BullionVault
is a trademarked service provided by "Galmarley Limited".
Galmarley Limited is company number 4943684 registered in England and Wales.
In
these Terms and Conditions references to BullionVault mean Galmarley Limited
wherever the context requires a legal entity.
You
become a new Customer of BullionVault by Registering for an account on-line.
In becoming a Customer you are deemed to accept that BullionVault's Terms and
Conditions define the entire business relationship between BullionVault and
you.
As
of 16th March 2009 these are the Terms of Business for new BullionVault
Customers.
By
giving 30 days notice of modifications BullionVault may from time to time
modify its Terms and Conditions. For modified Terms and Conditions to
become effective they must be published on the BullionVault website and
BullionVault must also send the new Terms and Conditions to the email address
provided as a contact point by you.
During
those 30 days you have the right to terminate the relationship, and under the old Terms of
Business. You can effect a termination by selling your gold and
withdrawing your money in the normal way. If you do not terminate the
relationship in this way you are deemed to accept the modifications after 30
days.
The
notice period for these new Terms and Conditions starts on 16th April 2009, and
finishes on 16th April 2009. Thereafter, if you have not terminated our
relationship by selling your gold and withdrawing your money, you accept that
these are the Terms and Conditions which define the prevailing business
relationship.
You
have chosen to become a BullionVault Customer in order to benefit from
BullionVault's terms for trading in and storing gold bullion. You expect to
enjoy efficient and substantially automated service, and pay low levels of
commission and low levels of custody charges by comparison with alternate
mechanisms for buying, holding and selling gold bullion.
In
order to deliver against your expectations BullionVault offers a service
designed for high levels of automation across the internet and expects to earn
a profit from the commissions and custody fees it charges.
To
provide the service BullionVault needs to retain on its computers information
about you and you permit BullionVault to do so.
BullionVault
undertakes not to disclose data about you to third parties except where
required either (i) in the ordinary administrative
course of completing your BullionVault transaction(s) or (ii) where required by
law.
Where supplied by
your bank on your incoming payment you permit BullionVault to both record your
banking details and to check them against identity documents you submit.
(BullionVault
prefers to accept your identity evidence as electronic copy documents [e.g.
scans, digital camera photos of your documents] uploaded to BullionVault’s
servers during a logged in BullionVault session. Submitting physical documents is an
alternate. Please see Help / Validating
my account, on the BullionVault website for further details).
You
undertake to identify yourself no later than 2 weeks after first funding your
account, and according to the identity verification procedures required by
BullionVault. You authorize BullionVault to make such enquiries as it may
feel necessary to satisfy itself about the validity of your identity.
You
undertake to provide a minimum of one accepted form of photographic
identity.
You
undertake to provide clear evidence of the single bank account from which your
BullionVault deposits originate and to which your money will be returned.
This evidence, which will usually be visible on the top page of your bank
statement, will detail :-
and,
within Europe,
Where
your BullionVault account is for a corporation, or a trust, then in addition to
the above you undertake to provide a photographic identity for any individual
with a 25% or greater beneficial interest. You will also provide evidence of
incorporation or a copy of trust deeds, as appropriate.
By
comparing the details you submit with the details submitted by your bank on
your funds transfer to BullionVault, we will set your linked bank account, and
email you that we have done so. You are responsible for checking the
details, and notifying BullionVault immediately if the details are incorrect.
BullionVault
will always present to you the current details of your linked bank account at
the time you request a withdrawal, which you will do via a logged in session on
the BullionVault website. When you accept those bank account details you
agree that you are requiring BullionVault to remit the funds you withdraw to
your linked bank account. BullionVault will not be responsible for any loss
where you have accepted the banking details presented to you and they have
turned out to be incorrect.
Ordinarily
your BullionVault account will be permanently associated with your linked bank
account. However your link may be
changed should your bank fail, or for other reasons.
Your
formal request to change your linked bank account will be accepted only via
your logged in session on the BullionVault website.
