Terms and Conditions for owners

1. Who we are

Pertu is operated by [denominação social], Unipessoal Lda. (em constituição), registered office at [sede social], tax number [a indicar]. Contact: suporte@pertu.pt.

2. What Pertu is

Pertu is an online marketplace that connects dog and cat owners with independent pet sitters. The service to the animal is provided by the pet sitter, who is an independent professional and not an employee or representative of Pertu. The contract for the service is between the owner and the pet sitter. Pertu provides the intermediation service: the platform, the search for a sitter, collection and payout through a licensed payment provider, and support.

Pet sitters act on the platform in the course of a professional activity. Consumer protection law applies to the relationship between the owner and Pertu.

3. Services and area

Walks and drop-in visits (in 30-minute units) and house-sitting in the owner's home (per night), for dogs and cats, in the municipalities of Lisboa, Oeiras, Cascais, Amadora, Odivelas, Loures, Almada. Boarding or daycare at the sitter's home cannot be booked.

For now, dogs of breeds classed by law as potentially dangerous (Decree-Law 315/2009) are not accepted.

4. Account

You must be 18 or older. The owner warrants that account and pet details are true: microchip, up-to-date vaccination, behaviour, health conditions and the usual vet's contact.

5. How a booking is made

The owner states the service, date, time, address and pets. Before sending the request they see how many sitters are available and the likely total. Sitters are contacted one at a time and have 30 minutes to accept or decline. The booking is confirmed only when a sitter accepts and payment is made.

If no sitter confirms within 2 hours, the request is closed, the owner pays nothing and anything already paid is refunded automatically.

6. Price and service fee

The price of the service is set by each sitter. Pertu does not set or cap sitters' prices. A Pertu service fee is added to the sitter's price, between 5% and 15% of that price depending on demand for the requested date, capped at €25.00 per booking. The exact total is shown before the owner sends the request and again on confirmation. The criteria are published on the page "How we order sitters and how prices are formed".

7. Payment

Payments are processed by Stripe, a licensed payment institution. Pertu does not receive or hold owners' funds in its own accounts. By card, the card is stored by Stripe and charged only when a sitter accepts; if the bank asks for authentication the owner has 15 minutes to complete it. By MB WAY or PayPal, payment is made when the request is sent and refunded in full if no sitter confirms.

8. Cancellation and right of withdrawal

The owner may cancel free of charge up to 2 hours before the start (or 3 days for house-sits of 24 hours or more). After that, 50% of the total is charged. The full rules and examples are in the Cancellation Policy.

In distance contracts the consumer has 14 days to withdraw (Decree-Law 24/2014). When requesting a service that starts within that period, the owner expressly asks for performance to begin before the period ends and acknowledges losing the right of withdrawal once the service has been fully performed. Nothing in these terms limits the consumer's statutory rights.

9. During the service

After confirmation the owner sees the sitter's first name, profile and phone, and the sitter sees the address. The owner ensures access to the home and the necessary supplies. The sitter records arrival and departure and sends notes and photos, which stay available for 7 days and are then deleted.

Pertu has no emergency line. In an emergency the owner and the sitter contact each other directly and the animal is taken to the nearest vet. The owner may state in the pet's profile the maximum amount authorised for urgent care.

10. Liability

The sitter is responsible for performing the service and for the custody of the animal during it. Pertu is responsible for its intermediation service: it verifies sitters' identity, contacts references and requires a training course, but does not attend services in person. Pertu also offers the Vet Guarantee described on its own page, which is a commercial guarantee and not insurance. No clause excludes liability that the law does not allow to be excluded.

11. Reviews

Only the owner of a completed booking can review that sitter. Reviews are not edited or paid for. They are one of the published ordering criteria.

12. Support, complaints and disputes

Support is provided by an artificial intelligence assistant, always identified as such; a person replies by email at suporte@pertu.pt. A problem with a completed service can be reported on the booking page: the sitter's payout is held until a person decides. See the Complaints page for the Complaints Book and the alternative dispute resolution bodies.

13. Changes, governing law and jurisdiction

Changes to these terms are notified 15 days in advance and do not apply to bookings already confirmed. Portuguese law applies. Consumers may bring proceedings in the courts of their place of residence.