Terms & Conditions

My Golden State Cellular Customer Service Agreement Terms and Conditions

Thanks for choosing Golden State Cellular. In this Customer Service Agreement, you’ll find important information about your Service, including your minimum contract term, what happens if you cancel a line of Service early or don’t pay on time, our ability to make changes to your Service or to the terms of this Agreement, and our liability if things don’t work as planned.

My Service

Your Service terms and conditions are part of this Agreement. Your Plan includes your monthly allowances and features, where you can use them (your "Coverage Area"), and their monthly and pay–per–use charges. You can also subscribe to several Optional Services, like text messaging packages. Together, your Plan and any Optional Services you select are your Service (“Service”).

How Do I Accept This Agreement?

You accept this Agreement by:

• Agreeing in writing, by e-mail, over the phone, or in person;
• Opening a package that says you are accepting by opening it; or
• Activating your Service using your wireless device.

When you accept, you’re representing that you are at least 18 years old and are legally able to accept an agreement. If you’re accepting for an organization, you’re representing that you are authorized to bind that organization, and where the context requires, "you" means the organization.
If you don’t want to accept, don’t do any of these things. If you do accept, you can cancel a line of Service within 30 days of accepting without having to pay an early termination fee as long as you return any equipment you purchased from us at the time you accepted, but you’ll still have to pay for your Service through that date.

Can Golden State Cellular Change This Agreement or My Service?

We may change prices or any other term of your Service or this Agreement at any time, but we’ll send you written notice first. If you use your Service after the change takes affect that means you’re accepting the change. But if a change to your Plan or this Agreement has a material adverse effect on you, you can cancel the line of Service that has been affected within 60 days of receiving the notice with no early termination fee.  You will receive a copy of the current terms and conditions for your Service when you activate.  They are also available online at goldenstatecellular.com.

My Privacy

In the course of providing Service to you, we may collect certain information that is made available to us solely by virtue of our relationship with you, such as information about the quantity, technical configuration, type, destination, and amount of your use of the telecommunications services you purchase.  This information and related billing information is sometimes known as Customer Proprietary Network Information, or CPNI.  (CPNI does not include your name, address, or wireless phone number.)  Further, except as provided in this Agreement, we will not share individually identifiable information about you without your permission.  By signing this Agreement, you authorize us to investigate your credit history at any time and to share credit information about you with credit reporting agencies.  If you ask, we will tell you the name and address of any credit agency that gives us a credit report about you.  For training or quality assurance, Golden State Cellular may also monitor or record our calls with you.
SUBJECT TO THE FOREGOING, GOLDEN STATE CELLULAR MAY USE AND/OR SHARE INFORMATION ABOUT YOU AND HOW YOU USE ANY OF OUR SERVICES:  (A) SO THAT GOLDEN STATE CELLULAR CAN PROVIDE YOUR SERVICE TO YOU; (B) SO THAT OTHER COMPANIES FROM WHOM YOU PURCHASE GOODS OR SERVICES CAN PROVIDE GOODS OR SERVICES TO YOU; (C) SO THAT GOLDEN STATE CELLULAR CAN COMMUNICATE WITH YOU ABOUT RELATED GOODS OR SERVICES THAT IT OFFERS; (D) TO PROTECT AGAINST IMMINENT FRAUDULENT OR CRIMINAL ACTIVITY;  (E) AS REQUIRED BY LAW OR LEGAL PROCESS, AND/OR (F) AS OTHERWISE PERMITTED UNDER THE RULES OF THE FEDERAL COMMUNICATIONS COMMISSION.
WE MAY USE OR SHARE NON-INDIVIDUALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION THAT MAY INCLUDE AGGREGATED INFORMATION AND/OR PUBLIC INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR USE OF YOUR SERVICE.  WE MAY SHARE THIS AGGREGATE OR PUBLIC INFORMATION WITH OTHER GOLDEN STATE CELLULAR COMPANIES, VENDORS, AND THIRD PARTIES TO PROVIDE RELEVANT ADVERTISING. 
Golden State Cellular may share your CPNI with its affiliates to market products and services that are of a similar type to those that you have purchased from Golden State Cellular or its affiliates.  If Golden State Cellular wishes to disclose your CPNI to its affiliates to market other products or services to you, we will first notify you of your rights under the law, describe how we intend to use the CPNI, and give you the option to “opt-out” of such information usage.

What Happens if My Service Is Canceled Before the End of My Contract Term?

You’re agreeing to subscribe to a line of Service either on a month–to–month basis or for a minimum contract term, as shown on your receipt or order confirmation. (If your Service is suspended without billing, that time doesn’t count toward completing your contract term.) Once you’ve completed your contract term, you’ll automatically become a customer on a month–to–month basis for that line of Service. If you cancel a line of Service, or if we cancel it for good cause, during its contract term, you’ll have to pay an early termination fee. If your contract term results from your purchase of an advanced device, your early termination fee will be $350 minus $10 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. (For a complete list of advanced devices, check goldenstatecellular.com/advanceddevices.) Otherwise, your early termination fee will be $175 minus $5 for each full month of your contract term that you complete. Cancellations will become effective on the last day of that month’s billing cycle, and you are responsible for all charges incurred until then. Also, if you bought your wireless device from an authorized agent or third–party vendor, you should check if they charge a separate termination fee.

Can I Take My Wireless Phone Number to Another Carrier?

You may be able to take, or "port," your wireless phone number to another carrier. If you port a number from us, we’ll treat it as though you asked us to cancel your Service for that number. After the porting is completed, you won’t be able to use our Service for that number, but you’ll remain responsible for all fees and charges through the end of that billing cycle, just like any other cancellation. If you port a number to us, please be aware that we may not be able to provide some services right away, such as 911 location services. You don’t have any rights to your wireless phone number, except for any right you may have to port it.

Directory Information

We will not publish your wireless phone number in any available directory or give it to anyone for that purpose, unless you ask us to.

Can I Have Someone Else Manage My Account?

No problem – just tell us by phone, in person, or in writing. You can appoint someone to manage your account for a single transaction, or until you tell us otherwise. The person you appoint will be able to make changes to your account, including adding new lines of Service, buying new wireless devices, and extending your contract term. Any changes that person makes will be treated as modifications to this agreement.

My Wireless Device

Your wireless device must comply with Federal Communications Commission regulations, be certified for use on our network, and be compatible with your Service. Please be aware that we may change your wireless device’s software, applications, or programming remotely, without notice. This could affect your stored data, or how you’ve programmed or use your wireless device.  Please note that your wireless device may not work with another wireless network and that the other wireless carrier may not accept your wireless device on its network.

Where and How Does Golden State Cellular Service Work?

Wireless devices use radio transmissions, so unfortunately you can’t get Service if your device isn’t in range of a transmission signal. And please be aware that even within your Coverage Area, many things can affect the availability and quality of your Service, including network capacity, your device, terrain, buildings, foliage, and weather.

What Charges Are Set by Golden State Cellular?

You agree to pay all access, usage, and other charges that you or the user of your wireless device incurred. Our charges include Federal Universal Service, Regulatory and Administrative Charges, and we may also include other charges related to our governmental costs. We set these charges; they aren’t taxes, they aren’t required by law, they are kept by us in whole or in part, and the amounts and what they pay for may change.

Government Taxes, Fees, and Surcharges

You must pay all taxes, fees, and surcharges set by federal, state, and local governments. Please note that we may not always be able to notify you in advance of changes to these charges.  These taxes, surcharges, and fees may change from time to time without notice. These charges may be based on the rates applicable to the residential street address or the primary business street address you provided to us. This address will be considered the "place of primary use," provided it is within our licensed service area.

What Are Roaming Charges?

