These Terms and Conditions are for the electronic top-up of SMART Meters with SSE Electricity Limited (trading as “Scottish Hydro”, “Southern Electric”, “Atlantic”, “SSE” or “SWALEC”) to domestic customers.
Please read the terms and conditions carefully so that you fully understand your commitments and our responsibilities.
1. DEFINITIONS AND INTERPRETATION
1.1 Please refer to this section for our definitions and explanations of terms used throughout this Agreement.
1.2 In this Agreement the terms detailed below shall have the following meaning:
“
Account”: means the Security Information and Meter details you supply, together with such other information as we request, on our Website when registering for the Services;
“
Address”: means the address(es) at which the Meter(s) are situated and which the Services are supplied to by us;
“
Agreement”: means (i) these terms and conditions (as updated from time to time) which you have expressly accepted on the Website, prior to provision of the Service(s) and (ii) the Privacy Policy (as updated from time to time);
“
Authorised User”: shall have the meaning ascribed to it in clause 5.1
“
Charges”: means the surcharges notified to you by us from time to time via email or the Website for the use of certain Payment Cards in the course of the Transaction;
“
Confirmation Message”: means the message sent by email, or through our Website, by us to you which confirms that your Payment Card has been verified and providing you with a UTRN;
“
Default Payment Card”: has the meaning ascribed to it in clause 6.1;
“
Dormant”: means where your Account has been not used to access the Service(s) for a period of twelve (12) months or more;
“
Energy Customer”: means that you have an active PAN with us for the supply of electricity and/or with Southern Electric Gas Limited (02716495) having its registered office at No.1 Forbury Place, 43 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 3JH for the supply of gas;
“
Failure Notice”: means the message sent by email or through our Website, by us to you which confirms the Transaction has not been authorised or has otherwise failed;
“
Merchants”: means a financial institution which allows you to make purchases of goods and services, including the Services, using your Payment Card or other payment method;
“
Meter”: means the ‘pay-as-you-go’ SMART Meter(s) for electricity and/or gas located at the Address(es) and which is registered against your Account;
“
Minimum and Maximum Top-Up”: means the minimum and maximum amount of credit (as notified to you by us from time to time) which you must subscribe for in order for us to provide the Services;
“
Network Operator”: means as the context requires, the operator(s) of the system that is used to provide the Services to you;
“
Security Information”: means your: User ID; Password; Energy Customer account number and/or PAN; Payment Card details and such other information we request in order to register an Account;
“
Specification”: means any hardware or software requirements necessary to access the Services, as notified to you by us, by email or through our Website from time to time;
“
PAN”: means the primary account number being the nineteen (19) digit customer reference number specific to you;
“
Password”: means the password you will create when you set up your Account;
“
Payment Card”: means an eligible debit card(s) and/or credit card(s) which you have either registered on your Account, or, if you do not have an Account will us, have used to pay for the Services;
“
Privacy Policy”: means the statement we provide you before you register an Account which details the way we gather, use, disclose, and manage your data, located at
https://www.sse.co.uk/about-us/legal/privacy-policy#item1;
“
Routine Maintenance”: means the unavailability of the Website as a result of routine maintenance conducted by us or the Network Operator usually between the hours of 22:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m.;
“
Services”: means: the electronic purchase of credit for your Meter using the Website;
“
Transaction” means the submission by you of Payment Card details which are processed by the Network Operator and authorised by the Merchant for the provision of the Services;
“
User ID”: means the email address or username you use to set up your Account;
“
UTRN”: means the unique transaction reference number, provided by us in the Confirmation Message which automatically tops-up the Meter with credit (or which you may be required to manually key in to your Meter);
“
we” and “
us” means SSE Electricity Limited and anyone we transfer this Agreement to in accordance with clause 13);
“
Website” means the website at “www.ssepayments.co.uk” through which you can access your Account for provision of the Services;
“
you” means you, the customer with whom we have entered into this Agreement with together with such other Authorised User of the Service and you agree to be responsible for all and any actions and/or omissions of any such Authorised User.
2.THIS AGREEMENT
These are the terms and conditions are between SSE Electricity Limited(Company Number: 03757502) and having its registered office at No.1 Forbury Place, 43 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 3JH and you for the purchase of credit in order to top-up your Meter.