Where
you seek a change to your linked bank account you accept that your new bankers
will be required by BullionVault to endorse the continuity of your identity by
agreeing to send us a standard letter, the text of which we will provide you
with. It is your responsibility to ensure that your new bankers will do
this.
Where
you request a change to your linked bank account you will use an unchanged name
on your new bank account, and you accept that it must match with your identity
previously submitted to BullionVault.
Where
you change your name you will re-validate your old linked bank account on your
new name. BullionVault will not accept a
simultaneous change of name and a change of bank account number.
BullionVault
undertakes to acknowledge a change to your linked bank account, via email, to
your registered email address.
BullionVault
would prefer never to modify your linked bank account details, but accepts that
it may become necessary from time to time.
Where BullionVault operates according to these above procedures you
accept that it has applied an appropriate degree of diligence and care with
regard to such changes.
A
failure by BullionVault to operate according to these above procedures
controlling changes in your linked bank account, and resulting in subsequent
loss to you, is the financial responsibility of BullionVault, subject to the
provisions of these Terms and Conditions.
You
accept that BullionVault is entitled to charge you an administration cost for
changing your linked bank account, according to its published tariff.
Where
these procedures cannot for any reason be met but where, for whatever reason,
your original linked bank account cannot be used for the return of your money
from BullionVault, then BullionVault is entitled to seek due legal process
and/or appropriate insurance cover against identity fraud, all at your expense,
prior to changing any linked bank account details. Under these circumstances BullionVault is
also entitled to charge you on a time and materials basis according to the
published tariff.
You
understand and accept that BullionVault will ordinarily refuse to pay monies
requested for withdrawal from an un-validated account.
Not
less than six weeks from your first deposit, and not less than four weeks after
a first reminder is sent to your registered email address, and not less than
two weeks after a second reminder is sent to your registered email address,
BullionVault is entitled to charge you a late validation penalty fee according
to its published tariff . It will appear in BLOCK CAPITALS on your statement as
a LATE VALIDATION PENALTY FEE.
BullionVault
is entitled to continue charging a late validation fee at the end of each month
on which your account remains un-validated.
BullionVault
undertakes to re-credit your account with your most recent late validation
penalty as soon as you validate.
You
understand and accept that your ongoing failure to validate could result in
your deposits being reported to anti-money-laundering authorities.
You
hereby indemnify and keep indemnified BullionVault against any and all losses
and costs which arise out of your failure to identify yourself and validate
your account promptly.
BullionVault
maintains contact details with you at an email address and optionally at
You
accept a duty to keep your contact details held by BullionVault up to date and
accurate, which you can do via the website. BullionVault is entitled to rely on
the accuracy of the contact details supplied.
BullionVault
accepts an obligation to notify changes to your contact details to your contact
email address, and a further obligation to notify changes to your contact email
address itself to both your old and new contact email addresses.
You
accept that your failure to maintain your contact details correctly may negate
some of the protections you seek in BullionVault. You hereby indemnify
and keep indemnified BullionVault against losses which arise out of your
failure to maintain your contact details correctly.
Your
personal and financial data held at BullionVault are protected from
unauthorized access by a password and other access data which you have a duty
to keep secret.
Upon
forgetting your password you may set a new one over a telephone conversation with
BullionVault during which you will answer a series of private questions about
your account.
BullionVault
reserves the right charge your account for a password reset according to the
published tariff.
BullionVault
will notify a successful password reset to your contact email address.
Modern
encryption technology means BullionVault computers do not store your password
in decipherable form and BullionVault staff do not know and cannot find out
your chosen password. Upon resetting your password you will be issued
with a temporary password by BullionVault staff, who will require and confirm
that you change it immediately to a new one invented by you. Then, once
again, no-one at BullionVault will know your password.
You
accept that the re-issue of a password entitles BullionVault to suspend your
right to immediate withdrawal for a period not exceeding six weeks.
You
accept that the primary means of communication with BullionVault is via the
internet.
