Switch Smart | Terms and Conditions

Introduction

Switch Smart is a Savings Service provided by ARC Platforms Pty Ltd, ACN 667 417 030 (Service).

Switch Smart is offered as a tool to:

Help users to review and compare the publicly available Energy Plans offered in the Australian retail electricity markets
Help users to select the most cost effective Plan
Assist Users to switch between Retailers and Plans, and
Monitor Bills to ensure Users remain on competitive Plans.

Your use of the Service is subject to these Terms of Service.

You will need to provide information, including Personal Information, to the Service including:

You will need to provide the Service with an electricity bill and/or a gas bill which will allow the Service to analyse and compare the generally available Energy Plans available and relevant to you
You will need to complete a credit card payment for the service subscription fee
You will need to provide your name and contact information, including email and phone numberUnder these Terms of Service, you will give your consent to the Company obtaining the information required to deliver this service.

The Company will keep all of your information securely and will only use your information to provide the service as described.

The Service is independent of all Energy Retailers. The Service does not seek, and Retailers do not pay, commissions for any sales completed through the Service

The presence or absence of fees does not impact the ranking of the Energy Plans compared by the Service, or the plans and retailers recommended by the service.

1. Definitions

The following terms are used regularly throughout these Terms of Service and have a particular meaning:

1. ABN means Australian Business Number.
2. Agreement means these Terms of Service, accessible at https://Switch Smart.com.au/terms.
3. Business Day means a day (other than a Saturday, Sunday or public holiday) on which banks are open for general banking business in Melbourne, Australia.
4. Company means Switch Smart Holdings Pty Ltd, ACN 667 417 030
5. Contract means a “Market Retail Contract” as that term is defined in s33 of the National Energy Retail Law.
6. Energy Plan means the tariffs, other fees and terms of supply offered to a consumer for the provision of electricity and/or gas by an Energy Retailer subject to a Contract, and generally referred to as an energy market retail offer.
7. Energy Retailer means a business that offers Energy Contracts.
8. General Conditions means the terms and conditions set out in the section of this Agreement entitled “General Conditions”.
9. Intellectual Property means all copyright, patents, inventions, trade secrets, know-how, product formulations, designs, circuit layouts, databases, registered or unregistered trademarks, brand names, business names, domain names and other forms of intellectual property.
10. National Energy Retail Law means the National Energy Retail Law (South Australia) Act 2011.
11. Service means the Switch Smart Energy Plan continued comparison and switching service provided by the Company, accessible at https://Switch Smart.com.au or other URLs operated by the Company from time-to-time.
12. Privacy Policy means the Company’s privacy policy as updated from time-to-time, which can be found at https://Switch Smart.com.au/privacy.
13. Privacy Act means the Privacy Act 1989 (Cth).
14. Seamless Switching is a marketing term for the process of collecting required information to apply for an energy plan, and delivering it to an energy retailer on behalf of a user, in order to facilitate the user’s application to switch to that retailer.
15. Subscription Period means the duration of the Switch Smart subscription. This starts on the Subscription Start Date and ends 12 months (or longer if selected) from the date of payment for the Service. Subscription Period may be extended through the use of referral codes or other mechanisms as agreed between User and Company from time to time. If no switch has been completed within 12 months of the Subscription Start Date, then the Subscription Period will end on the 12 month anniversary of the Subscription Start Date.
16. Subscription Start Date is the date of signup to the Service.
17. User means any user of the Service.

2. Using the Service

1. General Use

1. All use of the Service is subject to this Agreement. If you do not accept the terms of this Agreement, you must immediately cease using the Service. By using the Service you will be deemed to have acknowledged and accepted the terms of this Agreement.

2. Overview of the Service:

1. You will upload an electricity and /or gas bill through our website, or via email. Your energy bill includes personal information which will be handled according to our Privacy Policy;
2. You will provide additional personal as required by the service;
3. You will complete a credit card payment to begin your 12 month (or longer if selected) subscription. The subscription will renew annually unless cancelled by You. The Service uses reputable external credit card processing providers and the Company does not retain credit card numbers or CVC numbers at any time;
4. We will use the consumption information on your energy bill to calculate comparison prices for all relevant available plans against your current plan assuming same tariff type, kWh consumption (and where relevant same kWh solar export) over the same time period;
5. Comparison results and ranking will assume that any conditional discounts and eligibility criteria have been achieved.
6. If annualised savings available under the first-ranked plan is less than than Savings Guarantee, You will be offered the option to cancel your subscription for a full refund;
7. You are not obliged to switch to the cheapest plan identified in the ranked list, however the savings will be calculated using the cheapest plan identified.
8. We do not guarantee the accuracy of any results and are not liable for any information that has been incorrectly provided to you by our service.
9. We will repeat the personalised comparison process on a monthly basis. We will use the latest bill and information available to us to provide accurate results.

