1 Introduction and purpose
1.1 This Acceptable Use Policy explains the standards that apply when you use MoorHub and the action we may take if those standards are not met.
1.2 MoorHub is a marketplace connecting people looking for moorings with mooring providers. This Policy helps protect users and the Platform against misleading listings, fraud, harassment, misuse of personal information and abuse of our systems.
1.3 Mooring agreements are made directly between Boat Owners and Partners. MoorHub is not a party to those agreements.
2 Who this Policy applies to
2.1 This Policy applies to everyone who accesses or uses the Platform, including Boat Owners, Partners, visitors and employees, agents or contractors using the Partner Portal. In this Policy, “you” means any of these people, unless a provision expressly applies only to a particular group.
2.2 You must be at least 18 years old to use the Platform.
3 Definitions
3.1 In this Policy:
Application means an enquiry, expression of interest, bid, Book Now request or other communication submitted by a Boat Owner about a Mooring.
Boat Owner means an individual or organisation using the Platform to search for, enquire about, bid on, apply for or secure a Mooring.
Content means text, images, photographs, videos, logos, descriptions, specifications, messages, data and other material submitted to or displayed on the Platform.
Listing means an advertisement, site profile, vacancy, auction or other listing relating to a Mooring. This definition does not determine which services or items attract a fee.
MoorHub, we, us and our mean Labello Enterprises Limited, trading as MoorHub. Our company and contact details are in section 21.
Mooring means a berth, space or other facility offered for mooring a boat.
Mooring Agreement means an agreement made directly between a Boat Owner and a Partner for the mooring of a boat.
Partner means a mooring provider registered on the Partner Portal, including an organisation acting through its authorised users.
Partnership Agreement means MoorHub’s Mooring Provider Partnership Agreement and Partner Terms and Conditions.
Platform means moorhub.co.uk, the Partner Portal and associated subdomains, applications and services made available by MoorHub.
Website Terms of Use means MoorHub’s Website Terms of Use for Boat Owners.
3.2 Terms not defined here have the meanings given in the Website Terms of Use or Partnership Agreement, as applicable.
4 How this Policy applies
4.1 This Policy forms part of the Website Terms of Use for Boat Owners and the Partnership Agreement for Partners. A breach of this Policy is a breach of the applicable agreement. This Policy does not create a separate contract.
4.2 Our rights to restrict, suspend or terminate access arise under the applicable agreement. This Policy explains the conduct standards and how we exercise those rights; it does not create additional termination or suspension powers.
4.3 Where this Policy and the applicable agreement address acceptable use or Content standards, this Policy provides the more detailed standards, subject to the order of precedence in that agreement. For other matters, the applicable agreement prevails.
4.4 Nothing in this Policy limits rights or protections that cannot lawfully be excluded.
5 General standards of conduct
5.1 You must use the Platform lawfully, honestly and for purposes consistent with connecting Boat Owners and Partners.
5.2 You must not deliberately disrupt the Platform or use it to defraud, threaten, harass or otherwise unlawfully harm another person or organisation.
5.3 Information you provide at registration, in a Listing or Application, or in communications must be accurate, current and not misleading. You must correct material inaccuracies promptly when you become aware of them.
5.4 Nothing in this Policy prevents honest feedback, good-faith complaints, lawful reporting to an authority or the exercise of your legal rights.
6 Content standards
6.1 These standards apply to all Content you submit, including Listings, Applications, messages, profiles and support requests.
6.2 You must not submit Content that:
(a) is false, misleading or deceptive, including about a Mooring’s availability, dimensions, price, facilities or residential or planning status;
(b) is unlawful, defamatory, obscene or sexually explicit;
(c) unlawfully discriminates against a person, or promotes hatred or discrimination based on race, colour, ethnicity, religion or belief, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, age or another protected characteristic;
(d) promotes or incites unlawful violence, harassment or criminal activity;
(e) infringes another person’s intellectual property, privacy or other legal rights;
(f) impersonates someone or misrepresents your identity, authority or affiliation; or
(g) contains malware, harmful code or material intended to disrupt the Platform or another person’s device.
