Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

By accessing or using CauseAlert (the “Service”), operated by CauseAlert (“we”, “us”, “our”), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service (“Terms”). If you do not agree to these Terms in their entirety, you must immediately stop using the Service.

We may update these Terms at any time by posting the revised version on this page. It is your responsibility to review these Terms regularly. Your continued use of the Service after any changes constitutes your binding acceptance of the updated Terms.

2. Description of the Service

CauseAlert aggregates court listing data (cause lists) sourced from HM Courts & Tribunals Service (HMCTS). The Service allows users to search court listings, monitor cases, and receive notifications when monitored cases appear on cause lists.

The Service is a convenience tool only. It is not a legal service, not a substitute for official court communications, and not a reliable or authoritative source of court information. Court listing data is Crown copyright. We display this data in support of the principle of open justice.

3. No Legal Advice & No Professional Relationship

Nothing on CauseAlert constitutes legal advice, legal opinion, or a recommendation of any kind. We are not a law firm. We do not provide legal services. No solicitor-client, barrister-client, or any other professional relationship is created between you and CauseAlert by your use of the Service, regardless of how you use it or what information you obtain from it.

You must not rely on information obtained through the Service as a substitute for independent verification with the relevant court or independent legal advice from a qualified professional.

4. Assumption of Risk & No Guarantee of Accuracy

You use the Service entirely at your own risk. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or reliability of any data on the Service, including but not limited to court listing data, hearing times, courtroom allocations, judge assignments, case names, case references, or any other information.

Without limitation:

• Data may be delayed, incomplete, outdated, or contain errors introduced at any stage — by HMCTS, by our automated data pipeline, by third-party systems, or by any other cause.
• Cases may be adjourned, relisted, moved, or cancelled without notice and without being reflected on the Service.
• Any detail shown on the Service — including hearing times, dates, courtrooms, judges, parties, and case status — may be wrong.
• The absence of a listing on the Service does not mean a hearing is not taking place.
• The presence of a listing on the Service does not mean a hearing is taking place as shown.

You must always verify all hearing details directly with the relevant court. You accept full responsibility for any decision or action you take (or fail to take) based on information from the Service.

5. Notifications & Alerts — No Guarantee of Delivery

We offer email, SMS, and push notification alerts as a convenience only. We do not guarantee that any notification will be delivered, that it will be delivered on time, that its content will be accurate, or that it will be delivered to the correct recipient. Delivery depends on third-party services (including email providers, mobile carriers, internet service providers, and device manufacturers) that are entirely outside our control.

You must not rely on CauseAlert notifications for any purpose. Without limitation, you must not rely on notifications for court attendance, filing deadlines, bail conditions, custody hearings, sentencing dates, or any other time-sensitive or legally significant matter. Failure to receive a notification — for any reason — does not give rise to any claim against us.

6. Consent to Communications

By providing your email address, phone number, or enabling push notifications, you expressly consent to receive communications from CauseAlert through those channels. This includes, without limitation, case alerts, service notifications, account updates, system messages, product announcements, and any other communications we choose to send.

You may withdraw consent for non-essential communications at any time by updating your notification preferences in your account settings. Essential service communications (such as account security, Terms changes, and critical service notices) will continue for as long as your account remains active.

7. Consent to Cookies & Analytics

By creating an account, you consent to the use of analytics and advertising cookies as described in our Privacy Policy. This includes Google Analytics, Google Ads, Facebook Pixel, Vercel Analytics, and Statsig. These cookies help us understand how the Service is used and measure the effectiveness of our advertising.

While you are signed in, you will not be shown a separate cookie consent banner. If you wish to withdraw consent for analytics cookies, you may do so by signing out; non-authenticated visitors are presented with a cookie preference banner.

8. Reporting Restrictions & Court Orders

Some cases are subject to statutory reporting restrictions, anonymity orders, or other court orders limiting what may be published. These include automatic restrictions under the Children and Young Persons Act 1933 (s.49), the Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 1992, and discretionary orders under the Contempt of Court Act 1981 (ss.4(2) and 11). We display court listing data as sourced from HMCTS. We do not independently verify whether reporting restrictions apply to any case and we may not be aware of all active restrictions.

It is your sole responsibility to ascertain whether any reporting restriction, anonymity order, or other legal prohibition applies before sharing, publishing, or acting upon any case information obtained from the Service. We accept no liability whatsoever for any consequences arising from your failure to comply with applicable court orders or statutory restrictions. Breach of a reporting restriction is a criminal offence punishable by imprisonment and/or an unlimited fine.

If you are a court officer, solicitor, or party to proceedings and believe a listing on CauseAlert is subject to a reporting restriction, please contact us immediately at founders@causealert.com and we will remove or redact the relevant data promptly.

8. User Accounts

To access certain features you must create an account. By creating an account, you agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete registration information.
• Keep your login credentials confidential and not share your account.
• Accept sole responsibility for all activity under your account, whether or not authorised by you.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate any account at our sole discretion, at any time, for any reason or no reason, with or without notice.

