These Terms and Conditions ("Terms") are a binding agreement between you and EMERGENT, having its registered office at EMERGENT Building, Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka ("DownTown", "we", "us"). They govern your use of the DownTown app, mydowntown.in and all related services (the "Platform"). This is an electronic record under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and does not need a physical or digital signature. By registering, browsing or placing any order or enquiry, you accept these Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Refund and Cancellation Policy. If you do not accept them, do not use the Platform.
1. Definitions
- Merchant: an independent restaurant, food outlet, cloud kitchen, bakery, grocery store or retail store listed on the Platform.
- Service Provider: an independent individual or business offering services (such as electricians, plumbers, cleaners, technicians, tutors, event services) listed on the Platform.
- Property Lister: an owner, builder, developer or agent who lists land, houses, flats, plots, commercial space or rentals on DownTown Homes.
- Delivery Personnel: persons engaged by DownTown, its franchisees or Merchants to pick up and deliver orders.
- Partners: Merchants, Service Providers, Property Listers and Delivery Personnel together.
- Order: a request placed by you through the Platform to buy goods from a Merchant.
- Franchisee: an independent entity authorised by DownTown to operate the Platform in a specific town or area.
2. Nature of the Platform — DownTown is an intermediary
2.1 DownTown is an online marketplace and technology intermediary within the meaning of Section 2(1)(w) and Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 and a marketplace e-commerce entity under the Consumer Protection (E-Commerce) Rules, 2020.
2.2 DownTown does not own, prepare, cook, manufacture, package, store, sell, stock or control any food, grocery or other goods listed on the Platform. Every product is offered and sold by the Merchant. The contract of sale for goods is directly between you and the Merchant.
2.3 DownTown does not provide, perform, supervise or guarantee any service listed on the Platform. The contract for services is directly between you and the Service Provider.
2.4 DownTown does not own, sell, lease, broker or hold title to any property listed on DownTown Homes, unless expressly agreed in a separate written agreement signed by DownTown. Any transaction is directly between you and the Property Lister.
2.5 DownTown's role is limited to: (a) providing the Platform for listing and discovery; (b) accepting and forwarding Orders and enquiries; (c) facilitating payment collection on behalf of Partners; and (d) arranging pick-up and delivery of Orders.
2.6 DownTown does not initiate the transmission, select the receiver, or select or modify the information contained in Partner listings. Listing content, including menus, prices, photos, descriptions, ingredients, veg/non-veg marks, availability, property details and service descriptions, is provided by Partners. DownTown does not verify every listing and is not responsible for its accuracy.
2.7 The name, address, contact details, FSSAI licence number (for food businesses) and GSTIN (where applicable) of each Merchant are displayed on the Platform or available on request, as required by law.
3. Eligibility and account
3.1 You must be at least 18 years old and able to enter a contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
3.2 You must provide true, current and complete information. You are responsible for everything done through your account, including all Orders placed and OTPs shared.
3.3 One person may hold only one account. DownTown may suspend or close accounts that give false information, misuse offers, or breach these Terms.
4. Food and grocery Orders — Merchant responsibility
4.1 Merchant is solely responsible for the goods. The Merchant alone is responsible for, and all claims relating to, the following shall lie against the Merchant:
- Quality, freshness, taste, hygiene, safety and fitness for consumption.
- Quantity, portion size and weight.
- Correctness of the Order, including wrong items, missing items, extra items and substitutions.
- Veg / non-veg / egg classification, labelling and separation, including any mix-up between vegetarian and non-vegetarian food.
- Ingredients, allergens, spice levels and compliance with special instructions.
- Packaging, sealing, labelling, expiry dates and MRP.
- Compliance with the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the Legal Metrology Act, 2009 and all other laws.
- Any illness, allergic reaction, injury or harm arising from consumption of the goods.
4.2 Veg / non-veg marks. Symbols and labels are assigned by the Merchant. DownTown displays them as provided and does not prepare or inspect food. If religious, cultural or health reasons make this critical for you, confirm directly with the Merchant before ordering.
4.3 Allergies and dietary needs. Tell the Merchant in the order instructions. DownTown does not guarantee that any food is free from allergens, gluten, dairy, nuts, onion, garlic or any other ingredient.
4.4 Images and descriptions are indicative only. Actual food, packaging and grocery products may vary.
4.5 Grocery. Weights of loose items (vegetables, fruits, meat, fish) may vary within reasonable limits. Price is charged as shown at the time of Order. Substitutions happen only with your consent.
