Business terms and conditions of sale

Scope and contractual documents

These general terms and conditions of sale (the “Terms”) govern orders placed with Alain Stevens for professional IT and digital services offered through the Alain STEVENS website. They apply exclusively to customers acting in the course of their economic, professional or institutional activities.

The accepted commercial document (quotation, proposal, order form, invoice for a standardised service or specific terms) specifies the service ordered. It prevails over these Terms where it expressly modifies them. Terms of use for particular software or a platform may supplement these Terms but do not implicitly override them.

Descriptions published on the website are provided for information only unless and until they form part of an accepted contractual offer. A contract is formed in accordance with the acceptance procedures described below.

Services for professional customers only

Services offered through this website are intended for companies, self-employed individuals, regulated professionals, government bodies, associations acting as part of their activities and, more generally, persons or organisations purchasing for professional use. Alain STEVENS is no longer a private investigator and does not conduct investigations, physical surveillance or monitoring. He does not accept such assignments, including as a subcontractor.

The customer confirms that they have authority to bind their organisation, are ordering in a professional capacity and will provide accurate billing details, including their name or company name, address and registration number where applicable.

The publisher may request evidence of the customer’s professional status and decline an order that falls outside the scope of this website. This referral does not reduce any mandatory rights that a person may have in light of their actual circumstances.

Nature of the IT services

The services offered consist of technical work and digital support. Their precise scope is as agreed in the order.

• architecture and programming of software, scripts, components, extensions and Windows or web applications;
• development or configuration of AI assistants, API integrations, workflows and automation;
• creation, administration and improvement of websites, blogs, professional workspaces and online solutions;
• search engine optimisation, technical audits, production or organisation of content and web support;
• interfaces for collection, archiving, monitoring, document analysis or the use of open-source information;
• technical documentation, professional training, awareness programmes and assistance in using tools.

The provider is committed only to the functions and deliverables expressly specified. Any additional functionality, major adaptation or service outside the original scope requires a supplementary agreement.

OSINT, investigations and regulated activities

The services offered by Alain Stevens are exclusively IT services: programming, AI agents, automation and workflows. References to digital investigation, OSINT, cybercrime or open-source research describe technological fields and professional uses. They do not turn a software development engagement into an investigative mandate.

Under these Terms, Alain Stevens does not accept private-investigation assignments intended to gather information about identifiable persons in defence of a third party’s interests. He does not undertake targeted investigations or prepare investigative conclusions on behalf of a client. He may direct customers to websites operated by private investigators or OSINT consultants working abroad, who offer their services under their own responsibility.

Where tools are intended for private investigators, lawyers, experts or other professionals, those users define their own assignments, control the searches they carry out and ensure that they hold any required authorisations. Regulated services may only be provided by properly authorised persons where required by law.

Enquiries, quotations and order acceptance

Each enquiry may be assessed for feasibility and followed by a proposal describing the objectives and a quotation specifying the price or the method used to calculate it. Timeframes are stated where they can reasonably be determined.

The customer accepts the proposal through the specified channel: electronic acceptance, signing a quotation or written confirmation. Changes requested after acceptance may affect the price and schedule.

For online services, acceptance may be obtained during checkout and recorded in a confirmation. Access to paid services may depend on receipt of the agreed payment. The customer should retain copies of the contractual documents received.

Prices, third-party costs and tax

Prices are quoted in euros as specified in the quotation, order or offer page. Pricing may be fixed, unit-based, subscription-based or calculated according to the time spent and the services expressly approved.

The applicable tax treatment, including any VAT exemption under a small-business scheme, is stated on invoices in accordance with the rules actually applicable to the provider when they are issued.

Costs for domain names, hosting, SaaS solutions, licences, automation platforms, APIs, AI credits, third-party tools and other resources are excluded unless expressly stated as included. Where relevant, the contractual document specifies who opens each supplier account and who pays for it.

