Lyca Chat

Terms & Conditions

PREAMBLE

The Lyca Chat service (hereinafter the “Service”) allows users (hereinafter the “User”) to make voice calls from the Internet, allowing communication with landline or mobile numbers.

This Service is offered by Lycamobile Sarl, a French company, registered under the laws of France, with a VAT number FR 67 528 332 505, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Register, under number 528 332 505 R.C.S. Paris, and whose registered office is located at 107 Boulevard Pereire, 75017 Paris, France (hereinafter “Lyca”).

The Service is available through LycaChat mobile Application, which may be freely downloaded (excluding potential connexion fees) on Google Play or the App Store, to all natural person over the age of the majority, who has subscribed with a Mobile telephony Operator and who wishes to use the Service, with the Application, for his own needs, for a strictly personal and non-commercial use.

Under these General Terms and Conditions, it is agreed that LycaChat and the User shall be collectively referred to as the “Parties” and individually referred to as the “Party“.

LEGAL NOTICE

This website and the mobile application (the “Portal“) is the property of Lycamobile Sarl, a French, registered under the laws of France, with a capital of 66, 612.00 euros, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Register, with a VAT number FR 67 528 332 505, registered with the Paris Trade and Companies Register, under number 528 332 505 R.C.S. Paris, and whose registered office is located at 107 Boulevard Pereire, 75017 Paris, France.

Publication director: David Sherman

Contact Email: support@lycachat.com

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

Access to and use of the Service is subject to these general terms and conditions (hereinafter referred to as the “General Terms and Conditions”.)

Any order of Product offered for sale by LycaChat and allowing access to the Service requires consultation and explicit prior acceptance of these General Terms and Conditions, by checking the “I agree to General Terms and Conditions ” checkbox. These General Terms and Conditions are permanently available on the Portal and will prevail, as appropriate, over any other document.

LycaChat reserves the right, at any time, to update these General Terms and Conditions. However, the conditions applicable to the User are those in force on the day the order is placed.

Access to the Portal and/or the Application occurs under normal Internet connection conditions. No additional connection costs will be charged to the User.

ARTICLE 1 – DEFINITIONS

For the purposes of these General Terms and Conditions, the following terms shall have the following meaning, unless otherwise specified:

“Application” refers to the mobile software application called “LycaChat”, available free of charge, granting access to the Service, which the User has chosen to download on his/her Terminal.

“Account” refers to the combined set of the User’s MSISDN (i.e. the phone number), with which the Minutes Packs purchased by the User are associated.

“Mobile Operator” refers to the mobile phone operator with whom the User has subscribed to make and receive phone calls via this Mobile Operator network and including data transmission.

“Tariff Pack” or “Product” refers to the minutes of VOIP OUT communications, which are available for purchase on the Portal and/or on the Application allowing to access the Service.

“Portal” refers to the website https://www.Lycachat.com from which the User can access the Service.

“Networks” refers to the electronic communications networks open to the public, which are interconnected and run by any operator irrespective of technologies or standards used by these networks (cable, satellite, broadband, optical fibre, mobile phone, GPRS, EDGE, UMTS, Wi-Fi, WIMAX and so on).

“Service or LycaChat Service” refers to the service called “LycaChat”, offering through purchase of Minutes Packs, a service of VOIP OUT calls as described in article 3 below, allowing communication to landline or mobile phones.

“Terminal” refers to any mobile terminal equipment connected to the internet through the Networks, compatible with the operating systems as mentioned on the Portal, on which the Application is installed.

“VOIP OUT” refers to LycaChat Service function allowing a User to make a voice call from the Application to a landline or mobile telephone number.

ARTICLE 2 – PURPOSE

The purpose of these General Terms and Conditions is to define the conditions in which the Service is provided and made available to Users and the rights and obligations of the Parties arising from.

ARTICLE 3 – DESCRIPTION OF THE SERVICE

The Service allows the User to use the VOIP OUT function by purchasing Minutes Packs. The various VOIP OUT calling options and the corresponding commercial terms and conditions are described on the Portal and on the Application.

Depending on the countries where the Service is available, all or part of the above-mentioned functionality may or may not be provided. Accordingly, the User is invited to refer to the Portal or to the Application before ordering the Product, to verify the exact scope of performance offered for each country.

