Last updated: April 14, 2015
By accessing or using our Services, you agree to be bound by the terms and conditions
of these Terms of Use (this "Agreement") and our Privacy Policy
(the "Privacy Policy"). The terms "we," "us," or "our" mean Bankrate, Inc., a Delaware
corporation, and its domestic legal subsidiaries and affiliates. The term "Services,"
means, collectively, various websites, applications, widgets, email notifications
and other mediums, or portions of such mediums, through which you have accessed
this Agreement.
This Agreement contains an agreement to arbitrate all claims and disclaimers
of warranties and liability.
Your Compliance with this Agreement
You acknowledge that this Agreement is supported by reasonable and valuable consideration,
the receipt and adequacy of which is hereby acknowledged. Without limiting the foregoing,
you acknowledge that such consideration includes, without limitation, your ability
to visit, use and/or submit information to our Services.
You represent that you have the capacity to be bound by this Agreement, or if you
are acting on behalf of a company or other entity, you have the authority to bind
such company or entity. In order to determine your compliance with this Agreement,
we may monitor your access and use of our Services in accordance with our
Privacy Policy.
Our Services are Not Intended for Minors
Our Services are intended to be accessed and used only by adults and are not directed
to minors. As stated in our Privacy Policy, we do
not knowingly collect personally identifiable information by anyone under the age
of 13 and you should not provide us with any information regarding any individual
under the age of 13.
Your Access and Use of our Services
Your right to access and use our Services is personal to you and is not transferable
by you to any other person or entity. You are only entitled to access and use our
Services for lawful purposes and pursuant to the terms and conditions of this Agreement
and the Privacy Policy.
Your access and use of our Services may be interrupted from time to time for any
of several reasons, including, without limitation, the malfunction of equipment,
periodic updating, maintenance or repair of our Services or other actions that we,
in our sole discretion, may elect to take. We reserve the right to suspend or discontinue
the availability of our Services and/or any portion or feature of our Services at
any time in our sole discretion and without prior notice.
Any action by you that, in our sole discretion: (i) violates the terms and conditions
of this Agreement and/or the Privacy Policy; (ii)
restricts, inhibits or prevents any access, use or enjoyment of our Services; or
(iii) through the use of our Services, defames, abuses, harasses, offends or threatens,
shall not be permitted, and may result in your loss of the right to access and use
our Services. You shall not modify, scrape, embed, or frame our Services without
our prior written permission.
Subject to the terms of this Agreement and the Privacy Policy, we may offer you
various Services. Below are terms and conditions governing these Services.
You Must Maintain the Integrity of Your Information.
To use certain Services, you may be required to provide us with information about
you, which may be of a confidential nature and may include personal identifying
information, medical and health history information, and/or financial information
("Your Information"). If you provide Your Information to us then you agree to provide
true, current, complete and accurate information, and not to misrepresent your identity.
You also agree to keep Your Information current and to update Your Information if
any of Your Information changes. Our collection, use and disclosure of Your Information
is governed by this Agreement and our Privacy Policy.
You Must Maintain the Security of Any Password Issued to You.
If our Services require you to create a password to use certain portions of our
Services, then it is your sole responsibility to maintain the security of that password.
You agree that we shall not be liable for any loss that you may suffer as a result
of the authorized or unauthorized use of your password by a third party. You shall
not allow any person under the age of 18 to use any Service via your registration
or password.
You Must Notify Us of a Breach. You agree to immediately
notify us of any unauthorized use of your password, any unauthorized use of any
account that you may have with us, any violation of this Agreement, or any other
breach of security known to you in connection with any product or service available
on our Services by sending an email to: webmaster@bankrate.com.
You Are Responsible for Your Financial Decisions.
We and our affiliates, through the Services, may provide a venue through which you
can obtain information and you can find third-party service providers, such as financial
institutions, credit card providers, mortgage brokers, insurance brokers, insurance
agents, discount program representatives and other insurance professionals ("Service
Providers"). We do not endorse or recommend the products or services of any Service
Provider, and are not an agent or advisor to you or any Service Provider. We do
not validate or investigate the licensing, certification or other requirements and
qualifications of Service Providers. It is your responsibility to investigate Service
Providers. You acknowledge and agree that Service Providers are solely responsible
for any services that they may provide to you and that we are not liable for any
losses, costs, damages or claims in connection with, arising from, or related to,
your use of a Service Provider's products or services. We urge you to obtain the
advice of financial advisors, insurance agents, brokers or other qualified professionals
who are fully aware of your individual circumstances before you make any financial
or insurance decisions. You acknowledge and agree that you rely on your own judgment
and that of such advisors in selecting any products or services offered by Service
Providers.
You Acknowledge and Agree that We are Not a Service Provider.
We are not a financial institution, insurance provider or other Service Provider.
Instead, we, through our Services, may help to connect you with Service Providers
that might meet your needs based on information provided by you. We do not, and
will not, make any coverage or credit decision with any Service Provider referred
to you. We do not issue mortgages, credit cards, insurance coverage or any other
financial products.
No Guarantee of Quotes, Fees, Terms, Rates, Coverage or Services.
We do not make any warranties or representations regarding the quotes, fees,
terms, rates, coverage or services offered or made available by Service Providers.
