Service Level Agreement

We deliver Reminders and Check-ins by telephone call — to landlines, mobiles and VOIP numbers — and by text message to mobile numbers.

We deliver from a number of different telephone numbers and email addresses, and these change from time to time. Please do not rely on any single number. The Platform's delivery-factors page shows the numbers and addresses we currently use for that Account. We recommend adding them to your contacts so that our messages are less likely to be treated as unknown callers or spam. You can also find current numbers in our knowledge base at carecalls.io/articles/what-phone-number-does-the-service-deliver-on. Calling back any number we have delivered from will reach our inbound service.

We can only deliver to permitted telephone networks in the countries we operate in. Our current coverage is listed at carecalls.io/articles/where-is-carecalls-available.

Calls are delivered to the number specified in the Platform, in the time zone specified in the Platform.

For telephone delivery you can choose how long we try to connect a call before we treat that attempt as unanswered. The options are 20, 40, 60 or 120 seconds. This is a connect timeout, not a guarantee of how long a handset will ring — networks and devices control audible ringing. The setting is changed on the delivery-factors page in the Platform.

The delivery-factors page is also where you confirm call-blocker settings where relevant, and where you can switch inbound features on or off — including skipping an upcoming Reminder or Check-in, pausing or restarting the Services by telephone or text, and PIN protection. Features that are switched off cannot be used through the inbound service until they are switched on again.

Three types of schedule are available:

We deliver at the approximate times set in the Platform. A delivery may take place up to 10 minutes after the time given.

A Receiver may be scheduled to receive up to 8 Reminders or Check-ins per day. You choose how many; many people have a single daily Check-in. If you need more than 8, contact us.

When a call is answered we play the message configured in the Platform. This may be a message we provide, a message we have recorded at your request, or a message recorded by the Creator or someone they nominate.

Depending on the settings chosen, the Receiver may be asked to press a key or speak in order to confirm they have received the message.

Calls may be recorded, and spoken responses may be recorded and transcribed, so that we can confirm what happened on a call, investigate problems and improve the service. Recordings and transcriptions are held securely, access is restricted to staff who need it, and they are deleted in accordance with our Privacy Policy. If you would prefer that calls to a particular Receiver are not recorded, contact us.

If the Receiver does not answer, or does not confirm receipt where confirmation is required, we will try again after a short delay. The delay is set in the Platform, can be 5 to 30 minutes, and is 10 minutes by default.

We make two attempts in total by default — the original call and one further attempt. Unlike the delay, the number of attempts is set by us rather than in the Platform, because it affects delivery costs and how often a Receiver is contacted. If you would like a different number for a particular Receiver, contact us and we will consider it. We will not increase the number of attempts on an existing service without telling you first, because doing so would delay any Alert.

If the attempts are exhausted without a response and Alerts have been configured, we notify Stakeholders as described in clause 4.. With the default settings, an Alert is therefore sent approximately ten minutes after the first unanswered call.

Alerts are only sent if they have been configured in the Platform. If no Alerts are configured, nobody is told when a Receiver does not respond.

When the configured attempts have been made without a response, we will:

Alerts are sent in priority order. Stakeholders can be placed in groups so that some are contacted before others, and alerts can be configured to go out in sequence or at the same time.

Alerts are only sent to contact details that have been added to the Account and marked as alert recipients on the roles page. Adding someone's details is not by itself enough to make them an alert recipient.

The Platform raises a Status when something needs attention — for example a blocked contact detail, a payment or subscription problem, missing delivery channels, terms not yet agreed, low engagement, an outstanding feedback request, or a deliverability setting that needs review. A Status stays visible on the Account until it is resolved or cleared.

People connected to the Account can be set up to receive notification subscriptions by email. Recipients may be Stakeholders and, where configured, the Receiver. For each subscription you choose warnings only, or warnings together with a weekly or monthly report. Warnings (Statuses that need action) are included for every subscription regardless of that choice. Reports are included only when weekly or monthly is selected. Who receives what is managed on the roles page in the Platform and can be changed at any time.

Some Statuses trigger an immediate notification. Unresolved warnings are also resurfaced on Mondays for as long as they remain. Scheduled report emails follow the weekly or monthly cadence you have chosen.

When the Services are paused, restarted, suspended or stopped, people configured for notifications are told in the same way.

