Marts Oil Service
Terms and Conditions
YOU SHOULD READ CAREFULLY THE FOLLOWING TERMS AND CONDITIONS ("TERMS") BEFORE PURCHASING HEATING OIL FROM MARTS OIL SERVICE, INC. THESE TERMS AFFECT YOUR LEGAL RIGHTS BY, AMONG OTHER THINGS, ESTABLISHING LIMITATIONS ON OUR LIABILITY AND CHARGING YOU AN EARLY TERMINATION FEE. THESE TERMS BECOME EFFECTIVE, AND YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS, BY EITHER RECEIVING OR PAYING FOR OIL USING YOUR ACCOUNT OR BY NOT CLOSING YOUR ACCOUNT WITHIN THIRTY DAYS OF RECEIPT OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS.
Thank you for choosing to purchase your heating oil requirements from Marts Oil Service, Inc. ("we", "us", "our", "Marts" or the "Company"). You the customer are referred to in these Terms as "you" "your" or "customer"
Please call us at (866) 935-2360 to talk to one of our customer service representatives about our various services or go to our Internet web site, www.martsoil.com to see the latest information on our products and services.
The following Terms are the agreement between you and the Company and govern your purchases of heating oil from the Company during the time periods set forth below.
A. TERM; ENROLLMENT PERIOD
1. If you are a new Marts customer, these Terms begin for you on the date you enroll with us for deliveries. If you are a new customer, and you have enrolled in our automatic delivery program, these Terms will remain in effect for twelve months plus an additional number of months until the next following May 31.
2. If you are an existing Marts automatic delivery customer, these Terms begin for you effective May 1, 2009.
3. If you are an existing Marts customer (but not on automatic delivery), these terms are subject to change without notice from delivery to delivery.
4. Once you become a Marts automatic delivery customer, these Terms will automatically renew each June 1 for a twelve month period ending the following May 31 and You will remain on automatic delivery with us, unless and until you take action to terminate automatic delivery during a May 1 to May 15 Open Enrollment Periods (See Term; Enrollment Period Section A 5). If you call us to terminate automatic delivery at a time outside of a May 1 to May 15 Open Enrollment Period, the termination may be subject to an early termination fee for each fuel tank for which delivery service is terminated early. If you call us to terminate automatic delivery during our May 1 to May 15 Open Enrollment Period, you may become a call-in customer for the next twelve month period.
5. Annually, each May 1 to May 15, we will have an automatic heating oil delivery enrollment period (hereafter called our "Open Enrollment Period"). Our Open Enrollment Period is your opportunity to review your automatic delivery status and to elect to remove your account from our automatic delivery by the applicable May 15 for the next twelve month period beginning June 1. See our section below on Fuel Delivery Options for more information about your delivery options.
6. These Terms remain in effect until we issue revised Terms to you. Any revised Terms we issue to you will take effect on next June 1 after their issuance to you, provided that we may make nonmaterial changes in the Terms at any time upon 30 days prior notice to you. In the event such nonmaterial changes in the Terms create a material adverse effect for you, you will have 30 days after our notice to terminate your automatic delivery status without payment of the early termination fee. If you continue to order heating oil from us after receipt of any revised Terms, you will be deemed to have accepted them.
B. FUEL DELIVERY OPTIONS
1. AUTOMATIC DELIVERY. For automatic delivery customers, Marts determines your schedule of oil deliveries. Our goal is to deliver fuel to you no later than when the level of oil in your tank reaches approximately 30% of its total capacity. We estimate your oil use based on your past consumption history with us. For new automatic delivery customers, we estimate your oil consumption by using typical residential consumption rates of 600 to 700 gallons of oil per year. If your home uses more than this typical amount, or if you at any time make a change in lifestyle or other modification that affects your home's oil consumption, please notify our office so that we can adjust our delivery records. In the unlikely event that your tank runs out of oil prior to delivery, call our customer service office at (866) 935-2360 to report the fuel outage. Once YOU ENROLL IN OUR AUTOMATIC DELIVERY PROGRAM, we will maintain your account on an automatic delivery basis until we or you notify the other in writing to stop automatic deliveries. early termination fees FOR EACH FUEL TANK FOR WHICH DELIVERY SERVICE IS TERMINATED EARLY MAY APPLY.
