Terms of Service

These are the terms and conditions under which SwitchNow provides all Internet services ("service" or "services"). These Terms of Service act as a fully binding agreement between WebAxxess, LLC, a California Limited Liability Company, doing business as SwitchNow and SwitchNow.net ("SwitchNow") and each of its customers ("Customer").

1. SwitchNow shall primarily communicate with Customer through electronic mail to the contact e-mail address as specified by Customer. Notice of any events or changes involving Customer's service or this agreement shall be considered given at the time that such notice is sent by e-mail to Customer.

2. All customers must maintain the accuracy of their contact information with SwitchNow. Failure to do so may result in suspension of service.

3. SwitchNow will never sell or disclose Customer's contact information or customer lists to any third party, unless required by law or specifically authorized by Customer.

4. SwitchNow reserves the right to refuse or terminate service to anyone, at any time and for any reason, including but not limited to violation of SwitchNow's Acceptable Use Policy. Should SwitchNow terminate Customer's service for a reason other than violation of the Acceptable Use Policy, SwitchNow will issue Customer a refund for the remaining paid period of service. Under no circumstances is SwitchNow responsible for any damages resulting from termination of service.

5. SwitchNow may make changes to these Terms of Service at any time, and such changes will take effect thirty (30) calendar days after notice of the changes is given to Customer. If Customer does not agree with these Terms of Service, Customer must discontinue use of their services immediately and contact SwitchNow to cancel their account.

6. Payments are due on the twentieth day of each month, and SwitchNow dispatches e-mail invoices approximately fifteen (15) calendar days prior. Payments shall be made by automatic charge to the credit card supplied during signup. If payment is not received by ten (10) calendar days after the due date, Customer's account will be suspended, and may incur a $25.00 reactivation fee at SwitchNow's discretion. Accounts may be deleted if they have spent eight (8) or more calendar days in a suspended state. Accounts past due may be subject to interest at the rate of 1.5% per month. In order to keep costs to our customers as low as possible, we only accept payment by automatic credit card billing to your Visa or MasterCard.

7. Charges will be billed according to the price list currently in effect and posted on the SwitchNow web site. Customer may cancel an account or service at any time, but is responsible for fees remaining. For month-to-month billing, Customer is responsible for the current month's charges. Prepaid accounts are not refundable if Customer chooses to terminate the account before the paid period has expired. Any service added during a given month will be prorated from the service start date to the end of the month.

8. If any invoice or portion thereof is disputed, the invoice must still be paid in full by the due date. Any credits issued in resolution of the dispute will be applied to the subsequent month's invoice.

9. SwitchNow may modify account or service pricing at any time. Increases will take effect thirty (30) calendar days after notice has been provided to Customer. Customer may choose to cancel the account or service to avoid a price increase.

10. Bandwidth will be billed according to the 95th Percentile Rule: all data samples from a given month are sorted from highest to lowest, and the top 5% are discarded. The highest remaining data sample is the "95th Percentile" number, which will be used as the basis for calculating the bandwidth rate (if above the subscribed bandwidth level) for that month.

11. Customer is responsible for complying with United States federal, state, and local laws, and applicable laws of any other countries with which Customer uses the Internet to communicate. Customer may not participate in or support any illegal activities through the use of their service. SwitchNow does not control the content of network traffic to or from their services or network.

12. SwitchNow offers a Service Level Guarantee with no busy signals, subject to the following terms: If you are denied access to the Internet because you cannot connect to our system due to a busy signal, and cannot connect within ten (10) minutes, SwitchNow will credit $1.00 to your account for each such instance. There is a limit of one service credit per day and three service credits per month. To claim a credit under our Service Level Guarantee, you must send email to guarantee@switchnow.net including your username, the ten-minute time frame in which you received the busy signal(s), and the local dialup number you called where you received the busy signal(s). Upon notice and confirmation by SwitchNow, you will be credited appropriately against the following month's charges.

