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====== ring-u llc terms, conditions, policies and procedures ======
Updated for 2024.

====Cancellation====
Sadly, service cancellations happen. Our goal is to part ways gracefully, protecting the customers continuity of business which is often tied to a phone number. Cancelling the account is best done after porting/transferring phone numbers to a new provider. 

   * Cancel via the web portal at [[https://portal.ring-u.com]], it's a simple process in the customer portal under **Account->Payment Methods->Cancel Account**.
   * Cancel via a phone call to 423-456-6700. 

You can chose to cancel immediately, or at the end of the billing period. Upon cancellation Ring-U removes your payment information from our system. 

====Porting/Transfering Out Phone Numbers====
Customers are requested to notify Ring-U support in advance with the acquiring carriers name. 
===Policies===
  * **Ring-U will not hold phone numbers hostage.**
  * Ring-U will attempt to verify that the customer intends to port out a number via a phone call, email and service ticket. 
  * If unable to confirm that the customer intends to port out the number within 36 hours, it will be denied. 
  * Ring-U will provide a 4 digit "porting PIN" upon request that assists some providers in the process.
  * Porting/transfering out phone numbers does not cancel the account automatically. 

//Why does Ring-U verify port-outs? At least once a month, we get a port request that is unauthorized. Reasons ranging from scammer random phone number port requests to intentionally confusing sales weasels that get a copy of your bill from someone in the office and use it to transfer numbers without actual approval. Be wary of random sales droids that want a copy of your current bill to see if they can save you money. It is often used to request a phone number transfer. Ask them for a quote for what you use and a legitimate sales person will tell you what it should cost. // 
   
   
====Remote Access====
**Ring-U staff are forbidden from "remote controlling" or "screen sharing" any customers systems.**   
Ring-U is often asked if we can "remote in" and "fix it". It's a practice used by a lot of IT support people, using protocols such as Remote Desktop and VNC, or service providers such as LogMeIn, GoToMyPC and Zoom. Ring-U has the capacity using the Hello Hub of detecting common VoIP phones and configuring some of them via API's or OEM centralized configuration systems. Ring-U can perform limited network diagnostics and shared the results with the customer using the customer portal. Ring-U categorically does not have the capacity to provide IT support of a more generalized nature. We'll offer advice based on years of experience, and enjoy working with competent end users and IT professionals. Ring-U will not assume the liability incurred by such access. 


====Record Retention====
Ring-U makes every effort to protect the privacy of your business, and your businesses clients. Our record retention policy:

  * **Financial Data** billing and tax records: Legal requirement is 7 years, ring-u keeps forever.  
  * **Call Detail Records** Legal requirement is 18 months,  ring-u keeps for 24 months. 
  * **Voicemail: Transcription and Audio**: less than 24 hours on our systems, typically 1 to 3 minutes to do transcription process using AWS services. We remove audio and transcription immediately from AWS, we have no control or visibility to their actually deleting it, but we can not see/view/retrieve it. This is why HIPAA mode systems just notify you of the voicemail with a link to it on your Hello Hub.
  * **Fax V1** Files are stored on the Hello Hub and/or on an attached USB drive using up to 80% of the available space. 
  * **Fax V2** Files are stored on a Ring-U server for 3 to 8 days (longer over holidays).
  * **E-Mail** To/From/Subject are stored for months. Bodies, including transcription, invoices, service tickets, etc.. are not stored at all. Invoices can be regenerated. Service tickets are stored in the ticketing system. Human to Human E-Mails may be stored in our gmail system for months or longer, by Google (we use gmail for our business email). 
  * **Payment Methods**: Credit Card Number or Routing and Account Number are NOT stored on our systems. They are transmitted securely without storage to our payment provider (Authorize.net) who issues us a Customer ID token tied to our merchant account for future recurring billing. Ring-U does store the last 4 digits of the Credit Card to identify the account being used and displays that to the customer. **When an account is cancelled, the account payment method information is permanently deleted.**


====E911/911 limits====


Our emergency service is currently available only on numbers in: United States of America and Canada. US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Guam and other +1 numbers are handled on a case by case basis as sometimes the number and location has 911 capabilities, sometimes they don't. 


====10DLC SMS====


By default, all ring-u customers are opted in to receive SMS messages from ring-u.  You may opt out at any time by replying STOP, or by sending an email to support@ring-u.com. SMS messages will originate from 423-567-4888 or 423-456-6700 only. 
 

====Acceptable Use; Safety-Critical Systems====

Your use of the Hello Hub and Ring-U telecom services must comply with the Ring-U Acceptable Use Policy. The Hello Hub and Ring-U telecom services are not intended for use with life-critical or safety-critical systems, such as use in operation of medical equipment, automated transportation systems, autonomous vehicles, aircraft or air traffic control, nuclear facilities, manned spacecraft, or military use in connection with live combat. However, this restriction will not apply in the event of the occurrence (certified by the United States Centers for Disease Control or successor body) of a widespread viral infection transmitted via bites or contact with bodily fluids that causes human corpses to reanimate and seek to consume living human flesh, blood, brain or nerve tissue and is likely to result in the fall of organized civilization. //(plagarized from AWS: https://aws.amazon.com/service-terms/ Item 42.10 )//


====Bespoke Config Customers====
Ring-u systems work very well when you use the system as designed, letting it manage phones and devices automatically. There are some devices that only work when manually configured, like paging adapters. Problems occur when a customer side-loads configs onto their phones from other systems, software or manually. If you need bespoke phone configuration/features you have three choices:

   - Realize sometimes life and the phone system is pretty good without such things.
   - Communicate about adding that logic/feature to the system in a consistent supported manner. Many system features were created from similar requests from several customers.   
   -   Do it anyway. You own the hardware, it's yours. We firmly believe in the right to repaid/modify. This may also extra support for customer induced issues will bump you into the "Complex Customer" billing plan (currently $249.95 per month) and may cause hourly support charges from ring-u.com to assist with these bespoke needs. Currently $150/hour in 15 minute increments.




====HIPAA====
[[hipaa|HIPAA COMPLIANCE]] has it's own page. A Ring-U system can be part of a health care facilities overall HIPAA compliance, but does not pretend to be HIPAA compliant itself. We contend no phone system can be considered such, and as a "conduit" is an exception from most requirements. It's a tool. How you use it matters.