Introduction
These Terms and Conditions set out the agreement between Earth Broadband Limited (company number 14048463) whose registered address is 4 Pedlars Walk Ringwood England BH24 1EZ ("Earth", "we", "us" or "our") and the Customer ("you", "your").
Please read these Terms and Conditions before you place your order and start using our Service as they are part of the legally binding Contract between you and us. You agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions on placing your order with us through our Website, by phoning us or through a third party representative. If you are not placing an order for yourself you confirm you have the authority to enter into these Terms and Conditions on a customer's behalf.
The Service will be delivered to the address stated in the email confirming your order ("Order Confirmation"). Payment of the charges for our Service will be your responsibility.
These are the Terms and Conditions on which we supply our Service (“Our Agreement”) to you so please make sure you understand them. By using our Service you are agreeing to these Terms and Conditions, our Privacy Notice and Pricing, which you can find and read on the Earth Broadband Website earthbroadband.com.
The key provisions are:
- The Services we provide: We will tell you the Service we provide in the Confirmation of your Order.
- Your right to change your mind: If you change your mind about taking the Service in the first 14 days you can cancel the Contract in accordance with clause 5.
- Your minimum commitment: Except where you have the right to change your mind, you commit to take the Service from us for the minimum Fixed Term period set out in our Confirmation of your order. If you choose to cancel the Contract early or we cancel the Contract early because of your fault, you may have to pay a Cancellation Charge. Please see clause 7 for more details.
- Changes to the Service and the Contract: We may change the Service and the Contract from time to time. Where we think the changes will be to your material detriment, we will give you notice first, and, if during the initial fixed term, you will have the right to cancel the Contract in accordance with clause 10.
1. Defined terms
In these Terms the following words have the following meanings:
"Broadband Services" means the Fibre broadband services that we provide.
"Call Services" means the VOIP call services that we provide.
"Charges" means our charges for any Equipment and the Service which may consist of a subscription charge, a connection charge, installation charges and charges for any additional services that may be required.
"Contract" means the Order Confirmation, these Terms and Conditions and our Privacy Policy.
"Equipment" means any equipment that we own or is part of our network including equipment that may belong to our third-party suppliers, including any broadband router, boosters, and cabling that we may provide you.
"Fixed Term" means the minimum term as stated in your Order Confirmation.
"Go-Live" means the date the Service becomes available to a new Earth customer.
"Order Confirmation" means our acceptance notification that confirms the Service and Equipment that we will provide, the Charges, the start date of the Service and the Fixed Period.
"Rolling Term Contract" means a Contract between you and us which rolls over monthly.
"Service(s)" means the Broadband Services and or the VOIP Call Services or any other Services we have agreed to provide to you as set out in the Order Confirmation and on your bill together with any additional services we make available to you.
"Terms and Conditions(s)" means these residential Broadband and VOIP Call terms and conditions.
"Trees" means the trees we will plant every month for each Earth customer.
"Website" means earthbroadband.com.
"Working Day" means any day other than Saturday, Sunday or any day which is a public holiday in England.
"you" and "your" means the customer named in the order application process.
2. Our Services
- 2.1 Earth is an internet service provider that provides Fibre Broadband and VOIP Call Services to residential customers in the United Kingdom.
- 2.2 We aim to always provide a fault free Service, using reasonable care and skill.
- 2.3 We offer Fixed Term contracts and provide you with an optional router. If you leave, you must at your own expense return the router to us in good working order with all the cables and the original box.
- 2.4 You can find the speed of our products on our website earthbroadband.com.
- 2.5 We can not guarantee that there will be no disruption to the Service we provide due to the nature of the Service and the Equipment, including the need for regular maintenance.
- 2.6 The exact speeds you will get depend on the devices you use, how your router is placed and the distance between your home and the cabinet on your street.
- 2.7 Our pricing can be found on our website earthbroadband.com.