13. All SwitchNow dialup Internet access accounts include unlimited technical support via email ( support@switchnow.net ) or through our Support Web Site at http://support.switchnow.net. Our Service Plus plan also includes unlimited phone support via our toll free support line. Technical support by phone is available to Switch Plan and Value Plus plan subscribers for a nominal fee of $9.95 per incident, which will be automatically charged to your account credit card at the time of your call. Our toll free technical support number is (888) 643-3003 x 101.

15. Usenet Newsgroup (NNTP) access is not included with our service plans, but is available for $1.00 per month.

16. SwitchNow does not allow downgrades to lower cost plans. Customer may, however, upgrade at any time to a higher level plan.

17. SwitchNow's services are provided as-is, and are to be used at Customer's own risk. SwitchNow provides no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied, including warranties of salability or fitness for any particular purpose. SwitchNow is not responsible for hardware or software damage, loss of wages or data, or any other financial or personal loss resulting from the use of, or inability to use, the service. Any liabilities are strictly limited to the amount of the fee(s) paid for services rendered.

18. Customer is responsible for all actions taken or caused to be taken in Customer's use of the service. As a condition of service, Customer agrees to indemnify and hold harmless SwitchNow's officers, employees, agents, shareholders, and partners from any cause of action originating from use of the service.

19. Due to the insecure nature of much of the global Internet, SwitchNow strongly suggests that credit card numbers or other personal information never be sent through e-mail or any other Internet service, unless proper encryption is used. Customer is fully liable and responsible for the security and integrity of their own services, including Internet servers. SwitchNow will not be held liable for any security breaches that may occur. Customer agrees to fully indemnify and hold harmless SwitchNow from any legal or financial claims that may result from a breach in the security of Customer's services.

20. If any portion of this agreement is found to contradict federal, state, or local laws, the remaining portions will remain in full force. Any and all disputes regarding or resulting from this agreement will be governed by the laws and courts of Butte County, California.

Additional terms and conditions may apply to some services; these terms are specified below. If you have any questions regarding our terms, conditions, and policies, please call SwitchNow at 888-643-3003, or e-mail service@switchnow.net.

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

This Acceptable Use Policy has been formulated with the following goals in mind:

• Ensure the security, reliability and privacy of SwitchNow's network and systems, and the networks and systems of others.
  
  
• Preserve the value of the Internet as a resource for information and free expression.
  
  
• Preserve the privacy and security of Internet users.
  
  
• Discourage irresponsible practices which degrade the usability of network resources and thus the value of Internet services.
  
  
• Avoid situations that may cause SwitchNow to incur legal liability.
  
  
• Maintain the image and reputation of SwitchNow as a responsible provider.
  
  
• This Acceptable Use Policy in no way supercedes or overrides SwitchNow's Terms of Service.

A. SwitchNow operates under a strict "No Spam" policy. The sending of any unsolicited e-mail advertising messages from, to, or through SwitchNow's services may result in the imposition of civil liability against the sender, in accordance with California Business & Professions Code Section 17538.45. A copy of the California Business & Professions Code may be obtained on-line from http://www.leginfo.ca.gov. "Unsolicited bulk" messages include, but are not limited to, commercial advertising, informational announcements, and political or religious tracts.

B. The following activities are expressly prohibited, and may result in account suspension or termination:

1. Sending unsolicited bulk e-mail (UBE) which advertises a Web site, e-mail account, or other service provided by or through SwitchNow.

2. Making Usenet postings which advertise a Web site, e-mail account, or other service provided by or through SwitchNow, to any newsgroup whose charter does not specifically allow such advertisements.

3. Sending UBE or posting advertisements to Usenet (except where specifically allowed by newsgroup charters) from a service provided by or through SwitchNow.

4. Hosting "spam-friendly" Web sites, including spam software sites.

5. Harrassment, whether through content, frequency, or size of e-mail or Usenet messages.

6. Sending e-mail to any person who does not wish to receive it. If a recipient asks to stop receiving email, the Customer must immediately and permanently cease to send that individual any further e-mail.

7. Forwarding or otherwise propagating chain letters or "e-mail hoaxes," whether or not the recipient wishes to receive them, unless such propagation is both solicited and in the clear context of debunking or discrediting chain letters/hoaxes.