We do not guarantee that quotes, fees, terms, rates, coverage or services offered
by Service Providers are the best available.
You Do Not Pay Fees to Us for Basic Services. Unless
you are a Service Provider or order a specific service through our Services, we
do not charge you a fee to use our basic Services. Service Providers may pay us
fees for services and to be matched with users of our Services, however. We are
not involved with and are not responsible for any fee arrangement that you may enter
into with any Service Provider. You acknowledge and agree to this compensation arrangement.
You hereby release us of any and all losses, costs, damages or claims in connection
with, arising from or related to your use of a Service Provider's products or services,
including any fees charged by a Service Provider.
Requests for Quotes or Offers. Our Services may
give you the opportunity to request to be matched with and receive quotes or offers
from Service Providers (a "Match Request"). Portions of our Services providing this
opportunity (the "Match Request Areas") are only available to residents of the United
States, and may not be available in all states.
- We make no guarantee that you will be matched with a Service Provider if you submit
a Match Request.
- If you make either a complete or incomplete Request, then you agree that Your Information
provided in connection with your Match Request may be used and disclosed as set
forth in the Privacy Policy. Without limiting anything
in the Privacy Policy, you authorize Service Providers,
and their affiliates and third-party service providers, to conduct all necessary
research with your information, including checking your credit history, if applicable,
for purposes of providing you with your Match Request.
- If you make a Match Request, then you expressly authorize Service Providers and
us to contact you by telephone, fax and email at the numbers and addresses provided
in your Match Request, for purposes of providing you with the information, quotes,
products and services indicated in your Match Request. You consent to receive telephone
calls from Service Providers and us, even if the phone number that you provided
on your Match Request is on any "Do Not Call" list. You also consent to Service
Providers and us making recorded calls to remind you of deadlines or other issues
in connection with your Match Request.
- You are solely responsible for complying with applicable laws and regulations in
connection with your use of any services offered by us or a Service Provider.
Fees and Payments
Access and use of our basic Services are free. At any time, we may choose to charge
fees for various premium features and services, and we will notify you of those
charges at the time that we offer features and services for a fee. We may, in our
sole discretion, and by notifying you on our Services, change this policy and begin
charging for access to our Services and other features and services, and we may,
in our sole discretion, add, remove or change the features and services we offer
or the fees (including the amount and type of fees) we charge at any time. If we
introduce a new service or charge a new fee, we will establish and notify you of
the fees for that service at the launch of the service or start of charging a new
fee. If we notify you of new fees or changes to fees for an existing service, then
you agree to pay all fees and charges specified and all applicable taxes for your
continued use of the applicable service.
myBankrate Service
myBankrate is a Bankrate Service that allows Users to manage their credit and financial
health online. You understand that by accepting this Agreement and using the myBankrate
Service, you are providing "written instructions" to Bankrate, its contracted data
providers, agents, and its employees, agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, contractors,
third party data sources and suppliers, and all other credit reporting agencies
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), as amended, to access your credit files
from each national credit reporting agency and to exchange information about you
with each such national credit reporting agency in order to verify your identity
and to provide Services to you. You agree and hereby authorize Bankrate, its contracted
data providers, agents, and employees, to provide your personally identifiable information
(or, if applicable, information about your child you have enrolled) to third parties
as provided in our Privacy Policy, as may be amended
from time to time. You waive any and all claims against Bankrate, Inc. its contracted
data providers, agents, and its employees for the acts or omissions of these third
parties with regard to the use or disclosure of such information. You further authorize
Bankrate, its contracted data providers and its agents and employees to obtain various
information and reports about you (or about your child that you have enrolled, if
applicable) in order to provide the Services, including, but not limited to, address
history reports, name and alias reports, criminal reports or sex offender reports,
and to provide monitoring and alerts. While enrolling for the Services, we will
ask you for the following types of information: contact information (such as name,
address, phone number, and e-mail address); sensitive information (such as date
of birth, driver's license number and social security number); personal information
to verify your identity and financial information (such as credit card number).
This information is required in order to verify your identity, charge you the agreed
upon fees for our products and services, and to fulfill our obligation to provide
our products and services to you, including communicating with third parties as
necessary to provide such products and services, such as identification verification
companies, consumer reporting agencies, credit bureaus, payment validation companies,
law enforcement agencies, or others. You agree that you will use the Services to
protect against or prevent actual fraud, unauthorized transactions, claims or other
liabilities.
Consumer Disclosures
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you to obtain a disclosure from every credit
reporting agency of the nature and substance of all information in your file at
the time of the request. Full disclosure of information in your file at Equifax
must be obtained directly from Equifax by logging on to https://help.equifax.com/app/answers/detail/a_id/15.
The credit report you are requesting from us is not intended to constitute the disclosure
of Equifax information required by the Fair Credit Reporting Act or similar state
laws.
-
You are entitled to receive a disclosure directly from each of the consumer reporting
agencies free of charge under the following circumstances:
- You have been denied credit, insurance or employment within the past sixty (60)
days as a result of your credit report;
- You certify in writing that you are unemployed and intend to apply for employment
in the 60-day period beginning on the date on which you made the certification;
- You are a recipient of public welfare assistance;
- You have reason to believe that your file at the agency contains inaccurate information
due to fraud;
- Annually at www.annualcreditreport.com.
