1. Who we are, and what ABEL is
ABEL is a platform that connects customers with independent home-service professionals. The professional performs the work; ABEL verifies them, sets the price, handles payment, and stands behind the job through the ABEL Guarantee.
2. Bookings
- You must be 18 or over and provide accurate details, including a correct address.
- The price shown before you confirm is the price you pay for the work described. There is no separate callout fee.
- Instant bookings are confirmed immediately. Quoted services (currently painting) become a booking when you accept a quote.
- Bookings close 30 minutes before the slot, so a professional is never promised a job they cannot reach.
- A professional may decline a job. If nobody accepts, you are not charged.
3. Payments
- Payment is taken at booking, in euro, via Stripe. Card details never reach our servers.
- Store credit is applied before your card. If credit covers the job, no card payment is taken at all.
- Prices include our commission. Commission is a matter between ABEL and the professional and is never added on top of your price.
- If work is agreed to change mid-job, both sides must accept the new price in the app before anything is charged or refunded.
4. Cancellations
You can cancel at any time in the app. What it costs depends on how much of the professional’s time you have already taken:
- More than 1 hour before the start — free. Full refund, no questions.
- Under 1 hour, before they set off — 25% of the job price.
- Once they are travelling to you — 50%.
- Once they have arrived — 75%.
The exact figure is shown to you before you confirm, and the balance is returned as store credit. Every cancellation fee goes in full to the professional — ABEL takes no commission on it. It compensates them for time they set aside and cannot now fill.
If the professional cancels, you are never charged. You are refunded in full and receive €5 credit for the disruption.
5. Being there
If a professional arrives and cannot reach you, they may report a no-show after waiting ten minutes, with a timestamped photo as evidence. A no-show is charged at 75% of the job price, which goes entirely to the professional. Three no-shows suspend an account.
6. Refunds and the ABEL Guarantee
If a job is not done properly, tell us within 48 hours. We will send a professional back to put it right, or refund you. Refunds are issued as store credit by default; if you would rather have the money back to your card, ask and we will arrange it.
7. Reviews
- Reviews must describe a job you actually booked. We remove reviews that do not.
- A professional can reply to a review publicly, but cannot edit or delete your rating — and neither can we.
- We do not publish fake or incentivised reviews.
8. Acceptable use
- Treat professionals with respect. Abuse, harassment or discrimination ends your account immediately.
- Do not ask a professional to work off-platform. It voids the Guarantee, their insurance cover for the job, and your protection.
- Do not request anything unsafe, unlawful, or outside the service booked.
- One account per person. Do not attempt to interfere with the platform or access another user's data.
9. Liability
Professionals on ABEL carry public liability insurance, which we verify before they take work and re-check on an ongoing basis. If something is damaged during a job, tell us within 48 hours and we will handle the claim with the professional and their insurer.
ABEL is not liable for indirect or consequential loss. Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be limited. Your statutory rights as a consumer under Maltese and EU law are unaffected.
10. Professionals
Professionals are independent contractors, not employees of ABEL. They set their own hours and service areas and choose which jobs to accept. Separate Partner terms apply to them.
11. Changes and termination
We may update these terms; material changes are notified by email before they take effect. You can close your account at any time. We may suspend an account that breaches these terms.
12. Governing law
These terms are governed by the laws of Malta, and the courts of Malta have jurisdiction. As an EU consumer you may also use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform.