Terms and Conditions

Definitions

 

The Company

 

“Too Many Calls” and “The Company” and “Connect” refers to Connect Communications Services Ltd, Company No 8850911 whose registered office is Carpenter Court, Maple Road, Stockport, Cheshire, SK7 2DH.

 

 

 

The Client

 

“The Client” refers to any business or individual which contracts with Connect to use the Service.

 

 

 

The Service

 

Connect operates a call answering service designed for businesses to use to outsource their reception, diary management, customer service or other inbound call handling requirements to. During office hours calls are answered by Connect’s call answering team. Outside of these hours, calls are answered by an automated system that relays messages to the Client by email.

 

The details of the service are unique to each client but, in outline: Connect’s operators will answer telephone calls directed to it by the Client; collect information from the caller, as specified by the Client; impart information to the caller, as specified by the Client; and supply to the Client, as specified by them, details of each call. These details constitute a ‘message’. Subject to express written agreement between the parties, Connect may also perform related service activities requested by the Client. These activities are subject to the service levels outlined in Connect’s service price list available on www.connect-communications.co.uk. These prices and service levels may be subject to change from time to time. Connect’s operators will, during the course of all calls answered as part of the service, endeavour to portray themselves as part of the Client’s organisation.  For the avoidance of doubt, however, they will not deliberately directly mislead callers about their position.

 

In addition to accepting telephone calls on behalf of its clients, Connect also supplies programmable telephone numbers (“Smart Numbers”), call routing and related telephony services. Clients can also access their messages and information on their service via our website. For the avoidance of doubt, Connect does not offer a mail forwarding service.

 

 

 

Live Call Answering Hours

 

For the purposes of these terms and condition’s Connect’s office hours are Monday to Friday 8am to 6pm excluding the days observed as Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day. Connect’s live call answering hours, the hours during which calls are answered by an operator, are 8am to 6pm Monday to Friday, excluding the days observed as Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day . Outside of these hours, calls are answered by Connect’s automated service whereby callers are met with a greeting specific to the Client and are asked to leave a message. A recording of the resulting message is emailed immediately to the Client’s nominated email address.

 

 

 

Connect’s Responsibilities

 

1. Connect shall provide the service.

 

2. Connect undertakes not to use the Client’s address in publicity materials, publications or products without the prior written consent of the Client.

 

3. Connect shall comply with all applicable Data Protection laws in the UK including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For a description of how Connect uses the Client’s personal and company data, please see Connect’s Privacy Policy.

 

 

 

The Client’s Responsibilities

 

1. The Client agrees to abide by and be bound by these Terms and Conditions.

 

2. The Client undertakes to not use any part of Connect’s service for the purposes of any illegal or unethical activity.

 

3. Connect may supply the Client with a username and password to allow the Client access to resources relevant to the service. The Client agrees to keep their Connect username and password secure at all times. If they believe that their password may have become known to any unauthorised party, the Client must use the online tool available to change the password and inform Connect of their concerns. The Client is solely responsible for all use or misuse of their username and password, and for any losses or damages arising from such use or misuse.

 

4. Connect may supply the Client with a telephone number or numbers for the operation of their service. The Client is solely responsible for all use or misuse of such a telephone number or numbers and for any losses or damages arising from such use or misuse.

 

5. The Client confirms that all information supplied by them to Connect is current, complete and accurate in all respects and the Client agrees to notify Connect immediately of any changes to this information. If the Client has (or Connect believes that they have) provided false information or have (or Connect believes that they have) failed to notify Connect of any changes then Connect shall have the right to terminate the Client’s Connect service (see Termination below).

 

6. As part of Connect’s registration and security procedures, before service is provided, the Client may be required to provide a copy of a utility bill and/or passport, driving license or other form of identification. Service may not be made available unless an acceptable form of identification is provided.