You
accept that during a logged in session on BullionVault all data which pass
between you and BullionVault, in either direction, are passed across the
internet using the https protocol, which incorporates a level of security
widely accepted as offering extremely reliable privacy and accuracy in data
transmission.
BullionVault
sends off-line information to you by email, including - but not limited to -
acknowledgements of changes to your key account settings, login notifications,
order confirmations, execution advices, contracts, monthly statements, and
changes to Terms and Conditions. The BullionVault system records all
outward email transmissions.
It
is your responsibility to ensure that any nuisance email filters in use by you
or your email service providers are not configured to block email from
BullionVault.
You
understand and accept that BullionVault's duty in sending an email is deemed
fulfilled when it places onto the public part of the Internet an email
correctly addressed to your email contact address.
BullionVault
is entitled to rely on your receipt and acceptance of the content of an email
if within 3 calendar days of the transmission no response by you has been
received by BullionVault.
In
the event that you communicate an issue with content of a BullionVault email
after this date any resolution will be considered in the context of the delay,
which you accept may have a bearing on the value of any resolution proposed
either by BullionVault management, or through complaints arbitration.
You
understand and accept that email is not encrypted and that it operates with a
similar degree of privacy as physical post, in that a network engineer, like a
postman, has the ability to see email and attachments if he chooses to open
your mail. You accept and understand that easily comprehended open format
feedback to a known and used address is appropriate for reporting your
completed business to you, off-line, and after the event.
BullionVault
may use voice or SMS on mobile phones as a means of contacting you rapidly.
BullionVault
is entitled to rely on your receipt and acceptance of the content of SMS
communications if within five minutes of the transmission no rejection of the
information has been received by BullionVault. BullionVault is entitled to rely
in this regard on the accuracy of its own transmission records when backed up
by the independent confirmation of its telecommunications provider's records.
BullionVault
is responsible for initiating SMS messages correctly according to the settings
on your account, and ensuring that they are received by its SMS technology
provider. But BullionVault is not responsible for losses you may incur as
a result of an SMS message not being delivered in circumstances beyond
BullionVault's direct control. This might occur if your cell phone was
switched off, or was operating in a zone or on a service technology which was
not reachable via the SMS technology providers employed by BullionVault.
If
your account diminishes in size below a level at which it is reasonable to
communicate via SMS then BullionVault reserves the right to suspend SMS
outputs.
BullionVault
may send information to you by post to your address on BullionVault records.
BullionVault is entitled to rely on your receipt and acceptance of the content
of posted communications if within 7 calendar days of the communication being
sent no rejection of the information by you has been received by BullionVault.
If
your account diminishes in size below a level at which it is reasonable to
communicate via the post then BullionVault reserves the right to suspend posted
outputs.
You
are entitled to rely on BullionVault sending you emails in confirmation of any
changes to the contact details, the Burglar Alarm and the linked bank account
settings on your BullionVault account.
A
failure by BullionVault in these obligations, and resulting in loss to you, is
the financial responsibility of BullionVault, subject to the provisions of
these Terms and Conditions.
BullionVault
implements its Burglar Alarm through mobile phone technology.
Where
enabled by you, and when the value on your account exceeds a certain threshold,
BullionVault undertakes to initiate text messages to your listed mobile/cell
phone, via SMS technology, either at account log-in or at the point of order
entry, according to the settings on your BullionVault account.
BullionVault's
duty is to raise the Burglar Alarm message appropriately and to maintain
ongoing tests that validate that the outward routing of messages is occurring.
However
BullionVault does not have the duty to ensure delivery to your mobile
phone. You accept that it is not practicable for text messaging to be
used with a 100% reliability, and you recognize that - as with household
Burglar Alarms - there is a risk that the alarm fires, but is not heard by you.
Nevertheless
you accept and acknowledge that the implementation of the Burglar Alarm system
does act as a powerful disincentive to illicit access to your BullionVault
account, as it empowers you to report to BullionVault such access even while it
is occurring, thereby enabling BullionVault to investigate and seek the
assistance of the authorities in detecting crime and arresting offenders.