- 2.8 You can contact us by emailing us at [email protected], calling us on 020 4587 3527, or by visiting our Website and completing the “Contact Us” form.
- 2.9 If we need to contact you about our Service, we will do so by writing to you at the email address you have provided to us in your Order Confirmation. Please do let us know if your contact details change.
3. Your Order
3.1 You can order our Service with an Earth representative or through a third party by phone or by registering your interest via our Website.
3.2 When you register with us you agree that you:
- are at least 18 years old;
- agree to provide your name and address and that you consent to allow us to provide these details to a third party for identity and credit checking;
- are the account holder for your household's existing telecommunication services or are authorised by the account holder to register for our Service;
- will only order the Service for your domestic use;
- will look after any Equipment we provide;
- will only connect safe equipment to our network that will not harm it or our other customers equipment;
- will provide accurate information about yourself when registering with us and update the information as necessary to keep it current, including telling us if you move to a new address. Please ensure the information you provide is correct as any inaccuracies will solely be your responsibility;
- agree to make payment for the Service by monthly direct debit.
3.3 You may request, by giving us 10 days notice a change to an order for the Service (or part of an order) and you will be responsible for any additional charges that may apply.
3.3.1 If you request a change to your order after it has been submitted to Openreach or one of our network partners, you must wait a further 2 weeks to get connected. You will be responsible for any charges by Openreach or our network partner for your amended order.
Earth is not obliged to proceed with any change that you request, in accordance with this clause.
3.4 If you wish to make a change to your Service, please contact us. We will let you know if the change is possible. If it is possible we will let you know any changes to the price of the Service and the timing of supply of the Service. If a change is requested before the end of the Contract term there may be an early cancellation fee applied.
4. Acceptance of Your Order
4.1 Your order will be accepted by us when we email your Order Confirmation to you, at which point a Contract will come into existence between you and us.
4.2 The Order Confirmation will state the Service which you have ordered and which we agree to supply to you, according to these Terms and Conditions.
4.3 The Service will continue for a Fixed Term from the activation date. You must pay for the Service for the whole of the agreed Fixed Term unless you or we terminate this Contract in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
4.4 We may contact you at our discretion to request you make a refundable £1.00 payment by debit card or credit card which will then confirm your authority for us to hold your card details as an alternative payment method.
4.5 We are not liable for delays with your order. If you order is delayed, we will notify you as soon as possible and work alongside our network partners to provide you with the next available date.
5. 14 Days Cooling-off Period
5.1 You have a legal right to cancel your order by contacting Earth within the period of 14 days starting from the day after you sign up for the Service.
5.2 Your request to cancel must be in writing to [email protected].
5.3 If, within the cancellation period you request activation of your Service and we have started to provide the Service, you will have to pay us the cost of the Service you have received up to the point when you notify us of cancellation, including the activation fee, any delivery charges for the router, engineer appointments or work carried out by our network partners.
5.4 Any Equipment sent by Earth must be returned to us within 7 Working Days, in accordance with clause 7.10, or a fee of £60.00 shall become payable using the payment method registered with us. The Equipment must be returned in good working order, in the original box with all the cables and wiring.
6. Payments
6.1 You agree to pay the Charges (inclusive of VAT) for the Service we provide you with and all other Charges that apply to you under the Contract, by direct debit using the bank account details you provided to us when you ordered our Service.
6.2 There may be a one-off charge of £19.99 for delivery of the router and connection which will be confirmed in your order confirmation email.
6.3 If your bank details change you must tell us immediately. Failure to update your payment details after having changed your bank account will be a breach of the Contract and we may suspend or cancel the Service. For each payment that fails a late payment charge of £10.00 will be applied.
6.4 On or after placing your order we may contact you to confirm whether any engineer or installation charges apply to connecting the Service.
6.5 You will be billed and the payment taken 5 Working Days after you have signed up (or, if this is not a Working Day, on the next Working Day) for the Service you order or on an alternative date as has been agreed between us. If you wish to change the date of payment please email us at [email protected].
