1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ Terms and Conditions

Usage Policy
You agree that you will use 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ in compliance with all applicable local, provincial/state, national, and international laws, rules and regulations. Furthermore, you agree that you will not ask questions that are unlawful, defamatory, harassing, abusive, fraudulent, obscene, intended to advertise or sell goods or services, or are otherwise objectionable. You further agree not to ask questions designed to elicit responses that relate to illegal activity or that infringe upon another party's intellectual property rights. You may not sell, use, reproduce, modify, edit, translate, publish, perform, display, post, transmit and distribute questions, comments or answers for any public or commercial purpose without the written permission of The Utility Company™. 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™/ The Utility Company™ does not necessarily edit, screen, filter, modify, or otherwise monitor the content of questions or comments in advance of responses. The Utility Company™ takes no responsibility for third party content, nor does The Utility Company™ have any obligation to monitor such third party content. The Utility Company™ reserves the right to refuse service to anyone at any time without notice for any reason. The Utility Company™ will not be responsible or liable for the exercise or non-exercise of its rights under this Agreement.   You also understand that by entering into this agreement you are assigning The Utility Company the right to contact you with marketing information, from time-to-time, in the form of electronic mailings or direct mailings.

General Information
Information provided via 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ is not intended to substitute for informed professional medical, psychiatric, psychological, tax, legal, investment, accounting, or other professional advice. 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ is a Computer Support On-Demand service designed to help small and medium-sized businesses with their questions on “All Things Technology-related”.

Customer FAQ

How does this work?
The 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ service works exactly the same as the normal helpdesk service, except that you pre-register and then are charged by the minute for the service used.

How do I register?
In order to register for the service you must go to https://signup.theutilitycompany.com and complete all fields in the web page. This provides us with the information needed to get your account up and running.

Why do you need my credit card number?
We require your credit card information for two reasons. One, is that we want to ensure that you are a legitimate person who is not just trying to get free support. And two, is that we will use this information to bill you for the service. If you would prefer to go on ACH or pre-approved debit, then we can set you up as a monthly contract user.

How often will I get billed?
Depending on your volume you may get billed every two weeks or at least once a month.

How do I dispute a charge?
If you feel there has been a mistake in the billing please call us at 1-866-My-Utility and ask to speak with Finance. They can fix any errors in a timely manner.  However, you are responsible for all charges and cases opened with your customer security code.

What is the security code?
The security code is an alpha-numeric code that you choose in order to protect your account. We will not provide support to persons on your account unless they know the code. You choose the code during the sign up process and you can change it anytime. It is like an ATM code.

What happens if the problem cannot be solved or I solve it myself?
The 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™is a cost for support. We do not promise to resolve every issue, there are some issues that software makers and manufacturers acknowledge and do not issue fixes for. In these cases there is nothing we can do. However, we will give our best effort to fix every issue you call about.

How do I know that you guys are really doing research offline?
Well, that is more of a trust issue than a logistical issue. It is not in our best interest to unnecessarily bill you for work we do not do, it is unethical. We will do our utmost to provide you the level of support you require.

What happens if I need someone onsite?
The rate is basically the same for onsite work or on the phone work. However, onsite work is much more time-consuming and has minimum billings.

What percentage of my computer problems can you fix?
This depends on your infrastructure, but we estimate 90% of desktop/laptop issues can be remotely fixed. More complex network and security issues would still see a high percentage of remediation but are dependent on many variables.

Warranty
The information provided by 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™, pursuant to this Service is derived from private and public reference sources as well as personal knowledge and is provided by 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™. The Information has not been verified, however, and neither The Utility Company /1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ represent that it is accurate, correct, complete, reliable, or otherwise valid. 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ does not endorse or recommend, and expressly disclaims liability for any product, manufacturer, distributor, service or service provider mentioned in any question, comment or answer. Further, 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ does not endorse or support any opinion expressed in a question, comment, or answer. THE INFORMATION AND SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO WARRANTY OF ANY KIND AND YOU USE THE SERVICE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE CONTENT OF THE QUESTIONS, ANSWERS, AND COMMENTS IS PROVIDED BY AND IS THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PERSON CLAIMING SUCH ITEMS. The Utility Company EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM ANY WARRANTY, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, REGARDING THE SERVICE, INCLUDING ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. Some provinces/states do not allow the exclusion of warranty, so the above exclusions may not apply to you.

