COMPUTER CLINIC – FIRST AID FOR COMPUTERS - TERMS & CONDITIONS

Please read the following Terms & Conditions document carefully. If there is anything for which you require clarification please do not hesitate to contact us in the first instance.

FIRST AID FOR COMPUTERS Ltd is our legal company name, however, we are often referred to as COMPUTER CLINIC and also known as FIRST AID FOR COMPUTERS Ltd t/a COMPUTER CLINIC. The Terms & Conditions outlined below apply to all these names, however, from here on in, we will refer to our company as COMPUTER CLINIC (the supplier).

By asking COMPUTER CLINIC for any type of advice or assistance in any way, shape or form, even just a simple question, we are then providing you with a service that we have the right to charge for. We use our discretion to waive small charges where we deem it appropriate. By receiving our advice or assistance (a service offered by us) you are deemed to have accepted our Terms & Conditions. If there is anything that you do not understand, or about which you have reservations, please make contact with us immediately in order that we can discuss and resolve any misunderstandings. Failing to do so means that you fully understand and accept all of our Terms & Conditions and will be legally bound by these.

WARRANTIES EXPLAINED - WHAT IS COVERED AND WHAT IS NOT

The consumer guarantees act does not apply to commercial purchases for IT equipment used for commercial purposes.

Hardware - The physical computer/device itself is covered under warranty. So if something breaks we will give you a new part or fix the part under warranty. There will be no charge for the part itself.

Labour - The labour to remedy any situation where there is an issue is not covered under the hardware warranty. Any labour costs incurred to resolve any situation whatsoever will be charged for and this is not covered under any warranties. This is normal practice in IT as it may require an entirely new IT setup and configuration.

Software - If you have any software issues, this is not covered under a hardware warranty. Software issues are often caused by updates or interference from other sources. Software is full of bugs and can go wrong at any time.

Email issues - Any email issues are not covered under any warranty. No email service provider (not even Microsoft or Google) can provide a 100% guarantee that you will be trouble-free.

Windows issues are not covered by any warranty. This includes corruption meaning that the computer won’t load Windows (corruption at startup). Windows is full of bugs and Microsoft regularly releases updates to remedy all these bugs once they are found. Issues with Windows itself is not covered under any warranties.

Antivirus issues - Any issues caused by antivirus are not covered under warranty. You pay for a licence to have the security software on your computer, however if this goes wrong or breaks something, fixing this is not covered under warranty.

WARRANTIES SUMMARY

Even with software packages that are well-proven in New Zealand and Internationally, bugs or defects in the programs occur. This is a fact of life when using IT systems. If the software or operating system has not operated as intended or expected and we are asked to remedy this, then our work is chargeable and not covered under any warranty. Whilst we make every endeavor to minimise disruptions that are caused by circumstances out of our control, we cannot guarantee that such an event will not arise. The defects that have caused the problem may be beyond our control and for this reason we are unable to accept responsibility or liability for any software issues (windows, antivirus, Microsoft, email and the like). If a loss arises from such a defect then we cannot be held responsible for this.

OUR AVAILABILITY

COMPUTER CLINIC provides IT support services on-site generally during the core business hours of 7.00 am to 5.30 pm, Monday to Friday. We are closed at weekends and on public holidays (local and national). However, special arrangements outside these core hours can be made and we have facilities for this as needed.

QUOTATIONS & ESTIMATES

Our quotes and estimates are valid‌ ‌for‌ ‌7‌ business ‌days‌ ‌only and are subject‌ ‌to‌ ‌change‌ ‌due‌ ‌to‌ ‌shifting‌ ‌market‌ ‌pricing, stock levels and also subject to availability on the day. Our payment terms are 7 days from the date of the invoice unless you have alternative arrangements with us.

We charge for our initial quoting and estimating time as this is a professional service. If you subsequently accept what we have put forward and ask us to obtain it and/or carry out the work, then we will take this charge off the final invoice, otherwise, we will be charging for our time at our standard hourly rate.

The reason why we are charging for our quoting/estimating time is because we are providing a designed and/or engineered solution that is customised for you to your specific requirements thus requiring a bespoke solution which you can then run off and do what you want with. The outcome of your investment in our quoting/estimating time provides the option for anyone to purchase the specified parts and labour for your particular project. It also saves you a lot of time in your own research and enquiries which often leads to the wrong solution. i.e. The wrong parts and implementation methodology (labour).