3. The Company makes no representation that an Energy Retailer will accept the User’s application to sign-up for an account with an Energy Retailer. Where the retailer does not accept your application.

2. Consent

1. The User authorises the Company to:

1. Use the information in the energy bill provided by the User as the basis on which the Service compares and presents Energy Plans;
2. Request and access information held by Energy Retailers relating to User’s account
3. Use the information in the energy bill and other data provided by the User, to send to other companies to find products and services that may be of interest to the User and inform the User of these products and services or to anonymously aggregate Users data to procure deals for the Company’s customers.
4. By entering into a subscription with the Company, you agree to receiving marketing emails from time to time, which can be unsubscribed for under your account or via the “unsubscribe” link in the marketing email.
5. Request and receive bills issued by Energy Retailers relating to User’s account
6. The User warrants that they are authorised to enter into a Contract for the premises that they wish to sign-up.

3. Energy Plans and Calculated Pricing

The User agrees that:

1. The Service can only assess the energy information it is provided, and present Energy Plans ranked by price according to the consumption level provided by, or derived from information provided by the User;
2. The Company does not guarantee that an Energy Retailer will supply the User with energy or that any calculated energy costs will match the User’s actual energy cost (as determined by an invoice) if the User switches Energy Plan;
3. The Company cannot guarantee that an Energy Plan will remain available for any particular period of time, or that the User will be eligible to sign-up for it;
4. The Company is not liable to the User if any of the information supplied by the User is incorrect, out of date, or the User’s energy usage changes. The User is solely responsible for ensuring that such information is accurate and complete;
5. The User is responsible for assessing the Energy Retailer and Energy Plan presented by the Service for its own purposes. If the User holds any doubt as to the suitability, adequacy or appropriateness of an Energy Plan, the Company recommends the User seek advice from an independent third-party;
6. The Energy Plans presented to the User by the Service are to be used by the User only, and must not be used by any third-party for the purposes of assessing Energy Plans for that third-party’s own purposes;
7. The Company is not liable to the User if the User does not achieve the estimated cost of energy after signing-up to an Energy Plan presented by the Service;
8. Energy Plans are offered by Energy Retailers, and the Company has no control over Energy Plans and does not warrant that the information relied upon is accurate and complete; and
9. Energy Plans and Contracts may be subject to terms and conditions, which may change from time to time (including pricing), and may also render the User ineligible to use such Energy Plan.

4. Fees.

1. Users of the Service must pay an annual subscription fee (after the initial service duration for the first payment) inclusive of GST as detailed on the Website
2. The subscription fee must be paid at the time of signup to the Service.
3. The subscription period will commence on the day of signup to the Switch Smart service
4. The subscription period will end on the 12 month (or longer if selected) anniversary of the day the first switch is complete.
5. The subscription period may be extended under policies such as a referral scheme, or other policies at the absolute discretion of the Company.
6. A subscription renewal fee will be charged at the subscription end date, and the subscription period will be extended for a further 12 months until this Agreement is terminated.

3. General conditions

1. Licence

1. By accepting the terms and conditions of this Agreement, the User is granted a limited, non-exclusive and revocable licence to use the Service for the duration of this Agreement, in accordance with the terms and conditions of this Agreement.
2. The Company may revoke or suspend the User’s licence(s) in its absolute discretion for any reason that it sees fit, including for breach of the terms and conditions in this Agreement by the User or any of its users.

2. Software-as-a-Service

1. The User agrees and accepts that the Service is:
1. 1. Hosted by the Company and shall only be installed, accessed and maintained by the Company, accessed using the internet or other connection to the Company servers and is not available ‘locally’ from the User’s systems; and
2. 2. Managed and supported exclusively by the Company from the Company servers and that no ‘back-end’ access to the Service is available to the User unless expressly agreed in writing.
2. As a hosted and managed service, the Company reserves the right to upgrade, maintain, tune, backup, amend, add or remove features, redesign, improve or otherwise alter the Service.

