Intriguing bits from the ToS

Forums › 2degrees (including Slingshot, Orcon, Flip, Stuff Fibre, MyRepublic, 2talk and Vocus) › Intriguing bits from the ToS

deadlyllama

1260 posts

Uber Geek

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#160513 9-Jan-2015 14:22

I read a reasonable chunk of the MyRepublic ToS. Interesting/unusual/WTF bits are (quotes are italicised)

Fair Use Policy A Fair Use Policy applies to our Services to ensure that all eligible customers are able to access our Services. If you do not use the Services in accordance with our Fair Use Policy (unless we have stated that it does not apply), we may restrict or suspend your use of the Services. The Fair Use Policy may be updated from time to time.

Which is all well and good except that (a) there's no Fair Use Policy on the site and (b) customer support tell me there in no fair use policy, that unlimited means unlimited.

Residential Services for Residential Use. Our residential services are provided exclusively for use by residential customers and you agree to use the Services for your own personal, non-commercial use or, if you are operating a business, or doing business, from your residential home, for your own internal business purposes.

Clauses like this are rare and hard to write well. What does "your own personal use" mean. I am the subscriber -- are my wife and children allowed to use the connection? If I had flatmates would they be allowed to use the connection?

The business version of this is even weirder:

Service Acquired for Business Purpose. MyRepublic UFB Business Broadband Service is provided for your own business use only, and you will not on-sell these services or in any way use them to supply Internet services to a third party. We are required by law to restrict or terminate the supply of the Services to you if we believe that you are not complying with this obligation.

I'd love to see the legislation requiring termination or restriction of internet services because your cafe was offering free wifi... is that something imported from the Singapore ToS?

Coon

97 posts

Master Geek

#1211557 10-Jan-2015 12:51

Your Use of BizBroadband / BizNet/ UFBB BizBroadband / BizNet/ UFBB are provided for your own business use only, and you will not on-sell these services or in any way use them to supply Internet services to a third party. Notwithstanding any other rights that we may have, we may restrict or terminate the supply of BizBroadband / BizNet/ UFBB to you if we believe that you are not complying with this obligation. In relation to BizBroadband/BizNet Internet services only you are allowed to supply third parties with Internet services as a part of your product or service, where there is added value by you, and where the supply of BizBroadband / BizNet is not the primary purpose of the product or service, nor a substantial part thereof. For the avoidance of any doubt, you are not permitted to supply third parties with UFBB services as part of your product or service.

https://www.vodafone.co.nz/legal/terms-conditions/business-internet/

if you google bits of the other two clauses you'll find vodafone/spark has the same words as well

Darren0

70 posts

Master Geek

#1211645 10-Jan-2015 18:16

I agree, not having posted a Fair Use Policy, but having a clause about it in the ToS is weird.

I think you're over-analysing the Residential clause. The purpose of that is to make sure that if you then call up when your connection is down and bust out the classic "But I run a business from home!" spiel, they can turn around and try harder to not care, as you've just violated their ToS, and they don't have to do a thing extra for you than they are already doing. If I had a dollar for every time I've had a customer use that line on me, I could take a second holiday every year.

The Business clause is pretty standard. You're buying the connection to use, not to resell. The "We are required by law" is weird as I'm not sure what our legislation is like, but most ISPs would probably terminate the account if they learnt that.

DarthKermit

5346 posts

Uber Geek

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#1211720 10-Jan-2015 19:59

deadlyllama: If I had flatmates would they be allowed to use the connection?

Well they can't tell who is accessing the Internet from your connection, but it means that if a flatmate did something illegal (like violating copyright or accessing kiddie porn) you're the one held responsible because the account is in your name.

Whatifthespacekeyhadneverbeeninvented?