OCS PrisonCalls Terms of Service

1. SERVICE

a. Use of Service

Customer will be required to pre-pay for all usage in the sole discretion of OCS PrisonCalls, hereafter called OCS. (See section d below) If Customer is approved for Service, Customer agrees not to resell the Service without the expressed written consent of OCS. Customer also agrees not to use Service for any unlawful or abusive purpose or in such a way as to create damage or risk to OCS’s business, reputation, employees, facilities, third parties or to the public in general. Customer has no proprietary or ownership rights to or interest in a specific phone number or phone numbers (”Number”) assigned to you by OCS, and the number is not portable to any other service provider. Customers who choose to use the Service outside the United States do so at their own risk. OCS can not care for any Customer who uses the Service outside the United States. OCS does not guarantee that the Service will work outside of the United States. (Note: Since we are a pre-paid company, we do not do standard credit checks.)

b. Term

The term of this Agreement depends on the subscriber(s) needs. OCS only requires that the first (30) thirty days of service be paid. After that initial time period, a subscriber is free to cancel service with OCS. Customer agrees to purchase the Service for the 30 day minimum term. The term of the Service shall continue for as long as the subscriber continues to replenish their account for as many months thereafter as said subscriber decides to continue service. If Customer attempts to terminate Service prior to the end of the term, they will be responsible for all charges, including without limitation, unbilled charges, which immediately become due.

c. Unauthorized Usage (forwarding)

Customer may not program the Number into any equipment or infrastructure in or on which the number is intended or used as the origination or destination of a communication other than the ring location that was authorized by OCS.

d. Credit Checks

OCS does not perform credit checks on residential customers.

2. CHANGES TO THIS AGREEMENT

OCS may amend the terms of the Agreement, including all Calling Plans, without advance notice. If Customer does not agree to the amendment, Customer may terminate this Agreement by calling OCS. Customer’s use of the system after the changes indicates their acceptance of the changes

All calling plans are subject to change without notice. OCS may, in some instances be forced to change a calling plan rate without notice but, will make attempt(s) to inform the affected subscriber(s).

3. CHARGES - PAYMENTS - DEFAULT - TAXES - TERMINATION

a. Billing and Payment of Charges

Customer is responsible for paying all charges posted to its account, including but not limited to, monthly Service, subscription fee, usage charges, advanced feature charges, and others. Charges, including disputed amounts, must be paid. OCS calculates all rates at one-minute increments, rounded up to the nearest minute, commencing upon the first use of any services being provided. Customer agrees that (a) it would be impractical to determine the exact amount of OCS’s damages if you fail to pay promptly, and (b) in the event of such failure, Customer shall pay OCS the amount due plus liquidated damages of one and one-half percent (1.5%) per month (or any portion thereof) of any amount unpaid when due. Liquidated damages shall be eliminated or reduced to the extent permitted by applicable law. If OCS accepts late or partial payments or payments marked “Paid in Full” or similar notations, it will not waive any of OCS’s rights hereunder nor will it constitute an accord or satisfaction.

OCS reserves the right to make each and every charge pre-paid to its subscribers. Subscribers are informed of this upon subscription.

If the inmate changes facilities it is the responsibility of the customer to notify OCS of this change immediately.  The customer should not accept any calls from the inmate when they are at an unauthorized facility.  If the customer does accept a call from an unauthorized facility they agree to pay the additional cost of these Calls as determined and billed by OCS.  

b. Credit Card Charges

If Customer pays by Credit Card, it authorizes OCS to collect such payments made through said credit card WITHOUT chargeback. Should any subscriber chargeback any amount from a credit card, such person or entity will be charged a minimum fee of $20.00 dollars plus, the amount that was chargeback and 4% for administrative work to clear the account. As a penalty, the subscriber will no longer be permitted to receive service from OCS and will also be liable for any attorney fees, costs, or other that may be imposed under law. All court costs for recovery of any amounts owed to OCS plus interest at the prime rate plus 12% will be imposed upon said person.

