Planda Portal: Website & Agency Service Terms & Conditions

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS CAREFULLY. THEY AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS.

BY USING THIS SERVICE, YOU ARE APPOINTING US AS YOUR AGENT AND AGREEING TO INDEMNIFY US AGAINST SPECIFIC RISKS.

1. AGREEMENT OVERVIEW

1.1 The Parties: This Agreement is between Planning Data AI Ltd (trading as Planda Portal) ("We", "Us", "Our", or "Agent"), a company registered in England and Wales under company number 15253378 with its registered office at Aston House, Cornwall Avenue, London, N3 1LF, and the User (Applicant or Professional Representative) ("You" or "Client").

1.2 Nature of Service: Planda Portal operates as a Digital Planning Agent. We do not merely transmit your data; we act as your legal representative for the specific purpose of the application.

1.3 Basis of Contract: These terms come into effect when you confirm the application contents by clicking "Continue to payment" and accepting the declaration and terms and conditions.

2. APPOINTMENT OF AGENCY

2.1 Appointment: You hereby appoint Planda Portal as your Named Agent for the planning application submitted through our platform.

2.2 Scope of Authority: You grant us express authority to act as your agent for the following specific purposes:

(a) Execution of Forms: Signing statutory planning application forms, ownership certificates, and agricultural holdings certificates on your behalf.

(b) Receipt of Notices: Receiving and accepting all legal notices, validation letters, decision notices, and statutory correspondence from the Local Planning Authority ("LPA").

(c) Payment Handling: Holding and remitting statutory fees to the LPA.

(d) Discussions: Discussing administrative matters (validation, fee calculations, missing documents) with LPA officers.

(e) Third-Party Submission Routes: submitting, lodging, paying for, validating, amending, or managing your application through any third-party online portal, gateway, platform, payment system, intermediary service, LPA system, back-office integration, API, or other submission route, and making any declarations, confirmations, uploads, payments, administrative selections, or procedural steps reasonably required to complete or progress that submission.

2.3. You authorise us to share your application data, personal data, plans, drawings, ownership certificate information, supporting documents, payment information, contact details, correspondence details, and any other information reasonably required for your application with any Local Planning Authority, statutory consultee, third-party portal, gateway, platform, payment provider, intermediary service, technical provider, or support provider reasonably required to submit, pay for, validate, process, manage, or communicate about your application.

2.4 Exclusions:

Our agency explicitly EXCLUDES:

(a) Appeals: We do not act as agent for planning appeals to the Planning Inspectorate.

(b) Discharge of Conditions: Unless a separate application is raised and paid for.

(c) CIL Liability: We will NOT sign CIL (Community Infrastructure Levy) Assumption of Liability forms(see Clause 7).

(d) Professional Advice: We are a submission service, not a planning consultancy. We do not provide architectural design, legal advice, or planning strategy; unless explicitly stated and contracted.

3. DISCLAIMERS & YOUR RESPONSIBILITIES

3.1 "NO ADVICE" DISCLAIMER: Any guidance text, validation checks, or information on our Site is provided for convenience only and must not be relied upon as professional advice. You are responsible for seeking independent advice from a qualified planner, architect, or solicitor.

3.2 YOUR WARRANTIES & INDEMNITY: By using the Service, you legally warrant and represent that:

(a) Accuracy of Information: All information, plans, and documents you provide are true, accurate, and complete. We do not independently verify this information.

(b) Ownership Certificates: You have provided the correct Ownership information (Certificates A, B, C, or D). Submitting a false certificate is a criminal offence. You agree to fully indemnify and hold harmless Planda Portal and its directors from any and all claims, fines, legal costs, or application invalidations arising from an incorrect certificate signed by us on your instruction.

(c) Copyright: You hold the legal copyright or a valid licence for all drawings and reports you upload. You agree to fully indemnify and hold harmless Planda Portal against any third-party copyright infringement claim.

3.3 Consumer Rights Act 2015: We agree to provide our digital service with reasonable care and skill. However, this care and skill applies to the administrative process of submission, not the content of the application. The accuracy of drawings and planning merits remains your responsibility.

4. SERVICE DELIVERY & LIMITATIONS

4.1 Our Validation Check: Our "Validation Check" is not a guarantee of LPA validation. LPAs have discretion and local validation lists; we cannot control their decision to validate or invalidate an application.

4.2 Service Completion: Our service is deemed complete upon the successful submission of your application data to the LPA. The outcome (validation, refusal, approval) is not part of the service we provide.

