Terms of Use

1. About us and these terms

The Dessert Detective (“we”, “us”) runs thedessertdetective.com, a directory of dessert shops in the UK with maps, search, reviews, case files, lists, offers and tools for businesses. Sole trader. Contact: [email protected].

These terms, the content and review policy and, for businesses, the business terms form the agreement between you and us. Our privacy notice explains how we use your data.

2. Who can use the site

• You must be at least 13 years old (or have a parent’s or guardian’s permission if you are under 18)
• You agree to use the site lawfully and in good faith

3. Using the site

You may browse shops, search, use the map, save shops to lists, follow shops, post reviews, claim offers and submit events. You agree not to:

• Break the law or anyone else’s rights
• Try to get into other people’s accounts or our systems
• Copy or republish our directory data in bulk, or use bots or scrapers, without our written permission
• Post anything the content and review policy doesn’t allow
• Pretend to be someone else
• Interfere with how the site works

4. Accounts

You don’t need an account to browse. You need one for written reviews, photos, lists, following shops and offers. You are responsible for keeping your password safe, for what happens under your account, and for keeping your details correct. Tell us at [email protected] if you think someone else has used your account.

We may suspend or close an account that breaks these terms, that we reasonably think is being misused, or that hasn’t been used for more than 3 years.

5. Information is for guidance only

Nothing on the site is advice, a recommendation or a guarantee. Opening hours, addresses, prices, menus, dietary and allergen details, delivery options and contact details may be wrong, incomplete or out of date. Check them with the shop before you visit, order or rely on them, especially for allergies. Listing a shop does not mean we endorse it, its food or its safety standards. We don’t inspect shops.

6. AI and automated content

Much of the listing information (descriptions, opening hours, products, signature dishes) was gathered or written with AI tools and automated collection. These can make mistakes. We correct errors when we are told about them, but we can’t promise any information is accurate. Telling us about an error doesn’t make us liable for the time before it was corrected.

7. Reviews and other content

When you post a review, quick review, photo, case file, list, event or anything else, you:

• Give us a non-exclusive, royalty-free licence to show, copy and share it on the site, in our emails and on our social media
• Confirm that it’s yours to post (including photos and video links) and follows the content and review policy
• Keep ownership of it

We may hold, edit, hide, refuse or remove any content, at our discretion. You aren’t entitled to anything if we do. How moderation works, and how to report something, is in the content and review policy.

Detectives are independent members we approve; a case file’s verdict is that detective’s own opinion, not ours. We may withdraw detective status if these terms are broken.

Case files stay published. When you become a detective you give us a permanent, irrevocable, royalty-free licence to keep showing, copying and sharing the case files you publish (text, photos and videos), and this licence continues after you stop being a detective or delete your account. When your account is deleted we delete your account and personal details, keep your published case files, and credit them to “a former Dessert Detective”. Unpublished drafts are deleted with your account.

You, or anyone who appears in a case file, can still ask us to remove personal data from it, for example a face or a voice in a video. We look at each request on its own and may edit, blur or remove the case file. Email [email protected].

8. Quick reviews and contributors

• You can leave a quick review or add an item without an account, with your email address. We email you a link to confirm; until you tap it, nothing is published.
• After 5 contributions we ask you to create an account to keep posting.
• We can hide, remove or refuse any contribution, and block an email address from posting, for example for breaking the content and review policy.

9. Saved lists and following

Your lists are private unless you make them public. A public list can be seen by anyone with the link, with your display name. We may feature a public list, stop featuring it, hide it or remove it at any time, for example if it breaks the content and review policy or is reported. Following a shop means you get its updates and offers in a round-up email, as often as you choose.

10. What Verified means

A Verified badge means only that the shop’s owner or manager has claimed the page, we have checked the claim, and they manage it through a business account. It is not an endorsement or a quality rating. See what Verified means.

11. How results are ordered

Results are ordered by what you asked for: distance from the place you chose, or how well a shop matches your search and filters. Otherwise we use a neutral order that favours complete listings (shops managed by their owner, then shops with a logo, then with a signature dish, then the newest). Top rated uses our members’ ratings once enough exist. Featured placements are paid for, always labelled “Featured”, and shown separately from the normal results. Paying never changes a shop’s reviews or ratings. More detail: how the site works.

12. Offers

• Offers are made and provided by the shop, not by us. The shop decides what the offer is and is responsible for honouring it.
• Each code is single-use and for your own use. Codes may be limited in number and may end early. They can’t be exchanged for cash or passed on, sold or posted publicly.
• A code is not a guarantee: the shop may withdraw the offer, it may run out, or the code may expire before you use it.
• We are not responsible if a shop doesn’t honour an offer, but please tell us: report it to us and we may act against the shop.

13. Events

Events you or businesses submit are checked before they are shown, and we may refuse any. We are not responsible for event details, changes or anything that happens at an event.

14. Our intellectual property

The Dessert Detective name, logo, design and our compiled directory are ours, and all rights are reserved. You may not copy, republish or build on them without our written permission, except where the law allows (for example fair dealing for criticism, review or news reporting).

15. What we can change

To keep the directory accurate and fair we may, at any time and at our discretion: add, edit or remove listings; correct information; refuse, hide or remove any content; suspend or close accounts; and change, pause or end any feature, including offers, lists, alerts and Featured placements.

16. Disclaimer of warranties

To the fullest extent the law allows, we give no warranties, express or implied, including that information is accurate, current, complete or reliable, that the site will be uninterrupted, secure or error-free, or about the quality, safety or legality of any shop. The site is provided “as is” and “as available”, and you use it at your own risk.

17. Limits on our liability

To the fullest extent the law allows, we are not liable, in contract, tort (including negligence), statute or otherwise, for any loss or damage arising from:

• Your use of, or not being able to use, the site or anything on it
• Relying on information from the site
• Any error or omission in a listing, whatever the cause, including AI-generated content and automated processing
• A shop being closed, moved or unavailable, or any wasted journey or expense
• Any food safety, hygiene, allergen or dietary issue at a shop
• A shop not honouring an offer
• Any loss of business, revenue, profits, data or goodwill, or any indirect or consequential loss
• Third-party websites or services we link to

Nothing in these terms limits liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for anything else that can’t lawfully be limited under English law. If you are a consumer, nothing here affects your statutory rights.

18. Your indemnity

You agree to cover us for claims, losses and reasonable legal costs arising from your breach of these terms, content you post, or your breach of the law or anyone’s rights.

19. Links to other sites

We link to other websites (maps, shop websites, event pages, PayPal). We aren’t responsible for their content, privacy practices or availability.

20. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. For important changes we update the date at the top and ask signed-in members to accept the new version the next time they use the site. Older versions are available on request.

21. Ending your use

You can stop using the site at any time and delete your account from your account settings. We may suspend or end your access straight away if you break these terms or if we reasonably believe your use harms us, other people or businesses.

22. Governing law

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction. If you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may also bring a claim in your local courts.

23. Contact

Questions about these terms: [email protected]. All our legal pages are listed on Legal.