You
accept a duty to inform BullionVault in the event that the operation of the
Burglar Alarm system suggests unauthorized access to your account.
When
the Burglar Alarm fires you accept that BullionVault may debit your
BullionVault account according to its published tariff provided that the debit
is approximately the cost of transmitting a single SMS message to your mobile
phone device.
You
accept that an unwillingness on your part to set the Burglar Alarm on your
BullionVault account might diminish the level of compensation which - in the
unlikely event of a loss - might be awarded to you from the BullionVault
compensation fund or by any arbitrator independent of BullionVault.
A
failure by BullionVault in these obligations, and resulting in loss to you, is
the financial responsibility of BullionVault, subject to the provisions of
these Terms and Conditions.
The
BullionVault system will not permit value in the form of money or gold
respectively to be transferred away from your BullionVault account without
reasonable return of value in the opposite form (gold or money
respectively).
You
are entitled to rely on this protection such that if illicit access to your
account were to occur a criminal could not transfer your property to their own
control except by benefiting your account with the proceeds equivalent to a
fair trading price.
A
failure by BullionVault in these obligations, and resulting in loss to you, is
the financial responsibility of BullionVault, subject to the provisions of
these Terms and Conditions.
BullionVault
has selected the following bankers to look after your cash balance held at
BullionVault:
Lloyds TSB Bank plc [the bank]
You
accept that in selecting Lloyds TSB Bank to look after your cash balance
BullionVault has taken due care in ensuring that the bank charged with looking
after your money is of adequate standing.
You
also accept and acknowledge the possibility of subsequent downwards revision of
bank standing without considering them to be the responsibility of
BullionVault.
BullionVault
accepts a duty to place funds received from you directly into segregated Client
A/Cs maintained for multiple currencies at the bank for the express purpose of
pooling un-invested BullionVault customer money.
BullionVault
confirms that the bank has acknowledged and accepted in writing that the money
on BullionVault's Client Accounts is held by BullionVault as trustee. The
bank has further acknowledged and accepted that it is not entitled to combine
these accounts, or to exercise any right of set off or counterclaim against
money in this account in respect of any money owed to the bank on any other
BullionVault account.
On
your behalf BullionVault is permitted to manage your money on the segregated
Client A/C exclusively for the following purposes:-
1. It may be used to buy physical gold from another BullionVault account holder according to your order placed on the BullionVault website. In this case your money does not move from the bank account but the entitlement to it is transferred within BullionVault's records to the selling holder of vaulted gold, while simultaneously the outright ownership of vaulted gold is transferred to you.
2. It may be used to pay withdrawals of your money back to you - but never beyond the extent to which you have available funds.
3. It may be used to pay BullionVault in respect of service and other charges earned according to the prevailing Terms and Conditions.
4. It may be used to buy physical gold from the recognized bullion market on your behalf, where you have exercised your right to trade on a local bullion market.
BullionVault
undertakes to maintain at all times within the segregated Client A/C sufficient
funds to pay back the gross credit balances of all BullionVault Customers, and
to have that money held at call for return, if required, within one business
day.
BullionVault
undertakes to operate robust internal controls such that payments of Customer
money at withdrawal get authorized only when at least 2 senior officers of
BullionVault have inspected and approved the payment instructions.
The
Client A/C statement from the bank shall be fully reconciled to BullionVault's
own records every London banking day, and so far as is practicable the
reconciliation shall be published on that day on the BullionVault website and
shall be accessible via the DAILY AUDIT link on BullionVault's front page.
You
acknowledge that the bank is entitled to act in good faith according to instructions
given by BullionVault's officers.
You
agree to fund your BullionVault account from your linked bank account.
Your
money deposits are acceptable only through recognized banking channels which
may change from time to time according to the details on BullionVault's help
pages.
