Terms of Use
Effective Date: May 2, 2024
TouchPay Holdings, LLC d/b/a GTL Financial Services, a subsidiary of Global Tel*Link Corporation, d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), is the owner and operator of the websites www.viapath.com, www.touchpayonline.com, www.connectnetwork.com, www.gettingout.com, and www.tpgovtpay.com (the “Site” or “Sites”). These Terms of Use apply to any user who accepts these Terms as set forth in Section 1 and Section 2 below (“you”), regardless of your incarceration or detainee status, including but not limited to non-incarcerated individual users such as an incarcerated individual’s friend or family member or an incarcerated individual’s attorney. These Terms of Use apply when you access, visit or use the Sites or use any of the products or services provided by ViaPath, or one of its subsidiaries or affiliates (individually “Affiliate and collectively “Affiliates”), including TouchPay Holdings, LLC d/b/a GTL Financial Services, GTL Enhanced Services, LLC d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), DSI-ITI, Inc., Innertainment Delivery Systems, LLC d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), Telmate, LLC d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), Public Communications Services, Inc. d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), Renovo Software, Inc. d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”), and Value-Added Communications, Inc. d/b/a ViaPath Technologies (“ViaPath”). The Sites and all mobile applications, products, and services provided by ViaPath or any Affiliate will be referred to in these Terms of Use as the “Service” or the “Services”. For purposes of these Terms of Use, “Company”, “we”, “us”, or “our”, means ViaPath, and any Affiliate where the Affiliate or its products or services are implicated.
Notice regarding money transmission transactions:
All money transmission transactions are provided solely by TouchPay Holdings, LLC d/b/a GTL Financial Services (“TouchPay”) NMLS #967396, a subsidiary of ViaPath. Money transmission services may include, but are not limited to, child support payments, government payments, and corrections payments. Services available through TouchPay may have their own terms and conditions that apply to your payment or use of that particular service. These Terms of Use do not alter in any way the terms or conditions of any of those other written or online terms and conditions or agreements you may have or will have with TouchPay. To the extent that there is any conflict between these Terms of Use and any terms and conditions or agreements relating to TouchPay services you have used, those other terms and conditions or agreements will govern.
Notice regarding dispute resolution and mandatory arbitration:
These Terms of Use contain provisions that govern the resolution of any and all claims between you and ViaPath (see Section 22 below), including an agreement and obligation to arbitrate disputes, which will, subject to limited exceptions, require you to submit claims you have against us to binding arbitration, unless you opt-out in accordance with Section 22(d). Unless you opt-out of binding arbitration: (1) you will only be permitted to pursue claims against us on an individual basis, not as part of any class or representative action or proceeding and (2) you will only be permitted to seek relief (including monetary, injunctive, and declaratory relief) on an individual basis.
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Acceptance of these terms of use by users of the site.
By using the Service or clicking the “accept” button when you register to use the Service through the Site or when you are otherwise prompted to do so, you agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use.
Acceptance of these terms of use by other users of the service.
If you create an account to use the Service other than through the Site, and if you do not agree with or consent to the terms of these Terms of Use, you will have thirty (30) days from the date you create the account with us to cancel the account. If you decide that you want to cancel the account within this thirty (30) day period, please contact our Customer Service team using the information supplied through the “Contact Us” link on the Site. If you cancel the account, we will provide you with a refund of any fees you have paid and not used in connection with the Service.
Eligibility.
The Service is intended for individuals who are at least eighteen (18) years old. If you are not at least eighteen (18) years old, please do not access, visit, or use the Service.
Your privacy rights.
In connection with your use of the Services, please review our privacy statement (“
Privacy Statement
”) in order to understand how we use information we collect from you when you access, visit or use the Service. The Privacy Statement is part of and is governed by these Terms of Use and by accepting the Terms of Use, you agree to be legally bound by the terms of the Privacy Statement and agree that we may use information collected from you in accordance with the Privacy Statement.
Registration.
