Terms of Use

These Terms of Use (the “Terms”) form a legally binding agreement between you and TROL LTD whenever you access or use flakeads.co.uk, register an account, submit an advertisement, purchase an advertising feature or otherwise use our services.

“Flake Ads”, “we”, “us” and “our” mean TROL LTD. “You” and “your” mean the person accessing the website and, where applicable, the individual, sole trader, partnership, company, charity or other organisation on whose behalf that person acts. An “Advertiser” is any user who submits or manages an advertisement. “User Content” means any advertisement, text, image, photograph, logo, video, document, link, contact detail, message, review or other material submitted by a user.

By registering an account, submitting an advert or purchasing a paid service, you confirm that you have read and accepted these Terms. If you act for an organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind it. If you do not agree, you must not use the platform.

These Terms incorporate our Privacy Policy, Cookies Policy and Disclaimer. If there is a conflict concerning the use of the platform, these Terms take priority unless mandatory law requires otherwise.

Flake Ads provides an online classified advertising, information-storage, search and communications platform. Users independently create and submit their own adverts. User Content may be stored, categorised, formatted and displayed automatically by our systems.

• We are not the seller, buyer, employer, employee, landlord, tenant, estate agent, broker, auctioneer, payment provider, guarantor or representative in any user transaction unless we expressly state otherwise in writing.
• We do not own, inspect, possess, supply, deliver, endorse or guarantee goods, services, jobs, properties, animals or opportunities advertised by users.
• We do not routinely verify the identity, authority, qualifications, licences, ownership, solvency or claims of every Advertiser. Any verification badge or check is limited to the matter expressly described and is not a general endorsement.
• Any contract or arrangement arising from an advert is made directly between the relevant users. Those users are responsible for agreeing and performing it.

We may use proportionate automated tools and human review to detect spam, fraud, security threats, unlawful material or breaches of these Terms. Moderation, categorisation, formatting or removal does not make Flake Ads the author of User Content and does not transfer responsibility for it to us.

You must be at least 18 years old and legally capable of entering into a binding contract to register or submit an advert. We may restrict certain categories or functions to verified adults, businesses or appropriately licensed providers.

You must:

• provide accurate, complete and current registration and contact information;
• identify whether you act as a private individual or in the course of business;
• keep your password and account access secure and confidential;
• notify us promptly of unauthorised use or a security breach;
• not create accounts using another person’s identity or evade a restriction or suspension; and
• remain responsible for all activity carried out through your account unless caused by our failure to use reasonable care and skill.

We may request reasonable evidence of identity, authority, business status, professional registration, ownership or licensing. Failure to provide satisfactory evidence may result in an advert being withheld or removed and the account being restricted.

The Advertiser is the author and publisher of its User Content and remains solely responsible for it. You must check the complete advert, including all uploaded media and automatically populated fields, before submission and after publication.

Every advert must:

• be genuine, accurate, current, complete and not misleading by statement, presentation or omission;
• be placed in the most appropriate category and location;
• state material conditions, restrictions, fees, taxes and the total price where required by law;
• relate to goods, services or opportunities that you are legally permitted and genuinely able to offer;
• include only contact information you are authorised to publish;
• comply with all applicable laws, regulations, industry codes, licence conditions and advertising standards; and
• be promptly corrected, paused or removed if it becomes inaccurate, unavailable or unlawful.

You must not submit substantially duplicate adverts, manipulate categories or locations, insert unrelated keywords, use deceptive redirects, or take any step intended to distort search results or avoid moderation.

Acceptance, payment or publication of an advert does not constitute approval, verification or endorsement by Flake Ads. We may reject, edit only for formatting, re-categorise, restrict, remove or require changes to an advert for the reasons set out in these Terms.

