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Billing & Payment Service Terms & Conditions
Note: All references to the
Service reflect the Billing & Payment Service offered by CheckFree.
Bill Payment Service As used
in these Terms and Conditions (the Agreement), the term Payee means the person
or entity to whom you wish a bill payment to be directed Payment Instruction
means the information provided by you to the Service for a bill payment to be
made to the Payee (such as, but not limited to, Payee name, Payee account
number, and payment date) Payment Account means your checking account from
which all bill payments will be made Business Day means Monday through Friday,
excluding Federal Reserve holidays Scheduled Payment Date means the Business
Day of your choice upon which your bill payment will be made and your Payment
Account will be debited (a Scheduled Payment Date of a non-Business Day will be
considered to be the previous Business Day) and, Cutoff Time means 11:59 p.m.
Eastern Time on any Business Day and is the time by which you must transmit
Payment Instructions to have them considered entered on that particular
Business Day.
By providing the Service
with the names and account information of those Payees to whom you wish to
direct payment, you authorize the Service to follow the Payment Instructions
that it receives through the payment system. When the Service receives a
Payment Instruction, you authorize the Service to debit your Payment Account
and remit funds on your behalf so that the funds arrive as close to the
Business Day designated by you as reasonably possible.
While it is anticipated that
most transactions will be processed four (4) Business Days before your selected
Scheduled Payment Date, it is understood that due to circumstances beyond the
control of the Service, particularly delays in handling and posting payments by
slow responding Payees or financial institutions, some transactions may take a
day or even a few days longer to be credited by your Payee to your Payee
account. For this reason, it is necessary that all Scheduled Payment Dates
selected by you be no less than five (5) Business Days before the actual due
date, not the late date and/or a date in the grace period. Payment Instructions
entered after the Cutoff Time or on non-Business Days will be considered
entered in the Service on the next Business Day. If you properly follow the
procedures described herein, and the Service fails to send a payment according
to the Payment Instructions received, the Service will bear responsibility for
late charges ($50.00 maximum). In any other event, including, but not limited
to, choosing a Scheduled Payment Date less than five (5) Business Days before
the actual due date, the risk of incurring and the responsibility for paying
any and all late charges or penalties shall be borne by you.
A bill payment is In Process
starting at the Cutoff Time on the fourth (4th) Business Day prior to the
Scheduled Payment Date and continuing up to the Scheduled Payment Date. A bill
payment is a Pending Payment starting from the time you enter Payment
Instructions until the payment is In Process. A bill payment is considered
Completed on the Business Day you selected as the Scheduled Payment Date. You
may cancel or edit any Pending Payment (including recurring payments) by
following the directions within the application. There is no charge for
canceling or editing a Pending Payment. We may not have a reasonable
opportunity to act on any stop payment or cancellation order given after a
payment is In Process and it is not possible to stop or cancel a payment which
is Completed. If you desire to cancel or stop any payment which is In Process
you must call the Customer Service Department at 888-212-9342. Although we will
make every effort to accommodate your request we will have no liability for
failing to do so. Stop payment requests sent to us via electronic mail or in
any other manner will not reach us in time for us to act on your request. Stop
payment requests will be accepted only if we have a reasonable opportunity to
act on such requests. If you call, we may also require you to present your
request in writing within fourteen (14) days after you call. The charge for
each stop payment order will be the then current charge for such service as set
out in the applicable fee schedule.
The Service will use its
best efforts to make all your payments properly. However, the Service shall
incur no liability if it is unable to complete any payments initiated by you
through the Service because of the existence of any one or more of the
following circumstances:
1.If, through no fault of
ours, your Payment Account does not contain sufficient funds to complete the
transaction or the transaction would exceed the credit limit of your overdraft
account 2.The bill payment processing center is not working properly and you
know or have been advised by the Service about the malfunction before you
execute the transaction 3.The Payee mishandles or delays a payment sent by the
Service 4.You have not provided the Service with the correct name, phone
number, or account information for the Payee or, 5.Circumstances beyond the
Service's control (such as, but not limited to, fire, flood, or interference
from an outside force) prevent the proper execution of the transaction and the
Service has taken reasonable precautions to avoid those circumstances.
