Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutAmerican Express - 1997-08-19I. HUNTINGTON BEACH TO: FROM: DATE: CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH INTER -DEPARTMENT COMMUNICATION Connie Brockway, City Clerk Gail Hutton, City Attorney September 9,1997 SUBJECT: Authority for City Treasurer to enter into contracts providing for collection of monies owed to the City RLS 97-581 ax-�►- Attached please find the agreement between the City Treasurer of the City of Huntington Beach and American Express providing for the City to accept the American Express card for payment of City bills. Pursuant to Section 311(a) of the City Charter, the City Treasurer is to "receive on behalf of the City all taxes, assessments, license fees and other revenues of the City...." Although this section does not expressly state that the City Treasurer may enter into agreements to provide for such collection, this issue has been clarified pursuant to Municipal Code Section 2.16.030, which sets forth the Treasurer's duties. Section 2.16.030(e) provides that the City Treasurer shall "collect monies owed to the City." This section also permits the Treasurer to utilize collection agencies and write off uncollectible items up to $10,000 as part of her collection authority. Section 2.16.030(h) further provides that the Treasurer is required to "receive all City monies." Implicit in these sections is the authority to enter into agreements providing for the collection of monies, within any constraints imposed by the City Council. In this case, the Treasurer has entered into a credit card agreement to provide for use of the American Express Card to pay money to the City. The City Treasurer has the authority to enter into this agreement and it does not require City Council approval. Gail Hutton City Attorney Attachment: Agreement c: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council Michael Uberuaga, City Administrator Ray Silver, Assistant City Administrator Robert Franz, Deputy City Administrator Dan Villella, Director of Finance SF/s: G: SF-97Memos:AmerExpr 9/9/97 - #2 0 • CITY OF HUNTINGTON BEACH P.O. BOX 711 SHARI L. FREIDENRICH CITY TREASURER August 19, 1997 American Express Re: Terms and Conditions for American Express Card Acceptance Dear Sir: CALIFORNIA 92648 This letter is intended to memorialize the agreement by the City Treasurer of the City of Huntington Beach to the terms and conditions for American Express Card Acceptance Agreement. In accepting this agreement, please note that we have deleted the prohibition on accepting the card for "capital obligations and/or extraordinary expenses, including penalties or fines of any kind, damages, losses or any other costs or fees that are beyond the normal basic fee for the good and services provided." With this deletion, the Treasurer agrees to the terms and conditions for American Express Card Acceptance. Sincerely, . Shari L. idenrich Treasurer Gail Hutton, City Attorney SF/s:G:SF-97Urs:Amerexpr RLS 97-581 8/19/97 - #3 Attest: Connie Brockway, City C rk ,111C Card. More Business • Nbte Wanurm • Mae Service TERMS AND COK JTIONS FOR AMERICAN EXPRESS*ARD ACCEPTANCE These Terms and Conditions apply to your acceptance of American Express® Canis. The words we, our, us, and American Express mean American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. and its subsidiaries,. affiliates and licensees that issue Cards. You and your mean the business entity whose name appears on the Application for American Express® Card Acceptance (the Application). The Application together with these Terms and Conditions is the Agreement. American Express Carr) and Card mean any card issued by us bearing our name, trademark, service mark or logo. Cardmember means the person Whose name is embossed on the face of the Cana. Purchases made with the Card are Charges. You agree to accept the Card under the terms of this Agreement at all your locations in the United States, Canada, the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico in payment for all goods and services sold (except as noted below). This includes sales made in person, by telephone, by mail or by any other method. Each location or method of conducting sales is an Establishment. By signing the Application and/or accepting Cards for the purchase of goods and/or services, you agree to be bound by this Agreement. If you do not wish to accept the terms of this Agreement, you must not submit Charges and you,must notify us'immediately and return all materials we provided to you. HONORING CARDS You shall honor all Cards properly presented in accordance with this Agreement. When a customer asks what payment methods you accept you shall mention the American Express Card. When a Cardmember makes or requests to make a purchase with the Card, you shall: • not in any way try to persuade the Cardmember to use any other payment method; • not offer to extend credit or charge services to the Cardmember for that transaction through