As a condition of using certain features of the Service, you may be required to register through the Site and select a password and user I.D. You may be required to provide personal and/or financial information. You expressly represent, warrant, and agree that any information you give to ViaPath will be accurate, correct, and complete. If you provide any information that is, or that ViaPath has reasonable grounds to suspect is, untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete, ViaPath may, without notice, suspend or terminate your access and use of the Services, refuse to provide you with any and all current or future use of the Services, and report the incident to law enforcement. If applicable, you may be required to provide valid credit card information. By providing your credit card information, you authorize ViaPath to charge such credit card for your financial obligations relating to your access and use of the Services. You may not: (1) select or use as a user I.D. a name of another person with the intent to impersonate that person; (2) use as a user I.D. a name subject to any rights of a person other than you without appropriate authorization; or (3) use as a user I.D. a name that is otherwise offensive, vulgar, or obscene. We reserve the right to refuse registration of, or to cancel a user I.D., in our sole discretion. You shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your user I.D. and password. You are responsible for immediately notifying us if your user I.D. or password are compromised. Unless notified, we are entitled to assume any instructions issued from your user I.D. are valid. ViaPath reserves the right to refuse registration of or to cancel a user account for any reason.
identity verification.
As a condition of using certain features of the Service, you may be required to provide a copy of a government issued form of identification bearing your photograph, such as a driver’s license or passport, for the purpose of verifying your identity. By providing such documentation, you agree that an image of this identification may be provided to law enforcement or correctional staff.
Prohibited activities.
You may not access, visit, or use the Service for any purpose other than the intended purpose for which we make it available to you, in accordance with all applicable legal requirements including all federal, state, and local laws, rules, and regulations (including correctional facility policies) and these Terms of Use. We may prohibit certain activities in connection with the Service in our discretion. You may not facilitate or permit anyone else to facilitate or conduct, directly or indirectly, the following prohibited activities which include, without limitation:- Criminal or tortious activity, including child pornography, fraud, trafficking in obscene material (including, but not limited to controlled substances or humans), drug dealing, gambling, harassment, stalking, spamming, copyright infringement, patent infringement, or theft of trade secrets.
- Using of the Services in connection with pornography.
- Engaging in nudity, profanity, suggestive body gestures, terminology and/or any other activity deemed inappropriate at the sole discretion of ViaPath or a correctional facility.
- Advertising to, or solicitation of, any user to buy or sell any products or services.
- Transmitting chain letters or junk email to other users.
- Using any information obtained from the Service in order to contact, advertise to solicit or sell any products or services to any user without their prior explicit consent.
- Engaging in any automated use of the Service, such as using scripts, web crawlers, bots/robots, or scrapers, or manual equivalents, to send comments or messages for any other purpose.
- Interfering with, disrupting, or creating an undue burden on the Service or the networks or services connected to the Service.
- Attempting to impersonate, or impersonating any person, another user or entity, or misrepresenting yourself.
- Using another incarcerated individual’s I.D. or account.
- Using the user I.D. or account of another user without the user’s explicit consent and permission (for Friends and Family users only).
- Using any information obtained from the Service in order to harass, abuse or harm another person.
- Accepting payment or anything of value from any person and/or third-party entity in exchange for your performance of any commercial activity on or through the Service on behalf of that person and/or third-party entity.
- Using the Service in a manner inconsistent with any and all applicable laws, rules, and regulations (including correctional facility policies).
- Decompiling, disassembling, modifying, translating, adapting, reverse engineering, or creating derivative based on, the Service, or any portion thereof.
- Intentionally, recklessly, negligently, or purposefully damaging, destroying, losing, or stealing tablet devices. Incarcerated individuals engaged in such prohibited activities may be assessed charges for the replacement cost of the damaged, destroyed, lost, or stolen tablet device and may be subject to further restrictions of use.
If ViaPath determines that you may have violated these Terms of Use, it may report the matter to law enforcement and correctional facility administrators, and/or refuse or restrict your access to all or any portion of the Services.
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Management of the service.
You acknowledge that we reserve the right, but have no obligation, to (1) take appropriate action against anyone who, in our sole determination, violates these Terms of Use or whom we suspect is using the Service to violate the law, rules, or policies of conduct of any of our customers, including, without limitation, reporting you to law enforcement authorities, (2) in our sole discretion and without limitation, refuse, restrict access to or availability of, or disable all or a portion of the Service, and (3) otherwise manage the Service in a manner designed to protect the rights and property of the Company, our customers, and users of the Service and to facilitate the proper functioning of the Service.
Monitoring communication, including calls and video visits made and electronic messages sent through the service.
You acknowledge and agree that we, law enforcement agencies, and correctional facilities (including the correctional facility where an individual is incarcerated) may monitor, record, and store calls and video visits, and read electronic messages (including emails) and view photographs and videos sent using the Service, in accordance with the policies in place at the correctional facility where an individual is incarcerated. We may also obtain the location of the phone you are using when you use the Service to help ensure accurate billing practices and may obtain your IP address or geo-location using the location services, GPS or Wi-Fi functions on the mobile device you are running the Services on and provide this location to the correctional facility from which you received the call. By accepting these Terms of Use, you authorize us and the applicable correctional facility, to monitor, record, and store all communications made using the Services, including, but not limited to, monitoring, recording and storing calls and video visits you make through the Service and reading electronic messages (including emails) and viewing photographs and videos you send through the Service in accordance with the policies in place at the applicable correctional facility.
