General Terms of Trading

Version 3 – December 2005

Summary of key terms

These are our key contract terms which are a summary of the main points in our full contract terms.

• Customers: We deal only with registered businesses. We do not offer consumer services.
• Services: We offer a range of services, from consultancy to installation, configuration and maintenance of equipment as well as provision of Internet connectivity and mail services such as virus and spam filtering.
• Internet Service: Where we provide a service to connect you to the Internet. It is up to you to pick the right service for you, and some services have usage limits. The Internet is big and complicated and we do not control it. The Internet has many good and useful things in it, but it also has bad things, so do not blame us for anything you find. It is up to you to protect your network. You must take responsibility for what you do with the service, and for anyone you let use the service. The Internet has rules, so play fair. Things can break! If they do, we will try and fix things as quickly as we can. It can take days to fix some problems. We allocate you Internet addresses, but they do not belong to you, and we can change them if we need to.
• Mistakes: If we do something wrong and it stops your service working, the most we will compensate you is the money you paid for the service while it was not working properly. If goods we have supplied break, you can send them back to us and we will arrange for them to be repaired or replaced in a reasonable time. You have to understand that things can break. It is up to you to take whatever precautions you need. This does not affect your statutory rights.
• Paying us: You must pay us for the goods and services we provide. We only email invoices. Sometimes we will agree credit terms, and each invoice tells you when payment must arrive. It is up to you to make sure we receive the payment in time. If not, then there are penalties, and we may stop or restrict your service. We will give you instructions on how to pay. If you get your payment wrong, or claw back a payment, we may charge an administration fee. If we make a mistake taking a payment, we will compensate you for bank charges and interest up to the same amount as our administration fee. If we have sold you something, it still belongs to us until you have fully paid for it.
• Ongoing service: For services, we normally charge you in advance. The price is fixed for the whole of the time covered by the invoice. For most services, you can stop them whenever you like. If you stop your service, you still have to pay for the invoices we have issued. If you don’t tell us you want to stop a service, we will keep providing it and you have to pay us.

 

General Terms & Conditions

This document, and the documents to which it refers, define the terms of the agreement by which we provide you with goods and/or services. The key terms above are a summary of these full terms.

For purchase of goods, our terms for supply of goods also apply.

For purchase of services (including ADSL/Internet), our terms for supply of services also apply.

For all Internet services (including ADSL), our Acceptable Use Policy also applies.

Our usage-based tariffs for broadband Internet have specific rules and terms which also apply.

If you are not happy with any of the terms or require any clarification of the terms please contact us. Whilst this is a standard contract, we are happy to consider changes generally or to meet your specific circumstances.

Where we agree a variation to this standard agreement it must be in writing and signed, or an email electronically signed, and such changes will take precedence over these terms.

Interpretation

This agreement is written in plain English and should be read as such. This agreement is subject to English law.

We have used the terms we, us, our, etc to mean The Computer Man, and you, your, etc to mean the customer to whom we are providing goods and/or services. We also trade as “T.C.M.” and “Total Call Management”.

We have tried to make the terms in this agreement general and easy to understand. The terms should be read as a statement of what we intend and read to the full extent that the law permits. If a term is not valid in some context, it should be read to the full extent that it is valid, or possibly only applying to a narrower context which allows it to be valid.

Liability

We understand that ongoing operation of goods and/or services we provide can be important to you but we expect you to understand that such goods and services can fail for a variety of reasons. It is also possible for us to make mistakes. As such we expect you to take whatever precautions or insurances against such failure or mistakes as you see fit, including situations where we may be negligent. We do not accept any liability for consequential losses.

If we are negligent, then we accept that we have liability. We require you to prove we have been negligent in such cases. We require you to demonstrate actual losses for your claim. We require you to take all reasonable steps to minimise your losses.

Whilst there are no limits on our liability for death or personally injury due to negligence, we limit our liability for any other negligence to a refund of the amount paid for the failed goods or services. In the case of on-going services this is pro-rata for the period the service was not adequately provided. Liability for any other reason is also limited to a refund of the amount paid (pro-rata for ongoing services). If an incident relates to an ongoing service but not a specific time frame, then we limit our liability to the charges you have paid for the related service for a one month period.

You agree that our liability is also limited in respect of any claim you make indirectly or via any third party (such as a bank or insurance company) and agree to indemnify us against any such claim.

It is important to realise what this means. Basically, in most cases, if we screw up, the most you can get is your money back. If this is a problem, then you should look at getting your own insurance.

These terms do not affect your statutory rights, and apply to the full extent that the law permits them to within those rights.

Prices

The standard prices for the service are published on our web pages. Unless otherwise stated, prices quoted are exclusive of VAT which is added to your invoice.

