Web Hosting Terms and Conditions
From Evrose
We try and be upfront, simple, and clear with our terms and conditions. Other web hosts have similar terms but may not be so clear until a problem occurs. In particular, we have to emphasis the client's responsibility to take regular backups of their content. We have been offering web hosting since 2004 and have not lost a web site due to server failure nor had need to restore webspace since the start of this service. But these things do happen and we don't want you to ignore the risk.
Our philosophy is to play fair at all times with our customers and we will bend over backwards to keep them satisfied. Terms and conditions lay out the contractual framework but fairness is more important. We hope you find our terms and conditions the most customer-friendly of all web hosts - we designed them from a customer perspective.
Limits on web space or bandwidth
You purchase a set amount of space and bandwidth. If you exceed either then your account will be suspended and your site and email will not work until the the space used is reduced, and/or the start of the next month when the bandwidth counter is reset to zero. The alternative is to upgrade your space and bandwidth at a pro-rata rate. We allow a 10% tolerance so you have a chance to correct any overusage. It is your responsibility to monitor your resource usage.
What might make my site go over the limits?
When we set up your account, we know how much space the site and an average amount of content is likely to use, plus we set individual limits on email accounts so these do not trigger an overload. So what is likely to cause you to go over the web space limit is content that you add, especially high resolution photos and other images (which will slow down the website considerably anyway). If you are using your web space to collaborate and store files, then these might cause a problem. Popular forums where you can upload files, especially images, are also worth watching. Please continue to limit the amount of space that your email accounts use to prevent these triggering resource overuse, empty email boxes regularly, and use the spam filters to automatically delete the most obvious spam. In terms of bandwidth, if you market hard and your site becomes very popular then it is possible you may exceed bandwidth limits. The only practical answer to this is to upgrade your bandwidth allowance - if it is that popular then you should be able to recover the costs via increased business, or if it is an informational site, try adding GoogleAds and/or affiliate links to generate some revenue.
Restrictions on Types of Sites
We will not host sites that in our opinion we consider may be in breach of UK law, including sites that incite or promote discrimination or hatred based on race, gender, sexual orientation, and religion. This includes sites that link to or redirect to other sites with similar material. We will not host sites containing pornographic or other sexual Adult content of any kind. Sites in breach of these policies will be deleted immediately and no refund will be given for any fees paid in advance. In addition, the site owner will be reported to the authorities where a criminal act is suspected.
We will also decline to host, or suspend a site if already hosted, if it appears a site is promoting or selling services of a dubious nature, e.g. where the service is commonly perceived as a scam or unethical (e.g. suspected of breach of copyright), or the company or persons offering the service have a history of, in our opinion, unethical business behaviour, whether or not convicted of a criminal offence. A pro-rata refund of hosting service charges may be provided where there is no evidence of criminal, only unethical, behaviour; otherwise no refund will be offered. These rules also apply to files stored on our hosting services that may not necessarily be visible on a website.
Note that these rules do not necessarily apply to genuine sexual health sites, nor to sites containing non-pornographic or non-sexual but legal adult themes and language provided the site contains a clear warning of that content. Please contact us in advance with your requirements so we can consider gray areas and avoid anyone's time and money being wasted.
Web space used for file transfers
The storage of files that are the copyright of someone else for the purposes of distribution without permission, or that could be considered otherwise illegal is prohibited, and they will be deleted and the account suspended without compensation or refunds. Documents stored for the purposes of business collaboration are no problem.
Access to documents stored in password protected areas or in a password protected database
We have full administrator rights to all web space controlled by us. Technicians employed to look after servers on which your data is stored also have access. This is needed in case of a technical problem. However, your files will not be opened and viewed unless there are grounds to believe you are in breach of any of the conditions of hosting detailed above and to ensure that we are not hosting any illegal content, which could involve us in legal proceedings. To be honest, all web hosts can access all their clients' data, even if they do not explicitly say so. If you have content that is so confidential that you cannot risk us seeing, then you should not be putting it on the Internet, at least not on server space outside your own secure premises. Websites get hacked, it is a fact that cannot be avoided. If you want to exchange information securely over the Internet then you need to be using something like PGP to encrypt and email files.
