This document describes the terms with which ShippingAuctions.co.nz offers you access to our services. Once you accept the terms and conditions of this Agreement, you hereby agree and acknowledge that at anytime and in our sole discretion, we may effectively modify the terms and conditions of this Agreement by posting the modified Agreement with its new terms and conditions on the ShippingAuctions.co.nz website.You agree and consent to any and all modified terms and conditions hereunder. Furthermore, you agree that we may modify this Agreement or discontinue our website at anytime and without notice and without any liability or responsibility to you. This agreement is effective on july 20th, 2011 for all users.
1. ShippingAuctions.co.nz is not a Transportation Provider, freight forwarder or broker. We act as a site where shipping customers and transporters meet to enter into agreements. We are not involved in the transactions between shipping customers and Transporter. As a result, we have no control over the quality, safety, or legal aspects of the transactions that take place on our website. We do not provide any endorsement for you or your services, and we are not responsible for assisting with any provision of your services. We will not guarantee any members will complete payment for any of the provided services. You acknowledge and agree that any and all communications verbal or written in regard to the services are not provided by us and are solely between you and the other member. Because we are not involved in the actual transaction between shipping customers and transporters, we have no control over the accuracy of listings, the ability for transporters to transport items,or the ability of shipping customers to send items. We cannot ensure that a shipping customer or transporter will actually complete a shipment.
2. Membership. Our services are available only to individuals who can form legally binding contracts under applicable law. Our services are not available to temporarily or indefinitely suspended ShippingAuctions.co.nz members. Your ShippingAuctions.co.nz membership may not be transferred or sold to another party. If you are registering as a business, you represent that you have the authority to bind the entity to this agreement. Members who engage in the transportation of goods must have a valid license to operate the vehicle they intend to use. You agree that the website is for services only and that work that you provide will only involve services. You agree that you will not use your participation in the ShippingAuctions.co.nz website as a means to sell or market any types of goods or products, unless specifically allowed by ShippingAuctions.co.nz.
3. Fees. There are currently no fees to join ShippingAuctions.co.nz and no required listing fees for shipping customers. ShippingAuctions.co.nz may collect a nominal Auction Service Charge from transporting customers in certain categories if and when a bid is accepted. The amount for such an Auction Service Charge, if any, will be displayed for customers before they accept any bid. Transporters are charged a base transaction booking fee for their accepted bid price.
4. All fee are based in NZD Dollars. For bids placed in a different currency, we will use the conversion rate on the bid date to calculate the fee. This fee is only charged if a Transporters bid is accepted by the shipping customer.
The Auction Service fee is non-refundable in the event of a completed shipment transaction. ShippingAuctions.co.nz is not responsible for any monetary disputes that reside with a Transporter or shipping customer; it is the responsibility of both the Transporter and shipping customer to resolve all monetary disputes, damage claims, breach of contract claims, etc. outside of ShippingAuctions.co.nz.
5. You agree that it is your responsibility to maintain a valid, non-expired credit card on file with us while engaging in activity on our website. You agree that if you do not maintain a valid, non-expired card on file with us during any billing attempt, you may be subject to interest and penalties as enumerated below You authorize ShippingAuctions.co.nz to with hold any monies and/or debit any monies from any account that you have identified to ShippingAuctions.co.nz for any charge backs, fees, costs, deductions, adjustments and any other amounts owed to ShippingAuctions.co.nz. We reserve our rights to all actions and remedies in connection with any monies owed to ShippingAuctions.co.nz. You will indemnify, defend and hold us harmless for any claims, demands or causes of actions that we take toward any identified account pursuant to this Section.
There are situations where a charge back may be warranted, such as when a card holder feels that their card has been charged fraudulently and/or there is a discrepancy with the billed amount. Prior to any charge back initiation, ShippingAuctions.co.nz must be notified by the card holder so that ShippingAuctions.co.nz may investigate the claim to determine if a charge back is appropriate. A charge back may not be filed as a replacement, or an addition to, a cancellation of a ShippingAuctions.co.nz transaction.
The Transporter Auction Service fee is non-refundable in the event of a completed shipment transaction. ShippingAuctions.co.nz is not responsible for any monetary disputes that reside with a Transporter or shipping customer; it is the responsibility of both the Transporter and shipping customer to resolve all monetary disputes, damage claims, breach of contract claims, etc. outside of ShippingAuctions.co.nz.
