Terms of service & privacy policy
For our Privacy and Information Security Policy, as required by Visa and MasterCard regulations, please click here.

1. Client will use the services in a manner consistent with any and all applicable laws of the State of Washington, the U.S. Federal Government, and the laws of your locale.
   
2. Provider reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to deactivate the Client's account(s) upon an indication of credit problems including delinquent payments.
   
3. THE PROVIDER SERVICE IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS, AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. THE PROVIDER GIVES NO WARRANTY, EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, FOR THE SERVICES PROVIDED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY AND WARRANTY OF FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THIS NO WARRANTY EXPRESSLY INCLUDES ANY REIMBURSEMENT FOR LOSSES OF INCOME DUE TO DISRUPTION OF SERVICE BY PROVIDER OR ITS PROVIDERS BEYOND THE FEES PAID BY CLIENT TO PROVIDER FOR SERVICES.
   
4. Client understands that domain name registration relies on a third party domain registration authority that Provider has no control over.  Furthermore, Provider is not liable to client for damages caused by domain name deactivation by a third party registration authority for any reason.
   
5. Provider is not responsible for any damages arising from Client's use of Provider or by Client's inability to use the services for any reason. Client understands and acknowledges the need to maintain adequate business insurance to insure itself against any business losses and unexpected expenses resulting from use of the service.
   
6. While Provider shall make every reasonable effort to protect and backup data for Client on a regular basis, Provider is not responsible for Client's files residing on Provider. Client is solely responsible for independent backup of data stored on Provider.
   
7. CLIENT HEREBY AGREES THAT ANY MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION ON PROVIDER THROUGH CLIENT'S ACCOUNT(S) WILL NOT VIOLATE OR INFRINGE ANY COPYRIGHT, TRADEMARK, PATENT, STATUTORY, COMMON LAW OR PROPRIETARY RIGHTS OF OTHERS, OR CONTAIN ANYTHING LIBELOUS OR HARMFUL. ANY POTENTIALLY ILLEGAL ACTIVITY MAY BE DEACTIVATED WITHOUT WARNING BY THE PROVIDER. CLIENT HEREBY AGREES TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PROVIDER FOR ANY CLAIM RESULTING FROM THE SUBMISSION OF ILLEGAL MATERIALS.
   
8. Client hereby agrees to pay any and all legal and administrative costs Provider incurs associated with receiving, defending against, and/or enforcing any legal action or complaint, formal or informal, which involves alleged or actual infringement by Client upon rights of any person or entity.  This includes, but is not limited to, notices of DMCA copyright infringement, patent infringement, trademark infringement, intellectual property rights infringement, libel, harassment, and harmful content.
   
9. DMCA Registered Agent.   Notices of Client copyright infringement under the DMCA are to be sent to our DMCA Registered Agent by mail to: Advantagecom Networks, Inc., C/O  Thomas Baffney, 216 S Palouse St., Walla Walla, WA  99362.
   
10. CLIENT HEREBY AGREES THAT ANY MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR PUBLICATION ON PROVIDER THROUGH CLIENT'S ACCOUNT(S) WILL NOT CONTAIN ANYTHING SUCH AS, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PORNOGRAPHY, OBSCENITY, NUDITY, VIOLATIONS OF PRIVACY, COMPUTER VIRUSES, AND ANY HARASSING AND OR HARMFUL MATERIALS OR USES, WHICH ARE CONSIDERED TO BE ABUSIVE AND UNETHICAL USES OF THE SERVICE(S). CLIENT HEREBY AGREES TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD HARMLESS THE PROVIDER FROM ANY CLAIM RESULTING FROM YOUR PUBLICATION OF MATERIALS OR YOUR USE OF THOSE MATERIALS. PROVIDER MAY OR MAY NOT GIVE NOTICE BEFORE DEACTIVATING THE USE OF AN ACCOUNT(S) WHICH THE PROVIDER DECIDES IS AN ABUSIVE OR UNETHICAL USE OF THE SERVICE(S), OR DEEMED A VIOLATION OF THE TERMS OF SERVICE. THIS INCLUDES DOMAIN POINTERS.
    
11. Due to the public nature of the Internet, all information should be considered publicly accessible, and important or private information should be treated carefully. Provider is not liable for protection or privacy of electronic mail or other information transferred through the Internet or any other network provider or its customers may utilize.
    
12. Use of distribution lists via unsolicited electronic mail or other mass electronic mailings or cross-posting to unrelated newsgroups is strictly prohibited. The Provider reserves the right to deactivate the Client's account(s) upon an indication of such activity. Client hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the provider from any claim resulting from the Client's or another party's use of electronic mail service(s) on the Client's account(s) or news groups.
    