Our solutions include a list of what parts to use and how these will be implemented which often takes many hours. Please understand we need to examine specifications, detail plans, communicate with multiple suppliers, check stock levels, and obtain the best pricing. Plus work out how everything will be carried out and will operate.

For networking and Wi-Fi solutions, our quotes and estimates represent an engineered solution and therefore hold an intrinsic value. You can then ask us to proceed or use your own providers. For computer hardware such as laptops and PCs, we also reserve the right to charge for our quoting and estimating time for the same above reasons. However, remember that we will take this chargeable time off the final invoice if we are engaged to carry out the project.

Think of us in the same vein as an architect for your house or building project where you are paying for our professional design services. As quoting and estimating is a large part of the work we do, as a result, we have to charge accordingly. Depending on the scope of your requirements, we can often indicate what a typical quoting/estimating cost will be up-front. Please note that an onsite visit as part of this means at least $150 + GST to cover all fees associated with that ( see https://www.computerclinic.nz/service-charge for more details on this)

FEES

COMPUTER CLINIC charges for our services on an hourly rate basis. Telephone assistance is charged per minute. Remote support is charged per incident per minute. Our minimum charge for remote (offsite) work is 15 minutes. This is the minimum amount of work required to allow for the job itself plus we also have to factor in admin, invoicing, technical documentation and the cost of our systems too. Hence 15 minutes is our minimum charge.

For in person work at your premise (onsite) we have to also factor in travel time and vehicle costs. Hence our minimum charge for anything we do which involves coming out to you carries a minimum charge of 1 hour, providing you are within the Christchurch City District. Outside this area will incur a higher minimum charge to cover our time and travel. For more detailed information around this please read our separate webpage dedicated to this topic HERE. A summary of this is as follows:-

The cost to get a technician onsite is included in our 1st hour of labour charge which is :-

$150 + GST MINIMUM LABOUR CHARGE FOR COMING ONSITE (CALL OUT) WITHIN CHRISTCHURCH CITY DISTRICT

If you are located within the Christchurch City District, all our incurred costs are included in our first hour of labour which is $150 + GST. There are no other hidden costs. This is our minimum labour charge for onsite visits to cover the first hour only. $150 + GST is our minimum charge, otherwise it is not economically viable to come out to assist. Subsequent time after the first 1 hour is then charged at our standard hourly rate on a pro-rata basis. E.g. 1.5 hours onsite will be charged at 1.5 * $150 = $225 + GST

OUTSIDE OUR DEFINED AREA MEANS OUR MINIMUM CHARGE TO COVER THE FIRST HOUR TO $225 + GST.

Our Defined Boundaries for Service

Subsequent Labour after the first hour is charged on a pro-rata basis, to the minute at the same $150 + GST per hour rate. There are no hidden fees such as parking and mileage. If parts are required, these will be additional.

OUT OF HOURS ASSISTANCE CARRIES A HIGHER HOURLY RATE OF $225 + GST PER HOUR WITH A MINIMUM CHARGE OF 1 HOUR

After the first hour, subsequent time is also charged at the same out of ours rate of $225 + GST per hour. This is charged on a pro-rata basis to the minute and not rounded up. Out of hours is defined as: before 7am and after 5.30pm Monday - Friday or anytime during the weekend (Sat & Sun) or at any time on a national or local public holiday.

COMPUTER CLINIC may also charge for direct disbursements incurred.

If you have a query with any of our invoices, we request that you contact us immediately to communicate the query. Otherwise, we will assume that payment will be forthcoming by the due date.

Our fees will be charged on the basis that they will be fair and reasonable.

They are based on the time taken to complete work and are calculated on an hourly basis.

We charge for the work you wish us to carry out, based on your instructions at the time, along with any required subsequent work. This may involve working through a troubleshooting process to eventually get to the root cause of the issue.

The original work scope can change and vary if circumstances change. We will do everything in your best interests to resolve what is possible for us to fix and give advice on steps to take for you to complete any further fixes required. E.g. Such as diagnose that you have an internet issue then advise you to talk to your internet provider if it is an internet issue.

SUPPORT SERVICES

Support services cover any advice or assistance provided to you.