your own or any other charge, credit, debit or similar card or service; or • not criticize or mischaracterize the Card. You shall not discourage any Cardmember from using the Card. You shall not impose any restrictions or conditions on the use of the Card that are not imposed equally on the use of all other charge, credit, debit or similar cards or services. You shall not state or publish a preference for any other charge, credit, debit or similar card or service over the Card. You shall not promote the use of any other charge, credit, debit or similar card or service (except for your own card which is issued solely by you and is usable only at your Establishments) more actively than you promote the use of the Card. You shall display American Express signs, decals or other identification prominently at your Establish- ments, including our "Take -One" containers filled with Card application forms. You will. receive a $3.00 commission when we open a new Card account based upon a Card application from your Establishment. PAYMENT We will pay you in United States Dollars for the face amount of Charges you submit, minus: 1) our Discount as described on the Application; 2) any amounts you owe us; and 3) any Credits you issued. We will send payment to you in accordance with the payment plan you selected. Establishments located in Canada must submit Charges in Canadian Dollars and will be paid in Canadian Dollars. You may not receive payment on behalf of any other entity. ' FULL RECOURSE Full Recourse means that we are entitled to payment from you for amounts payable or paid to you. We may deduct, recoup and offset such amounts from payments to you or you shall pay us promptly upon receipt of our invoice. We will have the right to Full Recourse if you do not comply with the terms of this Agreement, even if we had notice when we paid you for the Charge(s) that you did not so comply and even if you obtained Authorization for the Charge(s) in question. We will have other rights of Full Recourse as provided elsewhere in this Agreement. DISPUTED CHARGES If we contact you regarding a claim, complaint, or question about any Charge (Disputed Charge) you must respond to us in writing within twenty-five (25) days after we contact you. We will have Full Recourse for the amount of the Disputed Charge if, by the end of that time period, you have not provided us with a written substantive response to our inquiry which enables us to resolve the dispute. If a Cardmember, despite your reply, continues to withhold payment for the Disputed Charge and the Cardmember has the right under applicable law to withhold such payment, we will have the right to Full Recourse for such Charge. . CD 7895. (REV. 8193) PAGE 1 CARD ACCEPTANCE PROCEr ZES Authoriza' Procedures for Card acceptance are seeh below. You must comply with any changes in these procedures of which we notify you. in Person Charges For Charges made in person, you must: • Verify that the Card is not visibly altered or mutilated; • Ensure that the Card is being used within the valid dates shown on the face of the Card; • Verify that the Card is signed in the same name as the name embossed on the front of the Card; • Complete a Charge Form as described below and verify that the Cardmember's signature on the Charge Form reasonably matches the signature on the back of the Card; • Verify that you have not been notified of the cancellation of the Card; and • Obtain Authorization as described below. Other Charges For all other Charges, such as Charges made by mail, telephone or at unattended Establishments, you must: • Obtain Authorization as described below for every Charge regardless of amount; and • Complete a Charge Form as described below, except with the words "Mail Order," "Telephone Order' or "Signature on File" on the Cardmember signature line. If the Cardmember denies making or authorizing such a Charge and you have not obtained the Cardmember's signature for the Charge, we will have Full Recourse for such Charge. We will not have Full Recourse for such a Charge based upon a claim that the goods were not eceived if you have: 1) verified that the address to which :he goods were shipped is the Cardmember's billing address; and 2) obtained a signed receipt verifying the delivery of the goods to such address. Completino Charge Forms For every Charge you must complete a record of Charge (Charge Form) containing: 1) the Card account number and expiration date via an imprinter or Card swipe device; 2) the date the Charge was incurred; 3) the amount of the Charge, which must be the total purchase price of the goods or services purchased plus applicable taxes; 4) the Authorization approval code number for Charges for Nhich you must obtain Authorization; 5) an acceptable description of the goods or services purchased; 6) an mprint or other registration of your name, address and :he Establishment Number we assigned; 7) the -ardmember's signature; and 8) the words "No Refunds" 1 you have a