Terms & Conditions

These Terms govern your use of the GoPathik mobile application and website, operated by [Legal Entity Name Pvt. Ltd.], incorporated in India (“GoPathik”, “we”, “us”). By creating an account you accept these Terms. If you do not accept them, do not use the app.

1. Definitions

Sender — a user who posts an item to be carried. Carrier (also “Pathik”) — a user who offers to carry an item on a journey they are making. Receiver — the person named by the Sender to take delivery. Trip — a single accepted arrangement between a Sender and a Carrier. Wallet — the in-app balance used to hold and settle Trip amounts. Platform Fee — the commission GoPathik retains, disclosed before a Trip is confirmed.

2. Eligibility and your account

• You must be at least 18 years old and legally competent to contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• One account per person. Accounts are personal and may not be sold, shared or transferred.
• You are responsible for everything done through your account, including by anyone you allow to use your device.
• All information you give us — identity, address, bank details, item description — must be true, current and complete.

3. Our role: we are a platform, not a party to your trade

GoPathik provides discovery, matching, messaging, verification tooling and payment settlement. That is the whole of our service. Specifically:

• We are not responsible for any trade, transaction, item or arrangement between users. The contract for carriage is formed directly between the Sender and the Carrier. GoPathik is not a party to it.
• We never take possession, custody or control of any item. Items pass directly from Sender to Carrier to Receiver.
• We do not verify, inspect, weigh, seal, value or guarantee the contents, condition, legality, ownership or authenticity of any item.
• We do not guarantee that a Carrier will collect, that an item will arrive, that it will arrive on time, or that it will arrive intact.
• We do not employ Carriers. Carriers are independent users acting on their own account, and nothing here creates employment, agency, partnership or a joint venture.
• We do not insure any item. Users may arrange their own insurance and are encouraged to do so for anything of value.
• Ratings, reviews and verification badges are indicators only. They are not a warranty by us about any user.

4. Identity verification and the blue tick

Before carrying or sending, a user must complete verification: mobile number, email, and a government-issued photo identity document. We may also require a selfie liveness check, address proof or bank verification.

Users who complete enhanced verification and meet our published trip and rating thresholds may receive a blue tick on their profile. The blue tick means that our checks were completed at a point in time. It is not a character reference, a background check, a criminal record clearance, or any assurance by GoPathik about a user's honesty, conduct or reliability. You must still exercise your own judgement about whom you deal with.

Submitting forged, altered or another person's identity documents is a criminal offence and will result in permanent removal and a report to the authorities.

5. Handover: photograph is mandatory

At the moment of handover, the Sender must photograph the item using the app and submit it before the Trip can proceed. The Carrier may also photograph the item on receipt.

• The Carrier is entitled to inspect the item before accepting it, and to refuse any item for any reason.
• Where a photograph is not captured and submitted, the Trip is not properly recorded and neither user may rely on our records in a dispute.
• The photograph, its timestamp and location metadata form part of the Trip record and may be shared with the other user, and with law enforcement on lawful request.
• A photograph shows external appearance only. It is not evidence of contents, value, ownership or legality, and we make no finding about any of these.

6. OTP at pickup and delivery

The app issues a one-time password at both ends of a Trip.

• A pickup OTP is shared by the Sender with the Carrier to confirm the item has changed hands.
• A delivery OTP is shared by the Receiver with the Carrier to confirm delivery. Entering it closes the Trip.
• Never share an OTP before the item is physically in front of you. Sharing a delivery OTP in advance is treated as confirmed delivery and releases payment. GoPathik will not reverse a payout in that situation.
• We will never ask you for an OTP by call, SMS, email or chat. Anyone who does is attempting fraud.

7. Wallet, platform fee and payouts

Payments are settled through your in-app Wallet, using a licensed third-party payment service provider. GoPathik does not store your full card or bank credentials.

1. Before a Trip begins, the Sender tops up the Wallet with the estimated amount shown in the app.
2. When the Trip is confirmed, that amount is blocked in the Sender's Wallet and cannot be spent elsewhere. It has not been paid to anyone at this stage.
3. The amount is deducted only once delivery is completed and confirmed by the delivery OTP.
4. GoPathik then deducts the Platform Fee, together with applicable taxes and payment gateway charges.
5. The remaining balance is transferred to the Carrier's Wallet, from which the Carrier may withdraw to a verified bank account.

Payout timelines depend on our payment partners and banking hours. Withdrawals may be held where a dispute, chargeback, suspected fraud or a legal direction is pending. The Platform Fee is non-refundable once a Trip is completed. We may revise the Platform Fee prospectively; the fee shown at the time you confirm a Trip is the one that applies to it.

