Welcome Letter

Terms & Conditions

IMPORTANT CUSTOMER NOTICE:
YOUR PLACEMENT OF AN INTRASTATE, INTERSTATE OR INTERNATIONAL TOLLCALL USING HUTCHINSON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC., CONSTITUTES CUSTOMER'S ACCEPTANCE OF THE BELOW TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND CONSTITUTES A BINDING CONTRACT BETWEEN CUSTOMER AND HUTCHINSON TELECOMMUNICATIONS INC.

I. The Service that We Provide to Our Customers

a. The Company is a common carrier and provides access to facilities, services and equipment over which our Customers may transmit voice, data and other communications of their own choosing to intrastate, interstate and international destinations. The company also provides a service (typically referred to as "800" or "888" Service) under which a Customer may establish a number to receive and pay the charges for communications received by the Customer from persons at the other locations.
b. The Company provides service on a 7 days per week, 24 hours per day basis to all destinations in the United States (including Alaska and Hawaii), and to those international destinations listed in the international rate sheets maintained at the Company's office and on its Web site (see below).
c. The Company primarily resells to its Customers the intrastate, interstate and international toll services of larger, facilities-based carriers. The Company endeavors to purchase these services at volume discounts, and to resell them to its Customers at lower rates than they would pay if they purchased service directly from the other carriers. However, resale also means that the Company has no control over outages and other service disruptions on the networks of the other carriers (see limitations of liability below). The Company does not guarantee its service in any manner, and expressly states that errors and omissions in the delivery of telecommunications service and messages are possible.
d. The Company has customer service representatives available from 8:30 A.M. to 5 P.M. Monday through Friday to assist its Customers with any questions or problems regarding its toll services. A Company representative can be reached during these hours by dialing (320) 587-2323, (320) 593-2323 or (800) 303-7039.

II. Charges, Bills and Payment for Service

a. Service is provided and billed on a monthly basis, and will continue to be provided and billed until canceled by the Customer or terminated by the Company.
b. The rates and charges for the Company's intrastate rates are on file with the Department of Commerce and may be inspected at Suite 500, 85 Seventh Place E, St. Paul, MN 55101. Intrastate, interstate, and international toll rates can be inspected during regular business hours at the Company's corporate office at 235 Franklin Street SW, Hutchinson, MN 55350.
c. The rates and charges for the Company's intrastate, interstate and international toll rates can also be inspected on its Web site at http://www.hutchtel.net.
d. The Company bills for its toll services on a usage basis, either in one minute, 30-second periods, or 6-second periods (depending on the specific calling plan the Customer selects, with a minimum of one full minute), and rounds up any fractional period.
e. The Company will pass through to its Customers all applicable federal, state and local taxes or surcharges (including sales, use excise, gross earnings, and gross income taxes), as well as surcharges to recover the Company's contributions to applicable federal or state funds (including funds for universal service, telecommunications relay service, local number portability, and telephone number administration).
f. Payment for all bills rendered by the Company for its interstate, intrastate and international toll service is due within 11 days after the Company mails the bill to the Customer. If the Company does not receive payment within 11 days after rendition of a bill, a late charge of 1.5% will be applied to all amounts past due.
g. No late charge will be assessed upon properly disputed charges (see dispute procedures below).
h. The Company may require a Customer to make an advance payment prior to or at any time after provision of service, not to exceed estimated charges for 3 months. The advance payment will be applied to Customer's first month's and subsequent month's bill until it is used up.
i. The Company reserves the right to establish a credit limit for the Customer, and to suspend service to the Customer when the Customer reaches the applicable limit.

III. Obligations of Customer

a. The Customer is responsible for the timely payment of all billed charges for services or facilities provided by the Company to the Customer, and for the payment of the Company's reasonable attorney's fees and court costs if the Company is forced to retain an attorney to collect any of its billed charges from the Customer.
b. The Customer will not use the Company's services in a manner that interferes unreasonably with the use of the services by one or more other Customers.
c. The Customer will not use the Company's services in an abusive, illegal or fraudulent manner, nor alter or tamper with the Company's connections or facilities.
d. The Customer will indemnify the Company against any and all liability, including reasonable counsel fees, arising from any claims against the Customer for libel, slander, or infringement of copyright or trademark in connection with any material transmitted by the Customer over the Company's facilities, services or equipment.

