Bosco Terms and Conditions For Residential Customers

These Terms

These terms and conditions set out the basis on which we provide electricity, telephone and Internet services and other services to our residential customers.
Additional terms may apply to your use of some of our services. If so, we will tell you what those terms are. If there is any conflict between these terms and any additional terms, the additional terms will prevail.
More than one person can be the customer at any premises, and these terms and conditions apply to each of you as individuals, as well as to you jointly. We expect you to pay the entire invoice even if someone living with you hasn’t paid their share.

How To Apply For Our Services

You apply for our services by completing an application form and faxing or posting it to us, by phoning us or by completing an application on line. When you sign the application form, phone us or complete an application on line you agree to comply with these terms and conditions and to pay our invoices when due.
We shall respond to you within 4 days of receiving your application either in writing or by phone. Your application for electricity supply will be accepted if it meets our criteria. These criteria are detailed on our website www.bosco.co.nz. We may at our absolute discretion decide to accept or otherwise your application for other services.
Unless we agree on a different date, you will be bound by this agreement, and be liable for charges, from the earlier of:

the date you occupy or become responsible for the property to be supplied electricity under this agreement; or
the date we first supply you with electricity or other services

Protecting Information About You

To become our customer, we need you to provide us with certain information. We may not be able to process your application if the information is not provided.
We may use any information we collect and hold about you for any or all of the following purposes:

to supply electricity to you;
to invoice you;
to carry out credit checks or debt collection;
to send you notices or contact you;
if you agree, for market research purposes;
to meet the requirements of the Electricity Governance Regulations and Rules and the Electricity and Gas Complaints Commission;
to meet the requirements of the operators of the Grid or Network or a trust or co-operative that owns that Distributor;
to address mail to new occupants c/- your name on rural delivery routes, if necessary to ensure that mail is delivered to new occupants at your old address;
confirm our contractual commitments with you; and

Confidentiality

Confidentiality Information about you will be held and used by us in accordance with the Privacy Act 1993. We may disclose information about you to:

any other person who is a joint customer under this contract;
credit reporting and debt collection agencies;
the Electricity and Gas complainrs Commission in connection with any complaint made by you;
if you agree, market research companies to carry out market research for us in relation to the services under this contract;
the Distributor and/or the trust or co-operative that owns that Distributor so that they may pass on rebates or discounts, or prepare electoral rolls of trust beneficiaries;
the operator of the Grid or Network for the running of their respective networks;
any person we are required by law to provide with information about you;

By entering into this contract, you authorise any person to provide us with such information about you as we may require in response to our queries and for any of the purposes set out above.

Our Services

We will use all reasonable endeavours to make our services available to you at all times. However our services rely on us using networks and services owned by other people. As a result we cannot promise that our services will always be available or fully functioning. If our services are unavailable for any reason we will endeavour to restore service as soon as possible.
We will give you notice of any intended or anticipated interruption to electricity supply, promptly after receiving notice of any such interruption from the network operator. Where practicable, we will liaise with you to ensure that such interruptions will cause as little inconvenience as possible.
While we take reasonable security precautions, due to the nature of telecommunications services we cannot guarantee the confidentiality of any calls or transmissions you make using our services.
We can suspend or restrict our services at any time if:

we consider it necessary to protect or maintain our network; or
we believe that you have breached any of our terms and conditions.

Using Our Services

You must not use our services in a way which:

breaks any laws
infringes anyone’s rights; or
is malicious, obscene or offensive.

You must keep confidential any password or PIN number which is used by you to access our services. We recommend that you regularly change your password or PIN number.
You must comply with any reasonable restrictions we impose or directions we give regarding the use of our services.
You must ensure that all information you give us is correct. Where any information you have supplied to us changes (such as contact details) you must provide us with updated information as soon as possible. You may do that be phoning or faxing us, by post, or online using the Internet.
You agree that we can act on any verbal instructions you give us in relation to the services.

