HatchFinder is a UK online classifieds and messaging platform intended to connect people looking for hatching eggs with breeders who advertise them.

These terms form an agreement between you and HatchFinder concerning your use of the website and its services.

You must also follow any rules or instructions displayed during registration, advert submission, messaging, reporting or use of a particular feature.

If you do not agree to these terms, you must not create an account, publish an advert or use the messaging service.

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, submit an advert or arrange a transaction through HatchFinder.

You agree to:

• Provide accurate and current registration information
• Use an email address that you control
• Keep your password and login details secure
• Maintain only accounts that you genuinely need
• Notify us promptly if your account may have been compromised
• Accept responsibility for activity carried out through your account

You must not impersonate another person, create an account using false details or allow a suspended user to access HatchFinder through your account.

HatchFinder provides advertising, search, profile and private messaging facilities.

HatchFinder is not the breeder, buyer, seller, delivery provider, payment provider or contracting party in a transaction arranged between users.

A contract for the purchase and supply of eggs is made directly between the buyer and breeder when they agree to proceed.

Unless explicitly stated otherwise, HatchFinder does not inspect, own, handle, store, package or dispatch the eggs advertised.

Breeders are responsible for determining whether they are acting as a private seller, hobby breeder, sole trader, business or other form of trader.

You must not falsely represent yourself as a private seller where you are acting for purposes connected with a trade, business, craft or profession.

Breeders are responsible for:

• Complying with applicable consumer and trading laws
• Providing any legally required business information
• Meeting applicable tax and record-keeping obligations
• Complying with animal health and disease-control requirements
• Honouring rights that legally apply to their buyers
• Obtaining any licences, permissions or registrations required

Every advert must comply with the HatchFinder Listing Rules.

Adverts must:

• Be honest, accurate, current and not misleading
• Describe the species, breed and number of eggs clearly
• Display a genuine and clearly explained price
• State relevant collection, delivery or postage options
• Use photographs that the advertiser owns or may lawfully use
• Be updated or removed when the eggs are unavailable

Adverts must not be submitted primarily to redirect users to another marketplace, social-media account or external messaging service.

HatchFinder currently focuses on hatching eggs. Live birds, animals, equipment, medicines and unrelated products must not be advertised unless HatchFinder introduces a suitable category and expressly permits them.

Hatching eggs cannot be guaranteed to be fertile or to hatch successfully.

Fertility percentages, hatch results and previous outcomes must not be presented as a guarantee applying to the eggs advertised.

Breeders must not knowingly advertise eggs from birds showing signs of infectious illness or kept in seriously unsuitable conditions.

Users must comply with applicable animal welfare, biosecurity, import, export, movement, disease-control and protected-species requirements.

HatchFinder may suspend adverts during disease outbreaks, movement restrictions or other circumstances where continued advertising may present a legal, animal-health or public-safety concern.

Initial contact between buyers and breeders should take place through HatchFinder’s private messaging system.

You must not use HatchFinder to:

• Send abusive, threatening, discriminatory or unwanted messages
• Harass, intimidate, deceive or pressure another user
• Commit or facilitate fraud, theft or another offence
• Send malware, phishing links or harmful code
• Collect personal information for an unrelated purpose
• Publish another person’s private information without permission
• Send bulk advertising, spam or automated messages
• Circumvent a suspension, restriction or moderation decision

Users may privately exchange reasonable contact, delivery, collection and payment information when genuinely arranging a transaction.

Authorised HatchFinder administrators may access messages for moderation, safety, technical support, fraud prevention and legal purposes as explained in our Privacy Policy.

You retain ownership of photographs, descriptions and other original content that you submit.

By submitting content, you give HatchFinder a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to host, store, reproduce, resize, display and distribute that content as reasonably necessary to operate, promote and improve HatchFinder.

This licence lasts while the content remains on HatchFinder and for a reasonable period in backups, moderation records or evidence connected to a complaint.

You confirm that:

• You own the content or have permission to use it
• The content does not infringe another person’s rights
• The content is not unlawful, defamatory or misleading
• You have permission to publish any identifiable person’s image

HatchFinder’s name, branding, layout, original graphics and website content must not be copied or used without permission, except where the law permits.

HatchFinder does not currently process, receive, hold or transfer payment for transactions between buyers and breeders.

The buyer and breeder are responsible for agreeing:

• The identity of the parties to the transaction
• The final price and any packaging or delivery charge
• The payment method and payment date
• The number and description of the eggs
• The collection or dispatch date
• Refund, replacement or cancellation arrangements
• Any other transaction terms

Users should take reasonable precautions before transferring money, including checking the other party’s profile, advert, identity and proposed arrangements.

Breeders offering postage or delivery are responsible for using suitable packaging, giving accurate dispatch information and complying with the requirements of the chosen carrier.

Buyers and breeders should agree who carries the risk of loss or damage during transport, subject to any rights and obligations imposed by law.

Exact home addresses should not be published in public adverts. Collection information should be exchanged privately after the parties are satisfied with the proposed arrangement.

Users arranging in-person collection are responsible for their own personal safety. Consider meeting during daylight, telling another person where you are going and avoiding unnecessary access to private areas.

Reviews must reflect a genuine experience with the breeder or transaction concerned.

You must not:

• Submit a fake, purchased or incentivised review
• Review yourself or an account you control
• Coordinate reviews intended to manipulate a rating
• Threaten a user with a negative review to obtain an advantage
• Include unlawful, abusive or irrelevant content

HatchFinder may remove or restrict reviews where there is a reasonable basis to believe they are fake, misleading, abusive, unrelated or otherwise contrary to these terms.

