Legals
These terms and conditions apply to new and existing customers and are effective from the implementation date shown above.
CONTENTS
1. Definitions
2. Providing the Service
3.Phone Book and Directory Entries
4. Managing the Service
5. Monitoring Calls
6. Access to and Preparing the Premises
7. Customer Equipment
8. Misusing the Service
9. Charges and Deposits
10. Cancelling or Ending this Contract
11. If the Customer Breaks this Contract
12. Limits of Liability
13. Matters Beyond Advantage Telecom Reasonable Control
14. Resolving Disputes
15. Changes to this Contract
16. Transferring this Contract
17. Third Party Rights
18. Notices
19. The Service Charter
20. Suspension & Termination
21. Prices
22. General Condition 24
23. Price Match Offer
In this Contract the following terms have the definitions shown next to them:
"Advantage Telecom, Telecom House, 158 The Marlowes, Hemel Hempstead, Herts, HP1 1BA"
"BT" British Telecommunications plc of 81 Newgate Street, London EC1A 7AJ, registered in England
Number1800000
"BT Equipment" equipment (including any software) placed by BT at the Premises to provide the Service.
"Call" a signal, message or communication that is silent, spoken or visual.
"Call Diversion" diverting incoming Calls to another fixed line or mobile telephone number as set out in the
Service Charter.
"Conditions" these terms and conditions for Advantage Telecoms business service.
"Contract" these Conditions, Business Plan and Plus and the Price List. This Contract begins on the date that
[Reseller] accepts the Customer's request for the Service.
"Customer" the person with whom Advantage Telecoms contracts to provide the Service.
"Customer Equipment" equipment that is not part of BT's network and which the Customer uses or plans to use
with the Service.
"Minimum Period" the first 60 months of the Service after the 10 days cooling off period from point of sale with Advantage Telecoms.
"Premises" the place at which Advantage Telecoms agrees to provide the Service.
"Price List" the document containing a list of Advantage Telecoms charges and terms that apply to the Service.
"Renewal Period" a rolling sixty month period after the end of each minimum period. This is governed by all
the original terms and conditions.
"Service" the facility to make or receive a Call (or both) and any related services listed in the Price List that
Advantage Telecoms agrees to provide to the Customer under this Contract.
"Service Failure" the continuous total loss of the facility to make or receive a Call, or of any related service
provided to the Customer under this Contract.
2.1 Advantage Telecoms will provide the Service by the date agreed with the Customer. Sometimes, Advantage Telecoms will agree the date following a survey of the Premises by Openreach Engineers.
2.2 Occasionally, for operational reasons, Advantage Telecoms may have to change the codes or the numbers given to the Customer, or interrupt the Service. Advantage Telecoms will restore the interrupted Service as quickly as possible.
2.3 The Customer accepts that occasionally Advantage Telecoms will provide instructions regarding the Service. The Customer must follow these instructions.
2.4 Advantage Telecoms may take instructions from a person who it thinks, with good reason, is acting with the Customer's permission.
2.5 In some cases Advantage Telecoms will require written proof when vacating the premises in which the customers service is provided. Continued use of the service after the vacation of the property by any party will be deemed as acceptance.
3. PHONE BOOK AND DIRECTORY ENTRIES
3.1 The Service includes a telephone number. This number will be put in the appropriate BT Phone Books, together with the Customer's details, and made available from Directory Enquiries Services unless the Customer requests otherwise.
3.2 Advantage Telecoms may agree to a special entry in the BT Phone Books at an additional charge.
3.3 The Customer does not own any number nor has any right to sell or to agree to transfer any number Provided to it by Advantage Telecoms
4.1 If the Customer reports a fault in the Service, Advantage Telecoms will respond in line with the level of repair service the Customer has chosen.
4.2 If Openreach and/or Advantage Telecoms agrees to work outside the hours covered by the repair service the Customer has chosen, the Customer must pay Advantage Telecoms additional charges for doing so.
