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Terms of Use Agreement

The Terms of Use have been revised January 27, 2009.

Welcome to the Credit.com network of web sites (the "Web Site") operated by Credit.com, Inc., a Delaware corporation ("Credit.com"). Please read the following terms and conditions carefully before using the Web Site.

Here is what you will find in this agreement:

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Acceptance of Terms of Use

Credit.com, Inc. ("Credit.com", "us" or "we") makes information, products, and services available on the Web Site, subject to the following terms and conditions of use (the "Terms of Use"). These Terms of Use also apply to any updates, enhancements, new features, Web Site forums, widgets, and new web properties (collectively, "Web Site"). By using the Web Site, you represent to Credit.com that you have read, understood, and agreed to all terms, conditions, and notices contained or referenced in these Terms of Use. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS OF USE, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE WEB SITE.

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Permission to Use the Web Site

You have our permission to use the Web Site, but only if you are over 13 years old and you follow all the rules and restrictions set forth in these Terms of Use. If you are applying for an extension of credit on the Web Site with one of Credit.com's Providers, you must be an adult resident of the United States, its Commonwealths or its Territories (collectively, the "USA"). By applying for an extension of credit, you warrant and represent to Credit.com and to the relevant Provider(s) (as defined below) that you are an adult resident of the USA.

To ensure that Credit.com provides a high-quality experience for you and other users of the Web Site, you acknowledge and agree that Credit.com or its representatives may investigate complaints, allegations of abuse, infringement of third-party rights, or other unauthorized uses of the Web Site. Credit.com is not required to disclose such an investigation unless required to do so by law. Credit.com will cooperate fully with any law enforcement agencies in their investigation of the violation of any applicable laws. If you violate any provision of this section of the Terms of Use, Credit.com may terminate your access to the Web Site, including without limitation, terminating your account, without notice. You agree to indemnify Credit.com and any third parties Provider(s) for any claims against Credit.com or any third parties arising from your violation of these Terms of Use.

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Accounts; Passwords; Security

You may need to set up an account in order to use some of the features of the Web Site. You may not use someone else's account without permission. When you are setting up your account, you must give us accurate and complete information. This means that you cannot set up an account using someone else's name or contact information, or a phony name or phony contact information. You have complete responsibility for your account and everything that happens on your account. This means you need to be careful with your password. If you find out that someone is using your account without your permission, you must let us know immediately. You may not transfer your account to someone else. We are not liable for any damages or losses caused by someone using your account without your permission.

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Limited License

Except as may be otherwise indicated on the Web Site, Credit.com hereby grants you a fully revocable, non-exclusive license to view and print documents or information on the Web Site, subject to the following terms and conditions:

  1. The document or information may be used (by you or any third party to whom you distribute it) solely for informational, personal, and non-commercial purposes.
  2. You may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer, or re-sell information, software, products, or services that you obtain from the Web Site, except with Credit.com's express written permission.
  3. You may not use the Web Site to sell a product or service or to increase traffic to a web site for commercial reasons, except with Credit.com's express written permission.
  4. You may not take elements of the Web Site and reformat or display them (including framing them), or mirror them on a web site, except with Credit.com's express written permission.
  5. All copyright or other proprietary notices that appear on the web page(s) from which you take the document or information, including from these Terms of Use, must appear on any copy of the document or portion that you make or distribute.
  6. Credit.com reserves the right to revoke this license at any time. You agree that you and any person to whom you distribute the document or information will immediately discontinue any use of the document or information upon notice of revocation.

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Intellectual Property Ownership

The Web Site and all materials, information, products, and services included in or available through the Web Site, including the images, text, databases, software, code, sound, photos, custom graphics, button icons, the collection, compilation, assembly, and the overall look and distinctiveness of the Web Site (all of which constitutes the "Web Site Content") constitute trade dress and the property of Credit.com. The trade dress of Credit.com is protected by law and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in part. Logos, graphics, sounds, and images from the Web Site may NOT be copied or retransmitted unless expressly permitted by Credit.com. The Credit.com logo, Credit.com™, and other Credit.com products and services referenced in the Web Site are the common law and registered trademarks of Credit.com in the United States and in other countries. The absence on the Web Site of a Credit.com product or service name, slogan, or logo does not constitute a waiver of Credit.com's trademark or other intellectual property rights relating to such name or logo. All other product names, company names, marks, logos, and symbols appearing on the Web Site may be the trademarks and the property of their respective owners.

