Terms & Conditions of Use

1. Privacy
Site Seal is firmly committed to the privacy of its members. These Terms and Conditions should be read in conjunction with the Site Seal Privacy Policy.

2. Acceptance of Terms and Conditions
The Site Seal service and the Site Seal website (referred to hereafter as "the Site Seal Service", or "the Service") are owned and operated by Walshaw Internet Services; ABN 43 549 443 349 (referred to hereafter as "Site Seal").

The Service is open for membership to all individuals of age 18 years or over. Site Seal membership is conditional upon acceptance and full compliance with the terms, conditions, notices and disclaimers contained in this document and elsewhere on Site Seal (referred to hereafter as 'Terms and Conditions'). Submission of the membership signup form constitutes the member's acceptance of the Terms and Conditions. Because the member is bound by these Terms and Conditions, the member should periodically refer to them here. Site Seal reserves the right to vary the specifications, fees, rules, procedures, and conditions of any element of Site Seal at any time without notice. Site Seal reserves the right to vary the Terms and Conditions by providing 30 days notice on this website.

3. Condition of Membership
Site Seal reserves the right to terminate the membership of any individual who violates the following conditions of membership:
- The member must not send unsolicited email ('SPAM') to strangers to promote Site Seal;
- The member must not join or use the Service on behalf of another party without that party's explicit consent;
- Each registered email address can only belong to one member;
- Any other reason deemed inappropriate in the opinion of Site Seal.

Site Seal also reserves the right to terminate the membership of any individual without cause or reason.

4. Member Communication
By obtaining membership, the member consents to Site Seal sending the member email notices concerning the member's site seal applications and active site seals. This includes, but is not limited to seal applications, visitor feedback submitted concerning the member's site on the Site Seal, member submitted questions, and complaints. The member also consents to receiving email notices from Site Seal regarding changes to the Site Seal Terms and Conditions and the Privacy Policy.

On the sign up form, by checking (clicking on) the box next to the statement 'Subscribe to the Site Seal newsletter?', the member voluntarily consents to receiving email communication from Site Seal concerning news and notices regarding the Site Seal Service in general.

5. Payments & Refunds
All site seal purchases are final, as are seal renewals. If a seal application is denied, the applicant will be given a list of reasons behind the decision. The applicant can then amend their site & services to meet the standards required for approval. Once this occurs the applicant can then contact Site Seal and request that the application be reviewed. Applicants are not liable for additional payments for two reviews of their application. After that, they will be liable for a second application payment should they wish to continue their application.

Site Seal reserves the right to request a copy of a proof of identification document, for account verification and security purposes, before granting a site seal. Where the member is unable to provide a copy of a proof of identification document, Site Seal may deny the application and may also, at its discretion, cancel the member account.

While Site Seal endeavors to keep the Service error free, if a payment is credited to a member due to a human or computer error, Site Seal reserves the right to adjust or reverse such a transaction without notice.

6. Site Seal Facilities and Services
A member who has purchased a site seal to display on his/her web site is hereafter referred to as 'the Merchant' or 'the Member.' The website or service operated the Merchant is hereafter referred to as 'the Merchant Website'. A visitor to the Merchant Website or to the Site Seal website, who views a web site report and views or submits visitor feedback is hereafter referred to as 'the Visitor.'

Because user authentication on the Internet is difficult, Site Seal cannot and does not confirm each user's purported identity.

6.1 Site Seal Applications
Site Seal has sole discretion concerning the acceptance or denial of web site seal applications. Site Seal reserves the right to deny an application or resubmission of an application for failure to meet requirements not explicitly set out on the Site Seal website.

Failed applications may be resubmitted for review twice, hereafter a second application payment is required. No refunds are provided for failed applications.

Site Seal reserves the right, but has no obligation, to issue a refund to the Merchant if the application is not reviewed within five business days of submission.

Site Seal reserves the right to reverse an application decision without providing a refund.

All web site seals last for one year, at which time the Merchant can pay for a renewal of the seal. Site Seal reserves the right to not permit the Merchant to renew the seal.

