Acceptable Use Policy
Base Collective Limited
1. Purpose and scope
This policy explains how customers and visitors may use Base Collective’s services, address, website, onboarding forms and systems.
It applies alongside our Terms and Conditions, Website Terms of Use and any expressly agreed service-specific conditions. It does not override statutory rights or change an existing service contract without the notice or agreement required by that contract and applicable law.
Company number: 16392079
Contact address: Suite 5, The Barns, Lane End Farm, Kelsall Road, Ashton Hayes, CH3 8BH
Email: [email protected]
Telephone: 01244 740 525
2. Lawful and authorised use
Our services must only be used for lawful purposes and within the scope of the service purchased and approved.
You must not use our services, address or systems to facilitate:
- Fraud, identity theft or other criminal activity.
- Money laundering, terrorist financing or proliferation financing.
- Sanctions breaches or evasion.
- Concealment of unlawful activity, funds, ownership or control.
- False filings, forged documents or misleading representations.
- Unlawful communications, threats or harassment.
You must hold any licence, registration or regulatory permission required for your activities. We may request evidence where relevant to our checks.
3. Approval before use
Payment, checkout confirmation or an automated identity-verification pass does not activate a service or grant permission to use our address.
You must complete our required checks and receive written approval before using the address or asking us to proceed with a formation.
Permission applies only to the companies, individuals and services identified in our approval.
You must not:
- Register or advertise our address before approval.
- Add another company, director or individual without permission.
- Resell, share, sublicense or transfer address permission.
- Allow another business to use the address through your subscription.
- Continue using the address after permission ends.
Connected companies and additional individuals require separate approval and any applicable checks and fees.
4. Accurate information and ownership
You must provide accurate, complete and current information and cooperate with reasonable verification requests.
You must not:
- Submit forged, altered, stolen or materially misleading documents.
- Impersonate another person.
- Conceal beneficial owners or people exercising control.
- Misrepresent your business activities, operating location or reasons for using Base.
- Use an intermediary or nominee to avoid identifying the actual customer or owners.
- Claim authority to act for someone without permission.
An intermediary must disclose who they represent and provide evidence of authority where requested.
You must notify us promptly of relevant changes, including changes to directors, ownership, control, residential addresses, business activities and authorised contacts.
Our initial customer scope requires all directors and ultimate beneficial owners to be UK-resident, with ownership we can understand and verify. Residence is separate from nationality.
Tell us promptly if an existing customer’s circumstances fall outside that scope. We will assess whether the service can lawfully and appropriately continue.
5. Honest use of our address
You may use our address only for the purpose expressly approved.
You must not imply that:
- You occupy or own our premises.
- Your staff work from our office.
- We provide a staffed trading location for your business.
- Base manages, endorses or guarantees your business.
- You have a larger operation or local trading presence than you actually have.
Using an approved address for privacy or professional presentation is permitted. Misleading claims about the underlying business are not.
Our services do not provide residential accommodation, workspace, meeting facilities or a right to occupy the property.
A director service address does not mean Base acts as a director.
6. Official correspondence only
Our initial mail-handling service covers official correspondence for approved companies and individuals, as described in our Terms and Conditions.
This includes correspondence from Companies House, HMRC, courts, regulators and other public authorities, together with legal notices and documents served on the approved company or officer.
Unless separately agreed, you must not use the address for:
- Routine customer or supplier correspondence.
- Advertising or bulk mail.
- Personal correspondence unrelated to the approved service.
- Customer returns, stock or other goods.
- Parcels or packages.
We do not provide parcel or package handling, including for otherwise lawful goods.
Unexpected parcels may be refused or returned where practicable. You must not send dangerous, hazardous, unlawful or prohibited items.
We will handle unexpected or unsafe items appropriately and in accordance with applicable law.
7. Mail instructions and authorised contacts
Mail instructions must come from an authorised person whose identity and authority we can establish.
You must provide a valid nominated email address and notify us promptly of changes or suspected compromise.
You must not:
- Request mail belonging to another customer or unapproved recipient.