Charges

You must pay our charges for the services we provide to you, regardless of whether you or someone else uses those services. We may vary our charges from time to time. If we increase any charge we will give you at least 30 days’ notice. Any additional cabling in your premise you request will be charged for. Call-outs where the fault is not our responsibility may be charged for. We will charge you for a final electricity meter reading when you terminate this agreement with us. We will charge you to reconnect your power if you are disconnected for non-payment. You can always check out the latest available charges by visiting our website www.bosco.co.nz or calling customer services on 302 1500.
Unless you are able to supply a credit reference from a previous services supplier, we may require you to pay us a bond. Any bond we receive will be held as security against non-payment of future invoices or amounts owed to us by you. We will repay by cheque or direct credit to your nominated bank account your bond less any amounts you owe us within one month of your terminating our services to you or if you request repayment after one year of maintaining a satisfactory payment record with us.
We will invoice you monthly for services we provide to you. Fixed charges are invoiced in advance. Usage based charges (such as toll calls and electricity) are invoiced in arrears.

You can pay our invoices in a variety of ways

by direct debit authority
by regular automatic payment of a fixed amount;
by telephone transfer from your bank;
by charging your credit card;
by sending us a cheque;
by paying in advance
by internet transfer from your bank account or;
by paying at one of our authorised collection agents;

Fees & Discounts

We may offer a discount if you pay on time. The details of any discount offered will be shown on your invoice.

Please note that:

the level of any discount may be less if you pay by credit card; and
if your payment is dishonoured, we may charge you a dishonour fee.

You must pay each invoice within 14 days of the invoice date. If you do not pay any invoice within that time we may:

disconnect your services until all charges have been paid; and
terminate this agreement; and
withhold any rebate, discount or similar incentive which would otherwise be available to you; and
recover from you any debt recovery costs.

If you wish to raise a genuine dispute regarding an invoice of ours you must do so in writing within 14 days of receipt of the invoice. We will consider any issues raised in good faith and will promptly advise you of any resolution or amendment to our charges. We are members of the Electricity & Gas Complaints Commission (www.egcomplaints.co.nz). If you are unsatisfied with our resolution of a dispute relating to the supply of electricity you may contact the EGCC to assist with resolution.
Our complaints resolution process is free and committed to delivering fair and effective outcomes in good faith.

Delivery of invoice

We can send our invoices to you by post, by private delivery to your mailbox, or by making it available online. Please tell us:

method of delivery you prefer; and
physical, postal, or email address you wish us to use.

You will be deemed to have received our invoice 3 days after we post it or the day after we privately deliver or email it. You grant us access to the location of your mail box for private delivery.

Electricity

We will supply electricity to your premises at quality and reliability levels in accordance with current laws including the Electricity Governance Regulations and Rules and technical electrical codes of practice.
Electricity will be supplied to your Point of Connection at within 6% of 400/230 volts and within 1.5% of 50 Hertz alternating current (excluding momentary fluctuations) and in accordance with any relevant legislative requirements.

Installation of Meters

A meter measures how much electricity you use. Meters are required at your premises.
No matter how it is installed, no meter is ever a "fixture". This means a meter never becomes part of the premises. At all times, it remains the property of the meter owner and you must not allow any security interest to be created over any meter or related equipment.

Location and Protection of Meters

You must ensure that meters or related equipment are not removed or replaced without our consent.
You must notify us as soon as possible if you become aware that the meters or related equipment are damaged, defective or look unsafe.

Meter Maintenance and Accuracy

We are responsible for maintaining meters and related equipment. This includes ensuring that any meter is accurate within industry standards.
We may repair, test or replace the meters or related equipment at any time and you must provide access, as set out below for us to do so. We will test the meters within 14 days if you ask us to.
If we test a meter we will inform you of the results of the test and if:

it is faulty and you had no part in causing the fault, we will replace or repair the meter at our cost;
It is not faulty and you requested the test, we may charge you our costs for testing the meter provided that we informed you of any extra charge you might incur if we did test your meter, prior to undertaking this work.

