Terms of Service

In plain English: Theo gives guidance, not regulated financial advice. We do our best to be accurate but we're not perfect, and your financial decisions are always yours. The full legal version is below.

By using Theo at usetheo.co, you agree to these Terms of Service. Please read them carefully.

What Theo is

Theo is an AI-powered financial guidance tool. It provides education and general guidance about personal finance topics — it does not provide regulated financial advice. Nothing Theo says constitutes a personal recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any financial product.

Not financial advice

Theo provides financial guidance and education — not regulated financial advice. What we tell you is information to help you make your own decision; it is not a personal recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any specific product. Theo is not currently authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority to give regulated financial advice.

For decisions that legally require regulated advice from an FCA-authorised adviser — most notably transferring a defined benefit pension, or any transaction over statutory thresholds that trigger mandatory advice — you must speak to one. You can find an FCA-authorised adviser at unbiased.co.uk or vouchedfor.co.uk.

We follow the FCA's Consumer Duty principles in how we communicate, price our service, and support you — because they reflect how we think a good financial product should behave, not because we are authorised under them as a regulated firm.

Because Theo is not an FCA-authorised firm, our service is not covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme. (Money in your bank accounts stays protected by the FSCS through your bank as normal — Theo never holds your money.) If we ever become authorised, we'll update these terms and tell you.

AI limitations

Theo uses AI that can be wrong, out of date, or incomplete. Always double-check material claims — especially tax thresholds, allowances, and product availability — before you act on them. If something Theo says doesn't match what you find on GOV.UK or your provider, trust them, not us.

Accuracy

We work hard to ensure Theo's information is accurate and up to date, but we cannot guarantee it. Tax rules, allowances, and regulations change. Always verify important figures with HMRC, your employer, or a qualified professional before acting on them.

Your account

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure. You must be at least 18 years old to use Theo. You agree not to use the service for any unlawful purpose.

Premium subscriptions, trials and billing

Theo's core features are free. Theo Premium is an optional paid subscription, currently £8.99 per month (or the annual equivalent where offered, which gives two months free). Prices include VAT where applicable and are always shown before you commit.

Free trial. Premium starts with a 14-day free trial. You'll add a payment card when the trial starts, but you won't be charged anything until the trial ends. We'll remind you by email at least 2 days before the first charge. Cancel any time during the trial and you pay nothing — you simply drop back to the free tier and keep all your data and history.

Billing and renewal. After the trial, your subscription renews automatically each billing period until you cancel. We'll always tell you the price before you start, and we'll give you at least 30 days' notice by email before any price increase takes effect — if you don't want the new price, you can cancel before it applies and see out your current period at the old one.

Cancelling. You can cancel any time from Profile → Account → Subscription — it takes the same number of clicks as subscribing did. Cancellation takes effect at the end of your current billing period; you keep Premium until then. We don't do retention mazes, and we never delete your data because you stopped paying.

Your legal right to cancel (cooling-off). As a UK consumer you have a statutory right to cancel a distance contract within 14 days of starting your subscription. Because your trial is free for 14 days, in practice this right costs you nothing: cancel within the trial and no money changes hands. If you are ever charged within 14 days of taking out a subscription (for example, on a plan without a trial), you can cancel and we'll refund you in full, less a proportionate amount for any period of Premium you've already used, within 14 days of your request. By starting Premium you consent to the service beginning immediately rather than waiting out the cooling-off period.

Refunds. Beyond your statutory rights, if something's gone wrong on our side — a billing error, a double charge, a service failure — email ciaran@usetheo.co and we'll put it right. Statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 (including the right to services performed with reasonable care and skill) are unaffected by anything in these terms.

Failed payments. If a renewal payment fails we'll retry and let you know. If it still fails after 14 days, your account drops back to the free tier. Nothing is deleted.

Acceptable use

You must not use Theo to: attempt to extract, scrape, or reproduce the underlying AI models or training data; submit false or misleading financial information to manipulate guidance; use the service for commercial gain without written permission from Use Theo Limited; or attempt to circumvent any security or access controls.

Intellectual property

Theo and its content — including the brand, software, guidance outputs, and all associated intellectual property — are owned by Use Theo Limited. You may not reproduce, distribute, or create derivative works from Theo's content without our written permission. Guidance outputs generated for your personal use are yours to use for that purpose; you may not resell or redistribute them.

Affiliate relationships

Theo may receive referral fees from financial product providers. Where a referral relationship exists, it will be disclosed at the point of any product link. Affiliate relationships do not influence the AI-generated guidance you receive.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Use Theo Limited shall not be liable for: (a) any financial loss, investment loss, or consequential loss arising from your use of or reliance on information provided by this service; (b) any interruption, suspension, or withdrawal of the service; or (c) any decisions made on the basis of Theo's guidance. Nothing in these terms excludes liability for fraud, death, or personal injury caused by negligence, or any other liability that cannot be excluded by law.

Complaints

If you have a complaint about Theo, please contact us at ciaran@usetheo.co. We aim to acknowledge all complaints within 5 business days and resolve them within 28 days. If you remain dissatisfied, you may seek further resolution through the courts of England and Wales.

Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We will give you at least 30 days' notice of material changes by email before they take effect. Continued use of Theo after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you do not accept the changes, you may close your account before the effective date.

Your right to close your account

You can delete your account at any time from Profile > Account. When you do, your personal data and chat history will be removed within 30 days, subject to any legal retention obligations (for example, fraud prevention records we are required to keep).

Data portability

You can request a full export of the data we hold about you at any time via Profile > Account. We will provide it in a machine-readable format within 30 days of your request.

Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

Contact

Questions about these terms? Email us at ciaran@usetheo.co. Use Theo Limited · Flat 3 Transenna Works, 1 Laycock Street, London N1 1SJ · Company No. 17104555.