LycaChat reserves the right to amend or withdraw its offer. The User therefore understands and acknowledges that the list of countries from where a VOIP OUT call is made, is likely to evolve over time. LycaChat will inform the User, whenever possible, that the Service is not available for a specific country before ordering the Product. If the Service becomes unavailable for a particular country after an order, LycaChat will offer a refund or an equivalent service.

VOIP OUT communications are only allowed between individuals for a non-profit use, within the limit of 250 different correspondents per month, unless otherwise stated in the Minutes Pack purchased. A call shall not last more than 3 hours. If the call is interrupted, the User shall dial again the other speaker’s number.

LycaChat reserves the right to refuse and/or block any User’s order that seems irregular (in particular regarding to the quantity of minutes ordered).

In addition, VOIP OUT calls to special or premium rate numbers are not allowed and will not be routed through the Service.

The Service is being regularly updated. Thus, the Application downloaded by a User may only be valid for a limited time, in view of these updates and any technical, legislative or regulatory changes that may compel LycaChat to publish a new version of its Application.

ARTICLE 4 – ACCESS TO THE SERVICE

To use the Service, the User shall have an active mobile number with a Mobile Operator, an access to the Internet and mobile network.

The User therefore acknowledges the access to the Service may be affected by the performance of any of these elements.

The minimum requirements to use the Service are specified on the Portal, and by the Google (Android, Google Play) and Apple (iOS, App Store) operating systems distributing the Application. The User acknowledges and accepts that such systems requirements, which may change from time to time, are his/her sole responsibility.

Use of the Service involves data transmission from and to the User’s Terminal, operations that may be charged for the use of data flows. The User is then strongly encouraged to consult the applicable rates of his/her Mobile Operator prior using the Service, to ensure that any data consumption through the Service is not incompatible with a reasonable use of his Terminal. LycaChat cannot be held liable for excessive data consumption with respect to the terms of access to the Internet network as they have been agreed between the User and his/her Mobile Operator.

The User acknowledges that using the Service outside the European Union is likely to result in prices that are significantly higher than the normal price. It is the User’s sole responsibility to enquire and to pay the roaming costs and other applicable charges imposed by the Mobile operator. In addition, within the European Economic Area, the Mobile operator could set a threshold of reasonable use beyond which web-browsing may be charged by the Mobile operator, with additional fees compared to the national tariff. To the extent that this consequence would limit the use of the Service, LycaChat shall under no circumstances be held liable.

The Use of the Service implies creating an account and purchasing Minutes Pack on the Portal or on the Application.

4.1 Creating an Account

To access and fully use the Service, the User shall register from the Application – which may be freely downloaded (excluding any potential connexion fees) on Google Play or App Store, by fulfilling the required information to the creation of his/her Account (with his/her mobile phone number and a personal code sent by LycaChat).

Creating the account is only possible from the Application, which shall be installed on the User’s Terminal.

To order Tariff Packs from the Portal, the Customer must log in according to the procedure indicated.

The User undertakes to ensure that the information provided during his/her registration is reliable and in accordance with reality and is permanently updated. Assuming that false, inaccurate or incomplete information is provided by the User, LycaChat shall be entitled to delete the Account and terminate these General Terms and Conditions without delay.

LycaChat guarantees the confidentiality of the data collected when creating the Account.

The User is responsible for the use of his Account.

4.2 Placing an order

The User may familiarise itself with the various Products offered for sale by LycaChat on the Portal or on the Application, without being obliged to place an order.

The Minutes Packs offered for sale by LycaChat are those displayed on the Portal and on the Application the day they are consulted by the User, allowing the User to access the Service for one or several countries included on the list of countries allowing VOIP Out calls.

The content (length, destination and so on) of the Minutes Packs and their terms of use are detailed within the Application and on the Portal.

Minutes Packs are invoiced to the User at the current price as communicated to the User prior to placing his order. Prices are quoted in euros all taxes included, or in the currency which has been notified to the User prior to the confirmation of his order.

LycaChat reserves the right to modify its prices at any time on the Portal or on the Application. Minutes Packs are invoiced on the basis of the current prices at the time of validation of the order by the User.