For every item of User Content you submit, you warrant and represent on a continuing basis that:

• you own it or have obtained all licences, permissions, releases and consents necessary to upload, reproduce, store, adapt for technical display, communicate and publish it on Flake Ads;
• its use does not infringe copyright, database rights, trade marks, design rights, passing off rights, privacy, confidentiality, publicity rights, data-protection rights or any other right of another person;
• any licence remains valid for the entire time the content is available through the platform;
• you can produce evidence of ownership, permission or licensing promptly if requested; and
• where an identifiable person, private property, logo or protected work appears, you have obtained every consent required for the advert and its public display.

Ownership and limited licence

You retain ownership of your User Content. You grant TROL LTD a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, cache, reproduce, resize, crop solely for display, format, index, transmit and display that content only as reasonably necessary to operate, secure and promote the relevant advert and the Flake Ads service.

This licence continues while the content is available and for a reasonable period in technical backups, caches, fraud-prevention systems and legal records. We will not sell ownership of your User Content to another party. You waive no moral rights except to the limited extent necessary for normal technical formatting and display.

Our material

The Flake Ads name, branding, website design, software, databases and content created by us are owned by or licensed to TROL LTD. Except as permitted by law, you must not copy, scrape, republish, reverse engineer, commercially exploit or create a competing database from them without written permission. Ordinary search-engine indexing and normal personal browsing are permitted.

You must not submit, offer, request, link to, promote or facilitate content, goods, services or conduct that is:

• illegal, fraudulent, stolen, counterfeit, unsafe, recalled or subject to unlawful restrictions;
• infringing of intellectual property, privacy, confidentiality or data-protection rights;
• false, misleading, deceptive, impersonating, defamatory, threatening, harassing or malicious;
• hateful, terrorist, extremist, exploitative or encouraging violence, crime, serious self-harm or abuse;
• child sexual abuse material, sexual exploitation, non-consensual intimate content, pornography, sexual services or content sexualising a child;
• related to controlled drugs, illegal medicines, weapons, explosives, stolen credentials, hacking, malware, money laundering or other criminal activity;
• an unlawful financial product, investment, credit arrangement, gambling service, pyramid scheme or “get rich quick” opportunity;
• an unlawful, unlicensed or improperly described medical, cosmetic, legal, financial, immigration, care or other regulated service;
• discriminatory in relation to employment, housing, services or any protected characteristic;
• contrary to animal welfare, pet-sale or licensing laws;
• spam, bulk solicitation, phishing, a chain letter, a fake review or manipulated engagement;
• designed to introduce malicious code, overload the platform, harvest data, bypass security or gain unauthorised access;
• publishing another person’s private or identifying information without a lawful basis; or
• otherwise likely to expose users, Flake Ads or any third party to harm or legal liability.

This list is not exhaustive. We may publish category-specific rules and refuse categories presenting disproportionate legal, safety, fraud or reputational risk.

If you advertise for purposes relating to your trade, business, craft or profession, you are a business Advertiser even if you are a sole trader, advertise occasionally or use a personal account. You must not falsely present yourself as a private individual.

Business Advertisers must:

• clearly disclose their trading identity and accurate contact information;
• provide all legally required pre-contract information, total prices, taxes, fees, cancellation rights and complaint details;
• comply with the Consumer Rights Act 2015, the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act 2024 and all applicable sector-specific law;
• hold and maintain all required registrations, permissions, insurance, qualifications and licences;
• ensure products are safe, traceable, accurately described and not subject to a recall or prohibition;
• not use fake reviews, hidden advertising, misleading scarcity claims, drip pricing or other unfair commercial practices; and
• keep records sufficient to demonstrate compliance and provide them to an appropriate regulator or to us where reasonably necessary.

Employment advertisers must have authority to recruit and comply with employment, immigration, equality and agency legislation. Property advertisers must have authority to market the property and comply with housing, letting, deposit, fee, energy and consumer-protection requirements. Regulated professionals must accurately state their status and must not imply accreditation they do not hold.

Users are responsible for their own enquiries, checks, negotiations, inspections, payments, contracts, collection, delivery and disputes. Before proceeding, you should independently verify identity, ownership, condition, licences, professional status and all material claims.