6.2 Web Site Reports and Trust Seals
Once a web site is approved it will be placed in the approved web sites directory and the Merchant is given the opportunity to place a trust seal on his/her web site. Visitors can click on the seal to view a report on the web site, along with visitor feedback.

The web site report contains contact information submitted by the Merchant, along with web site details submitted by the Merchant. Site Seal reserves the right to include third party metrics in the report. These metrics include, but are not limited to, Google PageRank and Alexa rank.

While Site Seal makes a genuine attempt to validate information submitted by Merchants, it provides no guarantee as to their accuracy.

If the services or contact details for a Merchant site change, the Merchant must update the web site profile in the account area. The Merchant is responsible for ensuring that the information published about their site is correct and up to date.

Upon termination of membership, the Merchant must remove all Site Seal seal images from their website, along with any reference to the fact they had once been approved by the Site Seal.

6.3 Web Site Feedback
Site Seal provides a feedback service whereby Visitors can submit feedback ratings and comments concerning a Merchant web site and its services.

All submitted feedback is filtered by Site Seal to ensure its validity. Checks include Visitor IP address checks, Visitor email address checks, and feedback content validation.

Site Seal has sole discretion over which feedback is published. Site Seal reserves the right to alter feedback comments for correct spelling and punctuation.

While Site Seal makes a genuine attempt to validate feedback submitted by Visitors, it provides no guarantee that they are genuine.

All feedback submissions are property of the Site Seal. The merchant cannot reproduce the feedback content in any way, shape, or form (unless it is through the use of our feedback feeds) without our express written consent.

Upon termination of membership, the Merchant cannot make reference any way, shape, or form to the feedback received through the Site Seal.

6.4 30 Day Money Back Guarantee
Any Merchant who signs up and pays for membership on or after November 8 2007 receives a 30 day money back guarantee. This entitles the Merchant to a full refind if they decide to terminate their membership within the first 30 days of being approved. The money back guarantee applies to the first year of membership only.

If a refund is requested, once the Merchant is refunded the Merchant's account will be deleted from the Site Seal, along with all feedback submissions. The Merchant does not have the right to re-publish or make any reference to the feedback received through the Site Seal during the 30 day trial period.

As a condition of receiving a refund, the Merchant must permanently remove any Site Seal trust seal images from their website, along with any content that suggests they had been accepted by the Site Seal.

7. Outage Policy
The Service may occasionally experience outages in which visitors cannot view site reports or submit feedback. These outages can also affect the Site Seal seal image display on Merchant websites.

Site Seal reserves the right, but is under no obligation, to provide discretionary compensation for members as a result of system outages.

8. Disclaimer of Warranty
The Merchant and Visitor acknowledge that they have not relied upon or been induced by any representation by Site Seal and Ownership makes no warranty or representation as to:
- the results that may be obtained through membership of the service;
- the accuracy, reliability or otherwise of any information obtained through membership of the service;
- the financial or other rewards which may be obtained through membership of the service;
- the service or network being uninterrupted, timely or error free;
- the goods and/or services purchased or obtained through the service or network, including goods and or services offered by Site Seal members.

9. Limitation of Liability
The Merchant and Visitor release Site Seal and its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates from any claim for loss, damage or liability, including special indirect or consequential loss or damage such as loss of revenue, unavailability of systems or loss of data, in respect of:
- any Site Seal emails forwarded to the member;
- membership of the service;
- the use of or inability to use the Site Seal Service;
- the quality of goods and/or services purchased by the Visitor of a Merchant website;

10. Indemnification
The Merchant and Visitor indemnify and keep indemnified Site Seal and its officers, employees, agents, subsidiaries and affiliates against all claims (including third party claims), demands, damages, costs (including legal costs), penalties or suits arising out of or consequential upon their use of the Service.

11. Termination
These Terms and Conditions are effective until terminated by Site Seal. Site Seal may terminate these Terms and Conditions at any time without notice.

12. Governing Law
These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New South Wales and of the Commonwealth of Australia. The Merchant and Visitor submit to the jurisdiction of the courts of New South Wales and the Commonwealth of Australia.

Any questions?
If you have any questions regarding our Terms and Conditions or our privacy policy, feel free to contact us.