights under the CCPA/CPRA and other applicable California consumer protection laws.

Where any provision of these Terms conflicts with mandatory consumer protection law in your jurisdiction, the applicable law shall prevail to the extent of the conflict.

23. Severability & waiver

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, or if modification is not possible, it shall be severed from these Terms. The remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect.

No failure or delay in exercising any right or remedy under these Terms shall constitute a waiver of that right or remedy. A waiver of any breach shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach.

24. Entire agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy, and any applicable service agreements or statements of work, constitute the entire agreement between you and us with respect to their subject matter, and supersede all prior and contemporaneous agreements, representations, and understandings, whether written or oral.

In the event of any conflict between these Terms and a specific service agreement, the service agreement shall prevail with respect to the subject matter of that agreement.

25. Changes to these terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make material changes, we will:

• Update the "last updated" date at the top of this page.
• Post a prominent notice on our Website.
• Where required by applicable law, or where changes materially affect your rights, notify you directly by email.

Your continued use of the Website or Services after the effective date of any changes constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Website and Services.

For material changes affecting existing service agreements, we will provide at least 30 days' written notice before the changes take effect.

26. Contact us

If you have any questions about these Terms, wish to report a violation, or need to reach us on a legal matter, please get in touch.