Terms & conditions

2. Eligibility

Use of the platform is limited to people who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Persons who are “incompetent to contract” within the meaning of the Indian Contract Act, 1872 — including minors and un-discharged insolvents — are not eligible.

If we find that you are under 18 or otherwise legally ineligible, we may terminate your access immediately.

3. Accounts and security

You may browse as a guest, but registration is required for most features. By registering you agree to provide accurate and current information, to keep your password safe, to tell us immediately about any unauthorised use of your account, and to accept responsibility for everything done under it.

We may suspend or close an account at our discretion, particularly where information provided turns out to be false or misleading.

4. Who contracts whom

This clause describes the arrangement the rest of these terms depends on, and it is the one thing about Lancerscape most worth reading carefully.

When a sponsor accepts a bid, the sponsor enters into a contract with Lancerscape Global Private Limited for the delivery of that project. The sponsor’s counterparty is this company — not the freelancer.

Lancerscape separately contracts the freelancer to carry out the work. The freelancer’s counterparty is likewise this company, not the sponsor.

There are therefore two agreements, and Lancerscape is a party to both. We are responsible to the sponsor for the delivery of the project, and responsible to the freelancer for payment for the work they have done, on the terms set out below.

5. Payment, invoicing and our commission

• What the sponsor pays: The sponsor is invoiced by Lancerscape for the value of the project as agreed when the bid was accepted. Nothing is added on top of that figure: there is no listing fee, no subscription, and no charge for posting a project, browsing freelancers or comparing bids.
• Invoices: Sponsors receive a single GST invoice from Lancerscape Global Private Limited, payable in Indian rupees.
• What the freelancer receives: Lancerscape pays the freelancer for the work on approved delivery of the project, in Indian rupees, direct to their bank account. Our commission of 10% of the project value is deducted from that payment.
• When the commission applies: The 10% is charged only once a project has been paid for. It is never charged in advance, never added to the sponsor’s budget, and never charged where a project does not proceed. Creating a profile and applying to projects is free, with no connects, credits or bidding tokens of any kind.
• Refunds: Refunds and cancellations are governed by our Refund & Cancellation Policy, which forms part of these terms.

6. Delivery and acceptance

The freelancer delivers the work through the platform. The sponsor reviews it against the project description and either accepts it or sets out what does not meet the brief.

Where work does not meet the project description, the sponsor should say so through the platform rather than accepting it. Clause 7 sets out what we then do.

7. Our delivery guarantee

Because the sponsor’s contract is with Lancerscape rather than with an individual, we stand behind the delivery of the project.

If a project is not delivered to the agreed project description, we will make it right. In practice that means arranging for the work to be completed or corrected — by the original freelancer or by another — or, where that is not reasonably possible, refunding the sponsor in accordance with our Refund & Cancellation Policy.

This guarantee applies to the project as described when the bid was accepted. It does not extend to work outside that description, to changes requested after acceptance that were not agreed, or to delays caused by the sponsor — for example by not supplying materials, access or feedback the project depends on.

8. Intellectual property

The freelancer retains all intellectual property rights in work they create until Lancerscape has paid them for it. On payment, those rights pass to Lancerscape and, on the sponsor’s payment of the corresponding invoice, to the sponsor — unless something different is agreed in writing.

All content, trademarks and logos on the platform itself are the property of Lancerscape or its licensors and may not be used without permission.

9. Conduct

Users are expected to conduct themselves professionally. Prohibited behaviour includes, but is not limited to:

• Misrepresenting skills, qualifications or identity.
• Spamming, soliciting or harassing other users.
• Posting false, misleading or defamatory content.
• Arranging payment for platform work outside the platform, which removes the protections these terms create for both sides.
• Anything that would breach a contract or applicable law.

10. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate an account at any time, with or without notice, for conduct we believe breaches these terms, harms other users, or is otherwise inappropriate. On termination you will lose access to the account, and pending transactions may be cancelled at our discretion.

Termination does not affect obligations already incurred — in particular, work already delivered must still be paid for, and our obligations under clause 7 in respect of a project already contracted survive.

11. Liability

The platform itself — the website and its features — is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. We do not warrant that it will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, and we are not liable for loss arising from its unavailability.

That disclaimer is about the software. It does not limit our obligations under clause 5 (payment) or clause 7 (delivery), which are contractual commitments we have made deliberately and stand behind.

Except in respect of those obligations, and to the extent permitted by law, our liability arising out of or in connection with the platform is limited to the value of the project to which the claim relates. We are not liable for indirect or consequential loss.

You agree to indemnify Lancerscape, its officers, directors and employees against claims arising from your own breach of these terms or of applicable law.

12. Disputes

Disputes about a project should first be raised through the platform’s dispute resolution process, which is the fastest route to a resolution and the one that has the project history attached to it. Payment disputes must be reported within 10 days of the transaction.

Because Lancerscape is a party to both contracts, a dispute about delivery or payment is a dispute with us, and we will deal with it as such rather than referring the parties to each other.

Where a dispute cannot be resolved that way, either party may escalate it to mediation or arbitration through the platform. The outcome is final and binding on the parties, subject to the platform’s rules and applicable law.

13. Privacy and data protection

We collect, use and disclose personal information in accordance with our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference. We take reasonable measures to protect your personal information, and we share data with third-party service providers — payment processors, cloud providers — as necessary to operate the platform.

14. Governing law

These terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of India. Any dispute arising from them is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India.

15. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. Significant changes will be communicated by email or through a prominent notice on the platform, and your continued use after a change constitutes acceptance of it. Changes do not apply retrospectively to projects already contracted.

16. Miscellaneous

• Force majeure: We are not liable for a failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, war or acts of government.
• Severability: If any provision of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remain in full force.
• Entire agreement: These terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the Refund & Cancellation Policy, are the entire agreement between you and Lancerscape regarding use of the platform.