Any details relating to products and/or services on our web site are not to be taken as an offer in the contractual sense, but is merely an invitation for you to make an offer to purchase goods or services from us, which we may decline for any reason.

Any postage is charged at cost (plus VAT) where applicable. Note that we consider postage or carriage to be a separate service we are providing.

Payment

For ongoing services such as broadband or Internet you are billed in advance either monthly, or quarterly, at our choice. You may also receive additional bills for additional services, new connections, equipment, etc., as and when they are supplied. You are expected to read the invoices and statements we send you and contact us promptly if you believe there is any error.

Each invoice states the payment terms, and you must ensure payment actually reaches us or our bank within the payment terms. This is your responsibility, so you should allow yourself time to resend payment if it is lost in the post or a card payment is not authorised or other such eventualities.

You must ensure your payment quotes our account reference for you as quoted on your invoice and statement. This is to be written on the back of cheques sent, or included as a payment reference in any BACS payments. The payment will then be applied in full to the one specified account.

Credit terms

Unless we agree otherwise, invoices are due for payment immediately. We are prepared to agree terms such as 14 days, 30 days or end of following month at our discretion. Credit is not automatic or a right and we may withdraw or change credit terms for future invoices if we wish. If you do not agree to the terms stated on the invoice you must contact us immediately.

Invoices issued for immediate payment must be paid promptly, and arrive no later than seven days from issue of the invoice. We consider this to be sufficient time for a cheque, BACS transfer or other form of payment even allowing for public holidays, etc.

Clawed back payments

With card payments or direct debit payments it is possible for you to claw back the payment at a later date.

There really should be no reason for a claw back. If we have mistakenly taken payment from you, please contact us and we will immediately return the incorrect payment. We are also happy to pay you any bank charges that you have been charged because of the mistake, up to the admin fee we charge (£5.00).

It is also important to note that any returned or clawed back payment is cancelled on your account with us, making it as though the payment was not made at all, and you may become liable for late payment penalties and/or interest, as well as admin fees (see below).

Administration fee

• We may charge you an administration fee of £5.00+VAT for the following, on each occasion:-
• If you pay by cheque, and the cheque is returned unpaid by the bank. We will also charge you any bank charges which our bankers charge for handling the cheque.
• If you pay by BACS (electronic banking, standing order) and the payment cannot be automatically processed. e.g. you do not include the correct payment reference with the payment. We understand mistakes can be made and will normally contact you the first time without making an admin charge for this.
• If you pay by card, and later the card payment is clawed back or you attempt to claw back the payment. This applies even if we successfully defend the claw back claim, or the claw back is later returned, as it is to cover the admin work involved in doing so. We will also charge any fee that we are charged by our bank for the claw back.
• If you pay by standing order and the payment fails. The exception is where you can show that we should not have tried to take the payment.
• If you pay by standing order, and later claw back the payment.
• If you ask us to print a paper copy of an invoice or statement and post it to you. We send invoices and statements by email, free of charge.
• If you make an unnecessary payment to us or an overpayment and require us to return it to you. We appreciate mistakes can be made, and will normally only charge this for unusual or repeated occurrences. If the payment involves any special bank charges, such as for a high value transfer, we will also charge these. We may deduct all such charges and fees from the repayment being sent to you.

Advance payment or over payment

If you send us money that you do not owe us, such as an over payment of a payment when there are no outstanding invoices, then we will hold this as money on your account. You can ask for the credit balance on your account back at any time. We do not pay interest on any credit balance. If we invoice you for any goods and services then we will, at that point in time, apply any credit balance on your account towards paying that invoice. Your credit balance is not considered a pre-payment for future goods or services.

Late Payment

Late payment interest and penalties are charged in accordance with the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended. This is a policy in line with The Better Payment Practice Campaign as promoted by H. M. Revenue & Customs. Note that this includes statutory compensation for late payments between £40 and £100 per late invoice in addition to interest charges at 8% above base lending rates, so it is wise to pay on time. All payments received are applied on account as the date they are received, clearing debts in strict order of due date. Late payment penalties apply to all commercial contracts in the UK, not just us.

For the purposes of the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, where payment is required partly in advance and partly in arrears, such as a quarterly invoice on 30 day terms which is 30 days in arrears and the rest in advance, then the invoice shall be treated as two separate debts with part payment due for part of the period as per section 11(2) of the Act. Failure to pay for at least the period which is in arrears by the due date of the invoice will result in a liability for the £40 to £100 penalty applicable for late payment.

If we give you time to pay (credit), we are doing this because we recognise that many businesses have a complex systems for signing off and paying invoices, and that people can be on holiday, or sick, etc. It is not because we wish to operate as a bank and lend money and it should not be used as a means to obtain goods and services when you can’t afford them. As such we do not expect you to deliberately wait to the last moment you think you can send payment and still be within terms. If you do, and miss the date even by one day we will not have any sympathy with such a policy and will charge late payment penalties as the law permits.

