Subscriber Agreement - Call Shield Terms of Service & Privacy Policy
Welcome to CallShield, the communication service for adults who wish to converse
privately and safely.
By using CallShield you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. If you wish to
subscribe to CallShield or make use of our services, please read these Terms of
Use. If you object to anything in this Agreement or the CallShield Privacy Policy,
do not use the service. The Terms of Use are subject to change by CallShield at
any time, and effective upon your use of our service it will constitute your acceptance
of such changes.
CALL SHIELD TERMS OF USE AGREEMENT
This is an electronic agreement ("Agreement") between CallShield, Inc. ("we", "us" or "CallShield")
and you, an end user ("you" or "user") of CallShield Phone Service (the
"Service") as described herein. BY ESTABLISHING, ACTIVATING, USING, OR PAYING FOR
THE SERVICE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTOOD THESE TERMS, YOU
AGREE TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS IN THIS AGREEMENT, AND YOU REPRESENT THAT YOU
ARE OF LEGAL AGE TO ENTER THIS AGREEMENT AND BECOME BOUND BY ITS TERMS, AND TO THE PRICES, CHARGES, AND CONDITIONS
PROVIDED TO YOU IN ASSOCIATION WITH YOUR ENROLLMENT, INCLUDING MARKETING MATERIALS
AND THE CALLSHIELD WEBSITE, WHICH ARE INCORPORATED HEREIN BY REFERENCE. This Agreement
governs the Service and any computer
software and website used in enabling the Service.
SERVICE DESCRIPTION
CallShield does not guarantee continuous availability. You acknowledge and understand
that the Service will not function in the absence of electrical power or if there
is an interruption somewhere in the various systems.
Service Term. The Service is offered on a pre-pay (pay in advance)
basis. You may cancel the Service at any time by contacting CallShield according
to the procedure described on the CallShield website. If you cancel Service prior
to using all of the balance remaining in your account, you will receive a prorated refund for the remainder
of that amount. Service Distinctions. The Service is not a telecommunications service,
and important distinctions exist between telecommunications service and the Service.
USE OF SERVICE
Resale and Transfer. Your website login, and phone access to your
Call Shield account is yours and yours only. You are expressly prohibited from reselling
or transferring the Service, or sharing your access to any other person for
any purpose, without express written permission from CallShield in advance. Violation
of this term will result in immediate termination of your account with no refund
given for the account balance.
Calling Limitations. CallShield does not guarantee continuous availability.
You acknowledge and understand that the Service will not function in the absence
of electrical power or if there is an interruption somewhere in the various systems,
or if your cell phone is outside coverage areas.
Beware: CallShield does not support certain call types
offered by traditional phone services, including, but not limited to, 0+ calling
(including without limitation collect or third party billing), 900 and 976 calls,
and 10-10 "dial-around" calls. While the Service may support 311, 511, and/or other
x11 services,
note that you will incur additional charges, with you paying their usage fees from
those services on top of the Call Shield per minute charges.
Warning: DO NOT USE CALLSHIELD AT ANY TIME FOR 911, EMERGENCY DIALING!
PLEASE NOTE YOU SHOULD NOT USE CALLSHIELD DURING ANY EMERGENCY.
LIMITATIONS OF PRIVACY PROTECTION
CallShield Service utilizes, in whole or in part, the public Internet and
third party networks to transmit voice and other communications. CallShield is not
liable for any lack of privacy which may be experienced with regard to the Service in regards
to phone taps or outside listening devices, or in any misuse or mishandling on your
part with your online or phone account information.
In addition, CallShield will cooperate with government and law enforcement requests
to provide personally identifiable customer, and call detail, information when presented
with court ordered subpoenas, or an official criminal investigation has been initiated
and a corresponding case number filed, regarding specific individuals or case.
For the full Privacy Policy please see
below.
Your Responsibility. You acknowledge and agree that you are fully responsible for
all use on your account, and you accept full liability and responsibility for the
actions of yourself, or anyone who uses the Service via your account with or without your permission.
You should safeguard your usernames and passwords, which CallShield uses to authenticate
usage on your account. If you use a Voice over IP Service,
your calls may be transmitted over the public Internet,
and you acknowledge that you are aware that the Internet is not a secure network,
and that third parties may be able to intercept, monitor, or corrupt information
you transmit over the Internet. Please note that your phone calls are not encrypted.
Network Integrity and Security.
You are expressly prohibited from any use of the Service or any other action that,
in Call Shield's sole discretion, is deemed to
present a risk to the network integrity or security of CallShield or its vendors,
whether directly or indirectly. CallShield, in its sole discretion, may terminate
your Service without advance notice if it determines your actions could cause a
network disruption or security breach.