3. Use & Availability

1. The User agrees that it shall only use the Service for legal purposes and shall not use it to engage any conduct that is unlawful, immoral, threatening, abusive or in a way that is deemed unreasonable by the Company in its discretion.
2. The User is solely responsible for the security of its username and password for access to the Service (if any).
3. The User agrees that the Company shall provide access to the Service to the best of its abilities, however:
1. 1. Access to the Service may be prevented by issues outside of its control; and
2. 2. It accepts no responsibility for ongoing access to the Service.

4. Support and Complaints

1. The Company provides user support for the Service via:
1. Email: support@Switch Smart.com.au.
2. If the User wishes to log a complaint for any reason, the Company can be contacted via:
1. 1. Email: support@Switch Smart.com.au
3. The Company shall endeavour to respond to all support requests and complaints within 2 Business Days though provides no guarantee.

5. Data

1. Security - The Company considers the security of the Service and the privacy of its Users with responsibility. The User agrees that the User shall not do anything to prejudice the security or privacy of the Company’s systems or the information on them.
2. Transmission - The Company shall do all things reasonable to ensure that the transmission of data occurs according to accepted industry standards. It is up to the User to ensure that any transmission standards meet the User’s operating and legal requirements.
3. Storage - Data that is stored by the Company shall be stored according to accepted industry standards and adhere to any government regulations for Victoria, Australia.

6. Intellectual Property

1. Trademarks - The Company has moral, unregistered and registered rights in its trademarks and the User shall not copy, alter, use or otherwise deal in the marks without the prior written consent of the Company.
2. No rights - Use of the Company’s Service or Website, or payment to the Company, does not entitle You to intellectual property or other rights to the Company’s Service or Website.
3. Proprietary Information - The Company may use software and other proprietary systems and Intellectual Property for which the Company has appropriate authority to use, and the User agrees that such is protected by copyright, trademarks, patents, proprietary rights and other laws, both domestically and internationally. The User warrants that it shall not infringe on any third-party rights through the use of the Service.
4. The Switch Smart Application - The User agrees and accepts that the Service is the Intellectual Property of ARC Platforms Pty Ltd. The User further warrants that by using the Service the User will not:
1. 1. Copy the Service or the services that it provides for the User’s own commercial purposes;
2. 2. Directly or indirectly copy, recreate, decompile, reverse engineer or otherwise obtain, modify or use any source or object code, architecture, algorithms contained in the Service or any documentation associated with it; and
3. 3. Directly or indirectly copy or scrape any content or information from the Service.
5. Content - All content (with the exception of personal or customer account information) remains the Intellectual Property of the Company, including (without limitation) any source code, analytics, insights, aggregations, ideas, enhancements, feature requests, suggestions or other information provided by the User or any other party with respect to the Service.

7. Disclaimer of Third Party Services & Information

1. The User acknowledges that the Service has dependencies on third-party services, including possibly, but not limited to, the following:
1. 1. Energy Retailers and distributors;
2. 2. Banks, credit card providers and online payment processors;
3. 3. Telecommunications services;
4. 4. Hosting infrastructure services;
5. 5. Email services; and
6. 6. Analytics services.
2. The User agrees that the Company shall not be responsible or liable in any way for:

8. Liability & Indemnity

1. The User agrees that it uses the Service at its own risk.
2. The User acknowledges that the Company is not responsible for the conduct or activities of any user and that the Company is not liable for such under any circumstances.
3. The User agrees to indemnify the Company for any loss, damage, cost or expense that the Company may suffer or incur as a result of or in connection with the User’s use of or conduct in connection with the Service, including any breach by the User of these Terms.
4. In no circumstances will the Company be liable for any direct, incidental, consequential or indirect damages, personal injury, death, damage to property, loss of property, loss or corruption of data, loss of profits, goodwill, bargain or opportunity, loss of anticipated savings or any other similar or analogous loss resulting from the User’s access to, or use of, or inability to use the Service, whether based on warranty, contract, tort, negligence, in equity or any other legal theory, and whether or not the Company knew or should have known of the possibility of such damage, loss, personal injury or death, or business interruption of any type, whether in tort, contract or otherwise.
5. Certain rights and remedies may be available under the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Cth) or similar legislation of other States or Territories and may not be permitted to be excluded, restricted or modified. Apart from those that cannot be excluded, the Company and the Company’s related entities exclude all conditions and warranties that may be implied by law. To the extent permitted by law, the Company’s liability for breach of any implied warranty or condition that cannot be excluded is restricted, at the Company’s option to:

9. Termination

1. A party may terminate this Agreement by giving the other party written notice.
2. Termination of this agreement is without prejudice to and does not affect the accrued rights or remedies of any of the parties arising in any way out of this agreement up to the date of expiry or termination, including the Company’s right to Fees.
3. Termination does not affect any of the rights accrued by a party prior to termination, and the rights and obligations under clauses 3.7, 3.10 and 3.11 survive termination of this Agreement.
4. Termination during the subscription period will not see a refund, or partial refund, to the User for unexpired Services.