Customer initiated deliveries of less than 150 gallons are subject to 72-hour notice and additional delivery fee.
You agree that outages resulting from past due account balances, a change in your rate of consumption of fuel per degree day from your prior deliveries, your storage tank and/or venting problems, incorrect usage information supplied by you, or your account being placed on call-in delivery status are not the responsibility of Marts. We will bill you for service charges resulting from these types of situations at our normal rates for service calls.
2. CALL-IN DELIVERY. If you do not enroll in automatic delivery, or if you prefer to call us to schedule your heating oil deliveries, we accept orders on an "as available" basis with a minimum delivery quantity of 150 gallons, or an additional delivery fee will apply. Your price per gallon for call-in deliveries will be at the variable rate then in effect but shall be no less than the variable rate price per gallon for automatic delivery customers.
3. CHANGES OUTSIDE OF DELIVERY ENROLLMENT PERIOD. If you change your delivery status from automatic delivery to call-in service, your oil-pricing plan may be affected. Your change may also be subject to an early termination fee as provided in these Terms (See Early Termination Section F). Please ask us for full details regarding the effects of any change on your account.
C. Price PLANS.
1. Price Protection Plan. During an Open Enrollment Period, you may enroll in our then current price protection plan ("Plan"). Our price protection plan includes a maximum gross retail price per gallon for the number of gallons of heating oil selected during the effective dates of the program. You may enroll in a Plan during an Open Enrollment Period upon your payment of an enrollment fee for each gallon of oil you choose to protect.
Once you enroll in our Plan, there are no refunds or credits on your enrollment fee if you fail to use all gallons covered under the Plan, or if your account is canceled prior to the Plan's expiration date. All gallons delivered to the account during effective period of the Plan shall be applied against the account's available balance of price protected gallons. If you choose to purchase more than one batch of price protected gallons for the same account, then all gallons delivered are applied to the initial batch purchased - until that batch has been exhausted - then to subsequent batches. Once all price protected gallons have been delivered, subsequent deliveries will be made at our then prevailing variable rate.
Each year, usually in the spring, you will receive a written notice to your invoice address inviting you to enter into a new price protection plan for the upcoming heating season. The notice will require you to take specific action to accept the new price protection plan. If you do not accept the new price protection plan by the date and in the manner required by the notice, your Plan will expire, and thereafter, deliveries after the expiration date will be made at our then prevailing variable rate. Note: Expiration of your price protection does not automatically remove you from automatic delivery program; you must contact us to remove yourself from our automatic delivery program. See Section B 1 above.
We shall not be responsible for any failure to perform or for any delay in performance of the Terms where the failure or delay is due to acts of God, war, terrorism, embargo, explosion, sabotage, flood or other weather event, accident; transportation interruption or delay, oil shortage or supply disruption; strikes, lockouts or without limiting the generality of the foregoing, any other circumstances of like character beyond our control. Should our performance be prevented or delayed by any of the events described in the prior sentence, our performance shall be excused during the period so affected, and we shall have the right to terminate any price protection plans in effect, upon notice and without penalty.
2. Variable Price Plan. If you do not enroll in any of our price protection plans, you will automatically be enrolled in our variable price plan. Under our variable price plan, you will pay our variable price per gallon in effect on the date of delivery to you. Our variable rate per gallon is subject to change at any time without notice. Eligible payment discounts may apply. The current gross retail price per gallon may be obtained by calling our customer service department at 866-935-2360. There is no enrollment fee under our variable price plan. Automatic delivery customers under our variable price plan may be subject to an early termination fee (See Early Termination Section F).
3. FIXED PRICE PLAN. You may also choose to enroll into a Fixed Price Plan ("FIXED PLAN"). Our Fixed Plan includes a locked-in gross retail price per gallon for the number of gallons of heating oil selected during the effective dates of the program.
