1. About these Terms
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern access to the Burtz website and, once available, the Burtz mobile application and marketplace services operated by BURTZ LTD.
2. Company information
BURTZ LTD is a company registered in England and Wales under company number 17340350, with registered office at 71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom. Contact: [email protected].
3. Acceptance and eligibility
By using the website you agree to these Terms. When account registration launches, you must provide accurate information, meet the minimum age stated during registration and have legal capacity to enter contracts. Business users must have authority to act for their organisation.
We may require identity, age, address, business, payment or payout verification before enabling particular functions.
4. The role of Burtz
Burtz is intended to provide technology that connects readers, private libraries, professional booksellers, publishers and other eligible users. Unless a listing expressly identifies BURTZ LTD as the seller or supplier, the contract for a listed physical book is generally between the buyer or renter and the third-party seller or owner.
Burtz may facilitate listings, communications, payments, deposits, delivery, identity verification, reviews, dispute processes and platform rules. These activities do not make Burtz the owner of third-party books or the agent of every user for all purposes.
Nothing in these Terms excludes rights that consumers cannot lawfully waive.
5. Accounts and security
- You are responsible for information provided through your account and for keeping login credentials secure.
- You must notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access.
- You may not create misleading accounts, impersonate another person or business, transfer an account without permission, or use another user’s account.
- We may place limits on accounts, request verification, or suspend access where reasonably necessary for safety, compliance or investigation.
6. Listings and seller responsibilities
Sellers and owners must have the right to list each book and must provide accurate, current and sufficiently detailed information, including condition, edition, language, defects, price, availability and delivery or pickup options.
Listings must not involve stolen goods, counterfeit books, unlawful reproductions, prohibited content, misleading claims, or items that infringe intellectual-property or other rights. Users remain responsible for taxes, registrations, permits, consumer disclosures and other obligations that apply to them.
Professional sellers must identify themselves as businesses and comply with applicable consumer law, including mandatory information, cancellation, return, refund and product-conformity obligations.
7. Buying books
A buyer is responsible for reviewing the listing, total price, delivery terms and seller status before confirming an order. An order is not necessarily accepted until the platform or seller confirms it.
Consumer rights differ depending on whether the seller is a business or a private individual. Mandatory statutory rights are not limited by these Terms. Where a private individual sells to another private individual, statutory cancellation rights may not apply in the same way as they do to business-to-consumer sales.
8. Rentals
Rental listings may specify a rental period, price, deposit or payment hold, delivery method, permitted use, renewal rules and late-return consequences.
- The renter must take reasonable care of the book and return the same copy on time in substantially the condition described, allowing for agreed ordinary use.
- The owner must accurately describe the condition and promptly provide or dispatch the book.
- Users must report loss, damage, non-delivery or material misdescription within the stated period and provide reasonable evidence.
- Burtz may facilitate deposits, payment holds, claims, compensation or account restrictions under published rental rules, but does not guarantee that every loss will be recoverable.
9. Swaps
Swap users must accurately describe their books and fulfil the agreed exchange. The platform may charge a disclosed service fee and may facilitate shipping or pickup. Each party remains responsible for the legality, ownership and description of the item supplied.
10. Private libraries and subscriptions
Users may be able to create private-library profiles, make books available, operate queues and offer subscription access. Subscription terms, included books, borrowing limits, delivery charges, cancellation rules and revenue allocation will be displayed before purchase.
Private-library operators must manage availability fairly, maintain accurate catalogues and comply with applicable tax, consumer and business rules.
11. Prices, fees, payments and payouts
Prices, service fees, deposits, delivery costs, taxes and any applicable currency-conversion amounts will be displayed before confirmation where reasonably possible.
Payments and payouts may be processed by regulated third-party providers subject to their terms and verification requirements. Burtz may delay or withhold a payout where reasonably required to manage refunds, disputes, chargebacks, fraud, legal obligations or account reserves.
