Terms of Use
1. Gepek d.o.o. (hereinafter “Gepek”), a LLC company, has developed a platform for sharing free space in a vehicle for transporting packages available as a mobile application (link to download: www.thegepek.com) designed to connect drivers traveling to a specific destination with individuals who want to send a package on that route and share the transportation costs with the driver (hereinafter the “platform”).
The purpose of these terms and conditions is to regulate access to and use of the platform (hereinafter the “Terms of Use”). All users are kindly requested to read them carefully. By using the platform, users acknowledge and accept that Gepek is not a party to any agreement, contract, or contractual relationship of any kind that users of the platform may enter into with each other.
By clicking “Sign Up with Facebook” or “Register with Email,” users confirm that they have read and accepted the entire text of these Terms of Use.
2. Definitions In this document:
• “user” means a person who has created a user account on the platform;
• “travel share” means the location where the driver agrees to briefly stop to pick up or drop off packages or the route between that location and the starting or destination point of the journey;
• “Facebook account” means a type of login for a user account;
• “user account” means an account that must be opened through the platform to become a user and to access certain services offered;
• “location” means the place the sender has reserved in the driver’s car for transporting a package;
• “web page” means the internet page of the platform available at www.thegepek.com;
• “advertisement” means a travel ad posted by a driver;
• “package” means a shipment that the sender sends for transport;
• “sender” means a user who has accepted/requested transport of a package from a driver or, where applicable, a person in whose name he/she has reserved a place in the car;
• “reservation confirmation” means that the driver has accepted the ride reservation request. From the moment of the reservation confirmation, the sender and driver are solely responsible for fulfilling and implementing contractual obligations in terms of transport.
• “recipient” means the person to whom the driver delivers the package;
• “journey” means the trip listed in the advertisement that the driver has posted on the platform and for which he agrees to transport packages in exchange for a share of the cost;
• “reservation” means the process of negotiating the location in the vehicle for transporting the package between the driver and the sender;
• “user-generated content” means content generated by users related to the use of the platform;
• “cost share” means the amount of money that the driver requests and the sender accepts for cost-sharing for travel purposes to deliver the package;
• “services” means all services provided by Gepek through the platform;
• “driver” means a user who offers transportation of packages to another person through the platform in exchange for cost-sharing for the travel expenses, during the journey and at a time defined solely by the driver;
“Reservation confirmation” means that the driver has accepted the request for a ride reservation. From the moment of reservation confirmation, the sender and driver are solely responsible for fulfilling and implementing their contractual obligations regarding transportation. “The recipient” is the person to whom the driver delivers the package; “Travel” means the travel specified in the advertisement that the driver posted on the platform, and for which he agrees to transport packages in exchange for cost-sharing; “Reservation” means the process of arranging between the driver and the package sender about the place in the vehicle for package transportation; “User content” means content generated by users related to the use of the platform; “Cost-sharing” means the amount of money the driver requests and that the sender accepts for cost-sharing travel for package delivery; “Services” mean all services that the platform provides; “Driver” is a user who offers package transportation to another person in exchange for cost-sharing travel, on the travel and during the time defined exclusively by the driver; “Reservation request” means when the sender selects the driver and travel and wants to reserve them for package delivery.
3. Registration on the Platform and Account Creation
3.1. Conditions for Platform Registration The platform may only be used by persons over 18 years of age. Registration of minors on this platform is strictly prohibited. When accessing, using, or registering on the platform, users personally declare and warrant that they are over 18 years of age. Registration is only allowed if users have read and accepted these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy. Users may only open one user account and may do so only and exclusively in their own name. 3.2. Creating a User Account The condition for publishing an advertisement or making a reservation is creating a user account, which makes the user a platform user. The platform only allows users to publish and view ads and interact with each other to make a reservation. To create a user account, the user can:
3.2 fill in all mandatory fields in the registration form; or • (ii) log in to their Facebook account through the platform. If users choose this function, they understand that Gepek will have access to certain information from their Facebook account and the ability to post and retain it. The link between the user account and Facebook account can be deleted at any time, in the “Verification” section on the user profile. For more information on the use of data from Facebook accounts, we advise users to read our Privacy Policy and Facebook’s policy. When creating a user account, regardless of the method chosen, users agree to provide accurate and truthful information and update it on their profile or by sending a notification to Gepek, in order to guarantee the relevance and accuracy of the data in accordance with the contractual obligations they have with Gepek. In the case of registration via email, users accept the obligation to protect the confidentiality of their password selected when creating their user account and not to disclose it to any other person. If they lose or disclose their password, users undertake to immediately notify Gepek. Users are responsible for the use of their account by third parties, unless they inform Gepek of the loss or unauthorized use by a third party or disclosure of the password to a third party. Users agree not to create or use, using their identity or the identity of a third party, user accounts that are not the ones they originally created. 3.3. Verification Gepek may, for the purposes of transparency, building trust, fraud prevention or detection, establish a system for verifying some of the information that users provide on their profile. This is especially the case when entering a phone number or sending an identification document. Users confirm and accept that any reference to “verified” information or a similar expression in the platform or services only means that the user has successfully completed the verification process on the platform or services, in order to provide you with information about the user with whom you intend to travel. Gepek cannot guarantee the accuracy, reliability or validity of information that is subject to the verification process.