Use of the service.
The Service and its contents and the trademarks, service marks and logos contained on the Service, are the intellectual property of the Company or its licensors and constitute copyrights and other intellectual property rights of the Company or its licensors under U.S. and foreign laws and international conventions. The Service and its contents are provided for your informational, personal, non-commercial use only and may not be used, copied, reproduced, distributed, transmitted, broadcast, displayed, sold, licensed, or otherwise exploited for any other purpose whatsoever without the expressed written consent of the Company. You agree not to engage in the use, copying or distribution of the Service or of any of its contents for any commercial purpose. You agree not to circumvent, disable, or otherwise interfere with security related features of the Service. We may, but are not obligated to, periodically provide updates to the Service to resolve bugs or add features and functionality. You do not acquire any ownership rights to the Service or to any contents contained on the Service. All rights not expressly granted in these Terms of Use are reserved by the Company. You are solely responsible for your interactions with other users of the Service.
Termination of your use of the service.
We may suspend or terminate your use of the Service if you violate these Terms of Use or in our discretion. We may also impose limits on or restrict your access to parts or all of the Service without notice or liability.
Charges for the service.
Fees will apply to your use of certain features of the Service, including any calls that are made through the Service. The fees and charges may vary based on, among other things, the correctional facility where an individual is incarcerated. We reserve the right to change the fees charged periodically, in our discretion.
Advancepay accounts and friends and family accounts inactivity/ refund policy.
- AdvancePay Accounts and Friends and Family Accounts will become inactive after 180 days of non-use or no activity.
- Refunds — Refunds are available on request while an account is in active status only. Requests can be made online or by phone to ViaPath’s Customer Service Center.
- For AdvancePay Accounts and Friends and Family Accounts used for calls from/to incarcerated individuals in a California state prison or youth residential placement or detention center operated by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, effective January 1, 2023, and pursuant to the Keep Families Connected Act, all calls placed by incarcerated individuals to friends and family members will be at zero costs to the incarcerated individual and their friend and/or family member. Note: This provision does not apply to Department of Homeland Security Immigration and Customs Enforcement facilities and individuals detained at these facilities.
- In keeping with Minn. Stat. §241.252 Sec. 11 (2022), the restrictions in these Terms of Use do not apply to AdvancePay Accounts or Friends and Family Accounts in Minnesota. For details, see Minnesota Revised Tariff No. 2, https://www.cards.commerce.state.mn.us/security/search.do?documentId={703CA088-0000-CB16-B20B-23024E706B5A}, which provides that “Calls originating from Correctional Institutions managed by the Minnesota Department of Corrections – effective July 1, 2023, there is no charge to the individual initiating the communication or to the individual receiving the communication.”
- In all instances where the applicable law, regulation, or tariff may limit the ability of a provider to refund monies after a prescribed period of inactivity, ViaPath’s policy shall be limited to compliance with the applicable law, regulation, or tariff, including, but not limited to, the states of Alabama and Iowa.
Submissions.
If you submit opinions, suggestions, feedback, images, documents, and/or proposals to us through the Service, or through any other communication with us, you acknowledge and agree that: (1) the submissions you provide will not contain confidential or proprietary information; (2) we are not under any obligation of confidentiality, expressed or implied, with respect to the submissions you provide; (3) we shall be entitled to use or disclose (or choose not to use or disclose) the submissions you provide for any purpose, in any way, in any media worldwide; (4) the submissions you provide will automatically become the property of the Company without any obligation of the Company to you; and (5) you are not entitled to any compensation or reimbursement of any kind from the Company in connection with your submissions under any circumstances.
Links to third party applications and other websites.
The Service may contain links to third-party applications (“apps”) and websites, resources, or data. You acknowledge and agree that the Company is not responsible or liable for: (1) the availability or accuracy of these third-party apps and websites, resources, or data; or (2) the content, products, or services on or available from these third-party apps and websites, resources, or data. You also acknowledge that you are solely responsible for, and assume all risk arising from, the use of any of these third-party apps and websites, resources, and data. Links to third-party apps and websites on the Service are not intended as endorsements or referrals by the Company of any products, services or information contained on the applicable apps and websites.
