Terms and conditions

These Terms govern the use of the Ginger Dialogue platform: the website gingerdialogue.com, the restaurant and business pages published on it (for example /loja/name/ or name.gingerdialogue.com), the ordering system, customer accounts and the partner dashboard. Please read them carefully. By using the platform, placing an order or creating an account, you accept these Terms. If you do not agree, please do not use the platform.

The Terms have four parts: Part I applies to everyone, Part II to customers who order, Part III to partner businesses, and Part IV to everyone again (liability, complaints and law). The Portuguese version prevails in case of doubt.

Part I – General

1. Who we are

Ginger Dialogue, Lda., tax number (NIPC) 519653955, registered office at Peral CDV Portugal, registered at the Conservatória do Registo Comercial de [cidade], sob o NIPC [NIPC], share capital 2500 € (“Ginger Dialogue”, “we”, “us”). Contact: [email protected] · +351 916 026 688.

For the purposes of the EU Digital Services Act (Regulation (EU) 2022/2065), our single point of contact for authorities and users is [email protected]. You can write to us in Portuguese or English.

2. Definitions

• Platform: the websites, pages, ordering system, apps, dashboards and tools operated by Ginger Dialogue.
• Partner: a restaurant, café, shop or other business that has registered, been approved and offers its products or services through the Platform.
• Customer: a person who places an order, books or contacts a Partner through the Platform.
• Order: a request to buy products from a Partner placed through the Platform, including at the table by QR code.
• Partner content: menus, prices, descriptions, allergen information, photos, logos, opening hours and any other information published by or for a Partner.

3. What Ginger Dialogue does – and does not do

Ginger Dialogue is an online intermediary. We provide the technology that lets Customers find Partners, see their menus and place Orders, and that lets Partners receive and manage those Orders.

When you order, the contract for the food or products is concluded directly between you and the Partner. The Partner is the seller: it prepares the products, sets the prices, is responsible for their quality, safety, allergen information and legal compliance, issues the invoice and, when it offers delivery, delivers with its own couriers. Ginger Dialogue is not a restaurant, does not prepare food and is not a transport or delivery company.

Each Partner page shows the Partner’s name and tax number (NIF/NIPC) and how it delivers (“delivered by the restaurant’s own courier” or “pick-up at the restaurant only”), so you always know who you are buying from.

4. Accounts and security

You can order as a guest. Customers can also see their orders by logging in with a one-time code sent to their email. Partners and their team members log in with email and password, and may be asked for a security code by email.

You must give true information, keep your login details private and tell us at once if you think someone else has used your account. You are responsible for what is done with your account until you tell us. You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or place an Order.

5. Acceptable use

You must not: use the Platform for anything illegal or fraudulent; place false Orders or Orders you do not intend to collect or pay; try to get around limits, security checks or anti-fraud measures; copy, scrape or extract data from the Platform in bulk; send spam, malware or harmful code; interfere with the Platform’s operation; impersonate anyone; or publish content that is unlawful, misleading, offensive or that infringes other people’s rights.

We may limit, suspend or close access that breaks these rules, in proportion to the seriousness of the breach, and we will tell you why unless the law prevents it.

6. Intellectual property

The Platform, its software, design, texts and the Ginger Dialogue and PratoRoo names and logos belong to Ginger Dialogue or its licensors. You may use the Platform only for its intended purpose. Partner content belongs to the Partner (see clause 20).

7. Reporting illegal content

If you find content on the Platform that you believe is illegal (for example a product that cannot be sold, an infringing photo, a false review), send us a notice to [email protected] with: the exact address (URL) of the content, why you believe it is illegal, your name and email (except for notices about child sexual abuse material), and a statement that you are acting in good faith. We will confirm receipt, decide without undue delay, and inform you and the affected person of our decision and the reasons. You may contest our decision by replying to that message.

8. Availability and changes to the Platform

We work to keep the Platform available and secure, but we cannot guarantee that it will always work without interruptions or errors (maintenance, updates, failures of internet, payment or hosting providers). We may improve, change or discontinue features. If a change significantly affects Partners, we will give notice as described in Part III.