 

7. The Client may supply Connect with information, processes, access to online diaries and other resources to be used by Connect in provision of the service. The Client is responsible for ensuring that such information is correct and accurate and that such resources are fit for purpose.

 

8. The Client undertakes not to use Connect’s address in publicity materials, publications or products without the prior written consent of Connect.

 

9. The Client will make payment of all sums due to Connect timeously and within terms of the invoice rendered to them. The Client shall make all payments in pounds sterling and in full without any deduction. The Client shall make payment by Electronic Transfer, Direct Debit or by credit or debit card. Connect do not accept cheques as a method of payment.

 

 

 

Charging Structure and Payment Terms

 

1. Use of Connect’s call answering service is charged according to the Client’s selection of one of the call answering packages published at www.connect-communications.co.uk or, subject to the express written agreement of Connect and the Client, a package created in addition to these.

 

2. Connect will charge the Client for their selected call answering package each month until either:

 

a. The service is terminated as described in these Terms and Conditions; or

 

b. The Client selects a different package as described in these Terms and Conditions.

 

3. Each call answering package attaches a specific value to the following:

 

a. The charge that will be made each month for the service;

 

b. The number of messages that will be sent by Connect to the Client in the course of providing the service without any additional charge being incurred by the Client, referred to herein as ‘inclusive messages’;

 

c. The charge that will be made for each and every message in excess of b), referred to herein as the ‘additional message charge’;

 

d. The charge that will be made for each and every message sent by SMS (text messages), referred to herein as the ‘SMS charge’;

 

4. With the exception of holiday or short-term services (see the relevant section below), the Client’s monthly package fee will be charged monthly, in advance.

 

5. If, in any given month, the number of messages that Connect sends to the Client in the course of providing the service exceeds the number of inclusive messages specified within the call answering package, then each additional message shall be charged at the rate specified within the call answering package as the ‘additional message charge’. Invoices for such additional messages are raised monthly, in arrears. For the avoidance of doubt, no refund or rebate shall be due by Connect to the Client in respect of any messages included in the Client’s package that remain unused at the end of the billing period. Similarly, such unused messages will not be ‘rolled over’ to a future billing period.

 

6. The parties may, by express agreement only, and at the sole discretion of Connect, retrospectively increase the Clients’ call answering package for a current month. In the event of such agreement, a supplemental charge will be made for the difference between the cost of the package that the Client was billed for at the beginning of that month and the cost of the package which they would like to move to. The newly selected call answering package shall then be the Client’s call answering package for the forthcoming month’s service and for future months until, according to these Terms and Conditions, an alternative package is selected by the Client or until the service is terminated. The Client is responsible for monitoring their own usage of the service to ensure that they select the package which most closely suits their requirements and for advising Connect of which package they would like applied to their service.

 

7. Charges incurred for the transfer of calls to the Client’s land line, mobile or other telephone service will be invoiced monthly, in arrears.

 

8. Connect shall be entitled to charge an enhanced rate or make a surcharge for some types of messages if they derive from particularly long calls or if they are particularly complex to complete. Connect shall advise the Client in advance that such a category of message will be subject to a surcharge and of the level of that surcharge.

 

9. Outside of the live call answering hours, recordings collected by the automated system are normally emailed directly to the Client. Subject to the express agreement of Connect and the Client, such recordings may be instead collected by Connect and transcribed into a message on the following business day. Such messages will be deducted from inclusive messages specified in the Client’s package or charged at the applicable additional message charge rate if the inclusive messages value specified in the Client’s agreed package has been exceeded.

 

10. The Client agrees to the charges published at http://www.connect-communications.co.uk. All charges must be settled in full including and without exception any VAT or other charges.

 

11. The Client acknowledges that Connect has their authority to debit any credit card or debit card registered against any of the Client’s accounts or any Direct Debit mandated to Connect by the Client for any amount outstanding to Connect. The Client’s credit / debit card authority remains in place until all such accounts are paid in full. Any monies paid to Connect as future credit on the Client’s account are non-refundable and can only be used for credit against services provided by Connect to the Client. For more information on Connect’s policy on storing payment card information, see Connect’s Privacy Policy below.