Under this Plan, you are responsible to purchase all gallons contracted for under the Fixed Plan. Unused gallons are billed to the customer at the earlier of i) May 1st or ii) the time of account cancellation and the actual gallons remaining for delivery are forfeited. All gallons delivered to the account during the effective period of the Plan shall be applied against the account's available balance of fixed price gallons. If you choose to purchase more than one batch of fixed price gallons for the same account, then all gallons delivered are applied to the initial batch purchased - until that batch has been exhausted - then to subsequent batches.
4. PARTNER PLAN. If you are a member of the Partner Plan as of August 1, 2009, you may also choose to re-enroll into the Plan for the upcoming season. Our Partner Plan allows for delivery of up to 2,000 gallons of heating oil to a single storage tank per membership period which runs for a 12 month period from the date of enrollment into the Plan, priced at our daily posted wholesale price on the day your order is generated. Enrollment into the Partner Plan requires payment of a separate annual membership fee and is non-refundable once purchased. The Plan is self-renewing at the membership fee and program terms in effect at the time of renewal. The customer will be provided 14 days after the date of billing to cancel their automatic renewal. Note: Expiration of your Plan membership does not automatically remove you from automatic delivery program; you must contact us to remove yourself from our automatic delivery program. See Section B 1 above.
Price guarantees under all plans listed above may be modified to allow for changes in applicable taxes and/or regulatory fees.
D. PAYMENT DISCOUNTS; TERMS; BUDGET PLANS.
We will leave a delivery meter ticket at your property as proof for each delivery we make. This ticket will include the property address, gallons delivered and gross price (prior to any applicable payment discounts that we offer). In addition, we will mail to the billing address of record an itemized invoice and/or payment receipt for the delivery.
You agree to pay for the heating oil we deliver to you. During an Open Enrollment Period, we will mutually determine any applicable discounts and payment plans and methods. Generally, we offer the following payment discount and payment plans, subject to credit approval:
1. TERRIFIC 10 DISCOUNT PLAN. You will receive a 10 cents per gallon discount on your deliveries if you sign-up for our automatic bill payment option. To receive this discount, your full balance must be directly debited from either a bank account or credit card at the date and time of delivery. When enrolled in the Terrific 10 Plan, all charges from Marts will be automatically charged to your bank account or credit card. Further details on this option are in Section E below.
2. FAST 5 DISCOUNT PLAN. You will be mailed an invoice on the next business day after your fuel delivery is made. To get a 5 cents per gallon discount, you must pay the discounted amount shown on your bill within 10 days of the date of fuel delivery.
3. 25-DAY TERMS. You will be mailed an invoice on the next business day after your fuel delivery is made. Pay the full amount listed on the invoice within 25 days of date of fuel delivery to avoid any finance charges or late fees.
4. 12 Month Budget Payment Plan. We calculate the estimated amount of your monthly payment by using your heating oil consumption history to project the total dollar amount of your purchases for the upcoming 12 months - including any applicable fees for the price protection plan, and then add or subtract your beginning account balance, if any. We divide this number by twelve to determine what your monthly budget payment will be. Each month, your statement will list your opening balance, amounts billed during the month, payments received and your ending account balance. Budget payments are due by the 10th of each month. Periodically, we review your account and may adjust your monthly payment amount to reflect any change in projected usage or other changes in the items listed above.
5. PARTNER PLAN. If you choose to enroll into the Partner Plan, we offer two payment options:
a. Deposit Plan. At the time you enroll into the Partner Plan you are required to make an initial deposit equal to $3,500. As fuel deliveries are made during the membership period, the cost of each delivery will be applied against this credit balance. If you exhaust your credit balance, any remaining sales will be billed to you under our 25-day terms as explained in Section D above. At the end of the membership period, any remaining credit balance will be released to be applied against future purchases, or refunded if requested.
b. Convenience Billing Plan. Allows you to defer payment for your fuel delivery until the time of its delivery, at which time your full balance plus a 3.5% convenience fee will be directly debited from either a bank account or credit card. The Plan Membership Fee is debited in full at the time of enrollment.
