Terms of Service

Our terms of service are listed below and should be read in conjunction with any agreement, offer, quote or estimate:

Consulting, Design, Development and Training Services

1. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will provide consulting, design, development and/or training services to the Client relating to the creation or modification of a Website or Website Template and/or creation or modification of Digital Content and/or development of Software Solutions and/or education of Staff or Students in Information and Communication Technology skills and knowledge. These services shall be known as "the Services" for the purposes of this document and all other agreements, estimates and quotations.
2. Before providing the Services, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will perform due diligence to understand and comminicate all expectations required by the Client and foreseen limitations upon Utopia Internet Pty Ltd in providing the Services.
3. As a measurable way of performing this due diligience, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will provide several documents at the beginning and during the delivery of the Services.
4. At the beginning of every project, the Client will be require to sign and return by regular mail two documents: 1. Client Service Agreement 2. Estimation or Quotation of Work. These documents ensure that the Services are provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd in a transparent manner and that all parties are aware of expectations and obligations.
5. After Utopia Internet Pty Ltd receives the signed documents listed above, a counter-signed copy of the Client Service Agreement will be posted to the Client for their records.
6. At any stage of the planning, briefing or service delivery process, the Client should forward any queries to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd via one of our generic email addresses:
   • Support enquires are to be sent to the email address support@utopiainternet.com
   • Invoicing and account enquiries are to be sent to the email address accounts@utopiainternet.com
   • Sales and booking enquiries are to be sent to the email address sales@utopiainternet.com
7. Due to the dynamic and flexible nature of their work, involving daily meetings, training sessions and design sessions where phone communication is neither possible or appropriate, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd staff cannot provide any form of phone support. Phone contact by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd is conducted entirely at the discretion and option of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's staff.
8. The only practical times for phone contact is when a client first makes contact with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd to investigate Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's services and/or when Utopia Internet Pty Ltd instigates contact for the purpose of organising meetings or clarifying aspects of the project. To avoid disappointment of not having phone calls or voicemail answered, it is advised that all matters be emailed to the appropriate email address above. In the event that any or all of these email addresses fail to operate it is suggested that the Client use this secondary email address: utopiainternet@gmail.com
9. An Estimation or Quotation may be required for the purposes of conducting an initial consultation and briefing with the client. In this instance, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will quote on the consultation to be performed prior to scoping out the project. This initial consultation quote will take the place of document 2 mentioned in paragraph 4, above.
10. The specific nature of the Services to be provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd shall be communicated in a briefing with the Client and recorded in an Estimation or Quotation provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd to the Client.
11. The briefing may be held in person or via remote synchronous or asynchronous communication methods (eg. email, telephone or Skype teleconference), depending on time and distance constraints. This will be at the discretion of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's staff.
12. Subject to any lawful restraint imposed upon it by any other party (such as an obligation as to confidence of a third party), Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will make available to the Client all knowledge, information and expertise in it's possession in performing the Services.
13. If the Client wishes Utopia Internet Pty Ltd to perform any services other than those specified during the Client´s Briefing or specified in the estimate/quotation (including and without limitation to providing any additional functionality), or to provide further or other Products, Software or Services, then Utopia Internet Pty Ltd shall be entitled to invoice the Client separately for the provision of those services or products or software. Wherever possible such additions will be approved via a quotation, as per the usual approval process mentioned in these Terms.
14. Unless otherwise agreed in writing by the parties, the Terms of Service and work detailed in the estimation or quotation will commence on the date of signature of the "Client Service Agreement" form and each individual or corporate "Estimate" or "Quotation".
15. Unless specifically stated as a fixed price quote, any cost estimates that are or have been given by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd are estimates only. Actual time spent and products supplied may be used as the basis for billing. In the event of changes to the estimate, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd is responsible to communicate such changes in writing no closer than 7 days prior to the delivery deadline as stated in the Project Proposal.

Website Content and Design

16. These requirements apply to websites and/or templates, themes or styles and/or graphics designed and developed by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and/or websites hosted by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd.
17. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will comply with all legally binding requests from Australian and State Government authorities to close down or provide data from any site under its control.
18. At "Briefing One" the Client will provide Utopia Internet Pty Ltd with all artwork, text and content they wish included in the Design.
19. The Client is required to ensure that the artwork used and content of their website meets all current Australian legislation regarding publications, copyright and ownership.
20. The Client shall further indemnify Utopia Internet Pty Ltd in respect of any claims, costs and expenses that may arise from any material included in their design or website by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd at the Client´s request.
21. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to deny and retract inclusion of any material deemed by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's staff to be inappropriate or offensive.
22. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to not host any website that contains such inappropriate or offensive material.
23. Any site hosted by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd that is deemed by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's staff to contain inappropriate or offensive material will be closed down. This is entirely at the descretion of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. The matter will either be discussed with the client or, in cases of criminal activity, referred to the police in our local jurisdiction.

