1. Who we are. WhatCounsellor is a trading name of Truly Empowered Ltd, registered in England and Wales, company number 11904082, registered office 71-75 Shelton Street, London, WC2H 9JQ ("we", "us", "the site"). These terms, together with the Code of Conduct, the Badge Terms of Use, the Verification Standard and the Privacy Policy, form the agreement between us and each member.
2. What membership is. Membership is a paid, annual (or, for the Founding 3-Year tier, three-year) subscription that entitles you, once verified, to: a published profile on the site; inclusion in search, town and issue pages; the member badge under the Badge Terms of Use; enquiry delivery and profile statistics; a listing number and membership certificate; and the dashboard services described on our site. Membership is a listing and verification service. It is not insurance, not a qualification, not clinical endorsement and not a guarantee of client enquiries, search rankings or AI citations.
3. Eligibility and verification. Membership is open to practitioners who hold a counselling qualification from a recognised route (or documented equivalent) and current professional insurance covering their counselling practice, as set out in the Verification Standard. You must provide accurate information and genuine documents. We verify before your profile is published, including checking any professional body membership you state against that body's public register, and we may re-verify at any time. Dishonesty in an application is grounds for removal without refund beyond statutory rights.
4. Application outcome. If we cannot verify your documents, we will tell you why and allow 14 days to resolve it. If it cannot be resolved, we will cancel the application and refund your payment in full to the original payment method within 5 working days. If you pay but your documents never arrive, your payment is refunded in full automatically after 30 days.
5. Term. Membership runs for 12 months from the date your application is approved (36 months for the Founding 3-Year tier). It is not tied to any fixed calendar date.
6. Fees and founding price lock. Current prices are published on our pricing page. All prices include VAT at the prevailing rate, and a VAT receipt is issued with every payment. Founding prices apply to the first 300 members or to applications received by 31 December 2026, whichever comes first. Where a tier carries a founding price lock, your renewal price for that tier will not rise above your founding rate for as long as your membership remains continuously active. If your membership lapses and you later rejoin, the then-current standard rate applies. Prices for renewals at non-locked rates may change; we will always state the exact renewal price in your renewal reminders.
7. Renewal and reminders. Annual memberships renew automatically where a payment method is on file. We send renewal reminders by email 30 days and 7 days before each renewal, stating the date, the exact amount, and how to cancel. You can switch off auto-renewal or cancel at any time via your billing portal in one click.
8. Cooling-off and refunds.
- New memberships: you may cancel within 30 days of approval for a full refund, no reason needed. Email hello@whatcounsellor.co.uk or use your dashboard; refunds go to the original payment method within 14 days.
- Renewals: you may cancel within 14 days of any automatic renewal charge for a full refund of that charge.
- Declined applications and undelivered documents: refunded automatically in full (clause 4).
- Otherwise: fees are non-refundable after the periods above, except where these terms or the law provide otherwise. Cancelling outside a refund window stops future renewals; your membership continues to the end of its paid period.
- Nothing in this policy affects your statutory rights.
9. Your obligations. You agree to: comply with the Code of Conduct and Badge Terms of Use; keep your profile accurate; maintain current insurance throughout membership and supply updated documents when requested; and tell us promptly about notifiable events (Code of Conduct clause 16).
10. Lapse. If a renewal payment fails and is not resolved within 14 days, membership lapses: your profile is removed from public view, your badge stops displaying automatically, and Check a Counsellor shows your listing as lapsed. Within 60 days you may reactivate by payment (subject to your insurance document on file being current). After 60 days, rejoining requires a fresh application with current documents.
11. Suspension and removal. We may suspend or remove membership: for breach of these terms or the Code of Conduct (via the Complaints Procedure); where insurance on file has expired without replacement; or where continued listing presents a risk to the public. Removal under the Complaints Procedure is recorded as described there. Fees are not refunded on removal for breach, except where the law requires.
12. Our service standards. We aim to review applications within 2 working days of documents arriving, deliver enquiries promptly, and keep the site online continuously, but we do not guarantee uninterrupted availability. Scheduled maintenance will be brief and, where possible, notified.
13. Liability. Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law. Subject to that, our total liability to a member in any membership year is limited to the fees paid for that year, and we are not liable for loss of profits, loss of business or indirect losses. We are not a party to any arrangement between a member and a client.
14. Data. How we handle your data, including your uploaded documents, is set out in the Privacy Policy.
15. Changes to these terms. We may update these terms. Material changes will be notified by email at least 30 days before they take effect; if you do not accept a material change, you may cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of the unused portion of your current term.
16. Governing law. These terms are governed by the law of England and Wales, and the courts of England and Wales have jurisdiction (or those of your home nation in the UK where consumer law so provides).