TERMS OF USE
By participating on the Site, whether as a Member or Guest, you agree to be bound by the following Terms of Use.
1.Definitions
In these Terms of Use, the following definitions will be used:
"Business Day"
means a day on which banks are open for general business in Melbourne,
Australia, other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday.
"GST" has the meaning given to it in A New Tax System (Goods and Services Tax) Act 1999.
"Guest" means a person who is not a Member but who is visiting the Site.
"Home Exchange"
means an agreement where one Member agrees to allow another Member to
stay in the first Member's accommodation and in return the second
Member agrees to allow the first Member to live in the second Member's
accommodation.
"Member" means a person who has paid the prescribed subscription fee to become a member of the Site for the period in question.
"Site" means each home exchange
website operated by us including without limitation YourHomeForMine.com,
ChristianHomeSwap, and HouseSwapHolidays.com.au.
"Third Party" means persons other than yourself and us.
"User" means a person who participates on the Site, whether as a Member or as a Guest.
"We and us" means Itchyfoot Pty Ltd ACN 13 154 572 577, the owner of the Site.
"Your Information"
means any information you provide to us or other Users, whether in the
registration or listing process or otherwise, including without
limitation such information provided in any public message area or
through any email feature connected with the Site. Your Information
includes (without limitation) the description of your accommodation
listed for exchange on the Site as well as any content you post on
other web pages within the Site.
2.Rules Applicable to All Users of the Site
The following rules apply to Members, Guests and other users of the Site.
Manipulation: You must not manipulate or interfere with Member's listings.
Access and Interference: You
must not use any automatic device, or manual process to monitor or copy
the whole or any part of the site without our prior express written
permission. You must not use any device, software or routine to
interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Site
or any transaction being conducted through the Site. You must not take
any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large
load on our infrastructure. You must not copy, reproduce, alter,
modify, create derivative works, or publicly display any content
(except for Your Information) from the Site owned by a Third Party
without the prior express written permission or the Third Party.
Legal Compliance:
You must comply with all applicable domestic laws (including common
law), international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations
regarding your use of our service and your listing and any Home
Exchange on the Site. Without limitation, you must ensure that your
activities, items you list, and Your Information do not violate the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Commonwealth), the Trade Practices Act 1974 (Commonwealth)
or other relevant state-based fair trading legislation. For more
information about this legislation and other legislation which may
apply to you, please refer to http://www.austlii.edu.au.
Notwithstanding the successful conclusion of a Home Exchange on the
Site, you must ensure strict compliance with any particular formalities
which, if not complied with, will either render a transaction void or
unlawful. You alone, and not us, are responsible for ensuring that your
activities are lawful.
Code of Conduct: You agree to behave in an ethical and polite manner at all times.
Disruption of Website Functionality: You must not attempt to disrupt the functionality of the Site.
Unlawful Access to Website: You must not attempt to gain unlawful access to the data stored on the Site in any way.
Purpose for Use of Website:
You must not use the Site to promote a business, service or product
(other than a Home Exchange). You agree to use the Site for the
purposes of seeking and entering into a Home Exchange and for no other
purpose whatsoever.
Spam: You
must not send or facilitate the sending of spam to any of our Members
or Guests or send spam via or in association with the Site. "Spam" is
email that has been sent without the permission of the person who
receives it, that relates to the buying, selling or trading of goods or
services (other than a Home Exchange). If you receive any spam or see
any spam on the public forums on the Site, please notify our Customer
Care team at info@YourHomeForMine.com.
3.Membership
Membership Eligibility: Our
services are available only to, and may only be used by, Members who
can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Without
limiting the foregoing, our services are not available to persons under
18 years of age. By applying to join as a Member you are indicating to
us that you are 18 years of age or older. Our services are not
available to temporarily or indefinitely suspended Members. If you do
not qualify, please do not use our services.