These Terms of Use do not apply to third-party apps and websites, including the content of and your activity on those apps and websites. You should review third-party apps and websites’ terms of service, privacy policies and all other application and website documents, to inform yourself of the regulations, policies, and practices of third-party apps and websites.
Disclaimer of warranties.
to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the information contained in and provided through the service, including text, graphics, links, or other items, is provided “ as is”. neither the company nor its suppliers warrant the accuracy, adequacy, completeness or timeliness of the information, materials, products, and services accessed on or through the service and the company expressly disclaims liability for errors or omissions in the information or materials accessed on or through the service. no warranty of any kind, whether implied or expressed, including but not limited to the warranties of non infringement, title, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and freedom from computer virus, is given in conjunction with any information, materials, or services provided through the service.
Limitation of liability.
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, in no event shall viapath, its employees, officcers, representatives, agents, or third party suppliers be liable for any damages, losses or liabilities including, without limitation, direct or indirect, punitive, incidental, special, consequential or other damages, losses or expenses of any kind, including but not limited to, any lost profits, lost data, lost savings, or loss of use, whether based on breach of contract, breach of warranty, tort, or any other legal theory, arising out of or in any way connected with (i) the use or inability to use the site or the services; (ii) reliance on or use or inability to use the information, materials, content, products, software, or services provided through the site and services; (iii) unauthorized access to or alteration of your transmissions or data; (iv) statements or conduct of any third party on our site or services; (v) the delay or failure in perfomrance resulting from an act of god, natural disasters, communications failure, governmental actions, wars, strikes, labor disputes, riots, shortabes of labor or materials, vandalism, terrorism, non performance of third parties or any reasons beyond their reasonable control; (vi) in connection with any failure of performance, error, omission, interruption, defect, delay, or degradation in operation or transmission, computer virus or line or system failure, even if the company or its third party suppliers are advised of the possibility of such damages, losses, or expenses. your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with the site and/ or services is to stop using the site and/ or those services.
Applicable law may not allow the limitation of liability, implied warranties or the exclusion or limitation of certain damages set forth above, so this limitation of liability may not apply to you. if any part of this limitation on liability is found to be invalid or unenforceable for any reason, then the aggregate liability of viapath under such circumstances for liabilities that otherwise would have been limited shall not exceed one hundred dollars ($100).
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Notice to new jersey users.
Notwithstanding any terms set forth in these Terms of Use, if any of the provisions set forth in Sections 16, 17, 21, and/or 22 are held unenforceable, void, or inapplicable under New Jersey law, then any such provision shall not apply to you, but the rest of these Terms of Use shall remain binding on you and the Company. In addition, for New Jersey residents, the limitation on liability is inapplicable where attorneys’ fees, court costs, or other damages are mandated by statute. Notwithstanding any provision in these Terms of Use, nothing in these Terms of Use is intended to, nor shall it be deemed or construed to, limit any rights available to you under the Truth-in-Consumer Contract, Warranty and Notice Act.
Notice to california users.
Under California Civil Code Section 1789.3, users located in California are entitled to the following consumer rights notice: We are located at 3120 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300, Falls Church, VA 22042. If you have a question or complaint regarding the Service, please contact us by email or by toll free telephone number using the information supplied through the “Contact Us” link on the Site. California residents may also reach the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs by mail at 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834, or by telephone at (916) 445-1254 or (800) 952-5210.
Unauthorized transactions.
In the event that you use a credit card to pay for any products or services offered through the Site, you are representing to the Company that you are authorized to use that credit card.
Indemnification
. You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold the Company harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, and costs including attorneys’ fees, arising from or related to your use of the Service. You will not be required to indemnify and hold the Company harmless from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, or expenses resulting from the Company’s own negligent conduct.
Dispute resolution and arbitration agreement.
Please Read This Following Clauses Carefully – They May Significantly Affect Your Legal Rights, Including Your Right to File a Lawsuit in Court
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- Arbitration.
The parties, which means you and the Company, shall use their best efforts to settle any dispute, claim, question, or disagreement directly through consultation and good faith negotiations which shall be a precondition to either party initiating a lawsuit or arbitration. All claims arising out of or relating to these Terms of Use (including its formation, performance, and breach) and the Service shall be finally settled by binding arbitration, excluding any rules or procedures governing or permitting class actions. The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve all disputes arising out of or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of these Terms of Use, including, but not limited to any claim that all or any part of these Terms of Use is void or voidable. The arbitrator shall be empowered to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity. The arbitrator’s award shall be binding on the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. To the extent the filing fee for the arbitration exceeds the cost of filing a lawsuit, we will pay the additional cost. The interpretation and enforcement of these Terms of Use shall be subject to the Federal Arbitration Act.