Users must not circumvent platform fees for a transaction introduced or arranged through Burtz, unless an expressly permitted offline-payment or pickup feature applies.
12. Delivery, pickup, risk and title
Available delivery and pickup options will be shown during the transaction. Users must provide accurate delivery or pickup details and comply with carrier and locker rules.
The point at which ownership and risk transfer may depend on the seller’s status, the agreed delivery method and mandatory law. Nothing in these Terms overrides statutory consumer protections.
13. Cancellations, returns and refunds
Cancellation, return and refund rights depend on the transaction, seller status, location and applicable law. Business sellers must honour mandatory consumer rights. Private sellers must nevertheless provide items as described and comply with applicable contract law.
Burtz may publish operational procedures and deadlines for reporting non-delivery, damage, misdescription, late returns and other disputes. These procedures do not remove mandatory legal rights.
14. Reviews, messages and user content
You retain ownership of content you submit. You grant BURTZ LTD a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, reproduce, format, display and use that content as necessary to operate, secure, improve and promote the service.
Content must be lawful, relevant and genuine. Reviews must reflect real experiences. Harassment, threats, spam, manipulation, fake reviews, discriminatory content and disclosure of another person’s private information are prohibited.
15. Intellectual property
The Burtz name, visual identity, software, interface, databases and original website content belong to BURTZ LTD or its licensors. Except where law permits, you may not copy, scrape, reverse engineer, resell or exploit them without permission.
Rights holders may contact us regarding allegedly infringing listings or content. We may request supporting information and remove or restrict material while reviewing a report.
16. Prohibited conduct
You must not use Burtz to:
- commit fraud, money laundering, sanctions evasion, tax evasion or other unlawful activity;
- list stolen, counterfeit, infringing, unsafe or prohibited items;
- manipulate prices, reviews, rankings, transactions or referral systems;
- harvest data, scrape the service, introduce malware, probe vulnerabilities or interfere with operation;
- open multiple accounts to avoid restrictions;
- pressure users to transact outside permitted flows or misuse personal data obtained through the platform.
17. Safety, moderation and enforcement
We may investigate activity, request information, remove content, cancel transactions, limit features, hold funds where legally and contractually permitted, suspend or close accounts, and cooperate with authorities where reasonably necessary to protect users, enforce these Terms or comply with law.
We will aim to act proportionately and provide notice where appropriate, but immediate action may be necessary for fraud, security, legal or safety reasons.
18. Availability and changes
We may change, test, suspend or discontinue features. The pre-launch descriptions and mock-ups are illustrative and may change before release. We do not promise uninterrupted or error-free availability.
19. Disclaimers and liability
Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or mandatory consumer rights.
Subject to that rule, Burtz is not responsible for losses caused by another user’s conduct, inaccurate third-party listings, carrier failures, events outside reasonable control, or losses that were not reasonably foreseeable when the relevant contract was made.
For business users, additional liability limitations may be stated in a separate business agreement. Consumer users retain all non-excludable statutory remedies.
20. Indemnity for business users
To the extent permitted by law, a business user will compensate BURTZ LTD for reasonable losses, claims and costs arising from that business user’s unlawful listings, infringement, breach of consumer or tax obligations, or material breach of these Terms.
21. Termination
You may stop using the website at any time. Account-closure processes will be provided when accounts launch. Provisions that by their nature should survive termination—including payment, intellectual-property, dispute, liability and record-keeping provisions—will continue to apply.
22. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales, subject to any mandatory consumer protections of the country where a consumer habitually resides. Courts with jurisdiction under applicable law may hear disputes.
Before starting formal proceedings, please contact [email protected] so that we can attempt to resolve the matter.
23. Changes to these Terms
We may update these Terms as the service develops or legal requirements change. The latest version will be posted here. Where required, material changes affecting registered users will be notified before they take effect.
24. Contact
BURTZ LTD
Company number 17340350
71–75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden
London, WC2H 9JQ, United Kingdom
Email: [email protected]