IMPORTANT CUSTOMER INFORMATION : YOUR RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
These terms and conditions are a Standard Form of Agreement formulated
for the purposes of Section 479 of the Telecommunications ACT 1997
We, Valuephone (ABN 12 121 248 271), will provide you, our Customer,
with Services in accordance with these terms and conditions, the applicable
charges notified to you from time to time and the Valuephone Full Service
Application (the "Application") (collectively, the "Agreement").
1. PROVISION OF SERVICES
1.1 Services: We will provide you with the telecommunications services
nominated, or assumed to be nominated, by you on the Application and other
services we may agree to provide to you from time to time ("Services")
on the terms of this Agreement. If you fail to nominate telecommunication
services on the Application, you acknowledge that we will assume you wish
to select Valuephone as your default carrier for local, national and international
long distance calls and calls to mobile services. Services will only be
provided if you are either a residential customer, a small to medium business
customer or a corporate customer.
1.2 Provision of Services: We will provide you with the Services for all
your local, national and international long distance calls and calls to
mobile services (as applicable) unless you dial another override code
for local, long distance, international calls or calls to mobile services
(as applicable) on a call by call basis. We will provide the Services
using our facilities and services or those of other carriers, telecommunications
service providers or equipment suppliers ("Supplier").
1.3 Variations: Without notice to you we may change a Supplier or its
products or vary our charges from time to time. We may otherwise vary
these terms on 30 days written notice to you.
2. CHARGES FOR SERVICES
2.1 Invoicing: We will bill you monthly for the Services in accordance
with our current charges as notified to you from time to time. We may
vary invoice frequency at our discretion.
2.2 Method of Billing: Unless otherwise expressly stated in this Agreement,
we will generally bill you in advance for periodic charges, connection
and service fees (where applicable) and in arrears for usage charges,
although this may vary in certain cases. We will endeavor to bill you
within the next normal billing period for charges billed in arrears, but
we reserve the right to bill you for those charges in later billing periods.
As per 8.2.2 of ACIF CS42 - Industry Code - Billing, we will not bill
charges older then 190 days from the date the charge was incurred by the
customer.
2.3 Time for Payment: All charges must be paid by the due date shown on
the invoice.
2.4 When available, we may debit amounts directly from your nominated
bank or credit card account as they become owing where you have chosen
that method of payment. In any event, if you have provided your bank account
or credit card details, where amounts remain outstanding after 30 days
we may debit those amounts from your nominated bank or credit card account
without further notice unless we have received written notice from you
of a bone fide dispute of those amounts. If a direct debit fails or is
rejected, we reserve the right to pass on any charges that we may incur
due to the failure or rejection.
2.5 Our charges to you; we may pass on any charges another Supplier charges
to us (including increases and special or one-off charges) without notice
to you.
2.6 Other Charges: You will pay us in accordance with clause 2.5 any charge
which any other Supplier or other person renders to us:
(a) if you approach that other Supplier or person directly, or otherwise
than through us; or
(b) for connection or initiation of any Service or for cancellation of
any Service.
2.7 Billing from other Suppliers: If you use an override code to access
services offered by another Supplier, you will be billed by that Supplier
for charges you incur unless we have a separate arrangement in place for
the Supplier to charge us directly, in which case we will pass on the
charges to you in accordance with clause 2.5.
2.8 Interest: We reserve the right to charge interest on any part of the
charges not paid to us by the due date. Interest, calculated daily, will
be charged from the due date until payment at a rate of 5% above our prime
lenders overdraft rate published on the first working day of each calendar
month.
2.9 Suspension: We reserve the right to suspend provision of Services
to you, where charges owing to us or any amount owing under this clause
remain outstanding after 30 days, unless we have received written notice
from you of a bona fide dispute of those charges. If we suspend or terminate
the Services for unpaid charges or any other reason, subsequent reconnection
may incur a reconnection fee.
2.10 Barring: We reserve the right to bar provision of Services to you,
where charges remain outstanding past the due date as stated on your invoice,
your unbilled calls exceed your credit limit with us, or we become aware
of unusual calling patterns.
2.11 Unclaimed amounts: In the event that your account is terminated and
monies are owed to you by us, we will notify you of these amounts. In
the event you do not claim those monies within 3 months of being notified
we will retain the money and you agree that you will have no further claim
in relation to those monies.
2.12 Costs incurred in Recovery of Overdue Amounts: If we incur costs
in recovering overdue amounts from you, including (without limitation)
mercantile agents' costs, disconnection of services costs, costs incurred
in commencing legal action such as service fees and search fees, we reserve
the right to recover all these amounts from you in addition to the overdue
amounts.
2.13 Dishonoured cheques: Valuephone reserves the right to terminate the
Agreement without notice to you in the event:
(a) you have not paid amounts owing to us in accordance with this clause;
and
(b) a cheque provided by you in payment of that invoice is dishonoured
without a valid explanation being provided by you.