6. Regardless of payment option you select, you will be mailed an invoice on the next business day after delivery showing the gallons delivered, price per gallon and amount charged to your account.
7. Terms of Payment.
APR: 19.99%. See explanation below for APR1 |
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Grace period for repayment of balance for Purchases |
The grace period is the number of days between the date
of delivery of hearing oil and your payment due date for that delivery. The
grace period is 25 days from the date of delivery. |
Method of computing the balance for Purchases subject to APR |
Total balance of all charges and fees payable in excess of thirty days from date of service or delivery. |
In the event that your account is referred to an outside agency or attorney for collection efforts, you agree to pay all attorney fees, court costs and other collection costs. |
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Fees for paying late |
Late-payment fee: Based on your balance on the business day after the Payment Due Date - $15 if $100 or less; $29 if between $100.01 and $1000; $39 if over $1000. |
1When your payment is late (i.e., not received by 2 p.m., ET, on its Payment Due Date), the APR may be applied to those balances in excess of thirty days for which the payment was late or not received. Marts Oil Service reserves the right to change the APR on your account.
E. Automatic Payment Plans
1. PAYMENT BY CREDIT CARD. You may choose to participate in the Terrific 10 Discount Plan by using a credit card to automatically charge your heating oil purchases. As an automatic delivery customer, approximately five days prior to your delivery we will obtain a payment authorization from your credit card provider. This authorization reserves credit availability for our oil delivery charges. The amount of the authorization is calculated using 120% of our anticipated delivery quantity times the current price for oil. (Initial deliveries are based on 120% of maximum tank size capacity times the current price for oil.) Once the delivery has actually been made, we will charge your credit card for the actual amount due and then release any excess funds. If you order oil using our call-in service, we obtain a payment authorization from your credit card provider at the time that you place your order. If you choose to cancel a delivery after it has been initially authorized, we will release our payment authorization. Your actual credit availability will be governed by the rules of your credit provider.
2. DEBIT CARD. You may choose to participate in the Terrific 10 Discount Plan by using a debit card to automatically charge your heating oil purchases. As an automatic delivery customer, approximately five days prior to your delivery we will obtain a payment authorization from your debit card provider. This authorization reserves funds availability for our oil delivery charges. The amount of the authorization is calculated using 120% of our anticipated delivery quantity times the current price for oil. (Initial deliveries are based on 120% of maximum tank size capacity times the current price for oil.) Once the delivery has actually been made, we will charge your debit card for the actual amount due and then release any excess funds. If you order oil using our call-in service, we obtain a payment authorization from your debit card provider at the time that you place your order. You represent and warrant that you have the right to authorize us to charge the funding account for payments due to Marts Oil Service, and you will indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims by any other owner of the account. You also agree that we are not responsible for any overdraft or insufficient fund situation or charge (including, but not limited to, finance charges, late fees or similar charges) caused by your failure to maintain funds sufficient to pay all payments due. You further agree that we may charge a service fee for any returned payment, including, but not limited to, returns resulting from insufficient funds in your account or the fact that your account is closed or because you provided incorrect account or routing information to us. Currently, you are charged $20.00 per returned payment. You agree to promptly notify us in writing of any changes to the financial institution account information and authorize us to debit such account. If you choose to cancel a delivery after it has been initially authorized, we will release our payment authorization. Your actual funds availability will be governed by the rules of your banking provider.
3. ACH BANK DRAFT. You may choose, subject to credit approval, to participate in our Terrific 10 Discount Plan by having us use an Automated Clearing House (ACH) Bank Draft. To avoid overdraft charges, keep in mind that you will not receive notice of our draft prior to its being processed. Please make sure that adequate fund balances are available at all times. You represent and warrant that you have the right to authorize us to charge the funding account for payments due to Marts Oil Service, and you will indemnify and hold us harmless from any claims by any other owner of the account. You also agree that we are not responsible for any overdraft or insufficient fund situation or charge (including, but not limited to, finance charges, late fees or similar charges) caused by your failure to maintain funds sufficient to pay all payments due. You further agree that we may charge a service fee for any returned payment, including, but not limited to, returns resulting from insufficient funds in your account or the fact that your account is closed or because you provided incorrect account or routing information to us. Currently, you are charged $20.00 per returned payment. You agree to promptly notify us in writing of any changes to the financial institution account information and authorize us to debit such account.