You are "roaming" whenever your wireless device uses a transmission site outside your Coverage Area or uses another company’s wireless network. Sometimes roaming happens even when you’re within your Coverage Area. There may be higher rates and extra charges (including charges for long distance, tolls, or calls that don’t connect) for roaming calls, depending on your Plan.
Restrictions on Roaming:  Customers must on average over a three month period use no more than 50% of the minutes they use during that period of time off the Golden State Cellular network.  Off network usage is indicated by the “roam” symbol on your phone.  If your average off network use is over 50% during any three month period, your Service with Golden State Cellular may be terminated upon 30 days notice.

How Does Golden State Cellular Calculate My Bill?

For charges based on the amount of time used, we’ll round up any fraction to the next full minute. For outgoing calls, usage time starts when you first press SEND or the call connects to a network, and for incoming calls, it starts when the call connects to a network (which may be before it rings). Usage time may end several seconds after you press END or after the call disconnects. For calls made on our network, we only charge for calls that are answered, including by machines. Usage cannot always be processed right away and may be included in a later bill. Remember, you can always dispute your bill within 180 days of receiving it, but unless otherwise provided by law or unless you’re disputing charges because your wireless device was lost or stolen, you still have to pay all charges until the dispute is resolved.

How Do Carryover Minutes Work?

Carryover Minutes accumulate and expire through 12 rolling bill periods. Bill Period 1 (activation) unused Anytime Minutes will carry over to Bill Period 2. Carryover Minutes accumulated starting with Bill Period 2 will expire each bill period as they reach a 12 bill period age. Carryover Minutes will also expire immediately upon default, or if you change to a non-Carryover plan.  If additional Carryover plans are added to the account, they will share with the existing Carryover Minutes. Carryover minutes will be forfeited if you downgrade your rate plan. Carryover Minutes are not redeemable for cash or credit and are not transferable.
Enhanced 911 (E911)
Golden State Cellular is required by the FCC to provide location identifying service when a Customer dials 911.  You must ensure that your wireless device is E911 compatible and that this feature is enabled only for 911 calls.  We are not responsible for the accuracy or performance of location base services due to the many factors which may impair the accuracy and performance of those services.
Mobile Broadband Terms and Conditions