The User can purchase Products directly on (i) the Application by logging into his Account or (ii) on the Portal, providing his telephone number and following the specified procedure (indicating on the Portal the SMS code sent by LycaChat).

4.2.1 Purchase of Minutes Packs on the Portal

The User selects the Product he is interested in and is then redirected to the login page. The User shall indicate his phone number, on which a code will be sent by SMS. The User shall then enter the code sent in the box provided for this purpose. If the identification sequence is successful, the User is then returned to the final payment step.

Once the User is identified, a detailed summary of the User’s order appears, specifying the nature, quantity, destination and price of the Product selected by the User.

Once the User has taken note of these information, the User may confirm his order by proceeding to the payment. Payment will be made, unless the server is unavailable, immediately on the Internet by credit card. Most international credit and debit cards, including Visa and Mastercard, are accepted by LycaChat.

It is specified that for greater simplicity, the User may, if he/she so wishes, register the 16 numbers of the credit card used as well as its expiry date on the Portal and on the Application in relation to his/her Account. These data will under no circumstances be used for purposes other than those referred to herein, namely the payment of the User’s order.

At the end of the ordering process, the User acknowledges having read and accepted the General Terms and Conditions by checking the box provided to that end. Then, the User definitively confirms his/her order by clicking on “Confirm payment” box. Such confirmation of the order implies the User unconditionally acceptance of the General Terms and Conditions.

As soon as the User confirms the payment of his order by credit card and the payment is accepted, the order is confirmed and becomes irrevocable (the order will be saved on the computer records of LycaChat, which are kept on a reliable and sustainable media, and shall be considered as a proof of the contractual relations between the Parties). A confirmation message (SMS) will then be sent to the User, summarizing information about his/her order.

LycaChat reserves in any event the right to refuse any order or delivery in the event of (i) any dispute pending with the User; (ii) total or partial non-payment of a previous order placed by the User; (iii) refusal to authorize payment by credit card from banking institutions; (iv) non-payment or partial payment of the order. LycaChat may therefore not be held liable under any circumstances.

The Products purchased whose payment has been validated are immediately made available to the User.

Under articles L221-18 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, the User is entitled to cancel his order at any time within 14 calendar days following the date on which he received the Product(s) ordered and this without having to provide any reason or pay any penalties.

In this case, the User shall address an explicit statement/unambiguous declaration or provide a withdrawal form attached in Annex 1 hereto, to the following address support@lycachat.com, notifying its willingness to withdraw.

The User is however reminded that, pursuant to article L221-28 of the French Consumer Code, the right of withdrawal may not be exercised, inter alia, to (i) service contracts fully performed before the end of the withdrawal period ; or to (ii) contracts providing dematerialised digital content whose performance has begun after User’s prior express agreement and after an express waiver of his/her right of withdrawal.

Pursuant to this article, the User acknowledges that he expressly waives his right of withdrawal from the moment all or part of Product is used.

The terms of withdrawal are also detailed on the Portal within the section “How do I seek a refund of my purchase of minutes?”

If the Product has not been started to be used and if the User has sent his withdrawal form/request to LycaChat within above-mentioned time limit granted, the User will be refunded within 14 calendar days following the date on which LycaChat became aware of the User’s exercise of the right of withdrawal, on the same means of payment as the one used for the purchase.

4.2.2 Purchase of Minutes Packs on the Application

Once the Application is downloaded on the Terminal and the Account is created, the User may buy Minutes Packs directly on the Application through an In App Purchase or a “purchase through the Application”, by entering his password or by using biometric authentication (fingerprint, Touch ID or address ID). Any purchase through the Application requires prior acceptance by the User of the general terms and conditions of the marketplace used (Google Play or the App Store).

The User selects the product he is interested in and shall indicate his Apple or Google Play user information and his password, or biometric authentication. If the identification is successful, the purchase is complete, and the User is invoiced according to the general terms and conditions of the marketplace used.

If the User wishes to exercise his right of withdrawal from the Application, the User shall refer to the dedicated sections edited by Google Play and App Store, which recommend, according to the general terms and conditions currently in force, to follow the instructions defined below. However, due to regular updates of these general terms and conditions, the User shall regularly check on the above-mentioned marketplaces website.