Provided none of the
foregoing five (5) exceptions are applicable, if the Service causes an
incorrect amount of funds to be removed from your Payment Account or causes
funds from your Payment Account to be directed to a Payee which does not comply
with your Payment Instructions, the Service shall be responsible for returning
the improperly transferred funds to your Payment Account and for directing to
the proper Payee any previously misdirected transactions.
Prohibited Payments
The following payment types
are prohibited through the Service:
1.Tax payments
2.Court ordered payments and,
3.Payments to Payees outside of the United States.
THE FOREGOING SHALL
CONSTITUTE THE SERVICE'S ENTIRE LIABILITY AND YOUR EXCLUSIVE REMEDY. IN NO
EVENT SHALL THE SERVICE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL,
INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS (EVEN
IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY THEREOF) ARISING IN ANY WAY OUT OF THE
INSTALLATION, USE, OR MAINTENANCE OF THE EQUIPMENT, SOFTWARE, AND/OR THE
SERVICE.
Exclusions of Warranties
THE SERVICE AND RELATED
DOCUMENTATION ARE PROVIDED AS IS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER
EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF
MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
Password and Security
You agree not to give or
make available your bill payment password or other means to access your account
to any unauthorized individuals. You are responsible for all bill payments you
authorize using the Service. If you permit other persons to use the Service or
your bill payment password or other means to access your account, you are
responsible for any transactions they authorize. If you believe that your bill
payment password or other means to access your account has been lost or stolen
or that someone may attempt to use the Service without your consent or has
transferred money without your permission, you must notify the Service at once
by calling 888-212-9342 during normal customer service hours. Your Liability
for Unauthorized Transfers
If you tell us within two
(2) Business Days after you discover your bill payment password or other means
to access your account has been lost or stolen, you can lose no more than
$50.00 if someone uses your bill payment password or other means to access you
account without your permission. If you do not tell us within two (2) Business
Days after you learn of such loss or theft, and we can prove that we could have
prevented the unauthorized use of your bill payment password or other means to
access your account if you had told us, you could lose as much as $500.00. If
your monthly statement contains transfers that you did not make, tell us at
once. If you do not tell us within sixty (60) days after the statement was
mailed to you, you may lose any amount transferred without your authorization
after the sixty (60) days if we can prove that we could have stopped someone
from taking the money had you told us in time. If a good reason (such as a long
trip or a hospital stay) prevented you from telling us, we may extend the
period.
Errors and Questions
In case of errors or
questions about your transactions, you should as soon as possible:
Telephone us at 888-212-9342
during normal customer service hours or,
Write us at:
CheckFree
P.O. Box 2168
Columbus, OH 43216-2168
If you think that your
statement is wrong or you need more information about a transaction listed on
the statement, we must hear from you no later than sixty (60) days after you
received the FIRST statement on which the problem or error appeared. You must:
1.Tell us your name and
Service account number 2.Describe the error or the transaction you are unsure
about, and explain as clearly as you can why you believe it is an error or why
you need more information and, 3.Tell us the dollar amount of the suspected
error.
If you tell us verbally, we
may require that you send your complaint in writing within ten (10) Business
Days after your verbal notification. We will tell you the results of our
investigation within ten (10) Business Days after we hear from you, and will
correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may take up to
forty-five (45) days to investigate the complaint or question. If we decide to
do this, we will provisionally credit your Payment Account within ten (10)
Business Days for the amount you think is in error, so that you may have the
use of the money during the time it takes us to complete our investigation. If
we ask you to put your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive
it within ten (10) Business Days, we may not provisionally credit your Payment
Account. If we decide there was no error, we will mail you a written
explanation within three (3) Business Days after we finish the investigation.
You may ask for copies of documents which we used in our investigation. The
Service may revoke any provisional credit provided to you if we find that an
error did not occur.
Disclosure of Account
Information to Third Parties
It is our general policy to
treat your account information as confidential. However, we will disclose
information to third parties about your account or the transactions you make
ONLY in the following situations:
1.Where it is necessary for
completing transactions 2.In order to verify the existence and condition of
your account to a third party, such as a credit bureau or Payee 3.To a consumer
reporting agency for research purposes only 4.In order to comply with a
governmental agency or court orders or, 5.If you give us your written permission.
Charges
You will be charged a fixed
fee per month for transactions up to the Service's standard monthly maximum.
