Terms and Conditions
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMERS:
WE DO NOT REPRESENT, PROMISE, OR GIVE ANY WARRANTY ABOUT OUR SERVICES OTHER THAN AS SET OUT WITHIN THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. IN PARTICULAR, WE DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT: (I) THE SERVICES OR THE CONTENTS OF ANY REPORT, INCLUDING GENERATED OR AI-ASSISTED CONTENT, WILL BE FIT FOR ANY PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OPERATE UNINTERRUPTED OR BE FREE FROM ERRORS, DEFECTS, INACCURACIES, OMISSIONS, FALSE POSITIVES, FALSE NEGATIVES, IDENTITY MISMATCHES OR OUTDATED INFORMATION; OR (II) YOUR USE OF ANY SERVICE OR REPORT WILL RESULT IN COMPLIANCE WITH ANY LAW, RULE, REGULATION, COURT ORDER, PROFESSIONAL DUTY OR REQUIREMENT OF ANY GOVERNMENT OR REGULATORY AUTHORITY.
WE DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT OUR PLATFORM WILL BE FREE FROM VIRUSES, VULNERABILITIES, INTERRUPTION OR DELAY, OR THAT ANY CONTENT ON OUR WEBSITE, PLATFORM, SERVICES OR REPORTS IS ACCURATE, COMPLETE, CURRENT, LAWFUL FOR YOUR PURPOSE OR ADMISSIBLE AS EVIDENCE. OUR SERVICES AND REPORTS DO NOT PROVIDE LEGAL, FINANCIAL, TAX, INVESTMENT, HR, EMPLOYMENT, CREDIT, INSURANCE, TENANCY, SAFEGUARDING, MEDICAL, SECURITY, REGULATORY OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE.
FEES FOR EACH ONLINE FIXED-FEE REPORT ARE FEES FOR SIP TO CARRY OUT THE FIXED-FEE RESEARCH AND PREPARE OR MAKE AVAILABLE THE REPORT DESCRIBED ON THE RELEVANT ORDER PAGE. FEES ARE PAYABLE IN ADVANCE AND ARE NON-REFUNDABLE TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW ONCE WE BEGIN WORK, INCUR COSTS, ACCESS PAID SOURCES, PROCESS THE ORDER OR MAKE THE REPORT AVAILABLE. FEES FOR DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS ARE PAYABLE IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE APPLICABLE PROPOSAL, STATEMENT OF WORK, QUOTATION, INVOICE OR WRITTEN CONFIRMATION.
WE DO NOT WARRANT OR REPRESENT THAT OUR SERVICES ARE APPROPRIATE OR AVAILABLE FOR USE IN YOUR COUNTRY OR FOR YOUR INTENDED PURPOSE. THOSE WHO PROCURE OUR SERVICES DO SO ON THEIR OWN INITIATIVE AND AT THEIR OWN RISK. WE MAY REFUSE, SUSPEND, CANCEL OR TERMINATE ANY ORDER OR ACCOUNT WHERE WE BELIEVE THE INSTRUCTION, PURPOSE, METHOD, JURISDICTION, SUBJECT MATTER OR INTENDED USE IS UNLAWFUL, UNSAFE, DISPROPORTIONATE, REPUTATIONALLY HARMFUL OR OUTSIDE SCOPE.
WE SPECIFICALLY DRAW YOUR ATTENTION TO THE REPORT RESTRICTIONS, PROHIBITED USES, DATA PROTECTION OBLIGATIONS, LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND INDEMNITY PROVISIONS IN THESE TERMS, INCLUDING CLAUSES 11, 12, 16, 21, 22 AND 23.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR LAWFUL INSTRUCTIONS TO PROCESS PERSONAL DATA SOLELY FOR THE ACCEPTED PURPOSE OF THE ORDER. YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU HAVE A VALID LAWFUL BASIS FOR EACH PROCESSING ACTIVITY AND, WHERE SPECIAL-CATEGORY, SENSITIVE, CRIMINAL-OFFENCE, CHILD-RELATED OR OTHER RESTRICTED DATA IS INVOLVED, AN APPLICABLE LEGAL CONDITION UNDER THE RELEVANT LAWS, INCLUDING WHERE APPLICABLE UK/ U GDPR ARTICLES 6, 9 AND 10, UAE DATA PROTECTION LAWS AND OTHER LOCAL DATA PROTECTION LAWS.
YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR PROVIDING ANY REQUIRED NOTICES TO INDIVIDUALS, FOR DETERMINING WHETHER AN EXEMPTION APPLIES, AND FOR YOUR RECEIPT, ACCESS, USE, RETENTION, DISCLOSURE AND DELETION OF ANY REPORT. YOU AGREE TO DEFEND AND HOLD US HARMLESS FROM LOSSES ARISING FROM YOUR UNLAWFUL INSTRUCTIONS, UNLAWFUL PURPOSES, UNLAWFUL USE, UNAUTHORISED DISCLOSURE OR BREACH OF THESE TERMS.
THESE TERMS FORM A BINDING AGREEMENT BETWEEN US
These terms are made up of: (i) the Terms and Conditions set out herein; (ii) the Schedules and Appendices to the Terms and Conditions; (iii) any Order, proposal, statement of work, quotation, invoice or written confirmation that expressly incorporates these terms; (iv) our Privacy Policy; (v) our Cookie Policy; and (vi) any other document or policy referred to within any of the foregoing documents (together, the Agreement).
Our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy apply to the Platform and Services and should be read together with these Terms.
In the event of any conflict in respect of the provisions of our Agreement and/or the documents referred to in it, the following order of priority shall prevail in descending order of priority, unless mandatory law or mandatory transfer clauses require otherwise:
(a) any signed written agreement, proposal, statement of work or order confirmation expressly varying these Terms;
(b) the Schedules contained within these Terms and Conditions;
(c) the Terms and Conditions;
(d) our Privacy Policy;
(e) our Cookie Policy; and
(f) any other policies or documents referred to herein.
GENERAL TERMS
The following general terms apply to all Customers in all jurisdictions, except to the extent varied by jurisdiction-specific terms or mandatory law.
ABOUT US
SIP International Commercial Information Services LLC operates the website www.SIP-International.com and is registered in the United Arab Emirates under License Number 866821, with an address at The Exchange Tower, Level 19, Business Bay, Dubai, UAE.
References to SIP International, SIP, we, us or our mean SIP International Commercial Information Services LLC unless an Order, proposal, statement of work or invoice expressly identifies another SIP International group entity as the contracting party for that Order.
Customers of SIP International group entities, including any UK entity, may access or use the Platform. Unless an Order, proposal, statement of work or invoice expressly identifies another SIP International group entity as the contracting party, the Platform contract is with SIP International Commercial Information Services LLC as the UAE website operator. Where another SIP International group entity is expressly identified as the contracting party for a direct instruction, these Terms apply to that instruction as if references to SIP were references to that entity, unless the relevant proposal states otherwise.
SIP does not charge any annual subscription fee unless expressly stated in writing. Charges are based on the specific Services ordered and are displayed at checkout or set out in the relevant proposal, statement of work, invoice or written confirmation.
ACCEPTANCE OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS
By clicking an “I agree” box, registering on the Platform, placing an Order, paying for Services, accessing a Report, using the Platform, downloading a Report, or instructing us directly by email, telephone, messaging service, letter, proposal acceptance or other communication, you agree to be bound by the Agreement.
If you do not agree to the contents of these Terms and Conditions, do not use our Platform, register for an account, place an Order, pay for Services, access a Report or instruct us to provide any Services.
Each Order is a separate contract for the relevant Services. A contract is formed when we accept the Order, begin work, issue a proposal or invoice, make a Report available to you, or otherwise confirm acceptance in writing.
Where you place an Order or instruct us on behalf of a company, employer, public authority, trust, partnership, family office, legal practice, regulated firm or other organisation, you confirm that you have authority to bind that organisation. In that case, the organisation is the Customer and is responsible for the Order, lawful basis, purpose selection, access controls, onward disclosure, retention and use of the Report, and you must disclose the Report only to persons authorised by that organisation and permitted by these Terms.
