Terms of Service
Effective Date: December 1, 2020
Date Last Revised: June 9, 2022
Welcome to Joola!
Please read this Terms of Service Agreement (the “Terms”) carefully before using our online platform, process and services (the “Services”) provided through our website https://joola.app and the Joola App mobile application available in the App Store and on Google Play (the “App”) operated by JOOLA LLC (“us”, “we”, or “our”). This user agreement is a contract between you, the user, and Joola LLC, governing your use of your Joola account and the Joola Services. Your access to and use of the Services is conditioned on your acceptance of and compliance with these Terms. These Terms apply to all visitors, users and others who access or use the Services. You must be in the United States and have a U.S. bank account to use the Joola Services. “User” means a person who successfully completes Joola’s registration process and receives a Joola account profile and balance.
By installing, accessing, or using the Services or the App, or by accepting electronically (for example, clicking “I Agree”), you agree to be bound by this Agreement, including our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this Agreement, then you may not use the Services or the App. We may revise this user agreement and any of the policies listed above from time to time. The revised version will be effective at the time we post it, unless otherwise noted. If our changes reduce your rights or increase your responsibilities, we will provide notice to you of at least 21 days. We reserve the right to amend this agreement at any time without notice, subject to applicable law. By continuing to use our services after any changes to this user agreement become effective, you agree to abide and be bound by those changes. If you do not agree with any changes to this user agreement, you may close your account.
IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS OF SERVICE, YOU MAY NOT ACCESS OR USE THIS SITE, THE APP, OR THE SERVICES. YOU SHOULD ONLY JOIN GROUPS WITH PEOPLE YOU KNOW AND TRUST. DO NOT USE JOOLA TO TRANSACT WITH PEOPLE YOU DON’T KNOW.
Eligibility
The Service is intended solely for persons who are 18 or older and who are legally able to enter into a contract. You may not use any of the Services and you may not accept this Agreement if you are not legally authorized to accept and be bound by these terms or are not at least 18 years of age and, in any event, of a legal age to form a binding contract with Joola. By accessing or using the Service you represent and warrant that (i) you agree to be bound by these Terms and (ii) that you are not legally prohibited from receiving or using the Service under the laws of the State in which you access or use the Service.
You agree to provide accurate, current, and complete information during the registration process and to update such information to keep it accurate, current, and complete. Joola reserves the right to suspend or terminate your account and your access to the Service if any information provided during the registration process or thereafter proves to be inaccurate, not current, or incomplete.
You are responsible for safeguarding your password. You agree that you will not disclose your password to any third party. You will immediately notify Joola of any unauthorized use of your User Account. Joola assumes no responsibility for User Content, User account information, or for any User’s compliance with any applicable laws, rules, and regulations. “Content” means text, graphics, images, music, software, audio, video, information, or other materials.
Opening a Joola Account
You must create an account to use the App. When you create an account, you agree to submit accurate and complete information and to update such information as required from time to time. You will be asked to select a personal, non-transferable password when you create an account. If you submit a request for a lost or forgotten username or password, you may be asked to provide information that we will use to confirm your identity. You are solely responsible for all activities or actions that occur in connection with your password-protected account. If you use the Services or the App, you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and password and for restricting access to your access device (such as your mobile device or computer), and you agree to accept responsibility for all activities that occur under your account or password and agree not to disclose your password to any third party. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security that is known or suspected by you. You agree that we may send to you in electronic form any notices or other communications regarding the App and such electronic form will satisfy any legal requirements with respect to communications or notice. You must keep your phone number, email address and other contact information current in your Joola account profile.
If you become aware of any unauthorized use of your account with us, you agree to notify us immediately at the email address: [email protected].
Joola assumes no responsibility for User Content, User account information, or for any User’s compliance with any applicable laws, rules, and regulations.
User Declaration, Conduct and Use
By installing, accessing, or using the Services or the App, or by accepting electronically (for example, clicking “I Agree”), you agree to be bound by this Agreement, including our Privacy Policy. By submitting the User registration form, you represent, warrant and agree to the following:
- You are at least 18 years of age, are authorized to submit a User registration, and are authorized to sign your User registration form.
- You are solely and fully liable for all Content, conduct, postings, and transmissions that are made under your username and password.
- You either are the sole and exclusive owner of all User Content that you make available through the Service or you have all rights, licenses, consents and releases that are necessary to grant to Joola the rights in such User Content, as contemplated under these Terms.
- You are solely responsible for reviewing, evaluating, and participation in any Group.
- Joola is not involved in any transactions between Users or Groups.
- You are solely responsible for compliance with all laws, rules, regulations, and tax obligations that may apply to your use of the Service and Content.
- Neither your User Content, nor your posting, uploading, publication, submission or transmittal of the User Content or Joola’s use of the User Content (or any portion thereof) on, through or by means of the Service, will infringe, misappropriate or violate a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other proprietary or intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy, or result in the violation of any applicable law or regulation.
By using the Service, you represent, warrant, and agree that you will not:
- violate any local, state, provincial, national, or other law or regulation, or any order of a court, including, without limitation, zoning restrictions and tax regulations.