Part II – Customers

9. How an Order works

1. You choose products on a Partner’s page, the type of Order (pick-up, delivery or table, as the Partner offers) and the time, and enter your contact details.
2. Before you confirm, you see the products, options, prices, any discount, the delivery fee and the total. Pressing the order or pay button is an Order with an obligation to pay.
3. The Partner receives the Order and may accept it (with an estimated time) or decline it. The contract with the Partner is concluded when the Partner accepts the Order. You are told by email and on the tracking page.
4. If the Partner does not accept the Order within the time shown on the Platform (currently 20 minutes), the Order is cancelled automatically and, if you paid online, the amount is refunded.

Order and delivery times are estimates given by the Partner and may vary.

10. Prices, fees and promotions

Prices are set by each Partner, in euros, and include VAT. Delivery fees and minimum order amounts, when they exist, are set by the Partner and shown before you confirm. Ginger Dialogue does not charge Customers a service fee; if this ever changes, the fee will be shown clearly before you order. Promotional codes are subject to their own conditions (validity, minimum amount, one use per order) and cannot be exchanged for money.

11. Payment

Depending on the Partner, you can pay online (card and other methods through Stripe, or PayPal) or at the restaurant / on delivery. Online payments are processed by those payment providers; we never see or store your full card details.

When you pay online, Ginger Dialogue receives the payment in the name and on behalf of the Partner, under a mandate given by the Partner. Your payment to us fully discharges your obligation to pay the Partner. The invoice for the products is issued by the Partner.

12. Pick-up, delivery and table orders

Pick-up: collect your Order at the Partner’s address at the time indicated. Delivery: only Partners that deliver with their own couriers offer this, within their delivery area; be available at the address and phone you gave. Table: Orders placed with the table QR code are served at your table.

If you do not collect or receive an Order without cancelling it in time, the Partner may still charge it and may record a no-show (see clause 15).

13. Cancellations, withdrawal and refunds

Because Orders are for food and other goods that are prepared to your request and that spoil quickly, the 14-day right of withdrawal does not apply (article 17(1)(c) and (d) of Decree-Law no. 24/2014). You can ask the Partner to cancel while it has not yet accepted the Order; after that, cancellation depends on the Partner’s agreement.

If something is wrong with your Order (missing or wrong items, quality problems, very late delivery), contact the Partner first using the details on the tracking page. Where justified, the Partner may give a full or partial refund. For online payments, refunds are requested by the Partner and checked by Ginger Dialogue, and are sent to the original payment method; the time for the money to reach you depends on your bank or PayPal (usually 5–10 business days).

This does not affect your legal rights as a consumer, including your rights where products are not in conformity with the contract.

14. Allergens, food information and alcohol

Allergen and food information is provided by each Partner, which is responsible for it under Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. If you have an allergy or intolerance, contact the Partner before ordering. Products containing alcohol are sold only to people aged 18 or over (Decree-Law no. 106/2015); the Partner may ask for identification on delivery or pick-up and refuse to hand over the products.

15. Protection against fraud and abuse

To protect Customers and Partners from false Orders and fraud, the Platform uses proportionate measures, such as: a security check against automated robots (Cloudflare Turnstile); confirming your mobile number by SMS code before your first pay-at-the-shop Order; limits on the number of open Orders; a random device identifier stored in your browser; and recording unpaid no-shows. Contacts or devices linked to repeated no-shows or abuse may be limited to online payment or blocked. You can always ask a person at Ginger Dialogue to review such a decision (see the Privacy Policy).

16. Reviews

Only Customers who placed and received an Order can leave a review of that Order, using a personal link sent after the Order. This is how we check that reviews come from real Customers. Reviews must be honest, relevant and respectful. We do not pay for reviews and we do not delete negative reviews for being negative; we may remove reviews that are unlawful, offensive, contain personal data or are clearly not about the Order, and we will tell the author why.

17. Complaints about an Order

Complaints about products, preparation, delivery or the restaurant’s service should be sent to the Partner, which must have its own Complaints Book (Livro de Reclamações). We can help: write to [email protected] with your order number and we will contact the Partner. Complaints about the Platform itself are covered in clause 33.

Part III – Partner businesses

These clauses form, together with Parts I and IV and the plan chosen, the contract between Ginger Dialogue and each Partner. They are designed to comply with Regulation (EU) 2019/1150 on fairness and transparency for business users of online intermediation services.