If nobody is configured to receive notifications, we may still show a Status in the Platform (including under clause 4.5.), but we cannot promise that anyone outside the Account will be told. Configuring Alerts and notification subscriptions is how you enable us to inform the right people.

Certain situations have consequences beyond a Status and a notification. In particular, if the Receiver's own contact details are blocked, Reminders and Check-ins cannot be delivered and no Alert will be raised either — see clause 7.5.. Unpaid Charges may lead to the Services stopping, as described in the Terms and Conditions.

The Services can be set up and managed in full through the Platform.

Access uses a one-time passcode sent to the contact details stored on the Account. There are no passwords. Contact details must be provided at set-up in order to gain access later. We may also issue time-limited access links by email.

Sign-in attempts and changes made to the Account are logged.

Before the Services start, the Creator must review a summary of the configuration and agree to the Terms and Conditions. Where an Account is set up over the telephone, we send the summary by email and the Creator must confirm it before delivery begins. If no email address is available, our customer service team can summarise the terms by telephone.

We aim to make the Platform available at all times, but it may be unavailable during maintenance. You can contact customer service during those periods.

We make every effort to make the Platform clear and usable. You are responsible for the changes you make in it, and we cannot be responsible if the Services do not perform as intended because of a configuration error.

Calling back a number we deliver from reaches our inbound service, from which you can confirm a Check-in, skip an upcoming Reminder or Check-in, deactivate or reactivate the Services, and reach customer service.

Texting back a number we deliver from can also be used to skip a Reminder or Check-in and to deactivate the Services.

Who can use the inbound service:

How we establish identity on an inbound call. We identify the caller using the telephone number presented on the inbound call (caller ID), matched against the numbers stored on the Account. That is usually reliable, but it is not proof against someone deliberately masking or spoofing another person's number. PIN protection exists to reduce that risk.

PIN protection. Because a caller who presents the Receiver's telephone number (or who knows it and can spoof it) can use the inbound service to change or stop the Services, an optional PIN is available. When it is switched on, the caller must enter the PIN before they can skip a Reminder, deactivate or reactivate the Services, or ask a customer service agent to make changes by telephone. PIN protection is off by default and can be switched on in the Platform on the delivery-factors page. We recommend it where a number may be shared, reassigned, answered by someone other than the Receiver, or where there is a risk of number spoofing. Setting or resetting a PIN uses a callback to that telephone number, so the person must control the handset and not merely know the digits of the number.

You can skip an upcoming Reminder or Check-in by calling or texting the number the Services are delivered from, if that feature is switched on for the Account. Two behaviours are available, chosen in the Platform:

A skip does not apply to a one-time Reminder. One-time Reminders are arranged for a specific occasion and are deliberately protected from being skipped by mistake, so they are always delivered on the date and time set. To stop one, remove it in the Platform or contact us.

If you pause the Services while a skip is outstanding, the skip is discarded. The first Reminder or Check-in due after you restart the Services will be delivered as normal.

Skipped deliveries are recorded and can be seen in the Account's event history.

The Services can be paused at any time in the Platform or by telephone (where that inbound feature is switched on). A pause is not a cancellation. Charges continue during a pause unless we have agreed otherwise, and the subscription remains in place.

Stopping or pausing the Services does not cancel one-time Reminders that have not yet been delivered. When you pause or stop the Services in the Platform, you can select any such Reminders to cancel. Any you do not select will still be delivered.

The Services continue until: you cancel them permanently; an end date set in the Platform is reached; we are unable to collect payment, as described in the Terms and Conditions; we apply a dormant stop under clause 6.23.; or we suspend them under clause 11..

Dormant Services. If the Services have been left on a pause (a non-permanent stop) and there has been no delivery for three months, we may permanently stop the Services and cancel the subscription. We do this so that Accounts are not left charging indefinitely while nothing is being delivered. People configured for notifications are told as described in clause 5.. Pausing the Services does not entitle you to a refund for unused time; see the Terms and Conditions.

We respect the Receiver's instructions about their own Services. If the Receiver pauses or stops the Services, or changes settings that affect them, we will act on those instructions even where a Stakeholder or Creator would prefer a different outcome.

Where notification subscriptions are configured, those people are told when the Services are paused, restarted or stopped, so that Supporters are informed rather than left without visibility. We do not refuse a Receiver's lawful request in order to keep the Services running against their wishes.