We will inform you prior to taking any action on your meter which may impact on your invoices or result in an extra charge.
Our obligation to inform as above does not apply where there is a safety issue, the meter is fast, slow or has stopped and does not apply where we have reasonable cause to suspect that fraud, theft or meter tampering has taken place.

Meter Reading

We will read all meters at your premises in accordance with electricity industry standards and codes of practice for meter reading and at least once every 2 months,

unless The Electricity Governance Regulations and Rules require meters to be read more frequently; or
we cannot gain reasonable access to your meters.

You may also read your meters yourself and give us the readings. We can decide whether or not to accept your readings. If we do not accept any of your readings, we may carry out a special meter reading within 5 working days. If it turns out that your reading was accurate:

we will not charge you for the cost of our special reading; or
your reading was inaccurate, we may charge you for the cost of our special meter reading.

If you move to new premises or this contract is terminated under we require a final meter reading of your premises on or before you move to new premises or before termination of this contract. You must:

give us 3 working days’ notice of the date on which this the final meter reading will be carried out; and
allow us access to your premises to carry out the final meter reading.

If you move to new premises and wish to remain our customer or you become our customer, we require an initial meter reading of your premises on or after you move into new premises or become our customer. We will agree with you how this initial meter reading is carried out, but if we cannot agree, we will read your meters.

Tampering with Meters

You must not tamper with any meters or related equipment and, for the avoidance of doubt; "tampering" includes by-passing meters. Tampering with meters is dangerous and may be a criminal offence.
If you are found to be at fault, we will charge you for all reasonable costs incurred in investigating any possible tampering; and any necessary repairs.
If any of your meters or related equipment have been tampered with:

we will invoice you for the electricity we reasonably estimate you have used;
we may disconnect your premises;
we may terminate this contract and refuse to reconnect your supply;
we may inform the police.

Need for Access

We or the Distributor may need access to your premises to:

turn the electricity supply on or off;
inspect, test, install, operate, maintain, replace, or remove any equipment related to your electricity supply;
read your meters;
find the cause of any interference with the quality of supply to your premises or the surrounding area;
prevent harm to people or premises from equipment for which we or the Distributor are responsible; or
maintain and protect the operation of the Network.

Your Obligations

When access to your premises is required you must provide us and the Distributor with access any time between 8am and 7pm Monday to Saturday, excluding Public Holidays,

immediately for scheduled meter reading; or
routine meter maintenance of which you have been given at least 5 working days’ notice;
immediately if required to restore electricity supply in your neighbourhood in the event of an unplanned outage;
to prevent harm to people or premises from equipment for which we or the Distributor are responsible;
to protect the Network; or
to deal with any other emergency situation involving the electricity supply;

and on the condition that any representative of ours or the Distributor has identification and provides it to you to examine on request. You should refuse access to anyone who refuses to show such identification and inform us immediately.

Connections, Disconnections and Reconnections

If you are making a new connection, or asking for a reconnection after 6 months or more of being disconnected, you need to obtain the appropriate certification from a licensed electrical inspector, or other approved service providers. You must pay any costs associated with certification. Please call us if you would like any advice.
Our contact details are set out on our website.
If you would like your premises to be permanently disconnected, you must:

allow us access to your premises.

If you would like your premises to be temporarily disconnected (for example to allow you to carry out building work or maintenance to the premises), you must:

give us at least 2 working days’ notice of the date on which you wish to be disconnected and reconnected; and
pay any costs associated with the temporary disconnection and reconnection.

Safety

Please contact us if you become aware that any equipment relating to your electricity supply is defective, damaged or causing a hazard. Our contact details are set out on our website.