18. Registration, approval and verification

To become a Partner you register on gingerdialogue.com and provide true, complete and current information: business name, tax number (NIF/NIPC), address, contact person, opening hours and, when requested, supporting documents. We may verify this information and ask for more. Ginger Dialogue may refuse an application in its reasonable discretion, giving the reasons. A Partner page goes live only after our approval. The Partner must keep its information updated.

19. Partner obligations

The Partner is solely responsible for its products and its business, and must in particular:

• hold all licences, registrations and insurance required for its activity, and comply with food hygiene and safety rules (including HACCP);
• publish complete and accurate prices (with VAT), descriptions and allergen information, and keep menus, availability and opening hours up to date;
• accept or decline each new Order within the time shown in the dashboard (currently 20 minutes) and fulfil accepted Orders at the indicated time and quality;
• issue the legally required invoice to the Customer for each Order and comply with all tax obligations;
• when delivering, do so with its own couriers, who are not Ginger Dialogue staff or agents, in compliance with the law;
• not sell alcohol to persons under 18 and check identification when in doubt;
• handle Customer complaints about its products and keep its own Complaints Book;
• use Customer data only to fulfil the Order and meet its legal obligations, never for unsolicited marketing without valid consent.

If a Partner does not accept Orders within the time limit, the Order is cancelled and the Partner’s online shop is closed temporarily until the Partner reopens it in the dashboard.

20. Partner content

The Partner keeps ownership of its content and guarantees that it has the right to use it and that it is lawful and accurate. The Partner grants Ginger Dialogue a free, non-exclusive licence, valid in Portugal and online worldwide for the duration of the contract (and for a reasonable period after it to remove the content), to host, reproduce, adapt (for example resize or translate), display and promote the Partner content on the Platform, the PratoRoo brand, social media and marketing materials about the Platform.

Logos, cover photos and product photos are reviewed before they appear, and changes to approved photos require new approval. We may refuse or remove content that is unlawful, misleading, of poor quality or that infringes the rights of others, and we will give the reasons.

21. Plans, commission and fees

The plan, its monthly fee (if any) and the commission are those shown on the pricing page or agreed in writing when the Partner registers. On the Basic plan, registration, the Partner page and setup are free and Ginger Dialogue charges a commission on each Order (currently 10% of the Order value, VAT added where applicable). We will give at least 15 days’ notice of any change to fees or commissions, during which the Partner may terminate the contract without cost.

22. Online payments and weekly payouts

The Partner appoints Ginger Dialogue as its agent to receive online payments from Customers in its name and on its behalf. Payment by the Customer to Ginger Dialogue discharges the Customer’s obligation towards the Partner.

Each week Ginger Dialogue makes a statement available in the dashboard showing, for the previous week, all Orders, online payments, refunds, the commission and the amount to be paid. The net amount is transferred to the IBAN registered by the Partner, normally within 7 days of the end of the week. Cash and pay-at-the-shop Orders are paid directly to the Partner; the commission on those Orders is deducted from online payouts or, if these are not sufficient, invoiced to the Partner and payable within 15 days. Ginger Dialogue issues an invoice for its commission and fees.

Ginger Dialogue may withhold or set off amounts reasonably needed to cover refunds, chargebacks or suspected fraud, explaining the reason.

23. Refunds and chargebacks

The Partner may request a full or partial refund of an online Order through the dashboard; Ginger Dialogue checks the request and sends the refund through the payment provider. Orders cancelled automatically because the Partner did not accept them in time are refunded in full. The cost of refunds and chargebacks caused by the Partner (for example products not delivered, not as described or unsafe) is borne by the Partner and deducted from its payouts.

24. Ranking and visibility

On the “Near you” page, Partners are shown by default in order of distance from the location chosen by the user. Users can instead sort by rating or by name, and filter by open now, delivery, pick-up or top rated. Ratings are the average of verified Customer reviews (clause 16). Partners whose shop is closed or paused are shown as closed. Ginger Dialogue does not accept payment for a better position. If paid placement is ever offered, it will be clearly marked as “Sponsored” and these Terms will be updated with notice. A Partner may choose not to appear on the “Near you” page in its dashboard.

25. Restriction, suspension and termination

The Partner may stop using the Platform and close its account at any time in the dashboard.