 

12. Connect’s standard payment terms are as follows:

a. Invoices payable by Direct Debit will be charged to the nominated bank account on or around the 10th day of the following month from the invoice date.

b. Invoices payable by credit or debit card will be charged to the nominated payment card on the day of invoice.

c. Invoices which do not have a Direct Debit mandate or payment card available as a means of payment are due for settlement by electronic transfer within 21 days of the invoice date.

 

13. Any queries regarding an invoice issued by Connect must be raised by the Client within seven days of the date of invoice. Such queries should be directed to Connect’s Customer Service Team at cs@connect-vpa.co.uk or on 0131 440 7777.

 

14. In the event that Connect does not receive payment in respect of any part of its service within the terms set out in section 12 or that a payment is reclaimed from Connect by the payer or the paying financial institution, or that the Client’s Direct Debit mandate is cancelled or otherwise made unavailable for use, Connect reserves the right to suspend or restrict its service to the Client without prior notice. The Client shall be bound to continue to make payment for any such restricted service..

 

15. The Client shall make all payments due under these Terms and Conditions without any deduction, whether by way of set-off, counterclaim, discount or otherwise.

 

16. Connect will exercise its statutory right to claim interest and compensation for late payment of debts under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998, the Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002 and any other relevant legislation if invoices are not paid according to agreed credit terms. Compensation will be charged at the following rates according to the value of the total debt:

 

• Up to £999.99: £40.00
• £1,000.00 to £9,999.99: £70.00
• £10,000.00 or more: £100.00

 

17. Interest shall be chargeable on any amounts overdue at the rate of 8% above the current Bank of England base rate, fluctuating therewith, as applying from the due date for payment until receipt by Connect of the full amount whether or not after judgment and without prejudice to any other right or remedy of Connect. Such interest shall accrue from day to day and shall be compounded annually.

 

18. If the Client fails to settle outstanding invoices in full, Connect may resort to engaging a third party debt collection agent or solicitor to recover the sums due. All costs incurred in recovering the debt will be chargeable to the Client and added to the sums due by them to Connect.

 

 

 

Duration of Relationship and Termination

 

1. These Terms and Conditions will remain in place until terminated by Connect or by the Client as described below.

 

2. If the Client wishes to terminate their service under these Terms and Conditions, they must advise Connect in writing, either by email to cs@connect-vpa.co.uk or by post to Connect Communications Services Ltd, Suite 72, Pure Offices, 4-5 Lochside Way, Edinburgh EH12 9DT.

 

3. If The Client’s package or regular usage with Connect is less than C:1000 or equivalent package, then a period of one month’s notice must be given, in writing by the Client to reduce their package.

 

4. If the Client’s package or regular usage with Connect is or is higher than the C:1000 or equivalent package then a period of three months’ notice must be given, in writing by the Client to reduce their package .

 

5. If the Client’s package with Connect is less than the C:1000 or equivalent package , then the Client’s closing month of chargeable service will begin on their usual monthly billing date following this notification.

 

6. If the Client’s package or regular usage with Connect is or is higher than the C:1000 or equivalent package, then the Client’s closing month of chargeable service will begin on their third usual monthly billing date following this notification

 

7. If The Client’s package or regular usage with Connect is less than C:1000 or equivalent package, then, where such notice is given, Connect will continue to provide the service described for the period of 1 month from the Client’s usual monthly billing date immediately following their notification.

 

8. If The Client’s package or regular usage with Connect is or is higher than C:1000 or equivalent package, then, where such notice is given, Connect will continue to provide the service for the period of 3 months from the Client’s usual monthly billing date immediately following their notification

 

9. The Client’s package may not be altered by the Client for the closing period of one or three months as set out above and, therefore, the Client must remain on the package that they subscribed to for the month prior to them giving notice to cancel for the full duration of the closing period and be charged accordingly.