6.6 Your bills shall be sent to your registered email address and will be made available on your online account. For the first month only, the payment will be calculated on a pro-rata basis from the date of activation of the Service and will be collected by direct debit 5 Working Days after signing up for the Service.
6.6.1 Your first bill will include the pro-rata Service fee for the month you Go-Live in and any other additional fees stated in your order confirmation email.
6.7 We may at our discretion accept payment by card, but additional administration fees may be applied. If you do not have enough money in your account, you will be responsible for any bank charges and for each failed payment a Payment Fail fee of £10.00 will be applied.
6.7.1 We may at our discretion ask you to pay a refundable £1.00 by debit card or credit card. If your monthly direct debit payment fails and you default on your bill payments we may use these card details as an alternative payment method.
6.8 Our fees may include the following:
Early Termination Charge The fee we will charge at our discretion if your Service ends while there is still a minimum commitment period that applies to it and will be calculated based on £20.00 for every remaining month of the Contract.
Acquisition Fee The one-off fee of £130.00 we will charge if you signed up to us through a third party and your Service ends while there is still a minimum commitment period that applies to it.
Payment Fail Fee The one-off fee every time your payment method fails for any reason.
6.9 If you do not pay us for our Service by the due date, we may charge you either a:
- a late payment charge; or
- interest on the overdue amount at a rate of 6% per annum above the Bank of England's base rate from time to time. Such interest shall accrue daily from the due date until actual payment of the overdue amount. You the customer shall pay the interest together with the overdue amount.
6.10 We reserve the right to terminate the Contract with immediate effect and charge you the Early Termination Charge if you default with your payments.
6.11 If necessary, we may ask a debt collection agency to collect the payment on our behalf and you will be responsible for the reasonable costs we have to pay to the agency. Such costs shall be added to the overdue payment, with any late payment interest that applies.
6.12 If you think an invoice is incorrect, please contact us within 48 hours of the date of the invoice. Once the dispute is resolved we reserve the right to charge you interest on the correctly invoiced sums from the original due date.
7. Cancellation
7.1 After the Cooling Off Period has expired, you may cancel the Contract at any time on 30 days notice by sending an email to [email protected]. or by submitting the form at www.earthbroadband.com/support/submit-ticket.
7.2 If you choose to cancel the contract:
- after the Cooling Off Period and before the expiry of your Fixed Term you will need to pay us the full amount for Service up to the end of your notice period, the appropriate Early Termination Charge of £20.00 for every remaining month left on the Fixed Term, the one-off Acquision Fee of £130.00 and all outstanding payments on your account.
7.3 We may cancel the Contract or suspend the provision of Services to you immediately on notice if:
- 5 days have passed where you have failed to pay any Charges due to us after we have sent you a reminder to pay;
- you become bankrupt, enter any arrangement with your creditors, or if any legal action is taken or threatened against your property;
- we have reason to believe that you have provided us with false, inaccurate, or misleading information or are using our Services fraudulently.
7.4 Where we cancel the Contract due to your fault under clause 7.3, we will be entitled to charge you a cancellation fee, in addition to any other charges you are liable to pay under this Contract up to the date of cancellation.
7.5 We may temporarily suspend the Services or part of them immediately on notice to you if we need to:
- carry out maintenance, technical repair, upgrades, or emergency work; and;
- take any measures to protect the security of our network.
7.6 If we suspend the Services or part of them under this Contract, we will give you as much notice as possible, minimise the impact of the suspension on your use of the Services and Equipment and restore the Services to you as soon as we can.
7.7 During any temporary suspension, you may still have to pay the Charges that you owe us.
7.8 30 days before the end of your Fixed Term Contract we will send you notice by email confirming the date on which we will automatically renew the terms of your Fixed Term Contract.
