Terms of Service
How Recup handles your data, and the rules for using it.
Last updated: 9 September 2026
Recup is a free service that helps people return lost property to its owner. These are the rules for using it.
By posting an item or claiming one, you agree to what follows.
1What this service is — and is not
The platform is a noticeboard with a verification step. A finder posts something they found; a possible owner proves the item is theirs by answering questions only the owner could answer; and the two of them arrange the handover themselves.
- We are not a party to the handover
- You arrange it, you carry it out, and you are responsible for your own safety. Meet in a public place.
- We do not verify identities
- Passing the ownership questions is evidence, not proof. Use your own judgement.
- There is no messaging, no payments, no escrow and no insurance
- These are deliberate choices, not missing features. Contact happens over WhatsApp; any money moves directly between the two of you.
2Your account
Use a real name and a working phone number — a recovery depends on the other person being able to reach you.
You are responsible for what happens under your account. Do not let someone else use it.
3If you found something
- Post only what you actually found
- Never post an item you own, or one you have not physically got.
- Keep it safe, or drop it somewhere public
- You choose when you post: keep it and hand it over yourself, or leave it at a public place such as a filling station or a hotel reception and never meet anyone.
- Write honest questions
- Ownership questions must be answerable by the owner and hard for anyone else. Do not use them to collect information about the person claiming.
- Some things do not belong here
- Do not post identity documents you intend to keep, weapons, anything illegal, or anything living.
4If you lost something
- One attempt per item
- You get a single attempt at an item's questions. Read them carefully. This is what stops strangers guessing their way to your property.
- If you miss by one answer
- On a personal handover you can ask the finder to look at your answers themselves. They decide; it is not a second attempt.
- Claim only what is yours
- Attempting an item that is not yours is fraud, and it costs you reputation. Repeated attempts can get your account suspended.
5Pledges
You may offer the finder a voluntary pledge. It is optional, it is not a fee, and no item is ever withheld for lack of one.
The platform never touches the money. You pay the finder directly, by mobile money or however you both agree. We record that a pledge was promised and, if the finder confirms it, that it arrived — nothing more.
Because we do not handle the payment, we cannot recover it, refund it or arbitrate it. A pledge is a promise between two people.
6Reputation and moderation
Every account has a reputation score. Returning an item raises it; honouring a pledge raises it; a fraudulent claim or a fake post lowers it sharply.
We may hide a post, suspend an account or refuse a claim where we believe the platform is being misused.
7Things you must not do
- Claim an item that is not yours, or help someone else do so.
- Impersonate another person, or post on their behalf without their knowledge.
- Use the ownership questions, or a claim, to collect someone's personal information.
- Harass, threaten or pressure another user.
- Copy listings in bulk, or scrape the site.
- Try to get round the verification step, the one-attempt rule or the rate limits.
8Handover and the finder's right to refuse
Passing the verification quiz entitles a claimer to be put in contact with the finder, or to the collection details of a drop-off. It does not transfer the item and it does not oblige the finder to part with it.
The finder may end a claim and return the item to the site in either of two cases. The first is that the claimer cannot demonstrate in person that the item is theirs. The second is that the claimer does not keep to the arrangement that was agreed: failing to appear, appearing somewhere other than the agreed place, or pressing the finder to change the terms.
A claim ended this way is recorded with the reason, and the claimer is notified of it. The claimer's single attempt on that item is spent and cannot be used again. The item becomes available to other claimants.
Once the claimer has confirmed receipt, the recovery is closed and cannot be reversed here. A dispute arising after that point is reported from the claim and follows the process in the section on disputes.
9When a dispute arises
- A dispute is reported from the claim it concerns, using “Report an issue”. That is the only route that sends the item, the claim and both parties along with your message.
- An admin reviews the case and applies what is ours to apply: cancelling a claim, putting an item back on the site, suspending an account.
- What cannot be settled peacefully is escalated to the police, who settle it by law and their own investigation. We give them what we hold on the case; the decision is theirs.
- We do not guarantee an outcome, and we do not stand in for a court or an investigation. We do guarantee that a report is read by a person and that there is a next step.
- Failing the ownership questions is not misconduct and carries no penalty. Knowingly claiming an item that is not yours is, and falls under the two points above.
10Liability
The service is provided as it is, free of charge, with no guarantee that it will be available or that any item posted is genuine.
We are not responsible for what happens between two users. That includes an item that is not returned, is damaged, or turns out not to be what was described, and a pledge that goes unpaid.
Nothing here removes a right you have under Cameroonian law that cannot be waived.
11Ending it
You can stop using the service at any time and ask us to close your account.
We may suspend an account that breaks these terms, and we will say why where we can.
12Changes to these terms
We may update these terms. The date at the top will change and significant changes will be announced in the app. Continuing to use the service after that means you accept them.
Get in touch
For anything about a specific claim, use Report an issue inside that claim. It reaches us with the item and the claim attached, which is much faster than describing them in an email.
- support@recup237.com
- Phone
- +237 6 59 44 23 93
- Support hours
- Monday to Saturday, 9am – 5pm (WAT)
- Address
- Carrefour Lycee, MakepeDoualaCameroon
This page describes what the platform actually does. It is written plainly rather than in legal language, and it is not legal advice.