6. Unpaid Fees. If, for any reason, any fees have not been received by ShippingAuctions.co.nz on jobs that have been completed by you for the services and any additional services performed by you, you agree to pay such Unpaid Fees immediately.If in any billing period, we are not able to charge your credit card on file the full amount owed us, ShippingAuctions.co.nz may charge your account a penalty of no more than $10 for every billing period that your account remains unpaid. In addition, ShippingAuctions.co.nz may charge interest, in the amount of 5% per month or fraction thereof, on any unpaid account balance. ShippingAuctions.co.nz reserves the right to waive or change our fees, penalties, or interest at any time. You also agree to pay any attorney fees, and other costs of collection incurred by us with respect to any Unpaid Fees. You also consent and authorize us to in our sole discretion make appropriate reports to 3rd party credit collection agencies, credit reporting agencies, financial institutions, tax agencies and law enforcement authorities, and cooperate with them in any resulting investigation or prosecution.
7. Bid Cancellations and Refunds. A “Cancellation” occurs when either party has to cancel AFTER a bid was accepted on ShippingAuctions.co.nz but BEFORE any services are performed. After a bid is accepted and the two parties communicate directly, occasionally one or both of the parties determine that they cannot complete the transaction. Cancellations should only be requested after reasonable attempts have been made to reach an agreeable solution and it is certain that the services that were booked on ShippingAuctions.co.nz will not be performed. When you request a cancellation, the other party will be notified and will have 72 hours to respond by either:
a) accepting the cancellation and your reason;
b) accepting the cancellation but providing their own reason and/or comments; or
c) disputing the reason for cancellation and requesting review by ShippingAuctions.co.nz staff.
If your Request for Cancellation is accepted by the other party, the match will be cancelled and the shipment can either be relisted or deleted. If your Request is disputed by the other member, then the Request will be sent to ShippingAuctions.co.nz and a determination will be made on allowing or not allowing the Cancellation. If the other party does not respond within the 72 hour period, the cancellation and reason will be automatically accepted (Case a). Once a cancellation is accepted the refund will be issued back to the form of payment and in the currency that the transporter used to pay for the bid Service Charge. ShippingAuctions.co.nz is not responsible if the refund is issued to an account that is closed. It is up to the transporter to inform ShippingAuctions.co.nz of any issue with the form of payment prior to a refund being issued.
ShippingAuctions.co.nz takes abuse of the Cancellation process seriously. This includes submitting false or exaggerated reasons, attempting to cancel matches that have already occurred or are expected to occur, or colluding with other members to abuse the process. A member that is found to be abusing the process will automatically have their
cancellation request denied, may be subject to additional fees and penalties, and may have their account immediately suspended or deleted.
8. Shipping. As a shipping customer, you are obligated to complete the transaction with the Transporter if you accept the Transporters bid, unless the transaction is prohibited by law or by this Agreement. By accepting a Transporters bid, you agree to be bound by the conditions of the bid included in the bid details so long as those trip details are not in violation of this Agreement or unlawful. Acceptance generally is not retractable. The Transporter reserves the right to inspect your shipment before accepting it, and to refuse to transport any item
prohibited by this Agreement or by law. We recommend that you do not seal any package before inspection by the Transporter . IMPORTANT: ShippingAuctions.co.nz does not screen or qualify Transporters for compliance with federal, state or local laws and regulations. It is recommended that you confirm such compliance directly with the Transporter before services are rendered.
9. Prohibited and Restricted Items. The few hazardous materials that lawfully may be transported under certain conditions (if they are properly packaged and labeled) may be listed on ShippingAuctions.co.nz – provided that the listing contains a clear notice of the hazardous nature of the material and a description of the planned method of shipping that complies with the law.
10. Transportation. You must legally be able to transport the shipments you bid on. You agree that it is your sole obligation to comply with all laws, rules, statutes and regulations that may apply including any and all local, state and federal licensing requirements. You must describe your offer and all terms of your services on the bid submited form on our site. You acknowledge that the ShippingAuctions.co.nz website exists for members to make a fully informed decision about your bids, services offering, policies and procedures. Therefore, you shall disclose to every member that you attempt to do business with your services offerings and relevant policies, procedures and fees that you will charge, including, but not limited to, taxes and/or other service charges. In the event, that you charge “extra fees” (and we are made aware of this fact), ShippingAuctions.co.nz reserves the right to suspend or cancel your account at our sole discretion. Your bid may only include content relevant to the description of your transportation services. If you bid on any shipment and your bid is accepted by the shipping customer, you are obligated to perform the services offered in your bid at the accepted bid price. You authorize ShippingAuctions.co.nz to charge the ShippingAuctions.co.nz match fee to your credit card when the shipping customer accepts your bid. We are not responsible for the accuracy of this information. We recommend that you verify with the shipping customer the information that we provide.