2.1 Please read these terms and conditions carefully. These terms tell you who we are, how we will provide the Services to you; how you and we may change or end the Agreement; what to do if there is a problem; and other important information.
2.2 Please note these terms and conditions are wholly separate to our General Terms and Conditions for the supply of electricity and/or gas and the supply and installation of Meters.
2.3 By entering into this Agreement you agree that the Meter(s) is used for UK domestic purposes only.
2.4 Your Agreement with us will start when you register an Account and accept these terms and conditions and any Privacy Policy. Your Agreement with us will end on the date:
(a) you (or a person you make a payment on behalf of) cease to be an Energy Customer; or
(b) you commit a material breach of the Agreement;
(whichever is the earlier).
3. SUPPLY OF THE SERVICE
3.1 Our obligations to provide, and to continue to provide, the Service(s) are conditional upon:
(a) you (or a person you make a payment on behalf of) being an Energy Customer;
(b) you registering for and creating a valid Account with us (which shall include acceptance of these terms and conditions);
(c) you using and continuing to use an eligible Payment Card (details of eligible Payment Cards are set out on our Website from time to time);
(d) you entering into a Transaction within our prescribed Minimum and Maximum Top-Up limits;
(e) your Transaction being authorised by a Merchant;
(f) you providing and maintaining (for the duration of this Agreement) equipment which meets the Specification; and
(g) you at all times complying with the terms of this Agreement.
3.2 Subject to you registering a valid Account a contract will come into existence between you and us.
3.3 During provision of the Service you may receive a Failure Notice which might be because one of the requirements set out at clause 3.1 has not been satisfied. Where you receive a Failure Notice no funds shall be deducted from your Payment Card.
3.4 We shall have no responsibility for any loss or damage arising from your receipt of a Failure Notice (except where this is caused by our failure to exercise reasonable skill and care or our material breach of this Agreement).
4. OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU
4.1 The Services will commence immediately when the UTRN is received by the relevant Meter. If the Services have not commenced within forty (40) minutes of receipt of your Confirmation Message, you should manually key your UTRN into the Meter. If the Services have not commenced after manually keying in your UTRN, then please contact us using the information detailed at clause 13.
4.2 We shall exercise the reasonable skill and care of a competent service provider and shall use reasonable endeavours to provide uninterrupted Services. You accept that faults may occur from time to time and we shall have no responsibility to pay you compensation for any loss or damage that could not have been reasonably expected to occur.
4.3 We shall not be responsible to pay you for any loss or damage arising from your inability to access or use the Services for any reason including but not limited to Routine Maintenance or where there is a security threat to the Website (except where this is caused by our failure to exercise reasonable skill and care or our material breach of this Agreement).
4.4 We shall not be responsible if you are unable to use any part of the Services if your equipment is malfunctioning or incompatible with the Services. It is your responsibility to ensure your equipment meets our Specification, and is in reasonable working order.
4.5 Whilst we provide the Service to you, you authorise us to act on your behalf and appoint us as your agent in all dealings with any Network Operator or Merchants (as applicable) in connection with the Services.
5. YOUR ACCOUNT
Access:
5.1 By (i) registering for an Account; and (ii) using your registered User ID and Password to access your Account; you confirm that you are either the Account holder or authorised to access the Account by the Account holder and to make binding decisions in respect of the Account (an “
Authorised User”). Where you are an Authorised User, you will be deemed to have agreed to abide by these terms and conditions.
Security Information:
5.2 If you cannot access your Account for any reason including if you have forgotten your User ID and/or Password, you must first use the “Forgotten Password” facility on the Website. If you are still unable to access your account you can contact us by calling the Customer Service Telephone Number: 0345 026 0677.
5.3 You agree to treat all Security Information as confidential and not to disclose it to any third party (save for in the case of an Authorised User). You agree to change your password regularly so as to avoid unauthorised access.
5.4 We have the right to disable, suspend or close your Account, at any time, if in our reasonable opinion you have failed to comply with the security requirements set out in this clause 5.
5.5 If you know or suspect that any unauthorised person knows your User ID or Password, you must promptly change your User ID and/or Password.
Viruses, Malware and Hacking:
5.6 We will do everything reasonable to ensure that our Website (including your Account) will be secure and free from bugs or viruses, but it is in the nature of the Service that we cannot guarantee this. Our responsibility for this is limited as set out in clause 10.
