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General terms and conditions of business (GTC) for online services

Certain services provided by the City of Biel/Bienne are generally available online 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The City of Biel/Bienne is not under any obligation to ensure its services are available at all times.

A contract is formed when the two parties reach a mutual understanding on all the material points of the agreement. The same applies to online orders. By clicking on the «Buy», «Send» or «Submit» button the user makes an offer. The contract is then considered to have been agreed with the immediate electronic confirmation of the offer.

Registration

You are responsible for entering factually correct and complete information when entering the personal data required for registration. You must refrain from causing any disruption to the website or making any use of the available data other than the use stated on the platform. Manipulation for the purpose of obtaining undue payments or other benefits to the detriment of the City of Biel/Bienne may result in legal action being taken.

Data protection and data security

We take the security of your personal data and the highest level of protection of your privacy very seriously and implement appropriate measures.

The data you enter in a form is encrypted before it is transferred to us. The data is stored on our servers with all due precautions taken, and third parties are prevented from accessing it. Only those employees who require your personal data to perform their duties are given access to it. Data provided is stored solely for the purpose of service delivery. Your data is then deleted from the system as soon as a transaction has taken place and we have completed the requested services. We do not pass data on to third parties.

Online payments

Orders with online payment can be paid with Mastercard, VISA, Postfinance or Twint. Sensitive credit card information is transferred using 128-bit encryption in line with technical standards applicable to internet banking. Once an order has been submitted, you are taken to the Swiss Post Office or DataTrans website. The credit card details provided are verified and payment is authorised there.

The world’s two biggest credit card companies have introduced a security standard for online purchases known as «Verified by Visa» and «MasterCard Secure Code». Payments made on the internet using Visa and MasterCard credit cards using the 3D-Secure technology are much safer as a result. When shopping using the «Verified by Visa» or «MasterCard SecureCode» systems, card holders approve the transaction by supplying a personal password to the bank that originally issued the card, along similar lines to a PIN code or a signature on a credit card authorisation slip when shopping in a store.

Disclaimer

The City of Biel/Bienne accepts no liability for losses or damage resulting from transmission errors, technical issues or disruption, service interruption, or illegal intrusions into the information systems of a user or of a third party. Likewise, it accepts no liability for losses or damage caused by publicly available systems and transmission networks or for any losses or damage arising from the suspension (including necessary system maintenance) or overloads affecting information systems.

Other provisions

Swiss law shall apply for all legal transactions and other legal dealings with us. The court of jurisdiction is the relevant court in the city of Biel/Bienne.

We are authorised to amend these general terms and conditions of business unilaterally where this is necessary to satisfy changes in the legal and technical frameworks.