Otherwise, the consumer reporting agency may impose a reasonable charge for the
disclosure.
- The Fair Credit Reporting Act permits you to dispute inaccurate or incomplete information
in your credit file. You understand that accurate information cannot be changed.
- You do not have to purchase your credit report or other information from us to dispute
inaccurate or incomplete information in your Equifax file or to receive a copy of
your Equifax consumer credit report.
- Equifax Information Services, LLC provides a proprietary consumer disclosure that
is different from the consumer credit report provided through myBankrate. The disclosure
report must be obtained directly from Equifax. Consumers residing in the States
of Colorado, Massachusetts, Maryland, New Jersey, and Vermont may receive a free
copy of their consumer credit report once per year and residents of the State of
Georgia may receive two copies per year.
- By creating a myBankrate account, you are providing written instructions to Bankrate,
Inc. under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to obtain information from your personal
credit profile from Equifax. You authorize Bankrate, Inc. to obtain such information
solely to confirm your identity and as long as you are a member of this website,
provide you with credit information, a risk score, educational materials, and recommendations
for credit or other service options. If at any time you desire to terminate this
authorization you may do so with no further obligations. Enrollment in this service
is completely free.
Payment and Order Validation; Sales Tax
Some myBankrate products, such as credit and/or identity theft protection products
and services require payment via a valid credit or debit card. By purchasing such
products and services and providing payment information, you represent that you
are authorized to utilize the payment method presented. Furthermore, you agree and
authorize us to: (i) submit a transaction using the card information provided, and
(ii) in the case of automatic recurring transactions, submit a transaction on a
monthly or annual basis for membership renewals. We accept all major credit cards.
At present, this includes Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express® and Discover®. We
may pre-authorize your credit card at the time you place an order, which may have
an effect on your available credit line. Upon processing your order, we will charge
your credit card in full. We reserve the right to verify your method of payment
and may reject any order you place with us for any reason. If we reject your order,
we will attempt to notify you by e-mail. Your credit card will normally not be charged
if we reject your order. In the event that your credit card is charged before we
reject your order, we will process a refund. In certain jurisdictions sales tax
at state and local rates may apply, in which case you will be charged applicable
taxes. As part of our order process, we will send you an electronic receipt to your
e-mail account of record.
Order Limitations
The services provided through myBankrate are for personal use only. Using any of
the services or information provided from myBankrate for commercial uses is strictly
prohibited. Services provided through this Web site are limited to residents in
the United States.
Return Policy; Order Disputes
Unless otherwise indicated, all orders made through myBankrate are non-refundable.
Questions regarding your orders or disputes regarding charges to your credit card
should be directed to us by e-mail at feedback@mybankrate.com or by writing to us
at Bankrate, Inc. c/o Quizzle, LLC Attn: Customer Service, 1274 Library Street,
Detroit, MI 48226-1906.
Your Rights Under State and Federal Law
- You have a right to dispute inaccurate information in your credit report by contacting
the credit bureau directly. However, neither you nor any "credit repair" company
or credit repair organization has the right to have accurate, current, and verifiable
information removed from your credit report. The credit bureau must remove accurate,
negative information from your report only if it is over 7 years old. Bankruptcy
information can be reported for 10 years.
- You have a right to obtain a copy of your credit report from a credit bureau. You
may be charged a reasonable fee. There is no fee, however, if you have been turned
down for credit, employment, insurance, or a rental dwelling because of information
in your credit report within the preceding 60 days. The credit bureau must provide
someone to help you interpret the information in your credit file. You are entitled
to receive a free copy of your credit report if you are unemployed and intend to
apply for employment in the next 60 days, if you are a recipient of public welfare
assistance, or if you have reason to believe that there is inaccurate information
in your credit report due to fraud.
- You have a right to sue a credit repair organization that violates the Credit Repair
Organization Act. This law prohibits deceptive practices by credit repair organizations.
- You have the right to cancel your contract with any credit repair organization for
any reason within 3 business days from the date you signed it.
- Credit bureaus are required to follow reasonable procedures to ensure that the information
they report is accurate. However, mistakes may occur.
- You may, on your own, notify a credit bureau in writing that you dispute the accuracy
of information in your credit file. The credit bureau must then reinvestigate and
modify or remove inaccurate or incomplete information. The credit bureau may not
charge any fee for this service. Any pertinent information and copies of all documents
you have concerning an error should be given to the credit bureau.
- If the credit bureau's reinvestigation does not resolve the dispute to your satisfaction,
you may send a brief statement to the credit bureau, to be kept in your file, explaining
why you think the record is inaccurate. The credit bureau must include a summary
of your statement about disputed information with any report it issues about you.
The Federal Trade Commission regulates credit bureaus and credit repair organizations.
For more information contact:
The Public Reference Branch
Federal Trade Commission
Washington, D.C. 20580
Public Forums
Our Services may act as a venue, through blogs, messaging, chat rooms, bulletin
boards and other forums (collectively, the "Forums"), allowing the users to contribute
information and make statements ("User Generated Content"). Neither we nor our advertisers
are involved in the actual transmission of User Generated Content provided for in
the Forums. As a result, neither we nor our advertisers approve or endorse any User
Generated Content in the Forums, and you hereby acknowledge and agree that neither
we nor our advertisers have control over the User Generated Content submission's
quality, correctness, timeliness, safety, truth, accuracy or legality by you or
any other person or entity in the Forums. You may find User Generated Content posted
in the Forums by other users to be offensive, harmful, inaccurate or deceptive.