4.3 Advantage Telecoms provides a Service Charter. If Advantage Telecoms is late in providing the Service, or repairing a Service Failure, the Customer may be entitled to a Call Diversion or to claim compensation under the Service Charter.
4.4 If the Customer reports a fault and Advantage Telecoms and/or Openreach finds that there is none, or that the Customer has caused the fault, Advantage Telecoms may charge the Customer for any work as set out in the Price List.
4.5 Certain Advantage Telecoms tariffs require a minimum monthly call spend to qualify for discounted line rental, if the customers monthly call spend falls below that threshold we reserve the right to implement a minimum monthly bill
4.6 Advantage Telecoms cannot be liable for fees incurred from third party engineers and are not responsible for system maintenance.
BT monitors and records all calls to the 999 or 112 service.
6. ACCESS TO AND PREPARING THE PREMISES
6.1 The Customer agrees to prepare the Premises according to any instructions Advantage Telecoms and/or Openreach may give, and provide Advantage Telecoms and/or BT with reasonable access to the Premises.
6.2 When Advantage Telecoms and/or Openreach's work is completed, the Customer will also be responsible for putting items back and for any re-decorating which may be needed.
6.3 If Openreach needs to cross other people's land, or put Openreach Equipment on their property (for example a neighbour or landlord), the Customer agrees to obtain their permission.
6.4 Openreach will meet the Customer's reasonable safety and security requirements when on the Premises and the Customer agrees to do the same for Openreach.
6.5 The Customer agrees to provide, at its expense, a suitable place and conditions for BT Equipment and where required a continuous mains electricity supply and connection points.
6.6 The Customer agrees to look after any BT Equipment and to pay for any repair or replacement needed if it is damaged, unless it is due to fair wear and tear, or is caused by BT or anyone acting on BT's behalf. Advantage Telecoms or anyone acting on Advantage Telecoms's behalf, will look after the Customer's physical property as set out in paragraph 12.2.
7.1 If the Customer wishes to connect Customer Equipment to BT's network other than by using a BT main telephone socket, the Customer must get Advantage Telecoms's permission.
7.2 Any Customer Equipment must be:
(a) technically compatible with the Service and not harm BT's network or another customer's equipment; and
(b) connected and used in line with any relevant instructions, standards or laws.
8.1 Nobody must use the Service:
(a) to make offensive, indecent, menacing, nuisance or hoax Calls; or
(b) fraudulently or in connection with a criminal offence.
The Customer agrees to take all reasonable steps to make sure that this does not happen. The action Advantage Telecoms
can take if this happens is explained in paragraph 11. If a claim is made against BT and/or Advantage Telecoms because
the Service is misused in this way, the Customer must reimburse Advantage Telecoms in respect of any sums Advantage Telecoms is
obliged to pay.
8.2 The Customer accepts that nobody must advertise the phone number for the Service in or on a BT phone box without BT's consent. If this happens, Advantage Telecoms may suspend the Service or end this Contract, but Advantage Telecoms and/or BT will write to the Customer before taking this action.
9.1 The Customer agrees to pay all charges for the Service as shown in the Price List (or as otherwise agreed) and calculated using the details recorded by Advantage Telecoms.
9.2 Unless paragraph 9.4 applies, rental charges will normally be invoiced monthly in advance, and call charges will normally be invoiced monthly in arrears. Where possible the charges will appear on the Customer's next invoice but sometimes there may be a delay.
9.2a The Business Plan plus line rental is paid a year in advance for year one, then reverts to standard monthly in advance.
9.3 Advantage Telecoms will send its first invoice shortly after providing the Service, and then at regular intervals, usually every month. Sometimes Advantage Telecoms may send the Customer an invoice at a different time.
9.4 If the Customer orders a temporary Service, Advantage Telecoms may invoice the Customer for the rental charge in advance for the whole period of the temporary Service.
9.5 Advantage Telecoms will send invoices for the Service to the address requested by the Customer.
9.6 The Customer agrees to pay all charges for the Service whether the Service is used by the Customer or someone else and upon receipt of Advantage Telecoms's invoice.