4. Use of services 4.1.
Posting ads Users are required to fulfill the conditions set forth below to create and post an ad on the platform by entering data about their planned trip (date/time, departure/arrival location, available options, contribution amount, etc.). When posting ads, travel segments may be specified in which drivers agree to stop briefly to pick up or drop off packages, segments between these locations, or between the departure or destination locations of the trip. Only one ad can be posted for one trip, and it is prohibited to post an ad for a driver if it is not a person who is registered as a driver. Users are authorized to post an ad only if they meet the following conditions: • (
i) they possess a valid driver’s license;
ii) they post ads only for a vehicle that they own or use with the express permission of the owner, and in any case one that they are authorized to use for transport; •
(iii) They only publish ads for vehicles whose owner or user has given explicit permission, and in any case, the vehicle must be authorized for transportation;
(iv) They are and remain the primary driver of the vehicle being advertised; •
(v) The vehicle has valid compulsory insurance;
(vi) They have no contraindications and are physically capable of driving the vehicle; The vehicle they intend to use is a passenger vehicle with 4 wheels and enough space to transport the package;
(vii) They do not intend to publish any other ads for the same trip on the platform;
(viii) They do not offer more seats than the vehicle has;
(ix) The vehicle they use is in proper condition and complies with applicable legal provisions and practices, especially regarding the latest technical inspection certificate.
User drivers who post an ad confirm that they are solely responsible for the content of the ad they publish on the platform. Accordingly, they declare and warrant the accuracy and truthfulness of all data provided in the ad and commit to fulfilling the trip in accordance with the conditions stated in the ad.
If the ad complies with these Terms of Use, it will be published on the platform and visible to users and all visitors to the site, even those who are not users but are browsing the platform or the partner website of Gepek. Gepek reserves the right, at its sole discretion and without prior notice, not to publish or remove any ad that does not comply with these Terms of Use or which the company deems harmful to its reputation, the platform’s reputation, or its services.
Users confirm and accept that the criteria used to classify and display ads among other ads are solely at the discretion of Gepek.
4.2. Reserving Space for Package Transport The method of reserving space depends on the type of planned trip. The reservation is made by the driver and the package sender through the communication system within the platform or by entering data into the platform.
4.2.1. Reservation of Space for Package Transport The platform has established a system for reserving space for package transport in the vehicle of the driver who posted the ad. The determination of the suitability of sending packages for a particular reservation system is at the discretion of Gepek, which also reserves the right to change the system at any time.
The platform is intended for reserving space for transporting packages. It is prohibited to reserve space for transporting persons.
When a sender expresses interest in a posted ad by wanting to reserve transport for a package, they can do so through the platform. After submitting the request, the driver must accept the reservation request through the platform. Once the driver accepts the reservation request, the sender receives a confirmation of the reservation. At the moment of confirmation of the reservation of the space in the vehicle, Gepek opens communication channels between the driver and the sender. After that, only the driver and the sender are responsible for implementing the contract that binds them.
The driver is obliged to respond to all reservation inquiries within the time frame specified by the sender in their request. Otherwise, the reservation request automatically expires.
4.2.2. Confirmation of package pick-up and delivery After the driver accepts the reservation request for the transport of the package through the platform, as a security measure, Gepek uses a confirmation with a four-digit security number (PIN) sent by message to the sender’s and receiver’s devices. Two PIN codes are generated with the confirmation of the reservation of space for transporting the package, one of which is sent by message to the sender’s and one to the receiver’s device.
The sender of the package is obliged to give their PIN to the driver, who enters it into the platform when picking up the package to formally start the delivery of the package.
When delivering the package to the destination, the receiver of the package is obliged to provide their PIN number, which the driver enters into the platform to formally complete the delivery of the package.