- use manual or automated software, devices, scripts robots, other means or processes to access, “scrape”, “crawl” or “spider” any web pages or other Service contained in the Service or Content.
- use the Service for any commercial or other purposes that are not expressly permitted by these Terms.
- copy, store or otherwise access any information contained on the Service or Content for purposes not expressly permitted by these Terms.
- interfere with or damage the Service, including, without limitation, through the use of viruses, cancel bots, Trojan horses, harmful code, flood pings, denial-of-service attacks, packet or IP spoofing, forged routing or electronic mail address information or similar methods or technology.
- use the Service to transmit, distribute, post or submit any information concerning any other person or entity, including without limitation, photographs of others without their permission, personal contact information, or credit, debit, calling card or bank account numbers.
- use the Service in connection with the distribution of unsolicited commercial email (“spam”) or advertisements.
- “stalk” or harass any other User of the Service or collect or store any personally identifiable information about any other User other than for purposes of using the Service at intended.
- recruit or otherwise solicit any other User to join third party services or websites that are competitive to Joola, without Joola’s prior written approval.
- impersonate any person or entity, or falsify or otherwise misrepresent yourself or your affiliation with any person or entity.
- use automated scripts to collect information or otherwise interact with the Service.
- post, upload, publish, submit or transmit any Content that: (i) infringes, misappropriates or violates a third party’s patent, copyright, trademark, trade secret, moral rights or other intellectual property rights, or rights of publicity or privacy; (ii) violates, or encourages any conduct that would violate, any applicable law or regulation or would give rise to civil liability; (iii) is fraudulent, false, misleading or deceptive; (iv) is defamatory, obscene, pornographic, vulgar or offensive; (v) promotes discrimination, bigotry, racism, hatred, harassment or harm against any individual or group; (vi) is violent or threatening or promotes violence or actions that are threatening to any other person; or (vii) promotes illegal or harmful activities or substances.
- systematically retrieve data or other content from our Service to create or compile, directly or indirectly, in single or multiple downloads, a collection, compilation, database, directory or the like, whether by manual methods, through the use of bots, crawlers, or spiders, or otherwise.
- use, display, mirror or frame the Service, Joola’s name, any Joola trademarks, logos or other proprietary information, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page, without Joola’s express written consent.
- access, tamper with, or use non-public areas of the Service, Joola’s computer systems, or the technical delivery systems of the Service or any third-party provider system.
- attempt to probe, scan, or test the vulnerability of any Joola system or network or breach any security or authentication measures.
- avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate, impair, descramble, or otherwise circumvent any technological measure implemented by Joola or any of Joola’s providers or any other third party (including another user) to protect the Service or Content.
- forge any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any email or newsgroup posting, or in any way use the Service or Content to send altered, deceptive, or false source-identifying information.
- attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble, or reverse engineer any of the software used to provide the Service or Content.
- advocate, encourage, or assist any third party in doing any of the foregoing.
Joola fully has the right to investigate and prosecute violations of any of the above of the law. Joola may involve and cooperate with law enforcement authorities in prosecuting Users who violate these Terms. You acknowledge that Joola has no obligation to monitor your access to or use of the Service or Content or to review or edit any User Content, but has the right to do so for the purpose of operating the Service, to ensure your compliance with these Terms, or to comply with applicable law or the order or requirement of a court, administrative agency or other governmental body. If Joola pre-screens, refuses, or removes any Content, you acknowledge that Joola will do so for Joola’s benefit, not yours. Without limiting the foregoing, Joola shall have the right to remove any Content that violates the Terms or is otherwise objectionable. You acknowledge and agree that you have no expectation of privacy concerning the transmission of your Content.
Unless expressly agreed to by Joola in writing elsewhere, Joola has no obligation to store any of your Content that you submit or make available on Joola Properties. Joola has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or accuracy of any Content, including your Content; the failure to store, transmit, or receive transmission of Content; or the security, privacy, storage, or transmission of other communications originating with or involving use of Joola Properties. You agree that Joola retains the right to create reasonable limits on Jola’s use and storage of the Content, including your Content, such as limits on file size, storage space, processing capacity, and similar limits described on the Site and as otherwise determined by Joola in its sole discretion.
Description of Joola’s Services
The Service consists of an online platform, process, and service (the “Services”) that allows users to: connect directly with each other to share money amongst themselves via a rotating credit and savings group system (a “Group”). To become a User and access the Service, you must: (a) successfully complete the online registration process within our mobile application “Joola App” available in app stores, including the Apple iTunes Store and Google Play, (b) agree to the provision of personal identification information, and (c) connect your personal bank or other financial account to the Services.
In order to enroll for the Services, you will need to sign up for an account with Joola on the App. Joola (or its third-party payment processor) will verify your identity. You authorize us (or our third party payment processor) to make any inquiries we consider necessary to validate your identity, including, if requested, your full address, your date of birth, your social security number and/or requiring you to take steps to confirm ownership of your email address or financial instruments, ordering a credit report, or verifying information you provide against third party databases or through other sources. If you do not provide this information or Joola cannot verify your identity, we can refuse to allow you to use the Services and the App.