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User Content

You are solely responsible for any User Content you post to the Web Site, its accuracy, and the consequences of posting or publishing it. By "User Content", we mean any information, data, text, software, music, sound, photos, graphics, videos, messages, tags, interactive features, or any other materials you submit or post to the Web Site, including without limitation, any Web Site forums. When we say "post", we include posting, uploading, sharing, submitting or otherwise providing User Content in any manner in connection with the Web Site.

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Restrictions on User Content and Your Conduct

You may not:

  1. use the Web Site for any illegal purpose;
  2. submit User Content that you don't have the right to submit, unless you have the owner's permission; this includes material covered by someone else's copyright, patent, trade secret, privacy, publicity, or any other proprietary right;
  3. forge headers or manipulate other identifiers in order to disguise the origin of any User Content you submit;
  4. submit any User Content that contains lies, falsehoods or misrepresentations that could damage us or anyone else;
  5. submit User Content that is illegal, obscene, defamatory, libelous, threatening, pornographic, harassing, hateful, racially or ethnically offensive, or encourages conduct that would be considered a criminal offense, give rise to civil liability, violate any law, or is otherwise inappropriate;
  6. transmit any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, promotional materials, junk mail, spam, chain letters, pyramid schemes, or any other form of solicitation;
  7. impersonate anyone else or lie about your affiliation with another person or entity;
  8. use meta tags or any other "hidden text" utilizing any of our or our suppliers' product names or trademarks;
  9. upload, launch, post, email or transmit any material (including any bot, worm, scripting exploit or computer virus) that is likely to harm or corrupt the Web Site, or harm or corrupt our or anyone else's computer systems, or data;
  10. use the Web Site to harm minors in any way, including posting User Content that violates child pornography laws, child sexual exploitation laws, or any other laws protecting children;
  11. collect or gather other people's personal information (including account information) from the Web Site;
  12. submit User Content which disparages us or our partners, Providers, vendor or affiliates; or
  13. solicit, for commercial purposes, any users of the Web Site.

We have the sole right, but not necessarily the obligation, to delete at any time any User Content that violates these rules or that we believe to be inappropriate for any reason or to deactivate your account with Credit.com.

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Guidelines on Web Site Forums

You agree to the following terms regarding participation in any Web Site forums:

  1. Any User Content you provide on any Web Site forums must be relevant to forum topic.
  2. Do not respond to any questions on Web Site forums that have previously been answered on the Web Site.
  3. Any subject line you provide should accurately reflect the subject of the thread.
  4. All User Content must be provided in the relevant forum sections.
  5. Include as much information as possible when posting on any Web Site forums.
  6. Any moderating of the Web Site forums and/or any actions taken with respect to forum Content are at the sole discretion of Credit.com.

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Intellectual Property Rights in User Content

By posting your User Content, you thereby grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free, fully-paid, sublicenseable and transferable license to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display, and perform your User Content in connection with the Web Site and our business, in any media formats or in tangible form and through any media channels now known or hereinafter developed. You also grant each user of the Web Site a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, non-exclusive royalty-free, fully-paid, sublicenseable and transferable license to access your User Content through the Web Site, and to use, reproduce, distribute, prepare derivative works of, display and perform your User Content as permitted through the functionality of the Web Site and under these Terms of Use.

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Privacy Policy

Your privacy is important to us. You can learn more about the information collected about you in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated fully into these Terms of Use.

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Credit Report Card

You may obtain a Credit Report Card from Credit.com through the Web Site. The Credit Report Card is made available to you at no charge and you are not required to apply for any product or service offered through the Web Site in order to obtain the Credit Report Card. The Credit Report Card will briefly summarize the content of your consumer report and will explain the parameters (e.g., payment history, debt usage, credit age, account mix, and the number of inquiries) typically used to arrive at your credit score. In addition, the Credit Report Card may provide helpful information about how consumer behavior affects each of these parameters.