Copyright

24. The Client will obtain all necessary permissions and authorisations in respect of the use of all copy, graphics, registered company logos, names and trademarks or any other material supplied by the Client to be placed on the website or in other assets by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd.
25. Supply of abovementioned material by the Client shall be regarded as a guarantee by the Client to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd that all such permissions and authorisations have been obtained.
26. No responsibility will be accepted by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd for damages to or losses incurred by the Client from the use of material for which the required permission or authorisations has not been obtained.
27. All original graphics designed or supplied by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and/or original documents written or supplied by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and/or original website designs developed or supplied by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and/or original software developed or supplied by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd, remain the property of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd until the Client´s account has been paid in full, at which time ownership and copyright of said graphics and/or documents and/or website designs and/or software will reside with the Client.

Site Alterations

28. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will not accept any responsibility for any alterations performed by either the Client or a third party. Such alterations include, but are not limited to, additions, modifications and/or deletions.
29. If Utopia Internet Pty Ltd is required to correct any errors resulting from such alterations, or make any improvements as a result of changes made by the Client, the Client will be charged at Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s current hourly rate. Such charges may be difficult to estimate prior to undertaking work and may change without notice if the work involves unforeseen tasks or complications.

Reporting and Meetings

30. The Client shall make themselves available to meet with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd when reasonably required by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd for the purpose of discussing the status of the Services and/or providing information, direction and/or material.

Services, Rates, and Other Expenses

31. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will provide the Services to the Client and will be entitled to charge the Client for such Services at the rates specified in the form of a quotation or estimate.
32. Quotations or Estimates provided to the Client are valid for a period of 30 days unless otherwise specified. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd requires the Client to agree to the terms of Estimate or Quotation by signing the Estimate or Quotation within the validation period.
33. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to review their rates at their discretion at any time. This includes, but is not limited to, a full review and update of rates at the end of each calendar year.
34. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd, during the course of providing the Services, shall be entitled to work remotely from its own premises and will not be required to attend the Client´s premises unless deemed necessary by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd staff under negotiation with the Client.
35. In the event that On-Site Work is necessary, all work will be charged at an on-site rate plus travel costs. Please refer to the separate section covering Travel Costs.
36. Rates for training may vary depending on the total number of trainees in attendance. Bookings must include the total number of trainees. The total number of trainees will be guaranteed to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd for invoicing at the rate given in the Estimate or Quotation. No reimbursements or refunds will be given should the number of trainees be less than suggested at the time of the booking. Additional charges may apply should the number of trainees be more than suggested at the time of the booking.
37. The Client will pay Utopia Internet Pty Ltd for the cost of any Products (including any licensing that Utopia Internet Pty Ltd is required to pay to obtain a sub-license in favour of the Client for any third party software or designs) together with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s own charge that it levies for handling and/or obtaining any relevant sub-licenses.

Travel Costs

38. For On-Site Work of two hours or more, travel costs are incurred after the first 30 minutes of one-way travel to the Client's location from the location of the Consultant. For example, if 2 hours of work is completed at the Client who is 70 minutes from the Consultant, then travel costs will be 40 minutes each way, totalling 80 minutes.
39. For On-Site Work of less than two hours, travel costs will be incurred based on the total time taken to travel from departure to arrival in both directions. For example, if 1.5 hours of work is completed at the Client who is 70 minutes from the Consultant, then travel costs will be 70 minutes each way, totalling 140 minutes. Please note, in these circumstances distance from the Consultant is irrelevant - travel costs will be incurred based on time taken.
40. Travel costs are calculated at Utopia Internet Pty Ltd's On-Site Hourly Rate in all instances. This ensures Utopia Internet Pty Ltd is covered for the time spent travelling and other costs associated with transport, such as petrol, vehical maintenance and meals while travelling.
41. The Client is also responsible for airline, taxi and/or hire car expenses should they be necessary as part of the travel costs.
42. The Client is also responsible for accommodation expenses should it be necessary to stay overnight due to distance travelled. These circumstances will be communicated up front with the Client before a booking is made.

Project Cancellation

43. All Project Cancellations and/or Hosting Account Cancellations need to be made in writing, by an approved company contact as provided on the Client Service Agreement, to sales@utopiainternet.com. Emails from no-approved contacts and/or to other email addresses may not be received and/or validated and, therefore, work may continue and/or the Client may continue to incur costs.
44. The Client must provide a Date of Cancellation in their cancellation notice no sooner than 7 days from the day the cancellation notice is provided to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd.
45. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will validate all correctly received and valid cancellation notices by reply email to the Client. At the time of validation a Date of Cancellation will be confirmed or issued for the purposes of ceasing work on the project. If the minimum of 7 days notice has been provided by the Client before the Date of Cancellation then that date will be validated by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. Otherwise, a date no sooner than 7 days after the cancellation notice will be provided as the Date of Cancellation.
46. If a cancellation notice is received and validated after the Estimation or Quotation has been signed by the Client, the Client will be required to pay for work completed up until the Date of Cancellation.
47. Due to the allocation of resources at the commencement of projects, the minimum cancellation fee at any time will be twenty five percent (25%) of the agreed estimate or quotion amount, regardless of work completed. If work completed is valued at more than 25% then that value will be used as the cancellation fee. If a deposit has been made prior to cancellation then either a refund or an invoice will be generated, based on cancellation fee less deposit.
48. Once the Client has cancelled their hosting account and/or project with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd, no further support resources will be provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd Staff in relation to products and services on the account or for the project, including domain names, website hosting, SSL certificates and software support. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will not engage, discuss or alter the account and/or project in any way once the account and/or project has been cancelled.
49. If the Client has cancelled their hosting account and/or project with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and would like to reactivate their account and/or project, a AUD$100.00 administration fee will apply to cover the administration time involved in recreating the account and/or project and update our billing system.
50. No refunds or credit will be given if the Client wishes to cancel their hosting account or downgrade to a lower package. If the Client wishes to downgrade to a lower package a AUD$40.00 charge applies.
51. Hosting Fees, Domain Name Fees, SSL Certificates Fees and Account Add-on Fees are non-refundable.
52. It is the client's responsibility to inform Utopia Internet Pty Ltd at least two weeks prior to the expiration date of a domain that they do not wish the renew the domain. In the interest of continuity of service, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will always opt to renew a domain unless notification from the client is received.

