Terms and Conditions

Terms and Conditions

1. THIS AGREEMENT is between Mars Technologies (Pty) Ltd (“Mars Technologies”) and the individual who is applying for Web Hosting or Internet Services, by submitting the subscription form online (“CLIENT”). THE CLIENT agrees to an on-line, paperless subscription. THE CLIENT acknowledges that all the information that is submitted online is true and correct to the best of his/her knowledge. In the event that the individual submitting the subscription form online is acting in his/her capacity as a duly authorised representative of any juristic person, then:

1.1 The individual, by submitting the subscription form online, also binds himself/herself as surety and co-principal debtor, together with the juristic person whom he or she represents, in respect of all obligations flowing from the utility of the Web Hosting Services

1.2 The individual hereby warrants that he/she is duly authorised to submit the subscription form and bind the juristic entity as THE CLIENT in accordance with these terms and conditions.

2. THE CLIENT agrees that the act of submitting his subscription form online constitutes consent by THE CLIENT to these terms and conditions, or any amendment thereto, from time to time.

3. PROVISION OF SERVICES:

Mars Technologies agrees to provide Web-site hosting and related internet services to THE CLIENT, subject to the following terms and conditions:

4. CONTENT LIABILITY AND INDEMNIFICATION:

4.1. THE CLIENT acknowledges that Mars Technologies does not regulate or take any responsibility for the content of THE CLIENT’s page or for the security of THE CLIENT’s password.

4.2. THE CLIENT warrants that it has all rights necessary to lawfully submit any information or materials that it is uploading or transmitting to Mars Technologies, including all intellectual property rights.

4.3. THE CLIENT agrees to indemnify Mars Technologies against actions brought by a third party as a result of such material or information, or as a result of THE CLIENT’s use in any way of the Services provided by Mars Technologies.

5. CONTRACT TERMINATION:

5.1. In the event that Mars Technologies at any time reasonably believes that THE CLIENT is in breach of any of the terms and conditions contained in this agreement or is using Mars Technologies services in an unacceptable manner as defined is the “Acceptable Use Policy”, then Mars Technologies may immediately terminate this agreement without notice or liability.

5.2. THE CLIENT shall be responsible for the entire amount of the most recent statement and any excess usage charges at the time of termination.

5.3. THE CLIENT may terminate this contract for shared hosting and mail services before the 20th of the month, and submitted in the form of an email to support@marstech.co.za.

5.4. A cancellation will only be effected upon THE CLIENT settling the outstanding account via debit order, credit card or via cash deposit.

5.5. A cancellation request must include the reason for cancellation, instructions as to the disposal of the domain name (if applicable) and must indicate the date until which service is required.

5.6. A cancellation will not be accepted from any third party. The cancellation must be from THE CLIENT.

5.7. Any cancellation request that does not fulfil these criteria shall not be deemed valid.

5.8. THE CLIENT will be notified via e-mail, sent to the e-mail address on record, as soon as the cancellation has been processed.

6. WARRANTIES AND GUARANTEES:

6.1. Mars Technologies makes no warranties or guarantees of any kind, whether express or implied, for the services to be provided hereunder.

6.2. THE CLIENT agrees that Mars Technologies shall not be liable for any losses or damages of any kind to THE CLIENT or the CLIENT’s Customer, including, but not limited to, those that may result from service interruption delays or non-deliveries.

7. BILLING POLICY:

7.1. Should payment not be received by the 3rd of the month the relevant account will be suspended.  Should payment still not be received by the 15th of the month the account will be cancelled.  The client will remain responsible for payment of any outstanding balances due.

7.2. THE CLIENT will immediately be handed over for collection and listed on ITC (a credit bureau) in the event of a debit order being returned as “payment stopped”.

7.3. All overdue accounts shall be charged interest on a monthly compounding basis, applicable at the discretion of Mars Technologies.

7.4. THE CLIENT is responsible for all collection costs and attorney’s fees on any outstanding amounts.

7.5. Invoices will be issued (or re-issued) upon request free of charge.

7.6. The fee for all services is payable in advance.

7.7. The yearly domain renewal fees will be payable by THE CLIENT via debit order, cash deposit or credit card when it becomes due.

7.8. All account enquiries must be done via email (billing@marstech.co.za). Enquires via FAX and Telephone will not be accepted.

