Terms & Conditions

These Terms & Conditions ("Terms") govern your access to and use of the Custody Note desktop application ("Software"), the website custodynote.com ("Site") and related services offered by Defence Legal Services Ltd trading as Police Station Agent ("we", "us", "our"). By downloading, installing, or using the Software or Site you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use them.

1. Definitions

• "Software": the Custody Note desktop application for Windows and macOS, including updates we provide.
• "Licence": the right to use the Software granted under clause 3.
• "Subscription": a paid plan giving access to the Software for a billing period.
• "Content": attendance notes, case data and other material you create or input.
• "Consumer": an individual acting wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession.

2. The Software

Custody Note is desktop software for Windows 10 or later (64-bit) and macOS 11 or later (Apple Silicon and Intel), installed as a direct download from our website. It is designed to assist accredited representatives and solicitors in creating structured police station attendance notes and related documents. It is a tool to assist professional work; it is not a substitute for professional judgment, supervision, or compliance with the Legal Aid Agency, Solicitors Regulation Authority, or other regulators. It is not a full case management system and is not represented as covering every regulatory or contractual requirement your firm may face.

3. Licence

During beta, we grant access without payment. After beta, subject to payment where required for Pro, we grant you a non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable licence to install and use the Software on your licensed Windows or Mac devices in accordance with these Terms and any separate licence key or subscription terms communicated to you.

You must not, except as permitted by law:

• copy, modify, adapt, translate or create derivative works of the Software;
• reverse engineer, decompile or disassemble the Software;
• rent, lease, sub-licence, sell, or otherwise commercially redistribute the Software;
• remove or alter any proprietary notices, or circumvent licensing or security controls.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Software or Site to:

• break any law or infringe the rights of others;
• upload malicious code or attempt to disrupt or gain unauthorised access to our systems;
• misrepresent the Software or the publisher; or
• process personal data unlawfully or in breach of your professional duties.

5. Free and Pro plans

We offer free during beta on download, with no payment card required. Advanced features are available on a paid Pro subscription as described on the Pricing page. We may change free and Pro feature boundaries, pricing, or eligibility with reasonable notice on the Site or in-product.

6. Subscription, pricing and payment

During beta there are no paid plans and nothing to buy. Paid plans, price, billing cycle, and any taxes are as stated at the point of purchase or in your order confirmation. Subscriptions renew for further periods unless cancelled before renewal, where that applies to your plan. Non-payment may result in suspension or termination of licence entitlements. We may change prices for future billing periods on reasonable notice.

7. Updates

The Software may update automatically or prompt you to update. Installed from our website, updates are delivered from our published release channel as described in the product and on the Site. We may modify, add, or remove features over time; we will not materially reduce core functionality of a paid plan during a paid period without offering a reasonable remedy.

8. Intellectual property

The Software, the Site, and all related intellectual property rights are owned by us or our licensors. These Terms grant a licence to use the Software; they do not transfer any ownership. The "Custody Note" name and branding are ours. You retain all rights in your Content; we claim no ownership of your attendance notes or case data.

9. Third-party and open-source components

The Software may incorporate third-party or open-source components that are licensed under their own terms. Where those terms require, they prevail over these Terms in respect of the relevant component. The Site may link to third-party websites we do not control; we are not responsible for their content or practices.

10. Your data and professional responsibility

You retain control of case and client information entered into the Software on your systems, subject to optional cloud features you enable. You are solely responsible for the accuracy, legality, and professional adequacy of notes and documents you produce, and for complying with confidentiality, legal aid, data protection, and conduct obligations. Our handling of personal data is described in our Privacy Policy and Security page.

11. Disclaimers

To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Software is provided "as is" and "as available". We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation, or that the Software will meet every requirement of your practice. You use the Software at your own professional risk and remain responsible for your own backups and continuity planning. Nothing in this clause affects statutory rights that cannot be excluded.

12. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, we exclude liability for indirect, consequential, or special loss, loss of profit, loss of business, loss of data (except where unlawful to exclude), or loss of goodwill. Our total aggregate liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms or the Software in any 12-month period is limited to the fees you paid us for the Software in that period, or £100 if none. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes liability for death or personal injury caused by negligence, for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation, or for any liability that cannot be limited or excluded by law.

13. Consumer rights

If you are a Consumer, you have statutory rights under the Consumer Rights Act 2015 and the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 that are not affected by these Terms. For downloadable digital content, you may agree that supply begins immediately, in which case the 14-day cancellation right may be lost once download/use has begun, except where the content is faulty. Business users (most professional users) contract with us on a business-to-business basis and certain consumer protections do not apply.

14. Refunds and cancellation

Custody Note is free during beta. When Pro launches, it will be sold as a direct Subscription. Refund and cancellation rights depend on how you purchased and on applicable consumer or commercial law. To cancel or raise a billing or refund query, contact us at robertcashman@defencelegalservices.co.uk (Outlook Web) with your order details and we will help.

15. Suspension and termination

We may suspend or terminate access for material breach of these Terms or for non-payment, giving notice where reasonable. You may stop using the Software at any time. On termination your Licence ends and you must stop using the Software; you remain responsible for exporting and retaining your own Content. Provisions that by their nature survive (for example clauses on intellectual property, liability, and data responsibilities) survive termination.

16. Complaints and dispute resolution

Please raise any complaint with us first using the contact details below; we aim to resolve issues promptly and fairly. If a dispute cannot be resolved, it is subject to the courts identified in clause 19. Consumers may also have access to alternative dispute resolution and online dispute resolution mechanisms.

17. Force majeure

We are not liable for failure or delay in performance caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including outages of third-party infrastructure, network failures, or other force majeure events.

18. General

• Assignment: you may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them as part of a business transfer.
• Severability: if any provision is unenforceable, the rest remain in effect.
• Waiver: failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of it.
• Entire agreement: these Terms, with any order and the linked policies, form the entire agreement on their subject matter.
• Notices: we may provide notices via the Site, in-product, or by email to the address associated with your account.

19. Governing law and jurisdiction

These Terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. The courts of England and Wales have exclusive jurisdiction, subject to any mandatory protections applicable to Consumers resident elsewhere in the UK.

20. Contact

robertcashman@defencelegalservices.co.uk (Outlook Web) | Contact page