F. Early Termination Fee
1. Except as expressly permitted by these Terms, when you enroll in our automatic delivery program, you are agreeing to maintain automatic delivery with us unless you terminate during the initial cancellation period or during an Open Enrollment Period.
2. You may terminate your automatic delivery service outside of the Open Enrollment Period or cancellation period by sending us written notice of termination; however you may be responsible for an early termination fee of $199 for each fuel tank for which delivery service is terminated early. Payment of the early termination fee does not satisfy other outstanding obligations you owe to us.
3. The early termination fee is not a penalty, but rather a fee to compensate us for your failure to remain an automatic delivery customer as provided in these Terms. We both agree that fixing our actual damages as a result of your failure to remain an automatic delivery customer as agreed would be very difficult. Because of this, we have mutually determined that $199 is a fair and reasonable estimate of our actual damages in light of the magnitude of the actual or anticipated harm that we will suffer if you fail to remain in the automatic delivery program as provided in these Terms.
4. If your account has been established on a call-in delivery basis account, you may terminate your account and these Terms at any time without payment of any early termination fee.
5. You can remove your account from automatic delivery without paying an early termination fee during the initial cancellation period and during an Open Enrollment Period. In addition, early termination fees do not apply to any accounts enrolled in automatic delivery for the previous 48 months, with no interruptions in service, or if the account was enrolled into automatic delivery prior to January 3, 2008.
G. Cancellation
1. You can cancel a newly activated automatic delivery account without paying an early termination fee during the initial cancellation period. Your initial cancellation period is the earlier of 14 calendar days from the date you open your account with us; or 14 calendar days from your enrollment date for automatic fuel delivery. Even if you cancel oil deliveries, you must pay all fuel, service and other charges (i.e., price protection enrollment fees) incurred prior to your cancellation during this initial period.
2. YOU CAN CANCEL YOUR ACCOUNT during the initial cancellation period in one of the FOLLOWING ways: BY CALLING US AT (866) 935-2360, BY LOGGING ONTO OUR WEBSITE AT WWW.MARTSOIL.COM AND SENDING US A MESSAGE, OR BY WRITING TO US AT P.O. BOX 11287, WILMINGTON, DE 19850-1287. If you do not cancel your account within 14 calendar days of opening your account in one of the 3 ways set forth above, you are deemed to accept these Terms.
3. We can cancel your account at any time, at our option, if you do not pay fuel, service and other charges when due or if you otherwise do not comply with these Terms.
H. Heating and Oil Storage System Problems
1. The oil storage tank and associated piping (including oil lines) belong to you, or the property owner. As such, we neither assume nor accept any responsibility for this equipment or its maintenance. Remediation requirements resulting from spills, leaks or overfills due to the malfunction of this equipment are the responsibility of the tank owner.
2. We strongly encourage all oil storage tanks to be equipped with overfill protection, including the installation of an oil level vent alarm. Frozen oil lines, sludge or heating equipment failures remain your responsibility. We are pleased to offer you the names of companies that could install or repair alarms or your equipment if needed, at your expense. We make no endorsement of their services or pricing policies.
3. We accept no responsibility and we will not be liable for damages that may result from a heating failure, REGARDLESS OF CAUSE.
4. If you have more than one petroleum storage tank located anywhere on your property (either in active use or inactive), it is your responsibility to clearly label each tank to prevent accidental fuel delivery to an incorrect storage tank. We are not responsible for deliveries to incorrect tanks when tanks are not appropriately labeled, and we have not been notified in writing that multiple tanks are located on the property.