11. Information You Submit. You solely are responsible for any information you provide to us or other users in the registration, shipping, or transportation process. Your personal information and any shipment or trip listings must be true, legal, accurate. You may not provide contact information to other members for the purpose of bypassing ShippingAuctions.co.nz transaction fees. You may not list any shipment or trip on our site that, by paying to us a match fee, could cause us to violate any applicable law, statute, ordinance or regulation, or that violates our Prohibited Items terms. You authorize ShippingAuctions.co.nz to use the information you supply to us in connection with our services and in accordance with this Agreement. We have no control, editorial or otherwise, over any communication, information, and specifically, over the content of such communication or information. We do not and will not ensure the accuracy or reliability of such communication or information nor will we act as a monitor over the content of such communication for information. However, we do reserve the absolute right to remove or restrict any communication or information that you may post to the website that is in violation of this Agreement, illegal, threatening, or lewd. You acknowledge and agree that this website acts as a passive conduit for any of your on line communication or distribution of content or information.
You agree to use common sense and good judgment when conducting or posting any online communication or distribution of information. You assume legal responsibility for all damages incurred as a result of any of your online communication or distribution of information.
12. Fraud ShippingAuctions.co.nz may suspend or terminate your account if we suspect that you have engaged in fraudulent activity in connection with our website. Members may not manipulate the bid prices for any shipment or interfere with other members’ listings or transactions.
13. Off-Site Communications. ShippingAuctions.co.nz prohibits offers by its members to transport listed shipments, or to offer listed shipments for transport, outside of the ShippingAuctions.co.nz site. Offers of this nature circumvent ShippingAuctions.co.nz’s fee structure and are a potential fraud risk for both shipping customers and Transporters. Some examples of off-site offers include:
ShippingAuctions.co.nz’s question and answer system, profile section, “Additional Information” section, username, discussion forums, shipment listing, or shipment description to offer to deliver a listed item off-site or to offer a shipment for delivery off-site. ShippingAuctions.co.nz reserves the right to edit, amend, or delete any personal contact information that members submit on our site.
ShippingAuctions.co.nz reserves the right to suspend or delete the account of any member that attempts to make off-site transactions.
14. Right to Reject or Remove Members. We reserve the absolute right to reject your participation, or remove you from your current participation, in the ShippingAuctions.co.nz website at any time and for any reason or for no reason and without notice to you. An event that may result in the rejection or removal of Your participation can include but is not limited to: any circumvention of the ShippingAuctions.co.nz marketplace by you or by others at your direction; Your creation, maintenance and/or management of more than one account; your circumvention or non-payment in full of our fees; any attempt by you to improperly influence, or cause another to, improperly influence the feedback of members; any attempt by you to harass, or cause another to harass, or commit inappropriate communications with a member and/or a failure to deliver the promised services on time; any attempt by you to harass, or cause another to harass, or commit inappropriate communications with one of employees, agents, or partners.
15. Taxes. You are responsible for collecting and remitting any and all taxes associated with the transactions or use of this site.
16. Record Keeping/Audit. We reserve the right to keep all records of any and all transactions and communications between you and other members for administration purposes.
17. No Convictions. You represent and warrant that you, and any individuals associated with you who will perform the services, have not been convicted of a felony. Furthermore, you represent or warrant that
there are currently no legal proceedings, criminal, civil or administrative, instituted against you that will prevent you from performing the services.
18. Identity Verification. We use techniques to help verify the identity of TSPs when they register on our website; however, ShippingAuctions.co.nz cannot and will not confirm each Service Provider’s identity. We will implement a feedback system to help you evaluate other members you are transacting with.
19. Feedback. For each ShippingAuctions.co.nz transaction, the shipping customer and Service Provider are allowed to rate each other by leaving feedback for one another. Feedback consists of leaving one rating (positive, negative or neutral), along with a short comment about your experience.
ShippingAuctions.co.nz does not censor feedback or investigate it for accuracy, ShippingAuctions.co.nz is not legally responsible for the remarks that members post, even if those remarks are defamatory. However, this law does not protect the person who leaves the feedback from responsibility for it.
20. Remedies. Remedies for use of our website that violate this agreement include, but are not limited to, the immediate removal your shipment or trip listings, notifying our members of your actions, issuing a warning, temporarily suspending your membership, terminating your membership, and refusing to provide our services to you.
21. No Warranty. ShippingAuctions.co.nz, our employees, and our suppliers provide services without any warranty or express, implied or statutory conditions. We specifically disclaim any implied warranties of title, merchant ability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement.