5.7 You are responsible for configuring your information technology, computer programmes and platform in order to ensure it meets the Specification necessary to access our Service.
5.8 You must not attempt to gain unauthorised access to our Website, your Account, the Account of another user or the server on which any of these are stored.
5.9 You must not misuse or attempt to misuse the Website in any way including using the Website to cause reputational damage to us, the SSE group any Network Operator or Merchant.
5.10 You shall refrain from using the Service upon our instruction and you undertake not to use or improperly deal with the Service or the Meter so as to create a risk to health and safety, security or damage to property in respect of yourself, us or any other person.
5.11 In the event that you suspect or are aware of any matter or incident that either causes danger or requires urgent attention in relation to the Service or affects or is likely to affect the maintenance of the security, availability and quality of the Service (including but not limited to any fraudulent activity) then you must immediately notify us by calling the Customer Service Telephone Number 0345 026 0677.
6. PAYMENT CARD
6.1 The first Payment Card registered with your Account shall be the default method of payment for each subsequent Transaction (the “
Default Payment Card”).
6.2 You are entitled to use any number of Payment Cards with the Account and shall be entitled to select and de-select the Payment Card applicable to a particular Transaction, provided the Payment Card remains authorised by the Merchant. For the avoidance of doubt your nominated Payment Card, until de-selected, shall be the Default Payment Card.
6.3 You will not have to register the Default Payment Card each time you log-in to your Account provided the Default Payment Card remains authorised by the Merchant.
6.4 You agree to us keeping a record of all Payment Cards details registered to your Account.
7. CHARGES AND VAT
7.1 Charges may be applied to use of certain eligible Payment Cards in the course of an authorised Transaction. Details of which Payment Cards are subject to Charges can be found on our Website.
7.2 By accepting these terms and conditions you expressly agree to these Charges (if any) being deducted by us in the course of an authorised Transaction.
7.3 We reserve the right to vary the Charges from time to time. If we vary the Charges, then we will notify you before you enter into the Transaction. Following receipt of such notification you shall remain entitled to select an alternative eligible Payment Card or to terminate the proposed Transaction.
7.4 All payments made by you to us under this Agreement shall include VAT. We will pass on changes in the rate of VAT from time to time. If the rate of VAT changes we shall be entitled to adjust the rate of VAT that you pay from the date the change in the rate of VAT takes effect.
8. DELAYS, REFUNDS AND DORMANT ACCOUNTS
8.1 When you enter into a Transaction, you are authorising the Network Operator to pass your Payment Card details to the Merchant. Some Merchants may delay in processing your Payment Card. In such instance, your payment will be held as pending until the Merchant completes the processing of your Payment Card and authorises the Transaction, or we send you a Failure Notice.
8.2 You shall not be able to use the Services until the Transaction is authorised and we send you a Confirmation Message. We shall have no responsibility for any loss or damage arising from the Network Operator’s or Merchant’s processing of your Transaction (including your Payment Card details) or any delay in relation thereto (except where this is caused by our failure to exercise reasonable skill and care or our material breach of this Agreement).
8.3 Save for where a Network Operator or Merchant delays processing your Payment Card as described in clause 8.1 above, you agree that the Transaction takes place instantaneously and that you cannot request a refund from us in respect of an authorised Transaction for which we have issued a Confirmation Message unless the Transaction was fraudulent (or you have good reason to suspect that it was fraudulent) and you comply with our requests to obtain information which we reasonably require to review the circumstances of the case.
8.4 We reserve the right to request further information as is reasonably necessary to ascertain whether the conditions set out in Clause 8.3 have been satisfied or to waive any or all of these conditions.
8.5 If you do not access your Account for a period of twelve (12) months or more, it may become Dormant whereupon we shall entitled to close your Account and terminate this Agreement at our sole discretion. If your Account is closed you may have to use a new User ID and Password in order to access the Services.
9. ENDING THIS AGREEMENT
9.1 You may end this Agreement at anytime and you do not need to provide any notice to do so.
9.2 The supply of the Service will cease on the earlier of the date that:
(a) your Account becomes Dormant; or
(b) you (or any person you make payment on behalf of) cease to be an Energy Customer.
