Electric Kiwi - Terms and Conditions for Residential Internet

1. These terms
2. Our Services
3. Charges
4. Your obligation when using the Services
5. Installation
6. Equipment
7. Internet Services
8. Term and termination
9. Faults and call-out Services
10. Consumer protection laws and Liability
11. Information and Privacy
12. Complaints
13. Contacting you
14. Joint Accounts
15. Changes to our Agreement
16. General
17. Defined Terms

1. THESE TERMS

1.1
These terms and conditions apply to the internet services that we supply to residential customers. Any other products or services we supply to you have their own terms and conditions.

1.2
Our agreement with you includes these terms and conditions; your pricing plan(s); our plan documents; any terms and conditions relating to specific services, payment options and/or products you have with us; and any additional terms and conditions that we agree with you in writing. Together, these documents form a legally binding agreement between us. Terms and conditions imposed by our network providers may apply to you.

1.3
Words in italics are explained at the end of this document.

1.4
You can ask any questions via live chat or email them to info@electrickiwi.co.nz . Our address is listed on the last page if you would like to write to us.

1.5
If there is any conflict or inconsistency between:

1. these terms and conditions; and
2. the terms and conditions relating to your plan or the specific terms and conditions relating to the services you use,

then the terms and conditions relating to your plan or the specific terms and conditions relating to the services you use will prevail over these terms and conditions.

1.6
In the event of any conflict between these terms and conditions and the Hardware Supply Agreement, the Hardware Supply agreement will take precedence.

2. Our Services

2.1
Not all services are available in all areas or to all customers. We cannot guarantee our service will be available to you until it is successfully connected.

2.2
We are not obliged to provide services unless we accept your application. We can decide whether to accept any application.

2.3
We will be responsible for determining the way the services are to be provided. For example, we may sub-contract other suppliers to provide part of any service.

2.4
We will use all reasonable endeavours to always make our services available to you. However, our services rely on us using networks and services owned or provided by other people, including network providers. As a result, we cannot promise that our services will always be available or fully functioning, and we cannot guarantee the quality, reliability and coverage of the service that will be available to you. Other issues beyond our control (such as outages and network problems), may also result in you being unable to connect or you may experience a less than an optimal service.

2.5
If our services are unavailable for any reason, we will endeavour to work with the relevant network providers or service providers to restore them as soon as possible.

2.6
While we take reasonable security precautions, due to the nature of telecommunications services we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any calls or transmissions you make using our services.

2.7
Some services that rely on a phone line (such as home alarms, medical alert devices and fax machines) may not work using our services. Your relevant service providers for these devices will be able to let you know if you need to make other arrangements for continued service.

2.8
Our services are not suitable for use in life supporting devices or other technology with critical support functions.

2.9
Our services rely on power and will not be available during any power failure. If you use our services as a telephone, then you will not be able to make calls (including 111 calls) until the power returns.

2.10
Up to date information about our current services can be found at https://electrickiwi.co.nz

Becoming our customer

Making an application

2.11
You may request our services by providing the required details over live chat, submitting them on our webpage or email.

2.12
If you currently receive internet services from somebody else, you may need to contact those service providers directly to cancel those services. You will still be liable for any fees or charges owing to your other service provider.

Accepting your application

2.13
We will confirm acceptance of your request with a confirmation email.

2.14
Our agreement with you applies from when we agree to, and commence, supply of services.

Suspending or restricting services

2.15
We or our network providers can suspend or restrict your services at any time if we consider it reasonably necessary to protect or maintain a network or believe that you have breached any of these terms and conditions, including our fair use policy. We will always do our best to contact you before this happens but may not be able to do so in all circumstances.

2.16
We or our network providers may suspend or restrict your use of the services or disconnect you from the network without warning if a network needs urgent maintenance or upgrading, or if we suspect your account has been compromised.

2.17
Where our service to you relies on a network provider or other third-party providing services to us, then we may need to terminate your service if the network provider or other third party is unable or unwilling to provide a continued service to us. Where this occurs, we will provide as much notice as we are reasonably able.

Moving house

2.18
When you move, you will need to stop all services at your original home to avoid unwanted charges. If you want to transfer your services to your new house, then in some cases you may be required to pay a transfer fee to cover the cost of installing the services at your new house.