If an additional requirement arises during performance, its cost must be approved before the additional work is carried out.

Invoicing, payment terms and late payment

Unless otherwise agreed, standardised digital services and access activated upon ordering are payable before delivery or activation. Custom services are invoiced according to the schedule stated in the quotation; an advance payment may be required.

Every invoice specifies its payment due date. In the absence of specific agreement, payment terms apply within the framework of Article L.441-10 of the French Commercial Code (Code de commerce). Agreed payment terms may not exceed the mandatory limits imposed by that provision.

If payment remains outstanding, and subject to mandatory law, the provider may suspend work or contractual access after notifying the customer and issuing any appropriate formal notice, without extinguishing amounts lawfully due.

Commencement, immediate digital services and withdrawal

The parties agree that certain services may be supplied as soon as the order is confirmed and, where applicable, payment has been received: delivery of a file or licence, opening digital access, activation of a module or making professional content available.

Other services, such as bespoke development, maintenance, support or training, begin and end according to the agreed schedule. Starting such services promptly does not mean that they have been fully performed when ordered.

Firm orders, services actually performed, activated licences and external resources already committed are not automatically cancellable or refundable solely because the customer changes their mind. Cancellation and refund requests are assessed under any applicable specific contractual terms and mandatory legal rules.

Schedule, cooperation and deliverables

Services are generally performed remotely on the basis of materials supplied or approved by the customer. Indicative timeframes start once the necessary information, access credentials, content or authorisations have been provided and the financial conditions for starting work have been met.

Deliverables may take the form of source code, access to an interface, a web page, software, documentation, a collection of files or training materials. Delivery or commissioning is confirmed by the means specified in the order.

Where an acceptance-testing procedure has been agreed, the customer must report in writing any documented deviations from the accepted scope within the contractual period. Failure to conduct express acceptance shall only be deemed tacit acceptance where a clear and applicable clause has provided for this in advance.

Recurring access, maintenance and outages

For products supplied by subscription or time-limited licence, the relevant offer specifies the billing frequency, included functions, any renewal arrangements, usage limits and termination rules. In the absence of such an offer, automatic renewal is not presumed.

Online systems may be affected by maintenance work, network incidents or outages at third-party suppliers. Any guaranteed availability levels must be expressly agreed; in the absence of such a commitment, the publisher does not promise uninterrupted operation.

Where an account exists, the retention, export and deletion arrangements for its associated data must be specified in the service documentation or the relevant agreement.

Customer obligations and authorised uses

The customer warrants that all content, access rights, data, credentials and instructions supplied may lawfully be used to perform the service. They must obtain any rights and authorisations that fall within their responsibility before the relevant operations take place.

The customer must not use the tools to gain unauthorised access to accounts or systems, misappropriate data, conduct unlawful surveillance, circumvent access restrictions or commit any act contrary to applicable law.

The customer determines the purposes of the searches and processing carried out with the tools insofar as those purposes form part of the customer’s own activity. The customer remains responsible for the compliance of the uses they choose, without prejudice to the provider’s own obligations.

Artificial intelligence and OSINT information

AI systems, connectors, indexes, search tools and automated processes may produce incomplete, inaccurate, outdated or biased results. The customer must verify outputs before making decisions or incorporating them into a professional report.

Providing an application does not guarantee the outcome of an investigation, the discovery of any particular information or the automatic evidential value of an export. The availability of sources, third-party services and external interfaces may change without the provider’s involvement.

Where automated functions process sensitive material, the customer must comply with the applicable legal framework and avoid sending unnecessary personal data to third-party APIs or services.

Third-party services and supplier accounts

Some tools rely on hosting providers, domain services, APIs, AI engines, email providers, software libraries, payment solutions or automation platforms operated by independent companies. Those suppliers’ own prices and terms govern their services.

Where the customer opens a subscription or account directly with a third-party supplier, the customer remains a party to that contractual relationship. Unless a separate mandate or contractual commitment provides otherwise, the IT provider does not assume that supplier’s obligations.