THE CREDIT REPORT CARD AND ANY OTHER CREDIT ESTIMATES ARE NOT INTENDED TO AND DO NOT PROVIDE OR CONSTITUTE LEGAL OR OTHER PROFESSIONAL ADVICE. BECAUSE CREDIT.COM IS NOT A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY, IT IS NOT, AND CANNOT BE, RESPONSIBLE FOR EITHER THE CONTENT OF YOUR CONSUMER REPORT, ITS ACCURACY, OR THE CREDIT SCORE RANGE DERIVED FROM SUCH REPORT.

CREDIT.COM MAKES NO WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION THAT THE CREDIT REPORT CARD OR ANY OTHER CREDIT ESTIMATE CONTAINS ACCURATE OR COMPLETE INFORMATION.

IN ORDER TO PROVIDE YOU WITH THE CREDIT REPORT CARD OR ANY OTHER CREDIT ESTIMATE, CREDIT.COM MUST OBTAIN YOUR CONSUMER REPORT FROM A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT CREDIT.COM IS NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR A DELAY IN DELIVERING THE CREDIT REPORT CARD OR ANY OTHER CREDIT ESTIMATE OR AN INABILITY TO DELIVER THE CREDIT REPORT CARD OR ANY OTHER CREDIT ESTIMATE THAT IS DUE TO A CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCY'S DELAY IN PROVIDING OR FAILURE TO PROVIDE YOUR CONSUMER REPORT.

You may not request a Credit Report Card for anyone other than yourself. You understand that accessing or attempting to access another person's consumer report without their express authorization is a violation of federal law and may violate the law of the state in which you reside. By requesting a Credit Report Card, you represent that you are requesting it on your own behalf and not for another.

The Fair Credit Reporting Act allows you to obtain one free disclosure of all of the information in your consumer report file from each of the three nationwide consumer reporting companies (Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion) once every 12 months through a central source. To receive free copies of your credit report go to www.annualcreditreport.com. The Credit Report Card is not related to this free disclosure.

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Credit Report Card Consent

When you request the Credit Report Card, you will be asked to authorize us to obtain your consumer report on your behalf for the purpose of providing you with the Credit Report Card.

We may retain information that you provide, and we obtain, during your use of our Web Site. We may, from time to time, use information which you provide to us to match you with offers for products and services made available through various Providers. We will make these offers available to you at your convenience and there will be no obligation to accept any offer.

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Products and Service Providers

Credit.com provides you with access to third-party providers ("Provider") solely for your convenience. Some of these Provider sites may be co-branded (i.e., bear the name and/or logo of both the Provider and Credit.com). The provision of access to a Provider does not signify an endorsement by Credit.com of the Provider's web site or the services offered by that Provider. Credit.com has no control over, does not review, and cannot be responsible for Provider web sites or the content on those sites. Your use of a Provider web site, or services will be subject to the Provider's terms of use and Provider's privacy policy. If you decide to use the services of a Provider, or if you decide to purchase a product from a Provider, any transaction between you and that Provider (including any agreement governing such a transaction) will be strictly between you and the Provider. Credit.com has no control over the Provider's obligations to you, and makes no representations or warranties with respect to the Provider's performance. It is your responsibility to take precautions to ensure that Provider web sites are free of viruses or other items of a destructive nature. If your request is related to a pre-bankruptcy consultation services the following additional terms will apply http://www.clearbankruptcy.com/terms_conditions_pop_up.htm. YOU AGREE THAT CREDIT.COM WILL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE OR LIABLE FOR LOSS OR DAMAGE YOU MAY INCUR AS THE RESULT OF A TRANSACTION YOU ENTER INTO WITH A PROVIDER, ANY INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO A PROVIDER, A PROVIDER'S COMPLAINCE WITH LAW, OR A PROVIDER'S MISUSE OF YOUR INFORMATION.