2.19
If you are using a modem that we have supplied you will need to take this modem with you to your new house.

2.20
If you change your address, give us at least 15 business days' notice and we will use our reasonable efforts to have you connected at the time you request. If you give us less than 15 business days' notice, we will endeavour to connect you at the time you request, but it may not be possible. Depending on where you move to, we may not be able to provide you with the same Services.

2.21
These timeframes will not apply if the new address has not had fibre services previously installed.

3. Charges

Our fees and charges

3.1
We will charge you for internet and any other services we provide to you at the rates set out in our pricing plans or other applicable terms and conditions. Regular fixed charges are payable in advance. Usage based charges and other fees (such as connection fees) are payable in arrears.

3.2
You are responsible for all fees and charges associated with your account, including any fees and charges incurred by any other person (whether authorised or unauthorised) who accesses your services.

3.3
Our fees and charges may change from time to time. You can find out more about our fees and charges on your bill or contact us on live chat. Your current Pricing Plan can be viewed on your most recent billing or by contacting us on live chat.

3.4
We may change your pricing plan or our standard service fees from time to time by sending you notice of any upcoming changes by email or by including the notice in your next invoice.

3.5
Changes to your pricing plan or our standard service fees will be effective 30 days after we have sent you notice of those changes.

3.6
We may pass on fees or charges from regulatory agencies, network providers and other suppliers that relate to the supply of services to you. We may also charge you for any services performed on your premises requested by you or a third-party contractor working on your behalf (for example, a builder, technician or arborist).

Additional fees

3.7
Additional fees and terms that apply in respect of certain equipment that we supply to you are detailed in our Hardware Supply Agreement. Notwithstanding the foregoing, for the avoidance of doubt any static IP address we may provide to you pursuant to this Agreement remains our property at all times.

3.8
We will give you reasonable notice if circumstances arise or are likely to arise that may result in an additional fee, and we will let you know the amount of the fee and the reason for it. We will also let you know if there is something you can do to avoid incurring the fee. If you ask for a product or service that involves an additional cost, we will tell you the amount (where that cost is known) or provide an estimate of that cost.

Your invoice

3.9
Unless we agree or tell you otherwise in writing, we plan to send you an invoice at least every month for your internet and telephone charges. Invoices will be sent to your email address and be accessible via the My Account section of our website. You must ensure the email address you have supplied us with is correct and kept up to date.

3.10
Your invoice will clearly show the due date for payment which will be no less than two business days from the date of your invoices and will itemise:

1. the quantity and cost of services supplied or estimated to be supplied
2. the period each charge relates to
3. any fees and charges (the amounts payable may be rounded)
4. any taxes and levies
5. any charges for other products or services supplied to you, and
6. any penalties or other charges additional to our usual fees.

3.11
More detailed information about your charges and use of our services is available on the invoice. For more information please contact us on live chat.

Paying your invoice

3.12
You must pay all our fees and charges as shown on your invoice in full and by the due date shown on your invoice. You may not deduct or set off any amount from that shown on the invoice. You remain obliged to pay all our fees and charges, even after you have ceased to be supplied by us or otherwise are no longer our customer.

3.13
Details of payment discounts and other offers available, if any, are available on our website, or by live chatting a representative. To be eligible for any of these, you will need to comply with the terms and conditions of the relevant discount or offer.

3.14
When we receive payment from you, we may use that to pay any overdue amount before paying your current fees and charges.

Payment methods

3.15
At any time between the invoice date and your payment date, you will have the option to pay your invoice provided we have agreed this with you.

3.16
You must nominate a New Zealand bank account or credit card for payment of amounts invoiced by us and ensure your nominated account is up to date and has sufficient cleared and accessible funds to cover all payments due to us at the time for payment. You agree to authorise us to debit your nominated account for amounts you owe us and you agree to our Direct Debits Authority Special Terms which are set out on our website.

3.17
If we have not otherwise received payment from you by the payment date specified in our invoice, payments will be debited from your nominated bank account at that time.

3.18
If you opt to pay us by credit card, you will also pay a surcharge of 1.5% on the total amount invoiced. If you opt to pay us by bank account instant payment, you must also pay a surcharge of 1.0% on the total amount invoiced.