Please use caution and common sense, and do not rely solely on User Generated Content
published in the Forums. It is neither our nor our advertisers' responsibility to
ensure all posts and questions submitted on the Forums are answered. Without limiting
the generality of the foregoing, and although we do not regularly review User Generated
Content provided for in the Forums, we reserve the right (but not the obligation)
to remove or edit any User Generated Content in the Forums, for any reason or no
reason, in our sole discretion.
Immediately report problems with the Forums to us at
webmaster@bankrate.com
Transmissions, Submissions and Postings to our Services
If you transmit, submit or post information to our Services that is not Federally
trademarked and/or copyrighted, you automatically grant us and our assigns the worldwide,
fully-paid, royalty-free, exclusive right and license to use, copy, format, adapt,
publish and/or incorporate any or all such information in any media whatsoever,
including, without limitation, the Content (as defined below). Provided that you
have obtained prior written permission from us to transmit, submit or post information
to our Services that is Federally trademarked and/or copyrighted, you automatically
grant us and our assigns the worldwide, fully-paid, royalty-free right to use, copy,
format, adapt, publish and/or incorporate any or all such information in any media
whatsoever, including, without limitation, the Content.
You shall not transmit, submit or post the following to our Services:
- Information that infringes our or any third party's copyright, patent, trademark,
trade secret or other proprietary rights;
- Information that violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation;
- Information that is trade libelous, unlawfully threatening, unlawfully harassing,
defamatory, obscene, explicit or vulgar, or otherwise injurious to us or third parties
or that infringes on our or any third party's rights of publicity or privacy;
- Information that contains any viruses, worms, Trojan horses, trap doors, back doors,
easter eggs, time bombs, cancelbots or other code or computer programming routines
that contain contaminating or destructive properties or that are intended to damage,
detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system,
data or personal information;
- Information containing or constituting chain letters, mass mailings, political campaigning,
or any form of "spam";
- Information that is false, inaccurate or misleading;
- Commercial advertisements or solicitations without our written permission; or
- Federally trademarked and/or copyrighted information without our prior written permission.
Although we do not regularly review your transmissions, submissions or postings,
we reserve the right (but not the obligation) to edit, refuse to post or remove
your transmissions, submissions or postings. Pursuant to the
Privacy Policy, we may review transmissions, submissions or postings made
by you to determine, in our sole discretion, your compliance with this Agreement.
You are solely responsible for all your transmissions, submissions or postings (i.e.,
your own User Generated Content) and the consequences of transmitting, submitting
or posting them.
Our Intellectual Property Rights
Our names, graphics, logos, page headers, button icons, scripts, and service names
are our trademarks or trade dress in the United States and/or other countries (collectively,
the "Proprietary Marks"). You may not use the Proprietary Marks without our prior
written permission. We make no proprietary claim to any third-party names, trademarks
or service marks appearing on our Services. Any third-party names, trademarks, and
service marks are property of their respective owners.
The information, advice, data, software and content viewable on, contained in, or
downloadable from our Services (collectively, the "Content"), including, without
limitation, all text, graphics, charts, pictures, photographs, images, videos, line
art, icons and renditions, are copyrighted by, or otherwise licensed to, us or our
Content suppliers. We also own a copyright of a collective work in the selection,
coordination, arrangement, presentation, display and enhancement of the Content
(the "Collective Work"). All software used on or within our Services (the "Software")
is our property or the property of our software vendors and is protected by United
States and international copyright laws. Viewing, reading, printing, downloading
or otherwise using the Content and/or the Collective Work does not entitle you to
any ownership or intellectual property rights to the Content, the Collective Work,
or the Software.
You are solely responsible for any damages resulting from your infringement of our
or any third-party's intellectual property rights regarding the Trademarks, the
Content, the Collective Work, the Software and/or any other harm incurred by us
or our affiliates as a, direct or indirect, result of your copying, distributing,
redistributing, transmitting, publishing or using the same for purposes that are
contrary to the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
Your Use of the Content
We grant you a limited license to access, print, download or otherwise make personal
use of the Content and the Collective Work in the form of: (i) one machine-readable
copy; (ii) one backup copy; and (iii) one print copy, for your non-commercial use;
provided, however, that you shall not delete any proprietary notices or materials
with regard to the foregoing manifestations of the Content and the Collective Work.
You may not modify the Content or the Collective Work or utilize them for any commercial
purpose or any other public display, performance, sale, or rental, decompile, reverse
engineer, or disassemble the Content and the Collective Work, or transfer the Content
or the Collective Work to another person or entity.
Except as otherwise permitted under the copyright laws of the United States, no
other copying, distribution, redistribution, transmission, publication or use, other
than the non-commercial use of the Content and the Collective Work as permitted
by this Agreement, is permitted by you without our prior written permission.
You may not use any meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing our name or trademarks
without our prior written permission.