Use Outside the United States.
The Service is intended for use in the United States. If you use the Service in
any other country other than the United States, you do so
at your sole risk, including the risk that such activity violates local laws in
the country where you do so. Use of the Service is expressly prohibited wherever
its use violates local laws, and you are personally liable for any such violations.
CallShield reserves the right to terminate your Service immediately and without
notice if it determines that you are using the Service in violation of applicable
local laws.
Unlawful and Prohibited Use.
You agree to use the Service only
for lawful purposes. You are expressly prohibited from using the Service to transmit
or receive any communication or material of any kind when in CallShield's sole judgment
the transmission, receipt, or possession of such communication or material would
constitute, or encourages conduct that would constitute, a criminal offense, give
rise to a civil liability, or otherwise violate any applicable laws. You acknowledge
that neither CallShield nor its vendors are responsible for the content of the transmission
that may pass through the Service. You are expressly prohibited from using the Service
for any abusive or fraudulent purpose, including using the Service
in a way that interferes with our ability to provide the Service to you or other
customers or avoids your obligation to pay for communications services. CallShield,
in its sole discretion, may terminate your Service without advance notice, and no refund for any remaining balances, if it
believes you have violated the aforementioned restrictions, or if you act in a manner
that is threatening, obscene, harassing, or abusive to CallShield personnel, or
its subscribers. You
are liable for any and all use of the Service by any person using the Service provided
to you and agree to indemnify and hold harmless CallShield against any and all liability
for any such use. If CallShield, in its sole discretion, believes that you have
violated the aforementioned restrictions, CallShield may forward personally identifiable
information to the appropriate authorities for investigation and prosecution and
you hereby consent to such forwarding.
Copyright, Trademark, and Unauthorized Use.
The Service and any software used to provide the Service or provided to you in conjunction
with providing the Service, or embedded in all Services, information,
documents, and materials on CallShield's website are protected by copyright, trademark,
or other intellectual property laws and international treaty provisions. All websites,
corporate names, service marks, trademarks, trade names, logos, and domain names
(collectively "Marks") of CallShield are and shall remain the exclusive property
of CallShield and nothing in this Agreement shall grant you the right or license
to use such Marks.
Audit and Law Enforcement.
CallShield reserves the right to audit
your use of the Service to enforce the provisions of this Agreement. CallShield
reserves the right to track and monitor your Service and usage subject to the requirements
of the United States Patriot Act and other laws and appropriate law enforcement
processes. You acknowledge and agree that this Agreement is sufficient notice to
you of such monitoring to the extent any notice is required under applicable federal
or state law.
CHARGES AND PAYMENTS
Billing.
You must provide a valid credit or debit card number pursuant to procedures
specified on the CallShield website, when the Service is activated. Your right to use the Service is subject to any limits established
by your credit or debit card issuer or bank. Your charges/payments and credits issued
will appear on an online billing statement that you may access from the CallShield
website. You give CallShield permission to obtain authorization for use of your
credit or debit card from your card issuer or, if applicable, permission to obtain
authorization to debit your checking account. It is
your obligation to ensure that the account you provide to CallShield has a sufficient
balance or available credit to pay your CallShield fees. Initial use of the Service
authorizes CallShield to charge the card account number or debit the checking account
on file with CallShield, updated by any changed information related to card expiration,
replacement, or substitution. CallShield bills all charges
and applicable taxes and fees in advance. All charges will be billed or debited according
to the rates and terms set forth in published materials and found on the CallShield
website.
Prices and Price Changes.
Call Shield has varying per minute pricing depending on the intended use for the
Call Shield service. Prices and charges relating to the Service are posted on the
CallShield website, or they may be posted on the particular advertisement you may
see advertising with a Call Shield number. Regardless of the Call Shield application
or service, the per minute pricing is always confirmed at the time you place your
call through Call Shield’s auto attendant.
We may change the prices and charges for the
Service from time to time. We may decrease prices without providing advance notice.
Increases to the prices or charges for the Service are effective no sooner than
seven (7) days - after posted on the CallShield website or you are otherwise notified
of the changes.
Service Interruption. You acknowledge and agree that credit allowances
for interruption of the Service will not be provided.
Billing Disputes. You must notify CallShield within thirty (30) days after receiving
your credit card, debit card, or checking account statement if you dispute any CallShield
charges on that statement or such dispute will be deemed waived.
SERVICE CANCELLATION
You may cancel the Service at any time by notifying CallShield.
