TESCO Phone Shop

Service terms & conditions

Contents

1. What is Tesco home phone?
2. When your Contract with us begins
3. 'Cooling-off' period - your right to change your mind
4. Changes to your Contract
5. Ending your Contract
6. Use of personal information - including credit reference and fraud prevention agencies
7. The Tesco home phone service
8. Suspending your use of Tesco home phone
9. Your use of Tesco home phone
10. Charges
11. Credit Limit & Security Pre-Payment
12. Clubcard Information
13. Our responsibilities to you
14. BT and other events beyond our control
15. Miscellaneous
16. Complaints
17. Meaning of certain words

Introduction

The Tesco home phone Service Terms & Conditions apply to new and existing Tesco home phone customers and are effective from 29th November 2007.

Although you may have read some information about Tesco home phone alongside your application, or received certain information over the telephone, you should read these Service Terms & Conditions carefully, because they contain important information about your legal rights and obligations.

Any words written with the first letter in capitals, like Line Rental, Calls or Contract, have the meaning given to them in paragraph 17 at the end of this document. You can contact Customer Services by telephoning 0845 300 7080, by writing to Tesco home phone, PO Box 5879, Forres, IV36 2YF or by emailing support@tescohomephone.com.

1. What is Tesco home phone?

   Tesco home phone is a service which lets you subscribe for Line Rental and make Calls using a BT line and get one bill from us for both. If you do not get Line Rental from us, you will get a phone bill from us for the Calls you make using Tesco home phone but you will still get your BT phone bill for line rental and certain other call charges.

2. When your Contract with us begins

   2.1 By entering into this Contract with us you promise that you are at least 18 years old, are a UK resident, have a UK bank account and that you have the right and ability to enter into this Contract. If you only get Calls from us you also promise that you are an existing BT account holder for the telephone number for your Tesco home phone Account(s).

   2.2 Moving your account to us means that any discounts you had with a previous provider will stop.

3. 'Cooling-off' period - your right to change your mind

   If you change your mind after you have requested Tesco home phone, you can tell us that you would like to cancel and you will not incur any costs or penalties. Please let us know you wish to cancel at any time before you Go Live with Tesco home phone by calling, emailing, faxing or writing to Customer Services (please see our Contact Us details) Your Go Live Date will be set out in your Welcome Pack. Once you Go Live with Tesco home phone to make or receive a Call, your cancellation right under paragraph 3 ends, but you can still end your Contract under paragraph 5.

4. Changes to your Contract

   We can change this Contract (including our Charges) at any time. We will notify you of any changes by placing a notice on your bill. The changes will apply to your use of Tesco home phone 14 days after we give you notice. If you do not agree with the changed Contract, you should cancel your Contract under paragraph 5. If you continue to use Tesco home phone after the date on which the change comes into effect, your use of Tesco home phone indicates you agree to the changed Contract.

5. Ending your Contract

   5.1 If you want to end your Contract after the ‘cooling-off’ period, you may do so by calling, emailing, faxing or writing to Customer Services (please see our Contact Us details) 30 days in advance of leaving us. However, if you are leaving us to go to another telephone company, we will consider that you have given appropriate notice as soon as we receive notice from your new provider. In other words, you will not be required to give us 30 days notice in this instance. We will confirm that we have received your request to end your Contract and that Tesco home phone will no longer be available to you within 14 days from the date we receive your request.

   5.2 If you subscribe to Line Rental, your Contract will be for a Minimum Term, the length of which will depend on the type of package or promotion you have taken out. If you end your Contract before the end of the Minimum Term, then you will incur a charge for ending it early.

   5.3 We may end our Contract with you at any time by writing to you and giving you 30 days' notice. We may also end our Contract with you immediately if: (a) you do not pay a bill on time, (b) you break an important term of your Contract with us (for example, you do not comply with paragraph 9), (c) you break any other term of your Contract with us and do not put it right within 7 days of us asking you to, (d) you fail any credit or fraud prevention check or where we reasonably suspect fraud or money laundering by you or someone using your Account(s), (e) you give us information about yourself which we reasonably believe to be false or misleading, (f) you are the subject of bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings, or if you do not make a payment under a judgment of a Court on time, or you make an arrangement with your creditors or a receiver or administrator is appointed over any of your assets, or you go into liquidation, or (g) we are no longer able to provide Tesco home phone to you despite making all reasonable efforts to do so.

