Terms of Service

1. Who we are

The 495 Loop is operated by Randall Shannon, a sole proprietor doing business as The 495 Loop ("we," "us," "The Company," "The 495 Loop"). We operate online-only, with no walk-in or public-facing office anywhere in D.C., Maryland, or Virginia. We operate a local business directory and lead-generation/booking service covering the greater Washington, D.C. / Maryland / Virginia (DMV) area. By using this site — as a homeowner searching for a business, or as a business claiming or upgrading a listing — you agree to these Terms.

2. What we are — and aren't

The 495 Loop is a directory and lead-generation/booking service that connects DMV-area consumers with independent, licensed local businesses. We are not a contractor or service provider ourselves, and we do not perform any of the work listed. Each listed business is solely responsible for its own licensing, pricing, scheduling, and the work it performs. We don't guarantee any business's work, availability, or conduct.

3. Business listings

A free listing ("Free Claimed Listing") requires accurate, business-provided information — name, address, phone, category, and hours. You're responsible for keeping it accurate and for having the right to claim the listing on the business's behalf. We may edit, decline, or remove any listing, including one that's inaccurate, unclaimed by the actual business, or violates these Terms.

4. Paid memberships

Paid tiers (see current plans & pricing) add search-optimization work, lead routing, an AI answering/booking agent, and — depending on tier — Google Local Services Ads (LSA) setup and management. Paid tiers carry a mandatory monthly retainer and mandatory pay-per-qualified-connection billing — billed automatically each time we connect you with a prospect we originated, either by transferring them to you live or booking them on your calendar. Calls arriving on your own number are never billed per connection. Full pricing, billing definitions, and dispute/credit terms are set out in the signed membership agreement, which controls over this page for members.

5. Google LSA and ad spend

Where LSA or other paid ads are part of your tier, they run under your own Google Business Profile and license, and you fund that ad spend directly to Google or Meta — never bundled into or marked up in our fees. Leads from your own ad accounts belong to you; we never resell them. Our fee is for answering, qualifying, and booking those leads after you receive them.

6. Marketing communications consent

By claiming a listing or signing a membership agreement, you agree that The 495 Loop and its AI agents may contact you by phone call, text message, and email — including using automated dialing and AI-generated voice or text — with updates, offers, and upgrade options for your listing or membership. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to any text to opt out of texts, or email hello@the495loop.com to opt out of calls or emails.

7. Who owns what we build

We own the work we create. That includes your listing on this site, and any pages, copy, or website we build for you. While you're a paying client you have alicense to use it — think of it as renting a storefront rather than buying one. That license ends when your plan ends.

You always own and keep, no matter what:

• Your domain name
• Your Google Business Profile, your reviews, and your Google LSA account
• Anything you gave us — your logo, photos, testimonials, your own copy, your business details
• Every lead and customer we've already sent you

We never claim ownership of anything you provided, and we never delete your materials.

8. Cancellation — and what happens to the work

Paid plans are month-to-month. Either party may cancel in writing at any time. Fees for qualified connections already delivered, any minute overage incurred, and any month already earned remain due.

When you cancel:

• Your license to the work we created ends.
• Your listing here is reduced to a basic free listing or removed — your choice.
• Any website we built is removed. If we built it on your own domain, werestore the snapshot we took before we started.
• We take that snapshot before doing any work, and keep it for90 days after you cancel.
• You get 14 days' written notice before anything is removed or reverted.
• Anything you gave us is left in place or returned — never deleted.

Two things we want you to understand before you sign, not after:

A restored site is the old site. It reflects how things were before we started — your hours, pricing and services may be out of date by then, and updating them is up to you.

Removing a site affects your visibility. Pages that built up search rankings and links will be gone, and some links pointing to them will break. That's a normal consequence of ending the engagement, and we're telling you here rather than surprising you with it later.

The work itself stays ours. Content, pages and optimization work we created remain our property after cancellation, and we may reuse or adapt them. That's what the license in section 7 means — you were licensing our work for as long as you were a client, not buying it.

9. No guarantee of results

We don't guarantee any specific number of leads, booked appointments, or business outcomes, except where a specific guarantee is stated in a signed membership agreement. Search rankings, ad performance, and consumer demand vary and are outside our control.

10. Disclaimers & limitation of liability

The site and our services are provided "as is," without warranties of any kind. We are not responsible for the acts, omissions, licensing status, or work quality of any listed business — verify a contractor's license independently before hiring. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total liability to you for any claim arising from these Terms or your use of the site is limited to the fees you paid us in the three months before the claim arose.

11. Your responsibilities

If you list or represent a business on The 495 Loop, you're responsible for holding any required license or registration for your trade in the jurisdiction you serve, and for the accuracy of everything you submit. You agree to indemnify us against claims arising from your business's conduct, licensing status, or the work it performs.

12. Privacy

We collect only what's needed to make a referral or manage your listing/membership — name, contact info, service details, and (for paid tiers) billing information. We share homeowner contact information with the specific business a request is routed to, and don't sell it beyond that. See our Privacy Policy for the full detail on what's collected, how it's used, and how to request deletion. Contact hello@the495loop.com for privacy requests.

13. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time; the "Last updated" date above reflects the most recent change. Continuing to use the site after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

14. Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to its conflict-of-law principles. The Company is an online-only business operated as a sole proprietorship based in Maryland, and does not maintain a walk-in or public-facing office in the District of Columbia, Maryland, or Virginia.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of the Services shall be brought in the state or federal courts located in Maryland, and you consent to the jurisdiction and venue of those courts.

Nothing in these Terms is intended to waive, limit, or restrict any rights, remedies, or protections that cannot lawfully be waived under applicable D.C., Maryland, Virginia, federal, or other applicable law.

15. Contact

Questions about these Terms: hello@the495loop.com.