Scope and definitions

The home exchange service (shared rooms, apartments, houses, rooms in private homes) offered by www.swwitch.eu is operated by Swwitch, a SAS registered with the French Trade and Companies Registry under number 89028443300012, domiciled at 14A rue du vallon d'or , 69370, Saint didier au mont d'or, France (hereinafter "Swwitch" or "the Company"). Swwitch has designed and implemented its website www.swwitch.eu in order to provide a service enabling its members to exchange residential properties they own or rent.

herein 

"CGU": refers to these General Terms and Conditions of Use.

"User Account": refers to the account that must be created to enable a Visitor to become a Member and access the services offered by the Site.

"Exchange" refers to the agreement between a Host Member and a Guest Member for the loan of a Residence free of charge, subject to the provisions of articles 1875 et seq. of the French Civil Code. The loan agreement may be either simultaneous and symmetrical with another Residence loan agreement entered into by the Guest Member and the Host Member, governing the loan of the Residence from the Guest Member to the Host Member, or deferred from another Residence loan agreement entered into symmetrically by another Host Member with the Host Member, or independent of any other loan agreement (unilateral Exchange). To simplify the reading of the GCU, each completed unilateral loan transaction will be referred to as an "Exchange". Any exchange implies subscription to the Swwitch Service

"Identifier": means the identifier chosen by the member and the password entered by the member when creating his/her account to enable him/her to access his/her personal space. Identifiers are personal and confidential.

"Member": refers to any person who registers on the Site and, to do so, accepts the present GCU. The Member has access to the advertisements published on the Site and may consult said advertisements. The Member is subject to a certain number of obligations and prohibitions listed below in these GCU. The Member undertakes to use the Site as a Host Member and as a Guest Member, as these two terms are defined below

"Host Member": refers to any person registered on the Site who decides to publish an ad with a view to offering their Residence for Exchange. The Host Member thereby enters into a contract with Swwitch giving him/her free access to the Message service and to information enabling him/her to contact other Host Members and Guest Members as defined below. Host Members are solely responsible for making their Residences available to Guest Members. Subscribing to the Swwitch Service enables them to access Exchanges and complete the exchange.

"Guest Member": refers to any Member who decides to enter into an exchange contract with a Host Member and reserve the Residence offered for exchange by the latter. The Guest Member thereby enters into a contract with Swwitch that includes both free and paid services. The Guest Member has free access to the message service and to information enabling him/her to contact other Guest Members and Host Members. Subscribing to the Swwitch Service enables the exchange to take place.

"Residence": refers to any real estate (not likely to be moved, which excludes, in particular, campers, mobile homes, vans, boats), for residential use, of which the Member is the owner or tenant.

Service" means any service provided by Swwitch, free of charge or for a fee, through the Site to a Member, for the purpose of putting Members in contact with each other, it being specified that Swwitch is never a party to an exchange contract. The Service provided by Swwitch constitutes a service requiring mandatory human intervention prior to the conclusion of the service, which is not an electronic service provided via the Internet and largely automated within the meaning of Article 259 B 12° of the French General Tax Code (CGI), but is a service falling within the scope of Article 45 of Directive 2006/112/EC.

"Swwitch Service": refers to the paid subscription offered by Swwitch on the Site, enabling the Member to finalize an exchange constituting a composite offer linked to the main service falling within the scope of article 45 of Directive 2006/112/EC. This service includes prior verification of access to exchanges and (ii) ancillary services such as :

Guest protection in the event of cancellation by the Host and vice versa

The Guest's guarantee in the event of non-conformity of the Residence

24/7 personalized assistance

"Site: refers to the site www.swwitch.eu and, more generally, any website published or co-published by Swwitch or any site that, with Swwitch's authorization, reproduces information published on the site(s) published or co-published by Swwitch and offering similar services.