8. Prohibited items

You must not send, offer, accept or carry any of the following:

• Narcotics, psychotropic and controlled substances
• Weapons, ammunition, explosives, fireworks and flammable or corrosive material
• Currency, bullion, gold, precious stones, bearer instruments
• Alcohol, tobacco and vaping products where restricted
• Counterfeit, stolen, smuggled or pirated goods
• Obscene material, and any material prohibited under Indian law
• Live animals, human remains, biological or medical samples, hazardous waste
• Perishables, and any item requiring temperature control
• Prescription medicines without valid documentation
• Anything restricted by an airline, railway, bus operator, DGCA, BCAS or any other authority applicable to the journey
• Anything the Sender cannot lawfully possess or lawfully send

Carriers may open, inspect, refuse, abandon or hand over to authorities any item they suspect falls in this list, without liability to the Sender.

9. Unlawful use — the user is responsible, not the company

We cooperate fully with law enforcement. We may disclose account details, identity documents, handover photographs, OTP logs, chat records, device information, location data and payment records to police or any competent authority on lawful request, and may do so without notice to you where the law requires. We may also freeze Wallet balances connected to a suspected offence.

10. Airport baggage matching

Where the app helps passengers on the same flight find spare baggage allowance, the following applies without exception:

• The airline's conditions of carriage and all security regulations override anything in the app.
• Each passenger must personally pack, know and be able to account for everything in baggage checked in their own name. Do not accept an item you have not seen and cannot describe.
• Both users must be present at the check-in counter, and must declare the arrangement to airline staff where required.
• The passenger whose name is on the baggage tag carries full legal responsibility for its contents.
• GoPathik only introduces the two passengers. We do not arrange, endorse or supervise anything that follows, and we accept no liability for refused boarding, offloaded baggage, penalties, detention, prosecution or any other consequence.

10A. International and cross-border trips

Where a Trip crosses an international border, the following applies in addition to everything above:

• The Sender must declare the contents fully and truthfully. Misdeclaration to customs is a criminal offence.
• The Carrier must be able to see, describe and account for everything they carry, and must declare it to customs where required. Do not accept a sealed item you have not inspected.
• All customs duties, taxes, levies, fines and clearance costs are borne by the users as they agree between themselves. GoPathik does not pay, advance or reimburse any of them.
• Commercial consignments, goods for resale, and anything requiring an import licence, permit or certification are not permitted.
• Seizure, confiscation, detention, penalty or prosecution by any customs or border authority is the users' responsibility alone. GoPathik has no liability for it and no ability to recover a seized item.
• Sanctions, embargoes and export controls apply. You must not use GoPathik to move anything to or from a restricted party or territory.

11. Cancellations and refunds

A Sender may cancel before handover; a cancellation charge may apply and is disclosed in the app. A Carrier who cancels after accepting may lose rating points and, on repetition, the ability to accept Trips. Where a Trip is cancelled before handover, the blocked amount is released back to the Sender's Wallet, net of any disclosed cancellation charge. Refunds to the original payment instrument follow the timelines of the payment provider.

12. Disputes between users

Raise a dispute in the app within [48] hours of the scheduled delivery. We will make the Trip record available to both users and may hold the disputed amount while we do so.

Any assistance we provide is administrative and voluntary. GoPathik is not an arbitrator, adjudicator or guarantor, our decision on releasing held funds does not determine legal rights, and users remain free to pursue each other through the courts.

13. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, GoPathik, its directors, officers and employees are not liable for:

• loss, theft, damage, delay, seizure, confiscation or non-delivery of any item;
• the conduct, acts or omissions of any user, whether online or in person;
• any injury, loss or dispute arising from a meeting between users;
• indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential loss, or loss of profit, business, goodwill or data;
• interruption, error or unavailability of the app.

Where liability cannot lawfully be excluded, our aggregate liability to you for all claims is limited to the total Platform Fees you paid us in the three (3) months before the event giving rise to the claim, or ₹[1,000], whichever is lower. The service is provided “as is” and “as available”.

14. Indemnity

You will indemnify and hold harmless GoPathik and its personnel against any claim, demand, penalty, prosecution, loss or expense (including legal fees) arising from your use of the app, your breach of these Terms, your violation of any law, or any item you sent, carried or received.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate an account immediately, without notice and without refund, for breach of these Terms, suspected fraud or unlawful use, failed or falsified verification, abuse of another user, or repeated cancellations or complaints. You may close your account at any time through Delete your account; any obligation already incurred to another user survives closure.

16. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of India. Courts at [City], India have exclusive jurisdiction. We may amend these Terms; the revised version takes effect when posted, and continued use amounts to acceptance.

17. Grievance Officer

In accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the rules made under it:

[Name], Grievance Officer
[Legal Entity Name Pvt. Ltd.]
[Registered address, City, State, PIN]
Email: grievance@gopathik.com
Complaints are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within 30 days.