The order acknowledgements, customer declarations and purpose confirmations in Schedule 6 form part of the Order process. They may be presented as mandatory unticked checkboxes, radio buttons, declaration boxes, conditional free-text fields or other affirmative confirmations on the Platform before account creation, before submission of an Order and/or before payment for a Fixed-Fee Report. SIP will record the account identifier, Order identifier, date and time, relevant Terms version, selected purpose, recipient/access selection, declarations, payment acknowledgements and other reasonable audit details for compliance evidence, and you acknowledge and agree that SIP may retain those records in accordance with these Terms and the Privacy Policy.
DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
In these Terms and Conditions:
‘Account Data’ means personal data relating to you, your account, your contact details, billing, usage, communications, audit logs and order history.
‘Agreement’ means these Terms and Conditions, the relevant Order, any proposal, statement of work, quotation, invoice or written confirmation that expressly incorporates them, the Privacy Policy, Cookie Policy and all Schedules.
‘Applicable Data Protection Laws’ means all data protection, privacy, cybersecurity, electronic communications, direct marketing and data transfer laws that apply to the processing in question, including where applicable the UAE Personal Data Protection Law, the UK GDPR, the Data Protection Act 2018, the EU GDPR, DIFC and ADGM data protection laws, EU Member State data protection laws and equivalent local laws.
‘Applicable Laws’ means all laws, regulations, regulatory guidance, court orders and binding requirements that apply to a party, an Order, the Services, the Report, Subject Data or your use of the Report.
‘Business Customer’ means a Customer acting wholly or mainly for business, professional, regulatory, legal, commercial, governmental, charitable or organisational purposes.
‘Consumer Customer‘ means an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.
‘Customer’ means the person or organisation that registers for an account, places an Order, instructs us, pays for Services, receives a Report or uses a Report. You and your refer to the Customer and, where applicable, any authorised user acting on behalf of the Customer.
‘Direct Services’ means Services ordered directly from us outside the automated online fixed-fee purchase flow, including bespoke OSINT, investigation, surveillance, field enquiries, security services, cybersecurity support, technical surveillance countermeasures, forensic support, asset tracing, fraud support and related services.
‘Eligible Purpose’ means a lawful, legitimate, specific, proportionate and documented purpose accepted by us for an Order, including one of the purposes described in Schedule 6.
‘EU GDPR’ means Regulation (EU) 2016/679, as amended or replaced from time to time.
‘FCRA’ means the United States Fair Credit Reporting Act and related federal or state consumer-reporting laws, rules and regulations.
‘Fixed-Fee Report’ means an online fixed-fee due diligence, open-source intelligence and public-source research report purchased through the Platform. A Fixed-Fee Report is intended to provide information that may assist the Customer to make its own informed risk assessment decision. It is not a full risk-assessment report and does not constitute legal, financial, tax, employment, credit, insurance, tenancy, safeguarding, AML/KYC compliance, security or other professional advice.
‘Order’ means each purchase, request, instruction or engagement for Services, whether made through the Platform or directly with us.
‘Permitted Recipient’ means a person permitted to receive a Report under clause 11.4 or otherwise expressly approved by us in writing.
‘Platform’ means www.SIP-International.com , any related dashboard, account area, application, API, checkout, payment journey, report delivery system, website functionality and associated systems operated or made available by us.
‘Report’ means any report, extract, finding, photograph, video, audio, dashboard output, written summary, oral briefing, file, analysis, red flag note or other deliverable produced or supplied by SIP as part of the Services.
‘Restricted Data’ means personal data that is sensitive, special category, criminal offence, criminal conviction, biometric, health, child-related or otherwise high-risk under Applicable Data Protection Laws.
‘Services’ means the services provided by SIP, including Fixed-Fee Reports, OSINT research, open-source research, public record searches, database searches, human intelligence, interviews, investigation, surveillance, security services, TSCM, cybersecurity support, forensic support, fraud support, asset tracing, report preparation, analysis, dashboard delivery and related administration.
‘Subject’ means the person, business, asset, website, account, location or matter that is the subject of an Order or Report.
‘Subject Data’ means personal data relating to a Subject or to other persons identified in connection with an Order or Report.
‘UK GDPR’ means the retained EU law version of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 as it forms part of the law of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as amended or replaced from time to time.
‘Working Materials’ means source extracts, screenshots, analyst notes, raw search results, operational notes, surveillance logs, drafts and other internal material created or obtained during performance of the Services.
