IMPORTANT – READ CAREFULLY: The SmartCollect service (the "Service") is owned and operated by Rickenbacker Group, ("Rickenbacker"), a California corporation, and is provided to you ("You") under the terms and conditions of these Rickenbacker Terms of Service ("Terms"), which include Rickenbacker’s Privacy Policy and Registration Form, available through the hyperlinks set forth below and incorporated herein by reference. BY COMPLETING THE ELECTRONIC ACCEPTANCE PROCESS AND CLICKING THE "SUBMIT" BUTTON, YOU REPRESENT AND WARRANT THAT YOU: (i) ARE AUTHORIZED TO SIGN FOR AND BIND THE CONTRACTING PARTY AND (ii) AGREE TO BE BOUND BY ALL OF THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT, INCLUDING THE DISCLAIMERS AND LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY SET FORTH IN SECTIONS 9 AND 10 BELOW.
1. A minimum subscription agreement of one (1) year is required. Clients wishing to cancel before the one (1) year agreement is completed will be charged the remaining balance to fulfill this agreement.
2. We reserve the right to reclassify accounts or cancel service based on our discretion.
3. DESCRIPTION OF SERVICE. The Service provided by Rickenbacker allows You to submit for collection to Rickenbacker accounts receivable of a maximum of $10,000 per Debtor or company per year. The number of accounts that may be submitted is based upon the level of SmartCollect You have subscribed to as set forth in the Schedule, available through the hyperlinks set forth below and incorporated herein by reference.
4. REGISTRATION. To use the Service, You must submit a complete Rickenbacker SmartCollect registration form, which is available at https://www.scollect.com (the "Registration Form"), on Your behalf. As part of the registration process for the Service, You agree to: (1) provide certain limited information about You as prompted to do so by the Service (such information to be current, complete and accurate) (2) maintain and update this information as required to keep it current, complete and accurate. (3) You agree to a subscription agreement of one year the information requested on original signup shall be referred to as registration data ("Registration Data"). If Rickenbacker discovers that any of Your Registration Data is inaccurate, incomplete or not current, Rickenbacker may terminate Your right to access and cancel the Service immediately. Rickenbacker will evaluate the registration application in good faith and will notify You in a timely manner regarding acceptance or rejection. Rickenbacker may reject a registration application if it determines, in its sole discretion, that the user is not an appropriate subscriber or user of the Service. Rickenbacker reserves the right to refuse the Service to any user who has canceled any number of previous Service accounts. Rickenbacker need not provide a reason for its rejection. If Rickenbacker rejects Your application, then You may reapply and Rickenbacker will reconsider the application. You may not register for this Service if You are under 18 years of age. By registering for this Service You represent to Rickenbacker, that You are 18 years of age or older. Upon acceptance of this agreement and completion of the registration process You will have opened an account with Rickenbacker and will become a subscriber to the SmartCollect Service.
5. SERVICES
(a) Description of Service.
(1) SmartCollect provides Debt Collection Services to You. Rickenbacker makes the SmartCollect Service available under a number of different subscription plans for debts of less than $10,000. Please confirm that the plan for which You are registering meets Your needs by reviewing the "product information pages." To use the Service You will need to provide Rickenbacker with certain information regarding the debt that you would like to collect. By placing an account (claim) with Rickenbacker, You grant Rickenbacker full authority to proceed with collection efforts against the claim and the debtor(s) (those who owe the claim to You) for the period during which this agreement is in effect or until the statute of limitations has been reached. You agree to submit claims and accounts for reporting to the credit bureau using the Internet service presented at the following secure web address (http://www.scollect.com) and following the instructions posted therein, which requires that You use Your member number and password. No other form of submission will be recognized by Rickenbacker. As long as You are current on all fees owed to Rickenbacker, You can submit claims, up to the maximum number per year according to the Plan You have subscribed to as specified by You at the time of registration. You agree to keep Your member number and password confidential and to ensure that only authorized parties with a legitimate need to know are given the right to know about the specifics of any claim and to post a claim to Rickenbacker through the SmartCollect website for processing.