ACCEPTABLE USE POLICY

Our Acceptable Use Policy ("AUP") with respect to our subscribers or customers for use of Mobile Broadband Services purchased pursuant to this Agreement includes the following, but the following is without limitation of our rights to suspend or terminate access between us and our subscribers or customers for use of the Service pursuant to law, or our Agreement, including these Mobile Broadband Terms and Conditions.
All subscribers or customers who use the Service must agree to and must comply with this AUP. Golden State Cellular may remove, block, filter, or restrict by any other means the transmission of any material or use of the Service if Golden State Cellular determines, in its sole discretion, that such transmission or use may be unlawful. Golden State Cellular will cooperate with legal authorities and/or third parties in the investigation of any suspected or alleged crime or civil wrong. In addition, violation of this AUP may result in the suspension or termination of your Service. The following constitute violations of this AUP.
a. Unlawful use: Using the Service to transmit any material (by e-mail or otherwise) whose transmission is unlawful under any law applicable to such transmission.
b. Harm to minors: Using the Service to harm, or attempt to harm, minors in any way.
c. Threats: Using the Service to transmit any material (by e-mail or otherwise) that threatens or encourages bodily harm or destruction of property.
d. Harassment: Using the Service to transmit any material (by e-mail or otherwise) that unlawfully or otherwise harasses another.
e. Fraudulent activity: Using the Service to make fraudulent offers to sell or buy products, items, or services or to advance any type of financial scam such as "pyramid schemes," "Ponzi schemes", unregistered sales of securities, securities fraud, and "chain letters."
f. Forgery or impersonation: Adding, removing, or modifying identifying network, message, or article header information in an effort to deceive or mislead is prohibited while using the Service. Attempting to impersonate any person by using forged headers or other identifying information is prohibited.
g. Unsolicited commercial e-mail/Unsolicited bulk e-mail: Using the Service to transmit any unsolicited commercial e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail. Activities that have the effect of facilitating unsolicited commercial e-mail or unsolicited bulk e-mail, whether or not that e-mail is commercial in nature, are prohibited. Using deliberately misleading headers in e-mails sent to multiple parties is prohibited.
h. Unauthorized access: Using the Service to access, or to attempt to access without authority, the accounts of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, security measures of Golden State Cellular’s or another entity’s computer software or hardware, electronic communications system, or telecommunications system, whether or not the intrusion results in disruption of service or the corruption or loss of data.
i. Copyright or trademark infringement: Using the Service to transmit any material (by e-mail or otherwise) that infringes any copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party, including, but not limited to, the unauthorized copying of copyrighted material, the digitization, and distribution of photographs from magazines, books, or other copyrighted sources, and the unauthorized transmittal of copyrighted software.
j. Collection of personal data: Using the Service to collect, or attempt to collect, personal information about third parties without their knowledge or consent.
k. Reselling the Service: Reselling the Service without Golden State Cellular’s authorization.
l. Network disruptions and unfriendly activity: Using the Service for any activity that adversely affects the ability of other people or systems to use either Golden State Cellular Service or other parties’ Internet-based resources. This specifically but without limitation includes excessive consumption of network or system resources whether intentional or unintentional. This also includes "denial of service" attacks against another network host or individual user. Interference with or disruption of other network users, network services, or network equipment is prohibited.
In addition, you shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Golden State Cellular from any claims, damages, losses, liability, or expenses (including without limitation attorney fees and costs) incurred in connection with all claims, suits, judgments, and causes of action for damages arising from your breach of any provision of this Agreement.  This indemnification survives the termination or expiration of this Agreement.
Monitor Service:  Golden State Cellular is under no obligation to monitor your usage, bandwidth, transmissions, and the  content of your Service. However, anyone using your Service agrees that Golden State Cellular may monitor the usage, bandwidth, transmissions, and content of your Service periodically to (1) comply with any necessary laws, regulations, or other governmental requests; (2) to operate the Service properly or to protect itself, its network, and its users. Golden State Cellular reserves the right to modify, reject, or eliminate any information residing on or transmitted to its server that it, in its sole discretion, believes is unacceptable or in violation of these terms and conditions.
Data Plans and Features: Permitted Uses. You can use our Service Data Plans and Features for accessing the Internet and for such uses as: (i) Internet browsing; (ii) e-mail; (iii) intranet access (including accessing corporate intranets, e-mail and individual productivity applications made available by your company); (iv) uploading, downloading, and streaming of audio, video and games; and (v) Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP).

Data Plans and Features: Prohibited Uses.  You may not use our Service Data Plans and Features for illegal purposes or for purposes that infringe upon others’ intellectual property rights, or in a manner that interferes with other users’ service, interferes with the network’s ability to fairly allocate capacity among users, or that otherwise degrades service quality for other users.  Examples of prohibited usage include: (i) server devices or host computer applications, including continuous Web camera posts or broadcasts, automatic data feeds, automated machine-to-machine connections, or peer-to-peer (P2P) file-sharing applications that are broadcast to multiple servers or recipients such that they could enable “bots” or similar routines (as set forth in more detail in (iii) below) or otherwise denigrate network capacity or functionality; (ii) as a substitute or backup for private lines or dedicated data connections; (iii) “auto-responders,” “cancel-bots,” or similar automated or manual routines that generate amounts of net traffic that could disrupt net user groups or e-mail use by others; (iv) generating “spam” or unsolicited commercial or bulk e-mail (or activities that facilitate the dissemination of such e-mail); (v) any activity that adversely affects the ability of other users or systems to use either Golden State Cellular’s services or the Internet-based resources of others, including the generation or dissemination of viruses, malware, or “denial of service” attacks; (vi) accessing, or attempting to access without authority, the information, accounts or devices of others, or to penetrate, or attempt to penetrate, Golden State Cellular’s or another entity’s network or systems; or (vii) running software or other devices that maintain continuous active Internet connections when a computer’s connection would otherwise be idle, or “keep alive” functions, unless they adhere to Golden State Cellular’s requirements for such usage, which may be changed from time to time.  By way of example only, you may not use a Data Plan or Feature for web broadcasting, or for the operation of servers, telemetry devices and/or Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition devices.