7.9. No account queries will be entertained once the services have been cancelled.

7.10. Mars Technologies only accepts monthly payment via debit order, cash deposit/eft or credit card. Proof of payment may be requested in the case of cash deposits/eft.

8. PAYMENT VIA DEBIT ORDER:

8.1. THE CLIENT agrees that submission of bank account information to Mars Technologies constitutes authorisation by THE CLIENT for Mars Technologies to debit the specified bank account for all fees owed THE CLIENT to Mars Technologies.

8.2. The debit orders normally run on the 1st day of each month. (This may vary depending on public holidays and weekends.)

8.3. The first time the debit order runs, it will normally include a pro-rata hosting fee, a set-up and/or domain registration fee if applicable as well as next month’s hosting fee.

8.4. The debit order system closes on the 24th of each month. All account changes should reach us by the 23rd of each month.

8.5. THE CLIENT is responsible for all bank fees, penalties or levies that are as a result of the use of a debit order. This includes any fees the bank may charge THE CLIENT as a result of THE CLIENT having insufficient funds at the time the debit order is presented.

8.6. Mars Technologies normally runs one monthly debit order per client account.

8.7 Debit orders that were combined into a single debit upon THE CLIENT’s request will be “un-combined” upon the combined debit being returned.

9. PAYMENT VIA CREDIT CARD:

9.1. THE CLIENT agrees that submission of credit card information to Mars Technologies constitutes authorisation by THE CLIENT for Mars Technologies to bill the specified credit card for all fees owed by THE CLIENT to Mars Technologies.

9.2. Mars Technologies will debit THE CLIENT’s credit card on a monthly basis until the contract is ended. The CLIENT is responsible for all bank fees, penalties or levies that are as a result of the use of a credit card.

9.3. It is THE CLIENT’s responsibility to inform Mars Technologies of any changes to THE CLIENT’s credit card number or expiry date.

9.4. Credit card transactions are normally presented on the date of set-up and on approximately the same day of each month for the remainder of the hosting period at Mars Technologies.

9.5. Mars Technologies normally runs one monthly transaction per client account.

10. ADMINISTRATION FEE & OTHER FEES:

10.1. Mars Technologies will charge an administration fee for all declined credit card transactions, all returned debit orders and all returned cheques irrelevant of the reason for the debit order or cheque being returned or the credit card being declined.

10.2. THE CLIENT will be liable for all costs and damages associated with intentionally or unintentionally allowing or facilitating a third party’s access to Mars Technologies’s infrastructure, servers, software, hardware or bandwidth.

11. CREDIT AND REFUNDS:

11.1. No credit or refund will be passed for inactive or unused accounts.

11.2. No credit or refund will be passed should THE CLIENT transfer their domain away from Mars Technologies during the cancellation notice period

11.3. No credit or refund will be passed for domain names where THE CLIENT has requested the wrong domain name to be registered.

12. SUSPENSION AND UNSUSPENSIONS OF ACCOUNTS:

12.1. THE CLIENT’s services will be suspended due to a payment being returned or declined.

12.2. No notice will be issued of Mars Technologies’ intent to suspend a site.

12.3. Mars Technologies will not be held responsible for any damages, losses or claims as a result of a site being suspended.

12.4. Un-suspensions may take one or more working days.

12.5. THE CLIENT is still responsible for the monthly hosting fee while the site is suspended.

13. CLIENT SUPPORT:

13.1. THE CLIENT is entitled to email and telephonic support free of charge.

13.2. THE CLIENT will be billed at Mars Technologies’s standard hourly rate for all support provided due to errors in THE CLIENT’s code or equipment.

13.3. THE CLIENT will be billed at Mars Technologies’s standard hourly rate for all support provided due issues not related directly to Mars Technologies such as THE CLIENT’s internet access, PC set-up etc.

13.4. Support is only available during office hours.

14. THE CLIENT’s DATA:

14.1. Mars Technologies shall make a reasonable effort to protect and backup data for THE CLIENT on a regular basis.

14.2. Mars Technologies is neither responsible nor liable for THE CLIENT’s data.

14.3. Mars Technologies makes no warranties regarding its ability to recover any lost file, regardless of how or why the file was lost.

14.4. THE CLIENT is solely responsible for their independent backup of data stored on Mars Technologies’ server and network.