10. Dispute Resolution

1. If any dispute arises between the parties in connection with this Agreement (Dispute), then either party may notify the other of the Dispute with a notice (Dispute Notice) which:
1. 1. Includes or is accompanied by full and detailed particulars of the Dispute; and
2. 2. Is delivered within 10 Business Days of the circumstances giving rise to the Dispute first occurring.
2. Within 10 Business Days after a Dispute Notice is given, a representative (with the authority to resolve the dispute) parties must meet (virtually or otherwise) and seek to resolve the Dispute.
3. Subject to the next clause only, a party must not bring court proceedings in respect of any Dispute unless it first complies with the requirements of the dispute resolution mechanism outlined in this clause.
4. Nothing in this clause prevents either party from instituting court proceedings to seek urgent injunctive, interlocutory or declaratory relief in respect of a Dispute.
5. Despite the existence of a Dispute, the parties must continue to perform their respective obligations under this document and any related agreements.

11. Electronic Communication, Amendment & Assignment

1. The words in this clause that are defined in the Electronic Transactions Act 1999 (Cth) have the same meaning.
2. The User can direct notices, enquiries, complaints and so forth to the Company as set out in this Agreement. the Company will notify the User of a change of details from time-to-time.
3. The Company will send the User notices and other correspondence to the details that the User submits to the Company, or that the User notifies the Company of from time-to-time. It is the User’s responsibility to update its contact details as they change.
4. A consent, notice or communication under this Agreement is effective if it is sent as an electronic communication unless required to be physically delivered under law.
5. Notices must be sent to the parties’ most recent known contact details.
6. The User may not assign or otherwise create an interest in this Agreement.
7. The Company may assign or otherwise create an interest in its rights under this Agreement by giving written notice to the User.

12. General

1. Special Conditions. The parties may agree to any special conditions to this Agreement in writing.
2. Prevalence. To the extent this Agreement is in conflict with, or inconsistent with, the terms of any other Agreement between the Company and the User, or any special conditions made under this Agreement, as relevant, the terms of those other agreements or special conditions shall prevail.
3. Disclaimer. Each party acknowledges that it has not relied on any representation, warranty or statement made by any other party, other than as set out in this Agreement.
4. Relationship. The relationship of the parties to this Agreement does not form a joint venture or partnership.
5. Waiver. No clause of this Agreement will be deemed waived and no breach excused unless such waiver or consent is provided in writing.
6. Further Assurances. Each party must do anything necessary (including executing agreements and documents) to give full effect to this Agreement and the transaction facilitated by it.
7. Governing Law. This Agreement is governed by the laws of Victoria, Australia. Each of the parties hereby submits to the non-exclusive jurisdiction of courts with jurisdiction there.
8. Severability. Any clause of this Agreement, which is invalid or unenforceable, is ineffective to the extent of the invalidity or unenforceability without affecting the remaining clauses of this Agreement.

9. Interpretation. The following rules apply unless the context requires otherwise:

1. Headings are only for convenience and do not affect interpretation.
2. The singular includes the plural and the opposite also applies.
3. If a word or phrase is defined, any other grammatical form of that word or phrase has a corresponding meaning.
4. A reference to a clause refers to clauses in this Agreement.
5. A reference to legislation is to that legislation as amended, re-enacted or replaced, and includes any subordinate legislation issued under it.
6. Mentioning anything after includes, including, or similar expressions, does not limit anything else that might be included.
7. A reference to a party to this Agreement or another agreement or document includes that party’s successors and permitted substitutes and assigns (and, where applicable, the party’s legal personal representatives).
8. A reference to a person, corporation, trust, partnership, unincorporated body or other entity includes any of them.
9. A reference to information is to information of any kind in any form or medium, whether formal or informal, written or unwritten, for example, computer software or programs, concepts, data, drawings, ideas, knowledge, procedures, source codes or object codes, technology or trade secrets.

Terms and Conditions