6.3 You must have the rights and permissions needed to submit your Content. A Listing must be published by, or with the authority of, the Partner responsible for the Mooring it describes.
6.4 We recommend using the Platform’s messaging facilities for initial enquiries so that you have a record of your communications. Sharing contact details and communicating directly are permitted, subject to the privacy, safety and conduct standards in this Policy.
6.5 We may edit or reformat Content for presentation, or reject or remove Content for compliance purposes, as permitted by the applicable agreement. This does not mean that we verify or approve every item submitted, or take over a Partner’s responsibility for its Listings.
7 Fraud and account security
7.1 You must not create a fraudulent account or use an account for fraud, money laundering or another unlawful purpose.
7.2 You must not use another person’s identity or submit an Application, bid or Listing on behalf of someone else, or in relation to their boat or Mooring, without authority.
7.3 Keep your login credentials confidential. Do not share your login or allow another person to use your individual account. Where a Partner has several authorised users, each person must use their own account.
7.4 Tell us promptly if you become aware of unauthorised access to your account.
7.5 You must not submit information or documents you know or reasonably suspect to be false, such as a fabricated boat licence, insurance certificate or reference.
7.6 As permitted by the applicable agreement, we may request identity, authority or business verification and may refuse registration, an Application or a Listing where we reasonably suspect fraud or misrepresentation. A request for verification does not mean that all users or Listings have been verified.
8 Direct dealings between Boat Owners and Partners
8.1 We encourage you to use the Platform for initial enquiries and the early stages of arranging a Mooring, so that there is a record of those communications.
8.2 Boat Owners and Partners may communicate, meet and enter into Mooring Agreements directly. This includes arranging viewings, signing agreements, making payments and renewing or extending an existing Mooring Agreement. Direct dealing following an introduction through MoorHub is not, by itself, a breach of this Policy.
8.3 Direct dealings remain subject to the standards in this Policy where they relate to use of the Platform, including the rules against fraud, harassment and misuse of personal information.
8.4 Partners must keep published Listings accurate and update or withdraw them when availability changes. A Partner may withdraw a Listing, subject to its Partnership Agreement. Fees, billing and cancellation are governed by that agreement and the pricing terms agreed with the Partner.
9 Automated access and use of Platform data
9.1 You must not use automated tools to scrape, harvest or extract Platform Content or data, or to place bids or submit Applications, without our prior written permission, except as allowed by section 9.2.
9.2 This restriction does not prevent use of tools or integrations we provide or expressly authorise, assistive technology used for ordinary access, or public search-engine indexing to the extent permitted by our published crawler instructions. These exceptions do not permit access to private information, circumvention of controls or activity that disrupts the Platform.
9.3 You must not use Content or data obtained through the Platform to build or improve a competing marketplace or database, or to train or improve an artificial intelligence or machine learning model, without our prior written permission. This does not restrict your use of Content you own or independently have permission to use, provided that use does not disclose another person’s personal information unlawfully or infringe someone else’s rights.
9.4 You must not bypass or interfere with rate limits, access controls or other security measures, or access data or functionality you are not authorised to use.
9.5 We may monitor access patterns and apply proportionate technical measures to detect and prevent automated abuse. Our Privacy Policy explains the associated use of personal data and the lawful bases on which we rely.
9.6 Unauthorised access or use may result in restrictions or suspension under the applicable agreement and, where appropriate, legal action.
10 Security testing and Platform integrity
10.1 You must obtain our prior written permission before carrying out penetration testing, vulnerability scanning or other security testing of the Platform.
10.2 You must not reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble any part of the Platform, except where applicable law gives you a right to do so that cannot be excluded.
10.3 You must not introduce malware or other harmful code, disrupt the Platform or attempt to gain unauthorised access to any connected system or network.