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Our Rights to Communicate and Use Information

WHEN YOU (I) APPLY FOR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THROUGH THE WEB SITE, YOU WILL BE ASKED TO PROVIDE YOUR TELEPHONE NUMBER AND ARE ESTABLISHING A BUSINESS RELATIONSHIP WITH CREDIT.COM OR (II) SUBMIT A REQUEST OR APPLICATION FOR A PRODUCT OR SERVICE THAT IS MADE AVAILABLE THROUGH THE WEB SITE BY A PROVIDER, CREDIT.COM MAY SHARE YOUR INFORMATION WITH PROVIDER(S) AS PERMITTED BY LAW AND DESCRIBED IN CREDIT.COM'S PRIVACY POLICY. THIS INFORMATION MAY BE USED BY CREDIT.COM, OR PROVIDED BY CREDIT.COM TO THIRD PARTIES WHO MAY CONTACT YOU, WITH RESPECT TO (A) YOUR APPLICATION OR REQUEST, (B) THE STATUS OF YOUR APPLICATION, (C) ALTERNATIVES AVAILABLE TO YOU IN THE EVENT YOUR APPLICATION IS REJECTED, (D) OTHER PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED BY OR THROUGH CREDIT.COM AND ITS PROVIDERS OR (E) AS RELEVANT AND AS PERMITTED BY LAW, OBTAINING CONSUMER REPORT AND PUBLIC RECORDS INFORMATION TO VERIFY YOUR IDENTITY AND PROCESS YOUR REQUEST OR APPLICATION.

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Disclaimer of Warranties

THE WEB SITE AND THE WEB SITE CONTENT ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." CREDIT.COM DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, GUARANTIES, AND CONDITIONS, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, OR NON-INFRINGEMENT. NEITHER CREDIT.COM NOR ITS LICENSORS MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS, WARRANTIES, OR GUARANTIES AS TO THE QUALITY, RELIABILITY, SUITABILITY, TRUTH, ACCURACY, OR COMPLETENESS OF THE WEB SITE CONTENT. CREDIT.COM DISCLAIMS ANY REPRESENTATION OR WARRANTY THAT THE WEB SITE ITSELF OR ANY PRODUCT OR SERVICE OFFERED THROUGH THE WEB SITE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME OR FROM ANY PARTICULAR LOCATION OR THAT ANY DEFECTS OR ERRORS WILL BE CORRECTED. THE WEB SITE MAY INCLUDE INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS. YOUR USE OF THE WEB SITE IS SOLELY AT YOUR RISK.

ALTHOUGH CREDIT.COM STRIVES TO PROVIDE INFORMATION THAT CONSUMERS MAY FIND HELPFUL, THIS INFORMATION SHOULD NOT BE CONSIDERED CREDIT OR LEGAL ADVICE. YOU SHOULD NOT USE THE GENERAL INFORMATION PROVIDED ON THE WEB SITE AS A SUBSTITUTE FOR THE ADVICE OF A COMPETENT PROFESSIONAL.

Some states or other jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion of implied warranties, so the above exclusions may not apply to you. You also may have other rights, which may vary from state to state and jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

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Limitation of Liability

YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT CREDIT.COM WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES RESULTING FROM OR IN ANY WAY CONNECTED TO YOUR ACCESS TO, USE, INABILITY TO USE, OR RELIANCE ON THE WEB SITE OR ANY PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEB SITE. NOTWITHSTANDING ANY OTHER PROVISION OF THESE TERMS OF USE, CREDIT.COM'S ENTIRE LIABILITY TO YOU SHALL NOT EXCEED $1,000. FOR THOSE JURISDICTIONS THAT EITHER DO NOT ALLOW OR PLACE RESTRICTIONS UPON THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF DAMAGES IN CERTAIN TYPES OF AGREEMENTS, THIS LIMITATION SHALL BE CONSTRUED TO PERMIT THE MAXIMUM EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW.

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Policy on Linking to the Credit.com Web Site

You are granted a limited, non-exclusive right, which we may revoke at any time, to create a hypertext link to the Web Site found at www.credit.com. If you exercise this limited, non-exclusive right, however, you must agree to the following:

  1. You will not portray Credit.com, its affiliates or Providers or their respective products and services in a false, misleading, offensive, derogatory, or otherwise defamatory manner.
  2. You will not misrepresent your relationship with Credit.com or imply that Credit.com sponsors, endorses, or is affiliated with any web site or products.
  3. You will not replicate, modify, or alter the appearance or content of the Web Site.
  4. You will not use, frame, or utilize framing techniques to enclose Credit.com trademark, logo, or other proprietary information, the images found on the Web Site, the content of any text, or the layout and design of any page or form contained on a page on the Web Site without the express prior written consent of Credit.com.