No Refund policy. You must obtain Authorization approval code number from us as described below (Authorization). Each Authorization request must be for the total purchase price of the goods or services purchased plus applicable taxes. Authorization is not a guarantee that we will accept the Charge without Full Recourse, nor is it a guarantee that the person making the Charge is the Cardmember. If you have an electronic authorization terminal, you must obtain Authorization for every Charge regardless of amount. If you do not have an electronic authorization terminal, you must obtain Authorization for all Charges greater than the Floor Limit specified on the Application (Floor Limit) by calling us at our toll -free authorization number. We have the right to change your Floor Limit. If we do, we . will notify you in writing of your new Floor Limit and the date it takes effect. You must obtain Authorization for all Charges described in the section entitled "Other Charges" and for all Recurrent Billing Charges regardless of the Authorization method and the amount of the Charge. For Charges for goods or services which are shipped or provided more than sixty (60) days after the order is made, you must obtain Authorization for such Charge at the time the order is made and again immediately before you ship the goods or provide the services to the Cardmember. You must not attempt to avoid the Authorization requirement by submitting two or more Charges for a single transaction. You may not obtain Authorization on behalf of any other entity. Credits When you give a refund for a purchase made with a Card, you must credit that Card account (Credit). You must complete a record of Credit (Credit Form) and submit the Credit to us within seven (7) business days of determining the Credit is due. We will deduct the full amount of the Credit, minus the applicable Discount, from your payment. If we are unable to deduct such amount, you must pay us promptly upon receipt of our invoice. You will issue Credits only for Charges made with the Card. You must not give a cash refund for goods or services purchased with the Card. Submission and Acceptance of Charges and Credits You shall submit all Charges to us within seven (7) days of the date they are incurred, provided, however, that you shall not submit any Charge until ithe goods or services purchased have been delivered to the Cardmember. You must submit Credits as described above in "Credits." Charges and Credits will be deemed accepted on a given business day if received and processed before our close of business for that day at the location we designate. PAGE 3 'You warrant that all indebtedpe- irisin&Lrom Charges that you submit is genuine and . s of iWiens, claims or encumbrances. You acknowledge that y7ru have no right to bill and/or collect from any Cardmember for any purchase made with the Card. If you submit Charges and Credits on paper, you must submit Charge Forms and Credit Forms approved by us in accordance with the instructions we provide. If you submit Charges and Credits electronically (Charge Data), you must do so over communications lines or via magnetic tape in machine-readable format (Transmission). Even if you transmit Charge Data electronically you must still complete and retain Charge Forms and Credit Forms. Transmissions must comply with the specifications we provide and must include a description of the goods or services purchased which is acceptable to us. At our request you shall place additional, less or differently formatted information on Transmissions. We are not obligated to accept any Transmission that does not comply with our requirements. Processors You may retain, at your expense, a third party approved by us (Processor) for obtaining Authorizations and/or submitting Charges and Credits. You, and not American Express, are responsible for any errors, omissions, delays or expenses caused by your Processor. You must provide us with all information we request about your Processor and you must notify us promptly in writing if you change your Processor. Recurrent Billing If you offer automatic/recurrent billing for a series of separate purchases, Cardmembers must sign a consent form (Consent Form) authorizing you to charge their Card accounts for specific amounts at specific times (Recurrent Billing Charges). You must obtain a Consent Form before submitting the first Recurrent Billing Charge. The Consent Form must include the Cardmember's name, ward account number and signature; the amount of each Recurrent Billing Charge; the frequency of such Recurrent Billing Charges; the date the Recurrent Billing Charges will begin and end; and a statement that the Cardmember may cancel the Consent Form at any time. You must retain Consent Forms for twenty-four (24) months from the date you submit the last Recurrent Billing Charge. Before submitting each Recurrent Billing Charge, you must obtain Authorization and complete a Charge Form except with the words "Signature