Terms of Service
Effective date: February 4, 2026. Last updated: February 4, 2026.
Contents
1. Who we are and what these Terms cover
2. Eligibility and account creation
3. The three transaction types
4. Payments, fees, and payouts
5. User obligations
6. Prohibited conduct and prohibited services
7. Content ownership and license
8. Disclaimers
9. Limitation of liability
10. Indemnification
11. Governing law and dispute resolution
12. Changes to these Terms
13. How to contact us
1. Who we are and what these Terms cover
Gulf Coast Work ("GCW," "we," "us") operates an online marketplace at gulfcoastwork.com that connects customers with independent service providers across the U.S. Gulf Coast (Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas) and independent digital providers who serve customers remotely. These Terms of Service form a binding agreement between you and Gulf Coast Work when you access, create an account, list a service, book a service, hire a digital provider, post a project request, or otherwise use the platform.
GCW is a venue. We are not a party to the service contract between a customer and a provider. We do not perform, supervise, employ, or subcontract any provider. Providers are independent businesses; customers are independent buyers. GCW's role is limited to facilitating discovery, communication, payment collection, dispute mediation, and platform administration.
By clicking "Sign up," "Create account," "Book," "Hire," "Post request," or by continuing to use the platform after these Terms are posted, you agree to be bound by them and by the additional agreements referenced below.
2. Eligibility and account creation
To use Gulf Coast Work you must (a) be at least 18 years old, (b) have the legal capacity to enter into a binding contract in the U.S. state where you reside, (c) not be barred from receiving services under U.S. law, and (d) accept these Terms in full.
Local (in-person) services are available only when both the provider and the service address are located in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas. Digital services are available to customers in any U.S. state where such services are lawful.
You may hold only one active account. You may operate in customer mode, provider mode, or both from the same account (a mode switcher is available in the header once you sign in). Team accounts (business or agency) support additional team roles: owner, administrator, manager, scheduler, service_provider, freelancer, customer_support, finance, and marketing.
You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide (legal name, business name, tax classification, address, contact details, and credentials submitted for verification). You are responsible for the confidentiality of your password and for all activity performed under your account, including any 2FA/TOTP factors you enable.
Account statuses. GCW may place your account into any of the following states, each enforced at login and via server-side middleware: active, email_verification_required, phone_verification_required, pending_review, restricted, suspended, deactivated, banned, or deleted. Restriction and suspension reasons and durations are disclosed in your notifications inbox where possible.
3. The three transaction types
3.1 Local bookings
A customer chooses a local service (in Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, or Texas), picks a time slot on the provider's calendar, provides a service address and access notes, and pays through the checkout flow. The booking moves through payment_pending → awaiting_provider_response → confirmed → in_progress → completed, with cancellation windows governed by the Cancellation Policy.
3.2 Digital orders
A customer selects a digital service package (or add-ons), pays through checkout, and — depending on the service definition — either submits requirements to the provider (requirements_needed) or the order proceeds directly to in_progress. Delivery, revision, and completion timelines are set on the package and displayed at checkout.
3.3 Project requests and proposals
A customer posts a project brief; qualified providers submit proposals with pricing, timeline, and scope. When the customer accepts a proposal, the resulting engagement becomes a booking or digital order and is governed by the same lifecycle rules. Custom offers created inside a conversation are treated equivalently.
4. Payments, fees, and payouts
All payments are processed by Stripe, Inc. GCW does not store card numbers, bank credentials, or CVCs. When you pay through the platform, Stripe collects the total charge, GCW receives the platform fee, and the provider's net amount is credited to their GCW ledger.
Default fee structure at the time of this update: customer service fee 5% of subtotal; provider platform commission 15% (subject to plan-tier discounts up to −8% for VIP and Agency subscribers, and any category-specific overrides configured in /admin/payments); Stripe processing pass-through (currently 2.9% + $0.30). The exact breakdown for every transaction is shown before you confirm payment and stored as a fee_snapshot on the payment record.