"The Company" or "Swwitch": refers to the company Swwitch, which publishes the home exchange services on the site www.swwitch.eu

"Visitor": means any person who visits the Site without registering and without accepting these GTC.

Online acceptance of the GCU

Use of the Site is subject to acceptance of these GCU. When creating a User Account, the Member accepts these GCU. This acceptance is formalized by a checkbox containing the following formula:

"By creating an account on Swwitch, I agree to these terms of use."

Acceptance of these GTUs is the only way for the Member to access the Services offered by the Site.

These GCU form an indivisible whole, and are binding in their entirety and without reservation on Members who have accepted them.

Modification of the GTCU

Swwitch reserves the right to modify the TOU at any time, the functionalities offered on the Site or the operating rules of the Services. The modification will take effect within fifteen (15) days of the posting of the modified TOU. In particular, Swwitch reserves the right to offer new Services on the Site, whether free of charge or for a fee.

Acquiring and withdrawing membership

Creating a User Account

To register and take advantage of Swwitch's online services, Members must first create a User Account, providing personal data essential to the proper operation of the matchmaking service (in particular, surname, first name, date of birth, title and valid e-mail address). Members undertake to inform Swwitch immediately of any changes to the information provided at the time of registration, by making such changes themselves in their personal space. Swwitch shall not be held liable for any information provided by Members that may be erroneous or fraudulent.

The Member certifies that he/she is over 18 years of age at the time of registration. He/she declares that he/she has full and lawful enjoyment of his/her Residence by virtue of a title deed or any other title authorizing him/her to enter into a loan for use agreement on this property, without the authorization of a third party, within the meaning of the provisions of articles 1875 et seq. of the French Civil Code, for the entire duration of his/her adherence to the GTUs, and to make his/her Residence available free of charge to another Guest Member within this framework, and, in particular, until the expiry of the Exchange agreement relating to his/her Residence entered into with the said Guest Member. The Member undertakes not to sign the GCU or use the Services on a commercial basis.

In particular, Swwitch reserves the right to refuse registration to any Member who does not comply with the above conditions, the rules of good character, or who contravenes the values and ethics that the Site strives to convey (without being required to give reasons for such refusal and without possible recourse or compensation of any kind).

On creating an account, the Member chooses a login and enters a password (hereinafter referred to as the "Login") to access his or her personal space. Identifiers are personal and confidential. They can only be changed at the Member's request. Each Member is solely and entirely responsible for the use of his/her Identifiers and undertakes to keep them secret and not to divulge them to anyone, in any form whatsoever and for any reason whatsoever. Each Member shall be responsible for the use of his or her Identifiers by third parties or for actions or statements made through his or her personal Member account, whether fraudulent or not, and shall hold Swwitch harmless against any claim in this regard. Furthermore, as Swwitch has no obligation and does not have the technical means to verify the identity of persons registering on the Site, it is not liable in the event of usurpation of a Member's identity. If the Member has reason to believe that someone is fraudulently using the Member's identification or account, the Member must inform Swwitch immediately. In the event of loss or theft of one of the Member's Identifiers, the Member is responsible for any harmful consequences of such loss or theft, and must use the procedure allowing him/her to modify the Identifiers as soon as possible.

The Member agrees not to create or use accounts other than the one initially created, either under his or her own identity or that of a third party. Any departure from this rule must be explicitly requested by the Member and expressly and specifically authorized by Swwitch. The creation or use of new accounts under the Member's own identity or that of a third party without having requested and obtained Swwitch's authorization may result in the immediate suspension of the Member's accounts and all associated services.

Checking or closing a User Account

In the event of non-compliance by Members with all or part of the GCU, or in the event of behavior contrary to the regulations, rules of good conduct, values and ethics that the Site strives to convey, Swwitch reserves the right to :

- limit Members' access to its Services;

- remove certain content hosted on the Site;

- close the User Account ;

without being obliged to justify it and without possible recourse or compensation of any nature whatsoever.