8. Transmitting any electronic communication, including e-mail, using the name or address of another person or organization, for purposes of deception.

9. Impersonating another individual by altering source IP address information, or forging e-mail/Usenet headers or other identifying information.

10. Any attempt to fraudulently conceal, forge, or otherwise falsify one's identity in connection with use of the service.

11. Any use of another party's electronic mail server to relay e-mail without express permission.

12. Collecting replies to messages sent from another Internet service provider, where those messages violate this Acceptable Use Policy or any applicable policies of the other provider.

13. Denial of Service, including, but not limited to, any form of Internet packet flooding, packet corruption, or abusive attack intended to impact the proper functioning of any party's Internet servers or services.

14. Using SwitchNow's network, services, or systems to store or send content which is illegal according to the laws of United States of America, the state of California, the counties of Butte or San Diego, or any International treaties respected by the United States of America, is not permitted for any reason.

Storing or sending any material deemed either illegal or inappropriate for our networks, including but not limited to child pornography related material, pirated software or music, all spam-related materials including e-mail lists, is grounds for immediate termination. Note also that any child pornography related material, whether it is determined to be legal or not. This includes simulated child pornography, non-nude child pornography, or sites linking to such material. Offenses of this nature will be reported to the federal authorities and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

15. Using or storing any type of software which is designed to or is likely to abuse or negatively impact Internet service, including, but not limited to, portscanners, hacking tools, ping flooding programs, security/root exploits, packet sniffers, and spam software.

16. Modifying, changing, or obscuring the MAC (Media Access Control) or IP (Internet Protocol) address(es) of servers or services. Doing so may be considered cause for service suspension or termination.

17. Intercepting or attempting to intercept, through any method, network traffic intended for other customers.

18. Running proxy servers, such as squid or BNC, unless they are available only to users whose verified contact information is known by the proxy operator and can be disclosed to SwitchNow or law enforcement authorities upon request. All usage of such services must be brought to the attention of the SwitchNow security team and cleared by the Security Manager before you begin running such services.

19. Any previous or current behavior, such as the sending of unsolicited e-mail, that results in the addition of SwitchNow to any e-mail blackhole lists, or otherwise negatively impacts the overall services of SwitchNow, is grounds for termination.

20. All e-mail lists operated by our customers, either advertising resources on our networks or being sent through our networks, must conform to the double opt-in standards.

SWITCH PLAN TERMS & CONDITIONS

In addition to our general Terms of Service, subscribers to our promotional Switch Plan are subject to the following Terms & Conditions:

1. You must have existing Internet access with a working email account to confirm your switch from another provider. Upon signup, a confirmation message will be sent to the email address you provide, with a link to complete your registration. You must click this link within 5 days of signup to confirm your eligibility.

2. You must signup online and configure your account following the instructions on our Support Web Site. There is no Phone Installation Support available under our Switch Plan.

3. You must use our Switch Notification Service to notify at least three people about your new SwitchNow email address and at least three notification messages must be read within 5 days of sending. Each name and email address provided must be unique to our system and not previously submitted by any other user in order to qualify. If our system does not register that the minimum number of notification messages were read, you will be asked to submit additional names and email addresses until the minimum number of notification messages are registered as read. By signing up for our Switch Plan promotion, you understand and agree that the referrals provided by you, and our opportunity to market to those referrals by sending a single Switch Notification Message bearing our logo, web address and brief marketing message, constitute a necessary and fair exchange for the discounted price offered.

4. Users requiring Phone Installation Support or otherwise not meeting our Terms and Conditions for the Switch Plan promotion will be automatically upgraded to our Value Plus plan and charged accordingly.

5. The SwitchNow promotional Switch Plan is dependent upon good faith submissions by new users of referral account prospects through the Switch Notification Service. You hereby agree that SwitchNow reserves the absolute right to pursue any remedies available at law, in contract or tort, for your breach of any terms of this agreement, or for bad faith or fraudulent participation in the Switch Plan. Such remedies include but are not limited to cancellation of your Switch Plan account; assessment of a service charge equal to $80 per hour for any corrective or protective action required due to such bad faith or fraudulent use; and / or legal action against you for damages.