Approximate Data Usage Examples:  Basic information and examples showing the approximate data usage for several common Internet activities appear below.

 The Data Plans or Features are for individual use only and you may not offer them for resale.

We further reserve the right to take measures to protect our network and other users from harm, compromised capacity, or degradation in performance.  These measures may impact your Service, and we reserve the right to deny, modify, or terminate Service, with or without notice, to anyone we believe is using Data Plans or Features in a manner that adversely impacts our network.

We may monitor your compliance, or the compliance of other subscribers, with these terms and conditions, but we will not monitor the content of your communications except as otherwise expressly permitted or required by law.  See goldenstatecellular.com/privacy_policy.html.

What is Included with the Unlimited Airtime Rate Plans?

Golden State Cellular offers a family of unlimited airtime rate plans.  You must have a billing address and physical address in the Golden State Cellular territory to activate a phone on any of the Unlimited Airtime Rate Plans.  Some of the plans are local only and the phone can only make and receive voice calls while on the Golden State Cellular Network but may, however, (subject to the roaming partner’s network configuration) send and receive text messages while out of the Golden State Cellular Network.  There are also plans that are Nationwide and allow unlimited calls so long as they originate and terminate within the United States.  Some of the plans include unlimited SMS and MMS.  Check the Unlimited Rate Plans sheets to determine which plan is best for your needs.   Directory Assistance (411) is not included in the free calling on any of the Plans.  Internet access, downloads, and content subscriptions are chargeable.  The Unlimited Airtime Rate Plans sheet will list which features are included with each plan.

About My Payments

If we don’t get your payment on time, we will charge you a late fee at the annual rate of ten percent (10%) on the unpaid balance. If we use a collection agency to collect from you, we may charge you for any fees the collection agency charges us, if allowed by law in the state of your billing address when we first send your account to a collection agency. We may require a deposit at the time of activation or afterward, or an increased deposit. We may apply deposits or payments in any order to any amounts you owe us on any account. If your final credit balance is less than $5, we will refund it only if you ask. We may charge you up to $35 for any returned check ($25 for the first check passed on insufficient funds). You may have to pay a fee to activate Service or to reconnect Service if it is interrupted for non–payment or suspended for any reason. If we interrupt your Service for nonpayment there will be a $10 Hotline fee assessed to your account.

What if My Wireless Device Gets Lost or Stolen?

We’re here to help. It’s important that you notify us right away, so we can suspend your Service to keep someone else from using it. If your wireless device is used after the loss or theft but before you report it, and you want a credit for any charges for that usage, we’re happy to review your account activity and any other information you’d like us to consider. Keep in mind that you may be held responsible for the charges if you delayed reporting the loss or theft without good reason.

What Are Golden State Cellular’s Rights to Limit or End Service or to End this Agreement?

We can, without notice, limit, suspend, or end your Service or any agreement with you for any good cause, including, but not limited to: (i) if: (a) you fail to comply with or breach or default any other provision of this Agreement; (b) you fail to pay the full amount billed under this Agreement by the due date on the bill, or pay late more than once in any 12 months; (c) you cancel Service before the end to the fixed Service Period term of this Agreement; (d) you resell the cellular airtime provided to you; (e) you install, deploy, or use any regeneration equipment or similar mechanism (for example, a repeater) to originate, amplify, enhance, retransmit, or regenerate a transmitted RF signal without our permission; (f) the misuse or fraudulent use of your wireless device or Service or any use which Golden State Cellular determines, in its reasonable judgment, negatively affects its cellular systems or other customers’ use of Service; (g) you incur charges larger than a required deposit or billing limit, or materially in excess of your monthly access charges (even if we haven’t yet billed the charges); (h) you provide credit information we can’t verify; (i) you use your Service for any illegal purpose, including use that violates trade and economic sanctions and prohibitions promulgated by any U.S. governmental agency; (j) you steal from or lie to us; or (ii) if you, any user of your wireless device or any account manager on your account: (a) threaten, harass, or use vulgar and/or inappropriate language and/or actions toward our representatives; (b) interfere with our operations; (c) “spam,” or engage in other abusive messaging or calling; or (d) modify your device from its manufacturer’s specifications.  As noted in “Restrictions on Roaming", if your average off network use is over 50% during any three month period, your Service with Golden State Cellular may be terminated upon 30 days notice.  We can also temporarily limit your Service for any operational or governmental reason.  If Service is disconnected, you may be required to pay a security deposit and/or reactivation fees to reconnect Service.