(2) You grant to Rickenbacker the full authority to proceed with collection against all designated accounts using whatever collection efforts Rickenbacker deems necessary, excluding legal action. Rickenbacker’s authority shall include but not be limited to the following: reporting consumer claims to the credit bureau; demanding balance in full payments; negotiating settlements where the debtor pays less than the full amount owed; receiving partial payments; establishing payment plans where payments, fees and terms are determined by Rickenbacker; accessing consumer credit information on any consumer debt and on the owner of any business where the business is a proprietorship or partnership and Rickenbacker has obtained the business owners’ signed statement of personal liability; and to perform any other action as Rickenbacker deems necessary to collect the debt. Rickenbacker will pursue legal action against claim, only with Your written approval. You agree to respond to any request for litigation made by Rickenbacker within five (5) calendar days from the date of notice request. You agree to pay for any authorized legal action in accordance with the payment schedule and method established by Rickenbacker and You at the time legal action is undertaken. Rickenbacker shall have the authority to receive payment in cash, check, credit card, debit card or money order and shall have the authority to endorse checks, drafts, money orders and other negotiable instruments, which may be received as payment. Rickenbacker shall be entitled to all interest earned on all amounts collected subsequent to the placement date and shall remit all money to You in accordance with Schedule, Conditions and Terms posted at http://www.scollect.com.
(3) Rickenbacker warrants that all accounts placed with Rickenbacker for collections and/or for submission to the credit bureau are as specified; are in statute and are legitimate, active debts owed by the debtor to You. You agree to provide Rickenbacker with any/all the necessary documents or photocopies of same to substantiate debt within five (5) business days, given a written or verbal request by a representative of Rickenbacker.
(4) Subsequent to the placement date and in advance of any written termination notice, assuming You are paid in full regarding any fees owed to Rickenbacker, Rickenbacker agrees to continue working accounts placed for collection, which includes but is not limited to mailing notices, making phone calls, posting the account on Rickenbacker’s internet site; keeping said posting current and any other actions as deemed appropriate by Rickenbacker.
(5) Rickenbacker agrees to send collection activity statements by the 10th business day of every month for activities occurring the prior month. For your protection, Rickenbacker places a 14 day hold on non certified funds to insure that funds are good.
(b) FEES AND PAYMENTS. You can always find the current Subscription Fees and charges posted under Subscription Rates on the SmartCollect Web site at http://www.scollect.com. Your subscription will continue and renew automatically unless terminated by Rickenbacker or until You notify Rickenbacker of Your decision to change Your subscription renewal by giving a sixty (60) day written notice. If there are any annual, monthly or similar periodic fees for Your subscription, these fees will be billed automatically to the credit card designated during the registration process for SmartCollect, or subsequently designated to Rickenbacker at the start of the subscription period and at the start of each renewal period, unless You terminate Your subscription before the relevant period begins. You agree to pay or have paid all fees and charges incurred in connection with Your subscription for SmartCollect (including any applicable taxes) at the rates in effect when the charges were incurred. All fees and charges are nonrefundable. Rickenbacker may change the fees and charges then in effect, or add new fees or charges, by giving You notice in advance. All fees and charges incurred in connection with Your user name and password will be billed to the credit card designated during the registration process for SmartCollect or subsequently designated to Rickenbacker. You also are responsible for any fees or charges incurred to access SmartCollect through an Internet access provider or other third party service. You, and not Rickenbacker, are responsible for paying any amounts billed to your credit card by a third party, which were not authorized by You. This Agreement is personal to You, and You may not assign Your rights or obligations to anyone.
(c) CREDIT CARDS. As a condition to your right to use the Service, You must provide us with a valid credit card number belonging to you with available credit sufficient to pay the applicable Service Fees. In the event that you cancel this credit card or it is otherwise terminated, you must immediately provide us with a new valid credit card number. You authorize Rickenbacker, from time to time, to undertake steps to determine whether the credit card number you have provided to us is a valid credit card number. In the event that you do not provide us with a current valid credit card number with sufficient credit upon request during the effective period of this Agreement, you will be in violation of this Agreement, and we may terminate this Agreement with You.
(d) RIGHT OF OFFSET. In the event that You are not current on payment of the charges on your credit card, Rickenbacker shall have the right to offset the charges owed against any money collected.