4.6 Order acceptance. An Order is confirmed only when the Merchant accepts it. Merchants may reject or cancel Orders for stock, timing or other reasons. In such cases you receive a full refund of amounts paid.
4.7 Sealed packaging. Merchants hand over Orders in sealed packaging. Delivery Personnel do not open, inspect or verify the contents. Check the seal at delivery. If the seal is broken or tampered, refuse the Order and report it in the app immediately.
5. Delivery
5.1 DownTown acts only as a delivery facilitator. Delivery Personnel pick up sealed Orders from Merchants and bring them to your address.
5.2 Delivery times shown are estimates, not guarantees. Delays may occur due to Merchant preparation time, rain, flooding, road conditions, traffic, festivals, power cuts, network failure or other causes. DownTown is not liable for delay, and delay alone is not grounds for refund once food is prepared, unless stated otherwise in the Refund and Cancellation Policy.
5.3 You must give a correct, complete address and be reachable on your phone. If Delivery Personnel cannot reach you or find the address after reasonable attempts (including waiting at least 10 minutes and calling you), the Order will be treated as delivered and no refund will be given.
5.4 Delivery is limited to serviceable areas in Sirsi, Kumta, Dandeli, Sagar and other towns added from time to time.
5.5 Treat Delivery Personnel with respect. Abuse, harassment, threats or violence will lead to account suspension and may be reported to police.
6. Prices, charges and taxes
6.1 Item prices are set by Merchants and may differ from in-store prices.
6.2 DownTown may charge a delivery fee, platform fee, small-order fee, packaging charge (set by the Merchant), late-night fee or bad-weather fee. All applicable charges are shown before you pay.
6.3 Taxes, including GST, are charged as per law. The Merchant is responsible for GST on goods; DownTown is responsible for GST on its own fees.
6.4 If a listing shows a clearly wrong price due to a technical or typographical error, the Merchant or DownTown may cancel the Order and refund you in full.
7. Payments
7.1 Payment methods include UPI, cards, net banking, wallets and cash on delivery (where offered). Online payments are processed by licensed third-party payment gateways. DownTown does not store your card or banking credentials.
7.2 DownTown collects payment on behalf of Merchants and settles it to them after deducting its commission and fees.
7.3 DownTown may restrict or remove cash on delivery for any user, area or Order value, including users with a history of refused or unpaid deliveries.
7.4 If money is debited but the Order is not placed, it is auto-reversed by the gateway or refunded by DownTown within the time stated in the Refund and Cancellation Policy.
8. DownTown Services — listing only
8.1 DownTown only lists Service Providers and passes on your enquiry or booking. Service Providers are independent. They are not employees, agents or contractors of DownTown.
8.2 DownTown does not guarantee the skill, qualification, licence, background, conduct, availability, pricing, timeliness or quality of any Service Provider or work done. A "Verified" badge, if shown, only means that certain documents were seen at the time of enrolment. It is not a guarantee or endorsement.
8.3 You are responsible for checking the Service Provider's credentials, agreeing the price and scope before work starts, and supervising work done at your premises.
8.4 DownTown is not liable for any damage to property, theft, injury, poor workmanship, overcharging, delay, non-completion or dispute arising from a service. Your remedy lies against the Service Provider.
8.5 DownTown charges no fee to you or to Service Providers for listings, enquiries or bookings. Payment for services is made directly to the Service Provider. DownTown does not collect, hold or handle this money.
9. DownTown Homes — listing only
9.1 DownTown Homes is an advertising and listing platform. Property Listers post properties. DownTown is not the owner, seller, landlord, developer or agent of any listed property, unless agreed in a separate written agreement signed by DownTown.
9.2 DownTown does not verify title, ownership, approvals, land conversion, layout approval, RERA registration, encumbrances, measurements, boundaries, legal disputes, price or any other detail of listed properties. Photos, videos and descriptions are provided by Property Listers.
9.3 Before paying any token, advance or booking amount, you must independently verify the property through a lawyer and relevant government records, including title deeds, RTC/Pahani, Encumbrance Certificate, Khata, conversion orders, approved plans and RERA registration where applicable.
9.4 DownTown is not a party to any sale, purchase, lease, rental or agreement between you and a Property Lister. DownTown is not liable for any fraud, misrepresentation, title defect, delay, cancellation, loss of advance, dispute or loss arising from a property transaction.
9.5 DownTown charges no fee to you or to Property Listers for listings, enquiries or site visits. DownTown never asks for money in connection with any property. Anyone asking for money in DownTown's name for a property is not acting for DownTown; report them to us.
10. Your obligations
You agree not to:
- Give false information, impersonate anyone or use another person's account or payment method.