References to including or includes mean including without limitation. References to laws include those laws as amended, re-enacted, replaced or supplemented from time to time.
WE CONTRACT WITH ADULTS AND BUSINESS CUSTOMERS ONLY
You must be at least 18 years old to use the Platform, register for an account, place an Order, receive a Report or instruct us to provide any Services.
Our Services are intended for adults and bona fide Business Customers or individuals who have a lawful reason to enter into this Agreement and request our Services.
Where you are a Business Customer, you represent and warrant that you are acting for legitimate business reasons and have authority to bind, enter into and obligate the business or organisation that you represent.
If, despite the foregoing, you qualify as a consumer under non-waivable local law, your mandatory rights are preserved.However, these Terms and Conditions are drafted to protect SIP where high-risk reports and investigative services are ordered by individuals or business customers.
These Terms apply to each Order and to our supply of the Services. They apply to the exclusion of any other terms that you seek to impose or incorporate, or which are implied by law, trade custom, practice or course of dealing, except to the extent mandatory law provides otherwise.
OUR OBLIGATIONS
We will perform the Services with reasonable skill and care.
Any obligation on us to comply with, or ensure compliance with, any law is limited to laws that are generally applicable to businesses and to providers of similar services. Such obligations do not create an obligation on us to comply with laws or regulations that apply solely to your sector, purpose, professional obligations, regulated activities or intended use unless expressly stated in writing.
We conduct research, information retrieval, investigation and Report preparation using publicly available or otherwise compliant sources. These may include open-source intelligence, media archives, corporate registries, court index information, land registries, subscription databases, public records, human intelligence, surveillance and similar repositories or resources where accessible and lawful.
SIP may also provide surveillance teams and other human expertise for matters that may involve fraud, domestic and commercial investigations, digital forensics, forensic accounting, cybersecurity incidents, technical surveillance countermeasures and other relevant investigation or security services.
Report content and availability vary by jurisdiction and source accessibility. We may decline, suspend, limit or terminate any Order or account where use appears unlawful, unclear, unsafe, disproportionate, unethical, discriminatory, reputationally harmful or outside scope.
To the extent permitted by law, no warranties, conditions or other terms are implied into this Agreement. We do not warrant or represent that any deliverables or work product will: (i) be fit for any particular purpose; (ii) operate uninterrupted or be free from errors or defects; or (iii) result in your compliance with laws, rules or regulations of any government or regulatory authority.
REPORT DISCLAIMER AND SOURCES
Informational only; verify before reliance. Reports compile third-party information that can contain errors, omissions, outdated data, false positives, false negatives, identity mismatches, allegations, context gaps or duplicated information. We do not independently audit all source data and make no guarantees about accuracy, completeness, recency or legal usability.
Reports are not legal, financial, tax, employment, HR, credit, insurance, tenant-screening, safeguarding, AML/KYC compliance, regulatory, medical, security or other professional advice. You should independently verify information and consult qualified advisers as appropriate.
Not a consumer report. Reports are not consumer reports and SIP is not a consumer reporting agency. You must not use any Report for any purpose regulated by the FCRA or similar laws, including employment, promotion, retention, reassignment, tenant screening, credit, insurance, housing, education, licensing, benefits or eligibility determinations.
Public-domain sourcing. We collect information from open sources reasonably accessible to the public at the time of collection and from other compliant sources. We do not extract data from closed or private social media accounts, bypass access controls, hack systems, install spyware or unlawfully intercept communications.
Subscriber databases. We may collect information from subscriber, subscription-based or third-party services. Such sourcing is carried out in accordance with applicable laws and source restrictions. We do not guarantee the accuracy, completeness or currency of information provided by any third-party database.
Human intelligence, surveillance and third-party information. Where an Order requires on-the-ground enquiries, surveillance, interviews or third-party information, our Reports are based on observations and information available at the relevant time. Circumstances may change, persons interviewed may be mistaken or misleading, and surveillance conditions may affect what can be observed.
Source limitations. We may be unable to reveal the source of information, search terms, operational methods, human sources, contractor identities, database providers or technical methods where disclosure would compromise safety, confidentiality, source protection, legal privilege, contractual restrictions, investigations or security.
Our Services are to you only. You determine whether, how, when and where to use a Report and bear responsibility for legal compliance of your receipt, access, use, retention, disclosure and deletion of the Report in all relevant jurisdictions.