3.19
If you do not pay any amount which is due and payable under our agreement with you, or if payment from your nominated account is dishonoured, cancelled or refused, you agree that we can charge you our costs in collecting the amount you owe us (including bank fees, credit agency fees, legal and court fees) and exercise our rights to end our agreement with you.

3.20
You may change your payment method via the My Account section of our website. You must make the change at least 24 hours before a scheduled payment, otherwise the change may not occur.

3.21
We do not offer alternative payment mechanisms.

Problems paying your invoice

3.22
If you cannot pay your invoice in full and by the due date, you need to let us know immediately so we can discuss payment arrangements. Not paying your invoices may affect your eligibility to receive services or other products from us.

3.23
If you fail to pay any of our fees and charges in full and by the due date, we may register your payment default with a credit reporting agency and/or suspend or terminate your use of any service we provide to you.

Initial deposit

3.24
If you become our customer, or you change your payment method, you authorise us to make a debit deposit of $4.99 within five days from your nominated bank account for our security and verification purposes. This deposit will be credited against your next invoice and is non-refundable.

3.25
If payment of the deposit is not cleared by your bank, or if we have any other difficulties verifying your nominated bank account, one of our Representatives will contact you. That Representative may require you to re-verify your bank account details.

3.26
If we are unable to contact you, or your payment remains unable to be processed, within five business days of the initial failure you will not be able to become a customer at that time and our agreement with you will end. You can then choose to re-apply to be our customer if you wish to.

Payment arrangements

3.27
If we have agreed a payment arrangement with you, you must keep to the terms and conditions of that arrangement. If you do not honour that arrangement, we may disconnect any service we provide to you.

Late invoices

3.28
You must let us know immediately if you do not receive regular invoices from us. You will still be responsible for all fees and charges during the period covered by the late invoice.

3.29
If we send your invoice more than two months after the period to which it relates, you have at least 31 days to pay it. If we send your invoice more than three months after the period to which it relates, we will negotiate an appropriate discount with you. You will not be liable to pay any interest on an invoice that is incorrect or which we are late in sending you.

Incorrect invoices

3.30
If we have made an error with our invoice (irrespective of the cause) and undercharged you or we have failed to invoice you at all, we will issue or adjust the relevant invoices, and our normal payment terms will apply (subject to adjustment as noted under Late invoices). Any amounts you are required to pay will consider whether you have contributed to the error or could reasonably have been expected to know about it.

3.31
If we have made an error with our invoice (irrespective of the cause) and overcharged you, we will promptly credit any overcharged amounts.

3.32
No interest is payable on any amount that has been overpaid or underpaid.

Disputed invoices

3.33
If you dispute any amount shown on your invoice, you must let us know immediately. You will need to tell us the amount in dispute and why you are disputing it. We will investigate the disputed amount as quickly as possible. In some circumstances, this may involve seeking information from our network providers or other third parties.

3.34
When you are disputing part of an invoice, you still need to pay all other amounts not in dispute. We will not disconnect your services if you have not paid amounts that are genuinely in dispute and we are aware of this. However, we may disconnect your supply if you do not pay undisputed amounts.

Debt collection costs

3.35
You must pay us or our debt collection agency any costs incurred in recovering all fees and charges you are required to pay under our agreement with you. This includes collection costs, revenue costs, legal fees, administration fees and/or other costs related to late or non-payment. This obligation continues after you have ceased to be supplied by us or otherwise are no longer our customer.

GST, levies, and taxes

3.36
We will add GST, levies, and taxes (at the applicable rates) to our fees and charges. Our fees and charges may be expressed as GST inclusive or GST exclusive.