- Place fake, prank or bulk Orders you do not intend to accept.
- Make false or exaggerated complaints, submit edited or unrelated photos, or claim refunds dishonestly.
- Misuse coupons, referral schemes or offers, including through multiple accounts or devices.
- Post defamatory, obscene, abusive, hateful or misleading reviews or content.
- Contact Partners outside the Platform to avoid fees on an Order first placed through the Platform.
- Copy, scrape, reverse-engineer, hack, overload or interfere with the Platform.
- Use the Platform for any illegal purpose.
Breach may result in cancellation of Orders, forfeiture of wallet balance and offers, account suspension, recovery of losses and legal action.
11. Offers, coupons and wallet
11.1 Offers and coupons are subject to their own conditions and may be changed or withdrawn at any time without notice.
11.2 Wallet credits and promotional cash have no cash value, cannot be transferred, and may expire as stated. Refunds credited to the wallet can be withdrawn to source on request, as per the Refund and Cancellation Policy.
11.3 DownTown may reverse any credit or benefit obtained through fraud, error or misuse.
12. Reviews and content
12.1 By posting reviews, photos or other content, you grant DownTown a free, worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual licence to use, display, edit and distribute it in connection with the Platform and its marketing.
12.2 Reviews must reflect genuine experiences. DownTown may remove content that breaks these Terms or the law, but has no duty to monitor all content.
13. Intellectual property
The DownTown name, DT monogram, DownTown Homes mark, logos, app design, colours, software and content (other than Partner and user content) belong to DownTown. You may not copy, modify or use them without written permission.
14. Disclaimer
14.1 The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available". To the maximum extent permitted by law, DownTown disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and uninterrupted or error-free service.
14.2 DownTown does not warrant the accuracy of any Partner listing, or that any Partner will perform.
15. Limitation of liability
15.1 To the maximum extent permitted by law, DownTown, its directors, employees, franchisees and agents shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, loss of profit, loss of data, mental agony or emotional distress arising from use of the Platform or any Partner's goods or services.
15.2 DownTown's total liability for any claim relating to an Order shall not exceed the amount you paid for that Order. For claims unrelated to a specific Order, it shall not exceed ₹1,000.
15.3 Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot be excluded under Indian law, or limits your statutory rights as a consumer.
16. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless DownTown, its directors, employees, franchisees and agents against all claims, losses, penalties and legal costs arising from your breach of these Terms, your violation of law or third-party rights, your content, or your dealings with any Partner.
17. Third-party services
Payments, maps, messaging and other features use third-party services. Their availability and performance are governed by their own terms. DownTown is not liable for their failures.
18. Suspension and termination
DownTown may suspend, limit or terminate your account or access at any time, with or without notice, if it believes you have breached these Terms, acted fraudulently or harmed other users or Partners. You may delete your account at any time from the app or by writing to support. Clauses that by their nature should survive (including 4, 8, 9, 14, 15, 16 and 20) survive termination.
19. Force majeure
DownTown is not liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including heavy rain, floods, landslides, road closures, strikes, bandhs, curfews, epidemics, government orders, power failure, internet or telecom outages, or failures of payment gateways or cloud providers.
20. Governing law and disputes
20.1 These Terms are governed by the laws of India.
20.2 Before starting any legal proceedings, you agree to first raise the issue with our Grievance Officer and allow 30 days for resolution.
20.3 Subject to your rights under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, courts at Sirsi, Uttara Kannada, Karnataka shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
20.4 Disputes other than consumer complaints may be referred to arbitration by a sole arbitrator appointed by mutual consent under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996. The seat and venue shall be Sirsi, Karnataka, and proceedings shall be in English.
21. Grievance redressal
Contact our Grievance Officer: Raghavendra Naik, EMERGENT Building, Sirsi, Karnataka, support@mydowntown.in, +91 73490 59409 (phone / WhatsApp). Complaints are acknowledged within 48 hours and resolved within one month.
22. General
22.1 Changes. DownTown may change these Terms at any time. Updated Terms are posted on the Platform. Continued use means acceptance.
22.2 Severability. If any clause is held invalid, the rest remain in force, and the invalid clause is read down to the extent needed to make it valid.
22.3 No waiver. Failure to enforce a right is not a waiver of it.
22.4 Assignment. DownTown may assign these Terms to an affiliate or successor. You may not assign them.
22.5 Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy and the Refund and Cancellation Policy form the entire agreement between you and DownTown on this subject.
22.6 Language. If these Terms are translated into Kannada or another language, the English version prevails in case of conflict.