 

10. Any modifications to any scripts, processes or resources to be used by Connect in the course of providing the service to the Client subsequent to activation shall be chargeable at the sole discretion of Connect. Quotations for changes shall be provided upon receipt of a written request for the modification from the Client. Payment shall be taken prior to any amendments being initiated.

 

11. Connect shall be entitled to cancel or suspend a contract if any of the following events occurs or is likely to occur: (a) the Client has a bankruptcy order made against them or makes an arrangement or composition with their creditors, or otherwise take a benefit for the relief of insolvent debtors; or (b) the Client convenes a meeting of creditors to enter into liquidation; or (c) the Client has a receiver and/or manager, administrator or administrative receiver appointed over the Clients’ undertakings or any part; or (d) a resolution is passed or a petition presented to any court for winding-up or for the granting of an administration order in respect of the Client, or any proceedings are commenced relating to the Client’s insolvency or possible insolvency; or (e) the Client is unable to pay their debts within the meaning of section 123 of the Insolvency Act 1986 or the Client ceases to trade; or (f) any event similar to the above occurs; or (g) Connect deems that the service requested by the Client is having or is likely to have a detrimental effect on Connect’s business as a whole; or (h) Connect deems the Client’s behaviour towards The Company and/or its staff to be threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, hateful in terms of the use of racial, ethnic, sexual or any other slurs or otherwise objectionable;

 

12. Where notice of termination is given by either the Client or by Connect, the Client shall settle all invoices including those for fees incurred before and during the notice period within 7 days of the expiry of the relevant notice period.

 

 

 

Free Trial

 

1.  A free trial of Connect’s call answering service may be available to the Client free of charge either

a) for a period of up to thirty days; or
b) of up to one hundred messages,

whichever is reached first. The duration and dates of this free trial period shall normally be confirmed in an email sent by Connect to the Client on set-up of the service. Any free trial offered by Connect is at the Company’s discretion and can be withdrawn at any time prior or during a free trial period.

 

2. The service of transferring calls directed to Connect by the Client to UK and international mobile and landlines are not included in this free trial. Such call transfers are not normally available as part of Connect’s offer of a free trial. However, subject to the express written agreement of Connect, call transfers may be made during the trial period but such call transfers shall be chargeable by Connect to the Client at Connect’s standard rates published at http://www.connect-communications.co.uk.

 

3. On completion of or during the trial period the Client may end the service by informing Connect in writing of their decision not to continue with the service.

 

4. Connect does not undertake to continue providing service beyond 6pm on the agreed last day of the Client’s free trial period unless and until the Client formally agrees and undertakes to become a paying client of Connect for the call answering service and to be subject to the Terms and Conditions and charges relating to the service published at http://www.connect-communications.co.uk.

 

5. Connect’s offer of a free trial of the service is intended to allow the Client to appraise the service during normal trading conditions. The free trial is not intended to be used as a free alternative to any of Connect’s chargeable tariffs: It is not intended to be used to field calls arising from marketing campaigns unless such a campaign or campaigns will constitute all or part of the call traffic on an ongoing basis at the same level during chargeable service; Chargeable packages are available for this purpose. Similarly, the free trial is not intended to cover periods of holiday or reduced staffing in the Client’s business; Connect’s Holiday Cover packages are available for this purpose. If Connect believes that the trial period is being used in such a way then Connect reserves the right to restrict the duration of the free trial period or to suspend or cancel the free trial service.

 

6. Connect’s offer of a free trial of the call answering service is subject to a fair usage policy. If the calls directed to Connect by or on behalf of the Client are longer in duration or more numerous than Connect and its representatives feel they had been led to expect by the Client, so as to cause disruption or difficulty to Connect in operating the rest of its operations and in maintaining service levels to other clients, then Connect reserves the right to restrict the duration of the free trial period or to suspend or cancel the free trial service.