4.2.3. Reserving space for transporting packages on behalf of a third party Every use of the service, either as a driver or a sender, is related to a specific name. The identity of the driver and sender must match the identity provided to Gepek and other users participating in the package delivery process and the identity used to create the user account.
However, Gepek allows its users to reserve space for transporting packages in a vehicle on behalf of a third party. In that case, the sender, or the owner of the user account that created the reservation request, assumes the obligation to the driver at the time of reservation.
4.3. Rating system 4.3.1. System functioning Gepek encourages users to rate the driver entrusted with the transportation of the package (by the sender) and the sender who sends the package (by the driver).
Ratings, if they exist, are visible and only published on the platform. Users have the option to respond to a rating given about them by another user, within 14 days of receiving the rating. Ratings and responses, if any, are published on the user’s profile.
4.3.2. Content moderation Users acknowledge and accept that Gepek reserves the right not to publish or to delete all ratings, questions, or comments if it deems that their content violates these Terms of Use.
4.3.3. Restrictions Gepek reserves the right to suspend a user account, restrict access to services, or terminate these Terms of Use if the user has received at least three negative ratings and the average rating received is less than or equal to 3.
5. Financial terms
5.1. Cost-sharing Drivers determine the cost-sharing at their own risk. It is strictly prohibited to generate profits in any way through the use of this platform. Therefore, drivers agree to limit the amount of cost-sharing they request from the sender to the actual costs they incur related to the trip. Otherwise, drivers are obliged to bear the costs of traffic of a different nature carried out through the platform.
When a driver posts an ad, Gepek will suggest a cost-sharing amount, taking into account the nature of the trip and the distance traveled. This amount is provided solely as a guideline, and the driver may decrease or increase it, taking into account the actual costs of a particular trip. To prevent abuse, Gepek limits the possibility of adjusting cost-sharing.
5.2. Rounding of values Users acknowledge and accept that Gepek may round the cost-sharing amount (up or down), at its own discretion.
5.3. Payment of cost-sharing to the driver The sender undertakes to pay the cost-sharing to the driver no later than upon arrival at the destination. The driver undertakes not to request payment of cost-sharing, in whole or in part, before the shipment transport is completed.
6. Non-commercial and non-business purpose of services and platform Users agree to use the services and platform solely for establishing contact, on a non-commercial and non-business basis, with individuals who wish to share the cost of travel by sending packages. The driver undertakes not to request a participation fee higher than the actual cost of travel, which would allow them to make a profit. Cost sharing implies that the driver covers their own share of travel costs. The driver is responsible for calculating the incurred travel expenses and must verify that the amount requested from the package sender does not exceed the actual travel costs (excluding the driver’s share of the costs). Gepek reserves the right to suspend a user’s account if official drivers, taxis or other transport service providers are used for package deliveries. Gepek is authorized to request the driver to provide proof of vehicle registration and/or any other document proving that the driver is authorized to use the vehicle on the platform in accordance with these Terms and Conditions and is not making any profit, in case they are not a registered company for the transport of goods, and drivers agree to provide such proof. Gepek reserves the right to suspend a user’s account, restrict services or terminate these Terms and Conditions if an activity is carried out on the platform that, due to the nature of the offered travel, frequency and number of packages transported and requested driver cost sharing, allows for profit or creates a reasonable suspicion of using the platform to make a profit, in case they are not a registered company for the transport of goods.
7. Cancellation of package transportation reservation When a sender cancels a reservation for package transportation before the departure time, the reserved space becomes available to other senders who can reserve it through the platform in the same manner and in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
8. Behavior of platform users and customers 8.1. Obligations of all platform users Users acknowledge and are aware that they are solely responsible for complying with all laws, regulations and obligations that apply to their use of the platform. Gepek is not liable for the content of packages, for package damage, loss, delivery failure, etc. The driver, sender and receiver are solely responsible for regulating their mutual relations. Furthermore, when using the platform, users agree to the following: • not to use the platform for professional and commercial purposes or for making a profit, unless they are a registered company for the transport of goods.
9. • that they will not send any false, misleading, malicious or fraudulent information to Gepek or other users, especially after creating or updating their user account;
• that they will not speak or behave, nor publish content on the platform that is considered derogatory, harmful, immoral, pornographic, vulgar, offensive, aggressive, undesirable, violent, threatening, abusive, racist or xenophobic, with sexual connotations, that incites settlement, discrimination or hatred, that incites actions related to or using illegal substances, or that is generally contrary to the purpose of this platform, which could violate the rights of Gepek or third parties, or which is contrary to good morals;
• that they will not infringe on the rights and reputation of Gepek, especially the rights of intellectual property;
• that they will not open more than one user account on the platform and will not open a user account on behalf of a third party;
• that they will not attempt to circumvent the reservation system through the platform, especially by trying to send their contact information to another user to make a package transportation reservation outside the platform;
• that they will not contact another user, especially through the platform, for a purpose that does not involve determining the conditions for package transportation;
• that they will respect these provisions and Terms of Use and the data protection policy; • (ix) that they will fulfill all obligations they have under the contractual relationship with the other party, such as, but not exclusively, payment and performance of the package delivery service.