   5.4 If you end your Contract with us your use of Tesco home phone will end within 14 days of us receiving your request with details of your new provider. Both of us must continue complying with this Contract (in particular, payment of Charges) until we stop providing Tesco home phone to you. The end of this Contract, for whatever reason, shall not affect either of our rights or liabilities.

6. Use of personal information - including credit reference and fraud prevention agencies

   6.1 If you change your name, address, telephone number or bank details you must let us know.

   6.2 We will use your details, the information relating to the provision of Tesco home phone, and other information about you available to us ("your information") to identify you and consider your application, provide you with Tesco home phone, conduct research on your use of Tesco home phone to help us make informed business decisions, and inform you of Tesco group offers and services (if you would prefer us not to inform you of offers and services, please let us know by ticking the box on the application form or Contact Us).

   6.3 We will search your record at a credit reference agency who will supply us with credit information, as well as information from the Electoral Register. The agency will record details of the search whether or not your application proceeds. We will use a credit scoring or other automated decision-making system when assessing your application and to verify your identity. Credit searches and other information which is provided to us and/or the credit reference agencies, about you and those with whom you are linked financially may be used by ourselves and other companies if credit decisions are made about you, or other members of your household. This information may also be used for debt tracing and the prevention of money laundering as well as the management of your account.

   6.4 Information held about you by the credit reference agencies may already be linked to records relating to one or more of your partners and you may be treated as financially linked which means your application will be assessed with reference to any associated records.

   6.5 We will also add to your record with the credit reference agency details of your Contract with us, the payments you make under it and any default or failure to keep to its terms.

   6.6 We will check your details with fraud prevention agencies and if you give us false or inaccurate information and we suspect fraud, we will record this. We may also pass information to financial and other organisations involved in fraud prevention to protect ourselves and our customers from theft and fraud. These records will be shared with other organisations and used by us and them to help make decisions about credit and credit related services such as insurance for you and members of your household and trace debtors, recover debt, prevent money laundering and fraud, and to manage your accounts. Fraud prevention agency records will also be shared with other organisations to help make decisions on motor, household, credit, life and other insurance proposals and insurance claims, for you and members of your household.

   6.7 If you require details of those credit reference and fraud prevention agencies from which we obtain and with which we record information about you, then we will supply them to you on request. Please Contact Us to request this information.

   6.8 We may monitor and record Calls made to or by Customer Services for training purposes and to improve the services we offer you.

   6.9 We will pass your information to other members of the Tesco group, any successors in title to our business and suppliers that process data on our behalf. We may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individual customer is identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes. We will not pass your information to anyone else.

   6.10 You have the right to access personal information that is held about you. To obtain a copy of the personal information, please write to us at the following address: Data Protection Compliance Manager, Corporate Secretariat, Tesco House, Delamare Road, Cheshunt, Hertfordshire EN8 9SL enclosing your name and postal details and a cheque for £10 made payable to "Tesco plc/Access Right".

7. The Tesco home phone service

   7.1 We use our reasonable endeavours to make Tesco home phone available to you on the Go Live Date. If we cannot do so, we will keep you updated. We provide Tesco home phone to you using a BT line. The only service that we provide to you as Tesco home phone is Line Rental and the ability to use a BT line to make Calls. If you only get Calls from us, we do not provide you with a telephone number, a telephone line, or any other telephone or communications equipment.

   7.2 When we provide you with Tesco home phone, we will use the reasonable skill and care of a competent service provider, but we cannot guarantee that Tesco home phone will always be fault-free. Tesco home phone is dependent on BT and other Network Operators and can be affected by things that we cannot control.

8. Suspending your use of Tesco home phone

   8.1 We may suspend Tesco home phone immediately: (a) if we need to carry out repairs, maintenance or the introduction of new aspects to Tesco home phone (and we will try to restore Tesco home phone as soon as we can), (b) if we are told to by the Government, the emergency services or any other competent or lawful authority, (c) to protect you under paragraph 8.2, or (d) if any of the circumstances in paragraph 5.3 occurs.

   8.2 Sometimes, it may appear to us that there is an unusual use of Tesco home phone (for example, the volume or destination of Calls increases significantly). If this does happen we may suspend Tesco home phone to prevent you from incurring excessive or unwanted Charges. We will only ever suspend Tesco home phone like this in exceptional circumstances and will try to contact you beforehand (but this may not be possible).

   8.3 If your use of Tesco home phone is suspended for any reason, you can still make Calls to the operator and emergency services.