22. Limited Liability. In no event shall we, our employees, or our suppliers be liable for lost profits or any special, incidental or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with our website, our services or this agreement however arising, including negligence.
23. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify and hold us and our officers, directors, agents, and employees harmless from any claim or demand, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, made by any third party due to or arising out of your negligence, breach of this Agreement, or violation of any law or the rights of a third party.
24. Legal Compliance. You shall comply with all applicable domestic and international laws, statutes, ordinances and regulations regarding your use of our service and your listing, shipping, transporting, and solicitation of offers to ship and transport items.
25. Dispute Resolution. Disputes between you and ShippingAuctions.co.nz regarding our services should be reported to ShippingAuctions.co.nz Member Support. We will attempt to resolve any disputes you have with us. Because we are a neutral venue we are not responsible for resolving any disputes between you and members regarding services. If you report a dispute to ShippingAuctions.co.nz, we will make every effort to help both parties communicate; however, all disputes must be resolved directly between you and members. Therefore, if we are contacted by a member who claims to have a
dispute with you regarding the services and they request your contact information (including but not limited to any of your provided phone numbers and/or addresses) to settle the dispute, You expressly authorize us to release your provided contact information to the customer and you agree to release us from any and all liability associated therewith. We encourage you to report all member-to-member disputes to law enforcement officials or a certified mediation or arbitration entity. We do not specifically endorse any such third party mediation or arbitration entity. When appropriate, we also encourage you to report disputes involving fraud, theft, or other criminal activity to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
26. Protection of Intellectual Property Content. The ShippingAuctions.co.nz website contains copyrighted material, inventions, know how, potential patent able business method material, design logos, phrases, names, logos or HTML Code (“Intellectual Property Content”) all of which, unless otherwise indicated and/or provided pursuant to a third party license, are our sole property and we retain all appurtenant rights, interests and title thereto. We also claim ownership rights under the copyright and trademark laws with regard to the “look”, “feel”, “appearance” and “graphic function” of this website including but not limited to its color combinations, sounds, layouts and designs. You agree and acknowledge that your use of this website does not confer upon you any license or permission to use our (or any third party’s) Intellectual Property Content. You shall not reproduce, modify, display, sell, or distribute the Intellectual Property Content, or use it in any other way for public or commercial purpose. All other trademarks, service marks and copyrights are held by their rightful owners.
27. Trademark and Domain Name Protection. The ShippingAuctions.co.nz website contains trademarks, trade names, trade dress, service marks, domain names or other indicia of ownership (collectively the “Marks”) owned or licensed for use by us. Unless otherwise agreed to in an Addendum to this Agreement, you agree that no right, property, license, permission or interest of any kind in or to the Marks is or is intended to be given or transferred to or acquired by you pursuant to the execution, performance or non-performance of this Agreement or any part thereof.
You shall in no way contest or deny the validity of, our right of title to or license of use for, the Marks, and you shall not encourage or assist others directly or indirectly to do so, during the lifetime of this Agreement and thereafter. You shall not utilize the Marks in any manner that would diminish their value or harm their reputation. You shall not use or register any domain name that is identical to or similar to any of the Marks.
28. Security. ShippingAuctions.co.nz uses industry standard practices to safeguard your personal information, including firewalls and Secure Socket Layers. We utilize several different security techniques to protect data from unauthorized access, but we cannot guarantee the security of our system. We also do not guarantee uninterrupted or secure access to our system, as the operation of our website can be interrupted by numerous factors outside of our control.
29. Governing Law. THIS AGREEMENT AND YOUR USE OF THE SITE SHALL BE GOVERNED BY THE LAWS OF THE New Zealand, WITHOUT REGARD TO PRINCIPLES OF CONFLICT OF LAWS.
30. General. This Agreement may not be modified, supplemented, qualified, or interpreted by any trade usage or prior course of dealing not made a part of the Agreement by its express terms. The invalidity or unenforceability of any provision of this Agreement shall not affect the validity of this Agreement as a whole and any such provision should be enforced by authorities, and reconstructed if need be, to apply to the maximum extent allowable under applicable law. The failure by either party to enforce at any time any of the provisions of this Agreement,
to exercise any election or option provided herein, or to require at any time the performance of the other of any of the provisions herein will not in any way be construed as a waiver of such provisions. Reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs will be awarded to the prevailing party in the event of litigation involving the enforcement or interpretation of this Agreement. The section headings used herein are for convenience only and shall not be given any legal import.