Terms and Conditions
This agreement sets out the terms and conditions ('Terms and Conditions') applicable to members of the service operated by Bidpoint™. Applicants (referred to as 'members') must agree to the following Terms and Conditions. In the event a member breaches or otherwise fails to comply with any provision of these Terms and Conditions then in addition to any other remedy available to Bidpoint™, Bidpoint™ may terminate the participation of such member in the service and/or may withhold any payments relating to participation in the service due to such member from Bidpoint.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS
Bidpoint.com shall have absolute discretion as to whether or not it accepts a particular applicant or site for participation in the service. REMOVAL FROM NETWORK Bidpoint.com reserves the right to terminate the participation of any member or site without reason but expressly including any member site that Bidpoint judges to be in violation of the Terms and Conditions. Members in violation of Bidpoint's Terms and Conditions will be immediately deactivated. Bidpoint may deactivate members with no prior notification. Members found in violation of the Terms and Conditions will not receive any credit or payment from Bidpoint. Members that are terminated by Bidpoint on any basis other than violation of these Terms and Conditions will be entitled to receive any payment due from Bidpoint.
REFERRAL COMMISSIONS
The referral commission paid out will be the one listed on the Referrals page (http://www.Bidpoint.com/referrals.html). If the commission rate is changed, it will only affect referrals made after the new commission was announced. You may not refer yourself, nor sign up for multiple accounts to collect referral fees. You may also not partner with any other Bidpoint user to share/transfer the commission made from your own account, or else both parties will be expelled from the service without payment. Bidpoint reserves the right to delay or cancel sending affiliate earnings if we believe the referred user will not pay the fees they were charged, since affiliate commissions are based on those fees.
PAYMENTS
Bidpoint will typically make payments/withdrawals if the member requests it AND their account balance is equal to or greater than $20. All amounts are stated in and all payments will be made in US funds. We verify all deposits and might ask you to verify yours; If you refuse to send verification information via E-mail, Fax or Phone, we reserve the right to refund the deposit and terminate your account. New members cannot withdraw funds within 30 days of their first project payment. Bidpoint reserves the right to suspend a withdrawal if the source of the funds is suspected to be fraudulent. Any funds received from an account having made a fraudulent deposit (e.g. stolen credit card) will be reversed immediately. If in a fraudulent payment situation a withdrawal has already been processed, you will be expected to return the funds to your Bidpoint account or face account termination. Bidpoint cannot be held liable for deposits reversed without its authorization due to reasons, including, but not limited to, fraud, chargebacks or complaints. As previously stated, any member site that Bidpoint removes from the service due to violation of the Terms and Conditions will receive no credit or payment.
ESCROW
Bidpoint provides escrow as a free, bonus, and automated service only as a tool to help members transact more securely. We do not act as an arbitrator between parties, should a dispute arise, except in limited situations. Financial disputes should be resolved between members, or via another third party, and without Bidpoint whenever possible. We do, however, reserve the right to cancel an escrow payment, at any time, if we believe we are left with no other option. We also reserve the right to complete an escrow payment if no response is received from the payer, after repeated attempts at contact, for 30 continuous days.
DEPOSIT DISPUTES
Members may not file a complaint with one of our payment processors, including PayPal or Google checkout, regarding the funds deposited into their account. Bidpoint staff will do its best to resolve any problem a member may have. Refunds will be processed, if deemed necessary, at a time of Bidpoint staff's choosing. Due to the incompatible communication systems between our payment processors and Bidpoint staff members, payment disputes logged directly with those processors cannot be properly managed and will cause further delays. Due to this, members who make a complaint to our payment processor will face account termination without notice.
COPYRIGHTS
No copyright material can be posted on Bidpoint. We also do not tolerate projects requesting unauthorized reproduction of copyrighted or patented material. MODIFICATIONS Bidpoint reserves the right to change the member Terms and Conditions at any time. It is the member's responsibility to check these Terms and Conditions from time to time for such changes. In the event Bidpoint offers any additional or replacement services then this agreement shall apply to such services in the absence of any new agreement specific to such services which is entered into between the parties.
