Applicability Casa.com is the exclusive property of Zi Group SA.
The present conditions are applicable between Belgian laws S.A. Zi Group registered at the Banque Carrefour des Entreprises de Belgique under the number 890 606 488 and situated at 307 Molière Avenue at 1180 Bruxelles (hereafter referred to as We, Us, Ourselves, Our or Casa), and any persons wishing to put goods and/or products that they own up for rent using the Internet site http://www.casa.com (hereafter referred to as Users, Members). These general conditions are to be considered in conjunction with our Privacy Policies and General Terms of Use .
Definitions
By User,
We refer to all individuals or entities that access the site, whether the user is a member or not.
By Member, We refer to all individuals or entities that are registered on the site in order to use its services.
By Member Account, We refer to the private area reserved for each member. It is accessible via a password and contains personal information regarding the member.
By Owner, We refer to each member who lists at least one item for rent, using the Casa.com website.
By Renter, We refer to each member who rents an Item on the Site.
By Rental Agreement, We refer to the agreement made between the Owner and the Renter, obligating the Owner to transfer the usage of the Item (object of the contract), and obligating the Renter to pay in exchange an amount, determined in advance or defined by the Rental Agreement.
By Rent, We refer to the payment made by the Renter to the Owner in order to use the Item.
By Rental Listing, We refer to the information published by the Owner advertising an Item available for rental.
By Reservation Request, We refer to the request made by a Renter to rent a particular Item in a Rental Listing.
By Acceptance of the Reservation Request, We refer to the online acceptance by the Owner of a Reservation request made by a Renter, and the concurrent creation of an agreement between the Owner and the Renter for a particular Item.
The term ‘retainer fee’ refers to the amount charged in advance to the renter to confirm his booking request.
1. Terms for Rental Agreements The Parties represent that they are legally competent to enter into a contract. Owners who offer an Item for rent represent that they are legally entitled to offer and/or rent the Item to others. Any agents, employees, attorneys, or anyone else acting on behalf of the Owners or Renters must follow the terms of this Pricing Policy and all other Casa Policies.
2. Fees The price of each Item listed on Casa.com is expressed in US Dollars. The price includes any taxes and costs, excluding possible delivery fees and extra insurance costs. With the exception of promotional offers that are explicitly outlined on the Site, fees are charged to the Owner creating Rental Listings (insertion fee), as well as commissions once a Rental Agreement is confirmed between a Renter and an Owner. A Rental Agreement is confirmed by the Owner’s acceptance of the Renter’s Reservation Request. Access, registration and use of the site are free. Casa can modify its policies on listings and commission fees, and can also modify the fees set for these services. Temporary or permanent modifications, are effective as soon as they are published on the Site and are applicable to all subsequent transactions. . In the case of temporary modifications, the duration of the changes will be clearly indicated on the Site. As an Owner, you must pay fees (1) whenever you list Items on the Site for rent, and (2) whenever a Reservation Request is accepted through your account on Casa.com. The fees for these two steps are in accordance with the information provided below in Sections a and b. The following fees do not include any applicable taxes.
a. Online Listings / Rental Listing Fees (Insertion fee) Rental listings are FREE for individual members. Rental Business Accounts can take full benefit of Casa for free (free accounts, free listings) in 2009. Premium plans will be accessible in the future for rental businesses.
b. Commissions on Transactions (transaction fee) Transaction Total Amount (USD) Commission (before tax) 0 to $10 $1 $10 to $50 9% + $0.10 $50 to $100 8% + $0.60 $100 to $500 7% + $1.6 $500 to $2000 6% + $6.6 More than $2000 5% + $26.6 The above commissions do not include taxes.
3. Billing & Payment There are different methods for payment and invoicing on Casa.com.
a. Retainer fee Confirmation of a Reservation Request by a Renter may be dependent on payment of a retainer fee. This Retainer Fee is charged by Casa in the name of and to the account of the Owner, as a partial advance payment for the total amount listed in the Rental Listing. The Retainer Fee is also equal to the commission owed by the Owner to Casa for the Commission on Transactions (transaction fee) in accordance with the tables and information outlined above. The Services provided by Casa to facilitate and enable the rental transaction remain free for the Renter, as the Retainer Fee paid by the Renter will be deducted from the total amount listed in the Rental Listing owed by the Renter to the Owner. A proof of payment of this Retainer Fee is always available via the Renter’s Member Account under My Bookings. The Retainer Fee is charged from the Renter's account only if the corresponding Reservation Request is accepted by the Owner. Payment of the Retainer Fee can be made online via credit card, a Paypal account or a ClickandBuy account.