Joola is not a lender, advisor, broker, credit repair company, credit reporting agency, or financial institution. Neither our Services nor the material on the App should be regarded as legal services, financial advice, investment advice, or an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities of Joola or its affiliates.
You understand and agree that Joola is not a party to any agreements entered into between Users, and that Joola is not a bank, a money services business, a money transmitter, or an issuer of stored value products. Joola and the service enable Users to communicate directly and to share funds amongst themselves. Joola has no control over the conduct of Users of the service, any information exchanged between Users, or any sharing decisions by or among Users, and disclaims all liability in this regard.
Joola does not review, endorse, verify, or evaluate, or otherwise provide any warranty or guarantee with respect to any User, user content, or user group. It is the sole responsibility of Users to investigate the information available about another user or a group.
How Joola’s Service Works
A rotating credit and savings group system occurs when money is shared by and between all Users who have joined a Group. Within a Group, every member contributes a constant amount of installment payments over the duration of the Group. Every member of a Group withdraws a lump sum but at different times. All installment payments are collected from other Group members minus the Joola fees and distributed to one member of the Group at a time. Every Group member receives only one distribution per group.
Groups may be formed by any User who is then termed the “Group Leader”. A User forming a Group determines the four key characteristics of the Group: (1) the amount to be shared by each User who joins the Group; (2) how long the Group will go on (its duration); (3) how many Users and Positions there are in the Group (one Position per User); (4) the frequency of payments into the group and payments out of the group.
As a Group Leader, you are the group administrator, and you are responsible to approve any requests to join your group and should only admit people you know and trust.
Failure to contribute funds to a Group at the time and in the amounts that a User agreed to do will subject a User to limited or restricted access to the Service, including preclusion of joining more Groups or receiving shared funds distributions from any Groups that User has previously joined. A User’s failure to meet his or her Group contribution commitments for more than ten (10) days past the original due date will entitle the Service to withdraw the full amounts owed directly from the User’s connected bank account.
How Joola’s Service Fees Work
The purpose of these Terms is for you to secure access to the Services. All fees set forth within and paid by you under the Terms shall be considered solely in furtherance of this purpose.
In exchange for providing the Service, Joola receives from each User receiving shared funds from a Group a fee (the “Service Fee”) equal to a set percentage of the shared amount. The exact Service Fee amount will be set for each Group upon creation. Service Fees will be deducted from funds at the time that they transmitted to the User. After deducting the applicable Service Fee, Joola will remit the balance of the shared funds to the User via its third-party payment processing provider or such other payment methods as may be listed on the Service, in U.S. dollars. Except as otherwise provided herein, Service Fees are non-refundable.
You agree to pay all fees or charges to your account in accordance with the fees, charges, and billing terms in effect at the time a fee or charge is due and payable. You agree to immediately notify Joola of any changes in your bank account used for payment hereunder. Joola reserves the right at any time to change its prices and billing methods, either immediately upon posting on Joola’s App or website or by email delivery to you.
The service fee for each User (for each Group the User is part of), will depend on the number of Users in each Group. For each pay-in cycle, Users will pay a fee of 7% for the First Group Position, 6% for the Second Group Position and 5% for Third Positions in a group with more than four members. Group Positions are defined as the order of Group Distribution (“Payout”). Example 1: if there are four (4) members in a Group, each making $100 monthly distributions (“Cycle”), User receiving the first Group Payout will pay $21 for Service fee, the second Group Payout will pay $18 for Service fee, and there are no Service fees applied for the third and fourth Group Payouts. Example 2: if there are five (5) members in a Group, each making $100 monthly distributions (“Cycle”), Users receiving the first Group Payout will pay $28 for Service fee, the second Group Payout will pay $24, and third Group Payout will pay $20 for Service fee. There are no Service fees applied for second-to-last and last Group Payouts.
The apportioned fee will be automatically deducted from each User’s bank account. Service fees are not refundable, but from time to time, Joola as part of a promotional campaign strategy may waive such fees.
Position Rewards are only applicable for last Group Payouts. Last Group Payouts are eligible to receive 1% of Group Payouts. Position Rewards are only available to eligible User accounts that are open and in good standing. Only one Position Rewards can be claimed per Group.
Eligible User accounts must also:
– Be enrolled in an active Group and receive the second-to-last and last Group Payouts; and,
– Be in good standing, meaning no account is canceled, past due, or in default at the time of the Group Payout.
Late Fees and Missed Payments
JOOLA RESERVES THE RIGHT TO CHARGE THE USERS A LATE FEE FOR ANY MISSED PAYMENT AND TO WITHDRAW USER INSTALLMENT PAYMENTS UNDER A GROUP.
We will automatically withdraw from your Joola Balance if there is a sufficient amount of money held in the account to cover any missed payments.
