Properties 4 Auction
Terms & Conditions/Website Terms of Use

1. General
1.1 Properties 4 Auction is an Internet based publishing service providing general information, forms, and sample documents. Properties 4 Auction is not a legal practice and nothing in Properties 4 Auction or associated websites constitutes legal advice.
1.2 Properties 4 Auction takes reasonable steps to ensure that the information contained in these web pages/e-mails is accurate and up to date. GAUK cannot be held responsible for sites outside our control or domain. Properties 4 Auction may amend sections and add, replace, or remove forms or documents without notice. The information, forms and documents offered are designed to provide a guide for common situations.
1.3 Properties 4 Auction, its agents and employees will not be liable for any loss or damage arising directly or indirectly from the possession, publication, or use of or reliance on information obtained from this service.
1.4 Properties 4 Auction furnishes its information both on these web pages and on forms and documents issued through its service in good faith without express or implied warranty. If you have any questions concerning the appropriateness or use of the forms or documents provided by Properties 4 Auction or the information contained on the web pages you must seek competent legal advice. Properties 4 Auction cannot be held responsible.

2. Privacy
2.1 Properties 4 Auction, Online Privacy Policy (Last updated October 11th, 2004 )
Properties 4 Auction has established this Privacy Policy to explain how it protects and manages the personal information that it collects from you (the customer) online . 
 