Any purchase or subscription made on the customer’s behalf requires prior agreement specifying, in particular, who pays and who holds the account.

Usage rights and intellectual property

Software, code, interfaces, methods, text, graphic designs and documentation are owned by their respective rightsholders. Paying for a service does not automatically transfer ownership of all the materials used or created.

The scope of the rights granted in deliverables, whether source code is supplied, rights to modify or redistribute and any exclusivity arrangements are defined in the quotation or applicable licence.

Open-source components and third-party materials remain subject to their own licence terms. Bespoke work may incorporate the provider’s pre-existing components unless otherwise agreed.

Confidentiality and personal data

Non-public professional information shared for an engagement must be handled with confidentiality appropriate to its nature, subject to legal disclosure obligations or validly granted authorisations to disclose.

The parties’ respective roles under the GDPR depend on the processing actually performed. Where the provider acts as a processor of personal data on the customer’s behalf, the parties must put in place the required contractual provisions, including those under Article 28 of the GDPR, before the relevant processing begins.

The website’s own privacy policy describes the processing carried out by its publisher as a controller, notably for contact enquiries and business administration. The customer remains responsible for their obligations concerning personal data entered into tools as part of the customer’s own activities.

Listed professionals and independent relationships

A satellite website may list independent experts, service providers or organisations, and link to their services. Unless a commercial arrangement expressly provides otherwise, contracts for those professionals’ own services are concluded directly between them and their customers.

Listing a partner, OSINT consultant or private investigator does not guarantee their results or automatically transfer responsibility to the publisher. Required qualifications and authorisations must be assessed according to the actual activity performed and the country concerned.

Services directly invoiced by Alain Stevens remain separate from the commercial or professional work carried out by those third parties. Any differently structured contractual arrangement must be disclosed as such before an order is placed.

Liability and contractual limitations

Each party is responsible for its own obligations in accordance with the contract and applicable law. The provider must deliver the agreed services with the care and skill normally expected of an IT professional. A specific guarantee of results applies only where expressly agreed or required by law.

Commitments concerning search-engine rankings, decisions based on generated content, the behaviour of third-party tools or the outcomes of searches are limited to what has been expressly promised. Contractual clauses cannot exclude liability where exclusion is prohibited by law.

The customer must promptly inform the provider of any objectively identified malfunction and, where relevant, allow the provider to investigate a technical solution within the contractual scope.

Term, suspension and termination

A one-off service ends when the agreed obligations have been performed. Subscriptions, maintenance arrangements and ongoing services are governed by the dates and termination procedures set out in their specific terms.

In the event of a sufficiently serious breach, the affected party may pursue the contractual or statutory remedies available, including after notice and, where required, a formal demand allowing a reasonable period to remedy the breach.

Amounts due for services performed, duly authorised expenses and accrued subscriptions remain payable to the extent permitted by law and the agreement.

Governing law and dispute resolution

Contractual relations are governed by French law, without prejudice to any mandatory provisions that may apply. The parties shall first seek an amicable resolution through written communication before bringing legal proceedings.

Failing agreement, the courts with jurisdiction are determined under the applicable procedural rules. A specific territorial-jurisdiction clause is enforceable only if all statutory validity requirements are met.

These Terms may be updated for future orders. For an order already placed, the version accepted when the contract was formed remains the reference unless the parties agree otherwise or mandatory law provides differently.

Identification and correspondence

Provider: Alain STEVENS — SIREN: 398 162 206 — IT consulting and services.

Administrative registered address: 67 rue Saint-Jacques, 75005 Paris, France. Correspondence address as supplied: 28 bis rue Antoine Goussiez, Anglie rue Blavier, 51100 Reims, France.

Telephone: +33 (0)6 12 55 19 80. Email: contact@pacta.com.

Document version: 17 October 2026. Website to which these Terms apply: Alain STEVENS.