The parties understand that, absent this mandatory provision, they would have the right to sue in court and have a jury trial. They further understand that, in some instances, the costs of arbitration could exceed the costs of litigation and the right to discovery may be more limited in arbitration than in court. - Class Action Waiver.
The parties, which means you and the Company, further agree that any arbitration shall be conducted in their individual capacities only and not as a class action or other representative action, and the parties expressly waive their right to file a class action or seek relief on a class basis. If any court or arbitrator determines that the class action waiver set forth in this paragraph is void or unenforceable for any reason or that an arbitration can proceed on a class basis, then the arbitration provision set forth above shall be deemed null and void in its entirety and the parties shall be deemed to have not agreed to arbitrate disputes. - Exception – Litigation of Small Claims Court Claims.
Notwithstanding the parties’ decision to resolve all disputes through arbitration, either party, you or the Company, may also seek relief in a small claims court for disputes or claims within the scope of that court’s jurisdiction. - Thirty Day Right to Opt-Out.
You have the right to opt-out and not be legally bound by the arbitration and class action waiver provisions set forth this Section by sending written notice of your decision to opt-out to the following address: c/o ViaPath Technologies, 3120 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300, Falls Church, VA 22042, Attn: Arbitration Opt-Out. The notice must be sent within thirty (30) days of the date you have agreed to Terms of Use; otherwise, you shall be legally bound to arbitrate disputes in accordance with the terms set forth above. If you elect to opt-out of these arbitration provisions, we also will not be legally bound by them. In addition, if you elect to opt-out of these arbitration provisions, we may terminate your use of the Service. If we terminate your use of the Service, we will provide you with a refund of any fees you have paid and have not been used in connection with the Service.
- Arbitration.
Amendments.
These Terms of Use may be amended by the Company from time to time. We will post any material changes to these Terms of Use on the Site or Service with a notice advising of changes. You may cancel your account within thirty (30) days following the date the amended Terms of Use are posted by contacting us using the contact information in Section 30 below. If you choose to cancel your account within this thirty (30) day period, you will not be legally bound by the terms of the revised Terms of Use but will remain legally bound by terms of these Terms of Use, and we will provide you with a refund of any fees that you have paid and that have not been used in connection with the Service.
No oral modifications.
Employees of the Company are not authorized to modify these Terms of Use, either verbally or in writing. If any employee of the Company offers to modify these Terms of Use, he or she is not acting as an agent for the Company or speaking on our behalf. You may not rely, and should not act in reliance on, any statement or communication from an employee of the Company or anyone else purporting to act on our behalf.
No third party beneficiaries.
These Terms of Use are between you and the Company. There are no third-party beneficiaries. All payments associated with transactions that classify as money transmission are held in a custodial capacity by TouchPay Holdings, LLC d/b/a GTL Financial Services, a subsidiary of ViaPath, as an agent of its customers.
Independent contractors.
No agency, partnership, joint venture, or employment is created as a result of these Terms of Use, and you do not have any authority of any kind to bind the Company in any respect whatsoever.
Non-waiver.
The failure of either party to exercise in any respect any right provided for herein shall not be deemed a waiver of any further rights hereunder.
Force majeure.
The Company shall not be liable for any failure to perform its obligations hereunder where the failure results from any cause beyond the Company’s reasonable control, including, without limitation, any mechanical, electronic or communications failure or degradation.
Severability.
If any provision of these Terms of Use is found to be unenforceable or invalid (other than the class action waiver in Section 22), that provision shall be limited or eliminated to the minimum extent necessary so that these Terms of Use shall otherwise remain in full force and effect and enforceable.
Contact us.
If you have any questions about these Terms of Use, you may contact us by email at termsofuse@viapath.com or by postal mail at c/o ViaPath Technologies, 3120 Fairview Park Drive, Suite 300, Falls Church, VA 22042, Attn: Legal Department. If you have any questions regarding the Service or your account, or if you would like to cancel your account, please contact our Customer Service team using the information supplied through the “Contact Us” link on the Site.
Assignment.
These Terms of Use are not assignable, transferable, or sublicensable by you except with our prior expressed written consent. We may transfer, assign, or delegate these Terms of Use and our related rights and obligations without obtaining your consent.