 

7. Clients running a Groupon, Wowcher or similar marketing campaign may only be offered a one week free trial. If such a marketing campaign is undertaken and Connect was not informed at the time of set up of the free trial that such a marketing campaign would be in operation, Connect reserves the right to restrict the duration of the free trial period or to suspend or cancel the free trial service.

 

8. Connect deems a deliberately misleading application for a free trial, or use of the free trial for periods unrepresentative of normal trading conditions to be an abuse of its offer and reserves the right to end or suspend the provision of its call answering service without notice and without reference to the Client and to charge an appropriate fee for the period of service.

 

9. If Connect or its representatives are unable to make contact with the Client during the free trial period, Connect reserves the right to suspend or cancel the free trial service.

 

 

 

Holiday and Short-Term Services

 

1. A holiday or short-term service may be provided, subject to express written agreement between the parties and at the sole discretion of Connect. Such holiday or short-term services are subject to a fair usage policy restricting call and message volumes to 50 calls per week.

 

2. Connect reserves the right to restrict or cease service beyond this volume if it believes that the volume of calls received for the Client are adversely affecting the service that it is able to provide to other Clients.

 

3. If the Client believes that their usage will exceed 50 calls per week it should take up a service with Connect on a package suited to the anticipated call volumes.

 

4. Holiday or short-term services will be invoiced in full in advance of service and settlement must be made by credit or debit card or by a cleared funds transfer before the start date of the service. Connect reserves the right to restrict or deny service if payment has not been made in advance.

 

 

 

User Content and Restrictions

 

1. The Client will not use any of Connect’s services to post, email or otherwise transmit any material that is harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, libelous, invasive of another’s privacy, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise objectionable; or – infringes any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright or other proprietary rights; or – contains software viruses or any other computer code, files or programs designed to interrupt, damage, destroy functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment.

 

2. Connect is committed to its obligations under the Equality Act 2010. As such, the Client may not dictate or attempt to influence Connect’s selection and allocation of staff based on the race, nationality, place of birth, residency status or other characteristics of individuals or groups or individuals.

 

3. The Client agrees not to: – interfere with or disrupt the Connect service in any way; – impersonate any person or entity, including, but not limited to, a Connect employee or official, or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent the Client’s affiliation with a person or entity; – send “junk mail”, “spam”, “chain letters”, “pyramid schemes”, or any other form of solicitation; – forge headers or otherwise manipulate identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any user content transmitted through the service; – other than in the ordinary course of use of Connect’s service, reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial purposes, any portion of the Connect service for any unlawful activity.

 

 

 

Intellectual Property

 

1. The artwork and other intellectual property of Connect and the way that they are presented are protected by copyright and may not be reproduced, in whole or part, in any form or used in any other way except in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.

 

2. The Client may download and/or print off the visible text and graphics for their personal non-commercial use from the parts of Connect’s publications which are generally accessible to all users. The Client may also download and/or print off their own data. However, they may not reproduce any of the other contents from Connect including, but not limited to, the structure and overall style.

 

 

 

Smart Numbers/Transfer Numbers

 

1. Smart Numbers are geographic or non-geographic telephone numbers that can be programmed to route or manage calls.

 

2. A Transfer Number is the telephone number supplied by Connect to the Client to allow them to direct calls to their call answering service.

 

3. Unless otherwise expressly agreed in writing, Smart Numbers, transfer numbers and any other telephone numbers supplied by Connect to the Client for the operation of the service shall remain the property of Connect. Connect will not allow such numbers to be “ported” away from Connect without its prior, express written agreement.

 

4. Connect’s Smart Number Portal may, for an additional fee, be made available to the Client to allow them to manage any or all Smart Numbers provided to them by Connect. The Client agrees to keep their Connect username and password secure at all times. If they believe that their password may have become known to any unauthorised party, the Client must use the online tool available to change the password and inform Connect of their concerns. The Client is solely responsible for all use or misuse of their username and password, and for any losses or damages arising from such use or misuse.

