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Thank you for choosing service from the PRIMUS Division of Primus Telecommunications, Inc. ("PRIMUS"). This General Service Agreement applies only to customers of PRIMUS, not other divisions of Primus Telecommunications, Inc. or other Primus affiliates. Primus customers can find a General Service Agreement applicable to them on the Primus web site: www.primustel.com. I. THE AGREEMENT Your agreement ("Agreement") with PRIMUS consists of this General Service Agreement and the current terms of any calling plan, promotion, and/or authorized written communications you have received from PRIMUS. No written or oral statement, advertisement, or service description not expressly contained in the Agreement will be allowed to contradict, explain, or supplement it. Neither you nor PRIMUS is relying on any representations or statements by the other party or any other person that are not included in this Agreement. BY ENROLLING IN, USING, OR PAYING FOR THE PRIMUS SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO THE PRICES, CHARGES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE PRICES, CHARGES, TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DO NOT USE THE SERVICES, AND CANCEL THE SERVICES IMMEDIATELY BY CALLING PRIMUS AT 1-800-393-3000 FOR FURTHER DIRECTIONS. This Agreement covers your state-to-state service(s) and charges. To the extent permitted by law, this Agreement also covers PRIMUS' local or intrastate service(s) and charges, PRIMUS' dial around service(s) and charges, PRIMUS' calling card service(s), and PRIMUS' international service(s) and charges, where the Agreement's provisions relating to these services and charges are not in conflict with applicable This Agreement applies to in-state long distance and local toll calls in those states that do not regulate rates through filings with the state public utility commission. Rates vary among such states, so please contact PRIMUS for specific rate information. PRIMUS may change this Agreement at any time. For purposes of the Agreement, "you" means the customer, defined as either (i) the person identified in PRIMUS' account records as responsible for payment of all charges; or (ii) any other person with actual or apparent authority to represent that person or to use the service(s). "Service" or "Services" means: (1) the PRIMUS state-to-state and international consumer telecommunications services you are enrolled in, use, or pay for that PRIMUS provided to you under tariffs filed with the Federal Communications Commission as of July 31, 2001; and (2) any new or additional PRIMUS state-to-state and international consumer telecommunications services that you enroll in, use, or pay for, after July 31, 2001. The rates and charges found in the Agreement are effective as of August 1, 2001 and are subject to change. For your most current rates and charges, the most current version of this General Service Agreement, or if you have questions about your services, please visit our website at http://www.PRIMUS.com or call us at the toll-free number listed on the front page of your invoice. II. SERVICE A. Calling Plans PRIMUS' calling plans are described in a separate document that is included along with this General Service Agreement. For the current terms of any calling plan, please visit our website at www.PRIMUS.com or call the toll-free number listed on the first page of your invoice. The terms of your calling plan are incorporated by reference in this Agreement. B. Notice of Rate Changes PRIMUS may change the prices and charges for the services you receive from time to time. We may decrease prices without providing advance notice. Any increase to your Interstate Dial 1 rates will become effective only after PRIMUS notifies you at least fifteen (15) days in advance of such change by postcard or letter; or by a message on or within your invoice. Written notice to you will be sent to your last known address as reflected in PRIMUS' records. Written notice is deemed received three days after deposit in the U.S. mail, postage prepaid, and properly addressed according to the address in PRIMUS' records. At a minimum, changes to any other rates, charges, or terms or conditions in the Agreement will be published in PRIMUS' website at least fifteen (15) days in advance of such change and will be incorporated by reference into this Agreement. C. Administrative Fee and Low Usage Fee There is an administrative fee of $2.00 per month for each PRIMUS account. This fee is waived if you enroll in PRIMUS' on-line billing system. PRIMUS may charge a monthly fee of $4.95 per month that applies to PRIMUS accounts that bill less than $50.00 per month (excluding taxes and other fees). D. Rounding Policy For billing purposes, the length of each call is rounded up as described in each Calling Plan. If the computed