Terms and Conditions

1. Agreement and key definitions

These Terms and Conditions (Terms) are a legal agreement between you and Serving T (Serving T, we, us or our). They apply when you create an account, submit a hitting-partner application, make or accept a booking, pay or receive money, or otherwise use the Serving T website and related services (together, the Platform). Visitors who do not create an account must still comply with sections 12 to 14 when using the public website.

You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a binding contract to hold an account. By accepting these Terms electronically or using an account feature, you confirm that you meet those requirements. If you act for a company or another person, you also confirm that you have authority to bind them.

Booker: The adult account holder who makes and pays for a Booking.
Participant: The person who will attend the session. The Booker and Participant may differ.
Junior: A Participant under 18 years old at the time of the relevant session.
Hitting Partner: An adult provider approved by Serving T to offer specified tennis sessions.
Booking: A session recorded on the Platform that becomes confirmed under section 4.

Our Cancellation and No-show Policy, Privacy Policy, the Booking details and any rules or disclosures expressly shown before payment form part of these Terms. A Booking-specific price or disclosure controls over a general statement here. For cancellation and attendance outcomes, the Cancellation and No-show Policy version recorded for that Booking controls. Nothing in these Terms removes a right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

2. How the marketplace works

Serving T provides a curated marketplace, booking administration, messaging, payment and support tools. It is not an open-access directory for Hitting Partners. We assess applications and decide which profiles and offerings may be published. General approval and approval to provide sessions to Juniors are separate.

Serving T coordinates checkout and booking administration through third-party payment providers. The Booking details identify the on-court service, Hitting Partner, amounts and applicable policies. The legal roles and obligations arising from a transaction depend on those disclosures, the parties' conduct and applicable law. Nothing in these Terms alone determines employment, contractor, agency, partnership or merchant status. Serving T may set marketplace, safety, eligibility and conduct standards, and a Hitting Partner must not claim authority to bind Serving T without written authority.

Approval means only that the Hitting Partner satisfied our requirements at the relevant time. It is not a guarantee of identity, character, rating, availability, compatibility, performance or safety, and is not a universal police or background check. We may verify, re-verify, limit or withdraw approval. Bookers must still review the profile, offering, location and suitability for the Participant.

3. Accounts and eligibility

Provide complete, current and accurate account, identity and contact information.
Keep login credentials secure and promptly tell us about suspected unauthorised use.
Do not transfer an account, impersonate another person or create an account to evade a restriction.
Keep Participant details, eligibility information and relevant safety notes accurate.
Use the Platform only where doing so is lawful and does not breach another agreement.

An account may use a password, a verified email code or a secure email link. Creating an account without a password does not reduce the account holder's responsibilities under these Terms. You are responsible for protecting access to the email account used to sign in and may set or change a password through the available account-security or recovery flow.

Eligibility and playing-level checks are provider-based. Where a rating or eligibility comes from Tennis New Zealand, an affiliated body, a club, competition system or another supported provider, that provider's current record and rules control. Users must not present a self-assessment as a verified provider rating, alter evidence or misstate an affiliation. We may request evidence and pause access while checking it.

Platform access is not guaranteed. Some features require identity, payment, tax, eligibility, approval or payout checks. We may set reasonable booking limits and refuse an application or Booking where a requirement is not met, subject to applicable law.

4. Bookings and sessions

A listing or available time is an invitation to book, not a promise that a Booking will be made. Depending on the offering, a Booker may book an available time immediately or send a request that the Hitting Partner must accept. A pending request does not reserve the time. A Booking is confirmed only when the Platform records the required acceptance and successful deposit payment and displays or sends confirmation.

Submitting a Booking request creates a pending request, not a confirmed Booking and not a payment obligation. The Hitting Partner may accept or decline it, and the Booker may withdraw it while the request remains withdrawable. An accepted request may enter an approved-awaiting-payment state with a payment deadline. It becomes confirmed only after the required deposit succeeds; expiry, withdrawal, decline and an unavailable time remain separate recorded outcomes.

Before paying, the Booker must check the Hitting Partner, Participant, session type, Junior status, date, start and end time, duration, location, court arrangements, price, fees, deposit, balance and applicable policies. Unless expressly included in the Booking, court hire, travel, equipment and other venue charges are not included. Users must have permission to use the agreed court and comply with venue rules.