Changing these terms

You cannot change these terms and conditions. You cannot assign this agreement to anyone else. We may change the terms and conditions, and any associated rules such as the AUP. We will put the new versions on our web pages.  We may also assign the agreement to any other party after giving you one month’s notice.

If we make a change of the conditions that is to your detriment, and you wish to terminate the service as a result, then this operates in much the same way as a price increase for an ongoing service. You must notify us that you are terminating because of the change in the first invoice period of service following the change, and we will treat that period as operating under the previous version of these terms. If you don’t terminate the contract in the first period after a change, you are considered to have accepted the new terms.

How we communicate

General information, including these terms and conditions, will be made available on our web pages from time to time.

We may use e-mail to communicate changes, including any changes to terms and conditions or policies or other important information. You must check our web pages, or read email to ensure you are aware of such information. If you have a domain from us, you must accept and read email directed to postmaster at your domain. If we have emailed postmaster at your domain, or the last email address you told us, then notice is considered to have been served.

You may contact us using our published email, SMS, telephone or postal information. You are responsible for ensuring any communication actually reaches us, and we consider your communication valid on the date and time it reaches us and not when it was posted or sent. Invoices and late payment reminders are normally sent by post to the address you have advised to us for your accounts department. You can change the address to which they are sent whenever you like by contacting us.

 

Terms & Conditions for purchase of Goods

This document describes the terms which cover the purchase of goods by you from us. If buying goods and services at the same time then each is a separate contract. It is in addition to our general terms.

Delivery

Normally, delivery is by our choice of courier or by us in person. If you prefer, you can arrange for collection during office hours using your courier. For small items we normally use Royal Mail Special Delivery, and for larger items we will typically use a local courier.

If you need delivery by a particular time, then we will attempt to meet that requirement. We do not accept responsibility for delays caused by the courier, or for delays because the address provided by you is incorrect. We will use our best endeavours to meet a specific delivery requirement, but time is not of the essence. We limit our liability for any delay to the charge we have made for the carriage.

Carriage is at your risk. This means it is your loss if the goods are damaged or lost on the way. You can pay for insurance to cover that risk if you wish. Please make this clear when ordering.

You must inspect goods and notify us of any discrepancy or damage within 24 hours of receipt.

All goods are offered subject to availability.

Title

The title in all goods supplied remains with us until fully paid. This means we own the goods until you have paid us in full.

If the payment is not honoured (e.g. bounced cheque) or otherwise cancelled or reversed at any time then we do not consider the payment to have been made and the goods continue to be our property until good payment is made.

While the goods belong to us you must look after them and retain any packaging. While we own the goods, once payment becomes over due, you grant us (or our agents) the right to enter your premises and reclaim the goods at any reasonable time. If you sell the goods you must include terms which make it clear that the prospective new owner does not gain ownership (title) until you have paid us and that they must also look after the goods and allow access to reclaim the goods in the same way and have the same conditions on anyone to which they sell the goods.

Returns

We try to ensure descriptions we provide are accurate and clear, but manufactures are constantly making improvements or cosmetic changes. We also describe the purpose for which goods are sold. If you want to use the goods for some other purpose, you must satisfy yourself in advance that the goods will meet that purpose.

There are a number of reasons why goods we have supplied may be unsatisfactory. If goods do not meet the description in some significant way that is to your detriment, or the goods are clearly not fit for the purpose we have described, of if the goods have arrived damaged or faulty (other than due to damage in transit) then we will accept their return for a refund of the price paid for the items affected, providing you notify us within 7 days of receipt.

You must look after the goods before returning them, and ensure they are returned in the condition your received them, with packaging.

If you do not notify us within 7 working days that you wish to return the goods, then you have accepted them.

If goods develop a fault within one year, then we will offer a repair or replacement at our choice, but it is your responsibility to return faulty goods to us for repair. Some goods include a manufacturer’s warranty, and where this would be at least as convenient for you to make use of, we will expect you to make use of such a facility rather than returning goods to us for repair. We do not offer a replacement during repair of faulty goods unless you have separately arranged an on-going maintenance contract which provides this. As such you have a choice of levels of service in the event of a fault with goods supplied.

To clarify, with the exception of death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, the full extent of liability that we have to you as a result of any fault in goods we have supplied is for us to repair or replace the goods.

Return of goods is at your expense. If you wish us to collect the goods, we will arrange this and charge you at cost for doing so. The exception to this is if the goods are returned under the Sale of Goods and Services Act.