Fees: To become a Member, individuals must fill out the Registration Form and pay a subscription fee in the
amount prescribed from time to time, being for a one-year membership. Unless
otherwise specified by us, the prescribed annual subscription fees is exclusive
of GST and applicants must also pay an amount equal to GST and any other taxes
or duties payable when paying the subscription fee. Payments must be made via
the secure payment facility on the Site.
Membership Non-Transferable: Membership is not transferable.
Membership Renewal: We will not automatically renew a
Member's membership. To renew your membership, you must pay the relevant
subscription fee by logging into the 'My Details' section and selecting 'pay
now'.
Membership Termination: We
can terminate your membership at any time if you are deemed by us in
our absolute discretion to have breached any of the Terms of Use listed
here or are deemed by us in our absolute discretion for any other
reason to be unsuitable. Without limiting the foregoing, we may, in our
sole discretion, suspend or terminate your membership if we suspect (in
our sole discretion) that you have engaged in fraudulent activity in
connection with the Site. A refund might be awarded to you in the event
of such termination, but solely at our discretion. Any such refund will
be in Australian dollars.
Cancellation of Membership: At
any time you may choose to cancel your membership to the Site for any
reason. If you wish to cancel your membership, simply email the
Customer Care Team at info@YourHomeForMine.com to advise.
Provided you have not breached these Terms of Use, you will receive a
pro rated refund if you choose to cancel your membership within the
membership period you have paid for. The refund will be in Australian
dollars.
Termination and Suspension:
Without limiting other remedies available to us at law, in equity or
under these Terms of Use, we may, in our sole discretion, immediately
issue a warning, temporarily suspend, indefinitely suspend or terminate
your membership and refuse to provide our services to you if:
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We deem (in our absolute discretion) that you have breached these Terms of Use in any respect;
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We are unable to verify or authenticate any information you provide to us, or
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We believe that your actions may cause legal liability for you, other Users or us.
4.Rules Applicable to Members
The following terms apply to Members only.
Code of Conduct:
All Members are to behave in an ethical and polite manner at all times.
Members are not to use abusive, offensive or defamatory material either
on, via or in connection with the Site, whether on a listing, on an
email or otherwise.
Security: It
is your responsibility to ensure that your user name and password are
secure. You agree not to allow any other person to use your user name
or password and you also agree not to disclose your user name or
password to anybody.
Offers:
If you offer accommodation for exchange, you are certifying that you
own or rent the accommodation you have listed on the Site, that you
have the legal right to enter into and complete the proposed Home
Exchange, that you are aged 18 years or over and if you rent the
accommodation that you have obtained the landlord's written consent to
the proposed Home Exchange.
Exchanges: If you agree to a Home Exchange, you are obligated to complete the transaction unless the transaction is prohibited by law.
Your Information:
You warrant that Your Information is accurate and correct. If any of
Your Information is inaccurate you are solely responsible. You must
ensure that all of Your Information is up-to-date. You are solely
responsible for Your Information. Your Information must not:
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Be false, inaccurate or misleading.
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Be fraudulent.
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Infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret
or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy.
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Violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation
(including, but not limited to, those governing consumer protection,
unfair competition, criminal law, ant-discrimination or trade
practices/fair trading laws).
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Be defamatory, libellous, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing.
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Be obscene or contain child pornography or, be otherwise adult in
nature or harmful to or illegal for access by persons under the age of
18 years.
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Contain any content that may be considered to be prohibited content for the purposes of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992 (Commonwealth) (for more information about this legislation, please refer to the Internet Industry Association's Codes of Practice located at http://www.iia.net.au or http://www.aba.gov.au).
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Contain any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, cancelbots,
easter eggs or other computer programming routines that may damage,
modify, delete, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously
intercept, access without authority or expropriate any system, data or
personal information.
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Create liability for us or cause us to lose (in whole or in part) the
services of our ISPs or other suppliers, or
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Link directly or indirectly to websites that you do not have a right to
link to or that it would be unlawful for you to link to.
ID: You agree not to register for membership under any other name but your own name.