6. USER CONDUCT AND PROPRIETARY RIGHTS
(a) NO RESALE OR COMMERCIAL USE OF THE SERVICE. Your right to use the Service is personal to You. You may be either an individual or a corporation or business entity, but You agree not to resell the use of the Service, any downloadable plug-in or other materials or any information obtained by You without the express written consent of Rickenbacker.
(b) CONDUCT. You are solely responsible for the content of Your use of the Service. In the interest and spirit of maintaining the highest level of ethical and professional standards, You agree to conduct Yourself, as does Rickenbacker, in accordance with the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act (hereinafter FDCPA), and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (hereinafter FCRA). In addition, all collections shall be conducted in accordance with the Code of Conduct of the American Collectors Association, as well as the standards set forth in the Operative Guidelines of the Commercial Law League of America. Rickenbacker does, however, reserve the right to take any action with respect to the Service that Rickenbacker deems necessary or appropriate in Rickenbacker's sole discretion if Rickenbacker believes You or Your transmissions or use of the Service may create liability for Rickenbacker. Your use of the Service is subject to all applicable local, state, national and international laws and regulations (including without limitation those governing account collection, export control, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising). You agree: (1) to comply with all United States laws, rules and other regulations applicable in connection with the Service; (2) not to use the Service for illegal purposes; (3) not to interfere or disrupt networks connected to the Service; (4) not to use the Service to infringe any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy; and (5) not to use the Service for any unlawful, harassing, libelous, abusive, threatening, harmful, vulgar, obscene or otherwise objectionable conduct of any kind or nature. In accordance with the FDCPA, You agree that all communications with the account shall be accomplished by Rickenbacker subsequent to placing account for collections and You agree to cease all communications with account post placement. You agree to inform Rickenbacker within fifteen (15) calendar days of any contact, communications, additional information, the content of any communications and/or payments received by You regarding any account placed with Rickenbacker for collections.
(c) PROPRIETARY RIGHTS. You acknowledge that the Service and its associated forms are proprietary to Rickenbacker and may be protected by copyrights, trademarks, product marks, patents or other proprietary rights and laws; therefore, You are only permitted to use these forms as expressly authorized by the Service and these Terms. Further, SmartCollect, and Rickenbacker logo, and other names, logos, icons and marks identifying Rickebacker's products and services are trademarks of Rickenbacker and may not be used without the prior written permission of Rickenbacker. All other product names mentioned are used for identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective holders. You may not copy, reproduce, distribute or create derivative works of these forms or processes without expressly being authorized to do so by Rickenbacker.
7. PRIVACY. Rickenbacker will not sell or rent Your personally identifiable information to anyone unless You expressly consent to disclosures of Your personal identification and other personal information to third parties. We may send personally identifiable information about You to third parties when: a) We have Your consent to share the information or b) We find that Your actions on our Web site violate this Terms of Service or c) We respond to subpoenas, court orders or legal processes which require us to disclose Registration Data or any information about You to law enforcement or other government officials as Rickenbacker, in its sole discretion, believes necessary or appropriate. More information on Rickenbacker's current privacy policy for SmartCollect can be found at https://www.scollect.com.
8. MODIFICATIONS. Rickenbacker may amend these Terms at any time by (i) posting a revised Terms of Service document on https://www.scollect.com and/or (ii) sending information regarding the Terms amendment to the email address You provide to Rickenbacker. You are responsible for regularly reviewing the http://www.scollect.com site to obtain timely notice of such amendments. You manifest intent to accept these amended terms if You continue to use Your membership account after such amended terms have been posted or information regarding such amendment has been sent to You. Otherwise, these Terms may not be amended except in writing signed by both parties. Further, Rickenbacker reserves the right to modify or discontinue the Service with or without notice to You. Rickenbacker shall not be liable to You or any third party should Rickenbacker exercise its right to modify or discontinue the Service.
9. PASSWORDS AND SECURITY. As part of the registration process, You will use Membership Number as Your user name and You will choose Your passwords for access to this account and to Your designated computers. You agree to carefully safeguard all of Your passwords. You are solely responsible if You do not maintain the confidentiality of passwords and account information. Furthermore, You are solely responsible for any and all activities that occur under Your account. You agree to immediately notify Rickenbacker of any unauthorized use of Your account or any other breach of security known to You, including if You believe that Your password or account information has been stolen or otherwise compromised.