Provider funds are released from the pending balance to the available balance according to the Payment Policy and the applicable listing's completion policy. Funds reserved for open disputes remain in a `reserved` bucket until the dispute closes.
GCW may hold funds beyond the standard completion window when necessary to comply with law, prevent fraud, or resolve a dispute.
5. User obligations
You will (a) provide accurate information; (b) communicate through the platform's messaging center rather than off-platform channels for any conversation that leads to a paid engagement; (c) honor the commitments you make (attendance at bookings, completion of ordered work, timely payment); (d) obtain and maintain any license, permit, or insurance your jurisdiction requires for the services you offer; (e) submit for verification when your listing category requires it; and (f) treat other users, GCW staff, and support agents with respect.
Off-platform payment circumvention (asking a counterparty to pay outside GCW to avoid fees) is prohibited. It defeats the platform's payment protection, disqualifies you from dispute resolution, and violates the Community Standards. Message content that appears to request off-platform payment may be masked or flagged for moderator review.
6. Prohibited conduct and prohibited services
You may not use the platform to offer, request, or facilitate anything prohibited by the Prohibited Services list, including illegal services, licensed trades performed without the required license, medical/legal/financial advice requiring licensure, weapons, adult content, academic fraud, hazardous materials, unlicensed child- or elder-care, and unpermitted transportation-for-hire. See the full list at /prohibited-services.
You may not (a) attempt to access other users' accounts or data; (b) scrape, mirror, or copy the platform's content without written permission; (c) reverse engineer the platform or its APIs; (d) upload malware or exploit code; (e) create fake accounts, fake listings, fake reviews, or fake identity documents; or (f) use the platform to harass, defame, or discriminate against any protected class.
7. Content ownership and license
You retain ownership of the content you upload (listings, portfolios, project briefs, message attachments, reviews, avatars). You grant GCW a worldwide, royalty-free, non-exclusive license to host, display, adapt for presentation, and use the content to operate and market the platform — for example, to include your listing in search results, to render your avatar on your provider profile, or to feature a completed project in a case study with your consent.
GCW retains all rights in the platform itself (software, database schema, UI/UX design, brand assets). You may not copy or reuse GCW's proprietary elements outside their intended platform use.
8. Disclaimers
GCW does not warrant the quality, safety, legality, or fitness for a particular purpose of any provider's services. Verification badges (registered, identity_verified, gcw_verified, background_checked, licensed_pro, insured_pro, top_pro) reflect the checks GCW has performed at a point in time; they are not a guarantee of future performance or continued compliance.
The platform is provided "as is" and "as available." Where permitted by law, GCW disclaims all implied warranties, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
9. Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, GCW's aggregate liability for any claim arising from or related to your use of the platform will not exceed the greater of (a) the total platform fees you paid GCW in the twelve months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred United States dollars ($100).
GCW is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or business opportunities, even if advised of the possibility of such damages.
10. Indemnification
You will indemnify and hold harmless Gulf Coast Work, its officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claim, demand, loss, or expense (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from (a) your use of the platform, (b) your violation of these Terms or any linked policy, (c) your violation of any third-party right, or (d) content you submit.
11. Governing law and dispute resolution
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. The exclusive venue for any judicial claim not subject to arbitration is the state or federal courts located in Escambia County, Florida.
12. Changes to these Terms
GCW may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be announced in your account notifications and by email at least thirty (30) days before they take effect (or immediately when required by law). Continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.
13. How to contact us
Legal notices: legal@gulfcoastwork.com · Support: /help or /contact · Data-protection requests: privacy@gulfcoastwork.com.
Related policies
→ Privacy Policy — /privacy
→ Customer Agreement — /customer-agreement
→ Provider Agreement — /provider-agreement
→ Payment Policy — /payment-policy
→ Cancellation Policy — /cancellation-policy
→ Refund Policy — /refund-policy
→ Prohibited Services — /prohibited-services
→ Community Standards — /community-standards
→ Safety Policy — /safety
Questions about this policy? Reach us at legal@gulfcoastwork.com or via /contact.