 

5. For the avoidance of doubt, Connect is the end user of all telephone numbers used in the operation of the service and the said telephone numbers are, at Connect’s discretion, on loan to the Client for the duration of the service. If the Client wishes to continue to use the any telephone number supplied by Connect after the termination of their service under these Terms and Conditions, the said number must be purchased or leased from Connect under a separate agreement.

 

6. If the Client wishes to terminate their use of a Smart Number supplied by Connect under these Terms and Conditions, a period of one month’s notice must be given, in writing by the Client to Connect either by email to cs@connect-vpa.co.uk or by post to Connect Communications Services Ltd, Suite 72, Pure Offices, 4-5 Lochside Way, Edinburgh EH12 9DT.

 

 

 

Delays Beyond the Control of Connect

 

1. Connect reserves the right to suspend or cancel the provision of the services if it is prevented from or delayed in the carrying on of its business due to circumstances beyond the reasonable control of Connect including, without limitation, local or national telephony outages, local or national power outages, acts of God, extremes of weather, governmental actions, war or national emergency, riot, civil commotion, fire, explosion, flood, epidemic, lock-outs, strikes or other labour disputes (whether or not relating to either party’s workforce), or restraints or delays affecting carriers or inability or delay in obtaining supplies of materials or services.

 

 

 

Limitation of Liability

 

1. Connect shall use reasonable skill and care in providing its services to the Client. Except as expressly provided in these Terms and Conditions, Connect expressly disclaims, to the extent permitted by law, any further representations (except misrepresentations made fraudulently), warranties, conditions or other terms, express or implied, by statute, collaterally or otherwise, including but not limited to implied warranties, conditions or other terms of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose or reasonable care and skill.

 

2. In particular, Connect shall not be liable to the Client for any mistakes made in connection with the service. Connect shall not be liable in contract, tort (including negligence), statutory duty or collaterally or otherwise arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions or Connect for consequential, indirect or special loss or damage or any economic loss (including loss of revenues, profits, contracts, business or anticipated savings), in each case whether or not advised of the possibility of such loss or damage and howsoever incurred.

 

3. Connect’s maximum liability in contract, tort (including negligence), statutory duty or collaterally or otherwise arising out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions and/or Connect, shall, in respect of one or more events or series of events (whether connected or unconnected) taking place within any twelve month period be limited to the lesser of £50 or the sums paid by the Client in such period.

 

4. Notwithstanding any provision of these Terms and Conditions:

 

a) the Client’s statutory rights as a consumer are not affected;

 

b) Connect will be liable to the Client without limit for any death or personal injury caused by its negligence and to the extent that liability arises be liable to the Client without limit for any death or personal injury caused by Connect’s negligence and to the extent that liability arises under Part 1 or section 41 of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 and for liability arising from statements made fraudulently by Connect.

 

 

 

Confidentiality and Data Protection

 

1. Connect will use all reasonable endeavours to keep the Client’s information and data confidential and secure. However Connect cannot ensure or warrant the confidentiality or security of any information or data. The Client agrees that Connect have no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages or other data maintained or transmitted by Connect.

 

2. The Client confirms that it is fully compliant with The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and all relevant data protection laws.

 

3. In the terms of The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):

 

a) In respect of data regarding the Client, Connect is a Data Controller;

 

b) In respect of data regarding parties calling the Client, Connect is a Data Processor and the Client is a Data Controller.

 

4. Connect may record calls in which Connect’s operators speak with the Client’s callers in the course of supplying the service. These recordings are made for training and quality control purposes and remain the property of Connect. Under the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), Connect is a Data Controller in respect of these recordings and is responsible for the security of this data. As such, under the terms of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and OFCOM regulations, these recordings cannot be shared with any organisation external to Connect or any individual with the exception of the appropriate regulatory and law enforcement bodies. For the avoidance of doubt, telephone calls terminating at Connect’s telephone equipment are deemed to be between Connect and the caller.

