CES - Greater Vancouver - Terms & Conditions of Use

CES - Greater Vancouver
Terms & Conditions of Use

CES-Vancouver

Users Agreement

(last update: Sept 1, 2013)

The following three-part document is our complete CES-Vancouver Users Agreement. It contains our Balanced Trading Principle (prime directive), our Users Guidelines (collective intentions), and our Terms and Conditions of Use ("rules" and "legal" stuff). Please read this entire document to understand the implications of becoming an active CES-Vancouver user.

Part 1 Balanced Trading Principle

We are a trading community where each of us agrees to give back to the CES community the same amount we received from it. For each F$ (freedom dollar) of products and services we receive, we accept the responsibility of giving back to our community an equal amount within a reasonable time frame.

Part 2 Users Guidelines:

1. Be Active

Let's work toward making at least one successful trade every six months. Let's go online at least once every two weeks and view the offers and wants as well as update our own.

2. Be Transparent

Let's honestly and accurately describe the specific nature of our offers and wants including; full costs, realistic timelines, our level of experience, etc. Trust, is built on clear communication and doing what we promise.

3. Be Social

Let's check the events section on this site regularly and attend one or two social events each year. Social events help us develop a more personal connection with each other, attract new members, and build a more vibrant community.

4. Be Money Aware

Let's spend some time researching the nature of money and its effects on human activities and natural environments. Let's have philosophical as well as practical reasons for being active CES members.

5. Promote Our Community

Let's spend some time informing our family members, friends, social and business contacts, etc. about our community's existence and trading successes. The larger our community grows, the greater the mix of offers and wants and the more all of us will be motivated to actively participate.

Part 3 Terms and Conditions of Use

1.1 ONLY ACCOUNT HOLDERS

Only registered CES-Vancouver users may use the system to advertise and trade and no third party may trade through a registered account holder's account. Shared accounts must name one person who is responsible for the account.

1.2 NO PURELY DOLLAR EXCHANGES

No CES-Vancouver users may use the facilities of the CES for advertising purely Dollar-based offerings. Trades may be advertised and transacted for part Freedom Dollars and part Cdn Dollars provided that the Cdn Dollar component shall not exceed the Freedom Dollars component, unless the Dollars are for necessary disbursements made by the Seller.

1.3 NORMAL TRADING LAWS APPLY

The normal commercial laws of the land between trading parties shall govern all transactions and each party to a transaction takes responsibility for normal legal liabilities, obligations and risk.

1.4 NEW USERS MUST FIRST ADVERTISE

New CES-Vancouver users may not make any purchase from the system until and unless they have first advertised at least one offering of whatever goods or services they have to offer.

1.5 TRADE ENTRIES

Trades are entered into the system by the seller on the basis indicated on the CES website, which procedure may be changed from time to time.

1.6 SYSTEM SUPPORT FEES

1.6.1	The administration shall be entitled to charge a small % based system support fee against trades done via the exchange as well as any Dollar portion of a trade. These system support fees shall be charged in either Freedom Dollars or Dollars against the Dollar portion of any transaction made.
1.6.2	The amount of the levy shall be as set or amended by the administration from time to time. It is currently at 3% (Nov 2012).
1.6.3	The administration shall use these fees to support the aims and continued operation of the CES-Vancouver users as well as the CES. Uses of these fees includes but are not restricted to paying support staff in Freedom Dollars, reimbursing out-of-pocket expenses incurred by the administration, etc.

1.7 CREDIT/DEBIT LIMITS

1.7.1	All new accounts are created with a balance of zero Freedom Dollars.
1.7.2	Users shall be entitled to begin trading without having a positive balance and may so incur a debit balance in their accounts.
1.7.3	The administration may set limits to the extent to which accounts may go into debit and credit. The current (Nov 2012) general debt limit is $ 500.00, the credit limit is $ 1,000.00
1.7.4	The administration may set and adjust criteria according to which account limits may be set. As a result debit and credit limits may vary from account to account.

1.8 EXCEEDING LIMITS; Seller Be Aware

It is the duty of each seller in a transaction to ensure that the buyer has not exceeded his/her limits before agreeing to a transaction. If a buyer's debit limit is exceeded, the seller should discuss the situation with both the buyer and the administration before proceeding. The administration will have the option of "guaranteeing" or cancelling the sale.

1.9 INTER-GROUP TRADE

The administrator of the CES shall be entitled to set limits to the amount of credit that trading exchanges may incur with other groups as well as lay down terms and conditions governing inter-exchange trading.

1.10 ACCOUNT INFORMATION

Trading balances are available to all users but details of individual purchases are not.

1.11 ADVERTISING

Advertisements for offerings should be honestly described. Advertisements considered offensive to others, inaccurate, illegal or contrary to the ethics of the system may be withdrawn by the administration without consultation.

An offer advertised on the system amounts to an invitation to do business only and shall not constitute an irrevocable offer to all.

