Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you and Car Show Expert, operated by Alan Macfarlane ("Car Show Expert", "we", "us", or "our"). They govern your access to and use of the Car Show Expert platform, website, and all related services (collectively, the "Service").

Please read these Terms carefully before using the Service. By creating an account, submitting a registration form, accepting an invitation to participate as a judge or staff member, or otherwise using the Service in any capacity, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, you must not use the Service.

1. Who these Terms apply to

The Service is used by several categories of people, and these Terms apply to all of them:

Organisers (account holders)

Organisers are individuals or clubs who create an account on Car Show Expert to set up and run car shows. By completing account registration, you are entering into a binding contract with us on the terms set out here. You must be at least 18 years old and have the legal capacity to enter into contracts to create an account.

Show participants

Show participants include entrants, volunteers, vendors, and spectators who submit information through public-facing registration forms hosted on the Service. Participants do not need an account. By submitting a registration form or otherwise using the Service, participants accept these Terms.

Judges and staff

Judges and staff members are invited by organisers to access show management features. By accepting an invitation to use the Service, judges and staff are bound by these Terms.

2. The Service

Car Show Expert is a software platform that provides tools for organising and running car shows, including:

• Online registration management for entrants, volunteers, vendors, and spectators
• Check-in and car number assignment
• Digital judging scorecards and awards management
• People's Choice voting
• Results publishing and reporting
• Custom dash card templates
• Show notifications and email communications

We provide software tools only. We are not involved in organising, operating, or running any car show. The organiser is solely responsible for their event, their relationship with entrants and attendees, and for any decisions made using information generated by the Service.

3. Accounts

To use the organiser dashboard you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information when registering
• Keep your account information up to date
• Keep your password confidential and not share it with others
• Notify us immediately if you suspect any unauthorised access to your account
• Accept responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account

You may not create an account on behalf of another person without their authorisation, or create multiple accounts for the same organisation to circumvent plan limits or restrictions.

4. Acceptable use

You may use the Service only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms. You must not:

• Use the Service to collect, store, or process personal data in a way that violates applicable law, including data protection law
• Collect registrant data through the Service for purposes unrelated to operating your event
• Sell, rent, or share registrant data with third parties without the registrant's informed consent
• Attempt to gain unauthorised access to any part of the Service or its underlying infrastructure
• Scrape, crawl, copy, mirror, or redistribute any part of the Service or its data without our prior written permission
• Transmit malware, spam, or any harmful, deceptive, or unlawful content through the Service
• Use the Service in a way that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair its operation or interfere with other users' enjoyment of the Service
• Impersonate another person, organisation, or show
• Use automated tools (bots, scripts) to interact with the Service in any manner not expressly authorised by us
• Circumvent or attempt to circumvent any technical measures we use to enforce these Terms or protect the Service

Organisers are responsible for ensuring that their shows comply with applicable law, including any requirements relating to data protection, consumer rights, health and safety, and local event regulations. We do not review the content of shows created on our platform and accept no liability for an organiser's failure to comply with applicable law.

5. Plans, billing, and subscription management

Free plan

The Free plan is available at no cost and gives organisers access to core show management features. All accounts start on the Free plan unless upgraded.

Expert shows (per-show upgrade)

Individual shows can be upgraded to Expert status for a one-time per-show fee. Expert status unlocks enhanced features for that specific show. Expert show status is permanent and is not affected by subscription cancellation or expiry.

Expert show upgrades are non-refundable once activated. However, if the original show has not yet started (that is, the show's scheduled date has not passed and the show has not been set to "Live" status), you may request a one-time transfer of the Expert upgrade to a different show on the same account. To request a transfer, email support@carshowexpert.com with the original show name and the show you wish to transfer to. Transfers are processed within 2 business days. Each Expert upgrade may only be transferred once. No cash refund is issued in connection with a transfer.

Pro and Enterprise plans (subscription)

Pro and Enterprise are monthly subscription plans that unlock advanced features across all shows on your account, including digital judging scorecards, People's Choice voting, custom dash card templates, awards management, and other Pro-gated features as described on our pricing page.

• Subscriptions are billed monthly and renew automatically on the same date each month until cancelled
• You can cancel your subscription at any time from the Settings page of your account
• On cancellation, your subscription remains active and you retain access to Pro or Enterprise features until the end of the current paid billing period
• When your subscription expires, your account is automatically downgraded to the Free plan
• After downgrade, shows that relied on Pro features (digital judging scorecards, People's Choice voting, custom dash card templates, awards management, and other Pro-gated features) will lose access to those features
• Expert shows are not affected by downgrade — they retain Expert status and their associated features permanently, regardless of your subscription status
• All existing registration data, show history, and entrant records are preserved after downgrade; no data is deleted as a result of a plan change
• You may resubscribe to Pro or Enterprise at any time, which will immediately restore access to Pro features

Failed payments and grace period

If a subscription payment fails, we will notify you by email and allow a grace period of 7 days during which your account remains active on your current plan. If the payment is not resolved within the grace period, your account will be downgraded to the Free plan. You can restore your subscription by updating your payment details and resubscribing.

