Who we are: NeighbourPlate Ltd, a company registered in England and Wales (company number 17525495). Registered office: 128 City Road, London, EC1V 2NX. Contact: support@neighbourplate.com. In these terms "we", "us" and "NeighbourPlate" mean NeighbourPlate Ltd, and "you" means the person using the app to buy food.
1. What neighbourplate is — and is not
NeighbourPlate is an online marketplace. We connect buyers with independent home cooks and small food businesses ("sellers") and provide the tools to browse, order, pay, message and collect. We do not prepare, store, inspect, handle or sell the food. Each purchase is a contract between you and the seller. We are not a party to that contract, other than collecting payment for the seller and operating the platform. Sellers are responsible for the food they list and sell — its safety, hygiene, ingredients, allergen information, labelling, description, quality and any shelf-life or storage instructions.
Each listing shows the seller's name, their trading name and their business address, so you know who you are buying from.
2. Who can use the app
You must be 18 or over and live in the United Kingdom, and you confirm this when you create your account. You are responsible for keeping your login secure and for what happens under your account. Give us accurate information and keep it up to date.
3. How a purchase works
You add items to a basket, review it, and then confirm payment. These are three separate steps. The basket shows the food subtotal, any extras and the NeighbourPlate service fee as separate lines before you pay. Your order is confirmed once payment succeeds (or straight away for a free item). Food is collection only — we do not deliver. Your collection date, time window and place are shown on your order.
Listing types: Reserve (food the seller will prepare for a stated collection day, with an order deadline), Ready Now (food that is already prepared and available to collect), and Custom Order (food made to your request, agreed with the seller through the app).
To place an order: (1) add food to your basket; (2) review your basket, which shows the food, any extras, the NeighbourPlate service fee and the total; (3) tap Checkout and then Pay, which places your order and means you must pay. You can correct a mistake before paying by changing quantities or removing items in your basket. We keep a record of every order, which you can open in your Orders tab at any time. The app and these terms are in English.
4. Extras (add-ons)
Some Reserve listings offer optional extras — for example a side or a sauce. Extras are priced and have their own allergen information, shown before you add them. An extra is added to the order and paid for with it. If a seller changes an extra's allergens or availability before you check out, we will block checkout until you have reviewed it. If it changes after you have paid, you will be notified.
5. Note for the cook
You can add a short note to an order (for example a preference or a request about packing). Notes are visible to the seller. A note is not a substitute for checking the allergen information on the listing and it is not a way to make allergen-critical arrangements: the seller is not obliged to change how food is made because of a note. If you have an allergy or intolerance, check the listing's allergen information and, where in doubt, message the seller before you order. Do not include sensitive information in a note unless you need to.
6. Food information, allergens and shelf life
Every food listing states, before you buy, the allergens in the food (and in any extras), whether it carries a use-by date (a food-safety cut-off — the food must not be eaten after this point) or a best-before date (a quality indicator), the number of days from collection it is good for, whether it needs refrigeration, and storage or reheating instructions. All of this is declared by the seller. We display it but do not check it, and we cannot guarantee it is complete or accurate. You are responsible for deciding whether food is suitable for you, especially if you or anyone you are buying for has an allergy or intolerance. If you have a severe allergy, contact the seller and ask before you buy, and do not rely only on the app.
Where a seller's business appears on the Food Standards Agency's Food Hygiene Rating Scheme register, we show the published rating and refresh it regularly. A listing is paused automatically when a seller's rating falls below 3. A rating is a snapshot from the local authority's inspection — it is not a guarantee about any particular dish.
7. Prices and fees
Prices are set by sellers and shown in pounds sterling. A NeighbourPlate service fee applies to paid orders and is shown as its own line before you confirm. It covers running the marketplace, payment processing and support, and is not part of the seller's price. The service fee is shown on each listing before you order and again in your basket. We may change the service fee, or add or remove a fee, for valid reasons such as changes in our payment-processing or running costs, changes in law or tax, or changes to the services the fee pays for. The fee shown before you confirm payment is the one that applies to that order, and a change never affects an order you have already confirmed.
Featured listings: sellers can pay to promote a listing. A promoted listing is shown first and marked "Featured". It is paid advertising by the seller — it does not mean we have checked, recommended or endorsed the seller or the food.
8. Payment
Payments are taken securely by our payment provider. We never see or store your full card details. We collect your payment on the seller's behalf and release it to the seller after collection, according to the process described in these terms and in our payout rules for sellers. Paying us discharges your obligation to pay the seller for that order.
9. Cancellation by you
If you cancel before the seller's commitment point for that order, the food amount (including extras) is refunded; the NeighbourPlate service fee is not, because the marketplace and payment service has already been used. The commitment point depends on the listing type:
- Reserve: the order deadline shown on the listing.
- Custom Order: the point worked out from the notice period the seller states they need before your requested collection time.
- Ready Now: the food is already prepared when it is listed, so there is no cancellation window for you.
After that point you can no longer cancel in the app, because the seller may already have bought ingredients or started cooking. If you then do not collect, you are not refunded and the seller is still paid. If something is genuinely wrong with your order, use the issue-reporting process in section 12 — a missed cancellation deadline never stops you reporting a genuine problem.
Your statutory cancellation rights: under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 the usual 14-day right to cancel a distance purchase does not apply to food that is liable to deteriorate quickly or expire, or to goods made to your specification (which includes Custom Orders). These terms give you the cancellation rights above in addition to your statutory rights, not instead of them.
10. Cancellation by the seller
If a seller cancels a confirmed order for any reason, you receive a full refund of the food amount (including extras) and the NeighbourPlate service fee.