charge for a call includes a fraction of a cent, the fraction is rounded up to the nearest whole cent. If the computed charges for taxes and surcharges include a fraction of a cent, the fraction is rounded up to the nearest whole cent. E. Calls to International Mobile Telephones PRIMUS' advertised rates for international calls are generally the rates charged for calls to landline telephones. Some calls to international mobile telephones are charged a different (usually higher) rate than calls to landline telephones. The rates you will be charged are set forth in the calling plan rate tables. F. Moves or Telephone Number Changes If you change your telephone number or change your residence and wish to maintain an account with PRIMUS at your new residence, you must contact the PRIMUS Customer Service Department at least five (5) business days in advance of the change or move in order to ensure that your account is properly transferred. PRIMUS is not responsible for any interruptions in service or other charges you incur if you fail to notify PRIMUS at least five (5) business days in advance of any such change. G. Timing of Calls Generally, timing of calls begins when the called party or an automated answering device (such as an answering machine or a facsimile machine) answers the call, and ends when one of the parties disconnects from the call. However, some foreign local telephone companies (with whom PRIMUS must interconnect in order to terminate calls to foreign countries) designate a call as "answered" when the called party's line rings or after a certain number of rings, and will charge PRIMUS for a completed call. In these situations, PRIMUS will charge for the calls as if it were answered by the called party. H. Casual Calling Casual rates, as set forth in the PRIMUS rate tables, will be charged when calls are completed over the PRIMUS network and the caller does not have an active account with PRIMUS. An example of when casual rates will be charged include the situation when you sign up for PRIMUS service by contacting your local telephone company, but the local telephone company fails to notify PRIMUS of your selection. Casual rates will apply when you use an PRIMUS dial around before placing an interstate long distance call from a telephone that is not associated with an active account with PRIMUS. If you believe that you are being charged casual rates and surcharges in error, please contact an PRIMUS Customer Care representative immediately. If these rates are being charged due to an error caused by the Company, your local telephone company, or some other cause beyond your control, you will receive appropriate credits. I. International Services a. Foreign Carrier Restrictions Foreign carriers or regulatory agencies may impose, upon the portion of the end-to-end international service or facilities they provide, certain limitations or restrictions that may limit your ability use the PRIMUS services. You must conform to any limitations or restrictions imposed by the foreign carriers or agencies. b. Foreign Carrier Acts or Omissions. When other U.S. or foreign carriers and foreign telecommunications administrations use facilities to establish connections to points not reached by PRIMUS' network, PRIMUS is not liable for acts or omissions of other carriers or foreign telecommunications administrations. International calls are priced on the basis of the country and city codes dialed by you. When the facilities of other U.S. or foreign carriers are used in establishing connections to points not reached by PRIMUS' network, PRIMUS is not liable for refunds or damages if those calls do not terminate in the country, city or area codes associated with the called number. J. Surcharges PRIMUS may adjust its rates and charges or impose additional rates and charges in order to recover amounts it is required or permitted by governmental or quasi-governmental authorities to collect from others or pay to others in support of statutory or regulatory funds or programs ("Governmental Charges"). Examples of such Governmental Charges include, but are not limited to, Universal Service funding, utility and other fees imposed on communications providers, and compensation payable to payphone service providers for use of their payphones to access PRIMUS' service. a. Federal Universal Service Fee PRIMUS includes a Federal Universal Service Fee of nine and one quarter percent (9.25%) of all invoiced interstate and international charges, not including taxes. b. Payphone Use Charge Charges for calls that originate from any domestic payphone and are carried over PRIMUS' network will include a $0.35 charge. This charge will be in addition to applicable basic charges and surcharges. c. Calling Card Surcharge PRIMUS charges a $0.50 per call calling card surcharge on each call completed on your post paid Primus Passport Calling