Whether
depositing through a physical paper transaction, or by electronic transfer, you
understand that your bank will be expected to identify standard banking data on
each incoming payment to BullionVault, including (i)
your bank name (ii) your branch identifying code, (iii) your account name
(iv) your bank account number and (v) your BullionVault user name (as the
payment reference).
You
accept that a failure by your bank to identify the source of your money may
delay your BullionVault account being credited. Then BullionVault will
place your money safely in suspense, pending your contact with us, at which
time your advice of the correct remittance details will cause the money to be
placed directly into your BullionVault account where it will be capable of
being used to buy gold immediately.
You
accept that where you have provided us with necessary details independently of
the actual bank transfer on which your money was received BullionVault is
entitled to suspend your right to immediate withdrawal for a period not
exceeding six weeks.
You
agree that you will not merge funds belonging to different parties within a
single BullionVault account.
You
agree that you will not deposit banknotes or coins for credit to your
BullionVault account.
You
agree that you will not deposit in a way which obscures the source of your
funds - for example by making anonymous or unreferenced credits at a counter.
You
accept that where BullionVault is not satisfied about the source of funds it
may return the funds, where possible, via the procedures of the banking system,
to the source.
You
accept that BullionVault is entitled to apply an Unlinked Deposit Return Fee according
to the published tariff, which will be debited to your BullionVault account.
Nevertheless
BullionVault may exercise its discretion to allow the funds to be applied to
your BullionVault account, provided it is our reasonable belief, supported by
evidence you provide, that the deposit has come from you. BullionVault may also
seek additional information concerning the deposit's source, which you agree to
provide.
You
hereby indemnify and keep indemnified BullionVault against any and all losses
which arise out of your failure to fund your BullionVault account directly and
identifiably from your linked bank account.
BullionVault
recommends that wherever possible you deposit funds by wire.
Where
you do not fund by wire (for example, where you deposit by check, by BillPay, or by e-check from the USA) you acknowledge that
BullionVault may apply special security procedures before processing any
subsequent withdrawal request.
Under
some jurisdictions (e.g. in the USA) there is a right to repudiation by your
bank of a fraudulent check debited to your bank account. Instead of accepting the loss itself your
bank transmits the cost internationally, in this case to BullionVault,
exercising a unilateral right to debit BullionVault’s British bank accounts
with funds previously paid to us by check, and duly cleared. This right does not apply to funds remitted
to us by wire, because you and your bank are deemed sufficiently protected from
fraud when using wire transfers.
Accordingly
if you have deposited money in BullionVault by a method on which this
repudiation right applies, and if you seek to withdraw within the period of
possible repudiation (e.g. 60 days from the USA), then we will require formal
notice from your bankers that your earlier deposit will not be repudiated. You will therefore be required to provide
details to us of an named staff member at your bank who can provide this
notice. Otherwise you accept that the
repudiation delay will expire before you will be allowed to withdraw.
You
accept that BullionVault is entitled to charge according to the published
tariff for contacting your bank in these circumstances.
Subject
to your previous and correct verification of your identity, and to the
irrevocable clearance of your deposited funds, you may make withdrawals of your
available money balance to your linked bank account.
You
undertake to re-check the details of your linked bank account presented to you
as you make your withdrawal request during a logged in session, and you
undertake to confirm your withdrawal only if you are satisfied with the linked
bank details presented to you.
Provided
that it is satisfied with the security of your withdrawal request BullionVault
will remit funds to your linked bank account via SWIFT (international), CHAPS,
BACS or other banking system generally considered appropriate to the payment.
BullionVault
is entitled to subtract bank transfer costs from the sum to be remitted.
If
your withdrawn funds are to be received outside the UK and your bank is not
itself a SWIFT participant you accept that a correspondent bank - being a bank
in your country which receives money via the international SWIFT transfer
system, and which routes it to your bank - may deduct from the money sent a fee
consistent with normal international banking practice.