Client Relationship

53. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will attempt at all times to maintain a healthy and productive relationship with the Client. Most times it works and everyone rides off into the sunset with a smile on their face.
54. In the unfortunate circumstance that our staff believe that the Client has acted improperly and/or breached our Terms of Service, and these actions cannot be rectified, Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to suspend or terminate the Client´s services. No refunds will be given if this occurs. Notice of termination or suspension is at the discretion of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd based on the severity of the situation and our own legal advice.
55. Any proof of misleading behaviour, unlawful behaviour, giving false information, abuse, swearing, threats, harrassment, extortion, harassment, improper conduct, attempting to damage relations, reputation or goodwill of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd or attempting to damage relations of its employees, third party providers or wholesale providers will lead to automatic cancellation of the Client´s account without refund. The Client agrees they will at no time damage relations, reputation or goodwill with Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s current, future and prospective clients or employees. This includes but is not limited to email, live chat, forums, web sites, telephone calls, voicemails, sms messages and other forms of communication. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd also reserve the right to seek and claim damages and losses in these circumstances.
56. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will not be responsible for any damages the Client´s business may suffer as a result of cancellation of services. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd makes no warranties of any kind, expressed or implied for services we provide, nor do we guarantee your web site or software will work error free on our servers or other servers, nor do we guarantee uptime or service availability. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd disclaims any warranty or merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. This includes, but is not limited to loss of data resulting from delays, software incompatibility, server or software issues, outages, no deliveries, wrong delivery, and any and all service interruptions caused by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and its employees.

Payment of Invoices

57. Payment Structure for Quoted Work:
    • A 50% Deposit is paid in full by the Client to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd at the commencement of each project or project component. The deposit is to be paid by the due date on the invoice provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. Work will commence once this deposit is received in full.
    • The remaining 50% is paid in full by the Client to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd once work is completed. This final payment is to be paid by the due date on the invoice provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. Final deliverables will be provided once this final payment is received in full.
58. Projects of considerable size may be broken down, at the discretion of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd, based on a Schedule of Work. Invoices will be generated based on Milestones detailed therein.
59. All invoices rendered by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd are payable within seven (7) days from the date of invoice unless otherwise stated. The Client agrees to pay Utopia Internet Pty Ltd in full within this time period.
60. If the Client fails to pay any invoice by the due date on the invoice, the Client agrees that they shall also pay Utopia Internet Pty Ltd a late fee of $50.00 per week (5 business day period) for every week that the invoice remains overdue. For example, an invoice of $150 that is paid 2 weeks late will result in a total amount payable of $250 to Utopia Internet Pty Ltd.
61. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will stop all work on the Client´s project as a result of a failure to pay any invoice by the due date as printed on the invoice provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. Work will recommence, at the discretion of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd and it's employees, after payments are made.
62. Late payments will result in all future work being invoiced and paid for by the Client in full prior to any commencement of work, be it off-site or on-site work.
63. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to suspend or cancel a Client´s project at any time, without notice or refund, should an account be in arrears after the due date of payment, as printed on invoices provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd.
64. It is the Client´s responsibility to ensure their payments are made in accordance to the procedures and accounts stated on invoices provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd. This includes providing the Invoice Number (eg. UI1009) on the transaction description for the deposit via Electronic Funds Transfer into Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s bank account. It is also advisable to include a remittance advise to ensure Utopia Internet Pty Ltd can reconcile payments. Utopia Internet Pty Ltd will fully process payments once we have been informed in writing by the Client of said payments, either through a remittance advice or an email to sales@utopiainternet.com.
65. Receipts will not ordinarily be provided by Utopia Internet Pty Ltd unless requested by the Client via an email to sales@utopiainternet.com.

Utopia Internet Pty Ltd reserves the right to revise its terms and policies from time to time without notice to you. By continued use of Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s services, the Client agrees to and are bound by the updated terms and conditions, that can be accessed on Utopia Internet Pty Ltd´s web site at any time: www.utopiainternet.com.