We charge $15 per late payment after 14 days. Maximum late fee per group is $45. In the event the owed amounts are not resolved after 30 days, an account will be temporarily suspended, and a $30 reactivation fee will be charged and its payment will be required before the account can be reactivated. Suspended accounts will be blocked from account privileges, such as withdrawing money to their bank accounts and joining another group.
We automatically withdraw late fees from your connected bank accounts or your Joola Account Balance if there are sufficient funds in such account.
Collections
If Joola is unable to collect any amounts you owe under these Terms of Service, Joola may engage in collection efforts to recover such amounts from you. You hereby explicitly agree that all communication in relation to amounts owed will be made by electronic mail or by phone, as provided to Joola by you. Such communication may be made by Joola, or by anyone on their behalf, including but not limited to a third-party collection agent.
Financial Terms Information
By entering these Terms, you are also authorizing our payment processing partner to make deposits or withdrawals for any transaction in your Groups from your linked bank account via this our third-party online payment processor. You also authorize Joola to deduct any Service Fees. If you are directed to Joola’s third party payment processor, you are also subject to terms and conditions governing use of that third party’s service and that third party’s personal information collection practices. Please review such terms and conditions and privacy policy before using the Service.
Fund transfers are done electronically and may occur immediately after being authorized (or when a User is in default of a contribution that is due). In order to become a User and participate in Groups, you understand and agree that Joola reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to obtain a pre-authorization of your banking account via our payment processing partner in order to verify your account and relevant account balance. Please note that Joola, and our payment processing partner, cannot control any fees that may be charged to a User by his or her bank related to transfers or otherwise, and Joola disclaims all liability in this regard.
Electronic Funds Transfers (“EFTs”) and Account Balances
By creating an account with Joola and initiating bank deposits or withdrawals (i.e. EFTs), you agree to the terms of service and privacy policy of our financial software and payment processing provider, its financial institution partner, which are incorporated herein by reference. Terms not defined in this section shall be defined as set forth in the TOS of our payment processing partner.
When you sign up for an account with our App, you will also be signing up for a User Account of our payment processing provider (as defined in its TOS). You authorize us, to the maximum extent required to complete your transactions, to share your identity and banking information, and any other applicable information and payment instructions, with our payment processing provider to open and support your User Account as further detailed in our Privacy Policy and our payment processing provider’s Privacy Policy. It is your responsibility to make sure the data you provide to us and to our payment processing provider is accurate and complete. Additionally, you are responsible for complying with their TOS when using your User Account. It is your responsibility to read and understand our payment processing provider’s TOS as it contains terms and conditions relating to your user account including but not limited to your rights, limitations, reversal and other liabilities, limitation of liability and binding arbitrations provisions.
When you open a User Account with our payment processing provider, you will link a checking or savings account to perform EFT and, if applicable, deposit funds into your User Account with our payment processing provider. Deposits into such User Account are held at our payment processing provider’s financial institution partners as detailed in their TOS.
All EFT transactions are performed by and deposits are held by our payment processing provider’s financial institution partner. Joola and our payment processing provider only transmit transaction instructions to our payment processing provider’s financial institution partner. Joola will provide you with all transactions’ notifications and User Account balances in addition to providing customer support relating to your User Account.
Verified Customer Record
In order to use the payment functionality of Joola’s application, you must open a “Dwolla Platform” account provided by Dwolla, Inc. and you must accept the Dwolla Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. Any funds held in the Dwolla account are held by Dwolla’s financial institution partners as set out in the Dwolla Terms of Service. You authorize Joola to collect and share with Dwolla your personal information including full name, [date of birth, social security number, physical address,] email address and financial information, and you are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of that data. You understand that you will access and manage your Dwolla account through Joola’s application, and Dwolla account notifications will be sent by Joola, not Dwolla. Joola will provide customer support for your Dwolla account activity, and can be reached at https://joola.app/ and/or [email protected].
Optional Geo-Location Services
In connection with the Services, Joola may offer a geolocation-based functionality, and you will have the choice to opt into geolocation services so that Joola may provide more relevant additional services to you based on your current location. By opting into such geolocation services, you consent to the collection, use, sharing and transfer of your geolocation data with Joola and third-party service providers of Joola who help facilitate such services.
Customer Permission for Text Messaging/Alerts, Push Notifications and E-Mail
You grant Joola express written consent to receiving autodialed and prerecorded message calls, text messages or push notification alerts from Joola, or those third-party service providers acting on Joola’s behalf, at any mobile telephone number you provide to Joola, regardless of your registration of your mobile device number on any state or federal “do not call” registry. Your express, written permission applies to messages and alerts regarding the Joola Services. By providing your email address to Joola, you agree that Joola or those third-party service providers acting on Joola’s behalf, may e-mail account registration information, information with regard to the Services, in the case of fraud/suspected fraud inquiries, consumer dispute resolution, collections, or any other action related to providing the Services to you regardless of your registration of your email address on any state or federal “do not email” registry.