10. Driver’s obligations
When using the platform as a driver, the driver undertakes to:
• ensure that the package they transport is properly and suitably packed when picked up, where the measure of proper packing is that the package contents cannot be damaged during transportation;
• comply with laws and regulations that apply to driving and the vehicle, especially those related to the validity of mandatory insurance at the time of travel and possession of a valid driver’s license;
• not open the package, except at the request of the sender, and in the presence of the package sender;
• publish ads only for actually planned trips;
• carry out the journey described in the ad and adhere to the agreed terms and locations with other users (especially the place of departure and destination);
• use a properly functioning vehicle that complies with applicable legal provisions and practices, especially those related to the valid certificate of vehicle technical inspection;
• show their ID card or any other document that proves their identity to Gepek or any sender who requests it;
• show their driver’s license, vehicle registration certificate, insurance policy, certificate of technical inspection, and all other documents that demonstrate their ability to use the vehicle as a driver on the platform.
8.2. Driver’s Obligations When using the platform as a driver, the driver is obliged to:
• inform their transportation customers without delay in case of delay, weather changes, or travel itinerary changes;
• wait for package senders at the agreed departure location for at least 15 minutes after the agreed time;
• not advertise a vehicle they do not own;
• enable package senders to contact them by phone, using the number registered on their profile, including at the meeting location;
• not make a profit through the platform;
• not refuse to reserve a spot for package transport based on race, color, ethnicity, nationality, religion, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, physical appearance, pregnancy, economic status, name, place of residence, health condition, political beliefs, or age;
• not retain a package for themselves under any circumstances;
• handle packages with the due care that can be expected in such situations;
• be responsible for any destruction or damage to the package if it was caused intentionally or by gross negligence on the driver’s part.
Sender’s Obligations When using the platform as a sender, the sender is obliged to:
• immediately inform the driver in case of delay;
• pay the driver the amount of the participation in the cost of package transport;
• wait for the driver at the departure location for at least 15 minutes after the agreed time;
• show their ID card or any other document proving their identity to Gepek or any driver who requests it;
• properly and appropriately package the goods, where the measure of proper and appropriate packaging is such that the contents of the package cannot be damaged during transport. Gepek has no obligation to inspect or be responsible for ensuring that the goods are properly and appropriately packaged. If the goods are shipped with a deficiency or improper packaging, the driver is not obligated to pay compensation for damage caused by usual conditions on the transport route if the damage could have been avoided if the goods had been suitably packaged;
• be responsible for the contents of the package, that its not of illegal nature
• that the driver will show the contents of the shipment if there is suspicion that the shipment is of illegal nature or dangerous for transportation.
9. Account Suspension, Access Limitation, and Termination Users can terminate their contractual relationship with Gepek at any time, without any costs and without stating a reason.
Users can also do so by opening the “Delete My Account” tab on their profile page. In case of
- violation of these Terms of Use, including but not limited to the obligations as a user regulated by previous Articles 6 and 8,
- (ii) exceeding the limitations set forth in Article 4.3.3 of these Terms of Use, or (iii) if Gepek has reasonable suspicion and reason to believe that it needs to protect its security and integrity, the security and integrity of its users or third parties, or for the purpose of preventing fraud or for the needs of Gepek’s investigations, Gepek reserves the right to: • (i) terminate these provisions and Terms of Use that bind users to Gepek, immediately and without any special notice; and/or • (ii) prevent the publication or remove all ratings, advertisements, messages, content, reservation requests or any content that you post on the platform; and/or • (iii) restrict access to and use of the platform; and/or • (iv) temporarily or permanently suspend the user account. When necessary, users will be notified of the introduction of such measures in order to have the opportunity to provide their explanation. Gepek will then, at its discretion, decide whether or not to suspend the measures introduced.
10. Personal Data When using the platform, Gepek collects and processes user personal data. When using the platform and processing certain personal data, the user confirms and accepts that Gepek processes your personal data in accordance with applicable laws and the provisions of the Data Protection Policy.