4.3 No Guarantee of Outcome: We provide no warranty or guarantee that your planning application will be approved.

5. COMMUNICATION & DATA HANDLING

5.1 Mail Interception: As your Named Agent, all LPA correspondence will be sent to us. You explicitly consent to us opening, reading, and processing all such correspondence for the purpose of managing your application.

5.2 Public Register: You acknowledge that your name, address, and all submitted documents will be published on the LPA's public register and will be accessible to the public indefinitely, as required by the Town and Country Planning Act 1990.

5.3 Enterprise Direct Routing: Where an Customer elects to use a Direct Routing Email Address (managed by the customer), the LPA will correspond directly with that address. The customer assumes full responsibility for monitoring that inbox and responding to LPA queries. Planda Portal does not triage or forward mail sent to Direct Routing Addresses and accepts no liability for missed correspondence.

5.4 Sensitive Documents: In order to process fee reductions, we may handle documents that contain sensitive information such as proof of disability or other protected characteristics. We process this information solely for the purpose of validating your eligibility for statutory fee reductions and apply enhanced security measures to this data.

6. FEES, PAYMENTS & REFUNDS

6.1 Fees: Fees are defined in Schedule A (Payment Terms). Our Service Fee is for the process of submission, not the outcome.

6.2 Fee Increases: If statutory LPA fees increase between your payment to us and our submission to the LPA, you are liable for the difference.

7. LIABILITY & INDEMNITY

7.1 Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL): Liability for CIL rests solely with the land owner. Planda Portal will never assume liability for CIL. Failure to submit "Form 1" or "Form 2" correctly can result in lost exemptions and surcharges. It is your sole responsibility to manage CIL.

7.2 Limitation of Liability: Our total liability to you for any claim (contract, negligence, or otherwise) shall not exceed 150% of the Service Fee paid for the application in question.

7.3 Excluded Losses: We are not liable for any indirect or consequential losses, including but not limited to: loss of profit, loss of business opportunity, wasted expenditure, or costs from construction delays.

7.4 Unregulated Status: We are not regulated by the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) or the Architects Registration Board (ARB). You do not have access to their complaint or compensation schemes.

7.5 We are not liable for any loss, delay, rejection, invalidation, missed target date, missed determination date, additional fee, failed payment, failed submission, duplication, technical failure, data processing issue, or other problem caused by the systems, policies, service charges, downtime, rejection rules, validation rules, account restrictions, payment processes, operational decisions, or acts or omissions of any third-party portal, gateway, platform, payment provider, intermediary service, technical provider, statutory consultee, or Local Planning Authority, except to the extent caused by our own failure to exercise reasonable care and skill.

8. ANTI-MONEY LAUNDERING (AML)

8.1. We reserve the right to carry out Customer Due Diligence (CDD) checks as required by The Money Laundering, Terrorist Financing and Transfer of Funds Regulations 2017. We may require proof of identity and address before proceeding.

9. REFERRAL PROGRAMME

9.1 Definitions. "Referrer" means an existing Planda Portal user who shares their unique referral link. "Referred User" means a person who creates a new Planda Portal account using the aforementioned link and has not previously held a Planda Portal account, and is not affiliated with the Referrer's organisation. "Reward" means £75 (GBP).

9.2 The offer. When a Referred User completes three (3) Qualifying Applications, we will pay a £75 Reward to each of the Referrer and the Referred User.

9.3 Qualifying Application. An application counts only if all of the following are met: (a) it is created and submitted by the Referred User through the Planda Portal platform; (b) the full Planda Portal Service Fee for that application is paid and not refunded or charged back; (c) it has been successfully submitted to the Local Planning Authority (i.e. it has progressed beyond "Action Required"); (d) at the time the third Qualifying Application is completed by the Referred User, the Referrer has themselves submitted a minimum of three (3) Qualifying Applications through the Planda Portal platform, each meeting the conditions in (a)–(c) above.

9.4 What does not count. The following are excluded: (a) applications with an unpaid, refunded, charged-back, or disputed Service Fee; (b) applications withdrawn or cancelled at any time, by the Referred User or the LPA; (c) applications not submitted to an LPA, including drafts and any left in "Action Required"; and (d) duplicate, test, fraudulent, or self-referred applications, or applications where the Referrer and Referred User are the same person or share a billing source for the purpose of obtaining a Reward.

9.5 Payment. Rewards are paid by manual bank transfer to a nominated UK account within 30 working days of eligibility being confirmed. Both accounts must be active and in good standing. Rewards are paid gross and have no cash or other alternative.

