Terms of Service

Last update: February 6, 2019

Valcato Hosting provides quality hosting Services to clients from all around the world. The following terms and conditions have been put in place to ensure that this quality is maintained. Valcato Hosting is a trading style of Valcato Internet Limited, registered in England, company number 06711132

Introduction

This legally binding contract (the “Agreement”) is by and between Valcato Internet Limited, (“Valcato”, “Valcato Internet”, “Us”, “Our”), and you and your assigns, employees, agents or contractors (“You”, “Your”, the “Client”) and is effective as of the date you purchase shared, VPS or dedicated hosting services from Valcato. This Agreement sets forth the terms and conditions of Your use of Our shared, VPS and dedicated hosting services (collectively, the “Services”) and represents the entire agreement between You and Valcato relating to the Services. This Agreement contains provisions that set forth Our Acceptable Use Policy, Privacy Policy and guarantees of a certain service level (found in the “Uptime Guarantee” section below). By purchasing the Services, You acknowledge and agree that You have read, understand, acknowledge and agree to be bound by all the terms and conditions of this Agreement, along with any new, different or additional terms, conditions or policies that Valcato may establish and post on its website from time to time.

Valcato provides the Services to its customers for a recurring fee. Valcato will provide You an account, provided, however, You abide by the terms and conditions set forth in this Agreement and in any other agreement pertaining to other services you may purchase. Valcato reserves the right to modify its facilities used to provide the Services for purposes including, but not limited to, accommodating evolving technology and increased service demand, and providing enhanced services. Valcato shall use reasonable efforts to notify You in advance of any planned changes to Our network or facilities, and those of our suppliers that may adversely affect the Services provided under this Agreement. All Services provided by Valcato may be used for lawful purposes only. Transmission, storage, or presentation of any information, data or material in violation of any United States Federal, State or City law, or the laws of the United Kingdom or European Union is prohibited.

This includes, but is not limited to: material to which you do not own the copyright (or have the copyright-owner’s permission to publish), material we judge to be threatening or obscene, unlicensed software or files, or material protected by trade secret and other statute.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless Valcato Internet from any claims resulting from the use of the Service that damages the subscriber or any other party.

Examples of non-acceptable content or links:

  • Pirated software
  • Illegal MP3s/Movies
  • Malicious software
  • Adult content
  • Warez sites
  • Child pornography

Valcato Internet will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation of these terms.

Commercial Advertising and Bulk Email

The use of any Service for the sending of unsolicited email is strictly prohibited, as is the use of unsolicited email for advertising any account or Service provided by Valcato Internet. An initial limit of 100 outgoing email messages per hour is enforced on all new web hosting accounts. Messages which exceed this limit in any 60-minute period will not be delivered. This limit will automatically be removed a few days after your account is set up.

Server Abuse

Any attempts to undermine or cause harm to a Valcato server or customer of Valcato is strictly prohibited. Valcato will pursue legal action to the fullest extent for all abuse of the Valcato Network. Additionally; actions that cause prolonged or repeated strain on the processor, RAM or any other components of a server, thus causing a disruption in service for other customers is strictly prohibited.

Software & Services

cPanel, Fantastico and Softaculous
It must be noted that cPanel, Fantastico and Softaculous are external programs that are licensed and provided by Valcato for use by its clients. Valcato can take no responsibility for their correct or reliable function, and though we are able to provide limited technical support and advice we do so without warranty or liability for defective or incorrect advice.
Chat Rooms & IRC
You may install and operate your own chat room script on Valcato shared servers, however these tend to be large system hogs and may fall into the usage limitations clause. We do provide an HTML based PHP chat room that runs without hindering the performance of the machine for others. The use of IRC and all related applications or services is not permitted; this includes all IRC bots, proxy servers and clients.
Background Processes & Programs
Valcato may allow client’s programs to run continually in the background, these are considered on a case-by-case basis and an extra charge may be incurred based on system resources used and operational maintenance needed.By default, any long-running processes will be terminated automatically without notice.

