Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) govern your access to and use of the Varde Index platform, websites, and services (collectively, the “Service”), operated by Fredheim LLC (“Fredheim”, “we”, “us”, or “our”). By registering for, accessing, or using the Service, you agree to be bound by these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

1. Eligibility & verified membership

The Service is a verified, maritime-only professional network. Contribution (reviews, comments, questions, answers, ratings, endorsements, and other user-generated content, collectively “Contributions”) is limited to users who have registered with accurate professional information and been approved through our verification process. You must be at least 18 years old and act in an individual professional capacity. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your credentials and for all activity under your account.

2. Nature of the Service — opinions, not statements of fact by Fredheim

Reviews, ratings, scores, the Commercial Trust Index, risk indicators, reputation labels, and other Contributions reflect the subjective opinions and first-hand experiences of individual verified users, not statements of fact, endorsements, certifications, or determinations by Fredheim. Fredheim does not independently audit, guarantee, or warrant the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of any Contribution. Verification of a user’s identity does not verify the truth of that user’s statements.

The Commercial Trust Index and any risk indicators are aggregated, community-sourced signals provided for informational purposes only. They are not a credit rating, financial rating, background check, legal determination, or professional advice, and must not be relied upon as the sole basis for any commercial, credit, employment, legal, or other decision. Conduct your own due diligence.

3. Your Contributions

You represent and warrant that your Contributions:

• are truthful, based on your genuine first-hand experience, and not misleading;
• do not contain defamatory, libellous, harassing, threatening, discriminatory, unlawful, or knowingly false statements, and do not accuse any person or organization of criminal conduct (e.g. fraud) without a good-faith factual basis;
• do not disclose confidential information, trade secrets, personal data of others, or information you are contractually or legally barred from sharing;
• do not infringe the intellectual property, privacy, or other rights of any third party; and
• comply with our Content & Community Policy and all applicable laws.

You retain ownership of your Contributions. You grant Fredheim a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, sublicensable licence to host, store, reproduce, adapt, publish, display, and distribute your Contributions in connection with operating, promoting, and improving the Service. This licence survives termination with respect to Contributions already made publicly available or aggregated into non-identifying data.

4. Conflicts of interest & moderation

You may not rate or score your own current employer, a product sold by your employer, a conference organized by your employer, or any entity where you have an undisclosed conflict of interest. All Contributions may be screened, moderated, held, edited for policy compliance, or removed. We may correct factual information, apply visibility labels, and act on reports at our discretion. We do not permit anyone to purchase, alter, or suppress reviews, ratings, or reputation; advertising and paid features never influence rankings, scores, or editorial content.

5. Company profiles, claims & responses

Verified company representatives may claim a profile, correct factual company information, and post one official response per review. Claimed companies may not delete, edit, alter the rating of, or suppress genuine user reviews. Listing an organization does not imply any relationship between that organization and Fredheim.

6. Paid features

Subscriptions, advertising, sponsored placements, job postings, and marketplace services are billed as described at the point of purchase and are clearly labelled as paid content. Fees are non-refundable except as required by law or expressly stated. Paid features confer visibility and functionality only — never preferential treatment in reputation, rankings, or reviews.

7. Intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design, text, graphics, logos, and the “Varde Index” name and marks, is owned by or licensed to Fredheim and is protected by intellectual-property laws. Except for your Contributions and rights expressly granted, no rights are transferred to you.

8. Disclaimers

THE SERVICE AND ALL CONTRIBUTIONS ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. Fredheim is a neutral platform host and is not responsible for Contributions made by users. Nothing on the Service constitutes legal, financial, commercial, tax, or professional advice.

9. Limitation of liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, FREDHEIM AND ITS OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA, GOODWILL, OR BUSINESS, ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF (OR INABILITY TO USE) THE SERVICE OR ANY CONTRIBUTION. FREDHEIM’S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID FREDHEIM IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) USD 100.

10. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Fredheim from any claims, damages, liabilities, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your Contributions, your use of the Service, or your breach of these Terms or applicable law.

11. Suspension & termination

We may suspend or terminate your access at any time for violation of these Terms or the Content & Community Policy, or to protect the Service or its users. You may close your account at any time.

12. Governing law & disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles, and the courts located there will have exclusive jurisdiction, unless a mandatory law of your place of residence provides otherwise. (Fredheim LLC to confirm governing-law jurisdiction and venue.)

13. Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. Material changes will be notified through the Service or by email. Continued use after changes take effect constitutes acceptance.

14. Contact

Fredheim LLC — contact@vardeindex.com · www.vardeindex.com.