A change is binding only when made through the Platform or confirmed by Serving T. A reschedule proposal does not change the Booking until accepted and recorded. The Platform may apply a rescheduling cut-off shown in the Booking flow. A change does not erase payment, cancellation or conduct obligations already accrued.

Automated notices, calendar files and reminders are conveniences. Each user remains responsible for checking the live Booking record, time zone and messages and for arriving at the correct place and time.

5. Terms for bookers and participants

The Booker must:

select the actual Participant for every Booking and not substitute another person without approval;
have authority to make the Booking and provide relevant information for that Participant;
check that the session, playing level, venue and Hitting Partner are suitable;
ensure the Participant is on time, appropriately equipped and able to take part safely;
pay all amounts due and manage changes, concerns and cancellations through the Platform; and
ensure the Participant follows these Terms and the Code of Conduct.

The Booker is responsible for the acts and omissions of a Participant they book for to the extent permitted by law. This does not remove any responsibility the Participant, Hitting Partner, venue, Serving T or another person has under law. Participants must follow reasonable safety directions and stop if they feel unwell, unsafe or unable to continue.

6. Junior participants and safeguarding

Junior Bookings may be made only by a parent, legal guardian or another adult who has lawful authority and responsibility for the Junior. That adult must provide the Junior's accurate name and date of birth, consent to the session, remain the contact person, arrange safe transport and comply with any supervision or venue requirements. Serving T is not a childcare or guardianship service.

A Hitting Partner may provide a Junior session only while separately approved by Serving T for Juniors and must follow age-appropriate professional boundaries and safeguarding requirements. General Hitting Partner approval alone is not enough. The Booker must not knowingly book a Junior into a Senior-only offering or conceal the Participant's age.

Users must not privately message a Junior through the Platform, arrange undisclosed one-to-one contact, transport a Junior, photograph or record a Junior, or publish a Junior's personal information without the parent or guardian's express informed consent and any other consent required by law. Suspected grooming, abuse, exploitation or an immediate safety risk must be reported promptly. Call 111 where anyone is in immediate danger, then notify us when safe to do so.

7. Terms for hitting partners

A Hitting Partner must:

complete our application and maintain every required general and Junior-specific approval;
keep identity, provider rating, experience, profile, offerings, rates, locations and availability accurate;
offer only sessions they are competent, fit, legally permitted and properly equipped to provide;
honour confirmed Bookings, arrive on time and provide the session with reasonable care and skill;
maintain any registration, consent, insurance or venue permission required by law, a venue or an expressly disclosed Booking or Platform requirement;
protect Booker and Participant information and use it only to fulfil the relevant Booking;
manage cancellations, attendance, messages and payout setup promptly through the Platform; and
comply with tax, safeguarding, health and safety and other legal obligations that apply to their activities.

Hitting Partners decide whether to apply, what approved services to offer, their rates, availability and how to perform the session, subject to the Booking and these Terms. They are responsible for equipment, expenses and legal or tax obligations that actually apply. These Terms do not determine whether a relationship is employment, contracting, agency, partnership, franchise or joint venture. Legal status depends on applicable law and the true circumstances.

We may remove an offering or require correction where information is unsupported, misleading, unsafe, stale or outside an approval. Repeated cancellations, no-shows, complaints, poor conduct or failure to keep availability accurate may lead to limits, re-review or suspension.

8. Prices, fees and taxes

Unless the Platform states otherwise, amounts are in New Zealand dollars. Hitting Partners set their session rates within available Platform controls. Serving T may charge Bookers a booking or service fee and may deduct a platform fee or commission from Hitting Partner earnings. The price breakdown shown before payment, including any stated GST, deposit and balance, is the price for that Booking.

We will display charges that apply to a new Booking before the Booker commits to pay and will give Hitting Partners reasonable notice of a material change to partner fees where practicable. Users can choose not to make or accept future Bookings after a change.

Each user is responsible for their own tax position. Hitting Partners must declare and pay income tax, GST and other amounts for which they are liable, issue any legally required tax information and obtain professional advice where needed. We may calculate, withhold, collect, report or remit tax or tax-related information where law requires it.