A telephone number or email address becomes blocked — meaning we stop delivering to it entirely — in any of these circumstances:

While an address is blocked, no Reminders, Check-ins, Alerts or notices will be delivered to it. If you believe an address has been blocked in error, contact us and we will look into it.

How you are told. When an address is blocked we raise a Status on the Account. How and when people on notification subscriptions are told is described in clause 5..

If the blocked address is the Receiver's, the Services cannot be delivered to them at all. The Status and the notifications above apply in the same way, but the consequence is more serious — until the block is resolved, no Reminder or Check-in will reach the Receiver, and because none can be delivered, none can go unanswered, so no Alert will be raised either. Please act on these notifications promptly.

Somebody who has replied STOP has asked their telephone network, not only us, to stop messages reaching them. We are required to honour that and cannot override it. They can resume messages by replying START.

Where a person has completed double opt-in by replying START for a mobile number, that permission is recorded against the number. If the same number is later used on another Account or Service with us, they will not normally need to complete the START process again for that number.

We keep a record of when an address was blocked and why, so that we can explain the history if you ask.

We send messages about the Account itself — confirming set-up, telling you about problems, asking you to complete outstanding steps, and notifying you of changes to the Services. These are part of the Services rather than marketing. Statuses and email digests about problems and outstanding steps are described in clause 5..

Reports summarising activity on the Account can be included in those digests for people on a weekly or monthly notification subscription. Where a report is included, it summarises engagement over the chosen period — how many Reminders or Check-ins were delivered, how many were answered, and the response rate. Cadence and recipients are managed as described in clause 5.2..

We may ask a Stakeholder for feedback on the Services. The questions asked can be tailored to the Account, and a request can be sent to a Stakeholder automatically once a configurable period has passed since Reminders or Check-ins began for the Receiver. Each Stakeholder is asked individually, so more than one person supporting the same Receiver may be asked. Outstanding feedback requests may also appear as a Status. If you give feedback, we may publish it attributed by first name only, as set out in the Terms and Conditions.

Details of how to stop receiving each type of message are set out below and in our Privacy Policy.

We will use reasonable endeavours to make the Platform available at least 99.5% of the time, measured monthly, excluding scheduled maintenance.

Delivery of Reminders, Check-ins and Alerts is provided on a reasonable endeavours basis and is not covered by the availability commitment, because it depends on telephone networks, email providers and other services outside our control.

If we fail to meet the availability commitment in a calendar month, you may claim a credit against your Charges. Tell us within 30 days of the end of that month, including the dates and times affected. Credits are applied to the Account or refunded within 30 days of us accepting the claim.

We are not liable for a failure to meet the availability commitment where it results from: factors outside our reasonable control, including network, carrier or internet problems; an act or omission of the Creator, the Receiver, a Stakeholder or a third party; or scheduled maintenance notified in accordance with clause 10.7..

Credits are not your only remedy. Nothing in this section affects your statutory rights or the remedies available to you under the Terms and Conditions.

Telephone and email support is available 9:00am to 5:00pm, Monday to Friday, UK time (GMT/BST), on days that are not public holidays in England and Wales.

We often help outside those hours where a member of the team is available. Calls received out of hours are forwarded to a mobile telephone and we will make our best efforts to answer, with an answering service as backup. Emails received out of hours are collected but may not be actioned until the next working day. We cannot guarantee support outside our published hours.

If you are contacting us from outside the United Kingdom, please note that UK office hours are approximately 4:00am to 12:00pm US Eastern time.

We aim to respond to requests and incidents within the following times, measured during our support hours:

Where the Terms and Conditions, our Acceptable Use & Messaging Policy, or an agreement with an Organisation are not complied with, we will normally issue at least two written warnings and attempt one telephone call over a period of two weeks before suspending the Services.

We may suspend the Services immediately, and tell you afterwards, where we reasonably suspect fraud, abuse of the Services, or a risk of harm to any person.

Where the Services are suspended or stopped, people configured to receive notifications are told as described in clause 5..

We may change this Service Level Agreement to reflect changes in the Services, in the law, or in the providers we rely on.

Where a change materially reduces the Services, we will give you at least 30 days' notice by email before it takes effect. Other changes are published with an updated version number and effective date.

The current version is always available at the address this document is published on.