Lead & Referral Disclosure

Why this disclosure exists

This disclosure explains, in plain language, what VIO CHIMNEY is, how our business model works, how we are paid, and what that means for you. We publish it because we believe you are entitled to understand the relationship between the brand you see in our marketing and the local business that arrives at your home — before you hire anyone. Please read it before accepting any estimate. Capitalized terms have the meanings given in our Terms of Use, into which this disclosure is incorporated.

What VIO CHIMNEY is

VIO CHIMNEY is a home-services brand and referral platform. We market chimney sweeping, inspection, repair, and related services nationally under the VIO CHIMNEY name, operate viochimney.com and its request forms and phone lines (the “Platform”), and connect homeowner service requests with vetted, independent local service professionals (“Service Professionals”) who perform the actual on-site work. The matching, referral, and support we provide are the “Services.”

VIO CHIMNEY does not itself perform chimney services. We do not sweep, inspect, repair, or install anything; we do not employ the technicians who visit your home; and we are not the contractor of record for any job. When you submit a request through the Platform, you are asking us to refer your request to an independent local business that can do the work.

Our advertising and website are presented in the VIO CHIMNEY brand voice — one name, one look, one front door for chimney care. That is a marketing identity. The operative legal relationship is the one described in this disclosure: VIO CHIMNEY is the referring platform, and the Service Professional is the independent business you may choose to hire.

How your request is handled

When you submit a service request (or call a number listed on the Platform), we collect your contact details, service location, and a description of the work you need. We then match the request — based on your location, the type of service, and Service Professional availability and capacity — with a Service Professional in our network, and share your request details with that business so it can contact you, discuss the work, and provide an estimate. Our Privacy Policy describes exactly what is shared.

From that point forward, the substance of the transaction is between you and the Service Professional: it provides the estimate, sets the price and schedule, performs the work, provides any workmanship warranty, and collects payment directly from you. VIO CHIMNEY does not process your payment and is not a party to your contract with the Service Professional.

How VIO CHIMNEY is compensated

VIO CHIMNEY may receive compensation from Service Professionals in connection with referrals. Depending on the market and the arrangement, this may take the form of a per-referral fee, a percentage or revenue share on completed jobs originating from our referrals, network participation or subscription fees, or a combination of these. This compensation is paid by the Service Professional, not billed to you by VIO CHIMNEY, and it is not added to your estimate as a separate line item.

We want to be candid about what this means: our compensation creates a financial relationship between VIO CHIMNEY and the Service Professionals in our network. It can influence which businesses choose to participate in the network and, where more than one Service Professional could serve your request, which one is matched. It also means Service Professionals account for their cost of participating in our network as part of their overall cost of doing business, as they would any advertising expense. We do not represent that a matched Service Professional offers the lowest available price, and we encourage you to compare estimates from multiple companies for significant work.

Service Professionals are independent businesses

Every Service Professional in the network is an independent business that is solely responsible for its own operations, including: holding any contractor license, registration, or certification required by its state or locality; maintaining its own insurance and any required bonding; obtaining permits; hiring, training, and supervising its own personnel; choosing its own methods, equipment, and safety practices; setting its own prices and schedules; the quality of its workmanship; any warranty it offers; and its own taxes and legal compliance.

No employment, agency, partnership, or joint-venture relationship exists between VIO CHIMNEY and any Service Professional, and participation in the network does not make a Service Professional our representative. Your contract for on-site work is formed solely between you and the Service Professional; VIO CHIMNEY is not a party to it, does not supervise the work, and does not guarantee its performance.

How vetting works — and its limits

Before admitting a Service Professional to the network, we apply screening criteria that include: confirming business identity and standing; requiring proof or attestation of any license or registration that the Service Professional's state or locality requires for the work it will perform; requiring attestation of, and where applicable documentation for, general liability insurance; reviewing reputation signals such as customer reviews and complaint history; and assessing responsiveness standards. On an ongoing basis, we monitor complaints from homeowners and may require updated documentation, and we may suspend or remove a Service Professional that fails to meet network standards.