14.5. Hacking, cracking, defacing of websites etc. is an everyday occurrence and Mars Technologies is not liable for damages THE CLIENT may suffer should THE CLIENT or Mars Technologies fall victim to such an event.

14.6. Mars Technologies does not backup mail.

14.7. Mars Technologies will not be held responsible for the age of the data on the backup. The data’s age could vary in age from one to thirty days.

14.8. Mars Technologies is not responsible for the transfer of files from an existing service provider to Mars Technologies’ servers when THE CLIENT transfers hosting providers. Upon request this service will be provided at an hourly rate payable by THE CLIENT.

14.9. No new mail will be delivered to THE CLIENT’s mail-box if the size of your mail-box exceeds the mailbox limit.

14.10. Mars Technologies will remove all of THE CLIENT’s data, email accounts, zone files etc. after the last day of paid service where cancellation has been processed. It is THE CLIENT’s responsibility to ensure that all data is transferred and moved to the new service provider prior to the last day of service.

15. DATA RECOVERY AND ADDITIONAL SERVICES:

15.1. THE CLIENT will be charged at Mars Technologies’ standard hourly fee for the recovery of data or the installation of, or re-installation of components or custom components including CGI scripts and FrontPage Server extensions. The fee will be added to THE CLIENT’s debit order deduction or it may alternatively be paid for via credit card or eft. Mars Technologies will not guarantee that data can be retrieved form the backup copies.

16. VIRUS SCANNING OF EMAIL:

16.1. Mars Technologies does offer FREE virus scanning on most of their mail servers.

16.2. Mars Technologies does not offer ANY GUARANTEES as to the effectiveness of this service and will not be held liable for any damage THE CLIENT may suffer as a result of receiving a virus.

16.3. Virus protection remains THE CLIENT’s reasonability.

16.4. Mars Technologies reserves the right to terminate this free service without notice.

17. UNSOLICITED EMAIL:

17.1. Mars Technologies will make reasonable effort to block unsolicited email before it reaches THE CLIENT.

17.2. Mars Technologies does not offer ANY GUARANTEES as to the effectiveness of this service.

17.3. All active email accounts will receive unsolicited email from time to time.

17.4. Mars Technologies will not be held liable for “legitimate email” that may be blocked or lost as a result of the service.

17.5. Mars Technologies reserves the right to terminate this free service without notice.

18. DOMAIN NAMES AND DOMAIN NAME DISPUTES:

18.1. Mars Technologies will not be held liable for any disputes arising out of domain name registrations or hosting on behalf of THE CLIENT.

18.2. Mars Technologies will not be liable for damages in the event of a domain name not being registered or available for THE CLIENT’s use.

18.3. THE CLIENT is responsible to insure that the domain name is registered correctly at the relevant registrar.

18.4. All domain names registered by Mars Technologies will be registered in Mars Technologies’ name, with the client listed as registrant.

18.5. Mars Technologies will not be held liable for any losses or damages THE CLIENT may suffer due to a domain name being reallocated, transferred or deleted by any Domain Name Authority or NIC.

18.6. Mars Technologies reserves the right to take ownership of any domain name upon cancellation by THE CLIENT should THE CLIENT not specify any action to be taken in regards to ownership or transfer of the domain name.

18.7. Mars Technologies will retain the ownership of the domain name in the event of THE CLIENT’s account not being settled upon termination of the hosting agreement.

18.8. THE CLIENT is responsible for all yearly domain renewal fees and Mars Technologies will not be held responsible for the payment of domain renewal fees.

18.9. THE CLIENT should cancel all services with Mars Technologies at least 30 days before a domain name renewal to avoid a domain name being renewed.

18.10. Mars Technologies will not refund THE CLIENT for any domain name renewal fee already paid to the relevant registrar.

18.11. THE CLIENT will be responsible for all legal costs [as between attorney and own client] incurred by Mars Technologies, whether formal action is instituted or not, due to any disputes, including domain name disputes and/or claims arising out of the use or registration of the CLIENT’s domain name, or any of the other services offered by Mars Technologies, from time to time..

19. DOMAIN NAME TRANSFERS:

19.1. THE CLIENT is responsible for the successful transfer of their existing domain name to Mars Technologies by giving sufficient notice to existing service providers to avoid delays and transfer problems. Mars Technologies will attempt to assist the CLIENT where possible.