Proprietary Rights
The Service is licensed and not sold. The Service and Content are protected by copyright, trademark, and other laws of the United States and foreign countries. You acknowledge and agree that the Service and Content, including all associated intellectual property rights, are the exclusive property of Joola and its licensors. You will not remove, alter, or obscure any copyright, trademark, service mark or other proprietary rights notices incorporated in or accompanying the Service or Content. All trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names and any other proprietary designations of Joola used herein are trademarks or registered trademarks of Joola. Any other trademarks, service marks, logos, trade names and any other proprietary designations are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective parties.
All materials on the Services and the App (as well as the organization and layout of the Services and the App) are owned and copyrighted, licensed by, or used with permission that is granted by Joola. No reproduction, distribution, or transmission of the copyrighted materials in the Services and the App are permitted without the prior written permission of Joola.
Personal and Noncommercial Use Limitation: Prohibited Uses
Services, including the App, provide software tools and information to assist you in managing your finances, credit, and savings by connecting directly with other users to share money amongst yourselves via a rotating credit and savings group system. We grant you access to the App during the term of this Agreement solely to receive the Services. You may access, download, and print materials as necessary to receive the Services. You may not license, copy, distribute, create derivative works from, frame in another Web page, use on any other website, or sell any information, databases, or lists obtained from the Services or the App. You agree to always provide true, accurate, and complete user information, and to update such information upon our request. You will not access or attempt to access password protected, secure or non-public areas of the Services or the App, without our prior written permission. You will comply with all privacy laws.
The Services and the App are licensed (not sold) to end users. Subject to your compliance with these Terms, Joola grants you a limited, personal, non-exclusive, revocable, non-transferable license, to (i) electronically access and use the Service solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes and (ii) access and view any User Content to which you are permitted access, solely for your personal and non-commercial purposes. You have no right to sublicense the license rights granted in this section.
You will not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, publicly perform, transmit, broadcast or otherwise exploit the Service or Content, except as expressly permitted in these Terms. No licenses or rights are granted to you by implication or otherwise under any intellectual property rights owned or controlled by Joola or its licensors, except for the licenses and rights expressly granted in these Terms.
Limitation of liability
JOOLA’S LIABILITY IS LIMITED WITH RESPECT TO YOUR JOOLA ACCOUNT AND YOUR USE OF THE JOOLA SERVICES. JOOLA SHALL IN NO EVENT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY THIRD PARTY, WHETHER IN CONTRACT, WARRANTY, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) OR OTHERWISE, FOR ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, LIQUIDATED OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFIT, REVENUE OR BUSINESS, ARISING IN WHOLE OR IN PART FROM YOUR ACCESS TO THE SITES, THE APP, YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING ADD-ON SERVICES, THE SITES OR THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF JOOLA HAS BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. NOTWITHSTANDING ANYTHING TO THE CONTRARY IN THIS AGREEMENT, IN NO EVENT WILL JOOLA’S AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS AND YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FROM A GROUP, ANY CONTENT, OR ANY INTERACTIONS WITH ANY OTHER USERS, EXCEED THE AMOUNTS YOU HAVE PAID TO JOOLA AS SERVICE FEES IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTH PERIOD PRIOR TO THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE LIABILITY, OR ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS ($100) IF NO SUCH PAYMENTS HAVE BEEN MADE, AS APPLICABLE. THE LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN JOOLA AND YOU.
YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICE, CONTENT, OR GROUP REMAINS WITH YOU. SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. IN SUCH STATES LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF WARRANTIES OR LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
Indemnification
Users will defend Joola from and against any and all third party claims, actions, suits, proceedings, and demands arising from or related to User’s or any of its Authorized Users’ violation of the Terms of Service (a “Claim Against Us”), and will indemnify Joola for all reasonable attorney’s fees incurred and damages and other costs finally awarded against Joola in connection with or as a result of, and for amounts paid by Joola under a settlement User approves of in connection with, a Claim Against Us. We must provide User with prompt written notice of any Claim Against Us and allow User to cooperate with any reasonable requests assisting Joola’s defense and settlement of such matter. Joola shall have the right to control all defense and settlement activities.
You agree to release, defend, indemnify, and hold Joola and their officers, directors, employees and agents, harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses, including, without limitation, reasonable legal fees, arising out of or in any way connected with (a) your access to or use of the Service, Group, or Content; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your User Content; (d) your (i) interaction with any User, (ii) reliance on any information exchanged via the Service, or (iii) creation of a Profile; (e) your violation of any third party right, including without limitation any copyright, property, or privacy right; or (f) any claim that you or your Content caused damage to a third party.
Assignment
You may not assign or transfer these Terms of Service, by operation of law or otherwise, without Joola’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms of Service, without such consent, will be null and of no effect. Joola may transfer or assign this user agreement or any right or obligation under this user agreement at any time.
Disclaimer of Warranty and Release
THE JOOLA SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS-IS” AND WITHOUT ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED OR STATUTORY. WE SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIM ANY IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.
YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES AND THE APP OFFERED VIA THE APP IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT JOOLA DOES NOT REVIEW, ENDORSE, RECOMMEND, VERIFY, EVALUATE, WARRANT OR GUARANTEE ANY STATEMENT, OPINION, RESPONSE, ADVICE, PREDICTION, RECOMMENDATION, INFORMATION OR CONTENT PROVIDED BY ANY USER. NOTHING CONTAINED IN THESE TERMS SHALL BE CONSIDERED AS A REFERRAL, ENDORSEMENT, RECOMMENDATION, VERIFICATION, WARRANTY OR GUARANTEE WITH RESPECT TO (A) ANY USER; (B) ANY GROUP; OR (C) THE VALIDITY, ACCURACY, AVAILABILITY, COMPLETENESS, SAFETY, LEGALITY, QUALITY OR APPLICABILITY OF ANY GROUP, CONTENT OR ANYTHING OTHERWISE CONTAINED IN OR MADE AVAILABLE ON THE SERVICE OR ANY OTHER FORUM.
WE DO NOT GUARANTEE CONTINUOUS, UNINTERRUPTED OR SECURE ACCESS TO ANY PART OF THE JOOLA SERVICES, AND OPERATION OF OUR WEBSITES, SOFTWARE, OR SYSTEMS (INCLUDING ANY NETWORKS AND SERVERS USED TO PROVIDE ANY OF THE JOOLA SERVICES) OPERATED BY US OR ON OUR BEHALF MAY BE INTERFERED WITH BY NUMEROUS FACTORS OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL. WE WILL MAKE REASONABLE EFFORTS TO ENSURE THAT REQUESTS FOR ELECTRONIC DEBITS AND CREDITS INVOLVING BANK ACCOUNTS, DEBIT CARDS, CREDIT CARDS, AND CHECK ISSUANCES ARE PROCESSED IN A TIMELY MANNER BUT WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES REGARDING THE AMOUNT OF TIME NEEDED TO COMPLETE PROCESSING BECAUSE THE JOOLA SERVICES ARE DEPENDENT UPON MANY FACTORS OUTSIDE OF OUR CONTROL, SUCH AS DELAYS IN THE BANKING SYSTEM. ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE APP IS DONE AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
YOU ARE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ALL OF YOUR COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU INTERACT OR COMMUNICATE WITH AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. YOU AGREE TO TAKE REASONABLE PRECAUTIONS IN ALL COMMUNICATIONS AND INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS AND WITH OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE TO INDEMNIFY AND HOLD JOOLA HARMLESS IN CONNECTION WITH ANY CLAIM AND ANY DAMAGES OR EXPENSES ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE JOOLA SERVICE. JOOLA WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ENFORCING ANY AGREEMENT THAT WAS MADE BETWEEN USERS PARTICIPATING IN A GROUP. USERS WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY GROUP JOINED OR AGREEMENTS MADE WITH ANOTHER USER.
SOME JURISDICTIONS DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OF CERTAIN WARRANTIES OR THE LIMITATION OR EXCLUSION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES. IN SUCH STATES LIABILITY IS LIMITED TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW. ACCORDINGLY, SOME OF THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OF WARRANTIES OR LIABILITY MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
YOUR RELEASE OF JOOLA
IF YOU HAVE A DISPUTE WITH ANY OTHER JOOLA USER ACCOUNT HOLDER, YOU RELEASE US FROM ANY AND ALL CLAIMS, DEMANDS AND DAMAGES (ACTUAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL) OF EVERY KIND AND NATURE, KNOWN AND UNKNOWN, ARISING OUT OF OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED WITH SUCH DISPUTES. IN ENTERING INTO THIS RELEASE YOU EXPRESSLY WAIVE ANY PROTECTIONS (WHETHER STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE) THAT WOULD OTHERWISE LIMIT THE COVERAGE OF THIS RELEASE TO INCLUDE ONLY THOSE CLAIMS WHICH YOU MAY KNOW OR SUSPECT TO EXIST IN YOUR FAVOR AT THE TIME OF AGREEING TO THIS RELEASE.
Third Party Links
The Joola Services may contain links to third-party websites or resources (“Third-Party Services“). Such Third-Party Services are subject to different terms and conditions and privacy practices and Users should review them independently. Joola is not responsible or liable for the availability or accuracy of such Third-Party Services, or the content, products, or services available from such Third-Party Services. Links to such Third-Party Services are not an endorsement by Joola of such Third-Party Services. Your access to and use of such websites or applications, including information, material, products and services on such websites or applications, is solely at your own risk.
Suspension and Termination
Joola, in its sole discretion, reserve the right to suspend or terminate this Terms of Service agreement, access to or use of our app, websites, software, systems (including any networks and servers used to provide any of the Joola services) operated by us or on our behalf or some or all of the Joola services for any reason and at any time upon notice to you and, upon termination of this Terms of Service agreement, the payment to you of any unrestricted money being held for you.