on File" on the Cardmember signature line. Document Retention You must retain the original Charge Form or Credit Form and all documents evidencing such transactions, or -eproducible records thereof, for twenty-four (24) months rom the date you submitted the Charge or the. Credit to us. You r st pro ' e a copy of the Charge Form or Credit Fo,.. or o supporting documents to us within twenty-five (25) ca endar days of our request. Refunds Your refund policy for purchases made with the Card must be at least as favorable as your refund policy for purchases made with other forms of payment. You must disclose your refund policy to Cardmembers at the time of the purchase and in a manner that complies with applicable law. PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS You may not accept the Card for: • C bligations and/or extraordi penses, including pe or fine cind, damages, S F losses or any o ees that are beyond the norm fee for the goods o rovided; • Gambling services, gambling chips or gambling credits; • Cash; • Goods which will be resold; • Leases of personal property for greater than four (4) months; • Purchase of aircraft; • Sales made under a different trade name, business affiliation and/or industry than indicated on the Application; • Sales by third parties; or • Amounts which do not represent a bona fide sale of goods or services at your Establishment. RESERVE We may withhold payment from you if, in our reasonable business judgment, it is necessary to create a reserve as security for your obligations to us under this Agreement or any other agreement between you and us. We have the right to deduct from and• recoup and offset against the reserve, amounts you. owe us under this Agreement or any other agreement between you and us. We will notify you if we withhold payments. We may take other reasonable actions to protect our rights including, but not limited to, reducing your Floor Limit, changing your speed or method of pay, exercising Full Recourse immediately for all Disputed Charges without first sending you an inquiry, and/or charging you a fee for each Disputed Charge. CONFIDENTIALITY You shall keep confidential any infornon you receive from us that is not publicly available. You agree that the names, addresses and account numbers of Cardmembers are the sole and exclusive property of American Express. You must not use or disclose a Cardmember's account number except as provided in this Agreement. TRADEMARKS AND SERVICE MARKS This Agreement does not give either party any rights in the other party's name, logo, service marks, trademarks, trade names, taglines or any other proprietary designation (Marks). No use may be made of either party's Marks without the prior written permission of that party. Where you mention the Card as a payment method you must use our Marks, but only as described in our logo sheets. You agree that we may list the name and address of you and your Establishment(s) in materials containing lists of establishments which accept the Card which we may publish from time to time. NOTICES Unless otherwise notified, you will send all notices to: American Express Travel Related Services Company, Inc. P.O. Box 53773 Phoenix, AZ 85072 Attn: SE Maintenance Unit INDEMNIFICATION You agree to indemnify and hold harmless us, our parent, subsidiaries, affiliates, licensees, successors and assigns from and against all damages, losses and expenses including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees and costs, arising from any suit or claim arising or alleged to have arisen out of: 1) any goods or services you sell; 2) the marketing of any goods or services you sell; 3) the negligent or wrongful performance of, or failure to perform, by you, your agents and/or employees, any duties or obligations under this Agreement; 4) the violation or alleged violation by you, your agents and/or employees of any laws, regulations or rulings applicable to you; and 5) your breach of this Agreement. TERMINATING THIS AGREEMENT Either party can terminate this Agreement by sending written notice to the other party. The termination will be effective on the third business day after such notice is sent. You agree that this Agreement is a contract to extend financial accommodations and that if bankruptcy proceedings or similar proceedings are filed with respect to your business, this Agreement is automatically terminated. You must notify us immediately if any of the above events occur. Upon te- °nation, you must: 1) remove all American Express . _antifi on and return our materials and equipment imm�tely; 2) submit any Charges incurred prior to the termination in accordance with this Agreement; and 3) submit any Credits relating to these Charges in accordance with this Agreement. Our rights under the sections entitled "Full Recourse," "Disputed Charges," "Reserve," "Confidentiality" and "Indemnification" shall survive termination of this Agreement. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS You agree to comply with all laws, regulations and rules applicable to you. GOVERNING LAW This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York applicable to agreements negotiated, executed and performed entirely within the State of New York. ASSIGNMENT You may not assign this Agreement. We may assign this Agreement to our parent, subsidiaries or affiliates. NO WAIVER Failure to enforce any term or condition of this Agreement shall not be a waiver of the right to later enforce such term or condition or any other term or condition of this Agreement. CHANGING THIS AGREEMENT We have the right to change this Agreement at any time. We will notify you of any change in writing at least ten (10) days in advance. If the changes are unacceptable to you, you may terminate this Agreement as described in the section entitled "Terminating This Agreement." ENTIRE AGREEMENT This Agreement is the entire agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes any previous agreement with respect to the subject matter hereof. r ^` "- " \ ON BACK J `ROVISIONS APPLICABLE TO "')ECIFIC 14DUSTRIES • the Application indicates that you are engaged in any of ie following industries you must comply with the )Ilowing applicable provisions. !EALTH CARE or services rendered or goods provided while a Ardmember is admitted as a patient at your :stablishment, you may delay submitting Charges up to ;1200 but not for longer than (30) days after the ;ardmember is discharged. VSURANCE 'ou may accept the Card for insurance premiums only at our Establishments in the United States. You must not ccept the Optimasm Card for these Charges. .ODGING \ssured Reservations you have elected to participate in the Assured ?eservations, you must accept the Card to reserve ,ccommodations until check-out time on the day after the cheduled arrival date (Assured Reservations). For each :ssured Reservation, you must confirm the reservation ind record the Cardmember's name, address and Card iccount number. n/hen accepting an Assured Reservation, you must advise the Cardmember that if the Cardmember does not :laim the Assured Reservation or cancel it by 6:00 p.m. )cal time (4:00 p.m. for resorts) on the scheduled date of arrival the Cardmember will be charged for one night's )dging plus applicable taxes. If the Cardmember does iot claim or cancel the Assured Reservation you may submit a completed Charge Form with the words "Assured Reservations - No Show" on the Cardmember signature ne. If the Cardmember does cancel, you must provide he Cardmember with a cancellation number. 'ou will pre -register a Cardmember who makes an ,ssured Reservation. Upon arrival, the Cardmember oust present the Card and sign a Charge Form or agistration form indicating that the Cardmember authorizes the cost of the stay to be billed to the ;ardmember's Card account. If the Cardmember signs >nly the registration form, you must still complete a ;harge Form except with the words "Express Check -Out" )r "Signature on File" on the Cardmember signature line. F you do not honor an Assured Reservation, you must: 1) )ay for a one night stay at comparable accommodations " nearby; 2) pay for transportation to the alternate location; ,) pay for a three minute telephone call; and 4) forward all ;ommunications to the alternate location. Nhenever you advertise Assured Reservations, you must iclude clear and conspicuous notice that Assured reservations cannot be canceled after 6:00 p.m. local time (4:00 r m. for resorts) on the scheduled date of arrival. • CARDeposit® If you have elected to participate in the CARDeposit® program, to the extent you require room deposits you must accept the Card for payment of these deposits (CARDeposits). Only Cardmembers with a billing address in the United States, Canada, Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands may use the Card for the payment of CARDeposits. A CARDeposit may not exceed the cost of a fourteen (14) night stay plus applicable taxes. _ For each CARDeposit, you must complete a Charge Form except with the word "CARDeposit" on the Cardmember signature line. You must also indicate on the Charge Form the scheduled arrival date. Within three (3) business days from the date of the CARDeposit Charge you must send the Cardmember written confirmation of the arrival and departure dates, the amount of the CARDeposit, a confirmation number and the cancellation policy. If a CARDeposit is canceled, you must send a written cancellation notice showing the cancellation number to the Cardmember within three (3) business days. If a refund is due, you must submit a Credit Form -with the words "CARDeposit Cancellation" on the Cardmember signature line. If an arrival date of a CARDeposit is changed, you will send the Cardmember a written confirmation of the change within three (3) business days. Upon arrival the Cardmember must show the Card. If the Cardmember does not have the Card, other identification must be shown. If you do not honor a CARDeposit you