INDEMNIFICATION
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold CallShield, its affiliates, and agents
and any other service provider who furnishes services to you or enables us to furnish
services to you in connection with this Agreement or the Service, harmless from
claims or damages relating to or arising out of the Service or this Agreement.
You agree that CallShield should not be and is not responsible for any third party
claims against us that arise from your use of the Service. Further, you agree to
reimburse us for all of our costs and expenses related to the defense of any such
claims, including attorneys' fees, unless such claims are based on our willful misconduct
or gross negligence.
LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY
BY ENROLLING IN, ACTIVATING, USING, OR PAYING FOR THE SERVICE, YOU AGREE THAT YOU
HAVE READ THIS AGREEMENT AND UNDERSTAND THE LIMITATIONS OF CALLSHIELD SERVICE DESCRIBED
HEREIN.
CALLSHIELD'S LIABILITY TO YOU ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF CALLSHIELD RELATED
TO THIS AGREEMENT SHALL BE LIMTED TO ACTUAL DAMAGE TO REAL OR TANGIBLE PERSONAL
PROPERTY, OR BODILY INJURY OR DEATH, PROXIMATELY CAUSED BY CALLSHIELD'S GROSS NEGLIGENCE.
NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, IN NO EVENT SHALL CALLSHIELD HAVE ANY LIABILITY TO
YOU WHATSOEVER ON ACCOUNT OF ANY ACT OR OMISSION OF CALLSHIELD RELATED TO 911 EMERGENCY
DIALING. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL YOU BE ENTITLED TO ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL,
CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, REGARDLESS OF THE FORM OF
ACTION. CALLSHIELD AND OUR OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, CONTRACTORS,
AND REPRESENTATIVES WILL HAVE NO LIABILITY WHATSOEVER FOR ANY DAMAGES OR MODIFICATIONS
TO, OR LOSS OR DESTRUCTION OF, ANY OF YOUR SOFTWARE, FILES, DATA, OR PERIPHERALS.
FURTHERMORE, IN NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF CALLSHIELD OR ITS
AFFILIATES ARISING WITH RESPECT TO THIS AGREEMENT EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNTS PAID
UNDER THIS AGREEMENT BY YOU TO CALLSHIELD IN THE TWELVE MONTHS IMMEDIATELY PRECEDING
THE CLAIM.
WARRANTY LIMITATIONS
WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND REGARDING THE SERVICE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING ANY WARRANTIES
OF MERCHANTIBILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT,
OR ANY WARRANTIES THAT THE SERVICE WILL MEET CUSTOMER REQUIREMENTS. WE ALSO MAKE
NO WARRANTY THAT THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE. WE DO NOT AUTHORIZE
ANYONE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO CALLSHIELD EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OR REPRESENTATIVES,
TO MAKE A WARRANTY OF ANY KIND ON OUR BEHALF AND YOU SHOULD NOT RELY ON ANY SUCH STATEMENT.
DISPUTE RESOLUTION BY BINDING ARBITRATION
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.
Any dispute or claim between you and CallShield arising out of or relating in any
way to the Service provided in connection with this Agreement shall
be resolved by arbitration before a single arbitrator administered by the American
Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The
arbitrator's decision shall be final and binding. 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.
Without limiting the foregoing, the parties agree that no arbitrator has the authority
to award relief in excess of what this Agreement provides.
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 BARRED BY THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING PUNITIVE OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES
OR ATTORNEYS' FEES. YOU AND CALLSHIELD BOTH WAIVE ANY CLAIMS FOR AN AWARD OF DAMAGES
THAT ARE EXCLUDED UNDER THIS AGREEMENT.
The arbitration shall be conducted in English in San Diego County in the State of
California and judgment on the arbitration award may be entered into any court having
jurisdiction thereof. Either you or CallShield may seek any interim or preliminary
relief from a court of competent jurisdiction in San Diego County in the State of
California, necessary to protect the rights or property of you or CallShield pending
the completion of arbitration. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT THIS ARBITRATION PROVISION CONSTITUTES
A WAIVER OF ANY RIGHT TO A JURY TRIAL.
MISCELLANEOUS
General Provisions.
This Agreement does not provide any third party
with a remedy, claim, or right of reimbursement. Failure by CallShield to enforce
any provision(s) of this Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of any provision
or right. This Agreement, and all other aspects of the use of the Service and the
CallShield website, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws
of the State of California,
without regard to its choice of law rules. This
governing law provision applies no matter where you reside, or where you use or
pay for the Service. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between us
and supersedes all prior agreements, understandings, statements, or proposals concerning
the Service, including representations, whether written or oral. 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 CallShield is relying on any representations or statements by the other party
or any other person that are not included in this Agreement. If any provision in
this Agreement is found to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions
shall remain in full force and effect.
