|
 |
|
|
TERMS AND CONDITIONS
GOVERNING THE USE OF THE
NC CHILD SUPPORT ENFORCEMENT SECTION'S
ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER SERVICE AND ITS
INTERNET PAYMENT WEB SITE
|
|
This Agreement
contains important information and guidelines for using the North Carolina
Division of Social Services, Child Support Enforcement Section's (NC CSE)
Electronic Funds Transfer Service and its Internet Payment Web Site (NC Child
Support IPWS).
By authorizing an electronic funds transfer to be made for child support, or by
accessing the NC Child Support IPWS, you indicate your acknowledgment and
acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.
NOTICE REGARDING MANDATORY WAGE WITHHOLDING
An Internet payment
arrangement cannot replace federally mandated wage withholding. If you are
a noncustodial parent and your order requires wage
withholding, the Child Support agency may take withholding action or any
other collection action without further notice to you, even though you are
making or have made Internet payments. If you are
currently under an income withholding order, making Internet payments
will not result in the cancellation of your income
withholding order.
This statement of Terms and
Conditions is called the "Agreement"
and contains the rules and responsibilities of all participants in the NC Child Support IPWS.
I. DEFINITIONS
In this Agreement, capitalized terms shall
have the meaning set forth in this section:
"Automated Clearing House (ACH)
Network" is the funds transfer system, governed by the National
Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA) Operating Rules that provides for the
interbank clearing of electronic entries for participating financial
institutions.
"Bank Account"
means the checking or savings account from which all Internet Electronic Funds Transfer payments
will be made. Your Bank Account must be held at a financial institution
within the United States. You must be an authorized signer on the bank account
in order to authorize a bank draft against the bank account.
"Business Day" means Monday through
Friday, excluding state, federal and Federal Reserve holidays.
"Convenience Fee" is a fee that is allowed under the provisions of North Carolina
G.S. 147-86.22 and in accordance with the Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS)
Cash Management Plan to offset the cost of providing a credit card service.
The convenience fee for using this service is $5.00. This fee is separate from and in addition to
the primary child support payment.
"Credit Card" means the card issued by a financial institution or
retail merchant that allows the holder to obtain cash and/ or purchase goods or
services on credit.
"Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)" is the mechanism for moving money
electronically from one financial institution to another.
"Internet Payment Web Site Account"
refers to the Electronic Funds Transfer account that you have registered with the NC Child Support
IPWS.
"Initiated" means the
creation of an Internet web payment by entering Payment Instructions and
scheduling a payment with the NC Child Support IPWS.
"Master Participant Index (MPI)
Number" uniquely identifies a participant to the child support
system.
"NC Child Support
IPWS" means the NC Child Support Internet Payment Web Site used
for processing child support payments via the Internet.
"Non-Business Days" are Saturday,
Sunday, and state, federal, and Federal Reserve holidays.
"Password" is the unique sequence of
alpha/numeric characters you have designated to secure access to your
Electronic Funds Transfer Internet Payment Web Site Account. It is important to remember and protect
your password.
"Payment Delivery Date" is the date you select for Electronic
Funds Transfer payments to be drafted from
your bank account and credited to your child support account. If the
Payment Delivery Date falls on a Non-Business Day the funds will be
withdrawn the next Business Day.
"Payment Instructions" means the
information provided by you for identification of a web payment to be made
to a child support case(s) (such as, but not limited to, non-custodial
parent's name, non-custodial parent's social security number, non-custodial
parent's MPI number, payment amount, and payment date).
"Posted Date"
is the Business Day the payment is applied to your child support account.
"Processing Period" is the period of time from two (2)
Business Days prior to the Payment Delivery Date and continuing up to the
Posted Date.
"Regulation E"
is the regulation promulgated by the Federal Reserve Board of Governors
in order to ensure consumers of a minimum level of
protection in disputes arising from electronic funds transfers.
"Scheduled Payments" are any
Internet payments that you have Initiated but which are not within the
Processing Period.