You should understand the limits of vetting. It is a point-in-time screening that relies in part on documentation and attestations supplied by the Service Professional; licenses and insurance can lapse, and circumstances can change between reviews. Licensing itself varies widely — many states do not have a specific license category for chimney sweeping, so the applicable requirement may be a general contractor, home-improvement, or trade registration, or none at all. For these reasons, vetting is not, and should not be relied upon as, a guarantee of licensure, insurance, quality, safety, or outcomes.

We encourage you to verify independently before hiring: ask the Service Professional for its license number (where applicable) and confirm it with your state or local licensing authority; ask for a current certificate of insurance; ask about industry credentials and experience with your specific chimney type; and get the estimate and scope of work in writing before any work begins.

No endorsement or guarantee

Inclusion of a Service Professional in the network, or a referral of your request to one, is not an endorsement, recommendation, or guarantee of that business or its work. VIO CHIMNEY does not warrant the quality, safety, timeliness, price, or outcome of any on-site work, and any ratings, reviews, or testimonials displayed on the Platform reflect individual experiences and are not promises about your results. The disclaimers and limitations of liability in our Terms of Use apply to all referrals.

What VIO CHIMNEY does do

Within the limits described above, here is what we commit to doing. We operate the Platform and its request flow; we apply and maintain the vetting criteria described in this disclosure; we route your request to a Service Professional serving your area; we require network Service Professionals to agree to standards that include providing written estimates before work begins, dealing honestly with homeowners, and cooperating with complaint review; we record complaints and act on them, up to removing a business from the network; and if a match falls through — the Service Professional does not respond, declines the job, or cannot schedule you — we will make reasonable efforts to re-match your request if you ask.

These commitments describe how we run the network. They are undertakings about our own conduct, not a guarantee of any Service Professional's licensure, insurance, workmanship, or outcomes, and they do not change the disclaimers in our Terms of Use.

Your choices

You are always in control of who works on your home. You are never obligated to hire the Service Professional matched to your request; you may decline any estimate, in whole or in part, without cost or penalty from VIO CHIMNEY; you may request service through the Platform and still obtain competing bids from companies outside our network; and you may stop the process at any time. Declining a match or an estimate will never affect your ability to use the Platform in the future.

Questions worth asking any chimney company, inside or outside our network: Are you licensed or registered for this work in my area, and what is the number? Can you show a current certificate of insurance? Will the estimate be in writing, and does it say what is and is not included? Who obtains any required permit? What warranty do you offer on workmanship, and is it in writing? A reputable professional will answer all five without hesitation.

Complaints and concerns

If something goes wrong with a referral or with work performed by a Service Professional, we want to know. Email legal@viochimney.com with “Complaint” in the subject line, and include your name, the contact details you used on your request, the Service Professional involved, and a description of the issue. We will document the complaint, contact the Service Professional, seek a good-faith voluntary resolution, and factor the complaint into the Service Professional's continued participation in the network, up to and including suspension or removal.

Please understand what we can and cannot do: VIO CHIMNEY is not an arbiter of workmanship disputes and cannot adjudicate claims, compel a refund or repair, or provide legal remedies against a Service Professional. If a dispute cannot be resolved voluntarily, your remedies lie with and against the Service Professional, including through your state or local contractor licensing board, your state consumer protection agency or Attorney General, small claims court, or other legal channels. For any emergency involving fire, smoke, or suspected carbon monoxide, call 911 first.

Relationship to our other policies

This disclosure is incorporated into and forms part of our Terms of Use. Our Privacy Policy governs how request information is collected, used, and shared with the matched Service Professional; our SMS & Communications Consent disclosure governs calls and text messages about your request. If this disclosure conflicts with marketing copy anywhere on the Platform, this disclosure controls.

Contact

Questions about this disclosure or about how referrals and compensation work may be sent to VIO CHIMNEY at legal@viochimney.com with “Referral Disclosure” in the subject line.