On iPhone/iOS:

If the User has purchased a Minutes Pack with his Apple ID, and has not waived his legal right of withdrawal by starting to use the content of the Minutes Pack, a withdrawal form shall be sent to Apple Distribution International; or the User shall:

Go to the page “report a problem”;
Indicate his/her Apple ID;
Select “purchase history”;
Select the relevant purchase and click on “report a problem”;
Mention his/her willingness to withdraw.

On Android:

If the User has purchased a Minutes Pack through Google Play, and has not exercised his/her right of withdrawal by using the content of the Minutes Pack, a withdrawal form shall be sent to Google Trade Limited; or the User shall:

Go to play.google.com/store/account ;
Click on “order history”;
Select the relevant purchase;
Click on “more details”;
Select “Request a refund” or “Report a problem”, and then choose the option that matches the current situation;
Complete the form and indicate the refund request.

The User may also request a refund by going to “Get a refund on Google Play” page and follow the detailed instructions under the section ” Apps, games, & in-app purchases (including subscriptions)”.

ARTICLE 5 – LIABILITY AND GUARANTEES OF THE USER

The User shall be careful, cautious and shall demonstrate awareness about the information available and/or send. Using the Service, the User should refrain from attempting to mislead third parties by usurping the name or the corporate name of other persons and more particularly by claiming to be an employee of LycaChat. The User undertakes to alert LycaChat to any unauthorized use of his/her Account, or any other breach of the security of the latter.

The User agrees to only use the Service for lawful purposes and in accordance with the applicable legislation, and recognizes that it is forbidden to communicate or forward illegal content through this Service, failing which the User would be prosecuted and held liable to legal proceedings (civil and/or criminal).

The User undertakes to use the Service in accordance with the purpose for which it has been defined and marketed. The User also undertakes not to use the Service in a way which would be contrary to its purposes or these General Terms and Conditions.

In particular, the following shall be considered as inappropriate use of the Service giving rise to suspension and/or termination of the Account, under the conditions of Article 7 below:

use of communications for non-personal purposes (in particular for business purposes);
use of the Service for illegal or malicious purposes;
use the Service which may harm LycaChat or may result in a violation of its rights;
use whether free or not of the Service a means of re-routing communications or connecting people;
uninterrupted use of the Service in particular by automatic and continuous dialling of numbers on the line;
transfer or resale, total or partial, of communications;
mass sending of communications whether automatically or not;
spreading any virus or computing file designed to limit, interrupt or destroy the Service network and/or any terminal or other telecommunications tool;
data or elements transmission of any kind which would be in violation of the laws and regulations in force, with a threatening, shocking or defamatory character or which would breach confidentiality;
transmission of any unsolicited or unauthorized advertising, and in particular “spam”, as well as any action leading to the congestion of the Service and of its network ;
use, as part of the Service, of a content of any nature whatsoever (text, audio, video, etc.), or other device or data, or malware program that may contain viruses, Trojan horses or worms, intended to damage or interfere with the proper functioning of the Service, the Application and/or the Portal.

ARTICLE 6 – LIABILITY AND GUARANTEES OF LYCACHAT

LycaChat undertakes to deliver a free of any third-party rights’ Product to the User, whose characteristics (quantity, duration, and destination) are compliant with the User’s order. If LycaChat fails to properly deliver, the User shall be entitled to request the enforced execution of the sale or its rescission according to article 1610 of the French Civil Code.

LycaChat undertakes to develop capacities for the Service to be perfectly working and to take the necessary measures to ensure the Service’s continuity and quality.

In case of the Application and/or the Service malfunction preventing the normal use of the Product purchased, the User may (i) send a refund request to Apple Store or Google Play according to the conditions laid down to that end, or (ii) send a request to LycaChat to the address mentioned above; or by mail to support@lycachat.com.

LycaChat, as well as the members of its staff, respect the secrecy of Users’ correspondence. Secrecy covers entirely the correspondence’s content and the correspondents’ identity.

6.1. Limitation of liability

LycaChat does not guarantee, under no circumstances, that the Service or the Application are error-free or suited for the specific needs of the User.