2.2Consent for Collection, Use and Disclosure
Your use of the Properties 4 Auction site and/or your registration for Properties 4 Auction products and services constitute your consent to the terms of this Privacy Policy. 
Properties 4 Auction may occasionally update this Privacy Policy.  When it does, Properties 4 Auction will also revise the “last update” date at the top of this Privacy Policy.  In addition, Properties 4 Auction will seek a customer’s prior consent, by email, for any new uses or proposed disclosures of information collected from the customer prior to the change.  Properties 4 Auction will notify customers by email of changes to this policy that will affect information collected from them in the future . 
2.3 Accountability
Properties 4 Auction collects, at the time of your registration and your sign-on to its web site, certain “personal information” (information that personally identifies you) including but not limited to your name, email address, home or work address, telephone number, and information about your computer hardware and software (e.g. IP address, operating system, browser type, domain name, URL, access times, and referring web site addresses).
Properties 4 Auction has implemented this Privacy Policy to protect personal information received from its customers, and to respond to any inquiries .  The Privacy Policy also provides that Properties 4 Auction will use appropriate contractual means to establish a comparable level of protection for personal information which is sent for processing by third parties on Properties 4 Auction’s behalf.  
Properties 4 Auction has designated responsibility for your personal information to its Privacy Officer, who ensures compliance with the principles in this Privacy Policy.  Other Properties 4 Auction individuals may be delegated to act on behalf of the Privacy Officer .
2.4 Purposes for Collecting Personal Information
Properties 4 Auction collects and uses personal information for the following Identified Purposes:
(a) to understand customer needs regarding Properties 4 Auction’s services;
(b) to develop and provide our web site and our products and services for our customers;
(c)to fulfill your requests for products, services or information;
(d)to communicate with customers and site visitors, when necessary, and to inform customers of upgrades, as well as of other products and services available from Properties 4 Auction, its affiliates and third parties;
(e)to allow customers to access limited-entry areas of Properties 4 Auction’s site;
(f)to personalise some of our services and products for you and to deliver targeted advertisements and offers from Properties 4 Auction and third parties;
(g)to bill accounts and maintain payment records;
(h)to comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process or government request;
(i)to respond to a legitimate claim, or to address our reasonable belief, that you are violating the rights of any third party or any of the agreements or policies that govern your use of the Properties 4 Auction site or any Properties 4 Auction product or service;
(j)to protect the services, products or rights of Properties 4 Auction, including but not limited to the security or integrity of the Properties 4 Auction site; and
(k)to identify and resolve technical problems concerning Properties 4 Auction’s site, products and services.
Properties 4 Auction also uses personal information in an aggregate form ( i.e.not individually attributable to you) for its business analysis, operational, marketing and other promotional purposes.
If we hire other companies to provide some products or services on our behalf, then we will only provide those companies the personal information they need for the Identified Purposes, and we will limit their rights to use and further disclose your personal information as appropriate in the course of their work for us.
2.5 Limiting the Collection of Personal Information
Properties 4 Auction limits its collection of personal information to only that information which is necessary for the Identified Purposes.  Properties 4 Auction does not direct its site to, nor does it knowingly collect any personal information from children under the age of thirteen.
When you visit the Properties 4 Auction web site, a cookie may be placed on your computer or the cookie may be read if you have visited the Properties 4 Auction site previously.  Properties 4 Auction uses cookies to allow Properties 4 Auction to determine which products and services you have already purchased so that Properties 4 Auction does not provide redundant information to you, and, if you are an Properties 4 Auction affiliate, to track Properties 4 Auction sales made to customers referred by you so that you can receive compensation under our affiliate program.  If you choose to not have your browser accept cookies from the Properties 4 Auction web site, you may not be able to view all the text on the screens, or to experience a personalised visit, or to subscribe to certain service and product offerings on the Properties 4 Auction site.
2.6 Disclosure, Processing and Retention
Properties 4 Auction does not sell, rent or disclose your personal information to anyone else, except :
(a)to someone you have designated to act as your agent, for one or more of the Identified Purposes (listed in Section 2, above);
(b)to Properties 4 Auction’s employees, independent contractors, subsidiaries, affiliates, consultants, business associates, service providers, suppliers and agents, acting on Properties 4 Auction’s behalf for any of the Identified Purposes;
(c)as necessary if Properties 4 Auction has reason to believe that disclosure is necessary to identify, contact or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference (either intentionally or unintentionally) with Properties 4 Auction’s rights or property, other users of Properties 4 Auction’s web site, products or services, or anyone else that could be harmed by such activities; and
(d)to respond to judicial process and provide information to law enforcement agencies or in connection with an investigation on matters related to public safety, as permitted by law, or otherwise as required by law.
In addition, as we continue to develop our business, we or our affiliates may sell or buy other businesses or entities, or we may merge with another company.  In such transactions, personal information may be one of the transferred business assets.  Also, in the event that Properties 4 Auction or substantially all of its assets are acquired, your personal information may be one of the transferred assets.
Your information may be stored and processed in any country in which Properties 4 Auction or its affiliates, subsidiaries or agents maintain facilities.  By using this web site, you consent to any such transfer of information outside of your country. 
After your account becomes inactive (that is, if you request to be removed from our database), Properties 4 Auction will keep your personal information in its archives.  Your information will then be used only as necessary for tax reasons or to prove Properties 4 Auction’s compliance with any applicable law.
2.7 Accuracy of Personal Information
Properties 4 Auction will use reasonable efforts to keep customer personal information accurate for the Identified Purposes, and for minimizing the possibility of making inappropriate customer decisions based on such information.  Customers are responsible for informing Properties 4 Auction about changes to their personal information.  You can do this by sending an email to privacy@governmentauctionsuk.com . Properties 4 Auction will use new or updated personal information it receives from customers to update its own records.  
2.8 Security Safeguards
Properties 4 Auction will use reasonable efforts to protect customers’ personal information.
2.9 Access to Personal Information
Properties 4 Auction will afford you a reasonable opportunity to review the personal information in your file upon request to the Privacy Officer at privacy@governmentauctionsuk.com .
If Properties 4 Auction is not able to provide access to some aspect of a customer’s personal information, it will provide reasons for denying access such as; that by doing so would likely reveal personal information about a third party, or that it is confidential commercial information or lawyer–client privileged communications, or that the information relates to a breach of an agreement or a contravention of law, or that its disclosure could reasonably be expected to threaten the life or security of another individual.
Customers have the right to request that inaccurate or incomplete information be amended as appropriate, by contacting Properties 4 Auction or the Privacy Officer as described above.  Properties 4 Auction will promptly correct such personal information.  

