Terms of Service

1. What JoyUS is, and what it isn't

JoyUS Wellness LLC, doing business as JoyUS ("JoyUS," "we," "us"), runs an online marketplace at joyuswellness.com that helps older adults and their families find companions, called Joy Providers, for social visits: conversation, phone and video calls, meals, outings, worship, games and hobbies.

• Joy Providers are independent contractors. They are not employees or agents of JoyUS. They choose whether to accept each visit, set their own rate within our posted ranges, and are responsible for how they carry out a visit, subject to our Code of Conduct.
• Companionship only. JoyUS is not a home health agency, medical provider, or personal care service. Joy Providers do not give medical care, medication, bathing, toileting, lifting or transfers, and they do not manage money or legal matters.
• Not an emergency service. In an emergency, call 911. JoyUS cannot monitor anyone in real time.

2. Who can use JoyUS

• You must be at least 18 and able to enter a binding agreement.
• Give accurate information and keep it current. One person per account. Keep your password private.
• Booking for someone else. If you create a Joy Profile for a parent, relative or friend, you confirm that they know about JoyUS and agree to receive visits, or that you have legal authority to arrange care and companionship for them. The older adult may decline any visit at any time, and their wishes come first.
• Family members you invite to a Joy Profile can see its bookings, messages and visit notes.

3. Safety screening and its limits

Before a Joy Provider can be booked, they must verify their identity with a government ID and a matching selfie, pass a background check through a consumer reporting agency, complete our elder-safety training, and accept our Code of Conduct.

Screening lowers risk but cannot eliminate it. Background checks rely on public records that can be incomplete, and no process can predict how a person will behave. Use your own judgment, meet in public for early visits when you can, keep family informed, and report anything that worries you to us right away through the Support page.

4. Booking and payment

• Prices are shown before you book. The price includes the Joy Provider's rate, any add-ons, and our platform fee.
• When you request a visit, we save your card with our payment processor, Stripe. Your card is charged 24 hours before the visit, or once the visit is confirmed if it is booked less than 24 hours ahead.
• JoyUS collects payment on behalf of Joy Providers as their limited payment collection agent. Once your payment is received, your obligation to the Joy Provider for that visit is satisfied.
• We never store your full card number. Stripe processes card data under its own security standards.
• Pay only through JoyUS. Never give a Joy Provider cash, checks, gifts, loans or access to accounts. Paying outside JoyUS removes the protections in these Terms.

5. Cancellations and refunds

Our Cancellation policy is part of these Terms. In short: cancel free up to 24 hours before a visit. Inside 24 hours, the visit is not refundable because the Joy Provider has reserved that time. If a Joy Provider cancels or doesn't show up, you get a full refund.

If something went wrong with a visit, contact us before disputing a charge with your bank. We can usually resolve it faster, and an unwarranted chargeback may lead us to close the account.

6. How everyone is expected to act

• Treat everyone with respect. Harassment, threats, discrimination, and sexual content or advances are not allowed.
• Don't misrepresent who you are, and don't book visits for anyone without their consent.
• Don't use JoyUS to solicit money, sell products, recruit for other services, or collect personal information.
• Don't record video visits or share another person's image or information without their permission.
• Keep communication in the JoyUS app. Contact details are removed from messages to protect everyone.

To keep older adults safe, we may review messages, visit notes and account activity, and we may contact family members, emergency services or adult protective services if we believe someone is at risk.

7. Messages, email and texts

• We send account and visit emails, such as confirmations and reminders. You can turn off non-essential email in Settings.
• If you opt in to text messages, we text visit reminders and urgent alerts. Message frequency varies with your visits. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to opt out or HELP for help. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages.
• Video visits run on a third-party video service in your web browser. Joining a visit means agreeing to its basic terms of use.

8. Ending your account

You can close your account at any time by contacting us. We may suspend or close an account that breaks these Terms, puts anyone at risk, or that we are required to close by law. Visits that were already charged follow the Cancellation policy.

9. Disclaimers

JoyUS is provided "as is." To the fullest extent the law allows, we disclaim implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. We do not guarantee that a match will be available, that any particular Joy Provider will be a good fit, or that the service will be uninterrupted. JoyUS is not responsible for the acts or omissions of Joy Providers, families or other users, but we will always investigate reports and act on them.

10. Limits on liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, JoyUS will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, and our total liability for any claim relating to JoyUS is limited to the greater of the amount you paid JoyUS in the 12 months before the claim or $100. Some states don't allow these limits, so they may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including for gross negligence or willful misconduct.

You agree to cover JoyUS's reasonable losses and costs from claims caused by your breach of these Terms or your misuse of JoyUS.

11. Resolving disputes

• Talk to us first. Before filing a claim, contact us and give us 30 days to try to resolve it informally.
• Arbitration. If we can't resolve it, any dispute will be decided by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, rather than in court. Either of us may instead bring an individual claim in small claims court.
• No class actions. Claims may be brought only individually, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative proceeding.
• Opting out. You can opt out of arbitration by emailing hello@joyuswellness.com within 30 days of creating your account.

12. Changes and general terms

We may update these Terms. If a change is material, we will notify you by email or in the app before it takes effect, and continuing to use JoyUS after that means you accept the change. These Terms, our Privacy Policy, the Cancellation policy and, for Joy Providers, the Joy Provider Agreement are the whole agreement between you and JoyUS. They are governed by the laws of the state in which JoyUS Wellness LLC is organized, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and by the Federal Arbitration Act. If any part is unenforceable, the rest still applies.