Furthermore, Joola may in its own discretion and without liability to you, with or without cause, with or without prior notice, and at any time, terminate this Agreement or deactivate or cancel your User account if (i) you have materially breached your obligations under this Agreement; (ii) you have provided inaccurate, fraudulent, outdated, or incomplete information; (iii) you have violated applicable laws, regulations, or third-party rights; (iv) Joola believes in good faith that such action is reasonably necessary to protect other Users, Joola or third parties (for example in the case of fraudulent behavior of a User); or (v) to comply with applicable law, or the order or request of a court, law enforcement, or other administrative agency or governmental body. Upon termination we will promptly pay you any amounts we reasonably determine we owe you at our discretion, which we are legally obligated to pay you. You may cancel your User account at any time by contacting Joola. Please note that if your User account is cancelled, we do not have an obligation to delete or return to you any Content you have posted to the Service, including, but not limited to, any reviews or feedback.
IN THE EVENT THAT YOU CANCEL YOUR USER ACCOUNT OR JOOLA TERMINATES THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, OR YOUR ACCESS TO OUR SERVICE OR DEACTIVATES OR CANCELS YOUR USER ACCOUNT YOU WILL REMAIN LIABLE FOR ALL AMOUNTS DUE HEREUNDER AND PAYMENTS UNDER YOUR GROUP.
International Users
The App is intended to and directed to residents of the United States and all Services and advertising claims contained on the App are valid only in the United States. Joola makes no claim that the Service, Groups, or Content are appropriate or may be accessed, used, or downloaded outside the United States. If you access the Service, Groups or Content from a location outside the United States, you do so at your own risk and are responsible for compliance with the laws of your jurisdiction regarding online conduct and acceptable content.
Modifications
Joola reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, the Website, App or Services, including add-on Services with or without notice. Joola reserves the right to change the Services, including fees as may be applicable, in our sole discretion and from time to time. In such event, if you are a user of our Services, Joola will provide notice to you. If you do not agree to the changes after receiving a notice of the change to the Services, you may stop using the Services. Your use of the Services, after you are notified of any change(s) will constitute your agreement to such change(s). You agree that Joola will not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspensions, or discontinuance of the Services.
Joola may modify this Agreement from time to time. All changes to this Agreement may be provided to you by electronic means (i.e., via email or by posting the information on the Sites). In addition, the Agreement will always indicate the date it was last revised. You are deemed to accept and agree to be bound by any changes to the Agreement when you use the Services after those changes are posted.
Notices
Unless otherwise specified herein, any notices or other communications permitted or required hereunder, including those regarding modifications to these Terms, will be in writing and given by Joola (i) via email (in each case to the email address that you provide) or (ii) by posting to the Site or via the Application. For notices made by e-mail, the date of receipt will be deemed the date on which such notice is transmitted.
Governing law and Jurisdiction
You agree that (i) the Service shall be deemed solely based in the State of Washington, and (ii) the Service shall be deemed a passive website that does not give rise to personal jurisdiction over Joola, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than the State of Washington. These Terms shall be governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of Washington, without respect to its conflict of laws principles. You and Joola agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of a state court located in Seattle, Washington for any actions for which the parties retain the right to seek injunctive or other equitable relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to prevent the actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation or violation of a party’s copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets, patents, or other intellectual property rights, as set forth in the Dispute Resolution Provision below.
YOU AND JOOLA AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICE OR CONTENT MUST COMMENCE WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES. OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED AND WAIVED.
Dispute Resolution
If a dispute arises between you and Joola regarding the services or otherwise, our goal is to learn about and address your concerns. If we are unable to do so to your satisfaction, we aim to provide you with a neutral and cost-effective means of resolving the dispute quickly. Disputes between you and Joola regarding the services may be reported to customer service online at [email protected].
ANY CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF, RELATING TO, OR CONNECTED WITH THIS TERMS OF SERVICE AGREEMENT MUST BE ASSERTED INDIVIDUALLY IN BINDING ARBITRATION CONDUCTED BY A SINGLE ARBITRATOR WITH EXPERIENCE IN CONSUMER ONLINE PAYMENT SERVICES DISPUTES ADMINISTERED BY THE AMERICAN ARBITRATION ASSOCIATION (“AAA”) IN ACCORDANCE WITH ITS COMMERCIAL ARBITRATION RULES AND THE AAA SUPPLEMENTARY PROCEDURES FOR CONSUMER-RELATED DISPUTES. The forum for arbitration shall be in the city closest to your residence having a federal district courthouse. The arbitrator shall not conduct any form of class or collective arbitration nor join or consolidate claims by or for individuals. To the extent allowed by applicable law, the Arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this user agreement including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of this user agreement is void or voidable. Judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
These terms of service agreement and each of its parts evidence a transaction involving interstate commerce, and the United States Arbitration Act shall apply in all cases and govern the interpretation and enforcement of the arbitration rules and arbitration proceedings. There are only two exceptions to this agreement to arbitrate. First, if we reasonably believe that you have in any manner violated or threatened to violate our intellectual property rights, we may seek injunctive or other appropriate relief in any court of competent jurisdiction. Second, any claim of $500 or less may, at the option of the claiming party, be resolved in small claims court in Seattle, Washington, if the claim and the parties are within the jurisdiction of the small claims court. For these two exceptions, you agree to submit to the personal jurisdiction of the courts located within Seattle, Washington for the purpose of litigating such claims or disputes.