b. Billing Invoicing information and billing payment are available online in the My Bills section of your Member Account. The invoices history is available online in your Member Account (My Invoices section within My Bills). The Member accepts this process for receiving invoices. When you choose automatic payment of your online bills, you can set how frequently invoices get published in your Member Account area. Once the Item is published on the Site through your Member Account, the listing fees are due and an invoice is sent to your Member Account, accessible in the section My Invoices. The invoices for listing fees correspond to the publication of your Rental Listing on the Site for a period of 3 months. These fees are due and an invoice is automatically sent for each 3 month period the Rental Listing remains published, until the Rental Listing is no longer published. Seven (7) days before expiration of the current 3 month publication period, We will remind you about the listing fee by sending you an email and posting a reminder in the welcome menu of your Member Account. In no case may the listing fees be cancelled or modified pro rata, in particular in situations where a Member Account has been terminated and/or cancelled. . You always have the possibility of removing the Rental Listing for an Item during its 3 month period of publication, or of pausing the Rental Listing. When your Rental Listing is deleted before the end of the 3 month listing period, the current listing fee is still applied for the full 3 month period and future listing fees invoice renewals are automatically cancelled. If a Rental Listing is deleted, or not renewed at the end of the 3 month listing period, the publication of a new Rental Listing corresponding to the same Item will be subject to new listing fees and a new 3 months listing period will begin. The pause function (which keeps a Rental Listing online but does not allow Reservation Requests) does not stop or discontinue the listing period for which listing fees are due. Reactivation of a paused Rental Listing is free. If an invoice has not been paid within the required timeframe, your Rental Listing will be paused until the invoice has been paid. In cases where the commission is paid directly by the Owner, via an invoice to his Member Account, this commission is due from the Owner by the end of the rental period that was agreed upon by the Owner and the Renter. In these cases, the invoice will be sent for each transaction by the last day of the rental.
c. Payment Method There are three payment methods available to members: Credit card Paypal ClickandBuy Payments are made by clicking on the button Pay My Invoices in the My Invoices section of your account.
d. Payment Due Dates Payments of invoices issued by Casa are due within 30 calendar days of their issuance date. If a payment is not made by its due date, late fees will be applied to the Member Account.
e. Payment Default and Late Fees Late fees start being applied if an invoice has not been paid 30 calendar days after being issued. In case of payment default on amounts due to Casa.com, a formal notice will be sent and billed to the Member. If the default invoices remain unpaid following the formal notice, the amounts due will accrue late fees interest at a yearly rate of 12%. A penalty fee of 15% of the total due will also be applied, which will be added to the fees for the formal notice, and any other costs related to the recovery of the due amounts. During these procedures for recovering unpaid invoice amounts, the debtor will be held responsible for all the fees, legal or non-legal, without prejudice of all demands and damages and interest and other actions, including contentious ones, necessary to safeguard the interests of Casa.com. In addition, the member explicitly accepts that Casa.com may partially or completely suspend his Account and Service(s) until payments due are recovered. Casa may proceed with the deactivation of Service(s) which will be billed at the current applicable rate. The Member will be able to use the Services once all payments owed have been paid. If the Member does not pay the amount owed before the end of the month following suspension of that Members Account, Casa may cancel the Member Account and any transactions between Casa and that Member without any further actions being taken. However the Member will still be liable for any amounts owed.
f. Printing You can print your invoices by clicking on an invoice in the My Invoices section and clicking on Print Invoice.
g. Payment An invoice must be paid within 30 days of when it was issued to the Member Account on Casa.com. It is possible to set up automatic payments of your invoices at regular intervals by contacting Casa through the Contact Us ticket system. A minimum amount of $1 must be exceeded before Casa issues an invoice. The Member does not have to pay invoices that are less than $1.00.
4. Fees & Tax Members are solely liable for all the taxes, fees and commissions resulting from use of Our Services and Our Site. (See Terms of Use). Taxes (such as, and without limitations, sales taxes) might be applicable to your transactions whether you are an individual or entity, or whether you are an Owner or a Renter. Members are encouraged to seek tax advice from a professional. (See Terms of Use).
5. Cancellation Cancellation of a Reservation Request or of a Rental Listing can be done within the Member Account. The Renter may cancel a Reservation Request before it has been accepted by the Owner, at no cost. If a Retainer Fee has been requested by the Owner, this amount will not be charged to them when such a cancellation occurs. Once a Reservation Request has been accepted by an Owner, the Renter might still have the option to cancel the rental and the corresponding Rental Agreement, depending on the terms of the Rental Agreement. However, if a Retainer Fee has already been charged, the Renter cannot be reimbursed for it. If a Rental Transaction is cancelled by the Owner after having been previously accepted, the Renter can contact Casa directly via the Contact Us button if the Renter suspects bad faith or other abuse, and can otherwise leave feedback about the Owner.
6. Appeals and Invoice Disputes All appeal claims must be submitted by creating a ticket at the Contact Us tab.
7. Warranties and Limitation of Liability As agreed set forth in the Terms of Use, Casa is not responsible for any loss that may occur during usage of the Site or Services. You are encouraged to review the Disclaimer of Warranties, Limitations of Liability, and Indemnity sections of the Terms of Use.
8. Proof of Transactions The computerized records kept within Casa’s electronic data system, and maintained using reasonable security measures, will be considered as the sole proof of the communications, orders, amounts owed, and payments made between Casa and the Members.
9. Applicable Laws Casa will do its best to attain an amiable resolution in all disputes. If you are not satisfied with the method by which a dispute is resolved, and if you wish to make an appeal to a qualified tribunal, the Pricing Policy will be regulated by Belgian Law. Each party accedes exclusive capacity regarding all litigation to the Tribunal in Brussels, Belgium.