Access and Interference
You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, scraper, deep link or other similar
automated data gathering or extraction tools, program, algorithm or methodology
to access, acquire, copy or monitor our Services or any portion of our Services
or for any other purpose, without our prior written permission. Additionally, you
agree that you will not: (i) take any action that imposes, or may impose in our
sole discretion an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on our infrastructure;
(ii) copy, reproduce, modify, create derivative works from, distribute or publicly
display any content (except for your personal information) from our Services without
our prior written permission and the appropriate third party, as applicable; (iii)
interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of our Services or any
activities conducted on our Services; or (iv) bypass any robot exclusion headers
or other measures we may use to prevent or restrict access to our Services. Notwithstanding
the foregoing, we grant the operators of public search engines permission to use
spiders to copy materials from our Services for the sole purpose and solely to the
extent necessary for creating publicly available search indices of the materials
on our Services, but not caches or archives of such materials. We reserve the right
to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases. Except as expressly
permitted in this Agreement, you shall not collect or harvest any personally identifiable
information, including account names, from our Services. You shall not use any communication
systems provided on our Services (such as Forums or email) for any commercial or
solicitation purposes. You shall not solicit for commercial purposes any users of
our Services without our prior written permission.
Electronic Communications
When you visit our Services or send email to us, you are communicating with us electronically.
You consent to receive communications from us electronically. Although we may choose
to communicate with you by regular mail, we may also choose to communicate with
you by email or by posting notices on our Services. You agree that all agreements,
notices, disclosures and other communications that we provide to you electronically
satisfy any legal requirement that such communications be in writing.
Your Responsibility for Equipment and Related Costs
You are responsible for obtaining and maintaining all telephone, computer hardware,
Internet access services and other equipment or services needed to access and use
our Services, and all costs and fees associated with Internet access or long distance
charges incurred with regard to your access and use of our Services.
Third Party Links or Access
There may be provided on our Services links or access to other websites or mediums
belonging to our advertisers, business partners, affiliates, Service Providers and
other third parties. For example, we may obtain your credit report from Equifax
or other credit reporting agencies. Such links and access do not constitute our
endorsement of those third parties, nor the products or services of those third
parties. We are not responsible for the activities or policies of those third parties.
We are not responsible for examining or evaluating any third party products or services
and we do not warrant their offerings. We do not guarantee that the terms or rates
offered by any particular advertiser, business partner, affiliate, Service Provider
or other third party on or through our Services are the best terms or lowest rates
available in the market.
Mobile Devices
If we provide aspects of our Services via an application for your mobile or other
device, please be aware that your carrier's normal rates and fees may apply and
that the terms of this Agreement and other agreements within the application apply
to your use of such application.
Copyright Infringement
It is our policy to comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act, title 17,
United States Code, Section 512, including, without limitation, responding to notices
of alleged copyright infringement, and other applicable intellectual property laws.
We shall, in appropriate circumstances, disable and/or terminate the accounts of
users who may infringe or repeatedly infringe the copyrights or other intellectual
property rights of ours and/or others.
Notifications (each a "Notification") of claimed copyright infringement should be
sent by either express mail or U.S. mail to our designated agent. Our designated
agent contact information is set forth below:
Address of designated agent to which notification should be sent:
Gunster, Yoakley & Stewart, P. A.
777 S. Flagler Drive, Suite 500 E
West Palm Beach, FL33401
Attention: David Bates
Facsimile number of designated agent: 561.671.2555
Email address of designated agent: dbates at gunster * com
Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(c)(3), to be effective, the
Notification must include the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the
owner ("Complaining Party") of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or if multiple
copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single Notification,
a representative list of such works at that site;
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject
of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled,
and information reasonably sufficient to permit us to locate the material;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit us to contact the Complaining Party,
such as an address, telephone number, and if available, an electronic mail address
at which the Complaining Party may be contacted;
- A statement that the Complaining Party has a good faith belief that use of the material
in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent,
or the law; and
- A statement that the information in the Notification is accurate, and under penalty
of perjury, that the Complaining Party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner
of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
Upon receipt of the Notification containing the information as outlined in 1 through
6 above, and pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512:
- We will remove or disable access to the material that is alleged to be infringing;
- We will forward the Notification to the alleged infringer ("Subscriber"); and
- We will take reasonable steps to promptly notify the Subscriber that we have removed
or disabled access to the material.
Counter Notification:
Pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512(g)(3), a Subscriber may counter
a Notification by providing a written communication ("Counter Notification") to
our designated agent that includes substantially the following:
- A physical or electronic signature of the Subscriber;
- Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been
disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or
access to it was disabled;
- A statement under penalty of perjury that the Subscriber has a good faith belief
that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification
of the material to be removed or disabled; and
- The Subscriber's name, address, and telephone number, and a statement that the Subscriber
consents to the jurisdiction of Federal District Court for the judicial district
in which the address is located, or if the Subscriber's address is outside of the
United States, for any judicial district in which we may be found, and that the
Subscriber will accept service of process from the person who provided the Counter
Notification or an agent of such person
Upon receipt of a Counter Notification containing the information as outlined in
1 through 4 above, and pursuant to Title 17, United States Code, Section 512:
- We will promptly provide the Complaining Party with a copy of the Counter Notification;
- We will inform the Complaining Party that we will replace the removed material or
cease disabling access to the removed material within ten (10) business days; and
- We will replace the removed material or cease disabling access to the removed material
not less than ten (10), nor more than fourteen (14) business days following receipt
of the Counter Notification, provided our designated agent has not received notice
from the Complaining Party that an action has been filed seeking a court order to
restrain the Subscriber from engaging in infringing activity relating to the removed
material on our network or system.