Payment for Web Services
Payment for initial site design and hosting must be received and cleared prior to the site and/or any related web services being activated. In the event that renewal fees are not received by the date due, the web site and / or any related web services will be suspended for 30 days. At the end of 30 days the account and all content will be deleted and will not be recoverable. Since the site still takes up web space, even if suspended and not available on the Internet, fees are payable for periods of suspension when renewals are paid late. If you are having trouble making payment on time, please let us know and we can consider options such as backing up your site and content for later re-installation but in the meantime releasing the space and bandwidth for other customers.
Unless specifically agreed and for no more than 12 months (for monthly subscriptions) we do not believe in auto-renewal of services as we don't want the disgruntled customers such schemes create. You will be notified in advance of expiry of accounts and invited to renew. You will be notified by email of each monthly subscription payment 7 days prior to it being debited, and will need to positively renew the subscription every 12 months.
Cancellation
You may cancel services at any time and receive a pro-rata refund of any outstanding subscriptions of complete unused months. You don't have to fill in loads of forms and ring a call centre in India to do this, just email us and we will endeavour to ensure you receive your refund within 21 days. We will need to verify you are authorised to request the cancellation but the cancellation will be backdated to your original request when confirmed. We'll back up and keep your site ready for restoration for 30 days after cancellation just in case you change your mind or you have forgotten to take a copy of content you then find you need. Please note that refunds do not apply where the customer has used webspace for file transfers, in contravention of the restrictions detailed above, or the site has been removed by ourselves upon official request. Unfortunately we cannot refund setup, domain name, or web design charges when web hosting services are cancelled.
Location of Customers
We only accept orders for hosting services from customers resident/located in, and operating from, the UK, Republic of Ireland, France, Germany, Austria, Greece, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Switzerland, USA, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Please note that we may, at our sole discretion, suspend hosting where a customer moves to a location outside the countries indicated above, and a pro-rata refund of hosting service charges will be made. It is the customer's sole responsibility to ensure that all content is compliant with the laws of the country in which they are located in or operate in, as well as being compliant with the laws of the UK, where the servers are located. We will comply with any official request from the authorities of customer's origin country or of the UK to suspend the website and any associated web services and will not be liable for compensation as a consequence.
Availability of Services
The servers we use are fault tolerant and should be up and working 24/7/365 for well in excess of 99.9% of the time. However, there will be times when the service runs slowly or is temporarily unavailable for a short period due to essential server maintenance and we cannot accept liability for any inconvenience or damage this might cause. Generally planned maintenance takes place overnight to avoid inconvenience and we will endeavour to notify you in advance of planned outages but cannot guarantee this. Where a site or service is unavailable for more than 24 hours and is not the fault of the customer, e.g. the account has not been suspended for going over limits or for non-payment, or the customer has not caused the problem by modifying the configuration of their email or site, our liability will be limited to a pro-rata refund or credit of hosting service charges. Where the service interruption is shown to be the fault of the customer and work is required to restore configuration settings, Evrose reserve the right to charge for restoration labour at a rate of £60 per hour. Note that website hacking, and consequential damage, is not something we can be held responsible for. We strongly encourage customers to take backups every time they change the content of their site including any databases used, and store the backup securely on their own hard disk. We will do everything we can to assist in restoring the site to its last backed up status using the customer's backup files. Note that the web hosting customer interface has a utility to assist you in taking backups.
Liability
It is the customer's responsibility to take regular backups of their site, and to operate their site in accordance with these terms and conditions, and no liability will be accepted for problems caused by the customer through negligence or inexperience. Any liability for damages as a result of Evrose failures shall be limited to a maximum of the unused but paid for services outstanding on the contract, on a pro-rata basis.
In the highly unlikely event of complete server failure, and the loss of all client websites, databases, and other stored data, Evrose will restore from the most recent server backup. This may involve the loss of changes made since that backup was taken. We will work with clients to restore more recent content from the clients' own backups. No liability can be accepted for the loss of changes as a result of the failure of a client backing up more recent changes. Note that we have not experienced a server failure since starting to offer web hosting in 2004 but the risk remains.
Complaints
If you have any complaints, please contact us and we will investigate thoroughly and try our best to resolve the situation amicably.
© Evrose Business Consultants Ltd, 2009