"We,"
"us," and "our(s)" refer to the NC
Division of Social Services, NC Child Support Enforcement Section (NC
CSE), the NC Child Support IPWS, and/or its agents.
"User ID" is the unique sequence of
alpha-numeric characters you have chosen at the time of
Electronic Funds Transfer service registration to
identify yourself to NC Child Support IPWS.
"You" and "your(s)"
refers to each person who registers and/or uses the NC Child Support IPWS, and
each person who uses the NC Child Support IPWS with the permission of a
registered user. You may be a noncustodial parent making payments on your
own behalf; you may be an employer withholding funds from a noncustodial
parent at the direction of NC CSE, or any other party making payments on
behalf of a non-custodial parent.
II. USER
REQUIREMENTS
In order to use the NC Child
Support IPWS to register for Electronic Funds Transfer or to make a credit card payment,
you must be a legal owner of the Bank Account,
which you register with the NC Child Support IPWS and/or the Credit Card.
You must also have a valid e-mail account and access to the Internet.
III. USING THE NC CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT WEB
SITE ELECTRONIC FUNDS TRANSFER SERVICE
Once you have submitted the information necessary to register with the NC Child Support IPWS
for Electronic Funds Transfer and we
have verified your Bank Account through the ACH network, you will be
mailed, through the US Postal Service, your User ID and Password. This
Password is the confidential security code that is required for access to
your Internet Payment Web Site Account when you sign on, or to
request any administrative assistance from NC Child Support IPWS Customer
Service staff during the life of your NC Child Support IPWS
Account.
The password that you select is assigned for the life of your NC Child Support
IPWS Account; however, you have the ability to change it at anytime.
By registering with the NC Child
Support IPWS and providing the information to correctly identify the child
support account on which to apply child support payments, you authorize NC
Child Support IPWS to follow the Payment Instructions. When NC Child
Support IPWS receives a Payment Instruction, you authorize NC CSE through
the NC Child Support IPWS to debit your Bank Account and apply the
payment(s) on the Payment Delivery Date.
Once
it is determined that your NC Child Support IPWS Payment request was
successfully completed, you will receive a confirmation number and
confirmation will be sent to you by e-mail.
You
may cancel or edit Scheduled Payments by following the directions within
the application. There is no charge for canceling or editing Scheduled
Payments. We may not have a reasonable opportunity to act on any
cancellation or edit order given after a payment is in the Processing
Period and it is not possible to cancel or edit a payment that has been
"Posted."
If you would like information about
attempting to cancel or edit any payment which is in the "Processing
Period", you must call the NC Child Support IPWS Customer Service Unit at
1-877-361-5437. The hours are Monday-Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.,
Eastern Standard Time (EST), excluding state and federal holidays.
Although we will make every effort to accommodate your request we will
have no liability for failing to do so.
Cancellation or edit requests received by the NC Child
Support IPWS within two (2) business days prior to the scheduled payment date
(i.e., within the Processing Period) will be accepted only if we have a
reasonable opportunity to act on such requests. If you call, the NC Child
Support IPWS Customer Service staff, they will also require you to present
your request in writing.
IV. USING THE NC CHILD SUPPORT PAYMENT WEB SITE CREDIT CARD PAYMENT SERVICE
Once you have submitted the required personal and credit card information to authorize a child
support payment by Credit Card, the Credit Card information will be validated by the web site.
Once the Credit Card account is validated, you will be notified immediately by e-mail. The
e-mail will provide you a record of the authorized child support payment, the calculated
convenience fee, a confirmation number, and the payment time and date. Payment requests
received before 11:00 p.m. will be made within two (2) business days from the date the payment
is confirmed on the web site.
LIMITATIONS ON USE
NC Child Support IPWS reserves the
right to limit your use of the Internet payment service by imposing
limits, hold times, or other measures if we believe that suspicious
activity has occurred or may occur.