• Do not send money or sensitive information merely because an advert appears on Flake Ads.
• Do not pay by an untraceable method or move a conversation to an unsafe channel at another person’s request.
• Inspect goods and documents where reasonably possible and meet safely.
• Seek professional advice for property, employment, financial, legal, health or high-value transactions.
• Report suspected fraud, illegal content or unsafe conduct to us and, where appropriate, to the police, Action Fraud, Trading Standards or another regulator.

Unless expressly stated otherwise, Flake Ads does not process the transaction price, hold deposits, provide escrow, guarantee payment or provide buyer or seller protection. Any third-party payment or delivery service is governed by that provider’s own terms.

Some adverts and features are free; others require payment. The price, duration, key features, applicable taxes and whether a service renews will be shown before purchase. You authorise us and our payment provider to collect the displayed charge.

A paid feature purchases advertising space or enhanced presentation for the stated period. It does not guarantee impressions, enquiries, responses, sales, ranking, suitability of a buyer or any commercial outcome. Visibility may vary with search criteria, location, category, user demand, moderation and technical availability.

Consumers

If you purchase outside your trade or profession, you may have a statutory 14-day right to cancel a distance contract. Where you ask us during checkout to begin the advertising service immediately, you must pay a proportionate amount for the service supplied before cancellation. If the service has been fully performed within the cancellation period after your express request and acknowledgement, the statutory right to cancel may be lost. These Terms do not restrict your statutory rights.

Business Advertisers

Unless the order states otherwise, business advertising purchases are non-cancellable after performance begins and fees are non-refundable, except where the service was not supplied with reasonable care and skill or a refund is required by law.

Removal and service failure

No refund is due where an advert or account is restricted because the Advertiser breached these Terms or the law. If we permanently discontinue a prepaid service for reasons unrelated to your breach, we will provide the service for the remaining period, a reasonable replacement or a proportionate refund. Temporary maintenance, proportionate moderation or events beyond our reasonable control do not automatically entitle a user to a refund.

To cancel a qualifying consumer purchase, email admin@flakeads.co.uk with your name, account email, order details and an unequivocal cancellation request.

Search and category results may be influenced by several main parameters. Their usual relative importance is:

1. Promotional status: relevant adverts with a paid featured, urgent, highlighted or similar placement may receive greater prominence than comparable unpaid adverts.
2. Relevance: match to the user’s search words, selected category, location, filters and other expressed preferences.
3. Recency and status: publication or renewal date and whether the advert remains active and available.
4. Quality and integrity signals: completeness, accurate categorisation, useful information, image availability, duplicate detection, policy compliance and fraud or safety signals.

The precise weighting may vary by page, device, category, search query, location, experimentation and measures used to prevent manipulation. Payment can influence prominence only through a paid feature presented as promoted, featured, urgent or similar; it does not purchase verification, endorsement or immunity from moderation.

We may advertise our own or affiliated services. Where they appear alongside third-party adverts, we will take reasonable steps to make their commercial nature or relationship clear. We do not restrict business Advertisers from offering different prices or terms through other lawful sales channels.

Send complaints and legal notices to admin@flakeads.co.uk. To enable a prompt and fair review, include:

• your full name, organisation (if applicable), postal address, email and telephone number;
• the exact Flake Ads URL and enough information to identify the content;
• a clear explanation of the alleged illegality or breach;
• for intellectual-property complaints, identification of the protected work or right, evidence of ownership or authority, and the specific content alleged to infringe;
• supporting screenshots, dates and documents; and
• a statement that the information supplied is accurate and the complaint is made in good faith.

We may acknowledge the notice, investigate, temporarily disable content, request further information, preserve relevant records, notify the Advertiser and provide the Advertiser with sufficient details to respond. We may share the complainant’s notice and contact information where reasonably necessary to investigate, resolve or defend the matter, subject to applicable law.

Advertisers must cooperate promptly and supply evidence of ownership, licensing, authority or legality within the timeframe stated. Failure to respond satisfactorily may result in continued removal, account restrictions or termination.

