terms & conditions

Terms & Conditions

Please note that any third party providers referred to in these conditions, may have additional terms and conditions and these will need to be consulted where applicable. These terms and conditions set out the agreement between COSMIC (' COSMIC' or the 'provider') and you (the 'customer') for the provision of ICT Timebank services.

By ordering any of the services or products provided by COSMIC you will be deemed to be accepting these terms and conditions and immediate provision of all or any of the services requested by you, the customer. Some of the services allow the customer to access the Internet. The Internet is separate from the Service and use of the Internet is at the customers’ own risk and is subject to any applicable laws. We have no responsibility for any goods, services, information, software, or other materials obtained by the customer when using the Internet.

COSMIC takes all reasonable care to ensure that any information contained in its promotional literature or on its website is accurate but any customer can request further written information or a written quotation of costs for services as necessary.

COSMIC will exercise skill and care and use all reasonable effort to consistently provide fast and reliable services but can accept no liability whatever for any interruptions to the service or loss of data, sales revenue, profits or other consequential loss resulting from interruptions to the service howsoever caused.

COSMIC retain the right to terminate the customers’ service at any time, upon giving 14 days notice of our intention to terminate, to the customers’ last known address.

The customer may terminate or transfer the service at any time upon giving COSMIC suitable written instructions.

COSMIC are unable to exercise control over material transmitted over the Internet, and hereby excludes liability of any kind for the reception by the customer of malicious viruses or programmes, offensive, threatening or obscene material, or material in breach of copyright, confidentiality, intellectual property or applicable laws.

Resolution of any technical problem will always be on a best endeavors basis and a final resolution cannot be guaranteed. The Timebank service does not extend to any illegal, pirated or unlicensed software.

In no event shall COSMIC be liable to the User for any loss of data, business, or for any other indirect or consequential or economic loss whatsoever. It is the Users responsibility to ensure they backup their data on a regular basis. COSMIC will not be responsible for any data loss howsoever arising.

All Prices quoted are exclusive of VAT.

1. Designated Point of Contact (DPC)

The customer must assign one staff member plus one deputy as their Designated Point of Contact.  All technical support from the provider, whether by means of telephone, e-mail, fax, hard copy or person to person, will be supplied only via the customers DPC or Deputy DPC.  Ideally, the DPC should be the staff member possessing the most ICT knowledge and experience.

2. Notification of a system failure

If the provider is unable to resolve the failure with the Customer’s DPC over the telephone, it will then use dial-up access to the Customer’s system to attempt to resolve the problem remotely.  If this fails, the Provider undertakes to recall the customer within two hours to provide either a fix to the problem or arrange a visit by a technician.

3. Response Time

The provider undertakes to have a technician attend the Customer site within two full working days of completion of the forgoing sequence.  This does not mean that the problem will be solved within two days.  Restoration time may well be longer than the response time.

4. Visits

On site attendance will normally be between 10.00am and 4.30pm Monday to Friday for any aspect of the Timebank Service.    In the case of technical support, a technician will require unrestricted access to any failed system.  It is essential that the person who first identified the problem is available when the technician attends, or alternatively, that the DPC has comprehensive details of the issues from that person.  In the case of network problems the server may have to be shut down.  In such an event, at least ten minutes notice will be given to the DPC.  Before leaving the site, the technician will explain to the DPC what work was done.  The Provider will keep appropriate records, but no paperwork will be issued.

5. Service Complaints

In the first instance these must be made on the Providers telephone support line.  If that fails to resolve the issue then the customer must put their complaint in writing to the Technology Manager who will deal with it in accordance with the standard Complaints procedure.

6. Audit

The Provider will undertake an introductory audit of hardware, software and configuration of the systems at the Customer’s site to be included under the Service Contract.  The Support Contract shall only apply to the infrastructure so audited and this will be specified in a Support Contract Register.  Any changes to hardware or software made by the Customer without the prior consent of the Provider may invalidate the agreement.  The Customer may need to make software or hardware enhancements during the period of the service contract but as such changes sometimes cause systems damage, then whenever possible, the Provider should do such work.  If the Customer or a third party plans to change hardware and / or install any software, the prior agreement of the Service Provider is mandatory.

7. The Support Contract Register.

The support contract will include a register of items covered.

• Stand alone PCs and PC Network
• Software eligible for telephone support
• Response undertakings
• Contract start and end dates
• Customer and Provider contacts.

8. Tasks covered by the Contract.

a. Repair or replace PC parts.  If replacement hardware is required, the full costs of the replacement parts will be met by the Client.  It is understood that COSMIC is acting as an agent for the User and not as a supplier in all such transactions and as such we cannot provide any additional warranty other than that provided by the supplier or manufacturer of the part. Fitting and testing of such parts will only be undertaken by COSMIC during authorised on-site visits as part of the Users contract or as additional (supplementary payment) technical support visits.

b. Network configuration maintenance, excluding failure due to Customer interference.

c. Voice telephone support as required on software and hardware.

d. Dial-up telephone support intervention by remote software, where available.

e. Disaster recovery – reloading software from Customer’s disks plus any data backed up by the Customer.

f. Annual audit and report.

9. Tasks not covered by the Contract.

a. System upgrades, network development training.

b. Specialist software not listed in the support schedule.  The Provider is not responsible for the re-installation or reconfiguration of any software not listed in the support contract register.  Should a third party software supplier claim that a system is causing operational problems Vis a Vis its product, then the Provider will attempt to assist to resolve the issue.  However, any demands from a supplier for special configurations are the responsibility of the supplier, not the Provider.

10. For the Support Contract to enter into and remain in force

a. Any payments are made in full within 14 days of date of invoice.

b. Identified pre-existing faults are resolved in advance or itemised as being excluded from the contract.  The initial audit will identify defects that require correcting before any further work can be carried out.  The best way to resolve these defects will be discussed by both parties.

c. There is a nominated DPC as specified above and as shown in the Support Contract Register.

d. Servers are protected by anti-virus software and the Customer updates it at least every fourteen days.

e. Where designated, workstations are protected by anti-virus software and the Customer updates it at least every fourteen days.

f. Backups as agreed in the Contract Register are carried out and checked for operability at least once every fourteen days.

g. The Customer has the right to terminate the Support Contract if response times from the Provider are not adhered to i.e. should the provider on three occasions breach the contract terms within the life of the contract, excluding factors not within the Providers’ control.

h. The Customer agrees not to offer any ICT related work to the Provider’s employees without the express prior written permission of the Provider.

i. The Customer agrees to accept and put into practice, the advice of the Provider.

The Provider, its employees or its agents shall not be held liable for any losses or consequent loss of the client caused directly by any action or inaction on the part of the Provider, its employees or agents.