Terms of Service | Vicholan

1. About these terms

These terms govern your use of Vicholan's website and verification services. By using our website or engaging us to conduct a verification, you agree to be bound by these terms.

Vicholan is based in Ontario, Canada. These terms are governed by the laws of Province of Ontario, Canada.

If you have questions before accepting, please contact us— we're happy to explain.

2. What we offer

Vicholan provides in-person verification services for matrimonial matches involving members of the Indian diaspora in Canada. Our representatives meet prospective brides and grooms openly and with their full written consent, observe genuinely, and provide written reports to the engaging family.

We are not private investigators. We do not conduct covert surveillance, access private records without consent, run criminal background checks, or guarantee any specific outcome. Our service is observational and advisory in nature.

3. Who may use our service

Our services are intended for adults (18+) acting on behalf of themselves or their families regarding matrimonial matters. By engaging us, you confirm that:

You are at least 18 years old
You have a legitimate, good-faith matrimonial interest in the person to be verified
You understand we will contact and inform the prospective match openly about our role before any meeting
You have the authority to share the personal information you provide about yourself, your family, and the prospective match
You will not use our service to harass, intimidate, or harm any person

4. Service tiers and pricing

We offer three primary packages — Mulakat, Pehchaan, and Pariwar — each covering a different depth of observation and reporting. Full pricing, included services, and any current discounts are listed on our Pricing page, which is incorporated into these terms by reference.

We offer two billing models:

Pay-as-you-go: you pay per stage as the engagement progresses. You may stop at the end of any stage and will not owe payment for future stages.
Full prepayment: you pay the total package price upfront in exchange for a small discount. Refunds for unused stages follow Section 7.

All prices are in Canadian dollars (CAD) unless otherwise stated. Indian parents paying from India pay in CAD; their card issuer handles the currency conversion. We do not charge FX fees.

5. The verification process

Our standard engagement follows these steps:

You complete the intake form with details about yourself, your family, and the prospective match.
You pay the reservation deposit (a small upfront amount disclosed at checkout).
We contact the prospective match, explain our role in full, and obtain their written consent before any meeting occurs.
We meet the prospective match openly in an agreed setting, observe genuinely, and take notes.
We deliver a written report describing our observations, impressions, and honest assessment.
You pay any remaining balance before or at the time of report delivery, depending on your billing model.

We will not begin any meeting until the prospective match has signed our consent form. If the prospective match declines to participate, we will refund all amounts paid except a small administrative fee covering our outreach effort, which is disclosed in advance at the start of the engagement.

6. What our reports do — and don't — say

Our reports describe our genuine observations and impressions from in-person meetings. They typically include:

First impressions, demeanour, and communication style
How the person spoke about family, work, and their vision for the future
Observations of lifestyle and living arrangements (where a home visit is included)
Informal cross-checks against claims in the bio-data
Community-specific observations relevant to your family's context
Our honest gut impression

Our reports do not:

Constitute formal background checks, credit checks, or criminal record searches
Verify employment or education through official records (unless the person voluntarily shares documents during the meeting)
Guarantee that any observation is complete, accurate, or free from bias
Predict the success of any matrimonial match
Provide legal, financial, immigration, or medical advice

You and your family are solely responsible for decisions made based on our reports.

7. Refunds and cancellations

You may stop the engagement at any time. Refunds depend on the stage reached:

Before match outreach begins: full refund of all amounts paid
After outreach but before the meeting: refund of all amounts paid except the outreach administrative fee (disclosed in advance)
After the meeting has taken place: no refund of meeting and report fees; any subsequent unpaid stages are cancelled at no charge
If the match declines consent: full refund except the outreach administrative fee

Refunds are processed within 7 business days to the original payment method. Stripe may take a further 5–10 business days to credit your account, depending on your bank.

8. Your responsibilities

You agree to:

Provide accurate and complete information about the prospective match
Engage us only for genuine matrimonial purposes
Not use our service to harass, stalk, intimidate, or otherwise harm any person
Not engage us if the prospective match has already made clear they do not wish to be subject to such verification
Treat the report we provide as strictly confidential — do not publish, post publicly, share with third parties outside your immediate family, or use it in any way that could damage the reputation of any individual described in it
Inform us promptly if any information you provided changes or turns out to be incorrect

9. Our responsibilities

We agree to:

Conduct all meetings openly and only after obtaining the match's written consent
Observe and report honestly, without exaggeration or fabrication
Protect the personal information of all parties in accordance with our Privacy Policy
Process refunds in accordance with Section 7
Not contact third parties (employers, neighbours, friends) without the explicit consent of the person being verified
Disclose any conflict of interest (e.g., a pre-existing relationship with the prospective match) before the engagement begins

10. Privacy and data

Our handling of personal information is governed by our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these terms by reference. By engaging our service, you consent to our collection and use of personal information as described in that policy.

11. Intellectual property

The Vicholan name, logo, website content, and report templates are our property or licensed to us. The reports we deliver are for your family's private use only. You may share them with members of your immediate family involved in the matrimonial decision, but you may not republish, sell, license, or use them for any commercial purpose.

12. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, our total liability to you for any claim arising from your use of our service is limited to the total amounts you have paid us in the 12 months immediately preceding the claim.

We are not liable for:

Decisions you or your family make based on our reports
Subjective assessments that turn out to be inaccurate
Indirect, consequential, special, incidental, or punitive damages of any kind
Acts or omissions of the prospective match or any third party
Service interruptions caused by events outside our control

Nothing in these terms limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law, including consumer protection legislation in Ontario or the rights of consumers under applicable Indian consumer law.

13. Disclaimers

Our service is provided on an "as-is, with-care" basis. We make no representations or warranties beyond those expressly stated in these terms. In particular, we do not warrant that:

Any specific outcome will result from our service
Our observations will be complete or free from error
The information provided by the prospective match is accurate
Our service is suitable for every family's needs

We encourage all families to use our reports as one input among many, and to exercise their own judgment.

14. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by applicable law, you agree to indemnify and hold harmlessVicholan, its representatives, and agents from claims, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your misuse of our service, your provision of false information, or your violation of these terms.

15. Dispute resolution

We hope any disagreement can be resolved through direct conversation. If we cannot resolve a dispute informally within 30 days of one party notifying the other:

Both parties will first attempt mediation through a mutually agreed mediator in Ontario, Canada
If mediation is unsuccessful, disputes will be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Ontario, Canada

For users in India, you also have the right to seek redress through Indian consumer forums under the Consumer Protection Act, 2019, which rights are not affected by this clause.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated by email to active clients at least 30 days before they take effect. The most recent version is always available at this page. Your continued use of the service after the effective date of updated terms constitutes your acceptance of those changes.

17. Severability

If any provision of these terms is found to be unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction, that provision will be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions of these terms will remain in full force and effect.

18. Contact

For questions about these terms, please contact Vicholan at support@vicholan.com. You can also use the WhatsApp button on our site to reach us directly.

For privacy-related questions specifically, please use privacy@vicholan.com.