In addition, should any Member's User Account no longer meet the initial conditions for account ownership, the following behaviors are strictly forbidden to Members and may result in closure of the User Account:

Provide false information on the Site or information that may mislead other users or any other person;

Create several User Accounts for a single Residence ;

Creating fake accounts;

Infringe the rights of third parties;

Disseminate ads, content, aggressive photographs, photographs of a violent, sexist, pornographic, racist, homophobic, discriminatory or, more generally, polemical nature.

Being the perpetrator of discrimination;

Distribute photographs in violation of third-party intellectual property rights;

Making a commitment for a third party ;

Send unsolicited commercial e-mails (spamming), divert Members from the Site or follow Members on social networks for commercial purposes;

Disseminate viruses or other technologies of a nature to damage the Site or the interests and property of the Company or other users of the Site;

Post or disseminate, in any form whatsoever, information or content that has the effect of diminishing, disorganizing, preventing Services or interfering with the proper functioning of the Site;

Copy, modify, or distribute content belonging to others;

Use robots, spiders, scrapers or other means to access the Site and collect Site content for any purpose without the express written permission of Swwitch ;

Collect or otherwise obtain information about others, including e-mail addresses, without authorization;

Circumvent measures intended to prevent or restrict access to the Site;

Include links in Members' advertisements, in particular to other sites;

Offering properties for rent;

Soliciting rental properties;

Exchange residences outside the Site when they are advertised on the website;

Diverting the use of homes offered for exchange by Members;

This list is not exhaustive, and Swwitch reserves the right to remove without warning or further notice any content that is not compatible with the rules in force on the Site and/or that may jeopardize the security of the platform or other Members.

Swwitch may close the Member's User Account without notice or formal notice.

Any closure of the User Account for breach will be without prejudice to any damages that may be claimed by the Company from the Member as compensation for the prejudice suffered.

Swwitch also reserves the right to close inactive accounts for 24 months.

The Member will be informed by email of the closure of his User Account.

Closing the User Account at the Member's request

Site Members may, at any time, terminate their registration on the Site by requesting the closure of their User Account with the Company, at no cost other than those associated with the transmission of their request, without reason and by any means indicated on the Site. This request will be deemed to have been made and will take effect on the business day following receipt by Swwitch of the request to close the account concerned; however, if an Exchange is in progress on this date, the closure will not be effective until the Exchange has been completed and its consequences.

Closure of the User Account shall not give rise to any right to reimbursement, even partial, of the Services paid for by any Member of the site.

Free services

Access to the site and ads

Swwitch makes it possible for its Members, free of charge, for the Host Member to publish an advertisement with a view to offering his or her Residence for Exchange, and for the Guest Member to consult this advertisement with a view to taking advantage of the Residence offered for Exchange by a Host Member.

Free access to the site does not allow you to make an exchange. Only payment for the Swwitch service can be used to carry out an exchange.

Members who enter into a relationship on the Site with a view to carrying out an Exchange undertake, where applicable, to formalize this Exchange on the Site by signing a loan-for-use agreement subject to the provisions of articles 1875 et seq. of the French Civil Code.

Members shall refrain from carrying out any Exchange initiated on the Site outside the Site, on pain of immediate closure of their User Account.

It is specified that the contact details (name, telephone number, address) of a Member are only communicated to another Member when the exchange is carried out.

The purpose of the Site is not to guarantee the completion or proper execution of one or more Exchanges between Members connected by Swwitch.

As Swwitch is not a party to the exchange contract between two Members, it cannot verify the regularity of the contract (whether with regard to the availability of the goods, the conditions of formation of the contract, the lawfulness of the obligations contractually incumbent on one or other of the Members or in any other respect), nor its proper execution.

Members' attention is therefore drawn to the risks associated with making a property available or occupying it as part of an exchange, in particular the risk of damage to the property or theft of certain items. In particular, host Members are free to choose the Guest Member who will stay with them, and conversely, preliminary contacts between Members may help to avoid certain difficulties that may arise from an exchange.