TERMINATION OF REGISTRATION
The NC CSE and/or its agents have taken steps to
safeguard the integrity of its data and prevent unauthorized access to
information maintained by the NC Child Support IPWS. These measures are
designed and intended to prevent corruption of data, block unknown and
unauthorized access to our systems and information, and to provide
reasonable protection of private information in our possession. NC CSE
and/or its agents have the right to terminate your NC Child Support IPWS
registration, or to reject or reverse any transaction(s) you initiate at
any time and for any reason, including, but not limited to:
1. Using the NC Child Support IPWS Service
(directly or indirectly) for any unlawful purpose;
2. In any way attempting to corrupt the
security of the NC Child Support IPWS, and/or
3. Having payments returned by the bank for any reason including but not limited to
non-sufficient funds, closed account, stop payment, etc.
AVAILABILITY
The NC Child Support IPWS is intended to be
available twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week. However, the NC
Child Support IPWS may be unavailable from time to time for scheduled
maintenance. There may also be unscheduled down time, but we will work to
minimize such interruptions in service. In the unusual event that system
interruptions may result in a delay in processing payments, scheduled
payments will be processed as soon as possible upon completion of any
system maintenance. User agrees that NC CSE and/or its agents are not
liable for any loss resulting from any delay in processing
payments.
DISCLAIMER OF LIABILITY
NC CSE and/or its agents will
use its best efforts to apply all your payments properly. However, NC CSE
and/or its agents incur no liability for damages suffered by you as a
result of your unsuccessful attempts to use the NC Child Support IPWS.
This disclaimer applies to any actions that are performed by any entity
other than NC Child Support IPWS in connection with your attempted use of
the NC Child Support IPWS. Damages for which NC CSE and/or its agents
shall not be responsible include, but are not limited to, fees or charges
assessed by your financial institution, telephone service provider, or
Internet service provider. Furthermore, NC CSE and/or its agents shall not
be responsible for any damages arising from or related to NC Child Support
IPWS's inability to complete any payments initiated by you through the NC
Child Support IPWS because of the existence of any one or more of the
following circumstances:
1. If your Bank
Account does not contain sufficient funds to complete the
Electronic Funds Transfer transaction;
2. If the NC Child Support
IPWS Service is not working properly and you know or have been advised by
NC Child Support IPWS about the malfunction before you execute the
transaction;
3. If you provide NC Child Support IPWS with incorrect information, including but
not limited to the name, social security number, MPI number, or account information for the
child support payment(s);
4. If the cancellation of a transaction was not received by NC Child Support
IPWS in a timely manner; or
5. If circumstances beyond our control (e.g. flood, labor strike,
national emergency, etc.) prevent the completion of the transaction despite
our reasonable precautions.
You are responsible for the
installation, maintenance and operation of your computer and your browser
software. The risk of error, failure or non-performance is your risk and
includes the risk that you do not operate your computer or your software
properly. NC CSE and/or its agents are not responsible for any errors or
failures from any malfunction of your computer or software. NC CSE and/or
its agents are not responsible for any electronic virus or viruses that
you may encounter. NC CSE and/or its agents are not responsible for
computer virus related problems that may be associated with your use of NC
Child Support IPWS Service. NC CSE and/or its agents have no liability to
you for any damage or other loss, direct or consequential, which you may
suffer or incur by reason of your use of your computer or your
software.
NC CSE and/or its agents are not responsible for verification of the identity of recipients. NC CSE
and/or its agents are not responsible for payments made to unintended recipients due to the input
of incorrect information (including but not limited to social security number, MPI number, etc.)
by you.
PASSWORD AND SECURITY
You agree not to give or make available to any unauthorized individuals your Electronic Funds Transfer account
User ID or Password.
You are responsible for all payments you authorize using the NC Child Support IPWS Service. If
persons use, with or without your consent, your User ID and Password to access your account,
you are responsible for any transactions they authorize. If you believe that your User ID or
Password have been lost or stolen or that someone has or may attempt to use the NC Child
Support IPWS Service without your consent or has transferred money without your permission,
you must notify NC CSE, NC Child Support IPWS, and/or its agents at once by calling the NC
Child Support IPWS Customer Service Unit at 1-877-361-5437, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern
Standard Time (EST), any Business Day.