We consider any charge we make for sending goods to you to be a separate service which we are supplying, subject to cancellation rules for services, which means you cannot cancel postage or courier once we have supplied that service. Specifically, this means we do not refund postage, just the cost of the goods supplied when they are returned.

 

Terms & Conditions for purchase of Services

This document describes the terms which cover the purchase of services by you from us. If buying goods and services at the same time then each is a separate contract.

Length of on-going service

Ongoing services, such as domains, web space, broadband and maintenance are provided for each period as agreed (typically monthly, quarterly or yearly) on an automatically renewing basis. You receive an invoice at the start of the period and at that point enter into a new contract for supply of the service for the whole period as specified on the invoice. If you do not ask us to terminate service you will enter in to a new contract at the start of the next period. Your initial invoice for any service may be partly in arrears and may be a slightly longer than normal period because of the specific tariff, and to align with our billing cycle.

For ongoing services invoiced periodically, each period invoiced is treated as a new contract for supply for the period invoiced, and as such any regulations applicable to contracts only from a certain date will apply to invoices issued after that date.

Changing prices

For ongoing services such as Internet, domains, etc, the price for service is fixed at the start of each billing period for the whole of that period. We will publish changes to our general prices on our web site, and the current prices apply at the time the invoice is issued.

We understand that you may not notice a price increase until you have received an invoice at the new price. We wish to be fair and reasonable in such cases. If you wish to terminate service because of a price increase, and advise us of this during the first period at the increased price, then we will adjust the amount chargeable for that period to be the previously applicable price so that you are not disadvantaged by a price increase of which you were not aware in advance. This price adjustment only applies if you terminate the service.

How well the Internet service works

We will ensure, to the best of our abilities that the service works as we have said it will. If we expect a problem or have to suspend part of the service for some operational reason, then we will let you know in advance if possible.

The Internet is a large network of interconnecting computers managed by different organisations. We cannot be responsible for anything not in our control. We will not refund or compensate you for any break in service or any consequential costs that may arise because the service did not work when you needed it. If the service has failed because of a fault that is within our control we will endeavour to rectify the problem within one working day of being notified of the problem, and if we fail we will credit pro rata the amount paid for the service for each day that the service is unavailable. In any case, we limit any liability to the pro rata cost of the service for the days during which you had problems.

It is also important to note that we cannot guarantee the speed (transfer rate, packet loss or latency) of the Internet. In some cases (such as broadband) the speed of the link to your site is measured at your modem/router, but this speed is subject to other factors and contention, within the BT network and the Internet itself. Such matters are beyond our control and as such we accept no liability.

If we are unable to provide service for any reason for 3 working days then you may notify us that you wish to terminate service because of this, and we will refund pro-rata any amount paid from the date the service stopped working. This does not apply where service is suspended for a breach of these terms.

Restricting, Suspending and Terminating service

If you have not paid us within terms or are in breach of any other terms or our acceptable use policy, then we may take steps to restrict, suspend or terminate your service as we see fit. Until your service is terminated, you must still pay the full price for the use of the service as if it was working normally.

Restriction of service means that we make some parts of the service unavailable or operate at a lower speed. This would normally only be done where the restriction will help reduce the effect of some breach of terms (such as a breach of our acceptable use policy). However, if we are unable to contact you, we may use this as a means to get your attention.

Suspension of service means that we stop your service working, however, we still have the service available to be resumed quickly. Before resuming service we will normally require you to bring your account fully up to date (pay us), or make assurances that a breach of our acceptable use policy has been addressed (e.g. virus checking your computers).

Termination of service means we stop supplying your service completely. At this point you are no longer liable for further ongoing charges, but must still pay any outstanding invoices. For some services, such as domains, termination may allow others to take the domain from you. If you wish to reconnect after termination you will have to ensure your account is up to date, and pay any connection charges that apply and may have to wait for several days before service can be reconnected.

Abuse of the Internet

Our Acceptable Use Policy specifies the rules you must follow. The service can be suspended or terminated without refund, if you do not follow the rules in the AUP, at our sole discretion. We will try to give you a warning of any issues relating to the AUP and an opportunity to rectify such problems to continue service – however severe breaches may result in immediate disconnection.

Liability for use of the Internet

We provide a service which allows information to be passed to and from your computer systems. In using the service you must accept that we have no responsibility for the information carried, even if it is held on our servers in transit (for example as news or email), or is placed on our servers (such as web pages, and bulletin boards). If you take offence to any information you receive, you should take up the matter with the sender, or choose not to receive the information (e.g. to not visit offending web sites, etc). Wherever practical we will assist you in locating the sender if you require help. We will also co-operate with the police or other authorities in providing information to trace any criminal offence that may be committed via our services.