4. Your obligation when using the Services

4.1
You must:

1. not use our services in a way which:
1. breaks any laws
2. breaches your agreement with us
3. infringes anyone’s rights, or
4. is malicious, obscene, or offensive:
2. not resell any services to another party
3. only use the services for residential or private use and not for business or commercial purposes
4. use our services in a reasonable and responsible manner
5. comply with any reasonable restrictions we impose or directions we give regarding the use of our services
6. ensure that all information you give us is correct and, where any information you have supplied to us changes (such as contact details), provide us with updated information as soon as possible
7. agree that we can act on any verbal instructions you give us in relation to the services, and
8. comply with the fair use policy, and understand that we and/or our network providers may enforce the fair use policy where either of us reasonably believe, acting in good faith, that your usage of the services is excessive and/or unreasonable as detailed in the fair use policy. In addition to the standard fair use policy, specific fair use terms may also apply to certain services as communicated in the terms and conditions applicable to such services, the relevant plan or on our website.

4.2
You are also responsible for making sure that anybody else who you allow to use the services acts in accordance with these terms and conditions as well.

Passwords

4.3
You are responsible for keeping safe any passwords you have for accessing your account. You are responsible for anything someone does while using your account number and password, so you should ensure that you only share your password with authorised people on your account.

Copyright and law enforcement

4.4
We do not proactively monitor what content you download or access, however we must act on lawful requests for information and/or interception as well as infringement notices which we receive under the Copyright (Infringing File Sharing) Amendment Act 2011. This action may include sending you an infringement notice.

5. Installation

5.1
We may install equipment and carry out other work at your premises to provide you with the services. We and/or our network providers may charge a fee for installation. If we do, we will tell you what it will be beforehand, and you will be able to cancel the services if you do not want to proceed.

5.2
We can decide not to perform an installation for any reason, including where we consider it uneconomic to connect you, or where we think it would be unsafe to carry out the work at your premises. We can make this decision at any time, including after we have accepted your application and after the technician has visited your home.

5.3
Installations will take place Monday-Friday (except public holidays). If a visit is required to your home, we will do our best to arrange a time that is convenient for you. If we install equipment or carry out work at your home, you must allow us and our agents or contractors (who will carry clear identification) access as and when we reasonably require for the purposes of installing, maintaining, monitoring and removing that equipment or carrying out that work. If you do not provide us access when required, we may not be able to continue providing you our services. You will need to stay at the premises until the work is finished, or you can arrange for someone who is over 18 and able to make decisions on your behalf to stay for you.

5.4
If necessary, you must obtain any necessary consents to enable our access. If you do not own the property you will need to confirm that the landlord has consented to us performing the installation.

5.5
You are responsible for maintaining the sockets and wiring at your home and for providing suitable environmental conditions for any equipment and the services, including reliable electricity supply with surge protection, if applicable.

5.6
We may charge you a cancellation fee if you are not home at the time arranged for your installation or if you decide to cancel your order, through no fault of us or the installer, after we have accepted your order and arranged an installation date. You will not be charged a cancellation fee if you cancel the installation because we or a network provider advises you that installation fees or charges are payable and you decide not to proceed with the installation.

6. Equipment

6.1
We may install equipment at your house or provide you with equipment to help you connect to the network. Where we do, you must not interfere with that equipment, or allow anyone to work on it who has not been authorised by us to do so.

6.2
You are responsible for any equipment on your property and must pay for it to be repaired or replaced if it is ever lost, stolen, or damaged. We recommend that you have appropriate insurance in place to cover this risk.

6.3
If you provide any of your own equipment (for example, your own modem, or equipment to use telephone services), you are responsible for ensuring that it is compatible with our services and that it does not interfere with our equipment or the network. We will not be able to help you if this equipment is faulty or if it is not compatible with our services.

6.4
You are responsible for ensuring that your internet enabled devices (for example, laptops, TVs, PCs, etc) are functioning properly and are compatible with the services.

7. Internet Services

7.1
You must not knowingly transmit any malware or use our services in a manner which is likely to or is intended to damage or compromise the security of our network or anyone else's network.

7.2
You must abide by the terms of the local fibre company's or other network provider's end user terms, which will apply to you as the end user of internet services. The applicable terms will depend on which area you live in. More information is available at https://www.crownfibre.govt.nz/crown-partners/.

7.3
We do not control the information that can be accessed through the internet. Accordingly, we are not responsible for any inaccurate, illegal or offensive information which may be obtained from your use of our services. We are also not liable for any malware or other harmful code which you download via the internet.

Modems

7.4
You will need a suitable modem to use our internet service. We can provide a modem (in accordance with the terms of the Hardware Supply Agreement) and everything you need to get up and running.