7.9 You can cancel the Contract, under clause 7.8, at any time by giving us 30 days written notice without incurring any early cancellation fees, but you will have to pay us the full cost of the Services you have received.
7.10 On cancellation of the Contract or the Services you will be charged a fee of £35.00 to disconnect the Service and you must within 7 Working Days return to us, at your expense, the router in its original box, in good working order with all the original cables. You must attach your full name and address on the outside of the parcel, without causing any damage to the box, and email proof of postage to [email protected]. Our returns address is:
Earth Broadband Returns
4 Pedlars Walk
Ringwood
Hampshire
BH24 1EZ
If you do not comply with this clause or the router is returned damaged with missing items you will be charged a fee of £60.00 using the payment method you registered with us.
8. Engineer Visits
8.1 We will confirm with you the date and time an engineer will attend your property. The engineer may phone you approximately 30 minutes before their arrival, at the address given.
8.2 You must contact us 48 hours before your appointment if you wish to cancel or rearrange it.
8.3 We will charge you a missed appointment fee of £80.00 for an engineer visit, if:
- you provide an incorrect address;
- the engineer is unable to gain access;
- on reporting a fault, an engineer attends your property and discovers the fault was not due to our Services or Equipment or, the reported fault was not present;
- you are not at the property and miss the appointment through your own fault.
9. Liability
9.1 Under the Contract, if things go wrong, we will always try to put them right.
- We will always be responsible for:
- death or personal injury from our negligence;
- fraud;
- any rights available to you as a consumer, for which we must always be liable by law; and
- anything we are liable for under the terms of the law.
9.2 We will never be responsible for:
9.2.1 any business losses. The Service provided to you under this Contract is for domestic and private use by you or members of your household. If you use the Services for any commercial, business or re-sale purpose we will have no liability to you for any loss of profit, loss of business, business interruption, or loss of business opportunity.
9.2.2 information passing over our network. We have no control over the data which passes to you or from you over the internet and we are not responsible for any loss or damage to that data.
9.2.3 any equipment arriving late. If your delivery is delayed, we will work alongside our couriers and provide you with the next available date.
9.3 Where we are responsible for loss or damage under the Contract:
- you must always do your best to reduce any losses, damage or costs you may incur; and
- our total liability to you for the loss or damage you suffer as a result of breaching this Contract shall be limited to the total price you paid under the Contract.
10. Changes
10.1 If we make any changes to our Telecoms Service, the Equipment, or the Contract, which is likely to cause you a material detriment
- we will give you at least 30 calendar days notice of the change by email; and
- you will be entitled to cancel the Service and the Contract by giving us 10 days notice but you will need to tell us you want to cancel within 30 days of the date of the notice that we send you.
10.2 From time to time we may need to change the Contract:
- for compliance with any law, regulation, regulatory requirement, licence, guidance, or code of practice; or
- to reflect changes in technology, our prices, our business, the Services, or the Equipment including any changes to our suppliers.
10.3 On giving prior notice to you, Earth reserves the right to increase your bills where one of our network partners increases their prices. Any change to charges under this clause 10.3 will not give you the right to cancel this agreement, without paying a fee for leaving early, unless it significantly disadvantages you
11. Returning Faulty Equipment
11.1 Please contact our customer service number on 020 4587 3527 to report faulty equipment.You must return any item of Equipment that you either:
- report to us as faulty;
- we tell you is faulty; or
- requires replacement for technical reasons.
You must attach your full name and address on the outside of the parcel, without causing any damage to the box, and email proof of postage to [email protected]. Our returns address is:
Earth Broadband Returns
4 Pedlars Walk
Ringwood
Hampshire
BH24 1EZ
11.2 If within 7 Working Days of us replacing faulty Equipment you have not returned the faulty Equipment, we may either:
- suspend or restrict access to any Service that we provide to you until the relevant Equipment is returned; or
- seek to recover our costs in respect of that Equipment.