Price changes

We may change our subscription prices from time to time. We will give existing subscribers at least 30 days' written notice before any price change takes effect. Your continued subscription after the notice period constitutes acceptance of the new price. If you do not wish to continue at the new price, you may cancel before the change takes effect.

Refunds and transfers

Subscription fees are non-refundable except where required by applicable law. Cancelling your subscription stops future renewal charges but does not entitle you to a refund for the current billing period.

Expert show upgrades are non-refundable once activated. As an exception, a one-time transfer to another show on the same account is available provided the original show has not yet started — see "Expert shows (per-show upgrade)" above for the full conditions and how to request a transfer.

If you believe you have been charged in error, contact support@carshowexpert.com within 14 days of the charge and we will investigate promptly.

Platform fees on card payments

When an organiser collects entry fees or other payments from show participants by credit or debit card through the Car Show Expert platform, we may charge a platform service fee on top of the amount set by the organiser. This fee is charged to the paying participant (not the organiser) and is displayed clearly in the payment breakdown before any payment is confirmed.

• Platform fees apply only to card payments processed through Stripe Connect — they do not apply to cash, Venmo, Zelle, or other offline payment methods
• Platform fees do not apply to organiser subscription payments (Standard or Pro plan) or Expert Show upgrade purchases
• The fee is calculated as a percentage of the transaction amount, subject to a maximum dollar cap. The lesser of the percentage-based fee and the cap is charged
• The current platform fee rate and cap are displayed in the payment summary before you complete checkout
• We may update the platform fee rate and cap from time to time. Changes will be reflected immediately in the payment breakdown shown at checkout

By completing a card payment through the Service, you agree to pay any applicable platform fee as shown at checkout.

Taxes

All prices are exclusive of applicable taxes (including VAT), which will be added where required by law. You are responsible for any taxes applicable to your use of the Service.

6. Your content and data

You retain ownership of all content you create or upload through the Service (show descriptions, class names, custom fields, etc.). By uploading content, you grant us a limited, non-exclusive, worldwide licence to store, display, and process that content solely as necessary to provide the Service to you.

You are responsible for ensuring that any content you upload does not infringe third-party intellectual property rights, violate applicable law, or breach these Terms.

When you import data into the Service (for example, via bulk CSV upload), you are solely responsible for the accuracy and lawfulness of that data. We process imported data as presented and accept no responsibility for errors, omissions, or unlawful content in data you import.

7. Data protection and the controller/processor relationship

Organiser account data

For personal data we collect about you as an organiser (your name, email, billing information, and account activity), Car Show Expert is the data controller. Our Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and protect this data.

Registrant data collected through the Service

When you use Car Show Expert to run a show and collect data from entrants, volunteers, vendors, or spectators:

• You (the organiser) are the data controller for registrant data
• Car Show Expert is the data processor, processing registrant data solely on your instructions to provide the Service
• You are responsible for having a lawful basis for collecting and processing registrant data under applicable data protection law (including UK GDPR)
• You are responsible for providing registrants with a clear and accurate privacy notice before or at the time they submit their data
• You must not use registrant data for purposes unrelated to operating your event
• You must not sell, rent, or transfer registrant data to third parties without the registrant's informed consent

If you are collecting personal data from individuals located in the UK or European Economic Area, you must ensure your use of the Service complies with UK GDPR and any other applicable data protection legislation. We accept no liability for your failure to comply with applicable data protection law.

8. Intellectual property

The Car Show Expert platform — including its design, interface, code, branding, and content created by us — is owned by us and protected by copyright, trademark, and other applicable intellectual property laws. These Terms do not grant you any rights in our intellectual property except the limited right to use the Service as permitted by these Terms.

You must not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from any part of the Service without our prior written consent.

9. Third-party services

The Service integrates with third-party providers to deliver core functionality:

• Stripe — payment processing. Stripe processes card payments on our behalf and is subject to Stripe's own terms and privacy policy
• Resend — transactional email delivery
• Supabase — database hosting and authentication
• Cloudflare — edge computing and infrastructure

We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, errors, availability, or policies of any third-party service provider. If a third-party service is unavailable or fails, that does not constitute a breach of these Terms by us. You may also be subject to the terms and policies of these third parties when using their services through our platform.

10. Availability and support

We aim to keep the Service available and performing well, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free availability. The Service is provided on an "as available" basis. We may perform maintenance, fix bugs, or make changes that temporarily affect access. Where planned maintenance is expected to cause significant disruption, we will endeavour to give advance notice by email or in-app announcement.

Support tiers

The level of direct support available to you depends on your current plan:

Free plan — self-service only

No direct support is provided on the Free plan. Free plan users have access to:

• The online User Guide and help documentation
• In-app help chat (AI-powered, available 24/7)
• Community resources and how-to articles at carshowexpert.com/resources

If you require direct human support, you must upgrade to a paid plan. To upgrade, visit the Settings page of your account.

