Legal Start a deal

Acceptable use

Hoolam is for real people selling real things to each other. These rules keep it that way for everyone. They are part of our Terms of service.

Contents
  1. 01Things you can’t sell through Hoolam
  2. 02Real sales only
  3. 03Be honest
  4. 04Respect people and the service
  5. 05What we do when rules are broken
  6. 06Report something

In short

  • Only sell things that are legal in Nigeria and really yours to sell.
  • Every deal must be a real sale of a real item or service. No moving money for other reasons.
  • Be honest with the other side and with us. No fake proof, fake ratings or other people’s accounts.
  • Break these rules and we can freeze the deal, refund the buyer and block your number.

Things you can’t sell through Hoolam

  • Anything illegal in Nigeria, or stolen.
  • Drugs and controlled substances, and prescription medicines.
  • Weapons, ammunition, explosives, and parts for them.
  • Fake, counterfeit or copied goods, and anything that breaks someone else’s trademark or copyright.
  • Wild animals, or parts of protected animals or plants.
  • People, human organs or body parts, and sexual services or adult content.
  • Gambling, betting, lottery or prize schemes.
  • Cryptocurrency, foreign currency, gift cards and vouchers, airtime for resale, or anything that works like cash.
  • Investments, loans, “double your money” offers and similar schemes.
  • Government documents, ID cards, licences, or results and certificates.
  • Personal data, hacked accounts, or tools for hacking or fraud.
  • Anything that WhatsApp’s own Commerce Policy doesn’t allow.

Some items, such as alcohol, tobacco and certain chemicals, need a licence to sell. If you sell them, you must have the licence and sell only to people allowed to buy them. If you aren’t sure, ask us before you start the deal.

Real sales only

A Hoolam deal must be payment for a real item or service from the seller to the buyer. You must not use Hoolam to:

  • send, lend or move money between people when nothing is being sold;
  • pay for something that isn’t what the deal says;
  • hide where money came from or where it is going; or
  • split one sale into many deals to get around our deal limit.

Be honest

  • Describe items truthfully, including faults and condition.
  • Use only your own WhatsApp number and a bank account in your own name.
  • Don’t pretend to be someone else, or to be Hoolam. Hoolam will only ever ask you to pay to an account number we send in our own chat.
  • Don’t send fake proof of payment, sending or delivery, and don’t edit screenshots you send us.
  • Don’t leave false ratings, or ask others to.
  • Don’t confirm “I’m happy” for a deal you didn’t receive, or report a problem you know isn’t true.

Respect people and the service

  • Don’t threaten, harass or abuse the other side or our team.
  • Only type someone’s number to start a deal with them if they are expecting it. Don’t use Hoolam to message people who haven’t asked.
  • Don’t put photos or links on your seller page that aren’t yours, are misleading, or are offensive.
  • Don’t try to break, overload, copy or automate our chat, website or systems.

What we do when rules are broken

Depending on what happened, we may:

  • pause or cancel a deal, or freeze the money in it;
  • refund the buyer;
  • remove a photo, link or rating, or turn off a seller page;
  • lower your deal limit, or block your number from Hoolam; and
  • report what happened to the police or other authorities, where the law requires it or someone may be harmed.

Our team records every action like this, with the reason. If you think we got it wrong, tell us at hello@hoolam.com.

Report something

If you see a seller or buyer breaking these rules, or someone pretending to be Hoolam, tell us on WhatsApp on +234 703 679 9976 (“Talk to a person”) or at hello@hoolam.com.