9.7 In some cases the Customer may need to pay a deposit or provide a guarantee as security for paying future charges.
9.8 You must pay all charges and rental by Direct Debit as soon as these become due, which will normally be
10 days from date of invoice. If you cancel your Direct Debit for any reason we reserve the right to charge £50.
If we have not received payment of your bill by the due date, we may disconnect your telephone
service. If this is necessary the following conditions may apply:
(a) Normal monthly rental will continue to be charged during any period of disconnection.
(b) You will be charged a fee for reconnection to our services, which is £99 per affected line, subject to VAT.
(c) If Outgoing Call Barring is placed on your line because we have not received payment by the due date, an
administration payment will be required in advance before Outgoing Call Barring is removed.
9.9 If the customers direct debit does not clear, Advantage Telecoms will charge £10 for each failed direct debit collection.
9.9.1 To achieve 50% discount on line rental a payment is required to cover the years line rental. After the first year, line rental reverts to the standard 15% discount.
9.9.1a 4p call connection charge applies to all calls except international and mobile calls where the connection charges of 5p and 9p apply respectively. All prices quoted are ex VAT.
9.9.2 If you settle your monthly invoice by way of a cheque a £4 admin fee will be applied to your account per month.
9.9.3 Advantage Telecoms reserves the right to charge a monthly bill production charge if customers choose to recieve a paper bill, there will be no charge to recieve a bill by email.
9.9.4 Services such as Call Minder 1571, Call Waiting and Ring back, and all other various additional features, called .select services. are offered by Advantage Telecom, at a discounted rate compared to BT. They range from £2.17 per feature, per month and are billed monthly in advance.
10. CANCELLING OR ENDING THIS CONTRACT
10.1 If you decide to cancel your order or agreement before we have provided the services, you may do so from the point of sale to the completion of the transfer period without charge. If you wish to terminate your contract after the completion of the transfer but within the minimum term of 60 months for business customers and 30 days for residential we will charge you an administration fee as set out in your contract, please call our Customer service Helpdesk on 01442 353 040. After the minimum term you can cancel any service by calling our Customer Service Helpdesk on 01442 353 040, giving us one months' notice.
10.1A A cancellation reference number is given to every customer who requests to cancel within the transfer period. The customer must obtain a reference number from customer services for this request to be considered valid.
10.2
10.2a (a) If your contact commenced on or before the 29th December 2011, your contract will continue for your agreed minimum period, and will automatically renew for periods of twelve months on the expiry date of the minimum period (each such period shall be known as a “renewal period”) unless terminated under clause 20.1.
10.2b Any pre existing contracts under Clause 10.2 a will then be subject to Clause 10.2 c on or after 31st December 2012.
10.2c If your contract commenced on or after 30th December 2011, your contract will continue for your agreed minimum period, unless terminated under clause 20.2. After the agreed minimum period has expired, the customer must contact Talk Plus Telecom to arrange an extended period or the termination of their service.
Please refer to Ofcom’s Automatically Renewable Contracts statement at this address for further information: http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/arcs/statement
10.3 If the customer breaches the contract after the ten day cooling off period and during the minimum period or renewal period, the customer must pay Advantage Telecom a termination fee of one hundred and ninety five pounds plus value added tax at the standard rate per line, the customer will also forfeit any service charges and line rentals paid in advance.
10.31 If the customer cancels this contract with their current supplier, and no contact is made within the cooling off period Advantage Telecoms will apply a breach of contract fee (see 10.3).
10.32 A welcome pack is sent to all customers; however we can not be held responsible for loss of post. Our full Terms of conditions are available on the website. If a customer does not receive the welcome letter they are still bound by the terms and conditions.
11. IF THE CUSTOMER BREAKS THIS CONTRACT
11.1 Advantage Telecoms can suspend the Service or end this Contract (or both) at any time without notice if one of the
following applies:
(a) the Customer breaches this Contract or any other agreement the Customer has with Advantage Telecoms.