You
accept that BullionVault may need to perform additional security checks and
there may be some delay prior to sending you your money. Any delay will depend
both on the recent operation of your BullionVault account and on other
circumstances of the withdrawal. Where your BullionVault account was
promptly validated, and where your linked bank account has been long-standing
and stable, you have the right to expect your money to leave BullionVault
by the end of the business day following your request for payment.
Because
of the cost of bank to bank transfers BullionVault will not pay residual
account balances of less than $100 or other currency equivalent.
Ordinarily
sums below this threshold will be retained for account re-activation except
that after an account has been empty of gold and inactive for 2 years and
remained beneath a currency equivalent balance of $20, this small balance may -
at BullionVault's discretion - be accumulated and contributed in a single
payment to a recognized children's charity, on Customers' joint behalf.
Where
a small balance arises from a BullionVault promotion, and the account has
neither been funded nor had the account holder's identity verified according to
BullionVault's identity verification procedure, then after any period of
inactivity exceeding 3 months the balance may be returned to BullionVault's own
resources as an unclaimed promotion.
If
you retain a gold balance but do not have a sufficient available money balance
to settle your custody charges accrued, then BullionVault has the right to
redeem its entitlement by a sale of your gold but only to the extent needed,
and to the nearest gram of gold.
BullionVault
accepts a duty to inform you by email a minimum of 7 days prior to selling your
gold for this reason. Provided you remit sufficient funds in the
intervening period BullionVault will not sell any of your gold.
If
you withdraw an amount while you have unsettled charges, BullionVault is
entitled to deduct from the amount withdrawn the amount of the outstanding
charges.
BullionVault
is designed to be a very secure home for legally acquired wealth. It is not a
useful or secure resource for money launderers.
For
reasons relating to both to security and anti money laundering legislation
BullionVault requires deposits to come from a single bank account, or, after
prior approval by BullionVault when the account was first set up, from a second
bank account listed under identical name(s) and address as the linked bank
account.
For
reasons relating both to security and anti money laundering legislation
BullionVault enforces the exit of funds to the linked bank account.
There
is no capability for transferring funds between accounts at BullionVault even
where commonly owned.
BullionVault
recognizes your right to confidentiality where your identity has been validated.
However where for whatever reason BullionVault becomes suspicious of an attempt
at money laundering BullionVault actively assists the appropriate authorities
in their efforts to detect it. BullionVault also keeps comprehensive records of
cash and gold dealing activity in order to assist the authorities in this
regard.
In
each of its vaults BullionVault has only taken assayed bullion bars as good
deliveries from recognized market professionals, and according to the practices
which exist in the local market.
Gold
bullion which you buy through BullionVault remains in the location where it was
stored at the time of the purchase, which was selected by you on your order.
This
gold is held as weighed and numbered bars in a form generally acceptable in
settlement of local bullion markets sales.
These
bars constitute investment gold bullion (as defined by UK Customs and Excise
701/21) being not less than 99.5% purity and of a weight accepted by the
bullion markets.
BullionVault
accounting units of gold are expressed in fine gold content. The fine
gold content of each bar is its weight multiplied by its purity. The
resulting units of gold applied on your BullionVault account are 100% pure
gold, and are denominated in kilograms and grams.
BullionVault
warrants that every gram on your account is a gram of the 100% pure gold
content (fine gold) of a 99.5% (or greater) assayed bullion bar held in the
relevant vault.
A
Vault Operator is a professional organization of the highest reputation which
is in the business of managing the receipt, storage and re-delivery of gold
bullion bars according to the practices of a local professional bullion market.
ViaMat International Ltd is a wholly owned
subsidiary of ViaMat International [Switzerland],
which through its wholly owned subsidiaries owns and operate vaulting
businesses in the major bullion trading locations in the world, and these are
used by participants in the bullion markets to store gold bars within a
carefully controlled environment.
BullionVault
has engaged ViaMat International Ltd to operate as
its vault operator in London and to arrange and conduct through group companies
owned by ViaMat International [Switzerland] the
storage of your gold in New York and Zurich.