10.4 If you discover a security vulnerability, report it using the contact details in section 21. Do not exploit it, access further data or continue testing without permission. Avoid public disclosure of details that could put users or systems at risk while we investigate. This does not prevent lawful reporting to an appropriate authority.
10.5 We do not operate a formal bug bounty programme, but we will acknowledge good-faith vulnerability reports.
11 Auction and bidding integrity
11.1 These rules apply to auctions and Book Now requests alongside the relevant provisions of the Website Terms of Use and Partnership Agreement.
11.2 You must bid or submit a Book Now request only where you genuinely intend to proceed in accordance with the applicable terms. This does not remove any withdrawal or cancellation right available under those terms or the law.
11.3 You must not place a bid to artificially increase a Mooring’s price or otherwise manipulate an auction.
11.4 A Partner must not bid on its own auction, arrange for someone else to do so, or encourage or reward bids intended to manipulate its auction.
11.5 You must not collude with another person to manipulate an auction’s price or outcome, including through coordinated bids or agreements to suppress competing bids.
11.6 You must not use multiple accounts to bid on the same auction or evade bidding restrictions.
11.7 We treat auction manipulation seriously and may take immediate action under section 16, including for a first breach.
12 Harassment and safe interactions
12.1 You must not harass, threaten, abuse or intimidate anyone through the Platform or in connection with your use of it, including other users and MoorHub staff.
12.2 You must not disclose another person’s personal information to threaten, harass or expose them to harm, or use information obtained through the Platform to contact them for an unauthorised purpose.
12.3 You must not use the Platform to send spam, unsolicited marketing or other abusive or irrelevant communications.
12.4 We cannot guarantee that every user is genuine, honest or legally compliant. Exercise reasonable care before sharing personal information, making payments or relying on another user’s statements. Check that the Mooring, the provider’s authority and the proposed agreement meet your needs.
13 Additional standards for Partners
13.1 Partners must comply with the conduct and Content requirements in the Partnership Agreement and ensure that their authorised users comply with this Policy.
13.2 Partners remain responsible for the accuracy of their Listings, their authority to offer the Moorings advertised and their Mooring Agreements with Boat Owners.
13.3 Partners must not misrepresent availability, pricing, facilities, restrictions or permission for residential use. Material changes must be reflected promptly in published Listings.
13.4 A Partner must not use a Boat Owner’s contact or enquiry details obtained through MoorHub for its own marketing unless the Boat Owner has consented to that specific use. An enquiry alone is not marketing consent.
13.5 Partners must comply with the data-sharing and data-protection obligations in their Partnership Agreement and any applicable data-sharing schedule.
13.6 Breaches may result in action under the Partnership Agreement and section 16 of this Policy.
14 Personal information and data protection
14.1 You must use personal information obtained through the Platform only for authorised purposes and in accordance with applicable data-protection law. You must not unlawfully collect, sell, disclose or otherwise misuse it.
14.2 We process personal data to help prevent fraud, abuse and misuse of the Platform, as explained in our Privacy Policy. We rely on legitimate interests where appropriate and on recognised legitimate interest where processing is necessary for a qualifying purpose, such as detecting, investigating or preventing crime. A breach of this Policy does not automatically qualify as crime-prevention processing.
14.3 When a Partner receives a Boat Owner’s contact or enquiry details and uses them for its own handling of the enquiry or Mooring Agreement, it acts as an independent controller of that use. It is responsible for complying with its own data-protection obligations and the agreed data-sharing terms.
14.4 Report suspected misuse of personal information using section 15. You may also complain to the Information Commissioner’s Office. Our Privacy Policy explains your rights and how to exercise them.
15 Reporting concerns and complaints
15.1 To report a suspected breach, misleading Listing, security concern or misuse of personal information, contact us using section 21.
15.2 Include enough information to help us identify the issue, such as the Listing or Application concerned, a description of what happened and relevant screenshots or messages. Do not send passwords or unnecessary sensitive information.