9.6 Our rights. We may: (a) delay a Reward until a relevant application is finally determined (approved or refused) by the LPA; (b) reclaim or deduct a Reward if a counting application is later refunded, withdrawn, charged back, or found ineligible; and (c) vary, suspend, or withdraw the Programme, or disqualify any user for suspected abuse, at our discretion.

9.7 Acceptance. Participation in the Referral Programme constitutes acceptance of these terms.

10. THIRD-PARTY AI TOOL INTEGRATIONS

10.1 MCP Connections. Planda Portal supports connections to third-party AI tools via the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Any such connection is entirely user-initiated and can be revoked at any time from your account settings.

10.2 Data access. When you connect a third-party AI tool to your Planda account, that tool may access data within your account, including application documents, status information, and communications. Planda acts as a data processor in respect of data held on the platform in accordance with our Privacy Policy.

10.3 User responsibility. We do not control, and accept no responsibility for, how third-party AI tools process, store, or use data once accessed via an MCP connection. Users are responsible for: (a) ensuring any third-party tool they connect complies with applicable data protection law, including the UK GDPR; (b) reviewing that tool's own privacy policy and terms of service before connecting; and (c) ensuring they have a lawful basis before sharing personal data of third parties (including applicants, clients, or other individuals) with any connected AI tool.

10.4 Our rights. Planda reserves the right to suspend or restrict MCP connectivity where we reasonably believe it poses a risk to platform security or data integrity.

10.5 Acceptance. Connecting a third-party AI tool to your Planda account constitutes acceptance of the terms in this clause.

11. NEW USER WELCOME OFFER

11.1 Definitions. "Launch Date" means 29.07.2026. "Enrolled User" means: (a) a user who holds a Planda Portal account created on or after the Launch Date and who is not, at the time of enrolment, enrolled in the Planda Portal Cashback Scheme; or (b) a user who holds a Planda Portal account created before the Launch Date, who is not enrolled in the Planda Portal Cashback Scheme, and who has not previously accumulated nine (9) Stamps under this offer. "Company Owner" means the individual designated as the owner of an organisation account on the Planda Portal platform; a sole trader is treated as the Company Owner of their own account. "Stamp" means a provisional credit awarded to an Enrolled User upon completion of a Qualifying Application. "Card" means the record of an Enrolled User's accumulated Stamps. "Qualifying Application" has the meaning given in clause 11.4. "Reward" means one hundred and fifty pounds sterling (£150 GBP). All Stamps are provisional and may be revoked at any time before payment of the Reward if the underlying application ceases to satisfy clause 11.4.

11.2 Enrolment. Enrolled Users are automatically enrolled in the offer upon account creation, or upon the Launch Date for users whose accounts were created before the Launch Date. One Card is permitted per company domain, attributed to the Company Owner. Enrolment is subject to our right to suspend new enrolments under clause 11.8.

11.3 The offer. Subject to these terms, when an Enrolled User accumulates nine (9) Stamps, we will pay one (1) Reward to that Enrolled User by bank transfer in accordance with clause 11.7. A maximum of one Reward is payable per Enrolled User, per Card, per company, and per company domain, in each case ever. The offer may only be completed once.

11.4 Qualifying Application. An application earns one Stamp only if all of the following are met: (a) it is created and submitted through the Enrolled User's organisation account on the Planda Portal platform; (b) the full Planda Portal Service Fee for that application is paid and not discounted to zero, offset by credits, refunded, or charged back; (c) the application status is submitted, valid, or decided, and remains so until the Reward is paid; and (d) it is a genuine application submitted to a Local Planning Authority for a bona fide planning purpose, and not created wholly or mainly for the purpose of earning a Stamp or Reward, as reasonably determined by us.

11.5 What does not count. The following do not earn a Stamp: (a) applications with a Planda Portal Service Fee that is discounted to zero, paid using credits, refunded, or subject to a chargeback; and (b) applications that are withdrawn or cancelled at any time, whether by the Enrolled User, their organisation, or the Local Planning Authority.

11.6 Cashback interaction. Applications that earn a Stamp under this offer are not eligible for cashback. If an Enrolled User is subsequently enrolled in the Planda Portal Cashback Scheme, their Card is closed, all accumulated Stamps are forfeited, and cashback eligibility applies from that point forward. Where a user transfers to an organisation whose Company Owner holds an active Card, application counts from both parties may be merged at our reasonable discretion.