An Advertiser who believes content was removed in error may send a reasoned counter-notice with supporting evidence. We may restore content if satisfied that the complaint was mistaken or resolved, but we are not required to determine complex disputes and may leave content disabled pending agreement or a competent authority’s decision.

Submitting a dishonest or abusive complaint or counter-notice is prohibited. We may suspend repeat infringers and users who repeatedly submit unlawful material.

We may investigate and take proportionate action where we reasonably believe that content or conduct:

• breaches these Terms, category rules or applicable law;
• infringes another person’s rights;
• creates fraud, safety, security, operational or reputational risk;
• is the subject of a credible complaint, regulator request, court order or law-enforcement request;
• is misleading, duplicated, expired, wrongly categorised or technically harmful; or
• threatens the integrity or availability of the platform.

Action may include requesting evidence or changes, reducing visibility, changing category, refusing publication, removing specific content, suspending features, restricting or terminating an account, preserving evidence and reporting matters where required or permitted by law.

Reasons, notice and complaints

Where reasonably practicable and legally permitted, we will give the affected user a clear reason for a restriction, suspension or termination and an opportunity to contact us. We may act without advance notice where immediate action is reasonably required by law, regulation, court order, safety, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, repeated breach or risk of harm.

For a business user covered by the applicable platform-to-business rules, we will provide the statement of reasons and advance notice required by law. Where those rules require notice before terminating the entire service, we will normally give at least 30 days’ notice unless a lawful exception applies. A business user may submit a complaint to admin@flakeads.co.uk, which we will consider in good faith.

Moderation and removal are protective measures and do not constitute an admission by Flake Ads that content is unlawful or that Flake Ads is liable for it.

Our processing of personal data is described in our Privacy Policy and Cookies Policy. You must not upload personal data unless you have a lawful basis and have provided any required privacy information.

Advert information, business identity, location and contact details that you submit for public display may be seen, indexed and used by members of the public, search engines, prospective customers, rights holders and regulators for legitimate purposes. Do not publish information you are not authorised or willing to make public.

Advertisers generally have access through their account to the adverts and profile information they submit. Flake Ads has administrative access to account, advert, moderation, payment-status, communications and technical security data as needed to operate the service, prevent abuse, comply with law and resolve disputes. We do not give one business Advertiser access to another Advertiser’s non-public data merely because they compete.

Service messages concerning security, moderation, orders or these Terms are not marketing and may be sent while you maintain an account. You are responsible for keeping your email address current.

We aim to provide a reliable service but do not guarantee uninterrupted, error-free or permanent availability. We may perform maintenance, change features, impose reasonable technical limits or suspend access to address operational, legal or security needs.

You must not use bots, scrapers, crawlers, bulk-download tools or automated submission systems without written permission, except for ordinary search-engine indexing that respects our technical instructions. You must not test or circumvent security, interfere with other users or impose an unreasonable load on the platform.

The website may contain links, embeds, payment services or tools supplied by third parties. We do not control and are not responsible for third-party content, availability, security, products, contracts or privacy practices. A link does not imply endorsement. Review the third party’s terms before using its service.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or restricts liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or restricted, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or your statutory consumer rights.

User Content and transactions

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Flake Ads is not liable for User Content or for the identity, acts, omissions, goods, services, payments, promises or disputes of users. We are not liable merely because User Content is stored, transmitted, categorised or displayed through the platform, subject always to applicable law and any duty arising after valid notice.

Consumers

If you are a consumer, we are responsible for loss or damage that is a foreseeable result of our breach of these Terms or failure to use reasonable care and skill. We are not responsible for loss that was not foreseeable, business loss, or loss arising from a transaction with an Advertiser. Nothing affects rights you have under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 or other mandatory consumer law.