ACCOUNT REGISTRATION
You agree to provide accurate account information and to keep it updated. You are responsible for all activity occurring under your credentials, except to the extent caused by our breach of these Terms or mandatory law.
Credential sharing, sublicensing or transfer is prohibited. Each user must have dedicated credentials unless we agree otherwise in writing.
You must maintain reasonable technical and organisational security for account credentials, Reports, invoices and dashboard content. You must notify us promptly if you suspect unauthorised access, disclosure, loss or misuse.
We may request identity, authority, purpose, sanctions, payment, anti-fraud, safeguarding or data protection checks before accepting, continuing or delivering any Order.
ORDERS AND DIRECT INSTRUCTIONS
Orders placed through the Platform are subject to acceptance, payment, source availability, jurisdictional limitations and completion of all mandatory acknowledgements and purpose confirmations.
Direct instructions may be governed by a proposal, quotation, statement of work, invoice, email confirmation or written briefing agreed with us. Unless expressly varied in writing, these Terms apply to all Direct Services.
You must provide accurate, complete and lawful identifiers, background information and context. This may include names, aliases, dates of birth, jurisdictions, addresses, companies, social media handles, purpose information, authority information and any known risks or restrictions.
We may decline, suspend, limit, vary or cancel any Order if we reasonably believe that the Order, purpose or intended use is unlawful, unclear, unsafe, disproportionate, unethical, discriminatory, outside our expertise, commercially unsuitable, reputationally harmful or inconsistent with these Terms.
We do not guarantee that we will accept any Order. Acceptance of one Order does not require us to accept any future Order.
Delivery times are estimates only unless we expressly agree a binding delivery date in writing. Source availability, jurisdictional limitations, safety constraints, payment checks, legal review, database downtime, third-party delays and operational issues may affect delivery.
PRICES; TAXES; PAYMENT; CHARGEBACKS; REFUNDS
Charges. Fees for online Fixed-Fee Reports are payable in advance at checkout. Fees for Direct Services are as stated in the applicable proposal, quotation, invoice or written agreement.
Currency. Subject to the nature of the case and applicable jurisdiction, fees may be stated in GBP, USD, AED or another currency. You are responsible for VAT, sales tax, withholding tax, bank charges, exchange charges and other taxes or charges applicable to your Order, except taxes on our own income.
UAE VAT and other taxes. If UAE VAT or any other tax is chargeable, we may add it to the price at the applicable rate. If a reverse charge, withholding, exemption or zero rating applies, you must provide the information and evidence we reasonably require.
Payment providers. Online payments may be processed by Stripe or another payment provider. SIP does not store full card numbers, complete payment card details or card security codes. Payment providers may process and retain payment data under their own terms and privacy notices. The dashboard may display limited payment status, invoice and transaction metadata, such as transaction reference or card type/last four digits, where supplied by the payment provider.
Refunds. Fixed-Fee Report fees are non-refundable once we have begun performance, incurred costs, accessed paid sources, undertaken analysis, processed the Order or made the Report available, except where mandatory law requires otherwise or we agree otherwise in writing.
Consumer cancellation. If you are a Consumer Customer, you may have statutory cancellation rights under laws that apply to distance contracts, services or digital content. By placing an online Order and ticking the immediate-performance acknowledgement, you request SIP to begin performance immediately and acknowledge that cancellation and refund rights may be limited or lost to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law.
No outcome-based refunds. Fees are not refundable merely because the Report contains limited information, source data is unavailable, you supplied incomplete or inaccurate identifiers, the Report does not produce the result you hoped for, or jurisdictional, legal, technical or safety limits restrict sources and results.
Chargebacks. You must not initiate a chargeback without first notifying us and giving us a reasonable opportunity to resolve the issue. We may challenge improper chargebacks and recover our costs where permitted by law.
Direct instruction invoices. For Direct Services, invoices are payable by the due date stated on the invoice or, if no date is stated, within 14 days of invoice date. Unless otherwise agreed, invoices for Direct Services are payable by bank transfer; where we provide a payment link, payment may instead be made by card through Stripe or another payment provider. We may suspend work for non-payment and recover reasonable collection costs where permitted by law.