HatchFinder may introduce optional paid adverts, upgrades, subscriptions or other paid features in the future.

Any price, duration, renewal arrangement and important condition will be shown before a user commits to pay.

We will not charge a user merely because these terms mention a possible paid feature.

Where consumer cancellation or refund rights apply to a paid HatchFinder service, those rights will not be removed by these terms.

HatchFinder does not permit users to publish, send or facilitate illegal content or illegal activity.

Prohibited content and conduct includes:

• Fraud, scams, theft and money laundering
• Threats, stalking, harassment or unlawful discrimination
• Child sexual abuse material or sexual exploitation
• Terrorism content or support for terrorist activity
• Illegal encouragement or assistance of suicide or self-harm
• Non-consensual intimate images or sexual content
• Illegal animal cruelty, trafficking or protected-species trading
• Malware, phishing, identity theft or account compromise
• Content that unlawfully exposes another person’s private information
• Any other content or activity that is unlawful in the United Kingdom

We use proportionate moderation, reporting, account restriction and removal processes intended to reduce the risk of illegal content and activity.

When HatchFinder becomes aware of content that we reasonably believe is illegal, we may remove or restrict it promptly, preserve relevant evidence and take any further action that is reasonably necessary.

Users and other affected people may report an advert, profile, message, review or account using the available reporting tool or by emailing support@hatchfinder.co.uk .

A report should include, where possible:

• A link or clear description of the content concerned
• The reason for the report
• Relevant screenshots or supporting information
• Whether there appears to be an immediate safety risk

HatchFinder may investigate reports, contact relevant users, inspect associated account records and take proportionate action.

Possible action includes:

• Requesting corrections or further information
• Rejecting, editing or removing an advert
• Removing a message, review or profile
• Restricting messaging or advert submission
• Temporarily suspending or permanently closing an account
• Preserving or sharing information where legally required or permitted

A user who disagrees with a moderation decision may submit a complaint to the support email above. The complaint should identify the decision and explain why the user believes it should be reconsidered.

We will aim to review complaints fairly and within a reasonable period, taking account of the seriousness and complexity of the issue.

HatchFinder may restrict, suspend or close an account where there is a reasonable basis to believe that:

• The user has seriously or repeatedly broken these terms
• The account presents a fraud, safety or security risk
• The user has submitted unlawful or prohibited content
• The user is attempting to evade a previous restriction
• Action is needed to comply with a legal obligation
• The account is inactive and no longer reasonably required

Where appropriate and reasonably practicable, we may explain the reason for a restriction and provide an opportunity to complain. We may withhold information where disclosure would create a safety risk, compromise an investigation or be prohibited by law.

Users may request account closure by contacting HatchFinder. Some information may be retained where reasonably needed for legal, security, fraud-prevention or complaint-handling purposes.

We aim to keep HatchFinder available and functioning, but we cannot guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access.

Access may be interrupted by maintenance, security incidents, hosting problems, technical faults, third-party services or circumstances outside our reasonable control.

We may add, remove or change features where reasonably necessary to improve the platform, maintain security, comply with law or operate the service effectively.

Where a change materially reduces a paid service, any applicable legal rights and any specific terms supplied with that service will continue to apply.

HatchFinder is responsible for losses that are a foreseeable result of our failure to use reasonable care and skill or our breach of these terms.

HatchFinder is not responsible for losses caused by:

• False, inaccurate or unlawful content submitted by a user
• A buyer or breeder failing to complete a transaction
• The fertility, condition, transport or hatch result of eggs
• Payment made directly between users
• A user’s failure to take reasonable safety precautions
• Events outside HatchFinder’s reasonable control
• Business losses suffered by someone using the platform for commercial purposes

HatchFinder does not guarantee the identity, honesty, reliability, legal status or suitability of any user.

Nothing in these terms excludes or limits liability where it would be unlawful to do so, including liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.

Nothing in these terms affects mandatory consumer rights.

Buyers and breeders should first attempt to resolve transaction disagreements directly and reasonably.

HatchFinder may accept reports, preserve relevant platform records and take action concerning a user’s continued access to the website.

HatchFinder is not required to determine ownership of money, decide whether eggs were fertile, order a refund or act as a court, arbitrator or debt collector.

Users remain free to obtain independent advice, contact their payment provider, report suspected fraud or use any legal remedy available to them.

Our Privacy Policy explains how HatchFinder collects, uses, stores and shares personal information.

Our Cookie Policy explains the cookies and similar technologies used by the website and how users can manage consent.

By using the platform, you acknowledge that public advert and breeder-profile information may be viewed by other people and indexed by search engines.

We may update these terms to reflect changes to HatchFinder, its services, legal requirements, safety measures or business operations.

The current version will be published on this page with an updated date.

Where a change is significant, we will take reasonable steps to bring it to the attention of registered users before or when it takes effect.

Changes will not retrospectively remove legal rights that have already arisen.

These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales.

If you are a consumer living elsewhere in the United Kingdom, you may also benefit from mandatory protections and may be entitled to bring proceedings in the courts serving the part of the United Kingdom where you live.

Business users agree that the courts of England and Wales will have jurisdiction over disputes concerning these terms, unless applicable law requires otherwise.

If any part of these terms is found to be unlawful or unenforceable, the remaining parts will continue to apply.