Events Beyond Our Control.
CallShield will not be responsible to
you for any delay, failure in performance, loss, or damage due to fire, explosion,
power blackout, earthquake, volcanic action, flood, the weather elements, strike,
embargo, labor disputes, civil or military authority, war, acts of God, acts or
omissions of carriers or suppliers, acts of regulatory or governmental agencies,
or other causes beyond our reasonable control.
Assignment.
We can assign all or part of our rights or duties under
this Agreement without notifying you. If we do that, we have no further obligations
to you. You may not assign this Agreement or the Service without our prior written
consent.
Notices.
CallShield primarily communicates with users of the Service
via e-mail. Email from CallShield is used to communicate important information about
the Service, including billing and changes to the Service, much of which is time-sensitive.
You acknowledge that e-mail from CallShield constitutes official notice from CallShield
and that you are required to read in a timely manner all e-mail messages sent to
the email address specified by you at the time of registration for the Service in
order to avoid any potential disruption of the Service. You also acknowledge that
you are responsible for notifying CallShield of any changes in your email address.
Survival.
The provisions of this Agreement relating to indemnification (including
those relating to 911 Emergency Dialing), limitations on liability, warranty limitations,
billings, and your obligations to pay for the Service provided, including any additional
usage charges, shall survive any termination of any other portion of this Agreement.
Non-Waiver.
Failure by CallShield to insist upon strict performance
of any terms or conditions of this Agreement or failure or delay to exercise any
rights or remedies provided herein or by law shall not release you from any of the
warranties of obligations of this Agreement, and shall not be deemed a waiver of
any right of CallShield to insist upon strict performance hereof or any of its rights
and remedies.
Changes to this Agreement.
CallShield may change this Agreement
from time to time. Any changes will be posted at the Terms of Service section of
the CallShield website, currently located at www.CallShield.com. Notice will be
considered received by you and any such changes will become binding and effective
on the date the changes are posted to the CallShield website, except in the case
of changes to the prices or charges, when we will comply with our notice commitments
described above. IF YOU CONTINUE TO BE ENROLLED IN, USE, OR PAY FOR THE SERVICE
AFTER ANY CHANGES IN THE PRICES, CHARGES, TERMS, OR CONDITIONS, YOU AGREE TO THE
CHANGES.
Where required by law, customers who cancel their service within the first three
days, or seven days, as applicable, following acceptance of this Agreement will
be refunded all charges incurred with respect to their account.
Call Shield Privacy Policy
Your privacy is important to us. At Call Shield, protecting the privacy of everyone’s
personal information is paramount in our mission of enabling you to communicate
openly and safely. This policy applies only to Call Shield’s treatment of personally
identifiable information collected through our website from you or through your
subscriber information, or your usage of our service with your phone or communication
device. By using our Services, you are accepting the practices described in this
policy.
Subscription Information
When using Call Shield services, you will be providing us with certain personally
identifiable information: your full name, e-mail address, cell phone or landline,
and lastly your credit card and billing information, with the proper billing address
associated with your credit card to prevent fraud.
Protection For The People You Call
In the course of providing you Call Shield identity protection services, we may
also collect personally identifiable information, such as the telephone numbers,
and instant messaging service IDs and other identifiers of you and the people whom
you call and who call you. The names, telephone numbers and other personally identifiable
information about all people you communicate with will all be similarly protected
by this policy.
Use of Information
We will use the personally identifiable information that we collect to provide the
applications and privacy protection services you seek. At certain times, we may
employ other companies and individuals to perform functions on our behalf. Examples
include processing credit card transactions, providing billing services, fulfilling
subscriptions, and sending e-mail communications on behalf of Call Shield.
These other companies and individuals will be provided limited access to your personally
identifiable information to perform their functions, and they are required to maintain
the confidentiality of your information and are prohibited from using that information
for any other purpose.
Legal Action
We will cooperate with government authorities and law enforcement in the event we
are presented with a court ordered subpoena, and only then will we provide specific
information within the confines of said subpoena, to verify or enforce compliance
with the policies governing our products, services, and applicable laws, or to protect
against misuse or unauthorized use of our products or services. We also may disclose
user information whenever we believe disclosure is necessary to limit our legal
liability; to protect or defend our rights or property; or protect the safety, rights, or property of our users.
