Urban is a platform for self-employed practitioners to offer their services to customers seeking professional wellbeing services. We’re committed to making that platform a safe and trusted place for everyone that uses it, both for booking treatments at home and for delivering wellness services.

Here’s a reminder of our existing policies as well as an introduction to some of the initiatives we’re working on to maintain a thriving and safe community.

We have a zero tolerance policy when it comes to inappropriate behaviour

Inappropriate communication or physical contact is not acceptable under any circumstances and will result in immediate removal of access to the Urban platform. This stands for both users of the app and self-employed professionals.

Our zero-tolerance stance on inappropriate behaviour helps keep the platform safe for everyone and makes sure people are using it for the right reasons.

We have a legal duty to report alleged criminal activity to the police

As a responsible platform operator we take any alleged criminal activities reported to us seriously. We work in partnership with local police forces and don’t hesitate to share information to aid investigations. For more about how this works, scroll down to the ‘how we handle complaints’ section below.

Safety through community

We want self-employed professionals to feel proud of the community they’re part of at Urban, and for app users to book treatments at home with confidence. That’s why we undertake a series of pre-vetting measures before giving self-employed professionals access to the platform. We check their:

Identity
We check that their name and likeness match their formal identification and other documents as required by law, part of our Know Your Customer (KYC) process
Criminal background
Professionals must have a clear basic DBS check issued in the last 12 months
Insurance
They must also have a valid insurance policy covering public liability and professional indemnity
Hygiene and Covid-19 safety
Professionals must prove that they have the necessary personal protective equipment (PPE) as required by their government’s Covid-19 guidelines for safe home working
Qualifications
Professionals must provide evidence to confirm that they’re qualified in every treatment they wish to offer on the platform and that they can deliver them in a safe and hygienic manner

Safety through technology

As well as making booking easy, the Urban app and website offer multiple advantages when it comes to safety.

Browse extensive profiles before booking
Read ratings and reviews from previous clients and view photos of their work to help find the right pro for you
Keep all communication inside the app
Use in-app instant messaging and call features for easy and safe communication without sharing your contact details
Your personal details stay private
Whether you’re a professional or booking a service, you’ll never be able to see each other’s phone numbers. As a client, your address is automatically deleted from your pro’s version of the Urban app once your booking is complete.

We also provide the following safety features on the Hero app – the app professionals use to manage their bookings.

Emergency assistance button
Professionals can use the in-app emergency button to call the authorities at any time. It will also display location and booking details to make sharing them with the emergency services quick and easy
Share location button
For additional peace of mind, pros can share their location with friends and family during bookings
Blocklist and one-to-one block
We use multiple factors to identify and prevent app and website users that have violated our community policy and terms and conditions from using Urban again. Pros can also block clients if they wish to prevent them from rebooking with them.

How we handle complaints

You can make a complaint by contacting customer support

You can reach us between 7am-10pm, seven days a week by in-app and web chat, or email us anytime.

If you wish to discuss anything of a sensitive nature over the phone, please let us know and we’ll call you at the earliest convenience. You can also request to speak to a male or female representative; we’ll do our best to make that happen.

Our teams are trained in handling sensitive information.

Our trust and safety committee handles more serious complaints

If your complaint is about the quality of service you’ve received while using Urban or about a professional you’ve booked through us, our customer support team will handle it. If it’s of a more serious or sensitive nature, we will escalate it to our trust and safety committee for investigation.

The trust and safety committee will inform the other party of the anonymised complaint and ask if they’d like to comment or respond. They will then assess all the information and evidence available before sharing their recommended outcome. This might involve permanently revoking a professional or user’s access to the Urban platform or passing the information to the local police force.

Urban will report any alleged criminal activity to the police

In the event where your complaint includes reports of potential criminal activity, we will always encourage you to report it to the police. If you don’t feel comfortable contacting the police directly, we can do so on your behalf and support you along the way. This can be done by name or anonymously. If you choose to make a named report, the police will follow-up with you directly to learn more. If you make an anonymous report, the police won’t be able to formally take further action but they will keep the information on file for future reference.

Should the police wish to proceed further with a case, they may submit a data request which allows Urban to share personal information about a suspect in line with GDPR, including full name, address and contact information.

Please note if you do not wish to report to the police, Urban may still do so (without naming you) if we judge that it would aid in the prevention or detection of crime.

Our work is never done

We know that when it comes to safety, we can always do even better. By publishing this update today, we’re renewing our commitment to innovating in this area. Here are some of the things we’re working on:

Support and guidance programme

Over the next few months, we’ll be sponsoring initiatives in partnership with key industry stakeholders to raise awareness about trust and safety in the world of online platforms. This will involve free educational webinars, talks from industry experts and sharing resources within the professional community.

Industry initiatives

We’ve opened a dialogue within our industry, working with other at-home service booking platforms and wellness apps to share best safety practices. We’re also looking into ways we can share information with each other in a meaningful way that balances privacy rights with harm prevention.

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