General terms of use
1. Application of terms of use
1.1 These general terms of use apply for the use of the Internet telephone service sipkom, PO box 16002, Cape Town 8018, South Africa (hereinafter referred to as "sipkom" ) and the services involved (hereinafter referred to as "telephone service").
1.2 The general terms and conditions are valid for all agreements between sipkom and the contractual partner (hereinafter referred to as "the customer") concerning telephony services for private customers and the services involved.
1.3 sipkom agrees to the use of its telephone service only if the general terms of use apply. The customer accepts these general terms of use upon registration or utilization of sipkom's telephone service.
1.4 The customer is obliged to give correct and complete details on registration. The customer has to inform sipkom immediately about changes of name, address or billing address or bank details. sipkom's service can only be used if the customer is over 18 years of age or approval by his legal representative has been provided. By using the service or products of sipkom the customer warrants that he/she is of full age or that approval of his/her legal representative has been provided.
2. Purpose of sipkom's telephone service
2.1 sipkom enables customers to telephone via the Internet. For this purpose sipkom operates the Internet presence www.sipkom.com and the necessary technical facilities. The hard- and software necessary for making telephone calls can be purchased via the sipkom website.
2.2 The service offered by sipkom consists of the redirecting of a telephone call from a rented telephone connection via the Internet to the customer. sipkom does not provide a telephone connection and retains the right of ownership of the telephone numbers.
2.3 As far as sipkom offers free services, the customer has no claim for performance. sipkom is entitled to cease or change these hitherto free services at any time or to offer them for a fee. This does not give rise to a claim for reduction, a refund or compensation for the customer.
2.4 sipkom points out explicitly that no investigation of messages received or sent via sipkom is allowed. sipkom cannot rule out that messages include illegal or immoral content and is therefore not responsible for the content of the messages.
2.5 The scope of performance of sipkom's telephone service can be viewed at www.sipkom.com at any time. sipkom is entitled to expand, change or improve services and fees within a reasonable notification period, provided that such a change is in accordance with normal business practice and acceptable to the customer, e.g. due to law amendments/additions, impositions by authorities or other sovereign actions.
2.6 Dates and periods are binding only if explicitly confirmed by sipkom in writing.
2.7 Unforeseeable events such as force majeure, acts of authorities, telecommunication failures and other disturbances discharge sipkom from its duty to perform for the period of their duration. The claim for remuneration remains unaffected.
3. Remuneration
3.1 The costs for the purchase of hard- and software for Internet telephony are shown in the offer of performance valid at the time.
3.2 If the customer is overdue with his/her payment, sipkom is entitled to charge default interest of 5 % p.a. above the applicable basic interest rate of the European Central Bank. sipkom explicitly reserves the right to claim further damages.
3.3 sipkom is entitled at any time to change prices after an advance notice period of two weeks. The amended price applies if the customer does not object within six weeks. The contract will then be continued at the amended conditions/prices. If the customer objects in time both parties are entitled to terminate the contract with a notice period of one month by the end of the month.
3.4 Unless agreed otherwise, all prices are fixed prices.
3.5 In the case of arrears sipkom is entitled to discontinue the service. The customer remains liable for the agreed remuneration for the period of stoppage.
3.6 The assignment of the customer's claims against sipkom to third parties is excluded.
3.7 The customer is entitled to set off or assert any right of retention only to the extent that his counter-claims have been finally ascertained or accepted in writing by sipkom.
3.8 sipkom can terminate the contract with immediate effect if the customer has submitted a statutory declaration in lieu of an oath of insolvency, or if insolvency or settlement proceedings or comparable proceedings under a different legal system have been opened or a motion for opening insolvency proceedings has been filed or other concrete indications with regard to deterioration of the financial circumstances of the customer exist.
4. Software
As far as software is made available to the customer through sipkom, the customer receives a non-exclusive and non-transferable licence to use the software for the telephone service of sipkom. The software is protected by copyright. The manufacturing and dissemination of copies of software protected by copyright in particular is prohibited.
5. Duties of the customer
5.1 The customer undertakes to use the telephone service of sipkom only in accordance with the relevant laws and recognized Internet standards.
5.2 The customer is in particular prohibited from breaching foreign protection rights (e.g. copyrights, database rights, trademark rights, patent rights, etc); from using the telephone service for polling or distributing immoral or illegal information; or disseminating content of an insulting, defamatory or hate-stirring nature.
5.3 The customer is furthermore prohibited from infiltrating foreign DP systems or parts thereof ("hacking"); illegally scanning services or systems of third parties ("port-scanning"); or sending, without being asked to do so, unwanted data in larger quantities or to a larger circle of persons ("spamming").
5.4 Should the customer breach the above obligations sipkom is entitled to remove all materials and data that offend against the above provisions or to take other steps to avoid breaches of the law.
5.5 The customer undertakes to exempt sipkom from all third-party claims made against sipkom in connection with an illegal use of the telephone service by the customer and to reimburse sipkom all costs arising from this (including court and attorney's fees).
5.6 If the customer contravenes the duties stated in subsections 5.1 to 5.5, sipkom is entitled, if reminders prove unsuccessful, to terminate the contract without notice.
5.7 sipkom reserves the right to switch off the service without notice if substantial, lasting faults threaten the sipkom network.
5.8 sipkom endeavours to provide smooth running of the services offered. For this purpose the customer accepts maintenance periods with possible short limitations of service.
