Restricted and prohibited businesses

This applies to every business listed on Promotello, to everyone who acts for one, and to everything a business publishes here: its page, its offers, its loyalty card, and the words and photos in them.

It sits alongside our Terms of Service, and where the two overlap both apply. It is written for the United Kingdom, which is where we operate; if we open elsewhere, local law will apply there as well.

The lists below are not exhaustive. We can decline a business or an offer that isn't named here if listing it would break the law, mislead customers, or put people at risk.

We don't list a business whose trade is mainly any of the following.

Anything unlawful. Goods or services that are illegal where the business trades; stolen goods; counterfeits, replicas and unauthorised copies of music, film, games or software; forged documents or identity papers.

Adult services and adult entertainment. Escorting and sexual services, strip clubs and similar venues, and pornography.

Gambling and paid-entry prize draws. Betting, casinos and gaming, lotteries, competitions that charge to enter for the chance of a prize, bidding-fee auctions, and tipping or forecasting services sold on the promise of winnings.

Drugs. Cannabis and other controlled drugs, products above the legal THC limit, equipment sold for taking or growing them, and substances sold to be consumed or inhaled for a high.

Weapons. Firearms, ammunition and their parts; knives or blades sold as weapons; disguised weapons; stun guns and incapacitant sprays.

Money, credit and investment. Lending of any kind, including payday and short-term credit; debt settlement, debt management and credit repair; money transfer, remittance and currency exchange; cheque cashing; cryptocurrency exchanges and wallets; investment and trading schemes, and courses sold on the returns they promise.

Schemes that pay for recruitment. Pyramid and matrix schemes; multi-level marketing where the money comes from signing people up rather than selling to the public; get-rich-quick and work-from-home packages sold on what you could earn.

Health claims we can't stand behind. Cures or treatments for serious illness; unlicensed medicines; prescription-only medicines sold outside a registered pharmacy; and anything sold on claims the advertising rules don't allow.

Selling by pressure. Door-to-door selling, cold-call telemarketing, timeshares and holiday clubs, and “you've won a holiday” promotions.

Anything that isn't a local business. Promotello is a directory of places near you. A listing needs somewhere a customer can walk into, or a service area we cover that you travel to. We also aren't a place to collect donations or campaign funds, so charities, political parties and religious organisations can't list, however good the cause — a shop they run can.

These are ordinary businesses and welcome here. Because the law asks something of them, we ask to see it before the page goes live, and we may ask again later. Send it with your application, or we'll ask when we review you.

• Pubs, bars, restaurants, shops and anyone else selling alcohol: your premises licence. The rules on alcohol offers below apply as well.
• Shops selling tobacco or vapes: you're welcome to list; the offer just can't be on those products.
• Pharmacies, opticians, dentists and clinics: registration with the GPhC, GOC, GDC or CQC, whichever applies to you.
• Aesthetics — injectables, fillers, laser and similar: the practitioner's registration, the prescriber where one is needed, and your council's licence where it requires one.
• Tattooists, piercers and electrolysis: registration with your local authority.
• Food businesses: we look up your Food Hygiene Rating. A very low rating holds a listing until it's been put right.
• Anything working with children — childcare, tutoring, clubs and coaching: Ofsted registration or DBS checks, whichever applies.
• Financial, legal, accountancy and estate agency services: FCA, SRA, CLC or equivalent authorisation. We don't publish offers on credit, debt advice or investments at all.
• Driving instructors: a DVSA badge. Taxis and private hire: your council licence.
• Pet shops, groomers, boarding, day care and breeders: your animal activities licence.
• Fireworks and other age-restricted goods: the licence where one is needed, and an age check at the till.
• Second-hand dealers, antiques and anything bought from the public: a licence where your council requires one.
• Gyms, studios, coaching and therapies: insurance and qualifications on request, and no medical claims.

Your offer is an advert, and the same rules apply to it as to a poster in your window. Beyond those, we won't publish:

• price promotions on tobacco or vapes, which UK law doesn't allow;
• alcohol offers that reward drinking quickly or heavily — unlimited drinks for one price, drinks given for finishing them, or more free the more you buy. Age is still checked at the till, by you, every time;
• anything aimed at under-18s, or likely to appeal to them, where the product is age-restricted;
• a discount that isn't real: a “was” price you haven't recently charged, a percentage off nothing, or a “free” that costs something you haven't said;
• offers that depend on the customer taking credit or signing a finance agreement;
• prize draws and competitions, or anything where the customer pays for a chance of winning;
• offers on prescription-only medicines, injectables, or any treatment that needs a consultation with a prescriber first;
• offers on live animals;
• anything misleading about who you are, where you are, or what the customer gets.

Loyalty cards follow the same rules: a stamp can't be given for something we wouldn't let you offer, and a reward can't be something we wouldn't publish.

Customers pay you directly, at your till, for whatever they buy — that money never passes through Promotello. The payments we take are the subscriptions businesses pay us, and those run through Stripe.

So Stripe's own rules about the trades it will support bind us as well. Their list is longer than ours, covers more countries, and changes: if Stripe won't support a trade, we can't bill it, and that is sometimes the reason we have to say no to a business that is otherwise perfectly lawful. You can read it at stripe.com/legal/restricted-businesses.

We hold free and paid listings to the same standard, so that no one loses their page on the day they upgrade.

A person reads every new business before its page appears, and reads offers before they go live. If we decline something we say why, and you can reply — we get it wrong sometimes, and a licence or a bit of context often settles it.

If something is already listed and shouldn't be, we pause it and tell you. Where there is a risk to people, or the law is clearly being broken, we remove it straight away and may close the account. Vouchers customers already hold stop working when an offer is removed, so this is a last resort rather than a first one.

If you spot something on Promotello that breaks this policy, please tell us. You can also write to us at support@promotello.com.

We add to this page as we learn, as the law moves and as Stripe updates its own list. The date at the top says when it last changed. If a change affects a business already listed with us, we email them before it takes effect and give them a chance to put things right.