7.5
If you use a modem we provide, then our support team can help with any problems you might have with it and the modem will be covered by applicable warranties in the Consumer Guarantees Act 2020 and the further terms of the Hardware Supply Agreement. If you use your own modem, we cannot guarantee that it will be compatible with our services, or that it will remain compatible.

7.6
We and our network providers reserve the right to occasionally manage your modem to ensure a high level of security within any network. This may include such tasks as updating router firmware, updating DNS settings, and updating or changing general settings.

Speeds

7.7
Our plan speeds represent the theoretic maximum speeds at which you can send data to or receive data from the network. Actual speeds you experience depend on many different factors such as network providers' delivery of data to or from the network, your phone line quality, your equipment, number of users accessing the services in your home and many other factors. We cannot guarantee that our services will always be available or that they can always be used for any particular purpose.

7.8
If you are on an uncapped or unlimited plan, the total amount of data you can upload, or download is unlimited. We and/or the network providers may use traffic prioritisation policies for these plans to protect the network and improve the overall performance amongst our customers. Other factors may influence the speeds or latency you can achieve to servers nationally and internationally. Our control of these speeds is limited. Connections to servers outside our network providers' networks are on a 'best effort' basis. It may not be possible for you to achieve your desired or expected speeds or latency where you are connecting to equipment outside our control.

8. Term and termination

8.1
Where you wish to terminate a service, you must do so:

1. by emailing us at info@electrickiwi.co.nz or
2. by contacting us on live chat through our website:

We will then immediately end our agreement and stop supplying your services, unless you request the services be terminated at future date (in which case we will terminate your services and stop supplying your services from that requested date). If you are transferring the service to another provider, we recommend you let us know your new connection date and then let us know so we can terminate your service with us on that date.

8.2
We can terminate the provision of any service to you at any time if:

1. you have not complied with these terms and conditions, or with any other terms and conditions applicable to your use of the services (including any network provider's terms and conditions that apply to you);
2. we reasonably believe that you have supplied incorrect or misleading information to us;
3. you fail to pay any of our fees and charges in full and by the due date and after we have provided you at least 5 working days’ notice;
4. you are adjudicated bankrupt;
5. you or anyone who makes use of your service or your equipment (with or without your authorisation) damages our or a network provider's network or puts our or a network supplier's network at risk;
6. you harass, abuse or threaten our team members;
7. the network provider or any key service provider to us requires us to cease providing services to you under any agreement with them or our agreement with them comes to an end;
8. you no longer meet the eligibility rules for the services; or
9. we terminate or are entitled to terminate any other agreement we have with you.

8.3
If your services are terminated for any reason you must still pay us for your use of the services provided to you up to the date of termination which may also include charges to the end of your billing period.

9. Faults and call-out Services

9.1
We will try to resolve any fault that you report to us as quickly as possible. If we send a technician to your house and no fault is found, or the fault is with equipment in your home, there may be a minimum charge (such charge may vary from time-to-time). If we send a technician to your house and no one is home, they will leave a contact card. If you have not responded to this within 2 business days, the fault will be closed, and a callout fee may be charged.

10. Consumer protection laws and Liability

10.1
The Consumer Guarantees Act 2020 and the Fair-Trading Act 1986 apply alongside these terms. You can visit www.consumeraffairs.govt.nz to find out more about your rights under this legislation. Nothing in these terms and conditions (including this clause 10) limits any rights you may have under the Consumer Guarantees Act 2020 and/or the Fair-Trading Act 1986.

Forces outside our control

10.2
We strive to always provide quality services and to exercise reasonable skill and care in performing our obligations to you. However, in rare circumstances, we may be prevented from doing so because of an act of God, act of State, riot, insurrection, civil commotion, strike, sanctions, boycott, embargo or any other circumstance beyond our reasonable control. Other issues beyond our control (such as outages, network problems and problems with our network providers) may also prevent us from being able to supply services to you. If that happens, we will try to let you know about it as soon as we reasonably can. Where those circumstances prevent us from providing services to you, our obligations to you will be suspended in relation to the affected services and we are not liable to you in those circumstances.