11. Refunds
Refunds go back to your original payment method. After we issue a refund, how long it takes to reach you depends on your bank or card provider. If an issue report results in a partial refund, the amount and the reason are recorded against your order.
12. Reporting an issue
If your order did not arrive, was wrong, was of poor quality, was damaged, or raises a food-safety concern (including an allergen problem), report it through the app and choose the category that matches. For quality and food-safety reports, the reporting window runs from the shelf-life date the seller declared for your order plus a grace period, and is never shorter than 7 days. You will always be shown the deadline that applies to your order. A report made after the window is still reviewed — it is flagged for closer attention — and a genuine food-safety concern is never refused only because it was late.
If you have a medical emergency or a serious reaction after eating food, get medical help first. Then report it to us as soon as you can so that we can contact the seller and the authorities where needed.
13. How issues are resolved
A NeighbourPlate administrator reviews your report, the seller's response and any evidence either of you provides, then decides on no refund, a partial refund or a full refund, and records the reasons. This is a human decision made case by case. It does not replace your legal rights, and you can still take your complaint elsewhere — for example to the seller directly, your card provider or bank, or the courts.
14. Collection
You collect using the collection pass in the app: a QR code with a matching 6-digit number beneath it. The seller either scans the QR code or enters the 6-digit number to confirm the handover. Collect within the stated window; if you cannot, contact the seller through the app before it ends. Check the food and its labelling at handover.
15. Messages, reviews and your content
You can message sellers about an order and review a seller after a completed order. Be honest and polite. Reviews must be based on a real order and your real experience: no fake, paid or incentivised reviews, and no reviews of your own or a friend's food. Messages are checked automatically, and may be reviewed by our team, for abuse, fraud, safety concerns and attempts to take payment outside the app. You keep ownership of what you write and upload, and you give us a free licence to show, store and use it to run the app (for example to display a review). Do not post anything unlawful, abusive, misleading, or that infringes someone else's rights.
16. Favourites, notifications and feedback
You can favourite a seller to be told when they list something new, and you can control which notifications you receive in your settings. The Help us improve screen lets you send us ideas and feedback. We may use your feedback to improve the app without paying you or crediting you.
17. Prohibited conduct and off-platform payments
Arranging or making payment for a NeighbourPlate order outside the app is not permitted. It removes the refund and dispute protections the platform provides. Do not misuse the app, attempt to bypass its security, scrape it, or use it to harass others.
18. Account restrictions
We may restrict, suspend or close an account that abuses cancellations, refunds or the issue process, gives false information, behaves abusively, or otherwise breaches these terms or the law. A pattern of frequent cancellations, or of repeated issue reports that are not upheld, can lead to limits on ordering. Where we can, we will tell you why and let you respond. You can delete your account yourself under Profile > Privacy & Data, unless you have open orders or disputes that must be completed first.
19. Your legal rights
Nothing in these terms takes away any right you have under UK law, including the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (for example that goods are as described, of satisfactory quality and fit for purpose) where it applies to your purchase. Those rights are owed to you by the seller as the person who sold you the food. If anything here conflicts with a right you cannot lawfully be asked to give up, your legal right comes first.
20. Our liability
We are responsible to you for foreseeable loss and damage caused by our failure to run the marketplace and payment platform with reasonable care and skill. Sellers are responsible for the food they prepare and sell. We are not responsible for the food itself, for what a seller declares, or for a seller's failure to attend or fulfil an order, and we are not responsible for loss that was not a foreseeable result of our failure, or for business losses. We do not exclude or limit our liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that cannot lawfully be excluded or limited. Your legal rights are not affected. If you have a problem with food, your first route is the seller and the issue-reporting process above.
21. Things outside our control
We are not responsible for delay or failure caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including loss of internet or mobile service, payment-provider or app-store outages, or severe weather.
22. Complaints
Tell us first at support@neighbourplate.com and we will do our best to resolve it. If we cannot resolve a dispute, you may use any legal route open to you.
23. Protecting you from illegal content, and reporting it
We do not allow illegal content or illegal activity on NeighbourPlate. That includes terrorism content, child sexual exploitation and abuse, threats and harassment, fraud and scams, and any other criminal content.
How we protect you: you, and anyone else (including people who do not use the app), can report a listing, message, review or user from the app, or by emailing support@neighbourplate.com. We review reports. Where content is illegal or breaches these terms we act swiftly to take it down and may also remove listings, warn, suspend or close accounts, and report serious matters to the authorities. Terrorism content, child sexual exploitation and abuse content and other priority illegal content are treated as the most serious and are removed as quickly as we can once we are aware of them.
We also use automated tools, including keyword rules and an AI service, to check messages for abuse, threats, scams and attempts to take payment outside the app. These tools flag content for action or for review by our team. We apply these rules consistently to all users.
You can complain about how we handled a report, or about a decision on your account or content, by emailing support@neighbourplate.com. We will look at it again and tell you the outcome.
24. Privacy
We handle your personal data under our Privacy Policy, which you accept separately.
25. Changes to these terms
We may change these terms for valid reasons, including: changes in law or regulation, or in the requirements of a regulator or payment provider; changes to how the app works, including new or changed features, services or fees; correcting errors or making the terms clearer; and security, fraud-prevention or safety reasons. When a change is material you will be asked to review and accept the new version before you continue to use buyer features; if you do not agree you can stop using the app and delete your account. Changes to prices and fees apply only to orders placed after the change. We keep a record of which version you accepted and when.
26. General
These terms and any dispute about them are governed by the law of England and Wales. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland you may also bring proceedings in your local courts. If part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest still applies. We may transfer our rights and obligations under these terms to another company as part of a sale or reorganisation of our business, as long as this does not reduce your rights, and we will tell you if that happens.