Message service

Swwitch provides its Members with a free messaging service, enabling them to meet virtually and discuss the possibility of concluding an exchange contract or the experiences of their stays. The messaging service enables Members to communicate with each other and to finalize an exchange.

Information posted on the Swwitch Message Service is posted at the initiative and under the sole responsibility of Members. Swwitch does not warrant the accuracy, completeness, non-misleading nature or likelihood of any such information.

Swwitch, which has access to the information exchanged on the Message Service, also reserves the right to remove any content of these messages that is contrary to the GCU or the law, or that it deems to be contentious at its own discretion.

Chargeable service - "Swwitch Service

Any exchange must be preceded by subscription to the Swwitch service and the benefit of the services offered.

When you subscribe to the "Swwitch" Service, all the Services it contains apply and are indivisible.

The Member subscribes to the "Swwitch Service":

- as a Member by payment of a service fee giving him/her primary access to a single exchange 

The "Swwitch Service" is a composite offer linked to the main service falling within the scope of article 45 of Directive 2006/112/EC. This service includes (i) the pre-trade access verification service and (ii) ancillary services such as :

Guest protection in the event of cancellation by the Host and vice versa

The Guest's guarantee in the event of non-conformity of the Residence

24/7 personalized assistance

These services are included in the Swwitch Service subscription price and cannot be individualized. They cannot be billed separately.

The "Swwitch Service" constitutes a provision of services, requiring mandatory human intervention prior to the conclusion of the service, which does not fall within the scope of an electronic service provided via the Internet and largely automated within the meaning of article 259 B 12° of the French General Tax Code (CGI), but constitutes a service falling within the scope of article 45 of Directive 2006/112/EC.  

Main and Pre-Audit Service

Verification concerns the identity and address of the Member's Residence. The Member provides Swwitch with proof of residence (rental lease) in digital format, a copy of the Member's ID and a copy of the Member's home insurance policy. 

Swwitch will carry out the necessary verification and confirm the validity of the information to the Member.

This verification is mandatory in order to proceed with exchanges.

Exchanges

Once the verification has been completed, the Member can finalize an Exchange.

Cancellation protection

In the event of cancellation of the Exchange by the Host Member, Swwitch offers, on the site, the Guest Member the possibility of staying in a replacement Residence.

If no replacement Residence is available, Swwitch will reimburse the Guest Member, upon presentation of invoices, for relocation expenses up to a maximum of €500. 

This assistance is not individualizable and is included in the Swwitch Service subscription price. It cannot be billed separately.

Guarantee in the event of non-conformity of the Residence

The residence is non-compliant according to the defined criteria

If the Residence is not suitable, Swwitch will offer the Guest a replacement Residence on the site.

If no replacement Residence is available,If no replacement Residence is available, Swwitch will reimburse the Guest Member, upon presentation of invoices, for relocation expenses up to a maximum of €500. 

This assistance is not individualizable and is included in the Swwitch Service subscription price. It cannot be billed separately.

24/7 personalized assistance

Swwitch provides assistance to Members by telephone, email and live chat during weekday business hours, and by email 7/7/24 in case of emergency. 

This assistance is not individualizable and is included in the Swwitch Service subscription price. It cannot be billed separately.

Pricing and payment terms

Access to the site, ads and messaging is free.

Any exchange implies subscription to the Swwitch Service. 

Subscription to the Swwitch Service is mandatory in order to carry out an exchange.

Before validating the order for any paid Service, Members will be explicitly informed of the price of the Service, and their agreement will be sought to proceed with payment.

Unless otherwise stated, rates are quoted in the currency of the Guest Member's country of residence, or, failing that, in euros (EUR). It is the responsibility of Members to pay all applicable fees and taxes resulting from the use of the Site and Services on time and using a valid method of payment accepted by the Site. Any bank charges or commissions shall be borne by the Member.