9. Payments and partner payouts

Serving T uses Stripe and may use other payment providers. Their separate terms may apply. The Booker authorises Serving T and its provider to collect the amounts and use the payment method in the way expressly disclosed at checkout. We may place reasonable fraud or compliance checks on a payment and a Booking is not confirmed if the required deposit fails.

A deposit and any remaining balance are separate payments. Where the checkout authorisation is accepted, the deposit payment method may be saved and used for the disclosed one-off remaining-balance attempt after a completed session or valid no-show. No automatic remaining-balance payment is made while a Booking is cancelled, disputed or under manual review. If an authorised attempt fails, the amount remains due and the Booker may be asked to complete a new secure payment through the Platform.

A return from Stripe does not by itself prove payment, and simply leaving a Stripe page does not by itself cancel a Booking or request. Serving T relies on the authoritative payment and webhook state. An explicit checkout-abort action may end an unpaid checkout after the Platform verifies its current Stripe state; a payment that has already succeeded takes priority. An expired unpaid checkout may release its temporary slot hold under the state recorded by the Platform.

Stripe may collect customer funds and, when the Booking and settlement states permit, route or transfer amounts associated with a Hitting Partner's connected account. The checkout and payout records identify the applicable transaction flow; these Terms do not independently assign merchant status. Applicable platform fees, refunds, reversals, chargebacks, taxes, actual unrecovered third-party costs and other properly due amounts may be deducted or offset where disclosed and lawful. Stripe controls connected-account verification and the timing, availability and destination of later bank payouts. An estimated payout date is not a guarantee.

Serving T uses Stripe Connect to facilitate partner payments and payouts. Stripe Connected Account and payout costs attributable to a Hitting Partner may be deducted from amounts otherwise payable to that Hitting Partner. These costs are recovered at cost and are not marked up by Serving T.

At the effective date of these Terms, the applicable costs include NZ$2.00 for each month in which the connected account is active, 0.25% of each payout plus NZ$0.25 per payout, and 0.25% of payout volume for funds routing and platform management. This currently represents combined percentage-based costs of 0.50% of payout volume, plus NZ$0.25 per payout and NZ$2.00 per active account month.

Serving T generally consolidates eligible partner balances into weekly payouts. Stripe may change its third-party pricing from time to time, and Serving T may update the amounts recovered to match the Stripe costs actually incurred. Where GST or another applicable tax is chargeable on Serving T's recovery of these costs, that tax may be added to the amount deducted from the Hitting Partner's payout.

Users must not use a stolen or unauthorised payment method, make a knowingly false chargeback, or attempt to manipulate the payment or payout flow. Contact us promptly about a payment you do not recognise. Refund timing may depend on the payment provider and the receiving bank.

10. Cancellations, no-shows and refunds

The Cancellation and No-show Policy is incorporated into these Terms. Read it before paying. The version accepted and recorded for the Booking governs cancellation, no-show, attendance, deposit, refund and remaining-balance outcomes for that Booking.

In summary, a Hitting Partner or administrator may record a no-show from 15 minutes after the scheduled start while the Booking remains eligible. An unresolved paid Booking may be completed automatically 60 minutes after its scheduled end. A completed session or valid no-show can make the separately authorised balance payable. A cancellation, dispute or manual-review state blocks a new automatic balance attempt and new partner transfer while it is unresolved. A Hitting Partner cancellation ordinarily results in a full deposit refund to the Booker, subject to payment-provider processing.

Do not treat a private message, non-attendance or an unaccepted reschedule as a cancellation. Use the Platform's cancellation or support process. We may ask for relevant records, pause settlement and correct an attendance outcome where the evidence reasonably supports doing so. Dishonest cancellation or no-show claims are a serious breach of these Terms.

11. Keep bookings on Serving T

Keeping discovery, Bookings, messages and payments on Serving T gives both sides a clear record and access to the Platform's payment, cancellation, reporting and support processes. Sharing practical contact or venue details after confirmation is permitted where it is reasonably needed for the session.

You must not use a profile, introduction, message, Participant detail or other information obtained through Serving T to request, offer, make or accept a booking or payment outside the Platform where the purpose or effect is to avoid our fees, payment flow, policies or safeguards. You must not encourage another user to do so. Taking a Serving T-introduced transaction off-platform in this way is a breach of these Terms and may result in account restrictions. The off-platform arrangement will not have Serving T's Booking record, payment administration or policy support.