11.7 Payment. The Reward is paid by bank transfer to a UK bank account nominated by the Enrolled User and held in the name of the Enrolled User or their company. Eligibility is confirmed no earlier than fourteen (14) days after the Enrolled User's ninth Qualifying Application is assessed. We aim to pay the Reward within five (5) working days of eligibility being confirmed, but time of payment is not of the essence and we are not liable for delays caused by incorrect, incomplete, or unverifiable account details. The Enrolled User is solely responsible for any tax or reporting obligations arising from the Reward. The Reward is non-transferable and no alternative is offered.

11.8 Our rights. We may, acting reasonably: (a) suspend new enrolments at any time without affecting Cards already in progress; (b) delay a Reward pending verification of eligibility; (c) decline to pay, or reclaim, a Reward where an application later becomes ineligible, is refunded, withdrawn, or charged back; (d) flag a Card for manual review prior to payout where the Enrolled User's bank account, phone number, or company matches that of an existing or previously enrolled user; (e) disqualify any user for suspected abuse, duplicate enrolment, or fraudulent activity; and (f) amend, suspend, or withdraw this offer in whole or in part at any time, provided that Cards already completed before the change will be honoured in accordance with the terms in force at the time of completion.

11.8A Recovery. Where a Reward has been paid and we subsequently determine that it was not properly payable under these terms, we may recover the Reward as a debt and/or set it off against any amounts we owe to, or hold on behalf of, the Enrolled User or their organisation.

11.9 Acceptance. Participation in the New User Welcome Offer constitutes acceptance of the terms in this clause.

11.10 General. Employees, contractors, and immediate family members of Planda Portal employees are not eligible for this offer. This offer is supplemental to, and governed by, our standard Terms of Service and by the laws of England and Wales. In the event of any conflict between this clause and any other communications describing the offer, this clause prevails. Our determination on Stamp eligibility, Card status, and Reward payment is final, save for manifest error.

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12. GENERAL

12.1 Entire Agreement: These terms, along with the schedules, constitute the entire agreement.

12.2 Severability: If any clause is found to be unenforceable, the rest of the terms will remain in effect.

12.3 Governing Law: This agreement is governed by the laws of England and Wales.

12.4 Planda Portal is an independent service. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or connected to any third-party planning application portal, gateway, platform, payment provider, intermediary service, technical provider, or Local Planning Authority unless expressly stated by us in writing.

Where we use any third-party portal, gateway, platform, payment provider, intermediary service, technical provider, or LPA system, we do so solely as your appointed agent for the purpose of submitting, paying for, validating, managing, or progressing the relevant application.

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SCHEDULE A: PAYMENT & REFUND TERMS

1. DUAL PAYMENT STRUCTURE
The total amount you pay is comprised of two distinct funds:

(a) The Service Fee: Our charge for the software and agency service (£75 + VAT).

(b) The LPA Fee (Disbursement): The statutory planning fee passed to the council.

2. DISBURSEMENT STATUS
We collect the LPA Fee acting purely as your agent to discharge your liability to the Council. It does not form part of our revenue.

3. TIMING OF SUBMISSION
We will not submit an application until the full LPA Fee has cleared in our bank account.

4. REFUNDS & CANCELLATIONS

4.1 Cancellation Rights (Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013):

(a) You have a 14-day "cooling-off" period. However, by clicking "Continue To payment”, you are expressly requesting that we begin the service immediately.

(b) If you cancel after we have performed validation work but before submission, we will refund the LPA Fee in full, but we will retain a £25 administration charge from the Service Fee.

(c) Once the application is submitted, our Service Fee is non-refundable.

4.2 LPA Fee Refunds:

(a) Process: You acknowledge that any refund of the LPA Fee after submission is at the sole discretion of the LPA. They will, by law, refund the fee directly to Us as the original payer.

(b) Our Commitment: Upon receipt of a refunded LPA fee, we will transfer this amount to your original payment method within 7 working days of the funds clearing in our account. We will deduct a £15 processing fee from this amount to cover our administrative costs.

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SCHEDULE B: PRIVACY NOTICE (AGENCY ADDENDUM)

1. PUBLIC REGISTER WARNING
Planning is a public process. Your Name, Address, and Application Documents will be published on the LPA’s website. We cannot prevent this.

2. DATA INTERCEPTION
We scan and process correspondence addressed to you (c/o Planda Portal). You consent to this processing as a core part of the Service.

3. DATA SHARING
We share your application with:

(a) The relevant Local Planning Authority.

(b) Relevant Statutory Consultees (e.g., Highways England), if any / needed.

(c) Our support teams under Data Processing Agreements, if any / needed.