Card. K. Taxes All taxes, tax-like charges, and tax-related surcharges are referred to collectively as "Tax(es)." PRIMUS may elect to impose and collect such Taxes, unless otherwise constrained by court order or direction. You agree to pay all Taxes imposed. If PRIMUS has collected Taxes and a challenged Tax is found to have been invalid and unenforceable, PRIMUS, in its sole discretion, will either reduce service rates for a fixed period of time in the future in order to flow-through to customers an amount equivalent to the amounts collected, or it will credit or refund such amounts to affected customers (less its reasonable administrative costs), if the amounts collected were retained by PRIMUS or if they were delivered to the jurisdiction and returned to PRIMUS, or it will negotiate an arrangement with the jurisdiction to provide a future benefit for customers in that jurisdiction. If you provide PRIMUS with a duly authorized tax exemption certificate, PRIMUS will exempt you in accordance with law, effective on the date PRIMUS receives the certificate. Taxes based on PRIMUS' net income will be PRIMUS' sole responsibility. If you are required by the laws of any foreign tax jurisdiction to withhold income or profit taxes from a payment, within 90 days of the withholding, you will provide PRIMUS with official tax certificates documenting remittance of the taxes. The tax certificates will be in a form sufficient to document qualification of the taxes for the foreign tax credit allowable against PRIMUS' U.S. corporation income tax, and will be accompanied by an English translation. Upon receipt of the tax certificate, PRIMUS will issue you a credit for the amounts represented thereby. As applicable, PRIMUS will include some of the following taxes and other charges on your invoiced in addition to the charges incurred for service.:
L. Other Fees Fee for Vanity Number Reservation: PRIMUS will charge customers $25 for vanity numbers that are requested and confirmed as available by the carrier. This charge is a direct pass through from our vendor and is a one time charge for each vanity number requested, not a monthly recurring charge. PRIMUS will not accept multiple vanity numbers requested in the same batch for a customer unless it is clearly stated that the customer understands there is a fee for such a service. Please note that a vanity request is for a number in which one or all of the last seven digits must meet the customer's request. This does not include instances where the customer requests a certain prefix. III. RESTRICTIONS ON THE USE OF SERVICE A. PRIMUS offers its services subject to availability of facilities, limitations of service offerings, and the provisions of this Agreement. B. Services provided by PRIMUS under this General Service Agreement will not be used:
C. PRIMUS may (a) deny, for any lawful reason, your request for service, or (b) limit or allocate the facilities available to or utilized by any service, if necessary, to manage its network in an efficient manner; meet reasonable service expectations; furnish service to existing and future customers based on forecasted customer requirements; or for any other lawful reason. D. PRIMUS may, without notice (consistent with governing laws or regulations), block traffic to or from specific countries, country codes, cities, city codes, local telephone exchanges ("NXX exchanges"), individual telephone stations, groups or ranges of individual telephone stations, or calls using certain customer authorization codes, whenever PRIMUS deems it necessary to take such action to prevent (1) the unlawful use of service; (2) nonpayment for service; (3) the use of service in violation of this Agreement; or (4) network blockage or the degradation of service furnished to you or other customers. E. Due to the portable nature of PRIMUS' calling card codes that are issued to PRIMUS' customers, PRIMUS reserves the right to block, without notice, any calling card code that PRIMUS deems to have been used, or that might be used, for fraudulent purposes. PRIMUS may also intercept calling card calls for the dual purposes of verifying customer information and fraud avoidance. PRIMUS will provide subsequent written notification by mail, and/or voice notification, of such blocking or termination. PRIMUS will unblock as soon as it determines it can do so without undue risk, and it will, upon request by an affected customer, assign new card authorization codes to replace any that were deactivated. F. Whenever call blocking occurs on lines designated to PRIMUS at the local telephone company's switch, customers or former customers will be unable to access PRIMUS' network in order to make long distance and local toll calls, including, but not limited to, placing calls by dialing 1+ or by using any dial-around code belonging to PRIMUS. IV. PAYMENT OBLIGATIONS A. You