9. Your use of Tesco home phone

   9.1 You must use Tesco home phone in accordance with your Contract with us and any other reasonable instructions we, BT, or any other Network Operator give you. If you only get Calls from us, you must be a BT account holder with a telephone line connected to an exchange at all times unless we agree otherwise and provide your own telephone. The Tesco home phone service may not be available to a small number of customers in unusual circumstances. We will tell you if these apply to you. Whilst we provide Tesco home phone to you, you authorise us to act on your behalf in all dealings with BT or any Network Operator (as applicable) in connection with Tesco home phone.

   9.2 You may have only two phone lines on each Account. You must keep confidential all Passwords you have nominated in connection with your Account(s). We cannot disclose information about your account to anyone until we are satisfied as to their identity, and they have correctly quoted the Password to us.

   9.3 You need to have a Tesco Clubcard or a Tesco e-Clubcard to collect Clubcard points when you use Tesco home phone.

   9.4 You will have to pay any call-out or other charges you incur (whether from us, BT or any other Network Operator ). You must also follow any instructions given to you about Tesco home phone or any equipment, including taking reasonable care of the equipment. You must also behave in a polite manner towards any BT or any other Network Operator staff attending your home.

   9.5 You may not, nor allow anyone else to, use Tesco home phone (whether connected to a telephone or a computer): (a) for any unlawful purpose, (b) to make a Call which is, or is intended to be, malicious, fraudulent or hoax (including to the emergency services), (c) to breach the rights of any third party (for example, copyright), or (d) in any way which may damage or affect the operation or quality of Tesco home phone, the Internet or any other telecommunications system. If you do not comply with any provision of this paragraph, you will compensate us for all liabilities, claims, damages, losses and costs (including legal costs) which we may suffer as a result.

   9.6 Tesco home phone is a residential service that is made available to you only for personal use and not for commercial or business purposes. If you do use Tesco home phone for business or commercial purposes in breach of your Contract with us, you will compensate us for all liabilities, claims, damages, losses and costs (including legal costs) which we may suffer because someone (other than you) makes or threatens a claim against us because Tesco home phone is faulty or cannot be used by them.

10. Charges

    10.1 The Charges for Line Rental (and any features and subscription charges) and Calls are listed in the Price List.

    10.2 To work out the cost of each Call, we do the following: (a) Work out the day, time, and type of call to identify the right call rate (we have different rates of charging depending on the time of day and the day of the week - see the Price List for further details); (b) Multiply the call rate by the duration of your call, rounded up to the next whole minute; (c) Round the cost, to the nearest tenth of a penny (i.e. 0.1p); (d) Add the VAT at 17.5%. (e) Add a one-off connection charge of 6p per call. From 1 September 2007, the connection charge will apply to national and local geographic calls, premium rate calls, non-geographic calls (e.g. 0845, 0870, 0844 etc), international calls, landline to mobile calls and duration based premium rate service calls. The connection charge will not apply to the inclusive calls that are part of the Tesco home phone Talk 1, Talk 2 and Talk 3 packages or evening calls to local/national geographic numbers for Talk 1 customers.

    10.3 We will send you your first bill soon after your Go Live Date. We will normally send you bills monthly, but we may send you a bill at any time. Your bill will comprise Charges for Line Rental (unless you only get Calls from us) and Calls and you are responsible for the payment of all the Charges that appear on your bill. We will send the bill to the address you have provided to us (if you would like the bill sent to a different address, please Contact Us). Your bill will be itemised sufficiently so that you can check the accuracy of your bill. You can receive a copy of your bill in large print or Braille format if you request this on the application form or if you Contact Us. Your bill will show you how much VAT you have paid, and on what date. We do not supply an additional VAT invoice.

    10.4 You must pay for your Charges by Direct Debit, which is set up when you apply for the Service. The Direct debit guarantee is offered by all banks and building societies that take part in the Direct Debit Scheme. The efficiency and security of the Scheme is monitored and protected by your own bank or building society. If the amounts to be paid or the payment dates change, we will notify you 6 working days in advance of your account being debited or as otherwise agreed. If an error is made by Tesco home phone or by your bank or building society, you are guaranteed a full and immediate refund from your branch of the amount paid. You can cancel a Direct Debit at any time by writing to your bank or building society. Please also send a copy of your letter to us.

    10.5 If you only get Calls from us, there are some Calls which will not appear on your Tesco home phone bill, and which will be on your BT (or other provider's) bill.