Customer authorizes OCS to bill the credit card on file the additional cost of Calls from an unauthorized facility or any other unpaid charges on their account with OCS.

c. Default/Termination

OCS reserves the right to terminate Service at OCS’s discretion. OCS may discontinue the Service, for any reason including without limitation, if it has reason to believe that there have been attempts to hack or disrupt the system, or that the Service is being misused in any way. In the event of Customer default — i.e. Customer does not pay any sum when due, breach any representations you made to OCS, fail to perform any of your obligations set forth in this Agreement between Customer and OCS, are suspected by OCS of committing fraud, harming OCS’s network, harming Service to other customers, using Service in any way that damages OCS. Customer will reimburse OCS for its attorneys’ and expert witnesses’ fees and costs of investigation, collection and similar expenses incurred by OCS in the enforcement of any right or privilege hereunder. If this Agreement is terminated because of Customer default, OCS may keep any charges or sums prepaid by Customer upon termination. OCS may require reactivation charges to renew Service after termination or suspension.

d. Taxes

Any applicable sales, use, excise, public utility or other taxes, fees or charges imposed on OCS as a result of providing the Service will be added to Customer’s account when imposed or required by law. If Customer is exempt from payment of such taxes, it will provide OCS with an original Tax Exempt Document. Tax exemption will only apply from the date OCS receives the Tax Exempt Document.

4. LIMITATIONS

a. Limitation of Liability

OCS’s nonperformance hereunder shall be excused and OCS shall not be liable if caused by act or omission of an underlying carrier; equipment, network or facility failure; equipment, network or facility upgrade or modification; acts of god; strikes; fire; war; riot; government actions; equipment, network or facility shortage; equipment or facility relocation or causes beyond OCS’s control, including without limitation the failure of an incoming or outgoing call, including a 9-1-1 emergency call to be connected or completed, or degradation of voice quality. OCS’s liability for any failure or mistake shall in no event exceed Service charges during the affected period. OCS is not liable for any incidental or consequential damages of any type.

b. Indemnification

Customer agrees to defend, indemnify, and hold OCS, its affiliates and agents and any other service provider, harmless from claims or damages relating to this Agreement. This paragraph shall survive termination of this agreement.

c. No Warranties on Service

OCS provides no warranties of any kind on the Service. Statements regarding or descriptions of the Service, if any, by OCS or OCS’s agents or installers are informational and are not given as a warranty of any kind.

If a correctional facility denies use of any issued telecom service offered by OCS, it is the responsibility of subscriber to file a complaint with the Federal Communications Commission against said correctional facility as well as a complaint to that state public utilities/service commission. Subscriber should site the Telecom Act of 1996 section 47 USCS 253(a) which gives subscriber the RIGHT to use the telecommunications company of their choice for service.

5. RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES

a. Mandatory Arbitration

Any dispute or claim between Customer and OCS arising out of or relating to the Service or Device provided in connection with this Agreement shall be resolved by arbitration before a single arbitrator administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrators may be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. All claims shall be arbitrated individually and Customer will not bring, or join a punitive or certified class action to arbitration or seek to consolidate or bring previously consolidated claims in arbitration. The arbitrator shall have no authority to award punitive damages. Customer acknowledges that this arbitration provision constitutes a waiver of any right to a jury trial. b. Cost of Arbitration

All administrative fees and expenses of an arbitration initially will be divided evenly between Customer and OCS. In all arbitrations, each Party will bear the expense of its own counsel, experts, witnesses and preparation of evidence in arbitration. The prevailing Party shall be awarded all attorneys’ fees and costs attendant to each arbitration proceeding. The decision of the Arbitrator shall be final. The location of arbitration shall be New York, unless otherwise agreed to by both Parties in writing.

6. REFUNDS

Refunds are granted at the discretion of OCS. Any refunds that are granted will be paid between (4) four and (6) six weeks after the end of services. Generally OCS will refund the balance in the customer’s account. The installation fee and monthly fees are non-refundable once they are billed to the customer’s account, whether the customer is aware of the billing or not.

These TERMS OF SERVICE are subject to change without notice and may be amended from time to time. It is the subscriber(s) responsibility to review the terms clearly posted on OCS’s web site to be aware of any changes made. NO claim for failure to know these terms will be acceptable in any way, shape, or form as all public libraries in the United States are equipped with internet access to view them.

7. Negative Balance On Account.

Should any customer of OCS have a negative balance on their pre-paid account for more then 15 business days, OCS will have the right to assume the account is in default. OCS shall close this account thereafter. Reactivation of this account is only possible after the negative balance is paid in full and any reactivation charges that may become due are also paid in full.

Any account that has fallen into a negative balance because of monthly line and/or plan fees shall have 10 days to bring the account into positive standing or it will be terminated for default.

*Any negative balance upon closing of the account shall have any outstanding balance charged to the credit card on file.

8. Call Routing technologies.

All call routing technologies are the property of OCS and no customer shall have any right to the use of such without express written consent by OCS. The use of either the programming or equipment owned by OCS is not a right unless so agreed upon in writing.