Internet Services

This clause applies if we provide Internet access services to you.
You are responsible for downloading to your computer any email that you wish to keep. We may without notice to you remove any mail that remains on our servers for more than 90 days.
You must not knowingly transmit any worms or viruses or use our services in a manner that is likely to or is intended to damage or compromise the security of our network or anyone else’s network.
You must use our service in a reasonable and responsible manner and in accordance with established “netiquette”.
We do not control the information that can be accessed through the Internet. Accordingly we are not responsible for any inaccurate, illegal or offensive information that may be obtained from your use of our services. We are also not liable for any viruses or other harmful code that you download via the Internet.

Phone Services

This clause applies if we provide telephone services to you.
We will provide you with a telephone number and a line that you may use to contact other telephone subscribers within or outside our network.

Term

If you have agreed to use a service for a minimum term, then you must do so. For services except electricity where there is no minimum term, or where the minimum term has expired, either of us may terminate that service on giving the other 7 days notice.
Where this agreement relates only to the supply of electricity you may terminate it at any time by giving us 7 days notice. Except for breach of this agreement by you, we may not otherwise terminate it.
We can terminate this agreement, or the provision of any service to you, immediately if you breach any term of this agreement or if we reasonably believe that you have supplied incorrect or misleading information to us. If we end this agreement with you we may disconnect services including electricity from your premises without further notice.
If this agreement is terminated for any reason you must still pay us for services provided to you up to the date of termination. If you have prepaid for a service, no refund is payable to you on termination unless we agree otherwise.

Liability

if any communication you make is intercepted;
if any communication you make is not properly transmitted or received;
if any of our services are not available at any time or are faulty;
(for internet customers) if your computer becomes affected by any virus or worm.

We are not liable to you for any fault in or non-provision of services which is caused by an event beyond our reasonable control.
You acknowledge that no third party whose network or services we use to supply services to you (nor any officer, employee, contractor or agent of such third party) is in any way liable to you in connection with our services. This clause is intended to confer a benefit that those third parties can enforce. Surges or spikes are momentary fluctuations in voltage or frequency and are not treated as interruptions. We strongly recommend that you install Surge Protection Devices for sensitive equipment like computers, microwaves, video recorders, televisions and other electronic devices. Contact your electrician or manufacturer for information about how to guard against surges, spikes and other fluctuations.
We also recommend that you consider taking out insurance against surges, spikes and other fluctuations or interruptions in electricity supply.
Nothing in this clause limits any rights you have under the Consumer Guarantees Act.

Changing These Terms

We can change these terms from time to time by giving you 30 days’ notice. We will inform you of any change by emailing or writing to you, by putting a notice in major daily newspapers or by providing relevant information on our Web site. Our latest terms and conditions will be updated on this page.

Notices

If you wish to notify us of anything you can do so by writing to us at PO Box 9601, Newmarket, Auckland 1149 or by calling (09) 302 1500. We may require you to confirm in writing any advice you give us by phone.
If we wish to communicate with you or notify you of anything we can do so by post, phone, text, facsimile or email to the last known address or number we have for you.
We are entitled to assume that a notice from us has been received by you:

on the day it was delivered to the address to which you asked us to send notices;
3 days after it was posted to your last known postal address;
the day after it was transmitted to your last known email address or fax number; or
the day after it was published on our web site, or the notice appeared in your local newspaper.

Other Matters

These terms are to be interpreted in accordance with the laws of New Zealand. Any dispute regarding the provision of our services under these terms is to be determined by New Zealand courts.
We agree to meet with you and discuss in good faith any dispute between us arising out of this agreement.
We are not required to carry out our obligations under this agreement when prevented from doing so by an event or circumstance beyond our reasonable control. Examples of such events are storms, accidents, fires, industrial action and lightning.
You must not assign your rights under this agreement. We can transfer our rights and obligations under this agreement to anyone else. We will notify you if we do so.
If you have any questions regarding the supply of services to your premises please feel free to speak to a Customer Services Representative on 302 1500.

Bosco Terms and Conditions For Residential Customers