Legal · Blue Swan Consulting, Inc.

Terms of Service

The terms that govern your use of SecurityDeposit.co and our document-preparation services.

Effective date

[DATE — must match Privacy Policy effective date]

Effective Date [DATE — must match Privacy Policy effective date]

Please read these Terms carefully. Section 15 contains a binding arbitration clause and a class action waiver that affect your legal rights. By using the Service, you agree to resolve disputes through individual arbitration rather than court proceedings or class actions. See Section 15 for details and your opt-out rights.

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") constitute a legally binding agreement between you ("User," "you," or "your") and Blue Swan Consulting, Inc., a Delaware corporation doing business as SecurityDeposit.co ("Company," "we," "us," or "our"). By accessing or using securitydeposit.co, completing the questionnaire, creating an account, or purchasing any product or service, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated herein by reference.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you must not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

SecurityDeposit.co provides a technology-assisted document preparation service that helps residential tenants generate customized demand letters and related documents in connection with the return of security deposits. The Service operates as follows:

  • You answer a questionnaire about your tenancy, move-out circumstances, and landlord's conduct.
  • Based on your answers, our system generates a customized document package tailored to your state's applicable statutes.
  • Depending on your purchase tier, the package may include a formal demand letter, follow-up letters, an evidence checklist, a case management timeline, and a small claims court guide.
  • You review, download, and send the documents to your landlord at your own direction and discretion.

We are a document preparation service. We are not a law firm and we do not practice law. See Section 3 for the full disclaimer.

The Service provides document preparation assistance only. Nothing on SecurityDeposit.co, in any document we generate, in any email we send, or in any other communication constitutes legal advice, the practice of law, or the formation of an attorney-client relationship.

Specifically:

  • We do not represent you in any legal proceeding.
  • We do not evaluate the merits of your specific legal claim or predict the outcome of your dispute.
  • The recovery estimates presented during the questionnaire are illustrative calculations based on statutory penalty multipliers and are not predictions of what you will recover.
  • We do not provide advice on whether you should file a claim, sue in small claims court, or take any particular legal action.
  • Information about applicable statutes provided through the Service is for general informational purposes. Laws change and may vary based on local ordinances, lease terms, and specific circumstances not captured by the questionnaire.

If you require legal representation or advice specific to your situation, you should consult a licensed attorney in your state. Many areas have tenant rights organizations and legal aid clinics that provide free or low-cost assistance.

4. What "Attorney-Reviewed" Means

We describe our document templates as "attorney-reviewed." This means that the template language used to generate your documents has been reviewed by one or more licensed attorneys to assess its general accuracy, appropriate legal framing, and compliance with applicable statutory requirements. It does not mean:

  • That an attorney reviewed the specific facts of your individual case;
  • That an attorney reviewed or approved the specific document generated for you;
  • That you have received legal advice from any attorney; or
  • That any attorney-client relationship has been formed between you and any attorney or law firm.

Attorney review of our templates is conducted periodically and may not reflect the most recent changes in the law of your specific state. You are responsible for verifying that the documents you send comply with current law and are appropriate for your situation.

5. Eligibility

You may use the Service only if:

  • You are at least 18 years of age;
  • You are a residential tenant, former tenant, or authorized representative of a tenant in a rental property located within the United States;
  • You have the legal capacity to enter into binding contracts under applicable law; and
  • Your use of the Service does not violate any applicable law or these Terms.

The Service is intended for personal, individual use in connection with a single tenancy dispute per purchase. Use of the Service on behalf of third parties, multiple tenants under separate leases, or for commercial purposes requires our prior written consent.

We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone at our sole discretion.

6. Accounts and Access

To access your case dashboard and downloaded documents, you will be asked to create an account using the email address you provided at checkout. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. You agree to notify us immediately at [SUPPORT EMAIL] if you suspect any unauthorized access to your account.

We may send you time-limited magic links (single-use, expiring URLs) to resume incomplete sessions or access your account. These links expire after 72 hours. You are responsible for keeping these links secure and not sharing them.

We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that we believe, in our sole discretion, are being used fraudulently, in violation of these Terms, or in a manner that may expose us or other users to harm.

7. Purchases and Payment

All purchases through the Service are processed by Stripe, Inc. By completing a purchase, you agree to Stripe's terms of service. Prices are displayed in US dollars and are subject to change at any time. The price displayed at the time you complete checkout is the price you will be charged.

Our current service tiers are:

DIY LetterA one-time purchase that includes your customized demand letter only.
StandardA one-time purchase that includes your demand letter and evidence checklist.
PremiumA one-time purchase that includes your demand letter, a suite of follow-up letters, an evidence checklist, and a small claims court guide.

All purchases are one-time charges. We do not charge recurring subscription fees. You will not be billed again unless you make an additional purchase.