3. Communications and free newsletter
Subscribers (unless disputed, the person whose details appear in the subscription form and submitted to Properties 4 Auction) agree to receive the Properties 4 Auction newsletter and a limited number of communications from Properties 4 Auction. Communications may contain selected advertising and carry an unsubscribe link which can be activated at any time.
Properties 4 Auction newsletter is a separate service to ‘paid for’ subscriptions. Cancellation from the newsletter will not affect subscription to general Properties 4 Auction information.

4. Payments
(Last updated October 11, 2003)
4.1 Subscription payments will be taken automatically on monthly or yearly basis (depending on subscription option) and will appear on the subscriber's bank statement as 'Gov Auctions UK' (or a variant of). Subscribers/cardholders give Properties 4 Auction continuous authority to debit their credit/debit card on that basis.
If a subscriber uses a third party's card they do so with the cardholder's full knowlege and express permission. The cardholder also agrees to be bound by these terms and conditions.
4.2 There may be various subscription promotions applied at the time of subscription and that the fee will revert to the standard rate published at the site at the time stated in the promotion.
4.3 Canceling Subscriptions.
Subscribers/cardholders can cancel continuous authority at any time and must do so in writing by e-mail to Properties 4 Auction at cancel@governmentauctionsuk.com or by using the 'contact us' form at the site. Subscribers will forward the payment receipt including the 'Order' number within their cancellation request. The payment receipt will automatically be sent from the payment processor seperatly from passwords. If one is not received the subscriber can request one by writing to support@governmentauctionsuk.com
When an account is cancelled in the described manner Government Auctions LLC will send a 'confirmation of cancellation' to the e-mail address provided by the person wishing to cancel, they should retain this for their records.
Properties 4 Auction will retain copies of all 'confirmation of cancellations' sent for a period of at least two years and refund any payments taken after the date that the 'confirmation of cancellation' was sent should it be necessary. Without a 'confirmation of cancellation', in writing, from Properties 4 Auction it cannot be assumed or guaranteed that Properties 4 Auction received the request. Government Auctions cannot be held responsible should a subscriber not follow the cancellation procedure.
4.4 On receipt of a new subscription payment passwords are automatically sent giving access to the information in the members' area at GovernmentAuctionsUK.com or related sites. If these passwords are not received within 24 hours the subscriber contact GovernmentAuctions UK for new passwords.
4.5 If the subscriber/cardholder does not cancel continuous authority with Properties 4 Auction in the described manner, passwords remain live and subscription payments will continue for the requested payment option. Payments for this period are non refundable as either a full or partial payment.

Payment Disputes: PLEASE NOT THAT THE FOLLOWING CLAUSE ONLY APPLIES TO AN ERRONEOUS 'DISPUTED TRANSACTION' AND THERE ARE ABSOLUTELY NO OTHER CHARGES RELATING TO GAUK SUBSCRIPTION
4.6 If a cardholder instigates a ‘Disputed Transaction – Authority Not Given’ chargeback for either an initial single transaction, or continuous authority transaction, with their credit card company - for whatever reason - and it subsequently transpires (a) the card was not used fraudulently, (b) the cardholder has not cancelled in the described manner (see 4.3) or (c) the card was not used without the cardholder's knowledge, the following applies:

