Terms and Conditions
1. ACCESS US® Services: Upon signing this Order to Access US®, Customer acknowledges and agrees to be bound by the terms and conditions outlined by this Contract. Customer authorizes Access US® to act as an agent to order and manage all negotiations with Customer’s Incumbent Local Exchange Carrier (“ILEC”) for the installation of telecommunications lines for the address set forth on the contract and shall provide Access US® and its agents, with such access to Customer’s premises as may be reasonably necessary to perform any acts required by this Contract. This agency rescinds previous agency agreements entered into by the Customer for the purpose of obtaining similar services as those being proposed by Access US®. Subscriber agrees to remain a subscriber of the service for the period (1) year starting on the 3rd day after the service is activated by the TELCO. This agreement shall automatically renew for successive one (1) year periods using the same terms and conditions contained herein until terminated by either party providing written notice no less than 30 days prior to the end of the then current term. Notice should be made in writing via USPS Certified Mail to Access US®, 712 North 2nd Street, Suite 300, St. Louis, MO 63102.
If Customer cancels this Order prior to the completion of the installation of service, then (i) Customer shall reimburse Access US® for all costs incurred by Access US® up to the point of termination, (ii) Customer shall promptly return any equipment or other property provided to Customer by Access US® hereunder, and (iii) Customer shall be subject to an early termination fee equal to three times the monthly recurring charge, which is calculated based on the published retail price of the service, not to include discounts previously offered on the customer’s service plan, at the time of termination. For cancellation of service after installation, please see paragraph (9) below.
The local loop portion of the installation relies heavily on Customer’s “ILEC”. Access US® will make commercially reasonable efforts to minimize any ILEC installation, provisioning and service delays. Service installation and activation is typically completed within five (5) to seven (7) days from the date of the order, however Access US® does not warrant nor guarantee that Customer’s service will be installed or activated within that timeframe.
From time to time, conditions may exist that prevent the installation of DSL into a Customer’s location due to adverse infrastructure conditions or other conditions beyond Access US®’s control. Access US® may propose and evaluate alternative access strategies to achieve reliable connectivity, each of which shall be subject to approval by Customer prior to implementation. Prior to installation, Access US® will provide Customer with an estimate of any additional or unusual monthly or nonrecurring charges or service delays that Access US® reasonably anticipates may result from the implementation of the alternative access strategies. If Customer decides to cancel its DSL order due to the anticipated costs or service delay times or due to the absence of alternative access strategies, Customer shall terminate the order by written notice, to be received by Access US® no less than five (5) days prior to the scheduled installation date, and will incur no charge for the DSL installation. If alternative access strategies are not reasonably available, Access US® reserves the right to cancel Customer’s DSL order.
Customer acknowledges that there is more than one way to provide the services under the Agreement, this Addendum and any other applicable addendum and consents to reasonable changes in the way the services are provisioned that allow Access US to provide quality services and insure a fair profit. This may include changing the third party phone company or telecommunications company through which Access US provisions its services. Customer appoints Access US its Attorney-in-Fact regarding all matters related to this agreement and the services provided hereunder. This includes but is not limited to the authority to change networks or network providers at its sole discretion and without requiring additional consents or permissions. Access US is hereby granted authority to execute requisite documents or agreements on behalf of Customer to affect any changes it deems necessary or beneficial, in its sole discretion.
Installation & One Time Fee: (A) Telephone Line: Customer must have an active AT&T billed phone line in order to install and maintain DSL service. The phone number provided for ordering DSL service must be within the coverage area and not have had existing DSL service for at least 14 days, unless the activation is a “switch” from another DSL provider. Service is not available in all areas. Maximum speed achieved depends on customer location. Speeds shown are only a range in which a customer may expect to see line operate. Actual speeds will vary upon distance and other factors. (B) Installation of modem/router: Access US®’s standard installation provides (1) usable dynamic IP only for the ability to transmit data packets from customer’s DSL router or modem to Access US® and does not include the connection, configuration or installation of any equipment or services not provided or sold to customer by Access US®. Professional installation of a modem or a router includes a site visit from a professional installer who will make commercially reasonable efforts to complete necessary work to install, configure, enable and test the Customer’s modem or router, and ensure the modem or router can obtain access to the Access US® network. Access US®’s professional installation does not include any service or maintenance of the Customer’s personal computers, laptops, printers, or other local area network or wide area network hardware. Out-of-scope installation work or service is billable at then current hourly rates. Upon request, Customer will be quoted approximate costs based on need. (C) Line Conditioning Charge: Occasionally a DSL line installation incurs line conditioning charges from Customer’s ILEC, if certain physical conditions exist on the DSL line’s path between the Customer premise and the ILEC Central Office. If the ILEC charges Access US® for line conditioning, Access US® will subsequently charge the Customer for it. If there is no charge from the ILEC for line conditioning, Access US® will not charge the Customer for it. (D) Reconnection Fee: If customer’s AT&T phone line is disconnected for any reason by customer or AT&T directly a DSL reconnection fee in the amount of $49 will apply to reconnect the DSL service.
