Hopayola

Hopayola Platform Terms and Conditions

Artisans & Service Providers

1. Scope & Acceptance

These Terms govern all registered artisans, tailors, embellishers, pattern makers, and independent designers ("Artisans") operating on Hopayola. By accepting commissions, listing services, or receiving payouts via the platform, you agree to comply with these operational, legal, and financial standards.

Hopayola Ltd (the "Company") is the merchant of record for all projects commissioned through the Platform. Clients contract with the Company, not with individual artisans. The Company is a digital fashion and production management enterprise, not a bank, financial institution, trustee, or licensed settlement service under the Banks and Other Financial Institutions Act (BOFIA) or Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) regulations.

2. Quality Standards, Performance Ratings & Account Suspension

  • Rating Benchmark: Artisans must maintain an average customer rating of at least 3.8 out of 5 stars across rolling 30-day windows.
  • Low-Rating Triggers: Receiving multiple sub-3-star reviews for sizing discrepancies, unfinished seams, late delivery, or unapproved material substitutions initiates an internal quality audit.
  • Suspension & Offboarding:
    • First Infraction / Tier 1: Temporary suspension of new incoming job requests for 14 days, with mandatory review of platform tailoring standards.
    • Repeated Infractions / Tier 2: Permanent deactivation of the artisan profile, forfeiture of platform verification badges, and cancellation of active bids.

3. Financial Structure, Platform Fees & Maintenance Deductions

  • Title to payments: Payments made by clients are processed by the Company's payment partners (including Paystack). Title to those payments passes to the Company upon receipt and settlement. No client funds are held in trust, segregated fiduciary custody, or on behalf of any artisan or third party.
  • Advance project funding: Production is scheduled across defined project phases ("Milestones"). Amounts paid for a project or milestone constitute the Company's earned or deferred project revenue, allocated toward materials, pattern work, fittings, platform operations, and subcontractor compensation.
  • Artisans as subcontractors: Verified artisans are independent subcontractors of the Company. They have no proprietary claim over customer payments and look exclusively to the Company for payment of agreed fabrication fees. The Company retains sole discretion over scheduling and disbursement of those fees.
  • Commission & Maintenance Fee: The Company charges no service fee to clients at checkout: the client pays exactly the milestone amounts. The Company applies a platform commission (currently 10%) deducted from each artisan work-order amount. These fees cover payment processing, platform hosting, AI render pipelines, marketing, customer support, and dispute arbitration. On Premium team projects, commission is calculated on each team member's own milestone amount.
  • Single project disbursement: Subcontractor compensation is paid once per project, after the client confirms they have received and verified the finished outfit. Stage photos are for review only and do not release money. Disbursements are made to the artisan's verified bank account via the Company's designated payout mechanisms (Paystack Transfers). Payout requires: (i) the client confirming delivery of the completed garment, or Company verification; (ii) no open dispute on the project; and (iii) a verified payout account on file.
  • Chargebacks & Rework Deductions: If a garment fails verified quality checks due to artisan error or negligence, the Company may withhold or debit subcontractor fees for the affected milestone. Remediation costs (alteration fees, courier return fees, or client refunds) may be deducted from the artisan's pending payout ledger.

4. Platform Exclusivity & Anti-Circumvention (Off-Platform Contact)

  • In-App Communication Requirement: All client communications, fitting updates, style alterations, deadline extensions, and progress photos must be logged directly within the Hopayola project dashboard.
  • Prohibited Off-Platform Transactions:Soliciting clients to pay via private bank transfers, cash, or alternative channels outside of Hopayola's Paystack checkout is strictly prohibited.
  • External Contact Disclosure: If an artisan communicates with a client via phone, WhatsApp, or in-person fitting, the artisan must log a written summary of any agreed changes or status updates onto the Hopayola dashboard within 12 hours.
  • Penalties for Circumvention: Bypassing platform payment or communication channels results in immediate account termination, withholding of pending platform payouts, and potential legal recovery of lost commission fees.

5. Client Data Privacy & Non-Disclosure

  • Confidential Information: Client body measurements, home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, and personal reference images are strictly confidential.
  • Prohibition on Public Sharing: Artisans may not post client photos, measurements, personal identities, or raw fitting footage on personal social media (Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, etc.) or portfolio sites without prior written consent logged on the platform.
  • Data Misuse Penalties: Unlawfully sharing, selling, or leaking client data triggers immediate platform expulsion, reporting to relevant data privacy authorities, and liability for civil damages.

6. Fabric Care, Custody & Loss Liability

  • Custody Responsibility: The artisan assumes full financial responsibility for customer fabric from the moment physical intake is confirmed (via drop-off hub or verified courier) until final garment handoff.
  • Fabric Damage or Ruin: If fabric is burned, stained, cut contrary to approved specifications, or misplaced while in the artisan's possession, the artisan must reimburse the client for the full verified retail value of the yardage. The equivalent amount will be debited from the artisan's platform balance.

7. Turnaround Timelines & Delivery Penalties

  • Agreed Timelines: Production deadlines agreed upon during project intake and bidding are legally binding.
  • Delay Notification: Unavoidable delays (e.g., machinery breakdown, power outage) must be reported via the project dashboard at least 48 hours before the milestone deadline.
  • Unexcused Delays: Unreported delivery delays incur an automatic platform late-fee deduction of 5% per day past deadline, credited back to the affected client.

8. Intellectual Property & Showcase Rights

  • Hopayola Content: All proprietary digital sketches, AI-generated design concepts, print patterns, and croquis downloaded from or generated by Hopayola remain the intellectual property of Hopayola or its licensors. Artisans receive a limited production license solely to construct the specific commissioned garment.
  • Portfolio Showcase Rights: Hopayola reserves the right to display high-quality photographs of completed client garments on the public platform showcase, Style Arcade, and marketing campaigns, with appropriate artisan craftsmanship attribution.

9. Dispute Resolution & Platform Arbitration

In the event of a dispute regarding fit, construction quality, or delivery status, both the client and artisan agree to submit to Hopayola's Internal Quality Arbitration. Hopayola's physical inspection team reserves the right to evaluate the garment against the approved project brief, measurement profile, and uploaded fabric photos. The arbitration team's decision regarding payout, rework, or refund issuance is final and binding.