the terms under which information enterprises, inc. and their customers operate

i. your acceptance of our terms

welcome to the home of information enterprises, your online information solutions provider.

information enterprises inc. (and all of its websites, heretofore collectively referred to as “information enterprises” or “ie”) offers its products and services to you, subject to your agreement to these “terms of use”. when using information enterprises products or services, you and information enterprises shall be subject to all posted guidelines and rules associated with each product or service offered. all such guidelines and rules are contained in these “terms of use” (as modified from time to time), any written agreements between information enterprises and any of its customers or partners (including the member agreement and employer certification of compliance with laws), and as otherwise set forth on our websites from time to time. these terms of use are subject to change from time to time without notice. if you do not agree to these terms of use, do not use this service. by using information enterprises products or services, you are agreeing to be bound by the terms of use. please note that some of information enterprises' e-commerce websites are governed by their own “terms of use”, and in using any of that website’s products or services, you will be bound to that website’s “terms of use” as well as this one.

ii. description of service

information enterprises currently provides consumers and businesses with access to public information and other useful data through its large network of third party information providers including court researchers, information providers, investigation firms, state and federal agencies and other organizations. information enterprises distributes public records such as, criminal background records, eviction records, social security verification and driving records. in addition to public records the company also works with private parties to provide non-public information such as credit reports. 

iii. compliance with laws

prior to using any of information enterprises’ websites, you must be sure that you have all necessary approvals from anyone that you seek information on, and otherwise comply with all federal, state and local laws with respect to obtaining, using and maintaining any information obtained from information enterprises’ websites. you understand that you are responsible for accurately filling out any on-line or other forms requested by information enterprises, and information enterprises is not responsible for any typos or other mistakes in any ordering information which you may enter.

if you are an employer using the information enterprises’ websites with respect to prospective or current employees for employment purposes, you must comply with the federal fair credit reporting act (“fcra”). by using this website, you certify to information enterprises that you will comply with all of the requirements of the fcra. among other things, fcra requires prior written authorization from the employee or applicant, and certain disclosures to the employee or applicant. for more information on complying with fcra, please contact your attorney. you may also find information at the federal trade commission’s website, www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/business/credit/bus08.shtm.

as a matter of policy, information enterprises will not accept payments from any individual it knows to be under the age of 18. by requesting information from ie websites, you certify that if you are an individual and are 18 years of age or older.

iv. warranties and disclaimers/limitation of liability

all products and services of information enterprises as well as any information obtained through any of information enterprises’ websites are comprised of information from third party information providers. as such, there is no guaranty that such information is accurate, and therefore all information is provided on an “as is” basis.

information enterprises makes no representations about the accuracy, correctness or completeness of the content or the products or services associated with this site, or the suitability of the content, products or services on this site for any purpose. all such materials are provided “as is” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. information enterprises specifically disclaims all warranties and conditions of any kind, including all implied warranties and conditions of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title and non-infringement. information enterprises shall not have any liability or responsibility for any errors or omissions in the content of this site, for your action or inaction in connection with this site (including your purchase of products or services through this site) or for any damage to your computer or data or any other damage you may incur in connection with this site. your use of this site is at your own risk. in no event shall either information enterprises, its officers, directors, affiliates or agents be liable for any direct, indirect, punitive, incidental, special or consequential damages arising out of or in any way connected with the use of this site, the materials in this site, your purchase of products or services through this site, the delay or inability to use this site or otherwise arising in connection with this site, whether based on contract, tort, strict liability or otherwise, even if advised of the possibility of any such damages.

your sole remedy for dissatisfaction with this site, site-related services, and/or hyperlinked websites is to stop using the site and/or those services.

some states and/or jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above exclusion may not apply to you.

v. no resale of service/unlawful use

you agree not to reproduce, duplicate, copy, sell, resell or exploit for any commercial/illegal/or otherwise inappropriate purposes, any product/service or data of any kind derived from using any of information enterprises websites.

as a condition of your use of the information enterprises’ websites, you warrant to us that you will not use any of information enterprises’ sites or services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by these terms of use. if you breach any of the terms of use, your authorization to use this service automatically terminates, and you must immediately cease use of any of information enterprises’ products or services, including any materials that you may have previously printed.

vi. your obligations

compliance with laws/fair credit reporting act compliance certification 

you understand and agree that you will only use any information obtained through information enterprises’ websites in full compliance with federal, state and local laws.

if you are an employer using information enterprises’ websites with respect to prospective or current employees for employment purposes, by using this site you expressly certify to information enterprises that any use of the information obtained from information enterprises websites will be strictly in compliance with the fair credit reporting act, and all other applicable federal, state and other laws and regulations, including but not limited to the following:

• the information will be used for employment purposes only and for no other purposes;
• prior to requesting the report:

• you will make a clear and conspicuous disclosure in writing to the person that you are requesting a consumer report regarding the person;
• you will obtain written authorization for the request from the person;

• the information in the report will not be used in violation of any applicable federal or state equal employment opportunity law or regulation; and
• if an adverse action (that is, a decision not to hire, promote, retain or reassign) is proposed to be taken based in whole or in part on the report, you will comply with fcra including,

• providing the person with a copy of the report and a summary of the person’s rights under the fcra before the adverse action is taken; and
• after the adverse action is taken, notify the person of the adverse action and include the notices to the person required by the fcra.