Software Patches & Security Notifications

If you install any third-party software on the Services, you agree to install all security updates or patches released by the software vendor within seven days of said updates or patches being made publicly available. Failure to keep third-party software updated could result in immediate account suspension, particularly in cases where failure to install updates or patches has led to your account being compromised. If Valcato informs you of any security problems relating to your use of the Services, you agree to act promptly to address those problems and to take any action recommended or required by Us. You agree to acknowledge receipt of any messages notifying you of security problems within 24 hours of the receipt of said messages, and to take any recommended or required action by any deadline specified in the message, or within seven days if no deadline is given. Failure to meet deadlines, or failure to take recommended or required action could result in immediate account suspension or termination.

Data Security & Backups

You are responsible for protecting data of a sensitive nature (passwords etc.) and under no circumstances should confidential information such as credit card numbers be stored on any Valcato Services.

All web hosting accounts are backed up on a regular basis. While We do our best to ensure that no data will be lost in the event of hardware failure or other disaster, We make no guarantee about this and Clients are strongly encouraged to keep their own backup copies of all data. Valcato shall have no liability to You or any other person for loss, damage or destruction of any of Your content.

Dedicated server customers are fully responsible for managing their own backups. Valcato does not provide a standard backup service for dedicated servers; however we can provide a custom backup solution on request at additional cost. Any personalised backup solution provided will be provided without warranty and Valcato shall have no liability to You or any other person for loss, damage or destruction of any of Your content.

Eligibility

We reserve the right to refuse new orders from anyone, for any reason. We also reserve the right to choose to terminate Service at the end of the current billing period in cases where web site content is deemed to be inappropriate or if suspicious activity is detected, regardless of whether or not a breach of these terms and conditions shall have occurred; in such cases, a minimum of two weeks’ notice shall be given by us to you.

Suspension & Removal

A breach of these terms and conditions may result in the suspension or termination of Service. Normal policy is a warning first, then account suspension followed by removal in extreme circumstances. You will remain liable for the payment of your services. If Valcato suspends or removes your account(s) for violating policy, you will forfeit your right to any refund, and any promotional offers or policies such as our 30 Day Money Back Guarantee shall be void. Serious offences, such as the intentional sending of spam or “phishing” will result in the immediate removal of the account without warning or appeal.

License to Host

You hereby grant to Valcato a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide right and license during the term of this Agreement to do the following to the extent necessary to provide the Services under this Agreement: (a) digitize, convert, install, upload, select, order, arrange, compile, combine, synchronize, use, reproduce, store, process, retrieve, transmit, distribute, publish, publicly display, publicly perform and hyperlink any content uploaded by You; and (b) make archival or backup copies of content uploaded by You to the Valcato servers. Valcato shall have the right, but not the obligation, to make backup copies of the data uploaded by You to the Valcato servers. You are responsible for any of your content residing on Our servers and for the backup thereof.

Non-Payment

Valcato Internet only offer ‘pay in advance’ services; full payment must be made before any Service is provided. In the event of non-payment for web hosting accounts, Valcato will suspend and remove the account(s) in accordance with the following procedure:

  • Payment 7 days overdue — A reminder email will be sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you that if payment is not received by the next day the account will be suspended.
  • Payment 8 days overdue — The account will be suspended and a reminder email sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you of this.
  • Payment 14 days overdue — A reminder email will be sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you that if payment is not received by the next day the account will be terminated.
  • Payment 15 days overdue — The account will be removed and an email sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you of this. All data stored on and associated with your account will be destroyed. We shall hold no liability for any claims resulting from the loss or destruction of any data removed due to non-payment.

For dedicated servers, the following procedure applies:

  • Payment 3 days overdue — We will attempt to contact you by telephone to inform you that payment was not received.
  • Payment 7 days overdue — A reminder email will be sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you that if payment is not received by the next day the server will be disconnected.
  • Payment 8 days overdue — The server will be disconnected and a reminder email sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you of this.
  • Payment 14 days overdue — A reminder email will be sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you that if payment is not received by the next day the server will be permanently cancelled.
  • Payment 15 days overdue — The server will be permanently cancelled and an email sent to the address stored in your Valcato Account informing you of this. All data stored on and associated with your server will be destroyed. We shall hold no liability for any claims resulting from the loss or destruction of any data removed due to non-payment.

Non-payment for domain registration and SSL certificates will result in the expiration of the Service. SSL certificates will become invalid. Domains will cease to function and may become available for registration by third parties.

Billing

All payments are non-refundable, unless an error has been made on our part, or the 30 Day Money Back guarantee applies.