10.3
You acknowledge that no network provider or third party whose network or telecommunications services we use to supply services to you (nor any officer, employee, contractor or agent of any such third party) is in any way liable to you in connection with any fault or defect in that network or those telecommunications services that affects our services. This clause is intended to confer a benefit which those third parties can enforce. This clause does not affect any rights or remedies available to you under the Consumer Guarantees Act 2020 or Fair-Trading Act 1986. For local fibre companies' liability to you when carrying out installations, please see your local fibre company's end user terms (referred to in the 'Internet services' section of these terms and conditions).

Our liability to you

10.4
If we or any of our officers, employees, contractors or agents are ever liable to you for losses arising from a breach of these terms and conditions or for our negligence, our maximum combined obligation to pay damages or losses is limited to $5,000 for any single event or series of closely related events and a total of $10,000 in respect of all events in any 12 month period.

10.5
We will not be liable to you for any indirect or consequential loss, or loss of profits or business or any similar claims. We are not liable for loss to the extent that it is caused or contributed to by you.

Your liability to us

10.6
You accept your liability to us for your breach of your agreement with us or your negligence. However, you are not liable for loss to the extent that it is caused or contributed to by us.

10.7
Your liability to us under clause 10.6 is limited to $5,000 for any single event or series of closely related events and a total of $10,000 in respect of all events in any 12-month period. This limitation does not apply to your obligation to pay any outstanding charges or for any loss or damage caused by fraud, wilful breach, or wilful damage.

Minimise your loss

10.8
If you suffer any loss because of your agreement with us, you must take reasonable steps to avoid or minimise your loss. We are not liable for any loss that results from your failure to take those reasonable steps. Also, we will never be liable to you for any indirect or consequential loss, or for any loss of profits, revenue, goodwill, or business.

11. Information and Privacy

Information we need from you

11.1
Our Privacy Policy (available on our website at https://electrickiwi.co.nz/privacy-policy) forms part of our agreement with you. It describes how we will collect, hold, use and disclose information and if applicable, how we will comply with the Privacy Act 2020.

11.2
We may change our Privacy Policy on 30 days' notice. This notice will be on our website and will include reasons for any change.

11.3
You must provide us with, and you authorise any other person who holds information about you or the members of your household and your property to disclose to us, any information we reasonably request in relation to our agreement with you. We may require information from you to confirm your identity and may require a copy of a form of identification, such as a driver’s licence.

11.4
Any information you provide to us must be correct and complete. You must let us know as soon as possible if any information you have previously provided to us becomes incorrect or changes.

11.5
You can ask us for access to any personal information we hold about you. If you believe that information is incorrect, you can ask us to correct that information.

Information we need from third parties

11.6
We may verify information or collect information about you, members of your household or your property, from:

1. other organisations or people such as credit agencies, any network provider and other suppliers;
2. debt recovery or credit checking agencies or our lawyers for the purpose of reporting on your payment history, collecting outstanding moneys or credit checking, and other suppliers in New Zealand or their agents for credit reference and credit checking purposes; and
3. any person in connection with any dispute organisation or scheme that we are a member of and any person to whom we are required to disclose such information either by law or in compliance with industry codes and standards,

and you agree that those other persons may retain and disclose such personal information for so long as is reasonably required for their lawful purposes.

11.7
Our officers, employees, contractors and agents, including debt recovery and credit checking agencies, to whom we may disclose your personal information may:

1. pass and disclose that information to other debt recovery or credit checking agencies and their subscribers;
2. use that information for the purposes of debt recovery or credit checking;
3. publish that information on their debt recovery or credit checking databases; and
4. provide that information to third parties for purposes of checking repayment history or creditworthiness.