ViaMat has warranted to BullionVault that
its status within the gold bullion industry permits gold stored within its
vaults to retain the high levels of integrity expected by the professional
bullion market.
Your
gold is held in vaults controlled by ViaMat pursuant
to a Storage Agreement [the "Storage Agreement"] BullionVault has
executed with them.
In
that agreement ViaMat acknowledges that your gold is
the subject of a bailment.
BullionVault
undertakes to pay fees to ViaMat on your behalf to
cover the costs of storage and insurance of your gold, and thereby evidence the
bailment nature of the storage service provided by ViaMat.
BullionVault
confirms that your gold safekeeping is structured as a bailment for the purpose
of arranging the strongest and simplest legal protection for your gold within a
professional bullion vault, and for no other reason.
You
agree that when your purchase of gold is transacted within the BullionVault
system, the gold bullion purchased is to be delivered by the seller within ViaMat's premises, so as to become a bailment of your
property, according to your instructions submitted exclusively to BullionVault.
From
that point forward ViaMat has agreed to act as
physical custodian of your gold until the bailment is terminated at your
instruction, again submitted exclusively via BullionVault.
You
agree that when your sale of gold is transacted within the BullionVault system,
the gold bullion sold is to be delivered to the buyer, within ViaMat's premises, on your behalf, terminating your
bailment to the extent sold, as per your instructions submitted exclusively to
BullionVault.
You
agree that the record keeping of the creation and termination of the bailment
is to be performed by BullionVault according to these Terms and Conditions,
while the gold rests throughout at ViaMat.
You
acknowledge that your ownership does not necessarily relate to a specific bar
but to a specific quantity of gold in a specific vault. BullionVault
acknowledges that the gold you own exists, is in the vault, is yours, and that
being physical it is ultimately capable of being sub-divided into measurable
amounts of material which you could take into your possession subject to paying
the fees for the withdrawal service.
You
authorize BullionVault to act as your agent for arranging custody of your gold
with ViaMat.
BullionVault
confirms to you that in the "Storage Agreement" ViaMat
acknowledges that the gold stored under the agreement is allocated and is the
property of BullionVault Clients or BullionVault.
BullionVault
confirms to you that in the "Storage Agreement" ViaMat
acknowledges that this allocated gold shall be specifically identified, and
physically segregated at all times.
BullionVault
confirms to you that in the "Storage Agreement" ViaMat
accepts responsibility for the gold from the time of full custody and control
of the consignment, through transportation and storage, until the custody and
control has been relinquished by ViaMat to a third
party, according to BullionVault's instructions for making a withdrawal.
BullionVault
confirms to you that in the "Storage Agreement" ViaMat
undertakes that prior to executing any authorised
withdrawal of gold from a vault ViaMat will,
independently of BullionVault, satisfy itself (i)
that BullionVault has publicised the withdrawal on
the BullionVault website, (ii) that the holder identified has a sufficient gold
balance according to the website's Daily Audit, and (iii) that the withdrawal
does not cause more than both 25 kilograms and 5% of the gold in the vault to
be withdrawn on any one day.
BullionVault
confirms to you that a minimum of 12 months notice from ViaMat
is required to terminate the "Storage Agreement". In the event
that such notice has been received by BullionVault, and if no alternate storage
solution has been put in place in the intervening period, then a minimum of 3
months prior to the termination of the storage service BullionVault undertakes
to inform you of the situation, thereby allowing you such time as you may need
to arrange an alternate mechanism for owning and storing your gold.
BullionVault
undertakes that your gold will not be subject to any kind of lending, collateral
or derivative transaction of any type and will remain your property in the
safekeeping of ViaMat until sold or withdrawn
according to your instructions received via BullionVault.
BullionVault
undertakes to ensure your bullion is insured against theft and damage according
to the accepted insurance standards of the bullion industry, and at a cost
which is included in the charge you pay to BullionVault in respect of custody
of your bullion.
BullionVault
confirms to you that in the "Storage Agreement" ViaMat
undertakes to provide documentary Evidence of Insurance.