11. Intellectual Property
11.1. Content published by Gepek Gepek is the sole owner of the intellectual property rights relating to the services, platform, content (in particular texts, images, drawings, logos, videos, sound recordings, data, graphics) and the software and databases that ensure their operation. Gepek provides users with a non-exclusive, personal and non-transferable right to use the platform and services for their personal and private needs, on a non-commercial basis and for the purpose for which the platform and services are intended. Any other form of use or exploitation of the platform and services and their content is prohibited without the prior written permission of Gepek. In particular, it is prohibited to:
- reproduce, modify, adapt, distribute, publicly present and disseminate the platform, services and content, unless Gepek has given explicit approval for it;
- decompile and reverse engineer the platform and services, except in cases of exceptions prescribed by valid documents;
- (iii) extract or attempt to extract (especially using data mining robots or similar data collection tools) a significant portion of data from the platform.
11.2. Content you post on the platform In order to enable users to provide services and in accordance with the purpose of the platform, users grant Gepek a non-exclusive license to use the content and data they provide in the context of using the services (hereinafter “User Content”). In order to enable Gepek to distribute via digital networks and in accordance with communication protocols (especially via the internet and mobile networks) and to make platform content available to the public, users authorize Gepek, for the entire world and for the entire duration of the contractual relationship, to use, display, adapt and translate user content in such a way that:
(i) use all or part of the user content on digital media for data recording, known or yet unknown, especially for servers, hard drives, memory cards or equivalent media, in any format and using any process, known or unknown, to the extent necessary to implement storage, backup, transfer or download related to the operation of the platform and the provision of services;
(ii) adapt and translate user content and use these adaptations on all digital media, currently known and future, regulated by the previous point , in order to provide services, and in different languages. This right includes the option of changing the formatting of user content, while respecting your moral right, in terms of respecting the graphic content charter on the platform and/or making the content technically compatible for display when published on the platform.
12. Role of Gepek This platform represents a platform for internet networking where its users can create and publish travel ads for the purpose of transporting packages. Other users can view these ads to find travel conditions and, where possible, directly book a place for a package with the user who posted the ad on the platform. By using the platform and accepting these terms and conditions, you agree that Gepek is not a party to any agreement you have entered into with other users in terms of sharing costs related to travel. Gepek has no control over the behavior of platform users. Gepek does not own, use, supply, or operate the vehicles that are the subject of the ads, and the platform does not offer any travel or package transport. You acknowledge and agree that Gepek does not control the validity, truthfulness, or legality of the ads posted and the offered places and travels. As an intermediary for sharing information, Gepek does not assume any responsibility for the content posted by users on the platform.
Gepek does not provide any transportation services or act as a carrier, and its role is limited to providing access to the platform. Users (drivers or senders) are personally and fully responsible for their actions.
As an intermediary, Gepek cannot be held responsible for the actual realization of the trip, especially in the case of:
• (i) inaccurate information provided by the driver in their ad or any other data related to the trip and travel conditions;
• (ii) cancellation or change of the trip by the user;
• (iii) non-payment of the cost participation by the sender/recipient of the package.
13. Work, availability, and functioning of the platform Gepek is obliged to make every effort to keep the platform available 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. However, access to the platform may be temporarily suspended without warning due to technical maintenance, data migration and updates, or power outages or network operation restrictions.
Furthermore, Gepek reserves the right to change or suspend, completely or partially, access to the platform and its functions, at its own discretion, temporarily or permanently.
14. Changes to the terms and conditions of use These General Terms and Conditions of Use and documents that are part of them by reference represent the entire agreement between you and Gepek regarding your use of the services and platform. Any other document, especially any reference on the platform (FAQs, etc.) serves only as a guideline.
Gepek may change these terms and conditions of use in order to adapt them to its technical and commercial environment and to comply with applicable legislation. All changes to the terms and conditions of use will be published on the platform, indicating the date they come into effect, and Gepek will inform you of any changes before they occur.
15. Applicable law – Dispute resolution These General Terms and Conditions of Use are written in Croatian and are subject to Croatian law.
Users can submit their complaints related to the platform or services on this page. In accordance with applicable regulations, users are required to notify Gepek in writing before submitting any claims in order to attempt to resolve them amicably.
Users can contact Gepek at any time via email: _info@thegepek.com_________
16. Legal notices This platform is published by Gepek d.o.o. from Croatia, with headquarters at Miroslava Krleže 15, 44320 Kutina, registered with the Commercial Court in Zagreb under number 081322725, OIB: 03639778735, represented by the director, Carla Ferreri.
Version coming into force [date]__01.03.2023.__