We will also charge you a dishonour fee if a cheque used to pay a bill
is dishonoured.
2.14 Security Bond: We may require you to lodge a security bond as a condition
of us providing Services to you. You authorise us to deduct from that
bond any amounts remaining owing to us 30 days after the date of an invoice.
If you have paid all of our invoices on time for 12 consecutive months,
we may either refund the bond or credit it to your account. The amount
of the security bond will be no greater than the credit limit described
in clause 2.15.
2.15 Credit Limit: We may from time to time set a credit limit for the
provision of the Services to you. You will be notified of this credit
limit and any variation thereof.
2.16 GST: Unless expressly stated otherwise, the charges payable for the
Services under this Agreement are inclusive of GST. Where the charges
are expressed to be exclusive of GST, the Customer must pay to Valuephone
in addition to the charges for the Services, an amount equal to any GST
payable on the supply of the Services. That additional amount is payable
at the same time as any part of the charges for the Services is payable.
Valuephone will issue a tax invoice to the Customer for the supply of
those Services at or before that time.
3 PERIOD OF AGREEMENT
3.1 Commencement of Agreement: This Agreement starts when you sign the
Application, complete a voice recording, or when you first access our
Services after receipt of these terms and conditions and continues until
terminated.
3.2 Commencement of Services: The provision of Services commences when
your accounts are transferred from your current Supplier to us and upon
completion of installation of any necessary equipment and any other arrangements
with another Supplier for the provision of the Services have been completed.
3.3 If the Agreement is a non-fixed length agreement we will provide the
service to you in accordance with the Agreement until the Service is cancelled
in accordance with Clause 9.1 or 9.2 below.
3.4 (a)For fixed-length agreements, this contract will continue
(i) For the fixed term of the contract; or
(ii) Until it is terminated in accordance with Clause 9.1 or 9.2.
(b) If the Agreement is a fixed-length agreement and neither you nor we
cancel the service at the end of the fixed term the agreement becomes
a non-fixed length agreement and we will continue to supply the Service
to you on a month to month basis in accordance with the Agreement. If
you do not wish to continue to use the Service on a month to month basis
after the end of the fixed term of your Agreement you must inform us,
in accordance with clause 9.1 below, by giving us 30 days notice in writing,
before the end of the minimum term, that you wish to cancel the service
at the end of the fixed term.
(c) Valuephone will not be able to automatically renew the Agreement for
the same duration as the initial Contract period for a fixed term contract
without your written consent.
4 TRANSFER OF SERVICES TO US
4.1 Changing your current arrangements: If in providing the Services,
we need to change your arrangements with your current Supplier, then we
will do so in accordance with this clause.
4.2 Transfer to us: By signing this Agreement you:
(a) authorise us to sign on your behalf and in your name forms of authority
to your current Supplier to transfer your accounts into our name; and
(b) authorise your current Supplier of telecommunications services to
transfer to us all telecommunications services relating to the telephone
numbers transferred to us; and
(c) will remain responsible for all amounts owing to your current Supplier
of telecommunications services for any services they supply, or have supplied,
to you.
4.3 Credits: If your current Supplier credits us with any amount concerning
services provided before the date of transfer, we will credit that amount
to your account.
4.4 Charges for Transferred Services: If your current Supplier raises
a proper charge relating to a service it provided to you before the commencement
of Services under clause 3.2, we will advise you accordingly, and you
must pay your current Supplier that amount. If you dispute the amount
claimed, you must notify us in writing.
4.5 Indemnity: We will not accept any liability for any amounts owing
by you to your current Supplier for services which your current Supplier
provided to you prior to the commencement of Services under clause 3.2.
You must indemnify us against any claims made by your current Supplier
to us in relation to any such amounts.
5 TRANSFER OF SERVICES FROM US TO ANOTHER SUPPLIER
5.1 Transfer: If in the future you ask us to transfer any of the Services
to another Supplier, then you remain responsible to us for amounts payable
prior to the transfer, and you will immediately pay us that amount on
receipt of our invoice.
5.2 If after the transfer you elect to use any of our Services by the
use of an override code, you agree to pay us for any charges incurred
for those Services.
5.3 Termination of Services: The provision of Services ceases when we
transfer those accounts to another Supplier.
5.4 Billing: We will endeavour to bill you for those Services within the
next normal billing period but we reserve the right to issue subsequent
invoices in relation to unbilled fees and charges.
5.5 Dispute: If we become aware of other proper charges (including fees
payable to any other Supplier) for those Services up to the date of transfer,
or we resolve any dispute so that any liability of ours relating to those
Services is quantified, then you will immediately pay us all such amounts
on receipt of our invoice.
5.6 Credits: We will credit you with any amount credited to us by another
Supplier for those Services provided up to the date of transfer.