Prices are subject to change. We will not charge you a different price for a product after your purchase is confirmed.

8. Refund Policy

We offer a seven (7) day full refund from the date of purchase, no questions asked, for any reason. To request a refund, contact us at [SUPPORT EMAIL] within seven days of your purchase with your order details. Refunds are processed to the original payment method and may take 5–10 business days to appear, depending on your bank.

After seven days from the date of purchase, all sales are final. We do not offer partial refunds for unused documents within a package.

The refund policy applies to the purchase price of your document package. It does not apply to any costs you may incur in connection with sending your documents (e.g., certified mail postage) or any third-party fees.

9. License to Use Documents

Upon confirmed payment, we grant you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the documents generated for you solely for the purpose of pursuing the return of your security deposit in connection with the specific tenancy described in your questionnaire. This license permits you to:

  • Download, print, and store the documents for personal use;
  • Send the documents to your landlord, their agent, or relevant government agencies in connection with your specific dispute;
  • Retain copies for your personal records.

This license does not permit you to:

  • Resell, sublicense, or distribute the documents to any third party;
  • Use the documents on behalf of any other person or tenant without purchasing a separate package for that person;
  • Modify the documents in a way that misrepresents their origin or legal basis; or
  • Use the documents for any commercial purpose.

10. Prohibited Uses

You agree not to:

  • Provide false, misleading, or fraudulent information in the questionnaire;
  • Use the Service to generate documents for disputes in which you have no legal standing;
  • Use the Service for any purpose that violates federal, state, or local law;
  • Attempt to reverse-engineer, copy, or extract our document templates or proprietary logic;
  • Circumvent, disable, or interfere with the Service's security features;
  • Use automated scripts, bots, or scraping tools to access or extract data from the Service;
  • Upload files containing malware, viruses, or other harmful code;
  • Use the Service in a manner that could damage, disable, or impair its operation or interfere with other users;
  • Impersonate any person or entity or misrepresent your affiliation with any person or entity; or
  • Use the Service to harass, threaten, or harm any individual, including your landlord.

A demand letter is a legal document. You are solely responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for the manner in which you send and use the generated documents. Sending false or misleading statements in a demand letter may expose you to legal liability.

11. Intellectual Property

Our property: The Service, including the website, questionnaire logic, document template language, software, design, text, graphics, and all other content created by us, is owned by or licensed to Blue Swan Consulting, Inc. and is protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. These Terms do not transfer any ownership interest in our intellectual property to you.

Your content: You retain ownership of any information you submit through the Service (your case data, uploaded photographs, and supporting documents). By submitting content, you grant us a limited license to use that content solely for the purpose of providing the Service to you. We do not claim ownership of your case data.

Feedback: If you provide feedback, suggestions, or ideas about the Service, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use that feedback for any purpose without compensation to you.

12. Disclaimers and No Warranty

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO:

  • WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT;
  • ANY WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS;
  • ANY WARRANTY THAT THE DOCUMENTS GENERATED WILL ACHIEVE A PARTICULAR RESULT, INCLUDING RECOVERY OF YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT; AND
  • ANY WARRANTY REGARDING THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR CURRENCY OF LEGAL INFORMATION PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICE.

We do not warrant or guarantee that your landlord will respond to, comply with, or be legally bound by any document generated through the Service. The outcome of any dispute depends on facts, circumstances, and legal determinations outside our control.

13. Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL BLUE SWAN CONSULTING, INC., ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR LICENSORS BE LIABLE FOR ANY:

  • INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES;
  • LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS;
  • DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR INABILITY TO RECOVER YOUR SECURITY DEPOSIT; OR
  • DAMAGES ARISING FROM RELIANCE ON THE SERVICE IN CONNECTION WITH ANY LEGAL PROCEEDING.

IN NO EVENT SHALL OUR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE SERVICE EXCEED THE AMOUNT YOU PAID TO US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR FIFTY DOLLARS ($50.00), WHICHEVER IS GREATER.

THESE LIMITATIONS APPLY REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY UNDER WHICH SUCH DAMAGES ARE SOUGHT, INCLUDING CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), STRICT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER THEORY, AND REGARDLESS OF WHETHER WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. If you are located in such a jurisdiction, some of the above limitations may not apply to you.

14. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless Blue Swan Consulting, Inc. and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and licensors from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

  • Your use of the Service;
  • Any information you submitted through the questionnaire that was inaccurate, incomplete, or misleading;
  • Your use of the generated documents, including any legal claim made against you arising from how you sent or used those documents;
  • Your violation of these Terms; or
  • Your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party.

15. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

This section significantly affects your legal rights. Please read it carefully. It requires you to resolve most disputes through binding individual arbitration rather than court proceedings.

