General Terms & Conditions
This Agreement shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the Province of Ontario and the federal laws of Canada applicable therein. By using this web site, you are agreeing to the below terms of this Agreement. If you do not agree with any terms or practices described in this agreement or elsewhere on our site please do not use our web sites.
Membership at Swap@Home
Before being able to actively participate in the Swap-Community of Swap@Home it is necessary to become a registered member. By registering, every member agrees to all of the General Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy, Terms and Conditions of Obtaining Coupons and Tips For Swapping Items. Further, the member agrees to the Terms and Conditions of the proper use of the technical platform and the Swap-Community. Only persons of 18 years and above are allowed to become members. Every person is only allowed to register once. The registered address has to be located in Canada or the United States. All of the required information for registration has to be complete and correct. Should there be a change of the personal information after becoming a member, the member has the obligation to update the information immediately. During the registration process, the member needs to choose a login name as well as a password. To avoid any misuse of the system, the password has to be kept secret. If any form of misuse is suspected, anke.ca has to be informed immediately.
Services
Our services are available only to, and may only be used by individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without limiting the foregoing, our services are not available to persons who do not meet the age requirement or to temporarily or indefinitely suspended Swap@Home members. If you are under the age requirement, you can use this Site only in conjunction with, and under the supervision of your parents or guardians. If you do not qualify, please do not use the Site. Further, your Swap@Home account and Login Name may not be transferred or sold to another party. If you are registering as a business entity, you represent that you have the authority to bind the entity to this Agreement.
Member Use of Swap@Home
Your Information (or any items listed) and your activities on the Site shall not: (a) be false, inaccurate or misleading; (b) be fraudulent or involve the sale of counterfeit or stolen items; (c) infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; (d) violate any law, statute, ordinance or regulation; (e) be defamatory, trade libelous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing; (f) be obscene or contain child pornography or, if otherwise adult in nature or harmful to minors, shall be distributed only to people legally permitted to receive such content; (g) contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots, easter eggs or other computer programming routines that may damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or personal information; (h) create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the services of our ISPs or other suppliers; and (i) link directly or indirectly to or include descriptions of goods or services that are prohibited by us or those that you do not have a right to include.
Prohibited Items
Items that are prohibited on Swap@Home include but are not limited to: all illegal items; pornography; stolen property; firearm related items, ammunition and weapons; human remains; living creatures; unauthorized/illegal wildlife products; plants and seeds; pesticides, artifacts, grave-related items; prescription drugs; medical devices requiring a prescription; alcoholic beverages; food and food-related products; tobacco products; illegal drugs and drug paraphernalia; lockpicking or locksmithing devices; government documents; government uniforms, government IDs and licenses; counterfeits, unauthorized replicas, items or copies; recopied media; bootleg recordings; any hardware or software enabling duplication of copy-protected items; Beta Software; products that have been recalled by the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC); hazardous materials (such as explosives, radioactive materials, flammable gases, liquids and solids, and toxic substances) and generally offensive material. Participants are expected to conduct proper research to ensure that the items posted to our Swap@Home site are in compliance with all local, state, national, and international laws.
Suspension of Membership
Without limiting other remedies, anke.ca may limit your activity, immediately remove your item listings, issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate your membership and refuse to provide our services to you: (a) if you breach the General Terms and Conditions, the Privacy Policy or any documents they incorporate by reference; (b) if we are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us; or (c) if we believe that your actions may cause financial loss or legal liability for you, our users or us. Anke.ca in addition to the above clauses will act under the following conditions:
• If the member collected a negative score / rating and the interests of other members need to be protected (with three -1 ratings a member will be automatically suspended)
• If offensive or illegal terminology is used in any way and any place on the website or sent to other members via e-mail
• If the ratings of other members, in particular complaints, have not been made truthfully and in good faith
• If any illegal items or any items that are prohibited on Swap@Home are offered
If a member has been suspended, this member will be prohibited from applying for another membership and from further use of the Swap@Home website and its Community. The member is not eligible for a refund of his unused coupons or a refund of his remaining funds from his Swap Bank Account.
Cancellation
The member can cancel her/his membership at any time by sending an e-mail to info@swapathome.com. The member is not eligible for a refund of her/his unused coupons, but s/he can request a withdrawal of her/his remaining funds from her/his Swap Bank Account. A processing fee of US $ 10.00 will apply to all withdrawals.
Fees
The membership at Swap@Home is free. There is also no fee for posting goods or services in the Swap@Home listings or for requesting swap offers.
Deposits and Withdrawals
A member is required to have a minimum of US$10.00 on her/his Swap Bank Account to be able to post an item. Members can add additional funds to their Swap Bank Account at any time. The minimum deposit amount for all deposits is US$10.00. There is no upper limit. The deposited amount can be securely monitored by the user in ‘My Bank Account’ and the balance is available to pay for the cost of shipping for requested items.