Storing your personal information

11.8
We will keep your information secure and, for individuals, will hold your personal information in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

Using your information

11.9
You authorise us to use, disclose and match any information about you and your services for the following purposes, including:

1. for any purpose authorised by you, including communicating with authorised persons and alternate contacts
2. to confirm your identity
3. to supply internet and telephone services and any other products or services you have asked for e.g., third party technicians.
4. to administer your account (including invoicing you, sending notices or communicating with you)
5. to help improve our customer service, including monitoring and following up questions and complaints
6. to help develop and/or improve products and services
7. to inform or contact you about our products, brands, special offers, publications, and other promotions we think you may be interested in (including via email or other electronic communications)
8. to conduct market research, including to disclose to a market research organisation for the purpose of contacting you or conducting market research on our behalf
9. to meet the requirements of these terms and conditions, the law, industry rules and codes of practice
10. to meet the requirements of our upstream suppliers
11. to disclose to our related companies, as defined in the Companies Act 2020
12. for credit checking, credit reporting or debt collection, which may involve disclosure to a credit reporting agency. This information may be used by the credit reporting agency to update and maintain credit information files and may, in turn, be accessed by its customers
13. to avoid prejudice to the maintenance of the law by any public sector agency, including the prevention, detection, investigation, prosecution, and punishment of offences
14. to verify your credit and payment history with your previous internet or telephone supplier
15. to disclose to a network provider for the purpose of installing, maintaining, or operating the network or communicating with you, and
16. to disclose to the Commerce Commission, or any other government agency or regulatory body, industry body or relevant industry complaints scheme.

11.10
In addition, there may be occasions where we disclose your information in other ways that are in accordance with the Privacy Act 2020.

Communications we have with you

11.11
We may record any communications we have with you, your authorised person or alternate contact to:

1. maintain accurate records of our dealings with you
2. confirm our contractual commitments to each other, and
3. help resolve any disputes between us.

11.12
We may also use recordings to train our employees and authorised agents and/or to monitor the level of service they are providing.

12. Complaints

12.1
If you have a complaint against us (other than a complaint about the nature or level of your reported electricity usage) please tell us as soon as possible by logging into your Electric Kiwi account and sending us a message through live chat via the My Account section on the website https://electrickiwi.co.nz or emailing us at info@electrickiwi.co.nz. Our dispute resolution process is free.

12.2
Once we have received your complaint, we will reply to you within two business days to confirm we have received it. We'll also decide whether we think your complaint is related to network provider services, or our service.

12.3
If it takes us longer than 20 business days to resolve your problem, we will contact you to let you know why, how much longer it will take, and to discuss your options.

12.4
If you are not satisfied, we are a member of Telecommunications Dispute Resolution (TDR), which is a free and independent complaints resolution service. If for some reason you are dissatisfied about the resolution of your complaint, or we can't resolve your complaint or problem within 20 business days, you can take your complaint to TDR (www.tdr.org.nz.) (Free Phone: 0508 98 98 98 98). You have 12 months to lodge a complaint with TDR from the time when you first discovered the event or issue giving rise to the complaint. You can also take your complaint to the courts or the disputes tribunal. Note: all complaints must be registered with Electric Kiwi first before you can refer your complaint to the TDR.

12.5
Electric Kiwi is a signatory to the NZ Telecommunications Forum Customer Complaints Code. For more information on the Customer Complaints Code, see www.tcf.org.nz.

12.6
If you dispute the correctness of charges on your invoice, we will not terminate our services for non-payment of the disputed portion of your invoice until the matter has been dealt with through our dispute resolution process. This will not prevent termination for any of the other reasons set out in our agreement with you.

12.7
You must continue to pay any undisputed amounts to us while we are considering your complaint.

13. Contacting you

13.1
We may send any notice or invoice to you by using the email you have provided to us or via the My Account section of our website. Notices are deemed received the day after they are sent.

13.2
You need to let us know if any of your email contact details change.

14. Joint Accounts

14.1
If more than one person is named as the customer on your account, each person is individually responsible to us under our agreement with you. We can require any of those people to meet the obligations under our agreement with you, including payment of any amounts owing.

15. Changes to our Agreement

15.1
We may change our agreement with you at any time. We will notify you of these upcoming changes on your next invoice or by email (including a link to the updated version of our agreement with you). We will only notify you of any change to any special terms that will continue to apply to you.

15.2
Any changes to our agreement with you will take effect from the first day of the month following the date of the invoice or email notifying you of the changes. From that date the updated terms and conditions will be made publicly available on our website at https://electrickiwi.co.nz/legal/broadband-terms-and-conditions/.