1.12 DISPUTE RESOLUTION

1.12.1	If any other dispute should arise between users or between the administration and any users, the matter shall be referred to mediation, or failing that, to arbitration.
1.12.2	If the parties cannot agree on the person of the arbitrator then an appointment shall be made, if the dispute is between account-holders, by the administration, or if the administration is itself party to the proceedings, by the Registrar of CES. Any such appointee should preferably be a member of a CES exchange, or if not a member, then a person who agrees to act in an honorary capacity.
1.12.3	The arbitrator shall be entitled to make awards for contractual losses or damages only. The arbitrator may also make an award as to costs. All awards shall be in Freedom Dollars. The administrator shall be required to debit or credit any account within the system to give effect to such order or award.

1.13 NO INTEREST

Users may not charge interest for lending Freedom Dollars to other members.

1.14 ONLY ONE ACCOUNT

Unless otherwise authorised by the administrator, users may only operate one system account.

1.15 ACCOUNT HOLDERS' NAMES

Unless otherwise authorised by the administrator, all accounts shall be kept in an user's personal name.

1.16 STALE ACCOUNTS

1.16.1	If any account becomes stale in the opinion of the administrator, the administrator shall be entitled to call up the account, after having given reasonable notice to the account-holder, in which event:
1.16.1.1		Any credit balance will be forfeited unless the account-holder brings their account balance back to zero
1.16.1.2		Any debit balance shall become immediately due and payable
1.16.2	Any account-holder with a stale account will not be entitled to re-apply for an account with the CES-Vancouver or the CES until all their obligations have been met.
1.16.3	An account will automatically become stale if there has been no activity on the account for a year. "No activity" will mean either no sales or no purchases or no log-in.

1.17 LEAVING AND DE-REGISTERING

If an account-holder wishes to leave the exchange voluntarily, they shall ask the administrator to deregister their account. In such event the same terms and conditions relating to stale accounts as per Clause 1.16 shall apply as if the account was stale.

1.18 SUSPENSION AND TERMINATION

1.18.1	The administration can suspend an account of any account-holder who breaches any material trading rule or who acts in a way considered to be unethical or contrary to the norms of the CES.
1.18.2	The administration shall notify any account-holder if his or her account has been suspended, and the account-holder shall have fourteen days to dispute the suspension. If no dispute is declared the administration shall then be entitled to terminate the account, in which event it shall be treated as if it was a stale account in terms of Clause 1.16 above.

1.19 RESERVE FUNDS

1.19.1	If the administrator is unable to recover sufficient Dollars or Freedom Dollars to cover a stale account, any shortfall may be cleared by debiting a reserve fund established for this purpose.
1.19.2	A portion of all system support fees charged by the administration shall be credited to such a reserve fund. The remainder will come from the balances of stale and discontinued accounts that are in credit.

1.20 CHANGES

The administrator shall be entitled to change the terms of use from time to time. In such event the applicable terms will be those prevailing at the time of the action or transaction involved.

2.0 DISCLAIMERS

2.1

Neither the CES nor CES-Vancouver are party to any transaction between a buyer and a seller and accept no responsibility for the performance of trading parties nor as to their identity or trustworthiness nor as to the subject matter of any trade.

2.2

Neither the CES nor CES-Vancouver accept responsibility for any loss or damage occasioned to any account-holder as a result of information received via the system becoming available to other users or outsiders.

2.3

Users agree to indemnify and hold harmless the CES, CES-Vancouver, their administrators, and any of their employees or agents from any incident of loss or damage arising out of the use of the system.

3. UNDERTAKING AND ACCEPTANCE

I accept the above terms of use and conditions and undertake further to:

3.1	Negotiate a fair trade with other members.
3.2	Keep my personal contact details, my offerings and wants updated.
3.3	Enter transactional information as soon as possible after a transaction takes place. If I do not have the means to do it myself, I will get another user to do it for me or provide the details to a co-ordinator or the administration.
3.4	Regularly review my offerings and ensure that they provide sufficient information for others to engage in trade with me.
3.5	Actively promote my offerings if my account balance is a large negative amount and remains there for a period of more than one month.
3.6	To make every effort to keep my balance within the limits prescribed or suggested by the administration from time to time.
3.7	Advise the administration if I should wish to de-register or move from one exchange to another.
3.8	Contribute in cash to clear my account if I should de-register or if my account should become stale, on the basis of one Dollar for every Freedom Dollar outstanding.
3.9	I nominate my email address as used on the exchange as the address at which I choose to receive communications and notices.

By logging into my account on the CES web site I acknowledge that I have read the above rules and conditions and are bound by them to the CES and CES-Vancouver and their administrators as well as to other users.

I am also subject to prevailing rules regarding inter-group trading. I acknowledge further that these rules may be changed by the CES or CES-Vancouver administration from time to time and I undertake to keep myself abreast of rule changes. Participation will be subject to rules prevailing at the time.