 

5. Connect’s GDPR compliant Privacy Policy is published at www.connect-communications.co.uk.

 

 

 

Indemnity

 

1. If the Client uses Connect’s services for any illegal purpose or for any purpose other than that expressly permitted by these Terms and Conditions or in breach of these Terms and Conditions the Client will be liable to indemnify Connect in full for any loss, liability or cost which Connect incurs that arises from or in connection with any such use or alleged use.

 

 

 

Offers of Employment

 

1. For the duration of the Client’s service with Connect and for a period of 6 months after its termination, neither party shall, without the prior written consent of the other, solicit the employment of any person employed by the other party in the course of developing, supplying, maintaining or supporting the service or any part of it.

 

 

 

Modifications

 

1. Connect may change or supplement these Terms and Conditions from time to time, including, without limitation, the charges.

 

2. Connect may amend its prices in line with the Retail Price Index with not less than thirty 30 days’ notice.

 

3. Connect will ensure that any such changes or supplements are made reasonably apparent to the Client. Connect will send the Client a notification of any such changes in the body of the emails by which messages are sent as part of the service and/or in the body of the emails by which invoices for the service are sent to the Client.

 

4. If Connect does change or supplement these Terms and Conditions then the Client may terminate their service in accordance with the provisions set out in these Terms and Conditions (see ‘Duration of Relationship and Termination’ above). Otherwise, the Client will be bound by such changes or supplements.

 

 

 

Complaints

 

1. Connect is dedicated to providing its clients with a first class service. However in the unlikely event that the Client should have a complaint with regard the service, they should send an email to cs@connect-vpa.co.uk within two working days, as defined by Connect’s Office Hours in the Live Call Answering Hours section of these Terms and Conditions of the message being sent. Connect will use reasonable endeavours to investigate the Client’s complaint and respond to them within two working days, as defined by Connect’s Office Hours in the Live Call Answering Hours section of these Terms and Conditions of receipt of the complaint.

 

2. Connect is committed to providing the highest quality service possible. However the very nature of the service provided means that we cannot guarantee a completely error free service and unfortunately, due to the vagaries of callers’ accents, mobile telephone signal quality, unexpected behaviour by callers and other factors, unfortunately errors will sometimes occur. If the Client believes that a message sent to them by Connect in the course of providing the service falls short of the standards they expect, they can report this to Connect as described in section 1 above.

 

a) Connect’s general principle in assessing complaints regarding the content of messages sent to clients as part of the service is the extent to which the error detracts from:

 

i. the Client’s ability to determine the meaning of the message; or

 

ii. the Client’s ability to contact the caller or otherwise act on the message

 

b) Connect’s general principle in assessing complaints regarding the following of proper process or of giving information to the caller is the complexity of the process and/or information involved when taken in the context of an outsourced service that is effectively pooled with many other clients.

 

Connect will have a senior member of staff review the original call. If the senior member of staff reviewing the call considers that Connect’s operator made an error under the terms of the principles outlined above, Connect will remove the message from the Client’s upcoming invoice. If the senior member of staff reviewing the call considers that the operator did not make an error under the terms of the principles outlined above or that the message did accurately represent the information given by the caller, then Connect will not remove the call from the Client’s upcoming invoice. Connect’s decision in this matter will be final and the Client shall not be entitled to withhold payment or make any deduction from invoices issued by Connect whether by way of set-off, counterclaim, discount or otherwise.