OWNERSHIP
Members agree that all information contained on a website operated by Bidpoint, and all information compiled by Bidpoint through operation of the affiliate program, is the proprietary information of Bidpoint. Personal information provided by members to Bidpoint will be kept confidential and will not be distributed to any third party. E-MAIL ADDRESSES Members agree not to post their e-mail address on the site, except in the "e-mail" field of the signup form, or when asked by Bidpoint at any other time. There should be no need to give anyone your e-mail address. It is automatically provided if you choose a professional (or you are the professional chosen for) a project, and before that time you can use the message board to communicate. This does not only apply to e-mail addresses, but to all methods of communication, including phone, ICQ, AIM, MSN Messenger, etc... See "Avoiding Commissions" below for the reason.
PROVIDING CONTACT INFORMATION
You are prohibited from making direct contact with another member, unless it's for a project you (a professional) have been picked for, or you (a homeowner) have picked a professional for. This includes giving out your e-mail address, ICQ number, phone number, or any other method of contact outside of this site. Bidpoint provides you with message boards, which should be sufficient for pre-project planning.
AVOIDING COMMISSIONS
You are strictly prohibited from attempting to negotiate the fee for a project with another member directly (outside of Bidpoint) after that project has been created/opened and before that project has been closed (basically, during an ongoing project). But this also applies to any project that was closed without a professional being chosen, and then contacting them about the project anyway. Both parties are responsible for notifying Bidpoint if the payment amount increases (above the bid amount) after the project is closed. Receiving a larger amount than the original project bid, without notifying us, will be considered an attempt to avoid the commissions. When a professional requests a withdrawal, we always review all payments received for each project to verify that they match the bid. If at the time of a withdrawal request the professional has failed to notify Bidpoint staff of a payment received above the amount of his bid (a total payment above US$100), Bidpoint reserves the right to deduct double the fee for the amount that should have been reported. We believe our commissions are very fair and justified for the service we provide, therefore we will absolutely not tolerate any of this activity on Bidpoint.
BIDDING
Professionals can only place bids that equal the total amount of money they are requesting for the project. You cannot post an hourly bid or any other abnormal type of bid. This applies to homeowners, too. Homeowners cannot create projects that directly or indirectly require professionals to place hourly or other abnormal bids. The only exception, for both homeowners and professionals, is when the project is featured. See featured project information at http://www.bidpoint.com/featured.shtml. POSTING PROJECTS New users are limited to the posting of only 2 projects before being asked to make a deposit. This is meant to protect other users and prevent fraudulent activity. A user is required to deposit any amount of funds before they gain the right to post unlimited projects. A user may request higher posting limits, under special circumstances, by simply contacting Bidpoint support.
ADVERTISING
You are prohibited from advertising your website on Bidpoint. Any URL posted in a bid, project description, or the message board, must relate to a project on Bidpoint. An example of a permissible URL: your portfolio or resume page.
THE ROLE OF BIDPOINT
Bidpoint functions as a venue to connect homeowners and professionals in a virtual marketplace. As a neutral facilitator, Bidpoint is not directly involved in the actual transactions between users of the Site. As a result, Bidpoint has no control over the truth, accuracy, quality, legality, or safety of postings made by users. Because verifying the identity of a user on the Internet is difficult, Bidpoint cannot and does not confirm the identity of users. Bidpoint also does not confirm nor verify the qualifications, background, or abilities of users. Therefore, we recommend that you be careful and exercise common sense and good judgment when dealing with any member on the Site. You are encouraged to review our Project Guidelines before taking part in a project. If you are unsatisfied with another member, the most Bidpoint can do is refund the project commission you have been charged by us. We cannot refund the money you have sent to a professional, we are not responsible for your transactions. Neither Bidpoint.com, nor its parent company, Arcavate, nor its employees warranty any of the work, the accuracy of the site, nor the reviews. The site is used at the homeowner's own risk. Bidpoint is not responsible for fraudulent payments made by users and cannot be held liable for financial loss incurred from fraudulent transactions or damage. It is the receiver's responsibility to verify the identity and background of the sender.
LEGAL ISSUES
Members are responsible for legal issues related to the work product or process and any postings on Bidpoint. This site is governed by the laws of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina, excluding any conflicts of law provisions and excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods . Any legal action against us shall take place in the courts of Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.
AND FINALLY...
We thank you for choosing the Bidpoint.com service and we look forward to a mutually successful business relationship.
Contact Us
Bidpoint.com
Arcavate Corporation
2101 Sardis Road N, Suite 207
Charlotte, NC 28227-6792
info [at] bidpoint [dot] com