YOUR LIABILITY FOR UNAUTHORIZED TRANSFERS
If you learn that
there has been an unauthorized debit(s) made from your bank account from
the NC Child Support IPWS; you must notify the NC Child Support IPWS in
writing within four (4) Business Days after the discovery of such a
transaction. If NC Child Support IPWS is notified within these four (4)
Business Days your liability will be limited to a maximum of $50. If you
do not tell us within four (4) Business Days after you learn of such loss
or theft you could lose as much as $500.00. If you do not notify NC Child
Support IPWS within ninety (90) days after the earlier of the date you
learn of such unauthorized transaction or the date you are sent a
statement reporting the unauthorized transaction, your liability may
include the amounts transferred without your authorization after the
ninety (90) day period. If a good reason (such as a long trip or a
hospital stay) prevented you from notifying NC Child Support IPWS, we may
extend the period. These limits are outlined in the current edition of the Operating Rules
of the ACH Network and Regulation E. Liability for unauthorized Credit Card transactions shall
be governed by the terms of your agreement with the financial institution that
issued your Credit Card.
ERRORS AND QUESTIONS
In case of unauthorized transfers from, suspected
errors in or, questions about your Internet Payment Web Site Account, you
should, as soon as possible:
1. Telephone the NC Child Support IPWS Customer Service Unit at
1-877-361-5437 during customer service hours. The hours are Monday-Friday,
8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Eastern Standard Time (EST), excluding state and
federal holidays; or
2. Write us at: NC Child Support Centralized Collections, P. O. Box 900020,
Raleigh, NC 27675-9020.
If you think that an error has
occurred on your Internet Payment Web Site account, or you need more
information about a transaction that has been posted to your Internet
Payment Web Site Account, you must:
1.
Tell us your name, social security number, and User ID;
2. Describe the error or the transaction you
are unsure about, and explain as clearly as you can why you believe it is
an error or why you need more information; and
3. Tell us the date and dollar amount of the suspected error.
If you tell us verbally, we
will also require that you send your complaint in writing within ten (10)
business days after your verbal notification. We will usually determine
whether an error occurred within ten (10) business days after we hear from you
and will correct any error promptly. If we need more time, however, we may
take up to 45 days to investigate your complaint or question. If we decide
to do this, we will credit your account within ten (10) business days for the
amount you think is in error, so that you will have the use of the money
during the time it takes us to complete our investigation. If we ask you
to put your complaint or question in writing and we do not receive it
within ten (10) business days of our request, we may not credit your account.
For errors involving new accounts, point-of-sale, or foreign-initiated
transactions, we may take up to ninety (90) days to investigate your complaint or
question. For new accounts, we may take up to twenty (20) business days to credit
your account for the amount you think is in error. We will tell you the
results within three (3) business days after completing our investigation. If
we decide that there was no error, we will send you a written explanation.
Required time frames to investigate complaints are as outlined in the current edition of the
Operating Rules of the ACH Network and Regulation E. You may ask for
copies of the documents that we used in our investigation. All copies will
be provided unless they include information which can not be released due
to confidentiality.
DISCLOSURE OF
ACCOUNT INFORMATION TO THIRD PARTIES
It is
our general policy to treat your account information as confidential.
However, we may disclose information to third parties about your account,
or the transactions you make, in the following situations:
1. Where it is necessary for completing
transactions, such as to the processing Financial Institution;
2. In order to verify existence and condition
of your account for a third party such as a credit bureau or
merchant;
3. If you give us your written permission;
4. In order to comply with government agency and court orders; or
5. For any other reasons stated in the NC Child Support IPWS Privacy Policy.
FEES AND CHARGES
By registering with the NC Child Support IPWS for Electronic Funds Transfer
and accepting these Terms and Conditions
you are authorizing withdrawals from your bank account for payment to NC CSE. If your
account balance is insufficient to fund any authorized withdrawal, you further authorize
the withdrawal of any and such unpaid amounts, together with all applicable fees and
penalties, on any date that funds may be available in your account. Any resulting debt
to NC CSE is subject to collection action. A fee of $25.00, interest, and other penalties
as provided by law will be charged for any returned item.