are responsible for payment of all charges for services furnished to you and anyone authorized by you to use your service. This responsibility is not changed by virtue of any use, misuse, or abuse of your service undertaken or caused by third parties. B. You must promptly notify PRIMUS of any change in your invoicing address or, if applicable, in the credit card or bank account used for payment. You should notify the PRIMUS Customer Service Department by calling the toll-free number listed on the first page of your invoice or by U.S. mail to the following address: PRIMUS, A Primus Company, 2094 185th Street, Fairfield, IA 52556. You can also contact us through email at www.usacs@ia.primustel.com. C. Usage charges and any recurring monthly charges are billed after each billing period. In the event PRIMUS changes its rates, recurring monthly charges affected by such change will be assessed at the new rate for the full billing period during which the new recurring charge rate became effective. D. PRIMUS' bills for service are due within 20 days of the date of invoice. Amounts not paid within 21 days of the invoice date will be considered past due. E. If PRIMUS becomes concerned at any time about your ability to pay for services, PRIMUS may require that you pay its charges within a specified number of days and that you make such payments in cash or the equivalent of cash. F. If your telecommunications payment history is not acceptable to PRIMUS or if your telecommunications payment history is unknown or indeterminable, you may be required, at any time, to provide (i) pre-invoice payment based on usage incurred; (ii) a valid major credit card account number from an issuer acceptable to PRIMUS and authorization for PRIMUS to charge usage to your credit card account; or (iii) agreement that your usage of PRIMUS network and services will be subject to toll usage limits to be determined by PRIMUS. Prior to your compliance with this request, PRIMUS reserves the right to cease accepting and processing service orders. PRIMUS may request subsequent additional pre-invoice payments for usage and may increase or decrease toll usage limits as it deems appropriate. PRIMUS may refuse to furnish services if any charges owed by you to PRIMUS are past due for service(s) provided to you. G. In the event payment is made by personal check and your check is not honored by the institution on which it was drawn, PRIMUS will impose, and you will be required to pay, a $15.00 fee, where permitted by applicable law, in addition to other remedies available to PRIMUS. H. If billing systems or other support are not available for a service, feature, surcharge, or other charge element at the time of service provision, PRIMUS will bill for that service, feature, surcharge, or other charge element as soon as it is capable of doing so. I. Handling of Certain Specific Credits
V. CANCELLATION OF SERVICE A. By the Customer If you wish to change your service to another long distance carrier at any time, you should: (1) contact PRIMUS at the toll-free number listed on the first page of your invoice to cancel your account; and (2) call your new preferred long distance carrier or your local telephone company to set up service. B. By PRIMUS
VI. LIABILITY A. Except for granting credit allowances for interruptions of service as provided for in Paragraph IV(I) above, PRIMUS will not be liable for: (i) any failure of performance due to causes beyond its control, including, but not limited to, acts of God, fires, floods or other catastrophes; national emergencies, insurrections, riots or wars, strikes, lockouts, work stoppages or other labor difficulties; preemption of existing services to restore service in compliance with the FCC's Rules and Regulations; and any law, order, regulation or other action of any governing authority or agency thereof; or (ii) delayed installation of PRIMUS' facilities or commencement of service. B. With respect to any other factual allegation, legal claim, or dispute by you or by any others, for damages associated with the ordering (including the reservation of any specific number for use with a service), installation (including delays thereof), provision, termination, maintenance, repair, interruption, or restoration of any service or facilities offered by PRIMUS, PRIMUS' liability, if any, will be limited to credit allowances for interruptions of service as provided for in Paragraph IV(I) above. In addition to these credit allowances, if any, PRIMUS' liability is limited as follows: 1. With respect to the routing of calls by PRIMUS to public safety answering points or municipal emergency service providers, PRIMUS' liability, if any, will be limited to the lesser of: (a) the actual monetary damages incurred and proved by you as the direct result of PRIMUS' action, or failure to act, in routing the call, or (b) the sum of $1,000.00. 