Swap@Home offers a variety of payment options and is secured by Thawte, which ensures that all sensitive information is being encrypted.
Members can request a withdrawal of funds from their Swap Bank Account. If s/he is eligible for a refund we will send a cheque to the member in US or Canadian Dollars. A processing fee of US $ 10.00 will apply to all withdrawals.
Reimbursements for Swap Offers
The member requesting an item will reimburse the supplying member for the coupon value of the item with swap coupons. Coupons can be earned by transferring a minimum of US $ 10.00 to the member’s own Swap Bank Account, by posting items for swapping, by other members requesting swap offers and by receiving a 6 point rating for a swap. Coupons are not considered currency with definite value. Swap@Home simply provides guidelines about the approximate value of a coupon. Coupons can not be transferred and are not available for purchase. Likewise, the items offered in the listings of Swap@Home are not available for purchase and can only be acquired by coupons.
The member requesting an item will reimburse the member supplying the item for the cost of shipping. The cost of shipping will be transferred automatically from the Swap Bank Account of the requesting member to the supplying member.
Offering Swap Items
As soon as the member of Swap@Home is posting an item for swapping on the website, the offer is binding and the member commits to entering a contract with a requesting member as well as to shipping the item. As soon as another member requests the item and he has enough funds and coupons on his accounts to do so, the two members are entering into a contract concerning the acquisition of the item. Anke.ca will facilitate contact between the two members by providing the necessary contact information. Any contact information of other members that were obtained through Swap@Home shall be used exclusively for particular swaps and for no other purpose. It is specifically prohibited to pass any such contact information on to third parties or to use it for any form of advertisement. Every swap should be completed in good time.
The following time limits have to be respected:
• If a supplying member receives a request for an item, he needs to send a confirmation within 4 (four) days. If the supplying member fails to do so, he will receive a 0 (zero) score.
• After the supplying member confirms the shipment of the item, the requesting member needs to receive the item within 10 (ten) days. Should the item not be received at this time, the requesting member shall send a reminder.
• If the item has not been received 7 (seven) days after the reminder was sent, the requesting member shall file a complaint and the supplying member will receive a -1 (minus one) score. Three -1 scores will result in immediate suspension of membership.
• After the requesting member receives the item, he has to rate the swap with the supplying member. At this point the swap is marked as completed. If the requesting member does not issue a complaint or rates the supplying member within 7 days after the time limit for receiving the item has expired, the supplying member will receive a score of 5 (five) points automatically.
Additional Agreements
Additional agreements must be made in writing. The service provider, anke.ca, has the right to amend or substitute certain conditions effecting current contracts, if the existing condition proves to be ineffective. The service provider also has the right to amend or substitute certain conditions effecting current contracts, in case of a change of law if the change applies to one or more conditions of the contract.
Site Policies and Modifications
Please review our Privacy Policy, posted on this site. We reserve the right to make changes to our site, policies, and these Terms and Conditions. Anke.ca may at any time change these Terms and Conditions by updating this posting. Minor changes can be done without notice to the member. If however a change is made that will effect the member’s finances, privacy or swap transactions anke.ca is required to announce that change prominently on the Swap@Home website for at least 48 hours before the change takes place. Your use of our Site following any such change constitutes your agreement to follow and be bound by the terms and conditions as changed; therefore, you should periodically visit this page to review the then current Terms and Conditions to which you are bound.
Severability Clause
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. You agree that this Agreement and all incorporated terms and conditions may be automatically assigned by Swap@Home and anke.ca in accordance with giving notice, in our sole discretion. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section. Our failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. The same is true for possible legal gaps.
Availability of Service
Providing the services available through the Swap@Home website is solely a voluntary service of the service provider, anke.ca. The user has no legal right to the continuation of those services. The offered services can be limited or discontinued at any time. The service provider does not have any control over the transmission of the data via the internet or the world wide web. Errors outside of the provider’s system can occur during the transmission of information. Thus, the provider can and will not make any guarantees that any sent messages will be reaching the addressee. www.swapathome.com is available to its members 24 hours every day. Occasional interruptions of service are possible. This is especially true for faulty transmission, caused by internet errors and server problems. The user has no right to continuous availability of the service.
Disclaimer
This site is provided by anke.ca on an “as is” and “as available” basis. Anke.ca makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, as to the operation of this site or the information, content, materials, or products included on this site. You expressly agree that your use of this site is at your sole risk. We and our suppliers specifically disclaim any implied representation, warranties of title, merchantability, merchantable quality, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement, and those arising by law or through a course of dealing or usage of trade, unless specifically required by law. Anke.ca does not warrant that this site, its servers, or e-mail sent from anke.ca or swap@home are free of viruses or other harmful components.