15.1 Informal Resolution First

Before filing any arbitration claim, you agree to contact us at [SUPPORT EMAIL] and give us thirty (30) days to resolve your concern informally. Most issues can be resolved quickly this way. If we are unable to resolve the dispute within thirty days of your notice, you may proceed to arbitration.

15.2 Binding Arbitration

Except as set forth in Section 15.5, you and Blue Swan Consulting, Inc. agree that any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service (including any question of the existence, validity, or termination of these Terms) shall be resolved exclusively by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA") under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, as modified by these Terms. The Consumer Arbitration Rules are available at www.adr.org.

The arbitration will be conducted in English. The seat of arbitration shall be Wilmington, Delaware, unless the Consumer Arbitration Rules require otherwise given the location of the parties. For claims under $10,000, arbitration may be conducted by telephone, videoconference, or based solely on written submissions, at your election.

15.3 Arbitration Fees

AAA filing fees and arbitrator fees are governed by the Consumer Arbitration Rules. If your claim does not exceed $75,000, we will pay all AAA filing, administrative, and arbitrator fees. If your claim exceeds $75,000, fee allocation is governed by the Consumer Arbitration Rules. We will not seek attorneys' fees from you unless the arbitrator finds your claim was frivolous.

15.4 Class Action Waiver

YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY, AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE ACTION. Unless both you and we agree in writing, the arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims and may not otherwise preside over any form of a representative or class proceeding. If this class action waiver is found to be unenforceable, then the entirety of this arbitration agreement shall be null and void.

15.5 Exceptions to Arbitration

The following claims are excluded from the arbitration requirement and may be brought in court:

  • Claims for injunctive or equitable relief to protect intellectual property rights;
  • Claims that may be brought in small claims court (if the dispute qualifies under the applicable court's jurisdictional limits); and
  • Claims arising from our violation of applicable consumer protection statutes that expressly authorize court relief.

15.6 Opt-Out Right

You may opt out of the arbitration agreement by sending written notice to [LEGAL NOTICE EMAIL] within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms. Your notice must include your name, email address used to create your account, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. Opting out does not affect your right to use the Service.

16. Governing Law

These Terms shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Delaware, without regard to its conflict of law principles. To the extent any dispute is not subject to the arbitration agreement in Section 15, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Wilmington, Delaware for the resolution of such disputes.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in these Terms limits your rights under any mandatory consumer protection laws in your state of residence that cannot be waived by contract.

17. Modifications to Terms

We reserve the right to modify these Terms at any time. For material changes, we will provide at least thirty (30) days' advance notice by posting the updated Terms on this page and sending an email to registered account holders. For non-material changes (such as clarifications or corrections that do not affect your rights), the updated Terms will be effective upon posting.

Your continued use of the Service after the effective date of revised Terms constitutes your acceptance of those changes. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using the Service and may request a refund subject to the refund policy in Section 8.

We will not retroactively apply material changes to disputes or claims that arose before the effective date of the modification.

18. Termination

You may close your account at any time by contacting us at [SUPPORT EMAIL]. Closing your account will result in deletion of your case records and downloaded documents from our systems, subject to our legal retention obligations.

We may suspend or terminate your access to the Service, with or without notice, if:

  • You breach any provision of these Terms;
  • We believe your use poses a legal or security risk to us or other users;
  • Required by applicable law or a government authority; or
  • We discontinue the Service.

If we terminate your account for reasons other than your breach of these Terms, we will refund any amounts paid in the prior seven (7) days on a pro-rata basis.

Sections 3, 4, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 shall survive termination of these Terms.

19. General Provisions

Entire AgreementThese Terms, together with the Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and Blue Swan Consulting, Inc. regarding the Service and supersede all prior agreements and understandings.
SeverabilityIf any provision of these Terms is found to be invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable, and the remaining provisions will continue in full force and effect.
No WaiverOur failure to enforce any provision of these Terms shall not be construed as a waiver of our right to enforce that or any other provision in the future.
AssignmentYou may not assign or transfer your rights or obligations under these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign our rights without restriction in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of all or substantially all of our assets.
Force MajeureWe are not liable for any failure or delay in performance due to causes beyond our reasonable control, including acts of God, internet outages, or government actions.
No Third-Party BeneficiariesThese Terms do not create any third-party beneficiary rights.
Electronic AgreementYou agree that your electronic acceptance of these Terms constitutes a valid and binding agreement to the same extent as a physical signature under applicable law.

20. Contact

For questions about these Terms, to exercise legal notice rights, or to request a refund:

General / Support[SUPPORT EMAIL — e.g. hello@securitydeposit.co]
Legal Notices[LEGAL EMAIL — e.g. legal@securitydeposit.co]
Privacy Requests[PRIVACY EMAIL — e.g. privacy@securitydeposit.co]
MailBlue Swan Consulting, Inc.
Attn: Legal
[BUSINESS MAILING ADDRESS]