 

3. Connect’s operators attempt to identify unsolicited sales calls that are made to Clients on a speculative basis by sales and marketing or surveying organisations. Where these can be identified, Connect’s operators will not pass on to the Client messages resulting from these calls. In the event that the Client believes that a message sent by Connect was the result of an unsolicited call and should not have been forwarded, they can report this to Connect as described in section 1 above. Connect will have a senior member of staff review the original call. If the senior member of staff reviewing the call considers that the call was clearly an unsolicited call and that Connect’s operator made an error in sending a message to the Client, Connect will remove the message from the Client’s upcoming invoice. If the senior member of staff reviewing the call considers that the call sounded like a legitimate and genuine business call for which the Client would have expected to have received a message; and that the operator had no way of knowing that it was an unsolicited call, then Connect will not remove the message from the Client’s upcoming invoice. In the latter situation, Connect will inform the Client that the message was still valid as the operator sent the message in good faith that the Client required such a message to be sent to them. Connect will thereafter take a note of the caller’s name and will endeavour not to send messages to the Client in respect of their calls to the Client in the future. Connect’s decision in this matter will be final and the Client shall not be entitled to withhold payment or make any deduction from invoices issued by Connect whether by way of set-off, counterclaim, discount or otherwise.

 

 

 

Referral Scheme

 

1. Connect operates a bonus scheme for Clients referring new business to us. For each successful referral that signs up to a standard month tariff with Connect, the referrer will receive £50 credit to their Connect account. This credit will be allocated to the referring Client’s account when the referred client has signed and returned their agreement to Connect’s Terms and Conditions and made payment of their first monthly invoice. Multiple services set up by the same referred client will be counted as one single referral.

 

2. This scheme is for the referral of brand new clients to Connect only: Additional services or services for additional companies under the same ownership or control as the referring client are excluded from this bonus scheme.

 

3. This scheme does not preclude agreements with businesses or individuals who regularly refer new business to Connect. Individual agreements may be entered into with such introducers and may offer different terms and levels of remuneration or reward.

 

 

 

General

 

1. Each right or remedy of Connect under these Terms and Conditions is without prejudice to any other right or remedy of Connect.

 

2. If any provision of these Terms and Conditions is found by any court, tribunal or administrative body of competent jurisdiction to be wholly or partly illegal, invalid, void, voidable, unenforceable or unreasonable it shall to the extent of such illegality, invalidity, voidness, voidability, unenforceability or unreasonableness be deemed severable and the remaining provisions of these Terms and Conditions and the remainder of such provision shall continue in full force and effect.

 

3. Failure or delay by Connect in enforcing or partially enforcing any provision of these Terms and Conditions will not be construed as a waiver of any of its rights under these Terms and Conditions.

 

4. Any waiver by Connect of any breach of, or any default under, any provision of these Terms and Conditions by the Client will not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach or default and will in no way affect the other terms of these Terms and Conditions.

 

5. Each order or acceptance of a quotation for Connect’s services shall be deemed to be an offer by the Client to buy the services subject to these terms.

 

6. These Terms and Conditions supersede and replace all previous Terms and Conditions.

 

 

 

Notices

 

1. Any notice required to be given by either party hereunder may be left at or sent by registered or recorded delivery post to the address shown on the first page hereof or to such new address as may be intimated.

 

2. Any such notice shall be deemed to be served at the time when the same is handed to or left at the address of the party to be served or, if served by post, four days after the date of posting.

 

 

 

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

 

1. Subject to clause 2 below, this contract will be governed by and construed in accordance with law of England and Wales and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales for the purpose of hearing and determining any action or proceedings and/or to settle any disputes arising out of or in any way relating to this agreement or its formation or validity (“Proceedings”) and for the purpose of enforcement of any judgment.

 

2. Nothing in this clause shall (or shall be construed so as to) limit the right of Connect to take Proceedings against the Client in that part of the United Kingdom, Channel Islands or the Isle of Man in which the Client has assets or in any other court of competent jurisdiction nor shall the taking of Proceedings in any one or more jurisdictions preclude the taking of Proceedings in any other jurisdiction (whether concurrently or not) if and to the extent permitted by applicable law.