13. Use of account(s) to provide free email services is strictly forbidden as it is a security hole and liability.
    
14. Only the account holder or its legal assignee is authorized to make changes to the account.
    
15. In the event it is necessary to refer any dispute to an attorney or resolve it in a court of law, the prevailing party will be entitled to an award of reasonable attorney's fees and all costs associated with any legal action, whether or not a suit shall actually be filed.
    
16. Provider maintains control and any ownership of any and all IP numbers and addresses that may be assigned to Client and reserves in its sole discretion the right to change or remove any and all IP numbers and addresses.
    
17. Provider reserves the right to disable any user account or site for anything deemed to be suspicious activities at the Provider's sole discretion.  This includes, but is not limited to, anything that gives indication of hacking, spoofing, cracking, phreaking, denial of service attacks, running rogue services on Client's account on Provider's systems, or anything that might attract or precede such activities.  Rogue services, as defined here, means any service that is not included as a feature on Provider's advertised list of account features at the time.  This includes, but is not limited to, IRC bots, IRC clients, IRC daemons, ICQ clients, ICQ servers, Socks proxies, or any other service running on a TCP/IP port that Provider did not give explicit written authorization for use.  Client hereby agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the provider from any claim resulting from account deactivation or disablement as a result of suspicious activities.
    
18. Provider reserves the right to monitor any and all activity, traffic, or content that Client may produce, publish, or cause.  Provider also reserves the right to turn any logs, monitoring data, or Client material over to the proper authorities in the event legal or criminal action is to be taken by Provider or authorities.
    
19. Provider reserves the right to partially or wholly disable Client's account(s) upon indication of activities that noticeably affect the quality of service for other Clients.  This includes, but is not limited to, excessive processor time usage, excessive RAM usage, excessive open file handles, network security, or anything else that causes noticeable slowdown of services or causes system crashes. Client hereby agrees to hold Provider harmless from any claim resulting from such actions that Provider deems necessary, at its sole discretion, to restore a reasonable level of service.
    
20. Client hereby agrees that account termination resulting from any breach of these terms of service will result in the nullification of any right to a refund of any kind.  Furthermore, client acknowledges that they will be liable for any charges resulting from any server repairs required as a result of their violation of these terms of service.  The rate will be $150 per hour plus the cost of any parts and shipping charges.  Provider reserves the right to pursue in a court of law financial compensation for other damages resulting from the violation of these terms of service.
    
21. Provider reserves the right to change this contract by posting a publicly available copy at this location without specific notice to Client.  Client hereby agrees to ratify any such changes and hold Provider harmless from any claim resulting from such changes.   Client hereby acknowledges responsibility to inform itself of any changes to this contract whether informed by Provider of changes or not.
    
22. CHOICE OF LAW: This Agreement shall be construed and controlled by the laws of the State of Washington. Any dispute arising from this Agreement, including, without limitation, a breach of this Agreement, shall be governed by the laws of the State of Washington. You agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the courts located in Walla Walla, Washington.

Advantagecom Networks, Inc.'s Billing Policies - Read Carefully
(Incorporated into the Terms of Service Contract)

1) What are the costs and when do they start?

The periodic charge varies for each type of account. Setup of your account begins upon receipt of the first hosting period's service fee.

• orders are setup and activated immediately upon approved credit card payment. If paying with an alternate payment method, your order will be activated same business day if order and payment are received by 4:00pm Pacific time. If paying with an alternate payment method on a nonbusiness day or holiday, your order will be processed the following business day.

Prices are subject to change without notice, but are guaranteed through your paid billing period.

2) How can I pay for my account?

Accounts are paid by MasterCard, Visa, Discover/Novus, American Express, Diners Club/Carte Blanche, Money Orders, or Checks drawn on US Funds. All invoices are emailed monthly, quarterly, semi-annually or annually (per your choice) at the beginning of the payment period. Invoices are sent via email the 1st of each month. Payments are due in our offices no later than their due date regardless of when the invoice is sent to you. When using Debit Cards, Advantagecom Networks, Inc. will not be responsible for any service charges incurred by your bank for billing errors made by us. Typical Credit Card charges can be easily reversed without any fees incurred by you the customer. In the case of using a debit card, billing errors can lead to bank service fees for overdrawn accounts, etc. Advantagecom Networks, Inc. cannot assume this risk when you choose to use this form of payment as the normal system available to make returns or correct billing errors is not available with debit cards, without potentially overdrawing your account.

3) How can I upgrade/downgrade my account?

4) If I cancel my account do I get a refund and what is the cancellation procedure?