10. TERMINATION. Rickenbacker may immediately terminate Your membership and right to use the Service if (a) You breach these Terms; (b) Rickenbacker is unable to verify or authenticate any information You provide to Rickenbacker; (c) such information is inaccurate; or (d) Rickenbacker decides, in its sole discretion, to discontinue offering the Service. Rickenbacker shall not be liable to You or any third party for termination of the Service. You may terminate Your Account and end Your use of the Service at any time, for any reason or for no reason. For cancellation instructions, log in to your account and click on the Billing Info section of your My Account page. Upon termination of Your account, You shall remain liable for all fees incurred or accrued by You and any fees you may have paid in advance are nonrefundable. Upon expiration or termination for any reason, You are no longer authorized to use the Service or Software. When this Agreement is terminated and/or Your Account is canceled, You will no longer have access to data and other material You have stored on the Site and that material may be deleted by Rickenbacker.
11. DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES. You expressly agree that use of the service is at your sole risk. The service is provided on an "as is" basis. Rickenbacker expressly disclaims all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Rickenbacker makes no warranty that the service will meet your requirements or that the service will be uninterrupted, timely or error free, nor does Rickenbacker make any warranty as to the results that may be obtained from the use of the service or the accuracy of any other information obtained through the service or that defects in the plug-in will be corrected. You understand and agree that any material and/or data downloaded or otherwise obtained (including plug-ins) through the use of the service is done at your own risk and that you will be solely responsible for any damage to your computer system or loss of data that results from the download of such material and/or data. No information or advice, whether oral or written, obtained by you from Rickenbacker or through the service shall create any warranty not expressly made herein. Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of certain warranties, so some of the above exclusions may not apply to You.
12. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY. In no event shall Rickenbacker be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, resulting from the use or the inability to use the service, including, but not limited to, damages for loss of profits, even if Rickenbacker has been advised of the possibility of such damages. Rickenbacker’s liability to You or any third party is limited to $50. Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability for incidental or consequential damages so some of the above limitations may not apply to you.
13. INDEMNITY. You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Agent for any liabilities associated with false and/or incomplete information regarding the validity of the debt, the identity of the Debtor(s) and any other relevant information that could create a liability regarding the collecting and/or reporting of the debt to a credit bureau. You hereby agree, at Your expense, to indemnify, defend and hold Rickenbacker harmless from and against any loss, cost, damages, liability or expense arising out of or relating to (a) a third-party claim, action or allegation of infringement based on information, data, files or other content submitted by You; (b) any fraud or manipulation, or other breach of these Terms by You; or (c) any third-party claim, action or allegation brought against Rickenbacker arising out of or relating to a dispute between its users over the terms and conditions of a contract or related to the purchase and sale of any services.
13. GENERAL TERMS. These Terms are governed in all respects by the laws of the State of California as such laws are applied. Both parties submit to personal jurisdiction in California and further agree that any cause of action relating to these Terms shall be brought in a court in Santa Clara County, California . If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be struck and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. Rickenbacker's failure to act with respect to a breach by You does not waive Rickenbacker's right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. You may not assign or transfer this Agreement or any rights hereunder, and any attempt to the contrary is void. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon each party's successors and assigns. Rickenbacker shall not be liable for any delay or failure to perform resulting directly or indirectly from any causes beyond Rickenbacker’s reasonable control. Unless otherwise provided in this Agreement, any notice required or permitted to be given under this Agreement shall be delivered (i) by hand; (ii) by registered or certified mail, postage prepaid and return receipt requested to the address provided by the other party, or to such other address as a party may designate by written notice in accordance with this Section 12; (iii) by overnight courier or (iv) by electronic mail with confirming letter mailed under the conditions described in (ii). Notice so given shall be deemed effective when received, or if not received by reason of fault of addressee, when delivered. These Terms constitute the complete and exclusive understanding and agreement of the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior understandings, proposals, agreements, negotiations and discussions between the parties, whether written or oral.
You understand and agree that You are solely responsible for periodically reviewing the Terms of Service.