We Make No Representations or Warranties Regarding the Content
THE CONTENT AND ALL SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SERVICES ARE PROVIDED
TO YOU ON AN "AS-IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES
OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE OPERATION OF OUR SERVICES OR THE INFORMATION,
CONTENT, MATERIALS, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES INCLUDED ON OR ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SERVICES.
YOU EXPRESSLY AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES AND ALL PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
INCLUDED ON OR ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SERVICES IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK.
WE DO NOT MAKE, AND EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM, ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES,
EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE ACCURACY, CORRECTNESS, OR COMPLETENESS OF THE
CONTENT OR THE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SERVICES, OR THE SAFETY,
RELIABILITY, TITLE, TIMELINESS, COMPLETENESS, MERCHANTABILITY, CONFORMITY OR FITNESS
FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OF THE CONTENT OR THE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS ASSOCIATED
WITH OUR SERVICES. IT IS YOUR SOLE RESPONSIBILITY TO INDEPENDENTLY EVALUATE THE
ACCURACY, CORRECTNESS OR COMPLETENESS OF THE CONTENT AND THE SERVICES AND PRODUCTS
ASSOCIATED WITH OUR SERVICES. WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATION, WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE THAT
THE CONTENT THAT MAY BE AVAILABLE FOR DOWNLOADING FROM OUR SERVICES IS FREE OF INFECTION
FROM ANY VIRUSES, WORMS, TROJAN HORSES, TRAP DOORS, BACK DOORS, EASTER EGGS, TIME
BOMBS, CANCELBOTS OR OTHER CODE OR COMPUTER PROGRAMMING ROUTINES THAT CONTAIN CONTAMINATING
OR DESTRUCTIVE PROPERTIES OR THAT ARE INTENDED TO DAMAGE, DETRIMENTALLY INTERFERE
WITH, SURREPTITIOUSLY INTERCEPT OR EXPROPRIATE ANY SYSTEM, DATA OR PERSONAL INFORMATION.
WE DO NOT MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES OR GUARANTEES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED,
REGARDING ANY QUOTES OR OFFERS PROVIDED ON OR THROUGH OUR SERVICES.
WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT WE ARE NOT A FINANCIAL
INSTITUTION, INSURANCE PROVIDER, CREDIT CARD PROVIDER OR OTHER SERVICE PROVIDER.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT WE ARE SOLELY AN INTERMEDIARY BETWEEN YOU AND SUCH
SERVICE PROVIDERS AND, THEREFORE, WE EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL LIABILITY FOR
ANY CONTENT, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES PROVIDED BY SUCH SERVICE PROVIDERS.
The Content is intended only to assist you with financial decisions and is broad
in scope and does not consider your personal financial situation. Your personal
financial situation is unique and the information and advice may not be appropriate
for your situation. Accordingly, before making any final decisions or implementing
any financial strategy, we recommend that you obtain additional information and
advice of your accountant and other financial advisors who are fully aware of your
individual circumstances.
Our Services are controlled and offered by us from our facilities in the United
States of America. We make no representations that our Services are appropriate
or available for use in other jurisdictions. If you access or use our Services from
other jurisdictions, then you do so by your own volition and are solely responsible
for compliance with local law.
Limitations on Our Liability
WE SHALL IN NO EVENT BE RESPONSIBLE TO, OR LIABLE TO, YOU, OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER
IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY DAMAGES,
INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, INDIRECT OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES
THAT INCLUDE, BUT ARE NOT LIMITED TO, DAMAGES FOR ANY LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE OR
BUSINESS, AS A DIRECT OR INDIRECT RESULT OF: (I) YOUR BREACH OR VIOLATION OF THE
TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT; (II) YOUR ACCESS AND USE OF OUR SERVICES;
(III) YOUR DELAY IN ACCESSING OR INABILITY TO ACCESS OR USE OUR SERVICES FOR ANY
REASON; (IV) YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY OF THE CONTENT OR THE COLLECTIVE WORK FOR YOUR
USE; (V) YOUR RELIANCE UPON OR USE OF THE CONTENT OR THE COLLECTIVE WORK, OR (VI)
ANY INFORMATION, SOFTWARE, PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH OUR SERVICES, OR
OTHERWISE ARISING OUT OF THE USE OF OUR SERVICES, WHETHER RESULTING IN WHOLE OR
IN PART, FROM BREACH OF CONTRACT, TORTIOUS BEHAVIOR, NEGLIGENCE, STRICT LIABILITY
OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF WE AND/OR OUR SUPPLIERS HAD BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY
OF DAMAGES. OUR LIABILITY AND THE LIABILITY OF OUR AFFILIATES, DIRECTORS, OFFICERS,
EMPLOYEES, INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS, SHAREHOLDERS, REPRESENTATIVES, AND AGENTS ARISING
OUT OF THIS AGREEMENT SHALL NOT EXCEED $100.