License:
Solely to enable us to use the information you supply us with, so that
we are not violating any rights you might have in that information, you
agree to grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable,
royalty-free, sub-licensable (through multiple tiers) right to exercise the copyright,
publicity, and database rights (but no other rights) you have in Your
Information, in any media now known or not currently known, with respect to Your
Information. Without limiting the foregoing, we may in our descretion and
without further cost to you, republish Your Information on other websites
operated by us, and other Pack Your Pags Pty Ltd publications and media prepared
by us. You warrant that we are
entitled to publish Your Information any where without limiting
the forgoing. For example, we may run a special feature on your
listed home on the Site and/or in flyers and other publication and
media.
Feedback Rules:
If you leave feedback for another Member, you must ensure that the
material you publish is free from any offensive language or content.
Abusive or defamatory feedback will not be tolerated under any
circumstances.
5.Limitation of Liability
Except where otherwise stated, the following terms apply to all Users.
Mere Facilitator:
The Site acts as a venue to allow Members to offer Home Exchanges to
other Members. We are not involved in the actual transaction between
Members. As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety or
legality of the offers or content posted or provided on, via or in
connection with the Site, the truth or accuracy or the listings or the
ability of Members to offer or enter into Home Exchanges. We cannot
ensure and do not represent that a Member will actually complete an agreed Home Exchange or act lawfully or reasonably in using the Site.
Home Exchange Responsibility: As a Member you agree that you are responsible for any Home Exchanges you organise
with any other party via the Site. You agree that you will not hold us
liable in the event that problems arise in connection with any Home
Exchange you enter into. It is your responsibility to ensure that the
Home Exchange goes successfully. We disclaim all liability in
connection with Home Exchanges and information provided on, via or in
connection with the Site or an actual or proposed Home Exchange. Under
no circumstances are we responsible for any loss or damages incurred in
connection with a Home Exchange. Home Exchanges are strictly a matter
between Members participating in the exchange.
Release:
If you (or any of your associates or related parties) have a dispute
with one or more Members or Guests, you (and your associates and
related parties) release us (and our officers, directors, agents,
affiliates, parents, subsidiaries and employees) from all claims,
demands and damages (actual, special, direct, indirect and
consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, foreseen or unforeseen,
suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, arising out of or
in any way connected with such dispute. Without limiting the foregoing,
we accept no responsibility for loss of or damage to property
(including accommodation) arising in connection with a Home Exchange.
Information Control:
We do not control, endorse or approve the items, information or content
provided by other Users made available on, via or in connection with
the Site. You may find other Users' information to be offensive,
harmful, inaccurate, or deceptive. Please use caution and common sense
when using the Site. Please note that there may be a risk of dealing
with underage persons or people acting under false pretence. We are not
responsible for any material posted on the Site by Members or Third
Parties. We simply facilitate Home Exchange communication through the
publication of listings which are written by Members. We recommend that
you verify the accuracy of information provided on, via or in
connection with the Site by making independent enquiries, including
contacting the Member and any referees they have nominated.
No Warranty:
We provide the Site and services on an "as is" basis and without any
warranty or condition, express, implied or statutory. To the extent
permitted by law, we specifically disclaim any implied warranties of
title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and
non-infringement. Furthermore we do not guarantee continuous,
uninterrupted or secure access to our services, and operation of our
site may be interfered with by numerous factors outside our control.
Liability Limit:
To the fullest extent permissible at law, we, our affiliates and
related entities expressly limit our liability to you in connection
with the Site (including without limitation its liability for breach of
a non-excludable condition or warranty implied by virtue of any
legislation) to $100 (or in the case of a Member to the greater of $100
and a refund of the fees paid by the Member in the 12 months prior to
the action giving rise to liability). In no event shall we, our
affiliates or related entities be liable for lost profits or any
special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of or in
connection with the Site, our services or these Terms of Use (however
arising, including through negligence). You agree to accept sole
responsibility for the legality of your actions under the laws which
apply to you. You agree that we, our affiliates and related entities
have no responsibility for the legality or otherwise of the actions of
any of its Members or Guests. Notwithstanding the above provisions,
nothing in these Terms of Use is intended to limit or exclude any
liability on the part of us, our affiliates or related entities where
and to the extent that applicable law prohibits such exclusion or
limitation.