19.2. If a transfer of a domain name (or DNS information) is not successful on the first attempt, then the onus falls on THE CLIENT to make corrections and take the necessary steps before requesting Mars Technologies to continue with the transfer process.

19.3. THE CLIENT is responsible for all costs related to such a transfer.

19.4. THE CLIENT is responsible for the hosting fee from the date of set-up on Mars Technologies’ servers. Mars Technologies will not refund any hosting fees should the client fail to make the necessary changes to their DNS settings or decide not to make the changes.

19.5. THE CLIENT must submit a valid cancellation of the service in the event that THE CLIENT fails to complete the domain name transfer or DNS update.

19.6. Mars Technologies will not be held responsible for any delays caused by any Registrar.

20. DEDICATED SERVER HOSTING:

Mars Technologies may host a server on THE CLIENTS behalf, at Mars Technologies’ discretion, provided that the server conforms to the basic hardware and software requirements as defined by Mars Technologies.

20.1. Software support is not included.

20.2. The installation fee and first months hosting fee is payable upon activation of the server.

20.3. Mars Technologies offers no uptime guarantee on any server and will not be held liable by any CLIENT for any damages THE CLIENT may suffer due to downtime.

20.4. Mars Technologies offers no guarantee on bandwidth and will not be held liable by any CLIENT for any damages THE CLIENT may suffer due to downtime.

20.5. Mars Technologies is not responsible for any equipment supplied by the CLIENT and will not be held liable for any damages the client may suffer.

20.6. Support is only available during office hours.

20.7. THE CLIENT is liable for all costs as listed on Mars Technologies’ price list, including all utilised bandwidth.

20.8. THE CLIENT agrees to an initial minimum three (3) month server hosting subscription.

20.9. THE CLIENT agrees to an indefinite subscription period after the initial three (3) month subscription, requiring 3 months’ notice to terminate the service.

21. ADSL, WIRELESS and OTHER CONNECTIVITY SERVICES:

21.1. Mars Technologies or Mars Technologies’ nominated service providers shall not be liable for any claims arising for the use of this service. This includes, but is not limited to, Telkom bills, lightning damage, malicious damage caused by hacking or viruses.

21.2. Refunds are not available. This includes claims, but is not limited to, arising due non usage or excess usage of the services due to the failure of Telkom lines or services or downtime associated, but not limited, to authentication services.

21.3. The first month’s service fee will be pro-rated, and the following month’s full service fee included in the first invoice.

21.4. THE CLIENT will be liable for additional usage charges in the event of the clients pre-determined usage limit being exceeded, irrespective as to the reason for such a breach.

21.5. Support is only available during office hours.

21.6. Mars Technologies makes no claims or guarantees as to availability of bandwidth, locally or internationally.

21.7. Static IP addresses, if available, remain the property of Mars Technologies or Mars Technologies’ nominated service providers.

21.8. Charges for this service are subject to change without notice.

21.9. Cancellations of the service must be effected before the 20th of the month.

21.10. Unused bandwidth is not carried over to the following month or any other period.

22. SMS SERVICES:

Mars Technologies shall make reasonable efforts to make available a continuous, uninterrupted, expedient and error-free service to the customer, subject to the terms and conditions set out herein:

22.1. Temporary interruptions may occur for whatever reason. In these circumstances, Mars Technologies shall not be held liable for any damages whatsoever (economical or otherwise) which the customer may suffer as a result of such interruption of service(s).

22.2. The client is responsible for all the costs of SMS’s sent via the clients interface. This includes all SMS’s sent by people “hacking” or “cracking” the clients code.

22.3. Mars Technologies shall not be liable for any claims arising for the use of the service or for any claims arising from the non-delivery of SMS’s.

22.4. Mars Technologies shall not be liable for claims arising from the failure of any cellular phone network provider to perform its duty.

22.5. Mars Technologies makes no claims or guarantees as to the delivery of SMS’s sent via this service.

22.6. Unused SMS’s are carried for a period of twelve (12) months, after which they fall away.

22.7. Charges for this service are subject to change without notice.

23. CONFIDENTIAL ACCOUNT INFORMATION:

THE CLIENT hereby gives Mars Technologies permission to:

23.1. Perform a credit check on THE CLIENT’s credit profile with one or more of the registered Credit Bureaus when assessing THE CLIENT’s application for services

23.2. Monitor THE CLIENT’s payment behaviour by researching their profile at one or more of the Credit Bureaus.

23.3. Use new information and data obtained from Credit Bureau in respect of THE CLIENT’s future service applications.

23.4. Record the existence of THE CLIENT’s account with the Credit Bureau.

23.5. Record and transmit details of how THE CLIENT has performed, and how the account is conducted by THE CLIENT in meeting their obligations on the account.

