The short version
- Gotchu connects people who need help with an essential bill to people who want to help pay it.
- Requests are reviewed before they go live, but we can’t guarantee every story or that any request will be fully funded.
- Gifts are voluntary and generally can’t be undone once a bill is paid. We refund gifts for bills we can’t pay, duplicates and confirmed fraud.
- Be honest, be kind, and don’t misuse the platform. We may suspend accounts that break these rules.
- Questions? Email contact@gotchupay.com.
1. About these terms
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) apply to your use of the Gotchu website, apps and services (together, “Gotchu”). By creating an account or using Gotchu you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, please don’t use Gotchu.
We may update these Terms. If a change is significant, we’ll tell you in the app or by email before it takes effect. Continuing to use Gotchu after that means you accept the updated Terms.
2. Who can use Gotchu
- You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter into a binding agreement.
- You must give accurate information and keep it up to date, and you may only have one personal account.
- You’re responsible for keeping your password, authenticator app and device secure, and for everything done with your account. Tell us right away if you think your account was accessed without permission.
- You may not use Gotchu if you are barred from doing so under applicable law or if we have previously suspended you.
3. How Gotchu works
People who need help (“requesters”) submit a bill — for example electricity, water, rent, tuition, medical or internet — with a photo or PDF of the bill, the amount, the biller and a short story. They may add photos or a short video and choose which of them helpers can see.
Review. Our team reviews each request before it is published. We may ask for more information, ask the requester to verify their identity with our verification partner, or decline a request. Review reduces risk but does not guarantee that every detail is accurate.
People who help (“helpers”) can give toward a published request. Payments are processed by our payment partner. Gotchu intends gifts to be applied to the bill they were given for; how and when the bill is paid depends on the biller and our payment partners.
No guarantee of funding. Publishing a request does not guarantee that anyone will give, or that the full amount will be raised.
4. Rules for requesters
- Only submit bills that are genuine and that are in your name or your household’s.
- Don’t submit the same bill more than once, inflate amounts, or edit documents.
- Don’t share other people’s personal or medical information without their permission.
- Tell us promptly if a bill is paid by someone else, cancelled or changes.
- If we find a request was misleading or fraudulent, we may remove it, refund helpers, suspend the account and report it where the law requires.
5. Gifts and payments
- Gifts are voluntary. A gift is not a loan, an investment, or a purchase of goods or services, and you receive nothing in return.
- Gifts to individuals through Gotchu are generally not tax-deductible.
- Card and e-wallet details are entered on our payment partner’s secure page; Gotchu does not see or store your full card number or e-wallet credentials.
- Amounts are shown in the bill’s currency. We don’t silently convert currencies; any conversion is shown before you pay.
- Any fees will be shown clearly before you confirm a gift.
6. Refunds
Because gifts are applied to real bills, they generally can’t be reversed once processed. We will refund a gift (to the original payment method, where possible) if:
- the bill can’t be paid — for example it was already paid, cancelled, or the request was withdrawn before it was used;
- you were charged twice or charged the wrong amount; or
- we confirm the request was fraudulent.
To ask for a refund, open a support ticket in the app (Profile → Support) or email us with your gift reference (it starts with “GC-”). Refund timing depends on your bank or e-wallet.
7. Things you must not do
- Break the law, or use Gotchu for money laundering, terrorist financing, fraud or to evade sanctions.
- Harass, threaten or exploit anyone, or pressure people to give.
- Post content that is hateful, sexual, violent, misleading, or that infringes someone else’s rights.
- Contact recipients to collect money outside Gotchu.
- Scrape, reverse-engineer, overload or try to break into Gotchu, or create accounts with bots.
8. Your content
You keep ownership of what you upload. You give Gotchu a limited licence to store, process and display it as needed to run the service — for example showing your story and the photos you chose to share on your published request. Bill documents, account numbers and ID verification results are never shown publicly.
9. Verification and account actions
To keep Gotchu safe we may verify identities and bills, use fraud-detection signals, limit amounts, hold or cancel gifts under review, and warn, suspend or close accounts that break these Terms. Where we can, we’ll tell you why and give you a chance to respond through a support ticket.
10. Disclaimers and liability
Gotchu is provided “as is”. We work hard to keep it accurate, available and secure, but we can’t promise it will always be error-free or uninterrupted, and we don’t guarantee the statements made by users.
To the extent the law allows, Gotchu is not liable for indirect or consequential losses, and our total liability for any claim is limited to the amount of the gifts or fees involved in that claim. Nothing in these Terms limits rights you have under consumer-protection laws that can’t be waived.
11. Closing your account
You can delete your account any time in the app (Profile → Settings & Privacy). We may keep some records after deletion where the law requires it — see our Privacy Policy.
12. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Republic of the Philippines. Please contact us first at contact@gotchupay.com — most issues can be solved quickly. If not, disputes will be brought before the proper courts of the Philippines, without prejudice to any mandatory rights you have where you live.
13. Contact
Email contact@gotchupay.com or open a support ticket in the app.