Paid services, such as payment for subscription to the Swwitch service enabling an exchange, invoiced by Swwitch to the Member do not constitute electronic services. They therefore fall within the scope of the rules set out in Article 45 of Directive 2006/112/EC, and are not subject to VAT at the place of consumption.  

If taxes are applicable, they depend on Swwitch's place of business.  

Nevertheless, if a derogatory regulation in force in the Member State of consumption were to apply, the paid Service could be invoiced by Swwitch with the VAT of the location of the Member making the payment. This VAT will be collected by Swwitch from the Member and remitted to the local tax authorities.

Rates offered by Swwitch are subject to change. Changes are effective immediately and are applicable to all Service purchases made after the change takes effect. In addition, Swwitch may choose to temporarily modify Service rates for promotional events or new Services. Such changes come into effect on the date indicated in the communication presenting the promotional event or new Service.

Payment by credit card

Payment for paid services is made by credit card.

Services are non-refundable, except in the case of withdrawal.

Right of withdrawal

The Site Member has a period of fourteen (14) calendar days from the date of payment for an optional paid Service to exercise his or her right of withdrawal from Swwitch, without having to justify his or her reasons or pay any penalty.

If the Member wishes the Service to be carried out before the end of the withdrawal period, he/she must expressly request this.

To exercise its right of withdrawal, the Member must inform Swwitch of its decision by sending an e-mail to the following address: hello@swwitch.eu or by completing the withdrawal form available on the Site at the following address.

Upon receipt, Swwitch will send the Member an email confirming that the exercise of the right of withdrawal has been taken into account.

The sums paid for the Services are credited to the credit card used by the Member as soon as possible, and in any event no later than fourteen (14) days following the date on which the right of withdrawal is exercised.

Insurance

Members undertake to insure their residence in accordance with current legislation for the duration of the exchange.

At Swwitch's request, the Host Member undertakes, within 15 days, to prove that the Residence is insured and to inform Swwitch of the value of the furniture declared as such.

Members are informed that insurance companies may refuse to cover any damage that may occur during a Home Exchange.

Liability

Except in cases where Swwitch has been duly informed of the existence of illegal content within the meaning and conditions of applicable law, and has not acted promptly to remove it, Swwitch declines all responsibility for any content published by Members, including ads, and for the actions of such Members.

As the Property Exchange is exclusively the result of an agreement between the Host Member and the Guest Member, Site Members (both Host Members and Guest Members) act under their sole and entire responsibility.

Swwitch shall not be liable for any financial or commercial loss, damage to reputation, or any direct or indirect loss arising from the use of the Site and Services by Members. In particular, Swwitch shall not be liable for damage to the Residences or, more generally, to any real estate, or for any other loss suffered by a Member or third party as a result of a Guest Member's stay in the Residence(s) or, more generally, in any real estate. Likewise, Swwitch shall not be held liable for any damage suffered by a Member or third party as a result of a stay with another Member.

In addition, Swwitch makes every effort to prevent discrimination by its Members through the Site, but cannot be held liable in any way.

In the event that Swwich is held contractually liable outside of the Swwitch Service, such liability shall be limited to the greater of (a) the total fees paid by the Member to Swwitch in the twelve months prior to the action giving rise to Swwitch's liability, or (b) the sum of 100 euros.

Insofar as certain countries limit the scope of warranty or liability exclusions, it is possible that the exclusions mentioned above may not apply to Members living abroad. Thus, this limitation of liability will only apply to consumers in the following cases: force majeure, irresistible act, fault of a third party or fault of the Member.

The Company makes every effort to ensure that the Site and Service are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, access to the Site or Service may be interrupted for maintenance, hardware or software upgrades, emergency Site repairs, or due to circumstances beyond Swwitch's control (such as failure of telecommunications links and equipment). Swwitch undertakes to take all reasonable steps to limit such disruptions, to the extent that they are attributable to Swwitch.