This fixed fee will be charged regardless of whether the Service was used
during the billing cycle. There may be a charge for additional transactions and
other optional services. You agree to pay such charges and authorize the
Service to charge your designated Payment Account for these amounts and any
additional charges that may be incurred by you. Any fees associated with your
standard deposit accounts will continue to apply. You are responsible for any
and all telephone access fees and/or Internet service fees that may be assessed
by your telephone and/or Internet service provider.
In the Event a Service
Transaction Is Returned
In using the Service, you
are requesting the system to make payments for you from your Payment Account.
If we are unable to complete the transaction for any reason associated with
your Payment Account (for example, there are not sufficient funds in your
Payment Account to cover the transaction), the transaction will not be
completed. In some instances, you will receive a return notice from CheckFree.
In such case, you agree that:
1.You will reimburse the
Service immediately upon demand the transaction amount that has been returned
to the Service
2.For any amount not
reimbursed to the Service within fifteen (15) days of the initial notification,
a late charge equal to 1.5% monthly interest or the legal maximum, whichever
rate is lower, for any unpaid amounts may be imposed
3.You will reimburse the
Service for any fees imposed by your financial institution as a result of the
return
4.You will reimburse the
Service for any fees it incurs in attempting to collect the amount of the
return from you and,
5.The Service is authorized
to report the facts concerning the return to a credit reporting agency.
Alterations and Amendments
This Agreement, applicable
fees and service charges may be altered or amended by the Service from time to
time. In such event, the Service shall send noticeto
you at your address as it appears on the Service's records. Any use of the
Service after the Service sends you a notice of change will constitute your
agreement to such change(s). Further, the Service may, from time to time,
revise or update the programs, services, and/or related material which may
render all such prior versions obsolete. Consequently, the Service reserves the
right to terminate this Agreement as to all such prior versions of the
programs, services, and/or related material and limit access to the Service's
more recent revisions and updates.
Address or Banking Changes
You agree to promptly notify
in writing the Customer Service Department of any address change. Additionally,
you agree to notify the Customer Service Department in writing at least ten
(10) Business Days in advance of any change in your Payment Account, or your
banking status.
Termination or
Discontinuation
In the event you wish to
discontinue the Service, you must contact the Customer Service Department in
writing. Such notice of service discontinuance must be supplied ten (10) days
prior to the actual discontinuance date and must be sent to: CheckFree P.O. Box
2168 Columbus, OH 43216-2168
The Service may terminate
service to you at any time and/or revoke your right to use software. Neither
termination nor discontinuation shall affect your liability or obligations
under this Agreement.
Payee Limitation
The Service reserves the
right to refuse to pay any Payee to whom you may direct a payment. The Service
is obligated to notify you promptly if it decides to refuse to pay a Payee
designated by you. This notification is not required if you attempt to make a
prohibited payment under this Agreement.
Information Authorization
Your enrollment in the
Service may not be fulfilled if the Service cannot verify your identity or
other necessary information. Through your enrollment in the Service, you agree
that the Service reserves the right to request a review of your credit rating
at its own expense through an authorized bureau. In addition, you agree that
the Service reserves the right to obtain financial information regarding your
account from a Payee or financial institution to resolve payment-posting
problems.
Disputes
In the event of a dispute
regarding the Service, you and the Service agree to resolve the dispute by
looking to this Agreement. You agree that this Agreement is the complete and
exclusive statement of the agreement between you and the Service which
supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other
communications between you and the Service relating to the subject matter of
this Agreement. If there is a conflict between what an employee of the Service
or Customer Service Department says and the terms of this Agreement, the terms
of this Agreement will prevail.
Assignment
You may not assign this
Agreement to any other party. The Service may assign this Agreement to any
future, directly or indirectly, affiliated company. The Service may also assign
or delegate certain of its rights and responsibilities under this Agreement to
independent contractors or other third parties.
No Waiver
The Service shall not be
deemed to have waived any of its rights or remedies hereunder unless such
waiver is in writing and signed by the Service. No delay or omission on the
part of the Service in exercising any rights or remedies shall operate as a
waiver of such rights or remedies or any other rights or remedies. A waiver on
any one occasion shall not be construed as a bar or waiver of any rights or
remedies on future occasions.
Captions
The captions of sections
hereof are for convenience only and shall not control or affect the meaning or
construction of any of the provisions of this Agreement.
Governing Law
This Agreement shall be
governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of Georgia,
without regard to its conflicts of laws provisions.