    10.6 If you only get Calls from us, there are certain types of Calls and services are not provided by us as part of Tesco home phone, and these will continue to be provided by BT and any charges for these will appear on your BT bill. These are: (a) emergency numbers, operator assistance, 1471, 1571, numbers used for flat-rate internet access (those starting with 0844 04 or 0808 99); (b) Call Waiting, Call Display, Call Sign, 3-way Calling, Call Divert, Reminder Call and Ring Back. (To access Ring Back, you can still dial 1280 from your telephone.) These services are not available from Tesco home phone or from any other "Carrier Pre-Select" provider. If you would like to have Call Barring (e.g., for premium rate numbers), please Contact Us to arrange this for free. The Light User Scheme is not available with Tesco home phone. Please note that this list of calls and services is subject to change due to external circumstances.

    10.7 If we suspend Tesco home phone because you are in breach of your Contract with us, but we agree to resume your use of Tesco home phone, you may have to pay a reconnection charge.

    10.8 You must pay the Charges for any use of Tesco home phone (whether you make the Calls or someone else does) as soon as the bill is issued to you. If you do not pay your bills within 27 days, we may charge you an administration charge (see Price List for details. If we cannot send you a bill (or you do not receive a bill), this does not mean that your use of Tesco home phone is free. We will include all outstanding Charges on the next bill we send you. You can only pay your bill in pounds sterling (£). If you pay your bill in a foreign currency or your bank refuses to make payment, we may charge you for the bank and administration costs we incur.

    10.9 You cannot pay your bills in Tesco stores. If you have any queries about your bill, please always Contact Us.

    10.10 If you do not maintain your direct debit payments, you must pay by another method. We may contact you for your credit card details if you fail to make payments by direct debit. If direct debit payments continue to fail on a regular basis, we may cancel your Contract.

11. Credit Limit & Security Pre-Payment

    11.1 Sometimes we may apply a Credit Limit to your Account(s) or ask you for a Security Pre-payment.

    11.2 We may apply a Credit Limit to your Account(s) if you have failed in the past to pay by direct debit or have a history of late payment, you request it to help manage your expenses or it is otherwise reasonable for us to do so. If you exceed your Credit Limit we will contact you to let you know, and we may (but do not have to) demand immediate payment of the Charges and/or suspend your Account(s).

    11.3 We may ask you to pay a Security Pre-payment at any time if you do not meet our credit criteria or if it is otherwise reasonable for us to do so, if we have incurred a loss because of your failure to comply with this Contract.

    11.4 The Security Pre-payment will be credited to your Account and will be used to cover the Charges you incur using Tesco Telecom. When this amount has been used we will ask for another Security Pre-Payment, or a bar will be set up on these Calls.

    11.5 If we decide you no longer need to provide a Security Pre-payment or be restricted by a Credit Limit, we will tell you.

12. Clubcard Information

    12.1 Don't forget, if you have a Clubcard, you collect Clubcard points for making Calls! This is calculated as 1 point per £1 spent on Calls, Line Rental and on your monthly subscription. Points are awarded after your Direct Debit payment is taken. After you have paid your bill it may take up to three weeks for your Clubcard points to reach your Clubcard account, when you will see the points on your Clubcard statement and on your till receipts.

13. Our responsibilities to you

    13.1 We do not exclude or restrict our liability for: (a) death or personal injury caused by our negligence (or our agent's negligence), (b) fraud, or (c) any of our liabilities that cannot by law be restricted.

    13.2 We are responsible for direct losses you suffer as a result of us breaking this Contract with you if the losses are a foreseeable consequence of us breaking this Contract. Our liability to you in relation to Tesco home phone is limited to £250 for each Account that is affected. We are not responsible for indirect losses which happen as a side effect of the main loss or damage or which are not foreseeable by you and us (such as loss of profits, wasted expense or loss of opportunity). If you suffer any loss you must Contact Us as soon as possible to let us know.

14. BT and other events beyond our control

    14.1 BT provides your telephone line and BT operates your telephone exchange. Because of this, there may be times when BT makes your telephone line unavailable. Unfortunately, this is beyond our control and there is nothing we can do to prevent this.

    14.2 We shall not be responsible for any delay or failure to provide Tesco home phone for reasons beyond our reasonable control, for example fire, explosion, lightning, storm, tempest, flood, earthquakes, riot and civil commotion, failure by a utility company, local authority or other such body, any failure or shortage of fuel or transport, war, civil war, armed conflict or terrorism, or nuclear, chemical or biological contamination, or any blockade or embargo, or any official or unofficial strike or other dispute.

