Terms of Service

1. Services provided

rivalstudy.com ("we", "us") provides bespoke competitor customer intelligence services to commissioning clients. Our services include structured interviews with verified paying customers of named competitors, analysis of findings, and delivery of intelligence briefs and related materials as scoped in each engagement letter.

Services are delivered on a project basis. Rival Study does not provide software-as-a-service, automated survey tools, or self-serve research platforms. All deliverables are prepared by qualified researchers using proprietary interview frameworks and quality assurance processes.

2. Engagement and scoping

Each engagement begins with a scoping discussion between the client and a Rival Study account manager. Scope is confirmed in writing, including: the named competitor, target respondent segment, number of interviews, deliverable components, timeline, and fee.

No work commences until scope is agreed and, where applicable, a deposit or purchase order is received. Changes to scope after commencement may affect timeline and fees and require written agreement from both parties.

Urgent engagements (2-week delivery) are subject to availability and may incur additional fees as stated at the time of scoping.

3. Participant recruitment and informed consent

Rival Study recruits interview participants through proprietary outbound methods and maintained respondent panels. All participants are verified as current or recent paying customers of the named competitor before interview.

Participants are informed of the purpose of the research, the identity of the commissioning client (where disclosure is required by our ethics framework), and how their responses will be used. Verbal or written consent is obtained before each interview and recorded in our research management system.

Clients may not contact participants directly, request participant identities, or attempt to identify individuals from anonymised deliverables. Any breach of this obligation constitutes a material breach of these terms.

4. Data handling and anonymisation

Interview data is anonymised before inclusion in client deliverables. Direct identifiers - including names, company names where they would enable identification, and contact details - are removed or generalised.

Role descriptors, company size bands, tenure ranges, and industry categories may be retained where they add analytical value without enabling identification of individual respondents.

Raw transcripts provided to clients are fully anonymised. Rival Study retains source records in accordance with our data retention schedule and applicable law.

5. Recording and transcript usage

Interviews may be audio-recorded with participant consent for quality assurance and transcript preparation. Recordings are stored securely and are not shared with clients unless explicitly included in the engagement scope.

Clients may use delivered transcripts and verbatim quotes internally for strategy, product, sales enablement, and diligence purposes. Transcripts may not be published, redistributed, or used in marketing materials without Rival Study's prior written consent.

Clients must not attempt to re-identify anonymised respondents from transcript content or metadata.

6. Confidentiality obligations

Client obligations. Clients shall treat all deliverables, methodology descriptions, and engagement details as confidential. Deliverables may not be shared with third parties without Rival Study's consent, except where disclosure is required for internal strategy, diligence, or advisory purposes within the client's organisation and its professional advisers bound by equivalent confidentiality obligations.

Rival Study obligations. Rival Study treats all client briefs, competitive intelligence requirements, and engagement details as strictly confidential. We will not disclose the identity of commissioning clients to interview participants except where required by our informed consent protocol.

Confidentiality obligations survive termination of the engagement for a period of five years, except where information enters the public domain through no fault of the receiving party.

7. Payment terms and invoicing

Fees are stated in US dollars unless otherwise agreed. Invoices are issued upon scope confirmation or as milestones are reached for larger engagements. Standard payment terms are 14 days from invoice date.

Late payments accrue interest at 4% above the Bank of England base rate per annum, calculated daily from the due date. Rival Study reserves the right to suspend work on active engagements where invoices remain unpaid beyond 30 days.

All fees are exclusive of VAT, which will be added where applicable at the prevailing rate.

8. Refund and cancellation policy

Clients may cancel an engagement before recruitment commences and receive a full refund of any deposit paid, less reasonable administrative costs not exceeding 10% of the engagement fee.

Once participant recruitment has commenced, cancellation fees apply based on work completed: 50% of the engagement fee if cancelled before interviews begin; 75% if cancelled after interviews have commenced; 100% if cancelled after analysis has begun.

If Rival Study is unable to complete an engagement due to factors outside our control (including inability to recruit sufficient qualified respondents after reasonable efforts), we will refund fees for undelivered components or offer to revise scope by mutual agreement.

9. Intellectual property

Upon receipt of full payment, the client owns the intelligence brief and all deliverables produced specifically for that engagement, including anonymised transcripts, analysis, and battle cards.

Rival Study retains all rights in its interview frameworks, recruitment methodologies, analysis models, and proprietary research processes. Nothing in these terms grants the client a licence to replicate Rival Study's methodology or to represent Rival Study deliverables as the client's own primary research product for resale.

Rival Study may use aggregated, fully anonymised findings across engagements for internal quality improvement. We will never attribute findings to a specific client or engagement without written consent.

10. Limitation of liability

Rival Study delivers intelligence based on structured interviews with verified respondents. Findings represent reported sentiment and experience at the time of interview and should inform - not replace - the client's own commercial judgement.

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Rival Study's total liability arising from any engagement shall not exceed the fees paid by the client for that engagement. Rival Study shall not be liable for indirect, consequential, or special damages, including loss of profit, loss of opportunity, or reputational harm.

Nothing in these terms excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, fraud, or any liability that cannot be excluded under applicable law.

11. Governing law and jurisdiction

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales shall have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising from or connected with these terms or any engagement.

Questions regarding these terms should be directed to legal@rivalstudy.com.