9.3 We may end this Agreement immediately and recover any reasonable charges and/or debt recovery costs incurred, if:
(a) you breach a term of this Agreement and fail to remedy such breach, if capable of remedy, within a reasonable period as determined by us; or
(b) we have good reason to suspect fraud or money laundering or for believing that any information you have given us is false or deliberately misleading; or
(c) you are the subject of insolvency or bankruptcy proceedings; or
(d) our contract with the Network Operator is terminated; or
(e) there is a change in law or regulation or a competent authority requires the Service to be ceased, suspended or altered in material any way.
9.4 If we or you end your Agreement with us, you will be responsible for arranging another service provider if you wish to do so. Otherwise, you may not be able to top-up your Meter electronically.
9.5 Termination of this Agreement will not affect the accrued rights of either you or us existing before such expiry or termination.
10. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
10.1 We don’t limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury caused by our negligent acts or omissions.
10.2 If you suffer any loss or damage, our responsibility to you will be limited to a maximum liability of £10,000 in any calendar year.
10.3 Unless this Agreement states otherwise, we are not responsible for any loss or damage that cannot be reasonably expected under this Agreement, however, we shall be responsible for loss or damage you suffer that can be reasonably expected as a result of our breach of this Agreement or our failing to use reasonable care and skill.
10.4 We cannot guarantee that the Service we provide will never be faulty and we are not responsible for any loss or damage which cannot reasonably be expected including, direct or indirect loss due to:
(a) disruption due to technical failure, testing and/or Routine Maintenance being carried out by a third party (including but not limited to any Network Operator or Merchants);
(b) reasons outside our control including, severe adverse weather conditions, industrial disputes or changes in legal and/or regulatory requirements.
(c) you using the Service negligently or in breach of this Agreement;
(d) suspension or closing of your Account due to your failure to adhere to the security requirements in accordance with clause 5; or
(e) failure arising from any misuse of the Service or failure of your equipment.
11. HOW WE MAY USE YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION
This section explains how we use the information we collect about you when you use the Service. We will tell you if we significantly change the information we ask for or the way we use your information.
How We Collect Information:
11.1 You agree that we may receive and transfer any information in connection with our Service in accordance with these terms and conditions, our Privacy Policy or otherwise in accordance with any relevant legislation and/or regulation.
11.2 We may collect information about you when you use our Website; or correspond with us by phone, email or otherwise; or in the course of us providing you with Services. We may receive information about you from third parties, such as our Network Operator or Merchants.
11.3 Information we collect includes, but is not limited to: your name, Energy Customer account and/or PAN details, your IP address, operating system, browser type, financial information (including Payment Card details), and your transaction history when using the Service.
11.4 We, our employees and/or agents, contractors, and companies within the SSE group, may use your information to:
(a) identify you;
(b) detect and prevent crime, fraud or loss;
(c) contact you (or authorise third parties to contact you) and administer your Account and the Service;
(d) train our staff and improve our Service;
Sharing:
11.5 Your information may be shared between us and the following third parties:
(a) companies who assist us in providing the Services in relation to this Agreement (including but not limited to any Network Operator or Merchant); and/or
(b) regulatory bodies, for example our regulator, Ofgem;
11.6 We may also monitor and record any communications we have with you, including telephone calls e-mails and web chat, to make sure we are providing a good service and meeting our regulatory and legal responsibilities.
11.7 If you provide us with an e-mail address you agree that we may send contract, customer service and other account information to you by e-mail. You agree to notify us of any change to your e-mail address as soon as reasonably practicable.
12. INFORMATION SECURITY
Cookies:
12.1 Our Website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. This helps us to provide you with a good experience when you browse our Website and also allows us to improve our Website in various ways.
Linking to our Website:
12.2 You may bookmark our Website, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or that of the SSE group, the Network Operator or Merchants.
12.3 You must not establish a link with our Website or the Service in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part where none exists.
12.4 Our Website must not be framed on any other website, nor may you create a link to any part of our Website.
Third Party Links and Resources on our Website:
12.5 Where our Website contains links to other websites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your information only. We have no control over the contents of those third party sites or resources and accept no liability for loss or damage resulting from you accessing or using such websites (except where we have failed to use reasonable care and skill or otherwise breached this Agreement).