You must take responsibility for your use of the Internet. If anything you do, or fail to do, results in any liability for us, then you will compensate us completely. This includes any liability for anything you place on any of our servers (e.g. web, email, news). This includes compensation for all consequential losses, loss of time, loss of reputation, loss of future or expected profits, etc, as well as any fines or consequences imposed on us or our company officers or staff personally, if we or they are found liable for your actions or inaction.

Who can use the Internet service

Unless we have agreed with you specifically, in writing, you cannot resell or provide the service to anyone else not connected with you or your company or household. You must ensure that any passwords we supply for use with the service are kept confidential, and must notify us immediately if you realize they have been compromised. To clarify, this relates to the reselling of an Internet connection, such as running a radio network or cable to neighbouring houses or offices – however operating a cyber cafe or similar business is acceptable use.

In any event, you are responsible for all those that do make use of the service using your connection, account or domain, and we advise that you ensure all users are aware of these terms and the acceptable use policy.

Changing the service

We have a policy of continuous improvement, and may, from time to time, add, modify or remove parts of the service. We will publish details of such changes on our web pages in advance. We will not pay any compensation for such changes even if they require periods of service suspension. If you do not like the change we have made you have the option not to renew the on-going service for the next period.

If we make a change that requires any change to the configuration of your computers or systems, then you are responsible for making those changes in order to continue using the service. Where possible we will allow the previous configuration of your system to operate at the same time as the new configuration, for a period of time. This will allow you to make necessary changes at your convenience.

You may be allocated IP addresses for use of the service. These do not belong to you, but we may register your details with IP management authorities (RIPE). We may change your allocated IP addresses for operational reasons and you must make or arrange the necessary changes at your site to accommodate such changes at your cost.

Some services, such as broadband, are sold as shared services. We require customers to make responsible use of a shared service, We reserve the right to manage the way in which the service is shared to ensure the best operation for our customers as a whole.

Third party terms

In provision of the service you may be bound to terms of third parties. This is because some of the contracts we enter in to require us to impose terms on those using the services. In some cases a separate contract is formed between you and a third party – e.g. a domain registration, where we act simply as an agent in registering a domain. These include:-

Any terms imposed by our Internet transit providers – please ask us for a copy. We may change providers from time to time.

Any terms imposed by BT or Openreach for broadband circuits – please ask us for a copy.

Any terms imposed by Internet registries, including RIPE for IP addresses, and Nominet for UK domains.

Termination

Terminating your service is asking us to stop providing the service for you once we have started providing the service. If you wish to stop an order before we have provided the service this is cancellation and is described later.

You can terminate the service in any period at any time, but full payment for the whole period already invoiced remains due without any partial refund. You must ensure we have received a termination notice before the next period starts and is invoiced. We can opt not to renew your service if we wish.

For broadband, the corresponding telephone line must be maintained, connected and paid for. If disconnected or moved to a new address or taken over by someone else, then this is taken as notice of termination with immediate effect.

Terminating a broadband service could mean that it is several days before another service provider can provide service as it will take time for BT to process the request we make to them to terminate the circuit to your premises.

You can migrate a broadband service away from us using a migration code, which we will issue to you if you ask. Only when the migration has been completed is your service with us terminated.

A few of our services have a minimum term. If you terminate such a service before you have been charged for the full minimum term then you will be charged for the remainder of the minimum term which had not yet been charged at that point.

Cancelling the service

Cancelling an order is asking us not to provide your service before we have actually provided it. Once we have provided service, even if you are not yet using the service, you cannot cancel your order but you may terminate your service as described above.

We cannot guarantee the date that we will provide a service, especially if it relies on the work of a third party such as BT or Openreach. We will keep trying to provide your service if at all possible until you ask us to cancel the order. If we have still not provided the service by 7 days after the agreed date then we will not make a cancellation charge.

If you cancel a service for any other reason then we will make a cancellation charge of up to the cost of the service. For training or on-site engineering this will normally be 50% of the service charge. For broadband we expect payment of the first period invoiced for the service and all connection/setup charges. If you are considering cancelling the service, please ask us to quote for the cancellation charge that would apply in your case.

Cancelling an order for broadband service could mean that it is several days before another service provider can provide service as it will take time for BT to process the request we make to them to cancel the circuit to your premises.

Backups

You are responsible for ensuring that you have backups of your web site or other data you store on any of our servers. In the event of any data being lost or restored from our backups we will notify you as soon as practical (within 2 working days) so that you can check your web site is up to date and upload any necessary files. We are not responsible for data lost for any reason. If you are unhappy with the service we provide, you have the option not to renew the service in the next period.

Data Protection

Contact details for fixed IP address assignments are published in the RIPE database and can be checked via http://www.ripe.net/. Contact details for domain registrations may be published on various Whois servers by the registry.