• you will hold the information in the report in strict confidence and maintain procedures to secure such information from unauthorized third party access or use.
• if the employee or prospective employee is a california resident, or you are based in california or otherwise required to comply with california law, you agree to abide by the california investigative consumer reporting agencies act (“cicra”), or other governing law, including (prior to obtaining the report where required):

• providing a disclosure notice in writing to the person, including specific language described in cicra;
• obtain proper authorization from the person to obtain the report;
• provide a means by which the person may request a copy of the report; and
• follow all adverse action procedures.

if a criminal background check other than a county criminal background check was performed on an applicant/employee for any employment related purpose; and information came back from that search that is likely to have adverse actions against the applicant/employee, we require you (the employer) to place a county criminal background check where the criminal record was found to ensure the information discovered is both accurate and current. all customers should consult local, state and federal laws before any adverse action is taken against an applicant or employee.

conduct

as a condition to using any information enterprises’ website, you expressly refrain from doing any of the following:

you agree to not use any of our products or services to:

1. upload, post, email, transmit or otherwise make available any information received from information enterprises in an unlawful, harmful, harassing, abusive, threatening, or otherwise objectionable way.
2. harm people in any way.
3. impersonate any person or entity.
4. intentionally or unintentionally violate any applicable local, state, national or international law.
5. stalk, harass, intimidate or otherwise infringe on the rights of another person.
6. collect, store or improperly use personal data about others.
7. commit identity fraud

* information enterprises co-operates fully with any law enforcement investigation concerning identity theft or credit card fraud.

member account, password and security
you will receive a password and account designation upon becoming a member of one of our sites. you are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the password and account, and are fully responsible for all activities that occur under your password or account. you agree to (a) immediately notify information enterprises of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security, and (b) ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. information enterprises cannot and will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this request.

vii. information enterprises privacy policy

all information about you that we maintain is subject to our privacy policy.

you can view our privacy policy in full at:
http://www.informationenterprises.com/privacy-security-information-enterprises.html
this website may contain links to other websites not affiliated with information enterprises. please be aware that ie is not responsible for the privacy practices of other sites. you should be sure to review the privacy policy of every website you may visit that collects personally identifiable information.

viii. general practices regarding use and storage

you acknowledge that information enterprises may establish general practices and limits concerning the use of its web services. you agree that information enterprises has no responsibility or liability for the deletion or failure to store any messages and other communications maintained or transmitted by or through us. you acknowledge that information enterprises reserves the right to log off accounts that are inactive for an extended period of time. you further acknowledge that information enterprises reserves the right to change these general practices and limits at any time, at its sole discretion, with or without notice.

ix. modifications to service

information enterprises reserves the right at any time and from time to time to modify or discontinue, temporarily or permanently, any of its websites or services with or without notices. you agree that information enterprises shall not be liable to you or to any third party for any modification, suspension or discontinuance of any of its websites or services.

x. trademark information

the trademarks, service marks and logos (the “trademarks”) used and displayed on information enterprises websites and/or services are registered and unregistered trademarks of information enterprises and others. nothing on this site should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark displayed information enterprises websites or services, without the prior written permission of the trademark owner. information enterprises aggressively enforces its intellectual property rights to the fullest extent of the law. the information enterprises name may not be used in any way, including in advertising or publicity pertaining to distribution of materials on this site, without prior written permission from information enterprises. information enterprises prohibits use of any links to their websites unless establishment of such a link is approved in advance by information enterprises in writing. fair use of information enterprises’ trademarks requires proper acknowledgment. other product and company names mentioned in information enterprises websites or services may be the trademarks of their respective owners, and should not be used without the permission of the trademark owner.

xi. copyrights

information enterprises respects the intellectual property of others, and expect our users to do the same for us. the following websites are owned by information enterprises:

information enterprises
www.informationenterprises.com

criminal background records
www.criminalbackgroundrecords.com

tenant screening usa
tenantscreeningusa.com

information enterprises websites and products, and all materials in such websites, including photographs, designs, illustrations, images and text are the copyrighted property of information enterprises and its affiliates. you may not modify, copy, distribute, transmit, display, perform, reproduce, publish, license, create derivative works from, transfer or sell any information, material, software, products or services from this or any of information enterprises websites. for purposes of these terms of use, any use of the materials contained on this site or any other website or for any other purposes except as provided in these terms of use is expressly prohibited. 

