Would YOU Use This On-Line Payment Website?

[Wssco]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)?

Alabama

I was going to pay a court cost/restitution payment via credit card. After going through the preliminary form completion and clicking on towards the payment page, there was an initial "Terms of Agreement" page that came up, with the following wordage:

"THE WEBSITE AND ONLINE PAYMENTS SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, AS TO THE MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR USE OR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT OR ANY OTHER WARRANTY, CONDITION, GUARANTY, OR REPRESENTATION.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE IS ENTIRELY AT YOUR SOLE RISK. WE WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE TO YOU OR ANY THIRD PARTIES FOR ANY DIRECT OR INDIRECT, CONSEQUENTIAL OR SPECIAL DAMAGES OR LOSSES YOU MAY INCUR IN CONNECTION WITH THIS WEBSITE, YOUR USE THEREOF OR ANY OF THE DATA TRANSMITTED THROUGH OR RESIDING ON OUR SYSTEM.

You agree not to challenge the use of any electronic payment and additionally agree that any action brought by the owner of this website against you to enforce any electronic payment for which any benefit has been provided to you in any way shall entitle the owner to per se probable cause for criminal action for theft of services or for civil recovery of all fees paid, plus service fees, plus costs, plus attorney fees, plus any incidental or associated damages proven.

The submission process uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption to virtually eliminate the possibility of unauthorized access to your private information while it is transferred across the Internet. Your personal data is NOT stored on computers administered by the owner of this website. However, by submitting this information electronically you are acknowledging that the owner of this website assumes no liability for data submitted via this Internet platform.

This agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Georgia as such laws are applied to agreements entered into and to be performed entirely in Georgia. Any cause of action under this agreement shall be brought in the State of Georgia. This Agreement sets forth the entire understanding between the parties."


Take note, I'm in Alabama and the "agreement is governed by the laws of the State of Georgia".

I rarely read terms of contracts, but pay for stuff all the time on-line, with debit/credit cards, and have never been warned ahead of time that "merchantability of the site for the particular purpose" can't reasonably be expected. The way I read those terms, with or without a receipt, somebody could say "We never got a deposit", and I got no recourse.

Am I right, or wrong?

Thanks in advance...

Wayne

 

[justalayman]

Some liabilities are not able to be waived regardless what they tell you. Just the same due to a lot of the bs in that tos i would probably not use them. It sounds like a kid sat and wrote whatever he felt like hoping it is enforceable. Some stuff is; some stuff isn't.


I especially liked this part;

payment for which any benefit has been provided to you in any way shall entitle the owner to per se probable cause for criminal action for theft of services or for civil recovery of all fees paid, plus service fees, plus costs, plus attorney fees, plus any inci

entitles the owner to pro se probable cause for criminal action????

Probable cause is a legal standard that only a court can state is present. I have no idea what the writer
Of that even was intended to mean.

 

[adjusterjack]

I suggest you visit the courthouse and make your payment.

Be sure to get a receipt.

 

[TheGeekess]

I've used that site to pay a traffic ticket; not that big a deal.
Bama tends to farm out their government pay sites, be they local, county or state.

 

[Wssco]

Thanks for the replies so far...but let me express my concerns in a different way. If I make the payment, have an on-line receipt and can show where the bank account was debited for the amount, are my obligations and responsibilities fulfilled? If the transaction gets lost somewhere on their end, it's their problem?

 

[TheGeekess]

Thanks for the replies so far...but let me express my concerns in a different way. If I make the payment, have an on-line receipt and can show where the bank account was debited for the amount, are my obligations and responsibilities fulfilled? If the transaction gets lost somewhere on their end, it's their problem?

I've not had that problem. I have bought car tags online since the service was available, paid my property tax via online payments; the government entity gets their money and I get to drive and keep my home. But certainly keep a hard copy of the receipt, though I'd just as soon keep the PDF file, if available, as keeping dead tree matter.

 

[Wssco]

I've used that site to pay a traffic ticket; not that big a deal.
Bama tends to farm out their government pay sites, be they local, county or state.

I've not had that problem. I have bought car tags online since the service was available, paid my property tax via online payments; the government entity gets their money and I get to drive and keep my home. But certainly keep a hard copy of the receipt, though I'd just as soon keep the PDF file, if available, as keeping dead tree matter.

OK...guess I was on a paranoia trip. What it is, we're helping out a young lady whose lawyer got her into the "second chance program", and so far, all the required courthouse/caseworker "appearances" have been one big cluster****. The program was just recently, and prematurely, implemented and all the legal parties involved, her caseworker in particular, don't really know what they're doing...

Thanks to all again...

Wayne