I. Limitation of Liability
1. Our liability on all claims of any kind (excluding death), whether based on contract, indemnity, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, for all losses or damages arising out of, connected with, or resulting from the delivery of heating oil, or from the performance or breach thereof, or from any equipment or services covered by or furnished under any service agreement, shall in no case exceed One Thousand ($1,000.00) Dollars.
2. In no event, whether based on contract, indemnity, warranty, tort (including negligence), strict liability or otherwise, shall the Company, its employees and subcontractors be liable for special, incidental, indirect, exemplary or consequential damages.
3. ThESE LimitationS of Liability shall prevail over any conflicting or inconsistent provision contained in any item or document, which comprises the agreement between us and you. The remedies provided in these Terms are exclusive.
J. WAIVER OF SUBROGATION
We both agree to waive any and all rights of subrogation and or recovery, against each other, related to loss or damage as a result of these Terms or the delivery of heating oil, to the extent any loss or damage is covered by your or our insurance. If either of us have loss or damage that is covered by our own insurance, we have no right of recovery against each other and our insurance carrier has no right of recovery by way of subrogation or assignment or otherwise.
K. miscellanous; Policies and Procedures
1. If you experience a problem with a fuel oil delivery, you should call (866) 935-2360 and describe the problem to a Marts Oil Service customer service representative. Alternatively, if you wish to put your comments in writing, your letter should be addressed to Marts Oil Service, Inc., P.O. Box 11287, Wilmington DE 19850-1287 or email your comments to info@martsoil.com
2. Excluding conditions beyond our reasonable control, we will respond to a delivery or service request or concern no later than the next business day after you notify us of your concern by phone or in writing. We are not responsible for a delay or failure to perform our obligations under these Terms if there is an event beyond our reasonable control, including without limitation any of the following types of events: fuel or labor shortage, an interruption in deliveries from our suppliers, embargoes, strikes, riots, war, terrorism, accidents, disorders, acts of God, or acts of any type by any governmental authority. In each and every case, we have the right either to cancel or to postpone any delivery without any liability whatsoever.
3. You may assign your account or these Terms only upon our prior written consent. We must agree in writing to any amendment or modification to these Terms. If a court or agency holds any provision of these Terms to be invalid, void or unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall nevertheless continue in full force and effect. These Terms are governed by the law of the state where the delivery or service is provided. These Terms, the delivery tickets, invoices and the recorded phone calls by us together constitute the entire agreement between us. No other statements are part of our agreement.
4. NOTE TO COMMERCIAL CUSTOMERS: Your heating oil purchases may be subject to various taxes depending upon the jurisdiction. Please make sure that you have notified our office of this obligation to ensure that you are being billed correctly for your purchases. In all events, taxes remain your responsibility and you will reimburse us if we are asked to pay them on your behalf.
5. Our customer service staff is available Mon. - Fri., 8:00 AM to 4:30 PM (excluding holidays) to assist in answering any questions you may have regarding your account.
L. Acceptance of These Terms and Conditions
After you receive these Terms, you may contact us or we may contact you, by telephone or in person. We will record any calls between us with your permission. In our meeting or on our call, we may give you specific details about your protected price plan, including the maximum price per gallon. You agree that by saying "yes", "I agree" or similar words to that effect in the recorded telephonic call to show your agreement to these Terms, the protected pricing plan and the early termination fee, you are accepting our price plan offer and these Terms, and entering into a legally binding agreement, effective as of the date of the recorded telephone call. You agree to the use of electronic communication, including telephonic recordings and similar technology, to enter into other contracts, to place orders and to create other records with us. You agree to the electronic delivery of records of transactions with us.
You accept these Terms by: (A) receiving heating oil deliveries or using our services; OR (B) IF YOU HAVE NOT YET COMMENCED USING OUR SERVICES, BUT YOU HAVE NOT CANCELLED YOUR ACCOUNT WITH US WITHIN 30 DAYS OF OPENING YOUR ACCOUNT.
EFFECTIVE: 8/1/2009