15. Miscellaneous

    15.1 You may not transfer any of your rights or responsibilities under your Contract with us to anyone else without obtaining our consent. We can transfer all or any part of our Contract with you at any time provided the service you receive is not significantly reduced.

    15.2 If at any time we do not require you to comply with any part of your Contract with us, this does not prevent us from asking you to at a later time.

    15.3 If any part of your Contract with us is found to be invalid by any Court or other regulatory or competent body, the invalidity will not affect the rest of the Contract, which shall remain in force.

    15.4 Any notices or communications that you send to us must be sent to Tesco home phone, PO Box 5879, Forres, IV36 2YF. Any notices or communications that we send to you must be sent to the address (or email address) you have asked us to send your bills to. All notices or other communications will be deemed to have been received 48 hours after posting.

    15.5 A person who is not a party to your Contract with us has no right under the Contract (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any part of the Contract but this does not affect any right or remedy of a third party which exists or is available apart from that Act.

    15.6 English law applies to your Contract with us, and any disputes about this Contract will be decided exclusively in the English courts.

16. Complaints

    16.1 We want to give you a great service. However, if you are unhappy with any aspect of our service then please Contact Us. If you are still not happy, please ask to speak to a manager. If you would like to write to us with your complaint, please write to Tesco home phone, Customer Services Complaint Management, PO Box 5879, Forres, IV36 2YF.

    16.2 If you remain unhappy or you think that we have not dealt with your complaint satisfactorily, you can refer your complaint to Ofcom (Ofcom Contact Centre, Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA. Phone: 0845 456 3000. Fax: 020 7981 3333. www.ofcom.org.uk), the regulator for the telecom industry. Tesco home phone is a member of the telecommunications ombudsman, Otelo.

    16.3 Before you contact Ofcom please make sure you have details of why you are still unhappy with the answer given by the Tesco home phones Complaint Management Service.

17. Meaning of certain words

    17.1 The following list gives an explanation of some of the words used in these Service Terms & Conditions:

    • Account(s): your Tesco home phone account applicable to one telephone number for which you have chosen to receive the Tesco home phone service;
    • BT: British Telecommunications plc;
    • Call(s): Calls (including voice, fax, data and/or text) from your property which is routed from your local exchange over the fixed telecommunications systems run by BT and/or one or more Network Operators;
    • Carrier Pre-Select: a service which enables customers to use telephone providers other than BT more easily, without having to dial any extra numbers or use an adaptor. CPS means you can chose different phone companies using your existing BT line;
    • Charge(s): the charges which you have to pay for Tesco home phone set out in the Price List;
    • Contract: the agreement between you and us made up of the following: your application to request Tesco home phone which you signed or agreed over the telephone, in-store or online, the terms and conditions contained in this Service Terms & Conditions document and the Price List;
    • Cooling-off period: a period after you request Tesco home phone service where you have the right to cancel your Contract under paragraph 3;
    • Credit Limit: a limit on the Charges you can incur by making Calls in any billing period;
    • Go Live Date: the date on which we agree to make Tesco home phone available to you;
    • Line Rental: a service which connects a telephone line to a home;
    • Minimum Term: means the fixed period of your Contact, for which you are legally obliged to keep receiving Tesco home phone. For example, if you have signed a fixed term contract for eighteen months, the Minimum Term will be eighteen months;
    • Network Operator: any person(s) authorised or permitted to run a telecommunications system over which we provide Tesco home phone;
    • Password: any word you have defined by which we can validate your identity to enable you to access protected details about your account;
    • Price List: the list of Charges current at the time you use Tesco home phone as published by us from time to time. You can see this on our website at www.tescohomephone.com, or if you Contact Us;
    • Security Pre-payment: a deposit against future non-payment of a bill by you;
    • Service Terms & Conditions: these terms & conditions, as updated from time to time;
    • Tesco group: other companies in our group of companies;
    • We or us: Tesco Stores Limited (or our agent), whose registered office is at Tesco House, Cheshunt, Waltham Cross, Hertfordshire, EN8 9SL;
    • Welcome Pack: the pack of information sent to you as described in paragraph 2.1;
    • You: you, the customer with whom we make this Contract, including any person we reasonably believe is acting with your authority or knowledge.

Last Updated: [29.11.2007]

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