It is a formal condition that you accept that such details may be published and fully indemnify us against any claim related to publications of such details. Where practical we will co-operate with your requests to publish alternative or restricted contact details.

Firewalls

Connecting to the Internet, whether by modem, ISDN, or broadband, means that your computer is part of a worldwide network of computers. It is possible that your computer is providing file shares, or other services on the Internet connection which may allow it to be hacked. You are responsible for the security of your computers. We are not responsible for any breach of security via the Internet. We recommend you ensure your machine is configured correctly, or has firewall software or a separate firewall to protect you from the Internet. This is particularly important if you have a permanent connection such as broadband.

Engineering

Any quote for engineering work, consultancy, training, or software development is not a firm quote for an hourly or daily rate, but an estimate of the time it will take to carry out the work. Should the work look likely to exceed the estimate we will discuss options with you, and you can opt to pay for additional time or stop development at that point. Any work carried out must be paid for at the agreed hourly or daily rate.  Any liability is limited to the pro-rata amount paid for any work carried out which is unsatisfactory.

Software

In some cases we supply software developed or modified by us. Unless agreed otherwise, in writing, we retain all rights to the software including rights to source code. Your purchase is simply for a licence to make use of the software in accordance with our instructions. As with all software it is impossible to guarantee 100% reliable operation. Any defects notified within a one year warranty period will be rectified with reasonable skill, care and speed but no consequential liability can be accepted for any losses due to such a failure. Rectifying a problem may simply mean changing the instructions for use. You must provide us with any remote access and passwords we may require to rectify problems and test changes on your systems. Some systems include third party software which may be subject to its own licence conditions. Any free software which may be included is separate and is not provided as part of any contract with you, and for which no liability can be accepted by us. For any software which is included that is published under a GNU public licence, or similar, we have an obligation to supply source code on request – just ask.

 

Acceptable Use Policy

To make these rules easy to read the terms we (us, our, etc), and you (your, etc.), are used as per our terms and conditions.

Using the Internet requires that certain rules are followed. These rules are not laws (which must also be obeyed), but conventions that have developed throughout the Internet to ensure everything runs smoothly. These rules are often informal, and are usually managed by the users themselves (for example, in news groups). However, the Internet only works if the people using it co-operate to use the Internet sensibly. Sometimes the rules change as new exploits or problems occur in the Internet. This Acceptable Use Policy defines the main rules which are sensible to follow, but is by no means a complete list. If these rules are broken, the offending account can be suspended and/or terminated. At the end of the day, it is not about breaking specific rules – it is about being a nuisance on the Internet to the extent that you affect the service we can offer, directly or indirectly. If you continue to be a nuisance on the Internet we can opt not to renew your contract and so terminate your service. This may seem harsh, but remember that you can choose not to renew your service at any point you like, and you don’t have to give us a reason at all. The agreement works both ways. These rules are part of the terms and conditions.

Broadband

Permanently connected customers that provide their own web servers, email servers, news servers or any other type of servers are totally responsible for those servers and their content. You should ensure that you are aware of any laws regarding the material you are providing, including copyright laws. If you are breaking the law we will co-operate with the authorities, and may also disconnect your service. Please also note that the service is a shared service. This is a key part of the pricing model in that the links BT provide are shared with other users (and other ISPs), and our service is dimensioned accordingly. You are expected to make responsible use of the service in light of the fact that it is shared with other users and your actions affect others. As such continuous transfer of data well in excess of your fair share for several days will be considered excessive use and we may request you make sensible usage of the service to ensure no adverse affect on our users as a whole. If you do not, we may simply not renew your service next month.

Abuse

Whilst any applicable laws must be obeyed, we do not restrict what you say or how you use the Internet. It is not a breach of our AUP for you to be sent abusing, defamatory or offensive material via email or news – this is a matter between you and the sender. As we do not provide a news service, we do not consider ourselves liable under the Defamation Act for any news postings you make or collect. Our role in such matters is (as much as the law permits) much like the post office, who does not accept liability for an abusive personal letter sent via the post. As a customer you must accept that we are carriers of information with no responsibility for its content whether stored in transit or not. If we are found to be liable for anything you do using the service, you must indemnify us in full. If you are not happy with this arrangement, then please do not take the service. We expect you to take responsibility for your actions. As such, abuse on the Internet is not in itself a reason for suspension of service. However abuse of the Internet is unacceptable. Abuse of the Internet means anything that could affect the operation of the Internet, affect the service we can offer to our customers or affect a large number of Internet users. This includes any action that could cause our Internet feeds to be disconnected or restricted, including breaking the acceptable use policy of our peers or causing any sanctions to be made against us. We will, wherever possibly, give you reasonable warning of any problems, and a reasonable time to rectify problems before we consider any action (such as suspension of service). In exceptional circumstances this may not be possible. If you have a machine causing problems we will expect you to sort the problem or disconnect the machine within a working day.