(b) Advantage Telecoms reasonably believes that the Service is being used in a way forbidden by paragraph 8.1. This applies
even if the Customer does not know that the Service is being used in such a way;
(c) bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings are brought against the Customer; or if the Customer does not make
any payment under a judgement of a Court on time, or makes an arrangement with its creditors; or a receiver,
an administrative receiver or an administrator is appointed over any of its assets; or the Customer goes into
liquidation; or a corresponding event under Scottish law.
11.2 If the Customer does not pay a bill, Advantage Telecoms can suspend the Service or end this Contract until payment is made. If payment is not received within the time period Advantage Telecoms will expect payment over the phone to prevent the customers phone line being suspended. If Advantage Telecom has to collect payment over the phone, they reserve the right to charge an administration fee.
11.3 If the Service is suspended, Advantage Telecoms will tell the Customer what needs to be done before it can be re-instated. However the Customer must continue to pay rental charges whilst this Contract continues.
11.4 If either party delays in acting upon a breach of this Contract that delay will not be regarded as a waiver of that breach. If either party waives a breach of this Contract that waiver is limited to that particular breach.
12.1 Advantage Telecoms accepts unlimited liability for death or personal injury resulting from its negligence.
12.2 Advantage Telecoms accepts liability for loss or damage to the Customer's physical property arising from its negligence, up to £1 thousand in any 12 month period.
12.3 Advantage Telecoms cannot guarantee that the Service will never be faulty. However, Advantage Telecoms accepts liability if it is late in providing the Service or repairing a Service Failure as set out in the Service Charter.
12.4 Unless Advantage Telecoms is negligent, Advantage Telecoms's only liability under this Contract is as set out in the Service Charter.
12.5 Unless the Service Charter or paragraph 12.3 says otherwise, Advantage Telecoms is not liable to the Customer for any loss of business, revenue, profit or expected savings, wasted expense, financial loss or data being lost or corrupted or for any loss that could not have been reasonably foreseen.
12.6 Unless paragraphs 12.1 and 12.2 apply, Advantage Telecoms's liability to the Customer in contract, tort (including negligence) or otherwise in relation to this Contract is limited to £1 thousand in any 12 month period.
12.7 Each provision of this Contract that excludes or limits Advantage Telecoms's liability operates separately. If any part is disallowed or is not effective, the other parts will still apply.
13. MATTERS BEYOND ADVANTAGE TELECOMS' REASONABLE CONTROL
13.1 Sometimes Advantage Telecoms may be unable to do what it has agreed because of something beyond its reasonable control.
13.2 If this happens, Advantage Telecoms is not liable to the Customer. However, Advantage Telecoms will try to provide Call Diversion to the Customer. If Advantage Telecoms cannot do this then the Customer is entitled to a rental refund for any whole or part day, that there is a Service Failure.
13.3 The customer must ensure they have reviewed their contractual obligations from their current supplier. We can in no way be held accountable for any early termination fees that may be issued from the old supplier as a result of a transfer to Advantage Telecoms.
Advantage Telecoms will try to resolve any disputes with the Customer. However, if the parties cannot agree, the Customer may refer the dispute to any recognised dispute resolution service.
15.1 Advantage Telecoms can change the Conditions (including the charges) at any time.
15.2 Advantage Telecoms will forward the changed Conditions to the Customer upon request by the Customer.
15.3 Advantage Telecoms guarantees the call rates will not rise during the minimum period or renewal period.
16. TRANSFERRING THIS CONTRACT
The Customer cannot transfer or try to transfer this Contract, or any part of it, to anyone else.
The parties agree that the terms of this Contract are not enforceable by a third party under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999.
If the parties need to write to each other they must do so as follows:
(a) to Advantage Telecoms at the address shown on the bill or any address which Advantage Telecoms provides to the Customer;
(b) to the Customer at the address to which the Customer asks Advantage Telecoms to send invoices, the address of the
Premises or, if the Customer is a limited company, its registered office.