Pro plan — standard email support

Pro plan subscribers receive direct email support at support@carshowexpert.com, subject to the following:

• Target response time: 2 business days (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm GMT, excluding public holidays)
• Support covers questions about platform features and functionality
• Support is provided in English
• We do not provide support for event-specific decisions, judging disputes, or matters outside the platform

Response times are targets, not guarantees. High demand periods (particularly around popular show seasons) may affect response times. We do not provide phone, live chat with a human agent, or out-of-hours support on the Pro plan.

Enterprise plan — priority email support

Enterprise plan subscribers receive priority email support, with:

• Target response time: 1 business day (Monday to Friday, 9am–5pm GMT, excluding public holidays)
• Priority queue — Enterprise tickets are triaged before Pro and Free enquiries
• Support covers onboarding assistance, advanced configuration questions, and escalation of technical issues
• Support is provided in English

What support covers

Support on paid plans covers use of the Car Show Expert platform — how features work, configuration questions, and reporting of suspected bugs. It does not cover:

• Decisions about how to run your event
• Disputes between organisers and their entrants or attendees
• Third-party services (Stripe, email providers, etc.) — for those, contact the provider directly
• Custom development or bespoke integrations

11. Disclaimer of warranties

12. Limitation of liability

Without limiting the foregoing, we expressly exclude all liability for:

• Errors in registration data — including incorrect names, vehicle details, entry classes, or car number assignments, whether caused by data entry, bulk import, or platform processing
• Scoring and judging errors — including incorrect or disputed judging results, scorecard totals, tiebreakers, or award allocations generated by or through the Service
• Check-in errors — including incorrect check-in status, duplicate check-in flags, or failures to record a check-in
• Email delivery failures — including non-delivery or delayed delivery of registration confirmations, invitations, notifications, or any other transactional or system-generated email
• Imported data errors — including any errors, omissions, duplicates, or unlawful content in data imported by organisers through bulk CSV import or any other import mechanism
• Loss or corruption of data — including loss of show data, registration records, judging scores, or any other content stored in the Service
• Third-party payment processing — including payment failures, incorrect charges, or disputes arising from Stripe's processing of any transaction
• Reliance on platform outputs — including any loss or damage arising from reliance on reports, exports, results lists, scoring summaries, or any other data generated or displayed by the Service
• Show outcomes — including any disputes between entrants and organisers, event cancellations, weather-related losses, personal injury, property damage, or any other outcome arising from the actual running of a car show
• Third-party service failures — including outages, errors, or failures of Stripe, Resend, Supabase, Cloudflare, or any other third-party provider integrated with the Service

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or any other liability that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited under English law.

13. Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Car Show Expert, its operator, and any officers, employees, or agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in connection with:

• Your use of the Service in breach of these Terms
• Your violation of any applicable law or regulation
• Your violation of any third party's rights (including intellectual property rights and data protection rights)
• Any content you upload to or create through the Service
• Any data you import into the Service
• Your failure to comply with your obligations as a data controller for registrant data
• Any claim by a show participant, entrant, volunteer, vendor, or spectator arising from the conduct of your event

14. Termination and suspension

Termination by you

You may stop using the Service and close your account at any time from the Settings page of your account. Closing your account does not entitle you to a refund of any subscription fees already paid for the current billing period.

Suspension or termination by us

We may suspend or terminate your account or access to the Service at any time if:

• You breach these Terms (materially or repeatedly)
• We reasonably believe your use of the Service poses a risk to other users, third parties, or the integrity of the Service
• We are required to do so by law or a court order
• Your subscription payments are not resolved within the grace period described in Section 5

Where possible, we will give you advance notice before suspending or terminating your account. In cases of serious or repeated breach we may act without prior notice.

Effect of termination

On termination of your account (by you or by us), your right to access and use the Service ends immediately. We will handle your personal data following termination in accordance with our Privacy Policy. Provisions of these Terms that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 11, 12, 13, and 15) will continue to apply.

15. Governing law and disputes

These Terms and any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with them (including non-contractual disputes or claims) are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.

You and we irrevocably agree that the courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms or their subject matter or formation.

Before initiating any legal proceedings, we encourage you to contact us at legal@carshowexpert.com to attempt to resolve any dispute informally.

16. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make changes that materially affect your rights or obligations, we will notify you by email at least 14 days before the changes take effect. The updated Terms will be posted on this page with a revised "Last updated" date.

If you continue to use the Service after the effective date of any changes, you are deemed to have accepted the revised Terms. If you do not agree with the changes, you must stop using the Service and close your account before the effective date.

17. General

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and us relating to the Service and supersede all prior agreements, representations, and understandings.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.

Waiver. Our failure to enforce any provision of these Terms at any time does not constitute a waiver of that provision or our right to enforce it in future.

Assignment. You may not assign or transfer any of your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights and obligations under these Terms without restriction.

No partnership. Nothing in these Terms creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship between you and us.

Force majeure. We will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance caused by circumstances beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, internet infrastructure failures, third-party service outages, or government actions.

18. Contact

Questions about these Terms? Email legal@carshowexpert.com.

For general support: support@carshowexpert.com.

Car Show Expert is operated by Alan Macfarlane.