24. COMPANIES AND CLOSED CORPORATIONS:

24.1. In the event of THE CLIENT being Company or a Closed Corporation, then the directors or members do hereby bind themselves jointly and severally as surety and co-principal debtor unto and in the favour of Mars Technologies for the value of the account in favour of THE CLIENT.

24.2. THE CLIENT hereby authorises Mars Technologies to accept any alterations, cancellations or any other instructions relating to the service provided by Mars Technologies as well as the ownership of any domain name from any company that THE CLIENT listed on application form.

25. NEW SERVICE APPLICATIONS:

25.1. Mars Technologies reserves the right to decline any new service application. Submission of an online application form is no guarantee of acceptance by Mars Technologies. Mars Technologies will not provide reasons for declining a new service application.

26. AMENDMENTS TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS:

26.1. These Terms and Conditions may be updated from time to time.

26.2. Mars Technologies will notify THE CLIENT of any changes to these terms via email.

26.3. Those changes will go into effect thirty (30) days after the notification is first sent. THE CLIENT’s continued use of Mars Technologies’ services signifies THE CLIENT’s acceptance of the changes.

26.4. These Terms and Conditions will always be available to THE CLIENT on this page. (http://comms.marstech.co.za/index.php/terms-and-conditions/)

26.5. All objections to alterations of the Terms and Conditions should reach Mars Technologies via email to billing@marstech.co.za within thirty (30) days of the notification of change.

26.6. THE CLIENT is responsible for visiting Mars Technologies’ website on a regular basis, so that THE CLIENT may be made aware of any notices posted in this regards.

27. LITIGATION AND ATTORNEY’S FEES:

27.1. In the event of any dispute arising out of or relating to this agreement, such dispute shall be resolved in South Africa and Mars Technologies shall be entitled to reasonable costs, including collection costs and attorney’s fees.

28. ENTIRE AGREEMENT:

28.1. This represents the complete agreement and understanding between Mars Technologies and THE CLIENT with respect to the subject matter herein. In the event that any term or provision of this agreement is held by a court to be unenforceable, then the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect. THE CLIENT certifies that he/she is of legal age in the country of his/her residence to enter into this agreement.

29. RELAXATION OF TERMS:

29.1. No relaxation of the terms of this agreement and no indulgence which one party may grant to the other, will in any way operate as an estoppel against the former party or be deemed to be a waiver of their rights, or in any other way limit, alter, or prejudice those rights.

30. DOMICILLIUM CITANDI ET EXECUTANDI:

30.1. The client chooses the address which he/she/they submitted online to be his/her/their domicillium address.

 

30. CONSENT TO JURISDICTION:

31.1. Each party consents to the jurisdiction of the Magistrate’s court in respect of any proceedings pursuant to this agreement but without ousting the inherent jurisdiction of the High court.

32. ADDRESSES FOR SERVICE:

32.1. The client chooses the address submitted online to be the address where notices in relation to this agreement shall be served.

33.2. Any notice or legal process to be served on the client shall be served on them at the address submitted on acceptance of the offer which led to this agreement.

33.3. A notice which is sent by prepaid registered post in a correctly addressed envelope to the address submitted online will be deemed to have been received within ten days from the date it was posted.

34.4. A notice which is delivered by hand to a responsible person will be deemed to have been received on the day it was delivered.

34.5. The client shall be entitled to amend his address by giving seven days written notice to that effect which address shall then become the client’s domicillium address.

36. GOVERNING LAW:

36.1. This agreement shall be governed by the laws of the Republic of South Africa.

37. INDEMNITY:

37.1. The client indemnifies the service provider for any losses or damages of any kind that the client may suffer including, but not limited to, those that may result from service interruption, delays or non-delivery.

38. ACCEPTANCE OF TERMS:

38.1. Use of Mars Technologies’ services constitutes acceptance of the terms and conditions contained in this agreement and any amendments thereto.