- Redirect correspondence to an unrelated person without explaining their authority.
- Use collection or forwarding arrangements to conceal the actual recipient.
- Request that we destroy, alter or conceal correspondence or evidence unlawfully.
- Ask us to open correspondence where you lack authority to give permission.
Requests for forwarding or collection are subject to agreement and appropriate checks. They are not automatically included in a scanning service.
Receipt of correspondence for an unknown person or company does not establish permission to use the address.
Scanning times, physical-post retention and requests for originals are governed by our Terms and Conditions.
8. Payments and refunds
You must use a payment method you are authorised to use and provide accurate billing information.
You must not use stolen payment details, arrange deceptive third-party payments, or use overpayments and refund requests to move funds between unrelated parties.
We may ask for an explanation or supporting evidence where payment details do not match the customer or instructions.
Payment is taken upfront at checkout through Stripe. Services remain subject to completion of our checks and written approval.
If your application is not approved before activation, we will refund your payment in full without deducting processing or verification fees, subject to any legal restriction on returning funds.
Other cancellations and refunds are governed by our Terms and Conditions and applicable law. A suspected breach of this policy does not automatically remove refund rights.
9. Form links and system security
We email customers a link to their onboarding form. The form saves progress so it can be revisited and completed later.
Treat your form link as confidential because it may provide access to information you have entered. Do not publish it or share it with anyone who is not authorised to access that information.
If you believe your link has been shared, sent to the wrong person or accessed without permission, contact us promptly at [email protected].
You must not:
- Access another person’s form or information without permission.
- Alter another person’s information without authority.
- Attempt to guess, obtain or misuse another customer’s form link.
- Introduce malware or harmful code.
- Bypass verification or security controls.
- Interfere with our website, forms or systems.
- Upload unlawful material or material that infringes another person’s rights.
- Collect or disclose customer information without authority.
Use the document-submission and verification methods we direct you to. Do not send sensitive identity or payment information through general enquiry forms.
10. Conduct towards Base
You must communicate with Base and anyone working on its behalf without threats, harassment or abuse.
Disagreement, criticism or making a genuine complaint does not itself breach this policy.
We may set reasonable communication arrangements where necessary to manage repeated abusive or disruptive contact, while preserving an appropriate route for genuine complaints and essential service communications.
11. How we respond to concerns
Where we reasonably identify a possible breach, we may:
- Request an explanation or additional evidence.
- Review verification information and service instructions.
- Restrict a particular activity or instruction.
- Temporarily suspend an application, access to an onboarding form or an affected service.
- Refuse an unauthorised delivery or instruction.
- End the affected service where justified.
- Report matters to an appropriate authority where required or otherwise lawful.
We will consider the seriousness of the issue, available evidence, legal obligations and whether it can reasonably be corrected.
For a correctable issue, we will normally explain the concern and allow a reasonable opportunity to resolve it.
Immediate action may be necessary for serious misuse, an urgent security or safety risk, or a legal requirement. We may be legally restricted from explaining certain decisions.
Suspension, termination and refunds will be handled under our Terms and Conditions and applicable law.
We will not withhold correspondence or destroy evidence where doing so would conflict with our legal duties.
12. Unauthorised address use and ending permission
If you use the address without permission, or continue after permission ends, we may request correction and use the relevant Companies House or other reporting process.
When permission ends, you must stop using the address and promptly update the relevant public records, authorities and other contacts.
Where the end date is known in advance, arrange a replacement address before that date.
Continued mail delivery does not renew permission. Ending a subscription does not itself remove the address from public records.
13. Reporting concerns and complaints
To report suspected misuse, unauthorised address use or a security concern, contact:
Provide relevant facts and supporting information where available. Do not send sensitive information about another person unless necessary and lawful.
If you disagree with an action taken under this policy, you may raise a complaint under our Complaints Procedure.
14. Changes to this policy
We may update this policy to reflect changes in our services, legal obligations or identified risks.
Material changes affecting existing customers will be communicated in accordance with our Terms and Conditions.
Changes do not retrospectively remove accrued rights or override applicable law.