xii. indemnity and hold harmless

information enterprises does not offer legal advice in any form or manner neither oral nor written nor other. all information provided by information enterprises is never intended as legal advice, and therefore should not be interpreted as such. if you intend to use any of our products or services for employment or other screening purposes, we strongly recommend that you seek the guidance of a legal professional to insure that you are complying with all applicable laws.

you agree to indemnify and hold harmless information enterprises, its subsidiaries, affiliates, officers, directors, agents, employees, and all other partners, from any claim, demand, liability, loss or expense including reasonable attorneys' fees, made by any third party due to, or arising out of, the use/purchase of any of our web services and/or products or any information searched or obtained through any of information enterprises’ websites or the internet.

xiii. general disclaimer

information enterprises shall have the right at any time to change or discontinue any of its e-commerce sites and/or any aspect or feature contained or derived from any of its websites; including, but not limited to, content, hours of availability, pricing, and turnaround times.

information enterprises shall have the right at any time to change or modify the terms and conditions applicable to the subscriber's use of information enterprises, or any part thereof, or to impose new conditions, including, but not limited to, adding fees and charges for use. such changes, modifications, additions or deletions shall be effective immediately. notice of any changes or modifications of the terms and conditions applicable to the subscriber’s use of information enterprises, or any part thereof, may be given by means including, but not limited to, posting on information enterprises’ websites, or by electronic or conventional mail, or by any other means by which subscriber obtains notice thereof. any use of information enterprises' services or products by subscriber after such notice shall be deemed to constitute acceptance by subscriber of such changes, modifications or additions.

you agree that no joint venture, partnership, employment or agency relationship exists between you and information enterprises as a result of this agreement or your use of this site.

information enterprises’ performance of this agreement is subject to existing laws and legal process and nothing contained in this agreement is in derogation of ie’s right to comply with law enforcement requests or requirements relating to your use of this site or information provided to or gathered by ie with respect to such use.

information enterprises and all of its websites, services and partners are committed to using the best available methods of servicing all of their customers. all data we store and access are obtained or used in compliance with the fair credit reporting act, and any other laws governing the use of public records. final verification of any product or service you receive from us is the responsibility of you, the customer. although every effort is made to assure the accuracy of the information contained in their products and services consistent with industry standards, we are not responsible for the content of any information obtained from information enterprises websites. in addition, by using any information enterprises' site and becoming a customer of any site, you understand and accept that the information gathered is derived primarily from public records, which may not be one hundred percent accurate or complete.

users should consult state and federal laws before using any information retrieved through an information enterprises website in making decisions on hiring or firing of employees.

information enterprises cannot and does not offer legal advice on how to use the information contained in its products and services, and is not responsible for any action taken by the customer based on this information. information enterprises assumes no liability for any claims for damages arising from the use of any of its data beyond the actual cost of the product purchased or service performed.

xiv. jurisdiction

this site resides on a server in massachusetts, u.s.a. you agree that this agreement and your use of this site are governed by the laws of the state of massachusetts, u.s.a. you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the courts, tribunals, agencies and other dispute resolution organizations in the county of middlesex, state of massachusetts, u.s.a. in all disputes (a) arising out of, relating to, or concerning this site and/or this agreement, (b) in which this site and/or this agreement is an issue or a material fact, or (c) in which this site and/or this agreement is referenced in a paper filed in a court, tribunal, agency or other dispute resolution organization. use of this site is unauthorized in any jurisdiction that does not give full effect to all provisions of this agreement, including without limitation this paragraph and the warranty disclaimers and liability exclusions above. ie has endeavored to comply with all legal requirements known to it in creating and maintaining this site, but makes no representation that materials on this site are appropriate or available for use in any particular jurisdiction. you are responsible for compliance with applicable laws. any use in contravention of this provision or any provision of this agreement is at your own risk and, if any part of this agreement is invalid or unenforceable under applicable law, the invalid or unenforceable provision will be deemed superseded by a valid, enforceable provision that most closely matches the intent of the original provision and the remainder of the agreement shall govern such use.

the “terms of use” and the relationship between you and information enterprises shall be governed by the laws of the state of massachusetts without regard to its conflict of law provisions. the failure of information enterprises to exercise or enforce any right or provision of this “terms of use” shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. if any provision of this “terms of use” is found by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, the parties nevertheless agree that the court should endeavor to give effect to the parties' intentions as reflected in the provision, and the other provisions of this “terms of use” remain in full force and effect. you agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to the use of any of our products and services, or this “terms of use,” must be filed within six months after such claim or cause of action arose or you will forever lose your right to proceed with such a claim or cause.

**section titles in this “terms of use” are for navigation aid only and therefore have no binding contractual effect.