News postings

We do not operate a news service on ADSL. There are a number of free and chargeable news providers available which you can use, and you must adhere to their terms and conditions. Every news group, and in some cases whole hierarchies, have their own rules. It is important to look at the last week or so of postings to a group to find out how it works before you post something yourself. You will often find a weekly FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) posted in a group – please read it.  Also, it is well worth checking news search engines to see if the question you have has been asked before. This applies particularly to bulk posting of adverts, either individually or cross-posted to multiple groups. Please note that ‘get rich’ schemes are generally illegal. You should only ever post binaries (i.e. anything other than plain text) to a newsgroup if it has binaries in the name, and only then if the name does not have .d on the end. Do not post in HTML unless the group specifically permits this. You should use a valid email address on any postings you send.

Email

You should use your email address on all email you send. There are no limits on email sent or received, but bulk emailing of unsolicited advertisements is not acceptable. Recent UK legislation may also affect this practice, and if you are in doubt, check with a solicitor specialising in the field. You are responsible for anything emailed from any of your machines.

Making up domains

When sending email or news postings it is important not to simply make up email addresses. Generally, you should use a valid email address that you own. In some cases such as mailing lists or news postings you may not wish to use your normal email address as this could lead to spam or junk mail being sent, and this is a valid concern. In such cases you should use an alternative email address which you own. We provide as many domains as you like, and this allows unlimited email addresses. You can set mail filters to reject email to specific addresses if you like, and use one of these. One trick may be to change your address that you use on news postings every month and allow email only from the current address. This is more polite as it does allow people to email replies to your postings but also allows you to cut down on junk mail. If you really want to post using a completely invalid email address, then use something ending in .invalid (as per RFC 2606). A good ploy may be to use your normal email address with .invalid added to the end. Remember that your posting will have a trace of the IP addresses used, and so using a made up email address will not make you untraceable. You must never use someone else’s email address without their permission or any address that may be someone else’s in the future – so essentially, don’t make up email addresses. Why? Obviously you should not use an address that may be someone else’s, but there are other reasons not to make up addresses which may be less obvious. Whenever a made up address is used, a name server will be queried, and for an address which is completely made up this could query the top level name servers. There are only a few dozen of these, and all valid queries result in caching of answers. Invalid queries will cause the top level name servers to be asked every time and put a lot of load on them. Everything you do on the Internet relies on these name servers, so it is best to ensure they keep running smoothly.

Web pages

Web pages held on our servers must not contain anything which is illegal. Any such information, including copyright material illegally copied, that is brought to our attention will be deleted. Repeated violations will result in suspension of web page service. It is also unacceptable to promote illegal activities. Note that your web pages can be read all over the world and laws vary from country to country. Web space on our servers is provided for use as part of a set of web pages, and not as a general repository for data. Files may be deleted if we believe that they do not form part of your web site (e.g. using our web space as a backup file store).

Other

Any legitimate complaint we receive will be considered and may cause suspension of any account at our sole discretion. When considering a complaint, the effect on the Internet and to our ability to provide services to all our customers is considered. Abuse in this context is abuse of the Internet and not abuse on the Internet, so don’t bother complaining to us because someone calls you a rude word in email or on a newsgroup (although, feel free to complain to the sender – but this does not usually help). If you have any complaint about any other customer, please contact us.

Some things to watch out for…

·         Don’t run an open mail relay (allowing others to send mail via your mail server)

·         Don’t run an open web proxy (allowing others to access web pages via your server)

·         Keep machines virus-checked, and remove any viruses found promptly

·         Don’t try and break in to other peoples machines or scan addresses or ports

·         Don’t send SPAM or UCE (junk mail)

 

Usage based tariffs, terms and conditions

This document describes in detail the exact way that we meter and change for usage based tariffs and the rules that apply.

Definitions

Usage-Based Tariffs are those broadband Internet tariffs published with a specific monthly prepaid usage level usage is any data sent from you to the Internet

Downlink usage is any data sent from the Internet to you, whether requested by you or not. This includes network attacks, spam, unwanted emails, etc. It also includes any traffic from other broadband lines or our network and servers.

Line is a specific ADSL (telephone) or SDSL line on which we make available broadband Internet service

Login is the username (in the form username@realm) used by your broadband router to connect to our service. This may have a suffix such as .1, .2, etc. All of these variations are considered to be part of the same login. A usage-based tariff applies to a login not a line.

Gigabyte is 1,000,000,000 bytes of data

Metered usage is downlink usage between 8am and 6pm Monday to Friday (including bank holidays).