Ginger Dialogue may restrict or suspend a Partner, in whole or in part, where there are objective reasons such as: false information, repeated failure to accept or fulfil Orders, serious or repeated Customer complaints, food safety concerns, suspected fraud, unpaid amounts, or breach of these Terms or the law. Before or at the time the restriction or suspension takes effect, we will send a statement of reasons and the Partner may clarify the facts through the complaint process (clause 27).

Ginger Dialogue may terminate the contract with at least 30 days’ notice, giving reasons, except where the law requires immediate action, or in case of serious or repeated breach, in which case termination may be immediate with a statement of reasons.

On termination, the Partner page is removed, open payouts are settled and data is kept or deleted as described in the Privacy Policy.

26. Data

Partners have access in the dashboard to the data of the Orders they receive (products, times, Customer name, phone, email and delivery address) and to reports and statements about their own sales. Ginger Dialogue has access to all Platform data and uses aggregated data to run, secure and improve the Platform. We do not share one Partner’s data with another Partner. For Order data, Ginger Dialogue and the Partner act as independent controllers, each responsible for its own processing under the GDPR; the details are in the Privacy Policy. Where Ginger Dialogue processes personal data for the Partner (for example the Partner’s own website), the Data Processing Agreement applies.

27. Complaints by Partners and mediation

Partners can complain about any aspect of the Platform (including restrictions, suspension, ranking or payouts) through the Help tab in the dashboard or by email to [email protected]. We will consider complaints carefully, respond within a reasonable time (normally within 10 business days) and explain our decision. Both parties may also, in good faith, try to settle a dispute through mediation before going to court.

28. Other Ginger Dialogue services

Websites, domains and hosting for the Partner’s own site, the AI phone and messaging assistant, marketing services, franchising and consulting are provided under the plan or written proposal accepted by the Partner, which prevails over these Terms where they differ. The Partner is responsible for the instructions, texts and content it provides for these services. Results of marketing or advertising cannot be guaranteed. AI tools can make mistakes; the Partner must check menus imported or answers given by AI before relying on them.

Part IV – Liability, complaints and law

29. Liability

Ginger Dialogue is responsible for providing the Platform with reasonable care and skill. Because each Order is a contract between the Customer and the Partner, Ginger Dialogue is not responsible for the products, their preparation, quality, safety, allergens, delivery or the Partner’s compliance with the law.

For Partners and other business users: Ginger Dialogue is not liable for indirect damage, loss of profit, revenue or data, and its total liability in each calendar year is limited to the fees and commissions paid by that Partner in the previous 12 months.

Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability where this is not allowed by law, in particular for intent (dolo) or gross negligence, for death or personal injury, or the rights of consumers under mandatory law.

30. Indemnity by Partners

The Partner will compensate Ginger Dialogue for any claims, fines and costs (including reasonable legal fees) arising from its products, its content, its deliveries or its breach of these Terms or the law.

31. Force majeure

Neither party is liable for failures caused by events beyond its reasonable control, such as natural disasters, epidemics, war, strikes, power or internet failures, cyber-attacks or failures of essential third-party providers, for as long as they last.

32. Privacy

We process personal data as described in our Privacy Policy and use cookies as described in our Cookie Policy.

33. Complaints and dispute resolution

You can contact us at [email protected] or +351 916 026 688. Ginger Dialogue has an electronic Complaints Book: livroreclamacoes.pt.

In case of a consumer dispute, you may use an alternative dispute resolution (RAL) entity: CNIACC – Centro Nacional de Informação e Arbitragem de Conflitos de Consumo. Other entities are listed on the Consumer Portal (www.consumidor.gov.pt). Complaints about an Order should first be sent to the Partner (clause 17).

34. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes in the law or in the Platform. The version in force is always on this page, with its date. Partners will be informed of changes at least 15 days in advance (or longer if the change requires significant adaptation) and may terminate before the change takes effect. Orders already placed are governed by the version in force at the time of the Order.

35. Applicable law and courts

These Terms are governed by Portuguese law. For Customers who are consumers, the courts provided for by law are competent, and the mandatory protection of the law of the country where they live is not affected. For Partners and other business users, the courts of the district of Lisbon are competent, without prejudice to mediation.

36. General

If any clause is found invalid, the rest remains in force. A failure to enforce a right is not a waiver. Ginger Dialogue may transfer the contract to a company of its group or to a successor of its business, with notice to Partners. These Terms are available in Portuguese and English; the Portuguese version prevails.