Terms and Conditions

Home Town Shredders (HTS) Terms and Conditions for Secure Document Shredding and Disposal Services.

These Terms and Conditions (“Agreement”) govern the secure document shredding and disposal services provided by Home Town Shredders (HTS), a partnership carrying on business on Denman Island, British Columbia (the “Service Provider”). By signing a Home Town Shredders Client Contract, the customer identified (the “Client”) agrees to the below Terms and Conditions. 

Purpose. The Service Provider provides businesses and members of the public with secure, reliable shredding and disposal services for confidential documents.

 1. Services

• The Service Provider will provide document shredding and related disposal services as requested by the Client on a regular agreed upon schedule or as requested. This includes document pick-up, handling, transport, destruction, and issuance of a Certificate of Destruction once the invoice has been paid in full. 
• The parties acknowledge that the scope, frequency, locations, pricing, service levels, and other operational details of the services may evolve over time. The Client Contract may describe recurring services, one-time services, or a combination of both, and may be updated, replaced, or supplemented by written agreement of the parties from time to time, including by email, work order, invoice, pickup confirmation, or other written confirmation, without the need to amend the remainder of this Agreement. 

2. Client Responsibilities

• The Client will identify the materials to be destroyed and ensure it has the authority to release those materials for destruction. 
• The Client will package materials reasonably securely for collection unless the parties agree that the Service Provider will provide bags upon request. Boxes and bags that documents are picked up in, will not be returned. 
• The Client will remove cash, valuables, batteries, electronics, hazardous materials, and all other items not intended for shredding unless the Service Provider has expressly agreed in writing to handle them. All items found amongst documents to shredded will be disposed of at the dump. 
• The Service Provider may refuse materials that are unsafe, unlawful to transport or destroy, contaminated, or materially different from what was disclosed when the service was booked. 
• The Client agrees, documents to be shredded and the boxes/bags they are stored in are dry, without mold/mildew, animal contamination or other waste/garbage material that could pose a risk to the staff of HTS or potentially damage HTS’s equipment. If documents/storage receptacle are in unacceptable condition, the staff will decline the pick up. If contamination is discovered after pick up, the items picked up will be returned to the client and still charged the agreed upon shredding services charges. If the client refuses to accept the contaminated documents, garbage or receptacle items are in, these items will be taken to the dump unshredded and in the same condition they were received in. The client will be invoiced at the shredding service charges as well as a $100 service fee and may be declined service in the future. 

3. Confidentiality and Secure Handling 

• The Service Provider will treat all documents and information received from the Client as private and confidential therefore will only perform the shredding and disposal services under this Agreement.
•  The Service Provider will maintain reasonable administrative, physical, and operational safeguards to protect confidential materials against unauthorized access, use, copying, disclosure, loss, theft, or removal while those materials are in the Service Provider’s custody or control.  
• Without limiting the foregoing, the Service Provider will use trained personnel, keep materials under controlled custody during collection and transport, restrict access to personnel who require access for the purpose of performing the services, and destroy the materials in a manner intended to render the information unreadable and incapable of practical reconstruction.
• The Service Provider will not open, review, or intentionally inspect the contents of the materials except to the limited extent reasonably necessary for safety, verification of service requirements, compliance with law, or incident response. 
• The confidentiality obligations in this Agreement do not apply to information that is publicly available other than through a breach of this Agreement, was lawfully known to the Service Provider without an obligation of confidence, or must be disclosed by law. Where disclosure is required by law, the Service Provider will, unless legally prohibited, give the Client prompt notice so the Client may seek a protective measure. 
• These confidentiality obligations survive termination of this Agreement. 

4. Destruction Standard and Certificate 

• The Service Provider will destroy the materials by shredding after collection within a commercially reasonable period, striving for the ideal of all shredding to be complete within 24hours of pick up. 
•  Following shredding of client’s documents, the Service Provider will email the client their invoice and once that is paid, a Certificate of Destruction identifying the date of destruction and the service completed will be issued. The Client acknowledges that such a certificate is evidence of completion based on the Service Provider’s records and ordinary course processes. 

5. Fees and Payment 

• The Client will pay the Service Provider the fees agreed for the applicable service request, together with any applicable taxes. 
•  Unless otherwise agreed in writing, invoices are due within 10 business days of the invoice date. Overdue amounts will bear interest at the rate of two percent (2%) per month, calculated monthly, not to exceed the maximum rate permitted by law. A Certificate of Destruction will only be issued once invoice is paid in full. 

6. Term and Termination 

• This Agreement begins on the Effective Date and continues until terminated by either party on written notice. Termination does not affect payment obligations or any provision that by its nature should survive termination, including confidentiality, liability limits, and governing law.
• Either party may terminate this Agreement immediately on written notice if the other party commits a material breach and fails to cure that breach within ten (10) days after receiving notice of it, if the breach is capable of cure. 

7. Limited Liability 

• The Service Provider will perform the services in a careful and professional manner. However, except for liability that cannot lawfully be excluded, the Service Provider’s total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the services is limited to the amount actually paid by the Client to the Service Provider for the specific service giving rise to the claim during the three (3) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or $5,000, whichever is greater.
• The Service Provider is not liable for indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or punitive damages, including loss of profit, loss of business opportunity, or reputational harm. 

8. General 

• The Service Provider is an independent contractor and not the Client’s employee, agent, or fiduciary. 
• This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between the parties regarding the services and supersedes prior discussions on that subject matter. 
• Any amendment to this Agreement must be in writing and signed by both parties. 
• The Client Contract forms part of this Agreement and may set out the current scope and operational details of the services, including any recurring services. The parties may update information in the Client Contract from time to time in writing, including by email or other written confirmation, without amending the balance of this Agreement. 
• If any provision of this Agreement is unenforceable, the remainder will continue in force. 
• This Agreement is governed by the laws of British Columbia and the federal laws of Canada applicable in British Columbia.