13. INFORMATION ABOUT THE SERVICE WE PROVIDE AND OUR COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
13.1 Details of our complaint handling process, including the availability of our independent dispute resolution service are set out at
https://www.sse.co.uk/about-us/sse-and-you/making-a-complaint#item1 or by contacting us to request a copy on the Customer Service Telephone Number: 0345 026 0677.
13.2 If you have a complaint in relation to the Service call us on 0800 975 8311. If our adviser cannot help, please ask for a manager. If you remain unhappy, please write to the Head of Customer Service team, PO Box 7506, Perth PH1 3QR or send an e-mail to
[email protected]
13.3 If you are still unsatisfied and we agree that you can refer your complaint before 8 weeks have passed, or if 8 weeks have passed since you first registered your complaint, you can contact Financial Ombudsman Service (who are an independent body to investigate complaints) on 0800 023 4 567 or e-mail:
[email protected] or in writing to The Financial Ombudsman Service, Exchange Tower, London E14 9SR
14. ASSIGNMENT
14.1 This Agreement is personal to you and you may only transfer it to someone else with our prior written agreement.
14.2 We may assign, novate or transfer all or any part of our rights and/or our obligations under this Agreement and subcontract any of our obligations under this Agreement without your consent to another party (including but not limited to the SSE group). We will always notify you in writing if this happens, but this will not affect your rights or our obligations under this Agreement.
15. VARIATION
meeting any legal and regulatory requirements. We shall notify you of any variation to these terms and conditions on our Website and/or by email to you as soon as reasonably practicable. If we make a detrimental change you are entitled to end this Agreement at any time without penalty, otherwise the variation will be deemed to apply.
15.2 We can vary or discontinue any part of the Services at our sole discretion. If we vary any part of the Services, then we will email you to let you know of the variation as soon as reasonably practicable before the variation begins to apply. If you do not wish to accept a variation which is to your material detriment, you have the right to end this Agreement, otherwise the variation will be deemed to apply.
16. ENFORCEMENT OF RIGHTS
16.1 We, and you, can enforce any rights and obligations under this Agreement even if there is a delay in doing so.
16.2 If this Agreement is found to be unenforceable in whole or in part by any court of law or other regulatory or competent body, this will not affect any other part of this Agreement.
17. NOTICES
17.1 Notices given by us under this Agreement will be in writing and delivered by hand, sent by post or by e-mail. We will send notices to your billing address or by e-mail (to the e-mail address registered against your Account).
17.2 We will assume you’ve received the notice two (2) working days after we’ve sent it unless we receive evidence to the contrary.
17.3 Unless otherwise stated in this Agreement, you must send notice(s) by post to: Smart Pay As You Go Online Payments, Company Secretary, SSE Electricity Limited, Inveralmond House, 200 Dunkeld Road, Perth, PH1 3GH.
18. THIRD PARTY RIGHTS
18.1 This clause 18 is only applicable if the Address is in England or Wales.
18.2 A person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to enforce any term of this Agreement.
19. LEGISLATION AND STATUTORY OBLIGATIONS
No provision of this Agreement is intended to confer any right or impose any obligation which is incompatible with our statutory or regulatory rights and obligations. This Agreement shall be construed accordingly.
20. GOVERNING LAW
20.1 If the Address is in Scotland this Agreement shall be governed by Scots Law. Any disputes arising shall be dealt with by the Scottish Courts.
20.2 If the Address is in England or Wales this Agreement shall be governed by the Laws of England and Wales. Any disputes arising shall be dealt with by the English Courts.
SSE and associated brands: Southern Electric, Scottish Hydro, SWALEC and Atlantic are all trading names of SSE Electricity Limited registered in England and Wales number 04094263 (supply of electricity) and Southern Electric Gas Limited registered in England and Wales number 02716495 (supply of gas). The registered office of SSE Electricity Limited and Southern Electric Gas Limited is No.1 Forbury Place, 43 Forbury Road, Reading, RG1 3JH.
If you register for an online E-Account and you have a Pay As You Go Meter, any payment you make using a debit or credit card for the first time on the E-Account will be subject to a card verification check. 1p will be taken from your card as part of the card verification check and will be refunded to you within 10 Working Days.
January 2020