Prepaid usage is the amount of usage that is pre-paid as part of your tariff each month

Top-up usage is the amount of usage that you have specifically purchased in addition to any pre-paid usage

Top-up usage brought forward is an amount of unused top-up usage that has been carried forward from the month in which it was purchased to the next month because it was not used.

Over-usage is the amount of usage (including any over-usage carried forward from a previous month) that exceeds the usage level for that month (including pre-paid usage, top-up usage brought forward and top-up usage purchased).

How usage is measured

When a broadband router connects to our service is starts a session for the specific login used. Where there are multiple lines, then each has a separate session. For each session we record information on the usage of that session. The usage is recorded separately for each clock hour. We may provide details of usage hour by hour and line by line at our discretion and dependant on the service type and tariff.

Rules

Metered usage is considered to first use the pre-paid usage, then any top-up usage brought forward and then any top-up usage purchased that month.

Any pre-paid usage not used at the end of the month is lost. It is not refunded or carried forward.

Any top-up usage that is not used is carried forward to the next month. This does not include top-up usage that was brought forward from the previous month – i.e. a top-up will last to the end of the following month and then be lost if not used.

Billing is available as either fixed rate (default) or variable (if specifically requested). You can ask to be changed between these two billing schemes as you wish. This applies per login and from the next bill. Some tariffs are only available on variable rate billing.

For logins on fixed rate billing, if you have any over-usage, then this can be carried forward to the next month. There is a limit on what we consider is reasonable (the carry over limit) which you can carry over to the next month without penalty. This is currently 10GB, but may be changed from time to time.

For logins on fixed rate billing, if you have any over usage which is over our carry over limit, then you may be contacted by our staff to discuss the matter. You will be asked to pay for top-up to cover the excessive usage, and we may also suggest changing to a more appropriate tariff. Ultimately the tariffs have specified usage, and if you will not select a more appropriate tariff or pay for top-ups then we may terminate service.

For logins on variable rate billing, all over usage is billed on your next bill at our top-up rates automatically. Note that the carry over limit is not relevant as all over-usage is billed.

When you exceed your usage level you will be sent an email advising you of this.

Lines can be any available speed, and this does not affect the cost of the service.

You can change tariff at any time. Any change of tariff takes effect at the point the next bill is produced and applies for the whole of the period covered by the bill

Usage levels are calculated monthly from the 1st of the month. This applies even if billed quarterly for service where the monthly prepaid usage level is applied to each of the three months covered by the bill.

Usage cannot be transferred between logins in any way.

Regrades

Existing customers changing to usage based tariffs can do so for no charge. The change takes effect on the next bill.

Changing to usage based charging does not automatically change the underlying line speed or home/office grade of the line. A regrade fee applies to any speed or grade changes requested, which can be at the same time or a later time.

Customers migrating from another ISP will migrate on the same speed and grade as with their previous ISP. A regrade fee applies to any speed or grade changes requested.

Where an existing customer, or a migrating customer has a BT-supplied router (older services), then they will need to purchase a router and regrade to the equivalent wires only services. If a speed change is also required at the same time, then this will be a separate regrade stage. A regrade fee applies for each stage.

The speed of the service will be subject to line quality and length, and in some cases a regrade will not be possible to a higher speed. In such cases there is no regrade fee.

Billing

Our usage-based tariffs define the cost for specific grades of service on a line and a prepaid usage level included in the price. Where a login has one line then the bill will show a single line item for the specified tariff for the period of time covered.

Where a login has multiple lines, one of the lines will be shown as above, and the additional lines will be shown with a lower extra line tariff for the period covered (this is a different price for Standard or Premium lines)

In some cases, e.g. with multiple line logins where lines are started and stopped within the month, your bill may be for extra line rate for each line and a separate charge for the prepaid usage applicable. The total charged will be the same whichever way this is shown on the bill.

Your initial bill may include part of a month. In this case your prepaid usage will be applied pro-rata for the part of the month. e.g. If you are on a 3GB/month tariff starting service in the middle of a month then you will be billed 1.5 months service and have 1.5GB prepaid usage in one month and the full 3GB prepaid usage in the next. Some tariffs have a minimum initial bill, such as six months, and as such you bill be for between 6 and 7 months to align to the end of a month.

Termination and refunds

You can terminate service at any time (there are some exceptions such as minimum term on SDSL lines).

You are not refunded for any prepaid usage or line charges already invoiced. As such, if you are planning to terminate service it is best to do a few days before your next bill is due.

Under used prepaid usage or top-up usage or top-up usage carried forward at the end of your service is not credited or refunded. It is also not transferable to any other login.

We reserve the right to charge for any over usage at the point of termination at our top-up rates.