By accessing the NC Child Support IPWS to authorize child supports payments with your
Credit Card you are authorizing payment from your Credit Card for the designated
payment amount and the applicable convenience fee.
IN THE EVENT A PAYMENT TRANSACTION IS RETURNED
By using the NC Child Support
IPWS Electronic Funds Transfer service, you are requesting the system to make payments for you from your
Bank Account. If we are unable to complete the scheduled payment
transaction for any reason associated with your Bank Account (for example,
there are not sufficient funds in your Bank Account to cover the
transaction), the scheduled payment transaction will not be completed. In
these instances, you will receive a notification from the NC Child Support
IPWS. In such case, you agree that you will reimburse NC CSE immediately
the scheduled payment transaction amount that has been returned.
If your account balance is insufficient to fund any authorized withdrawal, you further
authorize the withdrawal of any and such unpaid amounts, together with all applicable
fees and penalties, on any date that funds may be available in your account. Any
resulting debt to NC CSE is subject to collection action.
If a
scheduled payment transaction is returned for any reason, your Internet
payment web site account will be closed immediately and you may be subject
to fees and charges as set forth in the Fees and Charges provision of
these Terms and Conditions.
ALTERATIONS AND AMENDMENTS
This Agreement may be altered or amended by NC CSE and/or its agents from time to time.
In the event any material terms of this Agreement are altered, NC Child Support IPWS
shall provide notice to you not less than twenty-one (21) days prior to the effective
date of such changes. Any use of the NC Child Support IPWS after NC Child Support IPWS provides you a notice of any change to this Agreement will constitute your agreement to such change(s). Further, NC Child Support IPWS, from time to time, may revise or update the programs, services, and/or related material, which may render all such prior versions obsolete. Consequently, NC Child Support IPWS reserves the right to terminate this Agreement as to all such prior versions of the programs, services, and/or related material and limit access to NC Child Support IPWS's more recent revisions and updates.
TERMINATION OR SUSPENSION
NC CSE and/or its agents may terminate or suspend
service to you at any time and/or revoke your right to use the NC Child
Support IPWS if necessary. Neither termination nor suspension shall affect
your child support liability or obligations under this Agreement.
INFORMATION AUTHORIZATION
You agree that NC Child Support
IPWS reserves the right to obtain financial information regarding your
account from a payee or financial institution to resolve payment-posting
problems.
REJECTION OF PAYMENTS
Your enrollment with the NC Child Support IPWS may not be completed if NC Child Support
IPWS cannot verify your Bank Account or other necessary information. Should your credit
card transaction be declined, you will need to contact your credit card company to determine
why the payment was not authorized.
DISPUTES
In the event of a dispute regarding NC CSE and/or any
agent of the NC Child Support IPWS including but not limited to Child
Support Enforcement Staff, Customer Service staff, etc., you and NC CSE
and/or its agents agree to resolve the dispute by looking to this
Agreement. You agree that this Agreement is the complete and exclusive
statement of the agreement between you and NC CSE and/or its agents which
supersedes any proposal or prior agreement, oral or written, and any other
communications between you and NC CSE and/or its agents relating to the
subject matter of this Agreement. If there is a conflict between, any
statement of an employee, agent, or contractor of the NC CSE and the terms
of this Agreement, the terms of this Agreement will prevail.
CAPTIONS
The
captions of sections in this Agreement are for convenience only and do not
control or affect the meaning or construction of any of the provisions of
this Agreement.
GOVERNING
LAW
This Agreement shall be governed by
and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of North Carolina,
without regard to its conflicts of law provisions.
STATEMENTS
Notification describing transactions initiated by you to update or modify your Internet Payment
Web Site Account shall be e-mailed to you by NC Child Support IPWS. You may access the NC Child
Support IPWS to obtain a record of the previous six (6) month period of scheduled electronic payments drafted
from your bank account.
|
| |