Members acknowledge and agree that Swwitch assumes no responsibility to them for any unavailability, suspension or interruption of the Site or Service and shall not be liable for any direct or indirect damages of any kind resulting therefrom.

In all cases, and without prejudice to what is set out above and in the other clauses concerning Swwitch's non-liability, any cause of liability on the part of the Company towards a Member may only give rise to the payment of damages and interest, the amount of which shall be limited to the amounts collected by the Company from the Member in respect of Service fees during the twelve months preceding the Member's request.

Processing of Members' personal data

Members' personal data is processed in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of individuals with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data.

Intellectual property

The trademarks, logos, graphics, photographs, animations, videos and texts contained on the site www.swwitch.eu are the intellectual property of Swwitch or its partners and may not be reproduced, used or represented without the express authorization of the Company or its partners, under penalty of legal action.

In particular, Members shall refrain from modifying, copying, reproducing, downloading, broadcasting, transmitting, commercially exploiting and/or distributing in any way whatsoever the Services, the Site pages, the databases, or the computer codes of the elements making up the Services and the Site.

Members grant Swwitch a license to use the intellectual property rights attached to the content they provide for distribution on the Site. This license notably includes the right for the Company to reproduce, represent, adapt, translate, digitize, use for the purposes of the Service or sub-license the content concerning the Member (information, images, videos, description, search criteria, etc.), on all or part of the Site.

If a Member considers that his or her rights have been infringed, or that any content is illegal, he or she is requested to inform the Company. Swwitch reserves the right to remove content if it has reason to believe that it violates these TOU, the law or the rights of third parties.

Applicable law - jurisdiction

The GCU are governed by French law, except for public policy provisions relating to consumer protection in a Member's country of residence. These provisions have no impact on the applicable VAT treatment.

In the event of a dispute concerning the interpretation and/or execution of these GCU, the Member and Swwitch shall seek an amicable settlement before taking any legal action, and shall provide each other with all necessary information for this purpose.

If an amicable agreement between the Member and Swwitch cannot be reached, the Member may refer the matter, within a period of less than one year, free of charge, by simple letter or by e-mail, to a Consumer Mediator, who will find a solution within 90 days.

Pursuant to Articles L. 611-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, Swwitch hereby informs the Member that he/she may refer the matter to the appointed Tourism and Travel Mediator, whose contact details are as follows: MTV Médiation Tourisme Voyage BP 80 303 - 75 823 Paris Cedex 17 For further information: http://www.mtv.travel/contact/.

For out-of-court settlement of disputes, the Member may also refer the matter to the online dispute resolution platform by clicking on the following electronic link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr/main/index.cfm?event=main.home.show&lng=FR

In the event that no amicable agreement can be reached, and any mediation has failed, any dispute that may arise in connection with the validity, interpretation or performance of the TOS and/or the service in question shall be submitted, at the option of the claimant, to the courts:

- of the defendant's place of residence ;

- of the place of performance of the services ;

In application of article R. 631-3 of the French Consumer Code, in addition to the above-mentioned jurisdictions, the Member may also bring an action before the jurisdiction of the place where he/she resided at the time of the conclusion of the contract or the occurrence of the harmful event.

This clause applies even in the event of summary proceedings, incidental claims, multiple defendants or warranty claims, and irrespective of the method of payment.

Final provisions

Proof

The Member acknowledges and accepts that the information provided by the Company by e-mail and on the Site is authentic between the parties and has the same evidentiary value as a handwritten document. All data stored in an unalterable, reliable and secure manner in the Company's computer database, relating in particular to orders and confirmations received from the Member, notifications sent, accesses, withdrawals and reimbursements, will be authentic between the parties until proven otherwise.

Additional legal information

The Site's Publishing Director is Guillaume Peters

Interpretation

In the event of any contradiction between a translation and the French version, the latter shall prevail.