12. Giving Back
12.1 When you sign up as an Earth Broadband customer to use the Service we will plant 5 trees every month and remove plastic from the ocean.
12.2 The trees for planting will be gifted to local communities around the world to manage. They will provide wildlife habitats, support biodiversity, enhance the landscape and offset CO2 emissions.
12.3 We will let you know where the trees have been planted and how many have been planted.
12.4 On giving notice to you, we reserve the right the alter the number of trees planted each month in your name.
13. Moving Home
13.1 If you are moving to a new address, please email us at [email protected]. with at least 2 weeks notice of the change of address so that we can tell you what options you have for your Service and what charges you may have to pay.
13.2 There will be a charge of £35.00 for us to disconnect the Service at your old address and any bills that are outstanding must be settled.
13.3 If you ask us to provide our Service to your new address the transfer of Service will be subject to you taking your existing router with you to your new address and depending on the Service availability in the new area you may be charged for any work our network partners may be required to carry out.
13.4 If you do not take your existing router to your new address you will need to pay £60.00 for a new router and the delivery costs.
13.5 A new Fixed Term Contract for Service will start from the date of activation at the new address.
14. Intellectual Property Rights
14.1 Ownership of all intellectual property rights in the Equipment and all software or hardware systems required to use and operate, or which form part of, any of the Service are the exclusive property of us or our licensors.
14.2 Your right to use the Equipment and any such software and hardware systems are subject to the Contract. You agree not to use the Equipment and any software and hardware systems for any purpose other than using and accessing the Service. Except as expressly permitted by copyright law, you have no right to copy, adapt, reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, modify, or adapt the Equipment or any such software and hardware systems in whole or in part.
15. Third Party Services
15.1 If you choose to purchase additional, paid for services that are available to you via our own Service from a third party, we will have no liability to you for the quality or performance of that third party service.
16. Indemnity
16.1 The customer will indemnify Earth for any sums paid out, or for any losses relating to the following:
16.1.1 costs and expenses incurred for the purposes of remedying any breach by you of the Terms and Conditions, including (but not limited to) costs and expenses incurred for debt recovery and/or legal proceedings.
16.1.2 any claims of legal proceedings which are threatened against Earth by a third party in respect of (but not limited to) breach of contract or fraud, which are attributable to your use of the Service.
17. Your Privacy
17.1 Protecting your privacy is important to us. Please read our Privacy Notice at www.earthbroadband.com/legal/privacy to understand our practices concerning your personal data and how we will treat it. By using the Service and our Website you confirm that you understand we will process your personal data in accordance with the Privacy Notice.
18. Complaints
18.1 We aim to provide you with the best level of service.
18.2 If you are not happy with our service please email us at [email protected] or by using the contact us form available on our website www.earthbroadband.com/support/submit-ticket.
18.3 We will try to resolve your complaint during an initial call. If this is not possible, we will agree a course of action with you, with clear timeframes.
18.4 If within 8 weeks of receiving your complaint we have not resolved it then you may wish to contact the Citizens Advice consumer helpline on 0808 223 1133 for advice and guidance.
19. General
19.1 You may not transfer your rights or obligations under this Contract to anyone else.
19.2 We can transfer our rights or obligations under this Contract between us to any company, firm or person provided this does not affect your rights under this Contract in a negative way.
19.3 Each clause in this Contract operates separately. If any clause can not be enforced, the remaining clauses will still apply.
19.4 No third party has any rights to enforce the Contract.
19.5 Where we or you are required under this Contract to give notice in writing, notice can be given by email.
19.6 If either party fails to exercise a right they may have under these conditions, it does not mean that right is waived.
19.7 We are not responsible for failing to do what we promise under the Contract if this is due to matters beyond our reasonable control (such events include but are not limited to severe weather conditions, war, government action, epidemic, or terrorist activity)
19.8 This Contract is governed by and subject to the laws of England and Wales. If you are a resident of Scotland or Northern Ireland, you may bring a claim in the local courts there.