Support

How to reach us

The quickest way to get help with anything is our Contact form. Messages go straight to the site owner's inbox, and you'll get a reply by email to the address you give us.

• What to include: the email address on your account, the listing or page you're asking about (a link is ideal), and a short description of what's happened.
• When to expect a reply: we aim to respond to every enquiry within two working days, and sooner for anything that stops you using the site.
• Community help: our Facebook group is a good place to ask other swappers about their experience, though anything about your account should come through the contact form.

Help with your account

Most account problems can be fixed straight away without waiting for us:

• Can't log in? Use Forgot password to get a reset link by email.
• Verification email never arrived? Check your junk folder, then use Resend verification. Verification links expire after 48 hours.
• Change your name, phone number, password or theme: everything is on your Profile page.
• Close your account: you can delete your account and all your listings yourself from the bottom of your Profile page. If you'd rather we did it for you, ask through the contact form from the email address on the account.
• Account suspended? Suspensions happen when the terms have been broken, or when a profile has been left incomplete for a long time. Contact us and we'll explain why and what's needed to reactivate it.

Help with your listing

• Editing or updating: open your listing from the Dashboard and choose Edit. Changes go live immediately and your matches are recalculated.
• Photos: you can add up to 10 photos per listing. If an upload fails, check the file is a JPG, PNG or WebP and under the size limit shown on the form.
• Wrong location on the map: edit the listing and re-enter the address so Google Maps can place the pin again. If it's still wrong, send us the listing link and the correct postcode.
• Listing deactivated or removed: we moderate listings and will take one down if it isn't a genuine social housing tenancy, contains misleading details, or breaks the Terms of Service. We'll always tell you why if you ask.
• Pausing your search: you can deactivate a listing from the Dashboard at any time and reactivate it later without losing anything.

Matches, requests and messages

• No matches yet? Matches depend on other tenants near your desired area wanting what you have. Widening your search radius, adding a like-for-like preference, or checking the map search directly usually helps.
• Not getting notifications? Match, request and message alerts are sent by email and shown under the bell icon. Check your junk folder and add no-reply@example.com to your safe senders.
• Someone isn't replying: we can't make another tenant respond, but we do remind inactive accounts and suspend abandoned ones so stale listings don't clutter your matches.
• Requests: viewing, call and exchange requests are accepted or declined by the other tenant from their Requests page. Either outcome opens a private conversation.

Reporting a listing, message or user

If you see a listing that doesn't look genuine, receive a message that's abusive or asks for money, or think someone is misusing the site, please tell us. Send the listing link or the name shown on the conversation through the Contact form with a short note of what happened.

• Reports are reviewed by the site owner, who can remove listings and suspend accounts from the admin panel.
• Never send money to anyone for a swap. A mutual exchange is free, and any payment or "deposit" request is a red flag - report it straight away.
• Keep conversations on the site until you're comfortable, so there's a record if something goes wrong.
• We treat reports in confidence. The person you report is not told who raised it.

Making a complaint about us

If you're unhappy with something we've done - a moderation decision, how a report was handled, a billing problem, or the service in general - we want to hear about it. This is how a complaint is handled:

1. Tell us. Send the details through the Contact form with the word "Complaint" at the start of your message, so it's picked up as one.
2. We acknowledge it. You'll get a reply confirming we've received it within two working days.
3. We look into it. The site owner reviews what happened, including any listing, message or admin records involved, and may come back to you with questions.
4. You get a written outcome. We aim to give you a full response within ten working days. It will explain what we found, what we've done about it, and anything we've changed as a result.
5. If you're still not satisfied, reply to the outcome saying so and it will be looked at again with fresh eyes. We'll confirm our final position in writing.

Complaints about a landlord or your exchange

Mutual Home Exchange introduces tenants to each other. We are not part of any tenancy, and we can't approve, refuse or speed up an exchange - that decision sits with both landlords. If your complaint is about a landlord's decision or how long they're taking:

• Landlords must normally give a written decision on a mutual exchange within 42 days of your application. Ask them for it in writing if it's overdue.
• Use your landlord's own complaints procedure first. Every registered provider has to have one - you can check they're registered in our Landlord Directory, which links to their website where we have it.
• If that doesn't resolve it, tenants of social landlords in England can take a complaint to the Housing Ombudsman, which is free to use.
• Independent advice is available from Shelter and Citizens Advice.

Subscriptions and billing

• Currently free: while the site is in launch mode there is nothing to pay. See Pricing for what's included.
• If paid plans are switched on: subscriptions are billed through PayPal and can be cancelled at any time from the Subscription page. We never see or store your card details.
• Billing queries and refunds: contact us with the date and amount and we'll look at the PayPal transaction log for you.

Your data and privacy

• See, correct or delete your data: your details, listings and photos are all editable from your Profile and Dashboard, and you can delete your account yourself.
• Request a copy of your data: ask through the contact form from your account email and we'll send it to you.
• Cookies and ads: use the "Cookie preferences" link in the footer to change what you've accepted. Our Cookie Policy lists every cookie we use.
• Full details of what we collect and why are in the Privacy Policy.

Feedback, ideas and accessibility

• Rate the site: logged-in tenants can fill in a short feedback survey. We read every comment and use them to decide what to build next.
• Share your story: found a swap? Leave a testimonial or share your exchange story to help other tenants.
• Accessibility: the site works on phones and with keyboard and screen readers, and has a light and dark theme. If anything is hard to use, tell us and we'll fix it.
• Someone supporting you: if a support worker, family member or advocate is helping you, they're welcome to contact us on your behalf - we'll just need to confirm with you by email before changing anything on your account.