9. Acceptable Use

You must not:

• Use the Service for any unlawful purpose or in breach of any applicable law or regulation.
• Scrape, crawl, or systematically extract data from the Service by automated means without our prior written consent.
• Attempt to circumvent security measures, access other users' accounts, or interfere with the operation of the Service.
• Use the Service to harass, stalk, or intimidate any person, including defendants, witnesses, or parties to proceedings.
• Republish court listing data in a manner that breaches reporting restrictions, Crown copyright, or any applicable law.
• Resell, sublicense, or commercially redistribute data obtained from the Service without our prior written consent.

10. Third-Party Services

The Service uses third-party services including (but not limited to) Convex, Resend, Twilio, Stripe, Google, and Expo. Your use of features powered by these services is subject to the respective third party's own terms and privacy policies. We are not responsible for the availability, performance, accuracy, security, or conduct of any third-party service. Any failure, outage, data loss, or error caused by a third-party service is not our responsibility.

11. Intellectual Property

The Service's design, branding, software, and original content are owned by CauseAlert and protected by copyright and other intellectual property laws. Court listing data is Crown copyright and is displayed in support of the principle of open justice.

Nothing in these Terms grants you any right, title, or interest in the Service beyond the limited right to use it in accordance with these Terms.

12. Fees & Payments

Core features of the Service are currently free. We may introduce or modify paid features at any time. Paid subscriptions are processed by Stripe. By subscribing, you agree to pay all applicable fees and authorise us to charge your payment method. Subscriptions renew automatically unless cancelled before the renewal date.

We reserve the right to modify pricing at any time. All fees are non-refundable except where required by applicable law.

13. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory. To the maximum extent permitted by law, we disclaim all warranties including, without limitation, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, reliability, availability, and non-infringement.

Without limitation, we do not warrant that:

• The Service will be available, uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free.
• Any data or information on the Service will be accurate, complete, current, or reliable.
• Notifications will be delivered or delivered on time.
• Defects or errors will be corrected.
• The Service will meet your requirements or expectations.

14. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, CauseAlert, its owners, directors, employees, contractors, and agents shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages of any kind, however caused and under any theory of liability, including but not limited to:

• Loss of profit, revenue, business, anticipated savings, goodwill, or data.
• Missed court hearings, filing deadlines, limitation periods, bail conditions, or any other time-sensitive legal matter arising from reliance on the Service, its data, or its notifications.
• Errors, omissions, inaccuracies, or delays in court listing data or any other information on the Service.
• Failure to deliver, or late delivery of, any notification.
• Any decision or action taken (or not taken) based on information provided by or obtained through the Service.
• Unauthorised access to or alteration of your data or transmissions.
• Interruption, suspension, modification, or discontinuation of the Service.
• Any conduct or content of any third party on or connected to the Service.

Our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising from or relating to these Terms or the Service shall not exceed the amount you have actually paid to us in the twelve (12) months immediately preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or £50 (fifty pounds), whichever is less.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot be excluded or limited under English law.

15. Indemnification

You agree to fully indemnify, defend, and hold harmless CauseAlert, its owners, directors, employees, contractors, and agents from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees and court costs) arising from or in connection with:

• Your use of (or inability to use) the Service.
• Any reliance you place on data, information, or notifications provided by the Service.
• Any decision or action you take (or fail to take) based on information obtained from the Service.
• Your breach of these Terms.
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation.
• Your breach of any reporting restriction, anonymity order, or court order.
• Any content or data you submit, enter, or share through the Service.
• Any claim by a third party arising from your use of the Service, including any claim by your clients, colleagues, or any person affected by your reliance on the Service.
• Any missed hearing, missed deadline, or adverse legal outcome that you attribute in whole or in part to the Service.

This indemnification obligation survives termination of your account and these Terms.

16. Service Availability & Modification

We may modify, suspend, or discontinue the Service (or any part of it) at any time, with or without notice, for any reason or no reason. We are not liable to you or any third party for any modification, suspension, or discontinuation of the Service.

17. Termination

You may stop using the Service and request account deletion at any time. We may terminate or suspend your access immediately, without prior notice, for any reason or no reason.

Upon termination, your right to use the Service ceases immediately. Sections 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 10, 13, 14, 15, 17, 18, and 19 survive termination.

18. Governing Law & Jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales. Any dispute arising from or in connection with these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

19. General Provisions

Severability

If any provision of these Terms is held to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall continue in full force and effect. The invalid provision shall be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable.

Entire Agreement

These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and CauseAlert regarding your use of the Service and supersede all prior agreements, understandings, and representations.

No Waiver

Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms does not constitute a waiver of that provision or any other provision.

Assignment

You may not assign or transfer these Terms or your rights under them without our prior written consent. We may assign these Terms without restriction.

20. Contact

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at founders@causealert.com.