LycaChat is bound by a best-efforts obligation (“Obligation de moyens”, as construed under French law) during each stage to access the Portal or the Application, including consulting, identifying, purchasing, payment or any other potential service available on the Portal or the Application.

LycaChat may not be held liable in the event that User’s data and/or messages contain illegal content and/or infringe the rights of a third party.

LycaChat may not be held liable for the consequences resulting from the unauthorized access by a third party to a User’s Account because of the negligence of the latter. The User shall immediately warn LycaChat of any unauthorized use of his/her account or any security breach regarding his account.

6.2. Specific limits to emergency calls

“Emergency Calls” refer to calls made to hospitals, police services, medical care units or other services which allow connection to an emergency service.

It is acknowledged that the VOIP OUT function of the LycaChat Application does not replace the mobile telephony service provided by the User’s Mobile Operator.

To make an Emergency Call, the User will be redirected to the telephony service of his/her Mobile Operator. The User is asked to close the Application so as to directly dial the emergency number through his/her Mobile Operator’s Network. The Application does not allow the User to make an Emergency Call.

Since the transmission and routing of Emergency Calls is not carried out by the Service, LycaChat may not be held liable if these Emergency Calls are unsuccessful, in particular if the Emergency Calls cannot be routed by the Mobile Operator for technical reasons and/or because of the geographical situation of the User.

ARTICLE 7 – SUSPENSION – TERMINATION – RENEWAL

7.1 Suspension & Termination of the General Terms and Conditions

LycaChat reserves the right to suspend or terminate the execution of these General Terms and Conditions, and therefore the User’s Account, or to delete the corresponding minutes from the User’s Account, without notice or compensation in the following cases:

The User (including his User Account and/or the connection from his Terminal) is liable for a breach of his obligations, in particular those mentioned in article 5 of these General Terms and Conditions;
Any attempt or act of hacking or illegal use of the information available and/or flowing through the Service, or information stored on the Users’ Accounts, is caused by or originated from the User’s Account;
Any attempt or act of hacking of the equipment of LycaChat’s network necessary for the provision of the Service is coming from the connection or equipment used by the User;
Third parties report that the User (a) does not comply with these General Terms and Conditions and/or (b) uses the Service in a way that is likely to harm third parties and/or (c) uses the Service in a way that would be contrary to moral or public order, and, in any event, after investigation by LycaChat;
The contact details, in particular the address of the User as communicated by the latter, do not reflect the reality.
In the case of a payment incident or of a suspected fraud regarding the payment, including cases where LycaChat knows or has serious reasons to believe that the amount corresponding to the minutes ordered by the User through a payment mechanism has not actually been debited from the User’s Account;

7.2 Deactivation of the Account at the initiative of the User

The User may deactivate his/her Account at any time by uninstalling the Application from his/her Terminal and by sending a request to LycaChat at the following address.

7.3 Renewal

Minutes Packs are valid for an initial period of 365 days after their purchase.

Beyond the above-mentioned period, Minutes Packs may be renewed indefinitely, provided that the User requests it during their period of validity. To do so within the time limit, the User shall request the reactivation of the Packs by contacting LycaChat team at the following address 23 rue d’Anjou, 75008 Paris, or by mail at support@lycachat.com.

ARTICLE 8 – AGREEMENT ON PROOF

It is expressly agreed that the Parties may communicate electronically for the purposes set forth by these General Terms and Conditions, provided that the technical security measures ensuring the confidentiality of the data exchanged are implemented.

The Parties agree that electronic communication between them validly prove the content of their discussions and undertakings. As such, the order will be saved on the computer records of LycaChat, which shall be kept on a reliable and durable device and shall be considered as a proof of the contractual relations between the Parties.

ARTICLE 9 – TRANSFERABILITY

The User shall not transfer to a third party any of the rights or obligations hold under these General Terms and Conditions. Failing such would lead to the suspension and/or deletion of the User’s Account. Besides, the User shall be held liable for the content or any other data available online or sent from his/her Account.

ARTICLE 10 – PERSONAL DATA

Concerned about the protection of personal data which are transmitted by the User through the Service, whether through the Application or the Portal, LycaChat has implemented a policy of personal data processing, available at any time on the Portal at the following address: https://www.LycaChat.com/en/Privacy.