must: 1) issue a Credit for the CARDeposit; 2) pay for comparable accommodations nearby for the duration of the original reservation (not to exceed 14 nights) or until the original location accommodations are available, whichever occurs first; 3) pay for the Cardmember's transportation to the alternate location and.for a return to the original location once each day until the original accommodations are available; and 4) pay for two three -minute telephone calls for the Cardmember to inform of the alternate location and to advise of being moved back to the original location. Emergency Check -In If a Cardmember whose Card is lost or stolen requests check -in, you must call our toll -free authorization number, ask for an "Authorizer," request Authorization for an "Emergency Check -In" and follow the Authorizer's instructions. You may then submit a Charge Form for the approved amount with the words "Emergency Check -In" under the Cardmember's signature. Check Cashing You must cash personal checks up to $20per stay for Cardmembers who are paying for their stay with the Card, subject to cash availability. We will reimburse you for checks which are returned to you unpaid if you have followed our instructions. Promotional Materials You must display prominently AmericamExpress signs, decals or other identification, including our "Take -One" containers filled with Card application forms, in all high traffic areas, such as front desks, cashiers' locations and restaurants. You must also put our "in -Room" applications on desk tops in at least 90% of your rooms. MOTOR VEHICLE SALES We will accept Charges for the.downpayment or the entire purchase price of new and used motor vehicles only if: 1) you provide a full warranty on the motor vehicle of at least one year or 12,000 miles; 2) you transfer title and physical possession of the motor vehicle to the Cardmember; 3) the amount of the Charge does not exceed the total price of the motor vehicle after applicable discounts, rebates, cash downpayments, and trade-in values have been deducted; and 4) you obtain Authorization for the entire amount of the Charge. You must not accept the Optima'"' Card for these Charges. If within ninety (90) days after delivery of the motor vehicle, the Cardmember refuses to pay us due to a dispute regarding the quality of the motor vehicle, we will have Full Recourse for the Charge. We will not exercise our rights of Full Recourse until the Cardmember has returned the motor vehicle to you. PARKING When the number of parking days is agreed upon when the Cardmember leaves the motor vehicle with you, you must submit the Charge within seven (7) days of the first day of parking. When you provide a parking pass valid for a pre- determined number of parking days, you must submit the Charge within seven (7) days of providing the pass to the Cardmember. When the number of parking days is not known when the Cardmember leaves the motor vehicle with you, you must not submit the Charge until the last day of parking. TELECOMMUNICATIONS We will exercise Full Recourse immediately for all Disputed Charges without first sending you an inquiry. For telephone call Charges, you will furnish a complete description of each call to the Cardmember. PAGE 6 TIMESH; You represent thatTSr at least 2 years you have been in the business of: 1) selling Timeshare Units; or 2) listing Timeshare Units for sale, rental or exchange. Timeshare Unit means the exclusive right to occupy a unit in a real estate development located in the United States, U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico for vacation and resort use for a period of time each year not exceeding 4 weeks. You may accept the Card only for. 1) no more than 20% of the purchase price of an ownership interest or other annual occupancy right in a Timeshare Unit; or 2) - membership fees to register or list a Timeshare Unit for sale, rental or exchange. You may not submit any Charges until you have the irrevocable right to retain the payment under applicable law and under a, written agreement signed by the Cardmember. You may not accept the Card for: 1) maintenance fees; 2) campground memberships; 3) recreational fees; or 4) interests in real property other than Timeshare Units. CHARITABLE DONATIONS You represent that you are a non-profit organization incorporated or registered as such under applicable law and recognized by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service ("IRS') as an entity qualifying for tax exemption under Section 501 of the IRS Code (the "Code"). You may accept the Card only for charitable donations: 1) which are 100% tax-deductible to the payor as a charitable contribution under the Code; or 2) which include the 'receipt of an item or service of value (such as a meal or admission to an event or other incentive) where at least 75% of the amount is tax-deductible to the payor as a charitable contribution under the Code. 0 1993 American Express Travel Related Services Company. Inc.