Limitation of Liability
UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL THE UTILITY COMPANY BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH USE OF THE SERVICE WHETHER OR NOT THE UTILITY COMPANY HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHALL THE UTILITY COMPANY  BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY AMOUNT FOR SERVICES RENDERED OR INFORMATION PROVIDED PURSUANT TO THIS AGREEMENT, RATHER YOUR SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE REMEDY SHALL BE THE REFUND OF FEES ACTUALLY PAID BY YOU TO THE UTILITY COMPANY  FOR ANY INSTANCE OF USE OF THE SERVICES THAT GIVES RISE TO A CLAIM. TO THE EXTENT THAT ANY QUESTION, COMMENT, OR ANSWER REFERS TO ANY PRODUCT, MANUFACTURER, DISTRIBUTOR, COMPANY, SERVICE OR SERVICE PROVIDER, THE UTILITY COMPANY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ANY ASSOCIATION WITH, ENDORSEMENT OF OR LIABILITY FOR ANY SUCH PRODUCT, MANUFACTURER, DISTRIBUTOR, COMPANY, SERVICE OR SERVICE PROVIDER. Some provinces/states do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation and exclusions may not apply to you.  

Hold Harmless and Indemnity
You agree to hold harmless and indemnify 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™, The Utility Company, its employees, agents and representatives, from and against any third party claim arising from or in any way related to your use of the Service, including any liability or expense arising from all claims, losses, damages (actual and consequential), suits, judgments, litigation costs and attorneys' fees, of every kind and nature. In such a case, The Utility Company will provide you with written notice of such claim, suit or action.  

Release and Waiver
To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you hereby release, and waive all claims against The Utility Company and its employees and agents from any and all liability for claims, damages (actual and consequential), costs and expenses (including litigation costs and attorneys' fees) of every kind and nature, arising out of or in any way connected with use of the Service. If you are a California resident, you waive your rights, whether known or unknown, under California Civil Code 1542, which states, "A general release does not extend to claims which the creditor does not know or suspect to exist in his favor at the time of executing the release, which if known by him must have materially affected his settlement with the debtor." Residents of other states and nations similarly waive their rights under applicable and/or analogous laws, statutes, or regulations.
 
No Assignment
You shall not assign this Agreement or assign any rights or delegate any obligations hereunder, in whole or in part, whether voluntarily or by operation of law, without The Utility Company's prior written consent. Any such purported assignment or delegation by you without The Utility Company's prior written consent will be null and void and of no force or effect, unless otherwise expressly consented to by 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ at its sole and absolute discretion.  

Relationship of the Parties
Notwithstanding any provision hereof, for all purposes of this Agreement each party shall be and act as an independent contractor and not as partner, joint venturer, agent, employee or employer of the other and shall not bind nor attempt to bind the other to any contract.  

Miscellaneous
If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable, such provision shall be deemed superseded by a valid enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remaining provisions shall be enforced. The Utility Company's failure to act with respect to a breach by you or others does not waive The Utility Company's right to act with respect to subsequent or similar breaches. The failure of The Utility Company to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these terms and conditions shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. The section headings and subheadings contained in this Agreement are included for convenience only, and shall not limit or otherwise affect the terms of this Agreement. This Agreement shall be interpreted in accordance with the laws of the State of California as if made in California by two residents of that state. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between The Utility Company, The Utility Company's 1-866-My-Utility Per Minute™ and you with respect to the subject matter here.