15.3 We may investigate and ask for further information. We will not normally disclose a reporter’s identity to the person reported, unless required by law or necessary to investigate or resolve the matter fairly.
15.4 If you are dissatisfied with our handling of a report or an enforcement decision, contact us using section 21, explain your concern and provide any relevant additional information. We will review the matter and respond. Any applicable complaints procedure published on the Platform provides further details.
16 Enforcement and process
16.1 Where you breach this Policy, we may take action permitted by the Website Terms of Use or Partnership Agreement, as applicable. This may include a warning, removal or hiding of Content or a Listing, restrictions on functionality, suspension or termination of access.
16.2 Where reasonably practicable, we will give you notice of the suspected breach and a reasonable opportunity to respond before taking action. We may act immediately where we reasonably consider this necessary to protect users, the Platform or MoorHub from harm, or to comply with the law.
16.3 We will generally aim to address a first, less serious breach with a warning. Immediate action may be appropriate for fraud, serious safety risks, auction manipulation or other sufficiently serious conduct.
16.4 We will consider the seriousness of the conduct, its impact and risks, whether it was repeated, and any relevant explanation or corrective action.
16.5 Where we act without prior notice, we will explain the action and reasons as soon as reasonably practicable, unless doing so would be unlawful or compromise security or an investigation. You may ask us to review the decision under section 15.4.
16.6 Taking or declining to take action does not waive any right or remedy available under the applicable agreement or law.
17 Repeat breaches and consequences
17.1 Repeated breaches may result in suspension or termination even if an isolated incident would have led only to a warning or Content removal.
17.2 You must not create or use another account to evade a restriction, suspension or termination. We may close accounts used for that purpose and apply proportionate technical measures to prevent further evasion.
17.3 Restrictions, suspension or termination do not extinguish rights, liabilities or obligations that have already arisen under the applicable agreement. They do not, by themselves, cancel a Mooring Agreement between a Boat Owner and a Partner.
17.4 Where we reasonably suspect criminal activity, we may report it to the police or another relevant authority and disclose relevant information where lawful, as explained in our Privacy Policy.
18 Other MoorHub terms and policies
18.1 Read this Policy alongside the Website Terms of Use or Partnership Agreement that applies to you, and our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.
18.2 Any additional auction rules or complaints procedure made available and applicable to your use provide the detail for those matters. They do not replace the underlying conduct standards in this Policy.
18.3 The relationship between this Policy and the applicable agreement is explained in section 4. This Policy does not independently change fees, billing, cancellation rights or the terms of a Mooring Agreement.
19 Changes to this Policy
19.1 We may update this Policy to reflect changes in Platform functionality, address new forms of misuse, improve clarity or meet legal or regulatory requirements, in accordance with the applicable agreement.
19.2 We will publish the updated Policy with its effective date. For material changes, we will give affected account holders reasonable advance notice, explaining the change and when it takes effect, in accordance with the notice requirements in their applicable agreement.
19.3 A change may take effect sooner where necessary to comply with the law or address an urgent security or safety risk. We will explain the change and give notice as soon as reasonably practicable.
19.4 Changes apply prospectively. We will not treat earlier conduct as a breach solely because a later version introduces a new restriction. A change to this Policy does not retrospectively alter an existing Mooring Agreement or remove accrued rights.
20 Governing law and jurisdiction
20.1 This Policy and any dispute or claim arising from it, including non-contractual disputes or claims, are governed by the laws of England and Wales.
20.2 The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, except that consumers living in Scotland or Northern Ireland may also bring proceedings in their local courts. Nothing in this section removes any mandatory consumer protection or jurisdiction right that applies to you.
21 Contact details
MoorHub is a trading name of Labello Enterprises Limited.
Company number: 14582462
Registered office: MoorHub, Department 4, The Boulevard, Leeds Dock, LS10 1PZ
Email: info@moorhub.co.uk