2. With respect to the provisioning of, or any error or omission in, data, information, or content furnished in connection with any service provided by PRIMUS, PRIMUS' liability will be limited to the lesser of: (a) the amount of actual money damages proven by you to have been incurred as the proximate result of your reliance on such data, information, or content; or (b) $100.00. C. PRIMUS' liability for willful misconduct, if established as a result of judicial or administrative proceedings, is not limited by this Agreement. D. IN NO EVENT WILL PRIMUS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE LOSS OR DAMAGE OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS (WHETHER OR NOT PRIMUS HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH LOSS OR DAMAGES) BY REASON OF ANY ACT OR OMISSION IN ITS PERFORMANCE UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. THIS SECTION SURVIVES TERMINATION OF THIS AGREEMENT. E. PRIMUS will be indemnified, defended, and held harmless by you and/or by others authorized by you to use
the service against all claims of loss or damage arising from the use of service furnished by PRIMUS, including:
F. PRIMUS MAKES NO EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ABOUT ITS SERVICES AND DISCLAIMS ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF TITLE OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR USE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. PRIMUS DOES NOTAUTHORIZE ANYONE TO MAKE A WARRANTY ON PRIMUS' BEHALF AND YOU MAY NOT RELY ON ANY STATEMENT OF WARRANTY AS A WARRANTY BY PRIMUS. G. PRIMUS will not be liable for any act or omission of any other company or companies furnishing a portion of the service, or from any act or omission of a third party, including those vendors participating in PRIMUS offerings made to you, or for damages associated with service, channels, or equipment that it does not furnish, or for damages that result from the operation of customer provided systems, equipment, facilities or services that are interconnected with PRIMUS services. VII. DISPUTE RESOLUTION IT IS IMPORTANT THAT YOU READ THIS ENTIRE SECTION CAREFULLY. THIS SECTION PROVIDES FOR RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES THROUGH FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION BEFORE A NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR INSTEAD OF IN A COURT BY A JUDGE OR JURY OR THROUGH A CLASS ACTION. A. Binding Arbitration The arbitration process established by this section is governed by the Federal Arbitration Act ("FAA"), 9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16. Both you and PRIMUS have the right to take any dispute that qualifies to small claims court rather than arbitration. All other disputes arising out of or related to this Agreement (whether based in contract, tort, statute, fraud, misrepresentation or any other legal or equitable theory) must be resolved by final and binding arbitration. This includes any dispute based on any product, service or advertising having a connection with this Agreement and any dispute not finally resolved by a small claims court. The arbitration will be conducted by one arbitrator using the procedures described by this Section. If any portion of this Dispute Resolution Section is determined to be unenforceable, then the remainder shall be given full force and effect. The arbitration of any dispute involving $10,000 or less shall be conducted in accordance with the Consumer Arbitration Rules of the American Arbitration Association ("AAA"), as modified by this Agreement, which are in effect on the date a dispute is submitted to the AAA. The AAA's Commercial Arbitration Rules and fee schedules will apply to any disputes in excess of $10,000. You have the right to be represented by counsel in an arbitration. In conducting the arbitration and making any award, the arbitrator shall be bound by and strictly enforce the terms of this Agreement and may not limit, expand, or otherwise modify its terms. The arbitrator may not award punitive, exemplary or similar damages. The parties agree that an award of such damages will be void if issued. NO DISPUTE MAY BE JOINED WITH ANOTHER LAWSUIT, OR IN AN ARBITRATION WITH A DISPUTE OF ANY OTHER PERSON, OR RESOLVED ON A CLASS-WIDE BASIS. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT AWARD DAMAGES THAT ARE NOT EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED BY THIS AGREEMENT AND MAY NOT AWARD PUNITIVE DAMAGES OR ATTORNEYS' FEES UNLESS SUCH DAMAGES ARE EXPRESSLY AUTHORIZED BY A STATUTE. YOU AND PRIMUS BOTH WAIVE ANY CLAIMS FOR AN AWARD OF DAMAGES THAT ARE EXCLUDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT. B. Arbitration Information and Filing Procedures Before you take a dispute to arbitration or to small claims court, you must first contact our Customer Care Department representative at the customer service number on your PRIMUS invoice for the Services, or write to us at the following address and give us an opportunity to resolve the dispute: PRIMUS, a Division of Primus Telecommunications, Inc. 2094 185th Street Fairfield, IA 52556 Attention: Customer Service Department You must describe your dispute and provide PRIMUS with any supporting documentation. Likewise, if PRIMUS has a dispute with you, it will notify you by letter sent to your billing address and attempt to resolve it before pursuing arbitration. If the dispute cannot be satisfactorily resolved within sixty days from the date you or PRIMUS is notified by the other of a dispute, then either party may then contact the AAA in writing at AAA Service Center, 134555 Noel Road, Suite 1750, Dallas, Texas 75240-6620 and request arbitration of the dispute. Information about the arbitration process and the AAA's Arbitration Rules and its fees are available from the AAA on the Internet at www.adr.org. The arbitration will be based only on the written submissions of the parties and the documents submitted to the AAA relating to the dispute, unless either party requests that the arbitration be conducted using the AAA's telephonic, on-line, or in-person procedures. Additional charges may apply for these procedures. Any in-person arbitration will be conducted at a location that the AAA selects in the state of your primary residence. Any arbitration shall remain confidential. Neither you nor PRIMUS may disclose the existence, content or results of any arbitration or award, except as may be required by law, or to confirm and enforce an award. Judgment of the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. ANY CLAIM OR DISPUTE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THIS AGREEMENT MUST BE BROUGHT WITHIN TWO YEARS AFTER THE DATE THE BASIS FOR THE CLAIM OR DISPUTE FIRST ARISES. C. Fees and Expenses of Arbitration Each party must pay its own expenses associated with any arbitration, including its attorney's fees. If you file a request for arbitration, you will have to pay a filing fee in accordance with the AAA fee schedule. Under AAA rules, some costs such as the arbitrator's fees and expenses will be allocated between the parties. D. In addition to the procedures described in this Section for resolving a dispute, you may also have the right to file a complaint with an appropriate federal or state regulatory agency. VIII. MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS A. Entire Agreement. This Agreement and the terms of any calling plan, promotion, and/or authorized written communications you have received constitute the entire Agreement between you and PRIMUS, and supersedes any and all prior agreements, oral or written, concerning the subject matter. If there is any inconsistency or conflict between the terms of any calling plan, promotion, and/or authorized written communications you have received and the provisions of this Agreement, the provisions of this Agreement will control. B. No Obligation to Assist in Switching Carriers. If you either voluntarily cancel your PRIMUS account or if PRIMUS cancels your service for any reason set forth above, PRIMUS will have no obligation whatsoever to assist you in any respect in switching from PRIMUS to another carrier. C. Assignment. Customers may not modify or assign this Agreement. In its sole discretion, PRIMUS may assign this Agreement. D. No Waiver of Rights. If either party fails to enforce any right or remedy under this Agreement, that does not waive the right or remedy for any other breach or failure. E. Binding Effect. This Agreement is binding upon you and PRIMUS and upon, respectively, your and PRIMUS' agents and heirs. E. Severability. If any part or provision of this Agreement is finally determined to be invalid or unenforceable under applicable law by a court of competent jurisdiction, then that part or provision will be ineffective only to the extent of such invalidity or unenforceability, without in any way affecting the remaining parts or provisions of this Agreement. F. Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by and construed under the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia and applicable federal law, without regard to its choice of law principles, except that the arbitration provisions in Section VII shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act. This governing law provision applies no matter where you reside, or where you use or pay for the services. G. Survival. Any liability or obligation of a party to the other party under the provisions of Sections I, III, IV, and VI as applicable, will, in each case, survive cancellation or termination of this Agreement. I. Headings of No Force or Effect. Headings in this Agreement are for reference only and have no effect on the meaning of any provision. |