Equipment: A self install kit containing a DSL modem, phone line filters, and applicable cables is available for purchase through this agreement. Equipment has a “Dead-on-Arrival” warranty only. Customer is responsible for replacing any failed equipment after the original activation of the DSL line. Customer may do so by either purchasing new equipment through Access US® or any technology store. Some customer may need to purchase additional equipment (i.e. Ethernet card and/or cables). Customer is responsible for any on-site service calls in which it is determined that the cause of the service problem was not the result of Access US®, or authorized agents. Other restrictions apply.
Payment of Charges: All charges owed by Customer to Access US® under this Agreement shall be due at the beginning of each billing period. If invoice is not paid by the tenth
(10) day after its due date, Customer will incur a late payment fee for each invoice period that payment is delayed until the charges on the invoice are paid in full. Customer shall also be liable to Access US® for the reasonable costs of collection incurred by Access US® in collecting any payments owed by Customer under this Agreement, including reasonable attorneys’ fees.
Fees & Surcharges: Customer acknowledges and agrees that, in addition to any other charges that may otherwise be due pursuant to this agreement, Customer shall pay to Access US® on a monthly basis FUSF (Federal Universal Service Fund), or other cost recovery fees to help cover charges from our data transport supplier pursuant to state and federal telecom regulations. This fee is not a tax or government required charge and equates to approximately 8.75% of the monthly recurring fee. Access US® may, at its sole and absolute discretion, assess an additional fee of $2.00 per month to any customer who either pays by check or requires that a paper invoice be printed and mailed. This additional fee is to defray the cost of paper, printing, payroll, postage and other costs associated with the manual processing of these invoices and payments. Customers may opt for e-mail invoices with automatic payments (via credit/debit card or ACH) will not incur these charges. From time to time Access US® may change its pricing or product bundling to remain competitive with the industry and to cover our costs to provide certain services.
Limitation of Damages: Access US® shall not be liable for any claims or damages relating to the content or quality of any Internet transmissions or anything else beyond Access US®’s control, including, but not limited to, computer viruses, obscene or objectionable language or images, lost data, or network outages or inaccessibility caused by its DLEC, CLEC or ILEC partners or affiliates. Furthermore, Access US® shall have no liability for any claims or damages in excess of the charges paid by Customer to Access US® (exclusive of any interest) over the twelve (12) month period immediately prior to the incident giving rise to the claim for damages. In no event shall Access US® be liable for any consequential, special, or punitive damages. UNLESS EXPRESSLY SET FORTH OTHERWISE IN AN APPLICABLE WRITTEN ADDENDUM BETWEEN THE PARTIES, THE SERVICES AND ANY GOODS PROVIDED BY ACCESS US® UNDER THIS AGREEMENT ARE PROVIDED “AS IS,” WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANT ABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Force Majeure & Vicissitudes: Access US® shall not be responsible for delays or problems caused by: acts of God, fires, riot or insurrection, strikes or differences with or among workmen, government interference, inability to secure transportation, weather conditions, timing of deliveries from Seller’s vendors or suppliers, network outages or inaccessibility, or other contingencies beyond Seller’s reasonable control including Access US®’s DSL partners and vendors filing bankruptcy or otherwise going out of business. Should any of the foregoing conditions continue for a period of thirty (30) days after its first occurrence, Access US® may cancel this Agreement without incurring any liability to Customer.
Business Dependency On the Internet: Business connectivity is important for businesses and for many residential customers. Internet connections rely on many different systems and pieces of equipment which sometimes fail causing outages. Any customer that requires an uninterrupted service level is advised to consider a redundant connection to the Internet. Access US denies any liability of any kind, including but not limited to, diminished productivity and lost revenue or profit. Customer or Client acknowledges that Access US shall not be liable for any damages and indemnifies Access US against any such claim. Each use of the service provided by Access US reaffirms this acknowledgement and agreement.
Termination: If a party fails to perform or observe any material term or condition of this Agreement and the failure continues un-remedied for thirty (30) days after receipt of written notice, (i) the other party may terminate for cause any Addendum affected by the breach, or (ii) where the failure is a non-payment by Customer of any charge when due, Access US® may, at its option, terminate affected Addenda, suspend Service under affected Addenda, require a deposit under any or all Addenda as a condition of continuing to provide Services and/or terminate this entire Agreement. In event Access US® terminates under this Section, or Customer terminates without cause, Customer shall be liable to Access US® for early termination charges equal to three times the monthly recurring cost. Customer shall pay such early termination charges to Access US® within thirty (30) days of termination notice. Payment of the termination charges does not release Customer from other previous amounts owed to Access US® for services actually received.
Governing Law and Venue: This Agreement shall be construed in accordance with, and governed by, the internal laws of the State of Missouri, without regard to that state’s choice of law principles. Unless Access US® decides otherwise, any action brought in connection with this Agreement shall be brought only in the federal or state courts located in St. Louis, Missouri. Customer irrevocably submits to the personal jurisdiction of such courts, and waives any objection it may have concerning the venue or convenience of such forums.
Acceptance: This Agreement, Service Order(s), and Acceptable Use Policy (which can be found at www.accessus.net/acceptable-use-policy/) together supersede all previous representations, understandings or agreements and shall prevail notwithstanding any variance with terms and conditions of any order submitted.
Initials (Customer)_______ Initials (Access US®)_______