12. Code of conduct and acceptable use

Everyone using Serving T must act honestly, safely and respectfully. You must not:

harass, threaten, bully, stalk, exploit or discriminate against another person;
engage in hateful, sexual, violent, intimidating or otherwise inappropriate conduct;
make unwanted physical contact or ignore a Participant's boundaries or request to stop;
attend while impaired by alcohol or drugs, bring a weapon, or deliberately create an unsafe situation;
provide false identity, rating, eligibility, attendance, payment or review information;
spam, solicit unrelated business, recruit users away from the Platform or send unauthorised marketing;
infringe privacy, confidentiality, intellectual property or any other person's rights;
scrape, crawl, copy or harvest Platform data or use bots except with our written permission;
probe security, introduce malicious code, bypass access controls or disrupt the Platform; or
use Serving T for unlawful, fraudulent or harmful activity.

Reasonable disagreement about playing style or ability is not itself misconduct. Users should communicate calmly, respect cultural and personal differences and focus public feedback on first-hand Booking experiences. Report serious concerns through the Platform or to hello@servingt.com. Serving T is not an emergency service.

13. Safety and sporting risk

Tennis and travel to a venue involve ordinary risks, including exertion, falls, collision, weather, court conditions and contact with balls or equipment. Participants should use suitable footwear and equipment, warm up, bring water, follow venue rules and make their own informed decision about fitness to participate. Seek medical advice where appropriate; Serving T and Hitting Partners do not provide medical advice through the Platform.

Bookers must communicate information reasonably necessary for safe participation, including relevant accessibility needs, allergies, injuries or emergency considerations, while avoiding unnecessary sensitive detail. Hitting Partners must assess conditions, explain material session-specific risks, use reasonable care and stop or adapt a session where continuing would be unsafe. No one is required to continue an activity they reasonably believe presents a serious safety risk.

Users must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act 2015 and other duties that apply to them. Nothing in these Terms transfers, limits or contracts out of a health and safety duty or any other obligation that cannot lawfully be excluded.

14. Profiles, content and reviews

You retain ownership of text, images and other content you submit. You give Serving T a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, copy, format, moderate and display that content only as reasonably needed to operate, secure and promote Serving T and your use of it. The licence ends when the content is deleted, except for cached copies, transaction records, legal retention and material already used with your permission. You confirm you have the rights and consents needed for anything you submit.

Reviews may be submitted only by an eligible Booker after a completed Booking. Reviews must be first-hand, relevant and honest. They must not contain private or sensitive information, discriminatory content, threats, extortion, conflicts of interest or incentives that distort the reviewer's genuine opinion. We may investigate, decline, hide, edit only for formatting or privacy, or remove content that breaches these Terms, while preserving fair criticism where reasonably possible. We do not guarantee that every item is reviewed before publication.

The Platform's software, design, branding and content supplied by Serving T or its licensors are protected by intellectual property law. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, revocable and non-transferable right to use them only for their intended Platform purpose. No other rights are transferred.

15. Privacy, records and communications

Our Privacy Policy applies to the information it describes. To operate the full Platform, we may also collect and use account, identity, Participant, application, provider-rating, availability, Booking, message, payment metadata, payout, safety, support and technical information as reasonably necessary to provide and secure the service, administer transactions, communicate with users and comply with law. We handle personal information under the Privacy Act 2020 and applicable privacy notices. You may ask to access or correct your personal information by contacting us.

We may disclose the minimum information reasonably needed to the Booker, Hitting Partner, payment, hosting, email and professional service providers, venues where authorised, and regulators or authorities where permitted or required by law. Users who receive another person's information through a Booking must protect it and use it only for that Booking, safety, legal compliance or another purpose the person has authorised. Take particular care with Junior and health information.

We may retain Booking, consent, policy-version, message, payment, payout, moderation and support records to operate the Platform, resolve disputes, prevent fraud and comply with law. New Zealand digital-platform reporting rules may require us to collect, verify and report Hitting Partner identity, tax, financial and earnings information to Inland Revenue or another competent authority. Hitting Partners must provide accurate information reasonably required for that purpose.

You agree to receive account, security, Booking, payment, policy and service notices electronically at the email address or through the contact method connected to your account. These operational messages are not marketing. You can manage optional marketing choices separately. A notice is treated as received when sent or made available, unless we receive a delivery-failure notice or law requires another rule.