19.1 Advantage Telecoms's character
19.1.1 Advantage Telecom endeavors:
(a) to provide the Service by the date agreed with the Customer as described in paragraph 2.1;
(b) to repair a Service Failure in line with the repair service the Customer has chosen. For standard service this
means by midnight on the first weekday (not including public and bank holidays) after the day the fault is reported
to Advantage Telecoms;
(c) not to disconnect the Service by mistake; and
(d) to keep any appointment Advantage Telecoms makes with the Customer under this Contract.
19.1.2 If Advantage Telecoms is late in providing the Service or repairing a Service Failure, the Customer may choose either:
(a) Call Diversion - as described in paragraph 19.2. This is only available if it is reasonably practicable, and
technical restrictions may sometimes prevent Advantage Telecoms from offering this option; or
(b) compensation - the Customer may not claim any compensation.
19.1.3 If Advantage Telecoms disconnects the Service by mistake, the Customer may claim a fixed rate compensation of £10 per day, from the date of disconnection.
19.1.4 If Advantage Telecoms does not keep an appointment, the Customer may claim a specified sum, as shown in the Price List.
19.2 CALL DIVERSION
19.2.1 If Advantage Telecoms provides Call Diversion, Advantage Telecoms will divert the Customer's incoming Calls, on request, to another fixed line or mobile telephone number of the Customer's choice. Once Advantage Telecoms has provided the Service or repaired a Service Failure, Advantage Telecoms will cancel the Customer's Call Diversion.
19.2.2 The number chosen must be a UK number, but there are some number ranges to which will not divert the Customer's Calls (for example, 0800 and 0870 numbers).
19.2.3 If Advantage Telecoms diverts the Customer's Calls to a mobile number, the person calling the Customer will not have to pay extra costs for making that Call. The Customer is liable for the additional cost of these diverted calls.
19.4 PAYMENT OF CLAIMS
Advantage Telecoms will deduct any compensation amounts that Advantage Telecoms owes to the Customer under this Charter from the Customer's next phone bill, unless the Customer asks for payment by cheque.
19.5 APPLICATION OF THIS CHARTER
19.5.1 This Charter applies to the Service, including generally any related services Advantage Telecoms provides to the Customer. However, its application to some of the related services may vary as shown in the Price List.
19.5.2 This Charter does not apply if:
(a) someone, other than Advantage Telecoms, has caused the fault,
(b) Advantage Telecoms and/or Openreach asks for access to the Premises and the Customer does not allow this, or
(c) Advantage Telecoms and/or Openreach reasonably asks for other help and the Customer does not provide it.
20.1 This contract may be terminated in writing by either you or us for convenience by giving notice within 30 days of the end of minimum period or any renewal period, this request must be sent by Royal Mail recorded delivery
20.2If the customer wishes to completely terminate their contract with Advantage Telecom they must pay the early termination fee of three hundred and ninety five pounds plus value added tax rate per line, which represents a fair and reasonable estimate of the losses, costs, and expenses, which Advantage Telecom would suffer in the event of the agreement being terminated prior to the end of the minimum duration period. The customer will also forfeit any service charges and line rentals paid in advance.
21.1 All prices and discounts on calls and line rental is correct at time of print.
Advantage Telecoms Terms and Conditions for Business Service These terms and conditions apply to new and existing customers and are effective from the implementation date 1st June 2010.
(A) Advantage Telecom is also compliant with Ofcoms general condition 24, a link to this condition is below:
http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/binaries/telecoms/policy/narrowband/statement.pdf
(B)Advantage Telecom is also compliant in accordance with the new conditions regarding Automatically Renewable Contracts and the changes to general condition 9, a link to this condition is below http://stakeholders.ofcom.org.uk/consultations/arcs/statement
Advantage Telecom offer a price match to all existing customers, competitors offers must include prices for all call types, any applicable call set up, minimum call charges, connection fees, line rental and all other services. Competitors offer must be for a like for like business service. Competitors offer must be in writing and addressed to the account holder. Competitors written offer must be provided to us by email at contracts@advantagetelecom.co.uk or by fax to 01442 353 041; we will respond to you within 7 days of receipt.