Furthermore, a site that links to the Web Site:

  1. Must not contain content that could be construed as obscene, libelous, defamatory, pornographic, or inappropriate for all ages;
  2. Must not contain materials that would violate any laws.

If you exercise this limited, non-exclusive right to create a hypertext link to the Web Site, you agree that the link may be removed at any time, upon Credit.com's request, pursuant to Credit.com's reserved right to rescind its consent to allow the link.

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Enforcement of Copyrights

We respect the intellectual property rights of others. You may not use the Web Site to infringe anyone else's copyright or other intellectual property right. If we find out that you are infringing, we will remove your User Content. We do not have to give you notice that we are removing your User Content. We may also terminate your account if we decide that you are a repeat infringer. We consider a repeat infringer to be a user who has been notified of infringing activity more than twice or who has had User Content removed from the Web Site more than twice.

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Notify Us of Infringers

If you believe that something on the Web Site violates your copyright, notify our Legal Department in writing. In order for us to take action, you must do the following in your notice:

  1. provide your physical or electronic signature;
  2. identify the copyrighted work that you believe is being infringed;
  3. identify the item on the Web Site that you think is infringing your work and include sufficient information about where the material is located on the Web Site (including which section of the website) so that we can find it;
  4. provide us with a way to contact you, such as your address, telephone number, or e-mail;
  5. provide a statement that you believe in good faith that the item you have identified as infringing is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law to be used on the Web Site; and
  6. provide a statement that the information you provide in your notice is accurate, and that (under penalty of perjury), you are authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner whose work is being infringed.

Here is the contact information for our Legal Department:
Credit.com, Inc.
ATTN: Legal Department
550 15th Street, Suite 37
San Francisco, California 94103-5032

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Scope

These Terms of Use apply to the Web Site, and are in addition to the specific terms and conditions associated with the products and services on the Web Site. If these Terms of Use are not consistent with the specific terms that apply to the information, products, or services offered on the Web Site, then the specific terms that apply to that information, those products, or those services will apply.

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Reservation of Rights

Any rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Use are reserved by Credit.com, and Credit.com reserves the right to seek all remedies available by law and in equity for any violation of these Terms of Use.

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Severability and Integration

Unless otherwise specified in these Terms of Use, this agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and Credit.com with respect to the Web Site and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and Credit.com with respect to the Web Site. If any part of these Terms of Use is held invalid or unenforceable, that portion will be construed in a manner consistent with applicable law to reflect, as nearly as possible, the original intentions of the parties, and the remaining portions will remain in full force and effect.

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Governing Law and Jurisdiction

You agree that all matters relating to your access to, or use of, the Web Site, and all matters relating to these Terms of Use (collectively, "Claims"), will be governed by the laws of the State of California, which will apply in all respects, including statutes of limitation. No choice of law rules of any jurisdiction will apply to nullify this choice of California law. All Claims, disputes, or controversies between you and Credit.com will be submitted to and determined exclusively by a court of competent subject matter jurisdiction in the City and County of San Francisco, California, and you agree and submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction and venue of those courts with respect to such matters. You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any Claims must be filed within one year after the Claims or cause of action arose or they will be forever barred.

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Arbitration

All Claims will be settled by binding arbitration in accordance with the Comprehensive Arbitration Rules and Procedures of JAMS (see http://www.jamsadr.com/rules/comprehensive.asp). The arbitrator shall have authority to award both legal and equitable relief (including interim injunctive and other appropriate equitable relief by an arbitrator administratively appointed for that purpose) consistent with these Terms of Use and to award costs and legal fees to the prevailing party. The place of the arbitration will be in San Francisco County, California. You agree that, regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any Claims must be filed within one year after the Claims or cause of action arose or they will be forever barred.

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Changes to Terms of Use

Credit.com reserves the right to update or revise any part of these Terms of Use and the information, products, services, prices, and programs offered or mentioned on the Web Site at any time, without notice. Any changes will be effective immediately upon the posting of the updated Terms of Use on the Web Site.

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General

Credit.com's failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms of Use will not constitute a waiver of that right or provision. The section titles in these Terms of Use are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect.

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