YOU SPECIFICALLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT WE SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR USER GENERATED CONTENT
OR THE DEFAMATORY, OFFENSIVE OR ILLEGAL CONDUCT OF ANY THIRD PARTY, AND THAT THE
RISK OF HARM OR DAMAGE FROM SUCH USER GENERATED CONTENT AND THIRD-PARTY CONDUCT
RESTS ENTIRELY WITH YOU.
YOU AND US AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO OUR SERVICES
MUST COMMENCE WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES. OTHERWISE,
SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.
Certain state laws do not allow limitations on implied warranties or the exclusion
or limitation of certain damages. If these laws apply to you, some or all of the
above disclaimers, exclusions or limitations may not apply to you.
In the event that any limitation on the period of time for bringing an action, claim,
dispute or proceeding against us, located in this "Limitations on Our Liability"
section, is determined or held to be inapplicable or unenforceable by any court,
arbitration panel or other tribunal, then the statute of limitations for the State
of Florida, including but not limited to Florida Statutes Section 95, shall apply
to any such action, claim, dispute or proceeding referred to final or binding arbitration.
Your Indemnification of Us
You shall defend, indemnify and hold harmless us and our officers, directors, shareholders,
employees, independent contractors, agents, representatives and affiliates from
and against all claims and expenses, including, but not limited to, attorneys' fees,
arising out of, or attributable to: (i) any breach or violation of this Agreement
by you; (ii) your failure to provide accurate, complete and current personally identifiable
information requested or required by us; (iii) your access or use of our Services;
(iv) access or use of our Services under any password that may be issued to you;
(v) your transmissions, submissions or postings (i.e., your own User Generated Content);
and/or (vi) any personal injury or property damage caused by you.
Amendments of this Agreement
We reserve the right to update, amend and/or change this Agreement at any time in
our sole discretion and without notice. Updates to this Agreement will be posted
here. Amendments will take effect immediately upon us posting the updated Agreement
on our Services. You are encouraged to revisit this Agreement from time to time
in order to review any changes that have been made. The date on which this Agreement
was last updated will be noted immediately above this Agreement. Your continued
access and use of our Services following the posting of any such changes shall automatically
be deemed your acceptance of all changes.
Our Remedies
You acknowledge that we may be irreparably damaged if this Agreement is not specifically
enforced, and damages at law would be an inadequate remedy. Therefore, in the event
of a breach or threatened breach of any provision of this Agreement by you, we shall
be entitled, in addition to all rights and remedies, to an injunction restraining
such breach or threatened breach, without being required to show any actual damage
or to post an injunction bond, and/or to a decree for specific performance of the
provisions of this Agreement. For purposes of this Section, you agree that any action
or proceeding with regard to such injunction restraining such breach or threatened
breach shall be brought in the courts of record of Palm Beach County, Florida, or
the United States District Court, Southern District of Florida. You consent to the
jurisdiction of such court and waive any objection to the laying of venue of any
such action or proceeding in such court. You agree that service of any court paper
may be effected on such party by mail or in such other manner as may be provided
under applicable laws, rules of procedure or local rules.
Legal Disputes
You and we agree that any claim or dispute at law or equity that has arisen or may
arise between us relating in any way to or arising out of this or previous versions
of this Agreement, your use of or access to the Services will be resolved in accordance
with the provisions set forth in this Legal Disputes section. Please read this section
carefully. It affects your rights and will have a substantial impact on how claims
you and we have against each other are resolved.
Applicable Law
You agree that the laws of the State of Florida, without regard to principles of
conflict of laws, will govern this Agreement and any claim or dispute that has arisen
or may arise between you and us, except as otherwise stated in this Agreement.
Agreement to Arbitrate
You and we each agree that any and all disputes or claims that have arisen or may
arise between you and us relating in any way to or arising out of this or previous
versions of this Agreement, your use of or access to our Services, or any products
or services sold, offered, or purchased through our Services shall be resolved exclusively
through final and binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may
assert claims in small claims court, if your claims qualify. The Federal Arbitration
Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Agreement to Arbitrate section
(this "Agreement to Arbitrate").
1. Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized
Relief
YOU AND WE AGREE THAT EACH OF US MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL
BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS OR REPRESENTATIVE
ACTION OR PROCEEDING. UNLESS BOTH YOU AND US AGREE OTHERWISE, THE ARBITRATOR MAY
NOT CONSOLIDATE OR JOIN MORE THAN ONE PERSON'S OR PARTY'S CLAIMS, AND MAY NOT OTHERWISE
PRESIDE OVER ANY FORM OF A CONSOLIDATED, REPRESENTATIVE, OR CLASS PROCEEDING. ALSO,
THE ARBITRATOR MAY AWARD RELIEF (INCLUDING MONETARY, INJUNCTIVE, AND DECLARATORY
RELIEF) ONLY IN FAVOR OF THE INDIVIDUAL PARTY SEEKING RELIEF AND ONLY TO THE EXTENT
NECESSARY TO PROVIDE RELIEF NECESSITATED BY THAT PARTY'S INDIVIDUAL CLAIM(S). ANY
RELIEF AWARDED CANNOT AFFECT OUR OTHER USERS.
2. Arbitration Procedures
Arbitration is more informal than a lawsuit in court. There is no judge or jury
in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is very limited. However,
an arbitrator can award the same damages and relief on an individual basis that
a court can award to an individual. An arbitrator should apply the terms of this
Agreement as a court would.