Credit and Debit Card
For your convenience Valcato Internet operates a subscription billing policy; on an account’s anniversary your credit or debit card is automatically charged. Charges for dedicated servers are made on the tenth day of each month. The amount charged is dictated by the Services to which you are subscribed, and can be viewed at any time via your Valcato Account.

Paypal
For your convenience Valcato Internet uses Paypal’s subscription facility; on an account’s anniversary your Paypal account is automatically charged. For security reasons, PayPal is not available as a payment option for dedicated servers. The amount charged is defined when the subscription is established (usually upon creation of the account) and cannot be modified without the creation of a new subscription.

Price Changes
Valcato Hosting reserves the right to change the price charged for shared hosting, for both new and existing customers. All price increases will be announced at least two months in advance of the change taking effect for existing customers — price changes will be immediate for new accounts. Existing customers will be charged the new amount for all payments made on or after the date specified in the announcement.

Cancellations
For your convenience, and to keep your services online, your credit/debit card or Paypal account will continue to be charged for Services automatically until such time as an account cancellation request is submitted via your Valcato Account. Please allow 24 hours for an account cancellation request to be processed. You will have the option of having your Service cancelled immediately or at the end of your current payment term.

Chargebacks and Payment Disputes

Under this Terms of Service agreement you must first contact Valcato to attempt to resolve any billing disputes before contacting your bank or credit card company to dispute the charges. You further agree that any billing disputes must be submitted in writing to our billing department within one month of the invoice payment in question. By using our services You agree to the above policy and to contact Valcato before contacting your financial institution to seek a resolution. In the event you dispute charges contrary to this agreement, we reserve the right to refer your account or sell your debt (plus any applicable fees) to a third party collection agency. We also reserve the right to take further legal action against you.

Privacy

Your privacy is important to us and we will do everything to protect it, within the remit of current GDPR regulations. For more information refer to our Privacy Policy.

Domain Registration

If you are registering or transferring a domain name you must also agree to the Domain Name Registration Agreement. Domains shall be renewed at the same price as new registrations. The current pricing is displayed on our website. Domain renewal reminders will be sent in advance of expiration via email to the address stored in your Valcato Account. Should an expired domain enter the redemption period, the cost of restoring the domain shall be no more than $100.

Uptime Guarantee

“Uptime” refers to the amount of time the Services are available, as measured solely and only by Our internal monitoring systems and authorised/contracted outside monitoring services. “Downtime” refers to the amount of time the Services are unavailable, as measured solely and only by Our internal monitoring systems and authorised/contracted outside monitoring services. Valcato strives to maintain a 99.5% server uptime service level, excluding scheduled maintenance which has been communicated to Clients in advance. If Valcato fails to meet its 99.5% uptime guarantee an account credit will be made available upon request, on a case-by-case basis. To receive a credit, You must make a request by opening a Billing ticket in your Valcato Account. Each request in connection with this Agreement must include the dates and times of the Downtime, the domain name and the IP address of the site or server which experienced the Downtime. The request must be received by Valcato within ten (10) business days after the incident of Downtime. If the unavailability is confirmed by Valcato, credit will be applied to Your Valcato account within thirty (30) days of receipt of Your credit request.

The total amount credited to You in a particular month under this Agreement shall not exceed the total amount of fees paid by You for such month for the affected Services. Credits are Your sole and exclusive remedy with respect to any Downtime.

The provisions of the Agreement pertaining to Force Majeure are unaffected by these terms referring to Uptime Guarantee. Moreover, downtime caused by any of the following shall not result in any obligation by Valcato to provide credit to You:

  • Emergency Maintenance
  • Scheduled Maintenance
  • System Upgrades
  • Domain Name System (DNS) problems outside of Our control
  • Issues with FTP, POP, IMAP, or SMTP customer access
  • Acts or omissions by You or any of Your employees or agents, resulting in downtime
  • Any negligence, willful misconduct, or use of the services in breach of Our Terms and Conditions of Use
  • Problems with users’ web browsers, DNS, or other caching that might make it appear the Services are unavailable even though others can still access the Valcato servers.

Money Back Guarantee

We are proud to offer a 30-day “no questions asked” money back guarantee, however we cannot offer any refund if Your use of the Service is in breach of these Terms and Conditions of Use.