6 PERSONAL INFORMATION
6.1 We may collect personal information about you ("your personal
information")
6.2 You acknowledge and agree that:
(a) we may collect your personal information from you or (subject to the
requirements of Part IIIA of the Privacy Act) from a credit provider or
credit reporting agency. If we do not collect your personal information
we may not be able to provide the Services to you
(b) we may use your personal information:
(i) to assess any application by you for credit or commercial credit to
be provided by us;
(ii) to collect payments that are overdue in respect of any credit or
commercial credit provided by us;
(iii) to provide the Services to you (including the investigation or resolution
of disputes relating to any Services provided to you) and to provide credit
or commercial credit to you in respect of the Services;
(iv) as otherwise authorised or required by law.
(c) at any time, we may disclose your personal information to a credit
reporting agency:
(i) to obtain a consumer credit or a commercial credit report about you;
(ii) to allow the credit reporting agency to create or maintain a credit
information file containing information about you.
The information we disclose to a credit reporting agency will be limited
to identity particulars about you, the fact that you have applied for
credit and the amount, the fact that we are a current credit provider
to you, loan repayments that are more than 60 days overdue and for which
debt collection action has started, information that in our opinion you
have committed a serious credit infringement (that is, acted fraudulently
or shown an intention not to comply with your credit obligations), and
cheques drawn by you for $100 or more which have been dishonoured more
than once
(d) we may also disclose your personal information to:
(i) other credit providers named in a consumer credit report we obtain
from a credit reporting agency about you for the purposes of:
(A) assessing any application by you for credit or commercial credit or
your credit worthiness;
(B) notifying other credit providers of a default by you; and
(C) exchanging information with other credit providers as to the status
of any credit or commercial credit provided by us where you are in default
with those other credit providers;
(ii) other Suppliers for the purpose of enabling us to provide the Services
to you (including the investigation and resolution of disputes or complaints
concerning the provision of the Services);
(iii) government agencies or individuals appointed by a government (including
the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and Australian Communications
and Media Authority) responsible for the investigation and resolution
of disputes or complaints concerning your use of the Services for the
purpose of enabling investigation and resolution of those disputes or
complaints;
(iv) government agencies or individuals appointed by a government (including
the Telecommunications Industry Ombudsman and Australian Communications
Authority) responsible for the investigation and resolution of disputes
or complaints concerning your use of the Services for the purpose of enabling
investigation and resolution of those disputes or complaints;
(v) other entities with whom we have established or will establish an
affinity program to enable you to participate in the affinity program;
(vi) other entities who provide services to us related to the provision
of the Services to you (including SMS, a mail house and resellers (or
contractors engaged by resellers) to enable them to provide those services
to us or administer payment arrangements in connection with those services.
6.3 If required by law, we will provide you with access to your personal
information that we have in our possession upon request.
6.4 If you change your address or other billing contact details, you must
notify us within 14 days.
7 YOUR COMPLIANCE
7.1 Compliance: You will ensure that you comply at all times with all
laws and obligations, including licence conditions, applicable to the
Services and their use.
7.2 You will not use the Service to transmit or publish any material which
is defamatory of any person, or any material in breach of copyright or
any obligations of confidentiality, or otherwise in breach of any law,
and you will indemnify us for any loss or expense we suffer as a result
of you doing so.
8 EQUIPMENT SUPPLIED TO YOU
8.1 Maintenance: You are responsible for maintaining any equipment supplied
by us or a Supplier. You indemnify us or the Supplier against any loss
or damage to the equipment unless it is due to fair wear and tear.
8.2 Interference: You will ensure that any equipment supplied to you,
facilities and connections used in providing the Services, are not altered,
maintained, repaired or connected to or disconnected from any power source
or line except by a person approved by us.
8.3 Access: We, or a person approved by us, may require access to your
premises from time to time in connection with the provision and maintenance
of equipment or Services. If you do not own the premises, you must obtain
the owner's permission for access and warrant to us that you have such
permission. You indemnify us, or any serviceman approved by us, against
a claim by the owner of the premises in relation to such entry on the
premises. If you do not provide access as we reasonably request, we may
limit, suspend or cancel the Services.
8.4 Return: On the termination of this Agreement for any reason, you must
return any equipment to us or the relevant Supplier, or make it available
for collection, in accordance with our instructions. If you fail to return
the equipment or make it available for collection:
(a) if the equipment is ours, we may recover the value of the equipment,
and the cost of recovering the equipment, from you as a debt due; or
(b) if the equipment is a Supplier's, you must indemnify us against any
claims made by the Supplier in relation to the equipment
9 TERMINATION
9.1 Termination: Either of us may terminate the Agreement (whether it
is a non-fixed length agreement or a fixed-length agreement) by giving
30 days written notice to the other at any time. The notice to cancel
the service will be effective on the date on which we receive that request.