Indemnity:
You agree to indemnify and hold us and (as applicable) our parent,
subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, and employees,
harmless from and against any claims, demands, proceedings, losses and
damages (actual, special and consequential) of every kind and nature,
known and unknown, foreseen and unforeseen,
suspected and unsuspected, disclosed and undisclosed, including
reasonable solicitors' fees, made by any Third Party, Guest or Member
due to or arising out of your wrongful conduct, including without
limitation your breach of these Terms of Use, your negligent conduct or
your violation of any law or the rights of a Third Party.
Website Outages: We
always strive to ensure that the Site is functional and online.
However, there are times when circumstances beyond our control prevent
this. By accepting these Terms of Use, you agree that we will not be
held liable for any loss or damage relating to such outages.
Member or Guest General Dissatisfaction: At
no time will we be liable in the event that a Member is unhappy or
dissatisfied with a Home Exchange for any reason, or if a Member does
not find a suitable Home Exchange.
User ID:
Because user authentication on the Internet is difficult, we cannot and
do not confirm the purported identity of any Member, website linked to
the Site or other Users.
Your Guests:
If you propose that other people stay with you in another Member's
accommodation, you take full responsibility for all such other persons.
6.Privacy Policy
The following terms apply to all Users.
Commitment: We are committed to complying with the Privacy Act 1988
in relation to all personal information we collect. Our Privacy Policy
outlines the rules we will abide by when dealing with personal
information we collect from individuals in the course of our business.
Collection/Storage of Information: We
strive to collect personal information in a fair and lawful manner.
Where reasonable and practicable, we will collect personal information
directly from the person and inform the person that this is being done.
We collect personal information in a variety of ways in the course of
conducting our business, including:
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Providing services to our Members.
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Interacting with people through our website.
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Responding to inquiries.
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From resellers and affiliates.
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From third party suppliers or public sources.
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Where legally required to do so.
In
addition, personal information may be stored on a website of another
organisation hosted on our server. This information will not be used or
released by us unless we are required to release it by law. If you
collect personal information which is stored on our server as part of
our service to you, then you are solely responsible, in respect of that
information, for compliance with the Privacy Act 1988.
Collection of Non Personal Information: We
monitor our website for statistical purposes to identify the number of
visitors to our site and the pages they visit. The only information
gathered in this process is an IP address and is used for internal
statistical purposes and to improve the Site and the service we provide
to Members.
Use of Personal Information: The
use to which we can put personal information depends on the reason for
which it was collected. We may use personal information for the primary
purpose of its collection or for any related secondary purpose that we
could reasonably be expected to use the personal information for.
From time to time, we may use your personal information for in order to send you promotions, information relating to the Home Exchange industry
and other marketing material which we believe may be of interest to
you. However, at any time a person may request us not to use their
personal information for sending promotional or marketing material to
them. Such a request can be made by contacting us by email at the
following e-mail address info@YourHomeForMine.com.
Disclosure of Personal Information: We
take reasonable steps to ensure that your personal information is kept
strictly confidential. We do not sell, rent or lease your personal
information to third parties. We will supply your personal details to a
third party partner where it is a necessary process for operating the
Site. Where necessary, we may disclose to, and collect personal details
from, credit or fraud agencies, or debt recovery agencies for
verification purposes, or for debt reporting or collection purposes. We
may also disclose personal information about you, without notice or
your consent, if:-
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We are required to do so by law (which
may include providing your personal information to law enforcement
agencies in the event of any unlawful activity or an investigation into
such activity or suspected activity).
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If it is necessary to protect or enforce our legal rights or interests to defend any claims.
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If it is necessary to prevent or lessen a serious threat to a persons' health or safety.