To qualify for a refund you must submit an account cancellation request clearly stating that you wish to be refunded, within 30 days of your account setup date. This should be done via your Valcato Account.

This only applies to web hosting accounts, and does not apply to payments made as part of any promotion or special offer. We do not provide refunds for other Services, such as domain registration, SSL certificates or dedicated servers. If you have received any extra Services for free or at a discounted price when purchasing a web hosting account, the full price of those services will be deducted from any refund.

Valcato VIP

In order to qualify for a discounted Valcato VIP plan it is necessary to have at least one hosting plan on your account at full price. Should all full price plans be cancelled or terminated then a discounted plan shall revert to its full price. The discount is for the use of the account owner only, passing on or reselling the discount is not permitted.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You acknowledge and agree that Valcato exercises no control over, and accepts no responsibility for, the content of the information passing through the host computers, network hubs and points of presence or the Internet. NEITHER VALCATO, ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, SUPPLIERS, THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS NOR THE LIKE MAKE ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT FOR THE SERVICES OR ANY EQUIPMENT VALCATO PROVIDES. NEITHER VALCATO, ITS EMPLOYEES, AFFILIATES, AGENTS, THIRD-PARTY INFORMATION PROVIDERS, MERCHANTS, LICENSORS OR THE LIKE, WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL NOT BE INTERRUPTED OR ERROR FREE; NOR DO ANY OF THEM MAKE ANY WARRANTY AS TO THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICES OR AS TO THE ACCURACY, RELIABILITY OR CONTENT OF ANY INFORMATION SERVICES OR MERCHANDISE CONTAINED IN OR PROVIDED THROUGH THE SERVICES. VALCATO IS NOT LIABLE FOR THE CONTENT OR LOSS OF ANY DATA TRANSFERRED EITHER TO OR FROM YOU OR STORED BY YOU OR ANY OF YOUR CLIENTELE VIA THE SERVICES PROVIDED BY US.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, hold harmless, and defend Valcato and all directors, officers, employees, suppliers and agents of Valcato from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, suits, actions, demands, proceedings (whether legal or administrative) and expenses (including but not limited to reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to the use of the Services by You, including any violation of the Acceptable Use Policy set forth in this Agreement. Such claims shall include, but shall not be limited to, claims based upon trademark, service mark, trade name, copyright and patent infringement, trademark dilution, tortuous interference with contract or prospective business relations, unfair competition, defamation or injury to reputation, or other injuries or damage to business.

Limitation of Liability

IN NO EVENT SHALL VALCATO BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR LOSS OF PROFITS, REVENUE, DATA OR USE, SUFFERED BY YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION IN CONTRACT, TORT OR STRICT LIABILITY OR OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF VALCATO HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

In no event will Our liability for any damages, losses and causes of actions whether in contract or tort (including negligence or otherwise) exceed the actual amount paid by You for the Services during the 12-month period prior to the date the damage or loss occurred or the cause of action arose. The provisions of this Agreement pertaining to Uptime Guarantee apply to credits available to you for service downtime.

Force Majeure

Valcato shall not be liable for failure or delay in performing its obligations under this Agreement if such failure or delay is due to circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including, without limitation, acts of any governmental body, war, insurrection, sabotage, embargo, terrorist or other attack, fire, flood, strike or other labor disturbance, interruption of or delay in transportation, unavailability of or interruption or delay in telecommunications or third party services, failure of third party software or inability to obtain raw materials, supplies, or power used in or equipment needed for provision of the Services.

Changes to this Document

Valcato Internet reserves the right to change these Terms and Conditions from time to time, usually without warning, though changes likely to affect your account will be communicated via our website or e-mail. Continued use of our Services implies acceptance of updated Terms and Conditions. A log of major changes made to this document follows:

  • May 4, 2011 –
    Clarified Moneyback Guarantee section, regarding discounts on extra services; other minor changes.
  • July 27, 2013 –
    Added “Software Patches and Security Notifications” section.
  • August 29, 2016 –
    Ported document to new design, contents unchanged.
  • February 6, 2019 –
    Ported document to new design, updated references to Valcato Limited and Valcato Hosting to reflect new trading name of Valcato Internet.
  • February 20, 2022 –
    Ported document to new design, updated company name references.

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