IV. Resolution of Billing Disputes

a. If the procedures of this section are followed, the Customer may withhold payment relating to disputed items pending resolution of the dispute.
b. Within 15 days of the bill date of a disputed bill, the Company must receive from the Customer an itemized statement in writing which identifies the disputed charges and reasonably explains the basis of the dispute. Failure to comply with this requirement shall mean the bill is deemed correct and all amounts are due and owing the Company.
c. The Company shall review the Customer's statement, and shall issue a written initial determination within 15 days after its receipt of the Customer's statement to set forth the Company's proposed resolution of the dispute.
d. If the Customer is not satisfied with the Company's proposed resolution, the Customer must advise the Company in writing within 15 days after the Customer's receipt of the Company's initial determination of the specific reasons for the dissatisfaction, and provide any additional information which Customer deems pertinent or relevant to the dispute.
e. Within 15 days after the Company's receipt of additional information, the Company shall make its final determination and resolution based upon all documentation or information available to the Company.
f. If the Customer continues to withhold any disputed amount determined to be owed to the Company, the Customer's account shall be deemed to be past due, and subject to termination.
g. If the disputed service involves intrastate calls, the Customer may avoid disconnection by placing the disputed amount into escrow pending a resolution by the Minnesota Public Utilities Commission.

V. Limitation of The Company's Liability

a. The Customer assumes all risks, other than those resulting from gross negligence or willful misconduct associated with the provision of all telecommunications services and delivery of messages, and the liability of the Company for damages resulting in whole or in part from mistakes, omissions, interruptions, delays, errors or other defects in the intrastate, interstate or international toll services provided shall not exceed its billed charges for the defective call or calls.
b. Neither the Company nor its officers, agents or employees will be liable for indirect, incidental, special, punitive or consequential damages, including but not limited to damages for loss of anticipated profits or revenue, lost saving, or other economic loss in connection with or arising from any telecommunications service or message, whether arising in contract, warranty, strict liability, tort negligence of any kind (other than willful negligence or intentional misconduct) and regardless of whether the possibility of such damage resulting was foreseen.
c. The Company shall not be liable for any interruption, failure or degradation of service due in whole or part to causes beyond its control, including, but not limited to: (1) acts of God, fires, flood or other catastrophes; (2) any law, order, regulation, directive, action or request of any instrumentality of the United States Government, or of any foreign, state or local government; (3) any national emergency, insurrection, riot, war, strike or labor difficulty; (d) any act or omission by any other carrier, including the carrier providing the resold services to the Company, or other entity affecting the facilities or equipment over which the Company's services are provided; (5) any negligence by the Customer or defects or failures of the Customer's equipment; and (6) any negligent acts or omissions of third parties.
d. Customer shall hold the Company harmless from any third-party claims arising out of Customer's use of the Company's service.

VI. Refusal, Termination or Suspension of Service

a. The Company may refuse service to a Customer that fails or declines to make an advance payment requested by the Company.
b. The Company may discontinue service without notice if it finds that Customer has furnished false or misleading information in an effort to obtain or retain service.
c. The Company may terminate service 11 days after a written notice of termination is mailed to the last known billing address of a Customer that has failed to pay a bill for more than 30 days after it was rendered, or that has failed to pay disputed charges determined to be owed to the Company via the Company's billing dispute resolution procedures (see above) for more than 10 days after the end of the dispute resolution proceeding.
d. The Company reserves the right to suspend service to a Customer when the Customer reaches the credit limit established by the Company.
e. The Company may suspend or terminate service to a Customer immediately if the Company reasonably believes that the Customer or entities using the Customer's account or facilities are using the Company's services in a manner that: (i) interferes with the use of the services by one or more other Customers; (ii) is abusive, illegal or fraudulent; (iii) damages the Company's facilities or equipment; (iv) places excessive capacity demands upon the Company's facilities or service; (v) involves threatening, annoying, vile, profane, obscene or abusive language.