Terms & Conditions

1. Who we are

Candle Direct (“Candle Direct”, “we”, “us”) operates the website candle.direct. The service is provided by Gintronics BV, Tategemstraat 22, 8790 Waregem, Belgium, company/VAT number BE 0554.684.305. You can reach us at support@candle.direct.

2. Scope

These terms apply to every visit to and use of candle.direct and to every candle you light, whether paid as a single micropayment or through a subscription. The service is aimed at consumers (B2C). By using the site or placing an order you accept these terms. Your statutory rights as a consumer under Belgian and EU law are not affected by anything in these terms.

3. The service

Candle Direct lets you light a virtual candle on the live candle wall of churches around the world. You may add your name and an intention, and you may choose to support a good cause. A lit candle burns for a limited time and then fades, mirroring a real votive candle. The service is entirely digital; nothing physical is shipped. Candles you light are recorded in your browser so you can find them again under “My candles”.

4. Prices

Prices are shown in euro and include VAT where applicable. Lighting a single candle currently costs €2.00. Subscription prices are shown before you subscribe. We may change our prices; a change never affects a candle or subscription period you have already paid for, and we will announce changes to recurring prices in advance (see article 6).

5. Orders and payment (micropayments)

An order is placed the moment you confirm lighting a candle. Payment is handled as a micropayment through our third-party payment provider; we never receive or store your full card details. Your candle is lit once payment is authorised. If a payment fails or is reversed, the candle may not be lit or may be removed.

6. Subscriptions

A subscription lets you light candles or access features on a recurring basis for a recurring fee, billed in advance for each period (for example monthly or yearly) via your chosen payment method. Unless stated otherwise, a subscription renews automatically for successive periods.

You can cancel at any time. After any minimum initial term, you may cancel with effect from the end of the current billing period, and in line with Belgian law a subscription of indefinite duration or one that has been tacitly renewed can be terminated at any time with a notice period of no more than two months. On cancellation you keep access until the end of the period already paid for; we do not refund the current period unless the law requires it. We will give reasonable advance notice of any increase to a recurring price, and you may cancel before it takes effect. If a recurring payment fails, we may suspend or end the subscription.

7. Right of withdrawal

As a consumer you normally have 14 days to withdraw from a distance contract. However, lighting a candle is digital content/a service that is performed immediately. By lighting a candle you expressly ask us to begin performance at once and acknowledge that you lose your right of withdrawal as soon as the candle is lit; a lit candle is therefore non-refundable. For a new subscription that you have not yet used, you may still withdraw within 14 days by contacting support@candle.direct; if you have already used it during that period, we may charge in proportion to the use made.

8. Good causes and donations

Where you choose to support a good cause when lighting a candle, that choice is passed on as part of your contribution. Candle Direct is independent and is not affiliated with, and does not act on behalf of, the listed charities. Information about charities is provided for convenience and may change; always check the charity’s own channels before relying on it. The exact share of a contribution that is forwarded to a cause, and how and when it is transferred, is described on the good-causes page or on request.

9. Acceptable use

Names and intentions you submit must be lawful and must not be offensive, hateful, misleading, or infringing, and must not contain other people’s personal data unless you have a lawful basis to share it. Remember that an intention may be shown publicly on the candle wall and on a shareable candle page. We may remove content or refuse or cancel an order that breaches these rules, without refund where the breach justifies it.

10. Intellectual property

The site, its design, software, text and imagery are protected and remain our property or that of our licensors (church photographs are used under their respective licences, with attribution shown on each church page). You receive a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the site for its intended purpose. You keep the rights to the text of your own intention.

11. Availability

We aim to keep the service available but provide it “as is” and cannot guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation. We may suspend, change or discontinue features for maintenance or other reasons.

12. Liability

Nothing in these terms limits our liability where it cannot be limited by law, including for death or personal injury caused by our negligence, or for fraud. Subject to that, and given the small value and symbolic nature of the service, our liability is limited to the amount you paid for the candle or subscription period concerned, and we are not liable for indirect or consequential loss. This does not affect your mandatory rights as a consumer.

13. Force majeure

We are not liable for failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, such as outages of hosting or payment providers, network failures, or government measures.

14. Complaints and dispute resolution

Please send complaints first to support@candle.direct; we aim to respond promptly. As a consumer in the EU you may also use the European Commission’s Online Dispute Resolution platform at ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr, and in Belgium the Consumer Mediation Service (consumentenombudsdienst.be).

15. Privacy

How we handle personal data is explained in our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy.

16. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms. We will post the current version here with a new “last updated” date, and for material changes affecting an ongoing subscription we will give reasonable notice. Continued use after a change means you accept the updated terms.

17. Governing law and jurisdiction

Belgian law applies. Mandatory consumer-protection rules of the country where you live continue to apply, and you may bring proceedings before the courts of your place of residence. If any provision is found invalid, the remaining provisions stay in force.