Terms and Conditions for Online Services

1. General

The Stratford District Council allows customers to process certain types of transactions (as made available by the Council from time to time) through the Council website (collectively referred to as "Online Services"). Online Services are provided through a secure website using SSL (secure socket layer) encryption. All such Online Services shall be subject to these Terms and Conditions.

[The Council reserves the right to change these terms and conditions from time to time by publishing a revised version on the Council website and it is your responsibility to ensure you are familiar with them. Your use of any Online Services will constitute acceptance of these terms and conditions, as so published at the relevant time.]

2. Use of Online Services

The Council makes Online Services available for your personal and/or internal business purposes. You may use information provided to you through your use of Online Services solely for your personal and/or internal business purposes, provided that you do not remove any proprietary rights notices, and do not:

• modify the information;
• make it available to third parties through a networked computer environment; or
• make any additional representations or warranties regarding the information.

3. Information and Privacy

You hereby authorise the Council to collect information about you (including information about transactions processed by you) from time to time through the Council website. Any such information collected shall be treated in accordance with the Stratford District Council Online Services Privacy Policy. The Council may disclose information about you (including your identity) to a third party if:

• it is necessary to carry out the Online Services;
• the Council is requested to do so in the course of a criminal or other legal investigation;
• the Council determines that disclosure is necessary in connection with any complaint regarding your use of the site; or
• you authorise us to make such a disclosure.

4. Confidentiality

The Council can make certain documents confidential if you request that we do so. The final discretion for making the document confidential lies with the Council. Further details can be obtained by contacting the Council using the details provided below.

5. Consent for Council to receive and store information in electronic form

Use of these services means that you agree to provide information through electronic means. This means you agree to provide any relevant information, documents and attachments in the format and to the standards described for each transaction. It also means you agree and understand that the information will be retained in electronic form.

6. Consent for Council to provide you with information in electronic form

Use of these services means that you agree to receive information through electronic means. Where information is requested by another person, the requesting party is deemed to be the recipient's agent and is presumed to have obtained the consent of the recipient to receive the information in electronic format.

7. Registered users

Certain Online Services offered by the Council require you to become a registered user and set up a personalised account for verification of your identity and authorisation for access to information and services. Once an account is established, access will be via a login ID and password. You agree that all information provided to the Council by you in relation to your registration shall be current, complete and accurate. By becoming a registered user you agree to comply with these terms and conditions.

8. Password Security

The password you select should not relate to any readily accessible data such as your name, birth date, address, telephone number, driver's licence, licence plate, passport or an obvious combination of letters and numbers, including sequential or same numbers or letters. You are entirely responsible for maintaining the security of your login and password, and for all activity which occurs on or through your account, whether authorised or unauthorised, including use by current and former employees if you are a corporate entity. You should change your password immediately if you believe that your login and password have been used without authorisation. The Council will not have any liability for your failure to comply with these obligations.

9. Security

Online Services are provided through a secure website [using SSL encryption]. However, you acknowledge and agree that internet transmissions are never entirely secure or private, and that any message or information you send to or through the Council website (including credit card information) may be read or intercepted by others, even where a website is stated as being secure. The Council will have no liability for the interception or 'hacking' of data through the Council website by unauthorised third parties.

10. Your warranties

In using the Online Services, you represent and warrant that you are over 18 and have legal capacity to contract in New Zealand. If you are using a credit card to process a transaction, you represent and warrant that the credit card is issued in your name and that you will pay to the issuer all charges incurred while using the Online Services.

11. Council warranties

While the Council tries hard to ensure that the Online Services are functioning correctly and the information available through the Council is as current and accurate as possible, this will not always be achievable and therefore the following disclaimer applies.

The Online Services are provided "as is" without any representation or endorsement made and without warranty of any kind whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, compatibility, non-infringement, accuracy and security. The Council does not guarantee or represent that the Online Services will always be accurate, complete or current, free of errors, defects, viruses or other harmful components, or that access to the Online Services will be uninterrupted.

Accessing and using the Online Services is done entirely at the user's own risk.

12. Accuracy and binding nature of the Transaction Information

Before completing an Online Service, you will be presented with a confirmation screen verifying the transaction details you wish to process. It is your responsibility to verify that all transaction information, credit card and account information and other details are correct. The transaction shall be deemed binding at the time you click [accept/confirm] on the confirmation screen. You should print the transaction confirmation for future reference and your files. The Council will have no liability for transactions which are incorrect as a result of inaccurate data entry in the course of providing Online Services or for loss of data or information caused by factors outside of the Council's control.

13. Limitation of Liability

Except as expressly prohibited by law, in no event will the Council be liable to you for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental or punitive damages, including lost profits, even where the Council has been advised of the possibility of such damages occurring. If, notwithstanding the foregoing, the Council is found to be liable to you for any damage or loss which arises as a result of your use of the website, the Council's liability shall not exceed the dollar amount of the transaction which formed the basis of the damage or $100.00, whichever is the lesser. Some jurisdictions do not permit the exclusion or limitation of implied warranties, and if you are in one of those jurisdictions these exclusions and limitations may not apply to you. The foregoing limitations do not exclude your rights under the Consumer Guarantees Act 1993 (CGA). You are entitled to a refund for a major failure and for compensation for any other loss or damage. You agree that the CGA shall not apply where Online Services have been used for business purposes.

14. Right to suspend, alter or cancel service

The Council may at any time, without prior notice or any liability to you, cancel or suspend any or all of Online Services and/or substitute alternative services, which may or may not be interactive or transactional in nature.

15. Specific terms and conditions

Certain Online Services made available or offered by the Council from time to time may be subject to specific additional terms and conditions. Any such additional terms and conditions will be made available to you when you may use the relevant Online Services. Access and use of any such Online Services shall be deemed to constitute acceptance of any such additional terms and conditions applicable.

16. Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions and the Online Services are governed by New Zealand law. The New Zealand Courts have exclusive jurisdiction over any matter in connection with these terms and conditions and the Online Services.