Please send all cancellation requests by using this cancellation form ( http://www.schmolie.com/forms/cancel.shtml ), or email cancel@schmolie.com or faxing your request in writing to 509-525-5781 with the following information:
A. The name on the account with us (i.e. John Doe).
B. The domain name or names you are canceling (please tell us if it is your main domain or an additional domain).
C. The IP address or addresses issued to you.
D. Your reason for canceling.

Due to high levels of fax spam, please call us prior to faxing so we can set our machine to receive your fax. Our phone number and additional contact info is listed at http://www.simplywebhosting.com/contactus.shtml .

Cancellations are processed the same day we receive them. If canceling an account that was discounted for prepayment, the account billing will be prorated at the then current regular monthly price for that account, regardless of any discounts. If you would like to submit the cancellation request early to take effect at a later date (for example, to take effect at the end of your paid term), please note this in your cancellation request. Otherwise all cancellation requests will be processed the same day we receive them.

If the service is canceled within the first 90 days because we have not exceeded your expectations, the entirety of fees paid will be refunded, minus any fees incurred for add-on services or additional bandwith usage above what is included with your account type. The 90 days is counted with day 1 being the first day the account was made available to the client. The setup fees paid for colocation, true dedicated server plans, or Plesk are not refundable. The 90 day money back guarantee is available only to new customers. Fees paid for add-ons, additional resources, technical support, or web site management services are not refundable.

BudgetVPS plans are not eligible for prorated refunds, however, they do include a 30 day money back guarantee. If a BudgetVPS account is cancelled after the first 30 days of service but prior to the end of it's paid term, no refund will be available.

5) What will happen if my payment is late for any invoice? (IMPORTANT)

Payment for all regular monthly invoices are due in our offices on the date shown on your bill. If payments are not received in our offices by the due date, a $25 late fee will AUTOMATICALLY be assessed to your account. If payments are not received in our offices within 15 days of their due date your account, we reserve the right to deactivate your account. There is a $50 reactivation fee, in addition to the $25 late fee. If you choose not to reactivate your account you are still responsible for the days of service you received and any outstanding balance on account including the late fees. Not paying your bill will not constitute a cancellation and you will be liable for any service fees incurred.  For information on how to cancel, please see item #4 directly above. Accounts not paid in full at the time of cancellation will be sent to a collection agency.

There is a $25.00 fee for all checks returned for nonsufficient funds (NSF).

If the customer defaults, the customer agrees to pay Advantagecom Networks, Inc. its reasonable expenses, including attorney and collection agency fees, incurred in enforcing its rights under these Terms of Service.

If the customer does a chargeback to their credit or debit card for any amount charged for services or accounts rendered, there is a $25.00 chargeback fee for each chargeback. The account associated with the chargeback will be cancelled for nonpayment and sent to collections.

Customer referral program
Existing customers will receive a one time credit as shown below to their account for referring new customers to Advantagecom Networks Inc. In order for the existing customer to receive the appropriate credit to their account, the new customer must include the existing customer's name on the order form in the "How did you hear about us?" field. Orders placed without this information will not be considered "referred" and therefore no credit will be given to any account. These credits may not be retroactively applied to accounts ordered without this information. The referring customer must have an open account with Advantagecom Networks, Inc. The referring credit may only be applied to the referring customer's web hosting account and may not be applied to a credit card, or reimbursed in the form of a check or any other form of reimbursement. Credits applied will be applied 31 days after the new account becomes active. Contact us for additional information.

Privacy and Information Security Policy

• We request and use information provided by the customer on order forms to process the initial order and subsequent billings for services we provide.

• Your information will not be sold, rented, or leased to third parties except in the event that a specific service, product line, or the company as a whole is bought by a third party.  In the unlikely event that the company intends to cease doing business, the customer list may be sold to a comparable company for the purpose of offering similar hosting services to you to replace the services you would no longer have in the event Advantagecom ceased doing business.  You will be given notification of any such actions.

• Requests for customer information by law enforcement or regulatory government authorities will be fulfilled with the information required to comply with the request for information. This includes, but is not limited to, customer name, customer contact information, information about services purchased, amounts owed, and payment information, if applicable.

• We perform regular reporting of business names, addresses, and payment histories to Dun & Bradstreet, a respected business credit reporting agency. Payment histories contain only dates and amounts of payments made on your account. Dun & Bradstreet aggregates the data with reports from other vendors and offers business information and business credit reports for sale to other businesses for credit evaluation and marketing purposes.

• From time to time, you may receive communication from us regarding important notices, specials we're running, or to request your feedback.

• During transmission, any payment data is transmitted in encrypted form and passed through controlled systems to our billing system.

• Your information is stored on non-public computers and is protected through firewalling and controlled employee access to systems that contain your information.

• We reserve the right to amend this policy as needed.

• For any questions or comments regarding this policy, please email billing@advantagecom.net or call 509-522-3696.