9.2 Immediate Termination: We may terminate this Agreement immediately:
(a) you have breached this Agreement;
(b) a provisional liquidator, liquidator, receiver or receiver and manager
or any other administrator of your business or assets is appointed or
if you enter into any composition with your creditors; or
(c) you change your address or billing contract details without notifying
us in accordance with clause 6.4
9.3 You remain liable for all charges payable under the Agreement in respect
of Services up to the time of termination.
9.4 If the Customer is an individual, in the event of the Customer's death,
Valuephone reserves the right to terminate this Agreement without notice
as soon as Valuephone becomes aware of the Customer's death. All outstanding
charges under this Agreement must be paid by the Customer's estate.
10 LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
10.1 Performance: Because the performance of some Services may be affected
by your levels of use, the levels of use of other users and of facilities
related to providing the Services, we do not warrant that Services will
be free of blockages, delays or faults of this kind and we will not be
responsible for any loss or damage which may result.
10.2 Warranties: Except as provided in clause 10.1 and as required by
law, and subject to clause 10.3, all terms, conditions, warranties, undertakings,
inducements and representations, whether express or implied, statutory
or otherwise, relating to the provision by us of the Services are excluded,
and we will not be under any other liability in respect of any loss or
damage (including consequential loss or damage) however caused (whether
by negligence or otherwise) which may be suffered or incurred or which
may arise directly or indirectly in respect of the Services.
10.3 Limitation of Liability: Our liability for any breach of any term,
condition, warranty or under any remedy implied by law (which cannot be
excluded), will be limited at our option to the repair or re-supply of
equipment or Services or the payment of the cost of having the equipment
or Services re-supplied.
10.4 No Liability: We have no liability to you or to any other person
for:-
(a) acts or defaults of other Suppliers;
(b) faults or defects in Services which are caused to any material extent
by your own conduct or misuse; or
(c) faults or defects that arise in telecommunication services not provided
under this Agreement (even if they are connected, with our consent, to
Services which we have arranged under this Agreement) which are due to
incompatibility with the Services.
11 CONFIDENTIALITY
11.1 We retain all intellectual property rights in any information relating
to the Services, the design or operation of our network and other technical
information relating to the provision of the Services ("Confidential
Information").
11.2 You will keep the Confidential Information confidential, and will
not allow any written or electronically recorded material to be copied.
11.3 On the termination of this Agreement for any reason, you will return
all Confidential Information to us. If you have destroyed these, or any
of them, then you will give us a written declaration accordingly.
11.4 You will keep confidential the manner in which we arrange Services
under this Agreement, including our charges and discounts, and other financial
information.
11.5 You will not use information which you acquire from us for any purpose
unauthorised in writing by us or in any manner which may cause us loss,
whether by way of damage to our reputation, financial loss or otherwise.
12 FORCE MAJEURE
12.1 Subject to clause 14.7, we are not liable for:
(a) any delay in installing any Service,
(b) any delay in correcting any fault in any Service,
(c) failure or incorrect operation of any Service, or
(d) any other delay or default in performance under this Agreement,
if it is caused by any event reasonably beyond our control, including
but not limited to war, accident, act of God, industrial action, embargo,
delay or failure or default by any other Supplier.
13 ASSIGNMENT
13.1 You will not assign, charge or otherwise deal with your rights under
this Agreement except with our prior written consent.
13.2 We may, on 30 days' written notice, assign all our rights and obligations
under this Agreement.
14 GENERAL
14.1 Information: We may give to and receive from other Supplier's information
about your account, including particulars of calls and call charges.
14.2 Governing law: Agreement is governed by the laws of New South Wales.
14.3 Entire Agreement: This Agreement contains the whole understanding
between us to the exclusion of any prior or collateral Agreement or understanding
of any kind relating to the Services.
14.4 No reliance: You acknowledge that you enter into this Agreement entirely
as a result of your own enquiries and that you do not rely on any statement,
representation or promise by us or on our behalf not expressly set out
in this Agreement.
14.5 Release: You accordingly release us and each of our officers, agents
and advisers from all claims, suits and demands of every kind (including
negligence) arising from the relationship of the parties concerning this
Agreement before it was signed, and from the negotiations leading to it.
14.6 Waiver: The failure by either party to exercise any right or remedy
under this Agreement in a timely manner does not constitute acceptance
of the matter which gave rise to the right or remedy, nor that party's
waiver of such right or remedy.
14.7 Customer Service Guarantee: To the extent applicable, the Customer
Service Guarantee applies to the provision of Services under this Agreement.
14.8 Standard Form of Agreement: These terms and conditions have been
formulated under section 479 of the Telecommunications Act and filed with
the Australian Communications Authority and will be referred to as the
Valuephone Standard Form of Agreement.