16. Suspension and ending access

You may stop using the Platform at any time and may ask us to close your account, subject to unresolved Bookings, amounts due, investigations and lawful record retention. Account closure does not cancel a Booking or extinguish an existing payment, refund, tax, confidentiality, content, dispute or liability obligation.

We may warn, limit a feature, pause payments or payouts, unpublish content, re-review an approval, suspend or close an account where we reasonably believe this is necessary to: address a breach or repeated poor performance; investigate fraud, safety or legal risk; protect users or the Platform; comply with law or a provider requirement; or deal with an inactive or technically harmful account. Where practicable, we will give notice and a reasonable opportunity to respond. We may act immediately where delay could expose a person, funds, data or the Platform to material harm.

We will handle open Bookings and funds according to their recorded state, the applicable policy and law. Suspension is not by itself a forfeiture of funds. You may ask us to review an account decision by emailing us with relevant information.

17. Changes to the Platform, fees and Terms

We may add, change or discontinue Platform features, eligibility requirements, supported locations, session categories, payment methods and operating rules. We will not use a Platform change to retrospectively alter an already confirmed Booking's price or core session terms, except with the affected parties' agreement or where necessary to comply with law, protect safety or resolve an error.

We may update these Terms. For a material change, we will post the revised Terms, update the effective date and give reasonable advance notice by email or through the Platform, normally at least 30 days where practicable. We may make an immediate change where it is required by law, addresses fraud or security, or does not materially reduce a user's rights; we will explain it as soon as reasonably practicable. The version accepted for an existing Booking continues to govern that Booking unless the law requires otherwise.

If you do not agree to revised Terms, you may stop using the Platform before they take effect and close your account after resolving open Bookings and balances. Where a published version requires explicit reacceptance, navigation or continued use alone does not record acceptance. Restricted account features remain unavailable until the account holder reviews and affirmatively accepts that version. Changes to fees are also subject to the prospective protections in section 8.

18. Consumer rights and liability

New Zealand consumers have rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 and Fair Trading Act 1986. Nothing in these Terms excludes, restricts or modifies those rights or any other guarantee, remedy or liability where doing so would be unlawful. In particular, services supplied to consumers must meet applicable statutory guarantees, including reasonable care and skill.

Subject to those mandatory rights, Serving T does not promise that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free or always available, or that every user-provided statement is accurate. We are responsible for the Platform services we supply and for loss that is a reasonably foreseeable result of our breach or negligence. We are not responsible for a loss to the extent it is caused by the affected user, a venue, another service provider, an event outside our reasonable control, or acts or omissions of a Hitting Partner when supplying the on-court session where applicable law does not make Serving T responsible.

19. Complaints, disputes and New Zealand law

Raise a concern promptly through the relevant Booking or email hello@servingt.com with the Booking reference, the outcome sought and relevant records. The parties should first try in good faith to resolve the issue directly and give each other a reasonable opportunity to respond. We may facilitate communication or review Platform records, but do not have to act as an arbitrator between a Booker and Hitting Partner.

These Terms and non-contractual matters relating to the Platform are governed by New Zealand law. The New Zealand courts have non-exclusive jurisdiction. Nothing prevents a party from using the Disputes Tribunal where it has jurisdiction, seeking urgent relief, making a complaint to the Commerce Commission or Privacy Commissioner, or exercising any other right available under New Zealand law.

20. General terms and contact

Neither party is liable for delay caused by an event outside its reasonable control, such as severe weather, natural disaster, venue closure, widespread outage or government action, but this does not excuse an amount already due or prevent a refund or remedy required by the applicable policy or law.

You may not assign or transfer your account or these Terms without our written consent. We may transfer our rights and obligations as part of a genuine restructure, financing or sale of the Platform if the transfer does not materially reduce consumer rights, and we will give reasonable notice. If a term is held invalid or unenforceable, it will be read down or removed only to the extent needed; the rest continues. A delay in enforcing a term is not a waiver. Headings and summaries aid reading but do not change meaning.

Sections concerning payments, tax, confidentiality, content already used, liability, disputes and accrued rights survive account closure. These Terms and the documents incorporated in section 1 are the entire agreement about the Platform, but do not exclude liability for a false or misleading representation.