The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have
exclusive authority to resolve any dispute arising out of or relating to the interpretation,
applicability, enforceability or formation of this Agreement to Arbitrate, any part
of it, or of this Agreement including, but not limited to, any claim that all or
any part of the Agreement to Arbitrate or this Agreement is void or voidable.
The arbitration will be conducted by the American Arbitration Association ("AAA")
under its rules and procedures, including the AAA's Supplementary Procedures for
Consumer-Related Disputes (as applicable), as modified by this Agreement to Arbitrate.
The AAA's rules are available at www.adr.org. A form for initiating arbitration
proceedings is available on the AAA's site at http://www.adr.org.
The arbitration shall be held in the county in which you reside or at another mutually
agreed location. If the value of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, you or we
may elect to have the arbitration conducted by telephone or based solely on written
submissions, which election shall be binding on you and us subject to the arbitrator's
discretion to require an in-person hearing, if the circumstances warrant. Attendance
at an in-person hearing may be made by telephone by you and/or us, unless the arbitrator
requires otherwise.
The arbitrator will decide the substance of all claims in accordance with the laws
of the State of Florida, including recognized principles of equity, and will honor
all claims of privilege recognized by law. The arbitrator shall not be bound by
rulings in prior arbitrations involving our other users, but is bound by rulings
in prior arbitrations involving the same user to the extent required by applicable
law. The arbitrator's award shall be final and binding and judgment on the award
rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof.
3. Costs of Arbitration
Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the
AAA's rules, unless otherwise stated in this Agreement to Arbitrate. If the value
of the relief sought is $10,000 or less, at your request, we will pay all filing,
administration, and arbitrator fees associated with the arbitration. Any request
for payment of fees by us should be submitted by mail to the AAA along with your
Demand for Arbitration and we will make arrangements to pay all necessary fees directly
to the AAA. If the value of the relief sought is more than $10,000 and you are able
to demonstrate that the costs of arbitration will be prohibitive as compared to
the costs of litigation, we will pay as much of the filing, administration, and
arbitrator fees as the arbitrator deems necessary to prevent the arbitration from
being cost-prohibitive. In the event the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you
assert in the arbitration to be frivolous, you agree to reimburse us for all fees
associated with the arbitration paid by us on your behalf, which you otherwise would
be obligated to pay under the AAA's rules.
4. Severability
With the exception of any of the provisions in Section 1 of this Agreement to Arbitrate
("Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions and Non-Individualized Relief"),
if an arbitrator or court decides that any part of this Agreement to Arbitrate is
invalid or unenforceable, the other parts of this Agreement to Arbitrate shall still
apply. If an arbitrator or court decides that any of the provisions in Section 1
of this Agreement to Arbitrate ("Prohibition of Class and Representative Actions
and Non-Individualized Relief") is invalid or unenforceable, then the entirety of
this Agreement to Arbitrate shall be null and void. The remainder of the Agreement
and its Legal Disputes Section will continue to apply.
5. Future Changes to the Agreement to Arbitrate
Notwithstanding any provision in the Agreement to the contrary, you and we agree
that if we make any change to this Agreement to Arbitrate (other than a change to
any notice address or site link provided herein) in the future, that change shall
not apply to any claim that was filed in a legal proceeding against us prior to
the effective date of the change. The change shall apply to all other disputes or
claims governed by the Agreement to Arbitrate that have arisen or may arise between
you and us. We will notify you of changes to this Agreement to Arbitrate by posting
the amended terms on our Services at least 30 days before the effective date of
the changes and/or by email.
Judicial Forum for Legal Disputes
Unless you and we agree otherwise, in the event that the Agreement to Arbitrate
above is found not to apply to you or to a particular claim or dispute as a result
of a decision by the arbitrator or a court order, you agree that any claim or dispute
that has arisen or may arise between you and us must be resolved exclusively by
a state or federal court located in Palm Beach County, Florida. You and us agree
to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Palm Beach County,
Florida for the purpose of litigating all such claims or disputes. You also agree
that: (i) our Services shall be deemed solely based in the State of Florida; and
(ii) our Services shall be deemed passive Services that do not give rise to personal
jurisdiction over us and our assigns, either specific or general, in jurisdictions
other than the State of Florida.
Miscellaneous
If any portion of this Agreement is deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable by any
arbitrator or court of competent jurisdiction, this Agreement as a whole shall not
be deemed unlawful, void or unenforceable, but only that portion of this Agreement
that is unlawful, void or unenforceable shall be stricken from this Agreement.
The headings contained in this Agreement are for convenience of reference only,
are not to be considered a part of this Agreement, and shall not limit or otherwise
affect in any way the meaning or interpretation of this Agreement.
All covenants, agreements, representations and warranties made in this Agreement,
as may be amended by us, from time to time, shall survive your acceptance of this
Agreement and the termination of this Agreement.
This Agreement and the Privacy Policy represent the
entire understanding and agreement between you and us regarding the subject matter
of the same, and supersede all other previous agreements, understandings and/or
representations regarding the same.
If you have questions, comments, concerns or feedback regarding this Agreement or
our Services, please contact us at webmaster@bankrate.com.