The cardholder agrees to withdraw the dispute immediately, or as soon as is reasonably possible, with their credit card company. They will agree to their card company reaccrediting Properties 4 Auction's account for the disputed amount. They agree to pay an initial administration fee of £30 levied to defend the chargeback. They agree to pay further costs at a rate of £30 per communication should it be necessary. If an invioce has to be raised the cardholder will to agree to make the payment with seven days of invoice - The cardholder will agree to forgo any rights whatsoever to defend the disputed amount, administration charges plus any associated costs incurred by Properties 4 Auction should it be necessary to recover it through the County Courts.
Fraud:
Properties 4 Auction will pursue and prosecute to the fullest extent of the law any individual(s) who attempt to use our systems, software, or services for the purpose of fraudulent transactions.
Properties 4 Auction maintains ethical practices and will not tolerate any misuse of our tools and resources by any third party. If misuse occurs, we will do everything in our power to immediately terminate the relationship and prevent any further misuse.
4.7 Should the cardholder suspect their card has been used in a fraudulent transaction, and cardholder signs a ‘Disputed Transaction – Authority Not Given’ chargeback for either an initial single transaction, or continuous authority transaction, with their credit card company they must inform the relevant authorities (credit card fraud department, police etc) at the earliest available opportunity and instruct them to carry out a full investigation into the alleged misuse of the card. Properties 4 Auction will furnish the investigating authority with all records of the transaction including ip adresses which can be traced directly to the computer that made the transaction.
4.8 Subscription payments are for the information in the Properties 4 Auction members' area and not a membership fee.
4.9 The refund policy covering all Properties 4 Auction products state that Properties 4 Auction will refund 100% of the subscription cost should the product/service fail to deliver in any way from its description. I understand that to receive a full refund I must demonstrate that after following all published material instructions and taken advice from support the product/service has failed in its description.

5. Copyright
Copyright 1999-2004 by Properties 4 Auction. All rights reserved. No part of governmentauctionsuk.com or related sites may not be copied in part or full without express written permission from the publisher. All violations will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.

