atomik

14 posts

Geek

#91439 17-Oct-2007 23:47

richms: Also, the contract was for 12 months of awesome fast broadband, which woosh were not delivering, so they broke any contract if there was one by not upholding their end of it.

I don't think there is any mention of "awesome fast broadband" anywhere on the woosh website. they supply adsl like everyone else if you want a fast connection, wireless has always been slow at the best of times, people use it cause its cheaper and faster than dial up, cause you don't need a phone line.

KiwiOverseas66

173 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#91440 18-Oct-2007 00:03

"this is good. Heres woosh's terms and conditions, if you can be bothered reading all of that"

aaarrrgghhh - contracts! don't ya just love em! yep - managed to read it all.

"These terms govern the Services and Equipment you obtain from us.

Your use of our web sites or services shows your unconditional agreement to our terms and policies. If we review our terms and policies, and you continue to use our web sites or services after the date on which any updates are effective, this will also show your unconditional agreement to any change in our terms and policies.

You should read these terms as they cover important issues such as your responsibilities when using the Equipment and Services, payment terms, rights of privacy and termination. You should also be aware of the policies on our website as you are responsible for complying with them - we update these from time to time.

These terms replace earlier agreements we have with you for the Services and Equipment. We may change these terms from time to time. You agree to check our website and be bound by such terms as are in effect at any given time. We will notify you of any changes by posting an updated version of these terms on our website. Any change we make applies from the date it is published on our website.

These terms do not apply to our Pipeline or Waverider products.

Interesting intro. Looks like the Ts and Cs are only available on the website? So prior to accepting the service you have to have accepted the Ts and Cs - which are only accessible via the web through an internet connections - which is what you are signing up to? catch 22. Sounds a bit like the mobile phone campaign a few years back where phones were sent out and if you opened the box it meant you accepted the service - as stated in the agreement Ts and Cs which were inside the box! The commerce commission went to town on that one. I like the way it also says we can change our terms at anytime and we will notify you - by posting the changes on our website! Its a bit like a landlord saying you'll notice the increase in your rent - when you receive the bill!

still - in this case the undertaking given was that there would be no contract?

d3TOUr

3 posts

Wannabe Geek

#91464 18-Oct-2007 10:04

This is the information that i found on the consumer guarantees act web site. I know for a fact that most of the ISP in nz and Australia uses a verbal contract. I have worked for many ISP in oz and it's a verbal agreement between two party. A electronic contract is also used, therefore by using your username and password to log into their network , you are bind to your contract. Thats why its a good idea to read any terms and condition before using any ISP. I know for that i had to pay a cancellation fee when i moved from telecom to ihug.

Consumer Guarantees Act

You may not realise just how often you enter into a contract - in fact, every time you buy something. That means anything from buying a packet of potato chips, to takeaways, movie tickets, a car on hire purchase, or a mortgage on a house.

A contract is when you offer to buy something and the seller accepts your offer.

For a contract to exist, something of value must be exchanged - eg, money may be exchanged for goods and/or services.

A contract may exist even if you agree to pay the money or get the goods or services some time in the future.

Form of contract

A contract can be spoken (verbal) or in writing.

A contract does not have to be in writing to be legally binding, but some consumer contracts do have to be in writing:

hire purchase contracts
door-to-door sales contracts
contracts agreeing to act as a guarantor
contracts for the purchase of a motor vehicle from a dealer
contracts for the purchase of real estate.

http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/consumerinfo/cga/index.html

KiwiOverseas66

173 posts

Master Geek
Inactive user

#91570 18-Oct-2007 19:13

d3TOUr:
This is the information that i found on the consumer guarantees act web site. I know for a fact that most of the ISP in nz and Australia uses a verbal contract. I have worked for many ISP in oz and it's a verbal agreement between two party. A electronic contract is also used, therefore by using your username and password to log into their network , you are bind to your contract. Thats why its a good idea to read any terms and condition before using any ISP. I know for that i had to pay a cancellation fee when i moved from telecom to ihug.
http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/consumerinfo/cga/index.html

so this is the same site that I quoted in my post (ministry of consumer affairs) - but its the consumer guarantees section as opposed to the section that specifically list requirements/ obilgations/ liabilities for all commercial contracts in NZ

KiwiOverseas: just in case anyone was wondering - here is what the ministry of consumer affairs says about contracts (written or verbal):

A contract will be legally enforceable or binding if these four conditions are met:

Both parties intended to make the contract.
Both parties agree about what is in the contract.
The contract is legal. Contracts made to buy or sell anything illegal are not enforceable.
The contract must be made by people who are legally capable. This is called capacity. People who are not legally capable of making contracts are:
minors - people under the age of 18 unless they are married or the other party can show the contract is fair and reasonable.
people of unsound mind - this includes people with protection orders under the Mental Health Act, people with a general mental disability, and intoxicated people. The key point is - was it obvious that the person did not understand what was being agreed to and did the other person take advantage of this?

Terms and conditions

Most contracts have terms and conditions. These are the rules of the contract. They say what you (the buyer) and the trader must do to complete the contract. You need to know what these terms and conditions are before entering a contract because once you enter a contract you accept the terms and conditions.

The two main reasons why a contract may be cancelled are:

the trader has given the consumer incorrect information about an essential part of the contract
an important term or condition of the contract has been broken.

the website is : http://www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz/consumerinfo/contracts.html

The point that I was making is that its not possible to accept a set of terms and conditions that are only listed on a website if the service or product you are attempting to purchase is an internet connection to access the internet in the first place (catch22). Not to mention that if the service provider has given an undertaking to a customer that there will be no contract - then their should be no contract (verbal or otherwise), its not a case of someone not understanding the difference between a verbal or written contract - which is what I think jamman2110 was getting at.

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