ARTICLE 11 – INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

11.1 Right of the User

The User is and remains owner of the data send through the Service and notably the data of the Account.

11.2 Right of LycaChat

LycaChat is and remains the sole owner of its Service, Application, Portal, software applications, graphic charter, brands, logos, concepts, technology, software, data bases, and content made available for the Users, which are protected by LycaChat’s intellectual property rights (including copyrights, trademark and patent rights).

The User undertakes not to use or reproduce LycaChat’s intellectual property rights (and in particular LycaChat’s brands, its logos used on the Application and/or on the Portal) on any product or support, for any reason whatsoever. It cannot be inferred that the use of the Service grants to the User an authorization to use LycaChat’s intellectual property rights (and in particular LycaChat’s trademarks or logos), for any reason whatsoever.

The User recognizes that no intellectual property right on the Service components are granted to him/her. Such rights are and remain the sole property of LycaChat. Moreover, the User shall not use any of these components in another context than the one exclusively set out in these General Terms and Conditions.

All improvements, updates, derived products or developments that are realised, created or developed by LycaChat concerning the Service are and will remain the sole property of LycaChat. The User acknowledges and expressly accepts that any contribution under the form of services, suggestions, ideas, reports, identification of faults, expenditure, or any other contributions made by the User, do not grant him/her any right, title or interest in any of the elements or components of the Service.

No User or Portal visitor may implement a hypertext link to the Portal, without express prior LycaChat’s consent.

11.3 Right of use (licence)

LycaChat grants to the User a right of use which is non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, and valid for the entire world and cannot be subject to sub-licensing, of the Application and/or software components of the Application.

This authorization is conditional upon the respect of these General Terms and Conditions.

The authorization does not authorize the User to access or use any source code of the Application and/or software components of the Application.

The User must not:

use, copy, modify or distribute the Application and/or software components of the Application, except as expressly authorized by these General Terms and Conditions;
disassemble, decompile or translate the Application and/or the software components of the Application, except as expressly authorized by the laws or regulations which are applicable;
sub-licence or transfer the Application and/or the software components of the Application.

ARTICLE 12 – EXTERNAL LINKS

The Portal may contain hypertext links redirecting the User to other websites.

LycaChat does not undertake any commitment for other website to which the User may have access through the Portal and may not be held liable for the content, functioning, services offered or access to these websites.

ARTICLE 13 – APPLICABLE LAW – GENERAL PROVISIONS

If one or several stipulations of these General Terms and Conditions are null or declared to be such under the governing law or regulation, or following a final judicial decision, the other stipulations shall remain in full force.

The Parties shall not be held liable or considered as having breached these General Terms and Conditions if a delay or a non-execution occurs, when the cause of the delay or non-execution is linked to a case of force majeure as defined by article 1218 of the French Civil Code and by the case law of the French courts.

Except when prohibited by the governing law, these General Terms and Conditions are subject to French law. Any dispute or claim in application of these General Terms and Conditions between the Users and LycaChat, or any failure, termination or invalidity of this document will be subject to the competent courts.

ARTICLE 14 – CONTACT – CLAIM – MEDIATION

Any claim or dispute relating to the Service should be transmitted by email to support@lycachat.com or in the section “Contact us” of the Application.

If the User is not satisfied with the way LycaChat has handled his complaint, the User may seek the assistance of an independant consumer mediator, who has been suggested by the mediation service [TBC], to try to reach an amicable outcome to the dispute, by contacting him / her according to the following instructions:

electronically: [to be completed];
or by post: [to be completed].

The User may also contact the European Commission dispute resolution platform available online at the following address: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/.

Appendix 1 – Withdrawal Form

Addressed to support@lycachat.com:

I/we (*) hereby give you notice that I/we (*) wish to exercise my right to withdraw from the Minutes Pack purchase, whose details are detailed below:

Ordered on (*) / received on (*):
Name of (the) consumer (s):
Address of (the) consumer (s):
Signature of (the) consumer (s) (only if this form is sent by letter):
Date:

(*) Delete as appropriate