Business users

If you use Flake Ads for business purposes, then, to the fullest extent permitted by law:

• all implied warranties, conditions and terms are excluded;
• we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profit, revenue, business, contracts, opportunity, anticipated savings, goodwill, reputation or data;
• we are not liable for losses caused by User Content, another user, an off-platform transaction, a third-party service, unauthorised account use not caused by us, or an event beyond our reasonable control; and
• our total aggregate liability arising from the service in any 12-month period is limited to the greater of £100 and the total fees you paid directly to us during that period.

The business limitations apply whether the claim is in contract, tort (including negligence), breach of statutory duty, misrepresentation or otherwise, but only so far as lawful and reasonable under the circumstances.

If you are a business Advertiser, you will indemnify TROL LTD, its officers, employees and contractors against third-party claims, liabilities, damages, settlements, penalties and reasonable legal and professional costs arising from or connected with:

• your User Content, including an allegation that an image, logo, text or other material infringes intellectual property, privacy or data-protection rights;
• goods, services, jobs, property, animals, opportunities or claims contained in your advert;
• your transaction, representation, act or omission;
• your breach of these Terms or applicable law; or
• taxes, licences, regulatory duties, product safety, consumer rights or refunds for which you are responsible.

This indemnity does not cover loss caused by our own negligence, deliberate wrongdoing or breach of law. We will take reasonable steps to notify you of a material claim, allow reasonable participation in the defence, and not agree an unreasonable settlement attributed to you without consultation where practicable.

If you are a consumer, you are responsible only for losses that are a reasonably foreseeable result of your breach of these Terms, to the extent permitted by law.

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in law, regulation, security, technology, functionality or our legitimate business needs. The current version and effective date will be published on this page.

We will give reasonable advance notice of a material change where practicable. Business users covered by applicable platform-to-business rules will receive at least 15 days’ notice where required, and longer where a change reasonably requires significant technical or commercial adaptation.

Advance notice may not be given where we must comply with a legal or regulatory obligation, address an unforeseen and imminent danger, protect the platform or users from fraud, malware, spam, data breaches or cybersecurity risk, or where another lawful exception applies.

If you do not accept a material change, you may stop using the service and close your account before it takes effect. Where the law requires express acceptance, we will request it.

You may stop using Flake Ads and request account closure by contacting us. Before closure, you remain responsible for outstanding fees, active transactions, complaints and content submitted through the account.

Closing an account does not automatically erase records that we must or may lawfully retain for security, fraud prevention, payment, tax, legal claims, regulatory compliance or enforcement. Public adverts may be removed or anonymised, subject to technical backups and lawful retention.

Terms which by their nature should continue—including intellectual-property warranties, licence provisions for backups and legal records, payment obligations, liability limitations, indemnities, evidence preservation and dispute provisions—survive removal of content or account closure.

Please contact us first so we can try to resolve a complaint promptly. Include your account email, advert URL, relevant dates and the remedy sought.

These Terms and any non-contractual dispute are governed by the law of England and Wales.

• Consumers: the courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction, but if you live elsewhere in the United Kingdom you may also bring proceedings in your home courts and retain any mandatory protections of your home jurisdiction.
• Business users: the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction.

Nothing prevents either party from seeking urgent injunctive relief, using a lawful regulator or reporting suspected crime.

• Entire agreement: these Terms and incorporated policies form the agreement concerning your use of Flake Ads, without excluding liability for fraud.
• Severability: if a provision is unlawful or unenforceable, it will be limited or removed only to the minimum extent necessary; the remaining provisions continue.
• No waiver: delay or failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of that or any other right.
• Assignment: you may not transfer your account or rights without our written consent. We may transfer our rights and obligations as part of a genuine restructuring, financing or sale, provided this does not reduce mandatory consumer rights.
• No partnership: these Terms do not create employment, partnership, joint venture, franchise, fiduciary duty or agency between us and any user.
• Third-party rights: except for persons expressly protected by the indemnity, no third party may enforce these Terms under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
• Language: the contract is concluded in English. Any translation is provided for convenience; the English version prevails to the extent permitted by law.