Am I Eligible for Special Discounts?

You may be eligible for a discount if you are and remain affiliated with an organization that has a discount agreement with us. Unless your discount is through a government employee discount program, we may share certain information about your Service (including your name, your wireless telephone number, and your total monthly charges) with your organization from time to time to make sure you’re still eligible. We may adjust or remove your discount according to your organization’s agreement with us, and remove your discount if your eligibility ends or your contract term expires. In any case, this won’t be considered to have a material adverse effect on you.

Disclaimer of Warranties

WE MAKE NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ABOUT YOUR SERVICE, YOUR WIRELESS DEVICE, OR ANY APPLICATIONS YOU ACCESS THROUGH YOUR WIRELESS DEVICE. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR WIRELESS DEVICE WILL WORK PERFECTLY OR WILL NOT NEED OCCASIONAL UPGRADES OR MODIFICATIONS, OR THAT IT WILL NOT BE NEGATIVELY AFFECTED BY NETWORK–RELATED MODIFICATIONS, UPGRADES, OR SIMILAR ACTIVITY.

Waivers and Limitations of Liability

You and Golden State Cellular both agree to limit claims against each other for damages or other monetary relief to direct damages. This limitation and waiver will apply regardless of the theory of liability. That means neither of us will try to get any indirect, special, consequential, treble, or punitive damages from the other. This limitation and waiver also applies if you bring a claim against one of our suppliers, to the extent we would be required to indemnify the supplier for the claim. You agree we aren’t responsible for problems caused by you or others, or by any act of God. You also agree we aren’t liable for missed or deleted voice mails or other messages, or for any information (like pictures) that gets lost or deleted if we work on your wireless device. If another wireless carrier is involved in any problem (for example, while you’re roaming), you also agree to any limitations of liability in its favor that it imposes.

About this Agreement

If we don’t enforce our rights under this Agreement in one instance, that doesn’t mean we won’t or can’t enforce those rights in any other instance. You cannot assign this Agreement or any of your rights or duties under it without our permission. However, we may assign this Agreement or any debt you owe us without notifying you. Please note that many notices we send to you will show up as messages on your monthly bill. If you have online billing, those notices will be deemed received by you when your online bill is available for viewing. If you get a paper bill, those notices will be deemed received by you 3 days after we mail the bill to you. If we send other notices to you, they will be considered received immediately if we send them to your wireless device, or to any e-mail or fax number you’ve given us, or after 3 days if we mail them to your billing address. If you need to send notices to us, please send them to the customer service address on your latest bill.
All of the provisions of this Agreement shall be severable.  If any provision of this Agreement is held to be invalid, the remaining provisions of this Agreement shall be valid unless the valid provisions of this Agreement are so essentially and inseparably connected with and so dependent upon the invalid provisions that it cannot be presumed that you and we could have included the valid provisions without the invalid provisions.
The Customer Service Agreement and these Terms and Conditions and all referenced policies and provisions form the entire agreement between us. You can’t rely on any other documents, or on what is said by any sales or customer service representatives, and you have no other rights regarding Service or this Agreement. This Agreement isn’t for the benefit of any third party except our parent companies, affiliates, subsidiaries, agents, and predecessors and successors in interest.  The validity, construction, and performance of this Customer Service Agreement shall at all times be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, excluding any conflicts-of-laws rule or principle that might refer the validity, governance, or construction of this Agreement to the laws of another jurisdiction.

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