6. Rates and call credits/Expiry in case of non-use
6.1 An advance payment for a temporary validity of the prepaid amount. The maximum validity of the prepaid amount is 12 months.
6.2 Before the expiry of the validity period, this by a further payment will be extended and a possibly existing balance will remain until the expiration of the new period of validity still usable.
6.3. After expiry of the validity of your account sipkom permanently disabled. Any existing remaining funds forfeited by the customer and can not be harnessed.
6.4 At the customer's request sipkom disabled sipkom your account even before the expiration of the period of validity of permanent, but we must point. 6.3 Clause 2 accordingly
6.5 Sipkom is entitled to basic filing fee free and free to terminate contracts unless the customer call credit is not within 21 days after first filing charges. The customer is entitled to express interest in after his dismissal again.
6.6 Sipkom is entitled to the contract with a period of one month without giving any reasons to cancel. sipkom reimbursed in this case an existing balance at the request of the customer
7. Data protection
sipkom undertakes to observe all relevant data protection regulations. Personal data of the customer, such as name, address or email addresses are recorded, processed or used only to the extent necessary for the use of sipkom's telephone service and for invoicing. The data will not be passed on to third parties. The sipkom customer agrees to be contacted by sipkom or a competent sales partner in writing, electronically or by telephone if this serves the use or improvement of service.
8. Liability
8.1 Unless stated otherwise hereinafter, damage claims against sipkom are excluded if the cause of damage was not intent or gross negligence.
8.2 If sipkom breaches slightly negligently a material contractual duty, the duty to compensate is limited to the contract-typical, foreseeable damage.
8.3 As far as the liability of sipkom is excluded or limited this also applies with respect to personal liability for damages of employees, staff, representatives and agents.
8.4 sipkom does not take responsibility for damages arising from unjustified interference by the customer in sipkom's telecommunication net, the technical equipment or the customer's net infrastructure. sipkom is also not liable for damages due to faulty and unprofessional installation, operating or treatment of devices or system components necessary for the use of the service by the customer or third parties entrusted by him, or for damages arising from disregarding references and provisions stipulated in the performance specifications or other product information.
8.5 The customer has no claim against sipkom in case of failure due to a defect occurring outside sipkom's scope of responsibility. Until the cessation of the defect sipkom is released from the performance of the contract.
8.6 sipkom is not liable for property losses arising from an interruption or defect in the service.
9. Duration of contract, termination
9.1 The contract materializes upon acceptance of the customer application by sipkom or with sipkom's first act of performance.
9.2 The receipt of the customer application will immediately be confirmed electronically by sipkom. The confirmation of receipt does not constitute a binding acceptance of the customer application. The confirmation of receipt may be combined with the declaration of acceptance.
9.3 sipkom may reject the customer application.
9.4 The customer warrants that the details given within the scope of the contractual offer or conclusion of contract concerning his person or other contract-relevant circumstances are complete and correct.
9.5 Contracts with no minimum terms can be terminated on each calendar day with a period of six days.
9.6 Contracts with minimum terms can be terminated at the earliest upon expiry of the minimum term with a period of three months. If the contract is not terminated within this period it will be extended by another year respectively with the same period of notice.
9.7 If a change of service is agreed upon during the term of contract a new minimum term commences as of time of change which is equivalent to the originally agreed-upon term of contract.
9.8 sipkom is specially entitled to terminate the service if third parties, without fault of sipkom, terminate contracts for products absolutely necessary for the provision of service.
9.9 sipkom has an extraordinary right to termination without notice if the customer commits material breaches of contract and does not immediately stop this conduct, despite being requested by sipkom, or, if applicable, does not reverse it. This includes the use of sipkom's service with intent to defraud or other criminal intent or the manipulation of technical devices and equipment.
10. Creditworthiness rating
10.1 sipkom reserves the right to obtain information from a credit office of its choice for the purpose of checking the creditworthiness of the customer and to report data in the case of non-contractual handling. The customer can receive information about the data concerning him at the relevant office, the name and address of which sipkom will advise the customer on request.
11. Terms of delivery
11.1 sipkom determines mode and means of shipment as well as the forwarding agent and carrier.
11.2 Return shipments will be handled in accordance with the legal provisions.
11.3 The assumption of risk is regulated by legal provisions.
11.4 If the shipment or delivery is delayed at the customer's request the risk passes on to the customer as of the day the goods were ready for shipment and the goods will be invoiced.
11.5 If the goods are ready for shipment and the shipment is delayed for reasons sipkom is not accountable for, the risk passes on to the customer as soon as sipkom informs the customer orally or in writing that the goods are ready for shipment. Delivered goods have to be accepted by the customer even if they are defective, independent of the customer's warranty claim.
11.6 Unless agreed otherwise, the customer bears the costs for normal packaging. If the customer requires a different packaging he will pay the additional costs.
11.7 Shipment regulations of the customer are binding for sipkom only if sipkom has confirmed these in writing.
11.8 sipkom takes out transport insurance only on the customer's written request and at the customer's expense.
12. Final provisions
12.1 Only South African law applies to this contract.
12.2 sipkom reserves the right to amend or supplement these conditions of use in the future. The customer undertakes to review these conditions at regular intervals for amendments or supplementations. By using this service the customer agrees to the applicable version of these general terms and conditions for use.
12.3 Should one of these conditions be or become invalid the validity of the other provisions remains unaffected. In lieu of the invalid provision a replacement provision which the parties would have agreed upon to achieve the same business purpose if they had known about the invalidity of the original provision takes over. The same applies for the incompleteness of the provision.