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If we sell our business or part of it.
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If it is necessary in order to enforce or apply these Terms of Use.
Information Security: We
take reasonable steps to ensure that all personal information held by
us is secure from any unauthorised access or disclosure. However, we do
not guarantee that personal information cannot be accessed by an
unauthorised person (e.g. a hacker) or that unauthorised disclosures
will not occur.
Correcting Personal Information: We
take reasonable steps to ensure the accuracy and completeness of the
personal information we hold. However we rely on you to advise us in
writing of any changes to your details.
Accessing Personal Information: You can request access to personal information about you held by us. This request must be made in by e-mail to info@YourHomeForMine.com.
We may charge a fee for reasonable costs incurred in responding to this
request which we will disclose to you prior to it being charged.
Removing Personal Information:
You may request in writing the removal of certain personal information
from our records. We will comply with this request unless the
information is necessary for tax purposes or used to identify you for
contractual purposes.
Connection logs:
W capture and record all connection logs, including IP address, when
you connect to our remote access servers. This information is used for
the technical provision of our service, billing, fraud prevention and
credit control and may be disclosed to authorized agencies or as
permitted by the Privacy Act 1988.
Cookies: Cookies
are files on your computer, and when you visit a website a small amount
of information is transmitted from the cookie to the Site you are
visiting. We may use cookies to obtain personal information or follow
your movements on the Site or any other website.
Links to Other Websites: There
are links to other websites from the Site. We are not responsible for
any other website it links to and we do not know how cookies are used
on these sites. To learn about the privacy policy and cookies used on
the sites the Site links to, please refer to the privacy policies on
those respective websites.
If you have any queries in relation to your personal information and privacy, please contact info@YourHomeForMine.com.
7.Miscellaneous
The following terms apply to all Users.
Changes to the Terms of Use:
Any of these terms can be modified in any way and at any time by us in
its absolute discretion. By participating on the Site after any of
these terms have been modified, you are taken to have agreed to the
modified terms.
No Agency: You
and we are independent contractors, and no agency, partnership, joint
venture, employee-employer or franchiser-franchisee relationship is
intended or created by these Terms of Use.
Notices: Except as explicitly stated otherwise, any
notices shall be delivered to
the email address you provide to us during the registration process (in
your case). Alternatively, we may give you notice by certified airmail,
postage prepaid and return receipt requested, to the address provided
to us during the registration process, or as updated by you as
relevant. Any notice shall be deemed given (a) if sent by email, 24
hours after email is sent, unless the sending party is notified that
the email address is invalid, (b) if sent by pre-paid post, three
Business Days after the date of posting, and on the seventh Business
Day if sent to or posted from outside Australia, and (c) if sent by
facsimile transmission, on the Business Day the transmission is sent
(as long as the sender has a confirmation report specifying the
facsimile number listed above, the number of pages sent and the date of
the transmission).
Arbitration: Any
controversy or claim arising out of or in connection with these Terms
of Use may at our discretion be settled by binding arbitration by
reference to a commercial disputes centre of our choice. You agree to
be bound by the ruling arbitrator. The costs of the dispute are borne
by the originator.
Confidentiality: You agree to retain the confidentiality of all confidential information provided to you by another Member.
General:
These Terms of Use shall be governed in all respects by the laws of the
state of Victoria, Australia. All members irrevocably submit to the
non-exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of Victoria, Australia. The
provisions of these Terms of Use are severable, and if any provision of
these terms of use is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such
provision may be removed and the remaining provisions shall be
enforced. You agree that these Terms of Use may be automatically
assigned by us, in our sole discretion, to a Third Party in the event
of a merger, acquisition or disposition. Headings are for reference
purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the
scope or extent of such section. Our failure to act with respect to a
breach by you or others does not waive our right to act with respect to
subsequent or similar breaches. You agree that these Terms of Use may
not be construed adversely against us solely because we prepared it.
These terms of use set forth the entire understanding and agreement
between you and us with respect to the subject matter hereof.