6. Anti-Spam Policy
(Last updated October 11, 2004)
Properties 4 Auction is committed to permission-based email marketing practices, and as a result has established this no-tolerance Anti-Spam Policy.  Properties 4 Auction will occasionally update this Anti-Spam Policy.  When it does, Properties 4 Auction will also revise the “last update” date at the top of this Anti-Spam Policy.  For changes to this policy, Properties 4 Auction will notify you (the customer) by placing a notice on its web site home page.
1. What is Spam?
Spam is commercial email or unsolicited bulk email, including “junk mail”, which has not been requested by the recipient.  It is intrusive and often irrelevant or offensive, and it wastes valuable resources.  Spam messages are the opposite of permission-based email, which are normally anticipated, personal, relevant and/or associated with a pre-existing business or personal relationship.  Inappropriate newsgroup activities, consisting of excessive posting of the same materials to several newsgroups, are also deemed to be spam.
2. Preventing Spam
Customers of Properties 4 Auction products and services have agreed during their registration process, upon accepting the Terms of Use, to comply with this Anti-Spam Policy.  Specifically, each customer agrees not to use the Properties 4 Auction products or services to send unsolicited email or bulk email, whether or not for commercial purposes.  Properties 4 Auction reserves the right to determine in its sole discretion what constitutes actionable spam, as well as what measures are necessary in response to such spam activities.
3. How Properties 4 Auction Helps You to Avoid Spamming
Properties 4 Auction has developed its Internet marketing tools to incorporate a strict permission-based philosophy.  This anti-spam philosophy is implemented through the following:
(a) Communication and Agreement – The Terms of Use that you have agreed to as part of registering for the Properties 4 Auction products and services state how and for what purposes you can collect your site visitor addresses, and that you will follow the Properties 4 Auction Privacy Policy and Anti-Spam Policy.
(b) Unsubscription – Each email created using Properties 4 Auction products contains an “unsubscribe link”.  If your web site visitors use the link to request that they be unsubscribed, your subscriber lists will automatically be adjusted to eliminate the prospect of sending unwanted email to such persons.  Additionally, each person on your subscriber list has the option of unsubscribing through a web-based method provided on the Properties 4 Auction web site.  Customers of Properties 4 Auction who try to remove the unsubscribe link will be warned that they are doing so, and if they persist in having the link removed or deactivated in any way, then Properties 4 Auction will have the right to terminate their account.
(c) Purchased Mailing Lists - Mass mailings to purchased email lists are not allowed.  Properties 4 Auction only allows opt-in mailing lists.  Purchased or inherited lists are by definition not opt-in.  Similarly, you cannot use an email list relating to particular subject matter, and then use it for an unrelated topic.  
4. Laws Restricting Spam
Spam laws vary from from country to country.  This Properties 4 Auction Anti-Spam Policy has been developed to conform to the highest commercially reasonable standards.  As a result, and without limiting the general prohibitions against all spam activities, the following are expressly prohibited:
(a) Use of false headers, or other false information, to identify the point of origin or the transmission path of the email, or to hide the true origin of the email sender,
(b) Unauthorized use of a third party’s internet domain name without the permission of such third party, to make it appear that the third party was the point of origin of the email,
(c) Use of any false or misleading information in the subject line of the email, and
(d) Assisting any person in using the products or services of Properties 4 Auction for any of these previously mentioned activities.  
5. Questions to Ask Yourself
To help in establishing whether you are participating in activities constituting spam, ask yourself the following questions:
(a) Are you sending email to non-specific addresses, such as info@domain.com or sales@domain.com?
(b) Have you deliberately falsified your transmission path information or originating address?
(c) Are you sending email to mailing lists or distribution lists, which then send indirectly to various other email addresses?
(d) Have you imported for use a purchased list of any type?
(e) Are you continuing to mail to anyone who has asked to be deleted from your mailing list?
(f) Does your email not provide a fully functioning link to unsubscribe?
(g) Does you email subject line contain false or misleading information?
(h) Have you used a third party’s email address or domain name without the party’s consent?
If you answer yes to any of these questions, you are likely involved in spam activities, and should contact Properties 4 Auction customer support service at support@governmentauctionsuk.com.
6. Measures to Enforce the Anti-Spam Policy
Any Properties 4 Auction customer/affiliate found to be using Properties 4 Auction products or services for spamming purposes may, at Properties 4 Auction’s discretion, be immediately cut off from use of all Properties 4 Auction products and services and/or fined £1,000 per occurrence, with no refund of fees that have been paid.
Properties 4 Auction warns all of its customers when signing up that if they participate in spamming activities they will be subject to the loss of Properties 4 Auction services, fines and possible legal action.
Properties 4 Auction has the right to actively review its customers’ subscriber lists and email for suspiciously large broadcasts.  If Properties 4 Auction finds any customers to be spamming, it will issue a warning, and if the activities are serious enough, Properties 4 Auction will take action immediately.  If Properties 4 Auction has any reason to believe that the customer, despite warning being given, threatens to or is continuing to send spam, then Properties 4 Auction may take action immediately, including disabling the customer’s account and/or reporting the customer and the incident to the proper authorities.
Properties 4 Auction does not attempt to censor any content, nor to curtail the business of its customers.  However, spam activities do not fall within uses authorised by Properties 4 Auction, and will not be tolerated.
7. Reporting Spam
If you believe that you have received spam from or through Properties 4 Auction’s facilities, please send a complaint from your email account along with the unsolicited email, with completed header, to abuse@governmentauctionsuk.com.  Please provide any other information that you believe may help us in our investigation.  Properties 4 Auction does not investigate or take any action based on “anonymous” spam complaints.
8. False Spam Complaints
Properties 4 Auction supports the efforts of various organisations working to responsibly eliminate spam activities.  However, if an individual has opted-in to receive email from a customer of Properties 4 Auction, and then falsely or maliciously files a spam complaint against Properties 4 Auction or its customers, Properties 4 Auction will cooperate fully with the appropriate agencies to ban the complainant from use of anti-spam software and the Internet community.

7. Exceptions
Exceptions to any of the points in Properties 4 Auction Terms and Conditions are made entirely at the discretion of Properties 4 Auction, without prejudice.