Waiver of Right to Jury; Class Action Waiver
TO THE EXTENT ALLOWED BY LAW, YOU AGREE TO IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY RIGHT YOU MAY HAVE TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR OTHER COURT TRIAL (OTHER THAN SMALL CLAIMS COURT) OR TO SERVE AS A REPRESENTATIVE, AS A PRIVATE ATTORNEY GENERAL, OR IN ANY OTHER REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY, OR TO PARTICIPATE AS A MEMBER OF A CLASS OF CLAIMANTS, IN ANY LAWSUIT, ARBITRATION OR OTHER PROCEEDING FILED AGAINST US AND/OR RELATED THIRD PARTIES.
Changes. Notwithstanding the provisions of the “Modification” section above, if Joola amends this “Dispute Resolution” section after the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms) you will be notified in accordance with these Terms. You may reject any such change by sending us written notice (including by email to [email protected]) within 30 days of the date such change became effective, as indicated in the “Last Updated Date” above or in the date of Joola’s email to you notifying you of such change. By rejecting any change, you are agreeing that you will arbitrate any Dispute between you and Joola in accordance with the provisions of this “Dispute Resolution” section as of the date you first accepted these Terms (or accepted any subsequent changes to these Terms).
Severability
These Terms are intended to govern the agreement between Joola and you to the extent permitted by all applicable laws, ordinances, rules, and regulations. If any provision of these Terms or the application thereof to any person or circumstances shall, for any reason or to any extent, be invalid or unenforceable, the remainder of these Terms and the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby, but rather shall be enforced to the greatest extent permitted by law.
Taxes
Our fees do not include any taxes, levies, duties or similar governmental assessments of any nature, including, for example, value-added, sales, use or withholding taxes, goods and Service taxes (GST) and other similar municipal, provincial, state and federal indirect or other withholding and personal or corporate income taxes that may be assessed by any jurisdiction (collectively, “taxes”). It is your responsibility to determine what, if any, taxes apply to the payments you make or receive, including transactions through your profile, and it is solely your responsibility to assess, collect, report and remit the correct taxes to the appropriate authority. Joola is not responsible for determining whether any taxes apply to your transaction, or for calculating, collecting, reporting, or remitting taxes arising from any transaction. Joola cannot and does not offer Tax-related advice to any User.
Advertisements
Joola may include advertisements on its own behalf or paid advertisements on behalf of interested companies and/or individuals on the Service. By clicking on the advertisements, the User may be shifted to a Web site of the advertiser or receive other messages, information, or offers from the advertiser. Users acknowledge and agree that Joola is not liable for the privacy practices of advertisers or the content of their Web sites, information, messages or offers. Users are wholly liable for all communications with advertisers and for all transactions subsequently executed.
Allegations of Intellectual Property Infringements
We respect the intellectual property of others and require that Joola Users comply with relevant intellectual property laws, including copyright and trademark laws. We may, in appropriate circumstances and at our discretion, limit or terminate the use of our products or services for users who use or publish content on the Joola platforms that is subject to intellectual property rights claims.
Joola will respond to notices of alleged copyright infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). If you believe your intellectual property rights have been infringed by content on the Joola platforms, you may request a removal of this content from our website by requesting and submitting an Infringement Notification Form to [email protected] or:
Joola LLC
Attn: IP Designated Agent
32829 Pacific Hwy S #4086
Federal Way, WA 98063
To be effective, the notification must be in writing and contain the following information (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)):
- Physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed;
- Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to have been infringed, or, if multiple copyrighted works at a single online site are covered by a single notification, a representative list of such works at that site;
- Identification of the material that is claimed to be infringing or to be the subject of infringing activity and that is to be removed or access to which is to be disabled, and information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to locate the material;
- Information reasonably sufficient to permit the service provider to contact the complaining party, such as an address, telephone number, and, if available, an electronic mail address at which the complaining party may be contacted;
- A statement that the complaining party has a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
- A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and under penalty of perjury, that the complaining party is authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
If you believe that content you posted on the site was removed, or access to it was disabled, by mistake or misidentification, you may file a counter-notification with us by submitting a written notification to the email or address above pursuant to the DMCA.
We may terminate an infringer’s access to Joola products or services at our sole discretion and we have a policy to terminate accounts of repeat infringers.
General Provisions
Except as they may be supplemented by additional terms and conditions, policies, guidelines, or standards, these Terms of Service constitute the entire Agreement between Joola and you regarding the subject matter hereof, and supersede any and all prior oral or written understandings or agreements between Joola and you regarding the Terms of Service.
Joola and other logos, product, and service names are trademarks and service marks owned by or licensed to Joola or its affiliates (the “Marks”). Without the prior written permission of Joola, or its appropriate affiliates, you agree not to display or use in any manner, the Marks.