Beneficial/neutral changes

15.3
We can make changes to these terms and conditions, our fees and charges, our plan documents and any other part of our agreement if those changes will benefit you, or will not be detrimental to you, at any time without giving you notice.

Detrimental changes

15.4
If you are on a fixed contract term and we increase the price for the services you use, or if we make any change that negatively affects your use of our services, then you will be allowed to cancel your fixed contract without paying any early termination fees. If you are not on a fixed term, then you will be given the chance to terminate your agreement with us before any such changes take effect.

16. General

Assignment

16.1
You must not assign your rights under our agreement with you. We can transfer our rights and obligations under our agreement with you to anyone else. We will notify you if we do so.

Delay

16.2
A delay in exercising any right is not a waiver of that right. A failure to exercise a right on any occasion does not prevent any subsequent exercise of that right.

Applicable law

16.3
These terms and conditions are governed by New Zealand law.

17. Defined Terms

Definitions

17.1
What some of the words used in this document mean:

1. 'business day' means any day not including a Saturday or Sunday or any public holiday.
2. 'equipment' means any hardware, software or other infrastructure used in connection with a service.
3. 'fair use policy' means our fair use policy, available at the end of this document, and as amended from time to time.
4. ‘Hardware Supply Agreement’ means the Electric Kiwi Hardware Supply terms.
5. 'internet services' means services that provide internet access and email and other services provided in conjunction with internet access.
6. 'network' means the telecommunications system used to provide the services to you and other customers.
7. 'network provider' means Vocus New Zealand Limited, Chorus New Zealand Limited, Spark New Zealand Trading Limited, local fibre companies, and any third party with whom we have an arrangement to resell services.
8. 'plan' means one of the different levels (by reference to such factors as we decide, for example mode, price, speed, volumes of data, regional or other availability and minimum term) of services offered by us. These may change from time to time.
9. 'plan document' means any document published by us describing the characteristics of any plan. These may change from time to time.
10. 'pricing plan' means the relevant pricing plan(s) for services that applies to you, as published or advised by us. These may change from time to time.
11. 'regular fixed charge' means a charge that is fixed, and is not calculated by reference to volumes of data transferred or stored, or time online, or other variable factors. Examples include monthly payments for internet access, and monthly charges for call bundles.
12. 'residential customer' means a natural person who acquires internet services or telephone services for personal, household or domestic use.
13. 'services' means the internet services specified in each plan document and such other internet services as we agree to supply. References to services include the sale or rental of equipment.
14. 'we', 'us' and 'our' refer to Electric Kiwi, and where the context permits, includes their officers, employees, contractors, agents, successors and assignees.
15. 'you' and 'your' refer to you, our customer.

Headings are for reference only and do not affect the interpretation of these terms and conditions. If any clause of these terms and conditions is ruled invalid in court, it will not affect the rest of our agreement with you, and all other

terms and conditions will remain in full force and effect.

Fair Use Policy

Our Fair Use Policy has been developed by reference to average customer profiles and estimated customer usage of our services. From time to time, we and/or our network providers may monitor usage patterns. If your usage of our services;

1. materially exceeds estimated use patterns over any week or month;
2. is inconsistent with either normal usage patterns and/or the types of uses and purposes for which we communicate that the services are to be used for, and/or;.

3. includes activities such as auto-dialling, continuously call (or text)-forwarding, bulk texting by machines, automated texting, tele-marketing, call centres, and use of cellular trunking units (CTUs), then your usage will be excessive and/or unreasonable in accordance with this Fair Use Policy and we or a network provider may contact you to advise you that your usage is in breach of our Fair Use Policy.

   We or a network provider may then request that you stop or alter your usage to come within our Fair Use Policy. If your excessive or unreasonable usage continues after receipt of a request to stop or alter the nature of such usage, we or a network provider may without further notice, apply charges to your account for the excessive and/or unreasonable element of your usage; suspend, modify or restrict your use of the services and/or withdraw your access to the services.

   We may publish on our website additional terms, requirements and/or policies relating to fair use that apply to some or all of the services which will provide further rules and details around how such services can be used. We will do this to help us prevent spamming, bullying or fraud and to ensure that excessive use of such services does not prevent our customers from enjoying such services (for example, by affecting the network).