Typical examples might be when you request COMPUTER CLINIC to attend a meeting to discuss an IT project and you require our input or advice, or request advice over the phone on a particular topic.

PAYMENT TERMS

Terms of payment are 7 days following the invoice date, unless otherwise arranged in advance and confirmed in writing by COMPUTER CLINIC. We reserve the right to require either security or payment in advance before any service.

DELIVERY OF SERVICE AND OWNERSHIP

Delivery shall be deemed to be completed upon receipt of the goods and/or service by the client. The property of the supplier of the goods remains with the supplier until they have been paid for in full. If the client fails to pay for the goods, the supplier may enter and recover possession of the goods at any site owned, possessed or controlled by the client and the client agrees that the supplier has an irrevocable licence to do so.

INTEREST AND LEGAL EXPENSES

If you fail to make a payment by the due date, you shall be liable to pay us a $50+GST administration fee that will be automatically charged to your account and in addition to this, the following applies:

Default interest on the amount outstanding is calculated at 2.5% per month above the standard bank overdraft rate, and shall accrue after as well as before judgement.

An additional administration charge of $50+GST per month for each month the account remains outstanding may also be charged.

All expenses, including collection costs from obtaining the services of a debt collection company and/or legal fees in relation to any overdue amount will be added to your account and you as the client are liable for its payment.

NO RESPONSIBILITY FOR EQUIPMENT LEFT WITH US AFTER 30 DAYS

If we have your equipment (goods of any description) for whatever purpose, irrespective of whether we collected them or you dropped them off, and the equipment is not collected from us within 30 days of the date we took possession of it, then we have the right to dispose of this equipment. We will not keep your equipment longer than this. It is your responsibility to obtain your equipment before the 30 days is reached, otherwise, please consider it disposed of.

DISPUTES

In the event that you have a dispute relating to or arising from work completed, you must immediately notify COMPUTER CLINIC by giving details of the dispute. You agree that COMPUTER CLINIC and you the client acting in good faith will then endeavour to resolve the dispute. If there is a dispute with the invoice you may withhold payment of the disputed amount but you must still pay the undisputed amount by the payment date whilst the error is being investigated. If it is proven that we have made a mistake then we will correct the invoice immediately. If we find there is no mistake and the payment date has already passed, you will pay the outstanding amount immediately

PRIVACY ACT

Computer Clinic abides by the New Zealand Privacy Act 1993 which can be viewed on the below link.

In addition to this Computer Clinic will not access, collect, use or disclose any information that we are given directly or indirectly by our customers or third parties, including contractors.

http://www.legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1993/0028/latest/DLM296639.html

DISCLAIMER

Even with software packages that are well-proven in New Zealand, occasionally bugs or defects in the programs occur if the software or operating system has not operated as intended or expected. Whilst we make every endeavor to minimise disruptions that are caused by these circumstances, we cannot guarantee that such an event will not arise. The defects that have caused the problem may be beyond our control and for this reason we are unable to accept responsibility or liability for any loss arising from such a defect.

If problems do occur we will do everything we can to assist in diagnosing the problems and advise on the appropriate corrective actions to be taken.

For example, it may be necessary to instigate alternate procedures in order to allow transaction processing to continue until a software supplier corrects a defect. Any time spent by us in diagnosing, reporting and advising on appropriate alternate actions is chargeable to the client in the normal manner.

Some software packages require the payment of an annual fee in return for an entitlement to receive at least annually, a complete update of the software package. It would normally entitle the user to receive bug or defect corrections. However, most software suppliers do not undertake to install these new versions on the client's machine. Again we perform these services and advice on the procedures and timing for them, and our time and costs in performing these services is chargeable to you as the client in the normal manner.

Should it be found that we have configured the software in a manner that causes erroneous results, we will do all we can to minimise the problem and effect a rapid recovery, but we assume no liability for lost or corrupted data or losses incurred as a result.

PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES ACT 1999

The client agrees that the provisions herein constitute a Security Interest in Personal Property (as those terms defined in the Personal Property Securities Act 1999 (“PPSA”) in respect of which the supplier may register a financing statement on the Personal Properties Securities Register. The client hereby waives its rights contained in sections 116,119,120(2),121,125,126,127,129,131 and 132 of the PPSA.