Limitations of Liability
The member is releasing anke.ca from any claims, which other members or any third party might make towards anke.ca in connection with the infringement of rights caused by offers or contents presented by other members of Swap@Home, or in connection with any other use of the website by other members (including the rating of one member by another). In case of any legal proceedings, the member will be responsible for all legal expenses of anke.ca and all of its affiliates, including all expenses of litigation and defending legal counsel. The member agrees to indemnify and hold anke.ca and their parent companies, subsidiaries, affiliates, suppliers, officers, directors, agents, and employees, harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable legal fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of the members breach of this Agreement or the documents it incorporates by reference, or the members violation of any law or the rights of a third party. Anke.ca will only be held liable towards other companies if intent or gross negligence of legal representatives or management of anke.ca can be proven, with the exception of major breach of contract by anke.ca. Anke.ca is only liable for other employees and affiliates of the company, if intent can be proven and in the case of major breach of contract by employees or affiliates caused by intent or gross negligence. Anke.ca is not held liable for any indirect / secondary costs and losses, especially loss of profit, with the exception of intent and gross negligence of legal representatives or management, or intent of other employees or affiliates of anke.ca. In the case of a liability, the liability is limited to the foreseeable damage at the time of signing of the contract, with the exception of intent and/or gross negligence of legal representatives or management, or intent of other employees or affiliates of anke.ca. Anke.ca will only be held liable towards end users if intent or gross negligence can be proven. In the case of major breach of contract by anke.ca, defaulting financial obligations or the inability of performance delivery, anke.ca will be held liable for every culpable conduct of its employees. In the case of a liability, the liability is limited to the foreseeable damage at the time of signing of the contract, with the exception of intent or gross negligence of legal representatives, management, employees or affiliates of anke.ca. Except as explicitly stated otherwise, any notices shall be given by registered mail to Swap@Home att’n: Customer Service, RR 1, Ontario L7J 2L7 Canada (in the case of Swap@Home) or to the email address you provide to Swap@Home during the registration process (in the member’s case). Notice shall be deemed given 24 hours after email is sent, unless the sending party is notified that the email address is invalid. Alternatively, we may give you notice by registered mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the address provided to Swap@Home during the registration process. In such case, notice shall be deemed given 3 days after the date of mailing. The above stated disclaimers and limitations of liability towards companies and end users do not apply in the case of acceptance of express warranties by anke.ca, in case of loss of life, damages to body and health and in case of mandatory legal regulation. In the event a dispute arises between you (the member) and anke.ca, our goal is to provide you with a neutral and cost effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Accordingly, you and anke.ca agree that any claim or controversy at law or equity that arises out of this Agreement or our services ("Claims") shall be resolved in accordance with one of the subsections below or as otherwise mutually agreed upon in writing by the parties. Before resorting to these alternatives, we strongly encourage you to first contact us (anke.ca) directly to seek a resolution and we will consider reasonable requests to resolve the dispute through alternative dispute resolution procedures, such as mediation, as an alternative to litigation. If the parties do not reach a solution within a period of 30 days, then upon written notice by any party the dispute, claim, question, or difference shall be finally settled by arbitration. Alternative Dispute Resolution. Anke.ca will consider use of alternative dispute resolution to be held in Toronto, Ontario or another location mutually agreed upon by the parties. Should either party file an action contrary to ADR, the other party may recover attorneys' fees and costs up to US $2,000, provided that the party seeking the award has notified the other party in writing of the improperly filed Claim, and the other party has failed to withdraw the Claim. Binding Arbitration. For any Claim (excluding Claims for injunctive or other equitable relief) where the total amount of the award sought is less than US $8,000, you (the member) or anke.ca may elect to resolve the dispute through binding arbitration conducted by telephone, in-person or based solely upon written submissions where no in-person appearance is required. In such cases, the arbitration shall be administered by the Arbitrations Act (Ontario) and any amendment thereto. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. The arbitration tribunal shall consist of one arbitrator appointed by mutual agreement of the parties, or in the event of failure to agree within five business days, any party may apply to a judge of the Supreme Court of Ontario to appoint an arbitrator. The arbitration award must be rendered within thirty days of the submission of such dispute to the arbitration. If the arbitration is in person, the location will be Toronto, Ontario. All costs incurred by the arbitration will be paid for by the losing party. In the event that arbitrator makes a decision that is not in the favor of one party or the other then all costs will be split evenly between anke.ca and you. Court. Alternatively, any Claim may be adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction located in Milton, Ontario. You and Swap@Home agree to submit to the personal and of the courts located within the province of Ontario, Canada.
Policy Territory
Anke.ca is offering a service on the website of Swap@Home that can be accessed through various URLs, where goods and services can be traded. With every trade a contract is made directly between the two trading members of Swap@Home: the member supplying the goods or services and the member requesting the goods or services. Anke.ca does not participate in any form in the contract. Anke.ca is simply providing the technical platform that makes the trading possible. The fulfillment of a contract will be carried out exclusively by the members involved.
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