These Platform Terms apply to business use of Houlvek in the United Kingdom. They govern access to the marketplace and related tools; a confirmed load is also governed by the separate Booking & Transport Terms between the Company and commercial Carrier.
1. Houlvek Platform Role
Houlvek provides a digital freight marketplace and supporting operational tools that connect companies, shippers, owner drivers and HGV carriers. Unless Houlvek expressly agrees otherwise in a separate written contract, Houlvek is not the haulage carrier, shipper, freight forwarder, employer, insurer or payer for a load, is not a party to the underlying transport contract between users, and does not receive or hold the freight charge paid for the transport service.
2. User Eligibility
You must be at least 18 years old, act wholly or mainly for business purposes, be legally able to enter contracts in the UK and have authority to act for the business named on the account. Houlvek is not offered for personal or household use. Your account role, identity and authority information must remain accurate.
3. Incorporated Documents
These Terms apply together with the Booking & Transport Terms for a confirmed load, the Online Safety & Acceptable Use Rules, the Privacy Notice, the Cookie Notice. HGV access is governed by the free-offer conditions in section 7 and on Pricing.
4. Carrier and Company Responsibilities
Carriers and companies are each responsible for complying with all applicable UK laws, licensing requirements, insurance obligations, employment rules, road safety duties and tax obligations relevant to their activity. For Fleet Carrier work, the Fleet Carrier remains the commercial Carrier for the Houlvek job and is responsible for its own employment, payroll and driver arrangements. A Fleet Driver assigned to perform the journey does not become the supplier or recipient of the freight payment merely because they perform the load.
5. Load Posting Rules
Load listings must be accurate, lawful and complete. You must not post misleading, unsafe, prohibited or fraudulent loads, or use the platform to avoid legal transport or customs requirements.
6. Applications, Jobs and Cancellations
Users are responsible for reviewing load information and the suitability of the other party before making or accepting a commercial commitment. A carrier application, company acceptance, job record or other platform workflow does not make Houlvek the contracting carrier or shipper. Confirmed commitments should be honoured, and cancellations should be recorded promptly with an accurate reason. Repeated no-shows, bad-faith cancellations or misuse of booking flows may lead to restrictions or suspension.
7. Freight Invoices, Payments and HGV Access
The freight charge for an underlying transport job is payable directly by the Company to the commercial Carrier shown for that job, such as an Owner Driver or Fleet Carrier. Freight rates displayed and accepted through Houlvek are exclusive of VAT unless Houlvek explicitly labels a rate otherwise before acceptance. A VAT-registered Carrier may add VAT only where it is lawfully applicable; the agreed freight-rate basis and payment term cannot be changed after Carrier acceptance through the invoicing or bank-settings flow. Houlvek may provide tools for the Carrier to create an invoice or register an invoice produced in its own accounting system, securely share that invoice with the Company, show bank-transfer instructions, track invoice and due dates, send reminders and record payment-status confirmations. Houlvek does not collect, hold, distribute or guarantee the freight charge. The Carrier remains responsible for the accuracy, legal and tax treatment of its invoice and bank details, and the Company remains responsible for paying the Carrier in accordance with the applicable transport contract and invoice. Uploaded accounting-system PDFs remain the Carrier's original documents; Houlvek does not reinterpret their VAT or tax breakdown, but may validate that the tracked total and due date are consistent with the commercial rate and payment term recorded for the accepted load. Company, Owner Driver and Fleet Carrier accounts receive 12 calendar months of free HGV access, including all tools applicable to their role, after email confirmation, required document approval and account activation. Drivers access operational tools through an eligible, active Fleet account and do not gain Fleet administration rights. No payment card is required and the offer creates no paid subscription or automatic charge. There are no paid tiers or upgrades. Existing accounts receive a new period through a reviewed migration that preserves any longer previously granted entitlement; historical financial records are retained. The period does not restart on login or retry. Existing technical, safety and fair-use controls continue to apply. Any policy after the free period will be communicated separately. See Pricing for offer details and contact Support about historical billing.
8. AI, Routing and Operational Estimates
Houlvek may provide matching scores, rate estimates, profit estimates, route calculations, compliance assistance and other decision-support tools. These outputs can depend on user-supplied information, current platform data, HERE routing data and modelling assumptions. They are estimates rather than guarantees of price, profit, availability, legal compliance, journey time or commercial outcome. Users remain responsible for their own transport, pricing, safety, compliance and contracting decisions.
9. Prohibited Activity and Online Safety
You must not use Houlvek for unlawful conduct, sanctions evasion, fraud, harassment, data scraping without permission, malware distribution, account sharing, identity misuse or any attempt to bypass platform controls. The full content and conduct rules, report process and complaint route are set out in the Online Safety & Acceptable Use Rules. Anyone may submit a safety concern at /report, including while signed out.
10. Verification Requirements
Houlvek may request identity, licensing, insurance and operational documents to support trust and compliance checks. You must provide accurate and current documentation when requested.
11. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, Houlvek is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, loss of profit, loss of contracts or business interruption arising from use of the platform. Nothing excludes liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.
12. Account Suspension, Termination and Deletion
Houlvek may suspend, restrict or close accounts where there is a breach of these terms, legal or safety risk, fraud risk, non-payment or platform abuse. Eligible signed-in users may request permanent account deletion inside the application. Deletion requires recent password verification and can be blocked while active transport, Fleet assignments, direct load payments, subscription billing, elevated safety or privacy cases, or other legal obligations remain unresolved. When deletion completes, active access and authentication identity are removed and personal data that is no longer required is deleted or de-identified. Limited pseudonymous operational, payment, verification-decision, legal-acceptance, audit, security or dispute records may remain where reasonably necessary for legal obligations, accounting, fraud prevention, referential integrity or legal claims, as described in the Privacy Policy. A deleted account cannot be reopened through the application.
13. Dispute Handling
A Company or commercial Carrier may raise a documented invoice or freight-payment issue through the Houlvek workflow where available. Houlvek may preserve relevant platform records, obtain responses from the parties, operate a support review and apply proportionate account restrictions where platform misuse is established. A Houlvek support review does not make Houlvek a court, debt collector, payment guarantor or final adjudicator of the underlying transport debt. The parties remain responsible for resolving contractual liability and, where necessary, using appropriate independent legal or debt-recovery procedures.
14. Safety Complaints and Appeals
Houlvek may restrict content, messaging, sensitive account changes or account access where proportionate to suspected illegality, fraud or safety risk, while preserving relevant evidence. Where appropriate and lawful, an affected person may complain or appeal through the online-safety complaint route. A Houlvek review does not determine criminal guilt or prevent a report to police, Ofcom or another competent body.
15. Governing Law
These Terms & Conditions are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction, unless mandatory law requires otherwise.
16. Legal & Contact Details
Legal operator: Dumitru Martinov, trading as Houlvek, a UK sole trader. Business & correspondence address: Suite RA01, 195-197 Wood Street, London, E17 3NU. VAT Registration No.: GB 394 7971 31. Legal notices: legal@houlvek.co.uk.
Terms version: 2026-10-23-free-access-v1 · Effective date: 23 October 2026