Corporate Change: We may sell, transfer, or otherwise disclose user information,
including personally identifiable information, to a successor entity in connection
with a corporate merger, consolidation, the sale of substantially all assets, or
other corporate change respecting our business. In such case, we will notify you
before information about you is
transferred and becomes subject to a different privacy
policy.
Call Shield and its trusted agents and service providers may collect and store your
personally identifiable information in the United States and other countries. Data
protection and privacy regulations may vary from country to country. The level of
protection and regulation in the country where Call Shield transfers and stores
your personally identifiable information may not be as high as in your country.
By using our website or our products and services, you consent to our collection,
transfer, and storage of personally identifiable information in the United States
and in other countries.
Minors and their Information: Subscription services for Call Shield is limited to
adults (ages 18+). In the event that we discover a subscriber is a legal minor under
the age of 18, we will promptly terminate their membership and immediately delete
their information in a secure manner.
Changes You Can Make You may change and/or update your personally identifiable information
at any time by logging into your user account.
Receiving Promotions
We may use the personally identifiable information we collect from you to provide
you with information or updates regarding Call Shield services or critical service
updates, or other complementary products or services that may be of interest to
you. By subscribing to Call Shield, you agree to these electronic communications,
and they may concern, but may not be limited to...
• Recommendations of other security and privacy protection products and services
that may be of interest
• Facilitate your use of our website;
• Manage your account and your preferences;
• Analyze subscriber needs and improve our website, products and services;
• Identify and protect against fraudulent transactions and other misuses of our
website; and
• Enforce our Terms of Use.
Links From Other Websites
CallShield may be linked to by other websites who choose to promote CallShield.
Their informational practices may be different than ours. Visitors and customers
from other websites should consult the other websites’ privacy notices as we have
no control over information that is collected by these third parties.
Your IP Address
Like most e-commerce Websites, each time you visit the Site, we automatically collect
your IP address and the web page from which you came. In order to administer and
optimize the Site for you and to diagnose problems with our Site, we use your IP
address to help identify you and to gather broad demographic information about you.
Fraud Prevention: We will also automatically collect your IP address
each time you purchase services and increase the balance on your account. We do
this to enhance and confirm the identifiable source of the transaction to discourage
consumer fraud.
Cookies
To enhance your experience with our website, we may use “cookies” on our site. Cookies
are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer's hard drive through
your Web browser to enable our systems to recognize your browser and to provide
features. Cookies, by themselves, do not tell us your e-mail address or other personally
identifiable information unless you choose to provide this information to us by,
for example, registering at our site. However, once you become a customer and furnish
the site with personally identifiable information, this information may be linked
to the data stored in the cookie.
We use cookies to understand site usage and to improve the content and offerings
on our site. For example, we may use cookies to personalize your experience at our
web pages (e.g., to recognize you when you return to our site). You may adjust your
browser to reject cookies from us or from any other website. Please consult the
“Help” section of your browser for more information. However, certain areas of our
site can be accessed only in conjunction with cookies or similar devices and you
should be aware that disabling cookies or similar devices
might prevent you from
accessing some of our content.
Data Security
We have put in place certain physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to
help prevent unauthorized access and maintain data security. Due to the open nature
of Internet communications, we cannot guarantee that communications between you
and Call Shield will be free from unauthorized access by third parties. We also
cannot guarantee the security of the telecommunications networks over which you
make and receive phone calls using our products and services, as we have no control
over those networks.
Minors and Children: We do not knowingly collect personal information
from children under the age of 13. Should we ever do so, we will comply with the
Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.
Information Others May Collect
We may allow third-party advertising companies or ad networks to display advertisements
on our websites.
• We do not provide any subscriber’s personal information to these companies.
• These companies may use tracking tools, such as cookies, to collect information
about computers used to view or interact with their websites and advertisements.
You May Choose:
• Not to provide personal information, although that may result in your inability
to obtain certain services or use certain features of our website;
• To delete or decline cookies by changing your browser settings, although if you
do so, some of the features or services of our website may not function properly;
• To review and update your personal information by logging into your account.
Security: We take appropriate physical, electronic, and other security
measures to help safeguard personal information from unauthorized access, alteration,
or disclosure.
Changes to our Privacy Policy: We may occasionally update our Privacy
Policy to reflect changes in our practices and services. If we make material changes
in the way we collect, use, or share your personal information, we will notify you
by sending you an email to the email address you most recently provided to us and/or
by prominently posting notice of the changes on our website.
Questions/Concerns: If you have any questions or concerns about
this privacy policy, the practices of the Site, or your dealings with the Site,
you can contact us at support@callshield.com