BullionVault
undertakes to you to make available the Evidence of Insurance to be viewable on
BullionVault's website by BullionVault Clients who have an interest in the
insurance cover provided.
BullionVault
maintains the master copy of ownership records. BullionVault agrees with
you that in so far as they relate to you these records shall only be modified
upon the execution of your valid instructions, made according to these Terms
and Conditions.
On
a daily basis, or as near to daily as reasonably practicable, BullionVault
shall publish on its website reconciled and aliased customer-by-customer
records of ownership of all the gold in the vaults and all the money in the
segregated client bank accounts.
BullionVault
makes available an RSS link to your specific record in the DAILY AUDIT,
allowing you to receive automatically to your preferred news reader software a
formal statement of your gold ownership and money balances every day.
BullionVault
ensures that at least two widely separated data storage sites receive
duplicates of the full BullionVault database.
Every
day BullionVault sends an encrypted, electronic copy of all clients’
identities, aliases and their balances both to its auditors and to ViaMat. Neither can
interpret or use this data without the decryption key. The decryption key is held by BullionVault’s
lawyers, with a copy both in their London and New York offices. These lawyers
are under instruction to release the decryption keys as follows :
1.
Only
to BullionVault, unless it is no longer operating, in which case
2.
to
our auditors, unless they are no longer operating, in which case
3.
to
a liquidator unless one has not and will not be appointed, in which case
4.
to
ViaMat itself
Where
a small balance arises from a BullionVault promotion, and the account has
neither been funded nor had the account holders identity verified according to
BullionVault's verification procedure, then after any period of inactivity
exceeding 3 months the balance may be returned to BullionVault's own resources
as an unclaimed promotion.
We
will allow you to own whole bars of gold outright.
When
you have within one vault an available balance of gold which matches or exceeds
in fine gold content the smallest unreserved bar in that vault, then you may
elect to have individual gold bar(s) reserved exclusively to you as your
property.
You
will undertake the reservation process on line. When you do so the specific
bar(s) you select becomes your property. Your proprietary rights will be
evidenced publicly on the published bar list for the relevant vault which
detail that the bar(s) in question is assigned to the account bearing your
nickname.
The
bar you own in this way will be eliminated from the pool of liquidity on
BullionVault - meaning no-one, including you, can sell it while it is reserved.
You
will be able to release this bar, which you will again be able to do on-line, and
thereafter you will be able to sell it through the BullionVault system.
You
accept the charges applied for individual bar ownership according to the
published tariff.
Where
your cash balance or gold holding enables you to settle one or more whole bars,
and where your order will match or exceed the minimum of the local market, you
have a right to trade gold directly on the local professional bullion market,
but only via bullion dealers which BullionVault itself has a regular dealing
relationship with.
The
local good delivery unit in both London and Zurich is usually a 400 troy oz bar
(about 12.500 kg).
The
local good delivery unit in New York is usually a 100 troy oz bar (about 3.110
kg).
If
you use this right you will pay BullionVault's normal commission rates, an
arrangement fee according to our published tariff, and, in addition, all market
charges including any shipment costs.
Where
you elect to take up this right BullionVault will act as your agent in the transaction.
To
exercise this right you will need to contact BullionVault directly by telephone
during London office hours and you will be provided with the prevailing details
of the procedure.
You
have a right of withdrawal of your gold from BullionVault, but you acknowledge
BullionVault is not designed primarily as a service for those who wish to take
physical possession of bullion.
Your
wish to withdraw bullion will be accommodated only in the form of whole numbers
of appropriate bars of varying sizes and, of generally accepted bullion coins,
to be selected at BullionVault's discretion.
The
withdrawal fee for good delivery bars will be not more than 2.5% of value.
The
withdrawal fee for other gold will be not more than 7.5% of value.
To
make physical withdrawals you will be required to provide reliable forms of
identification and may in addition be required to indemnify BullionVault
against identity fraud through the purchase of appropriate insurance.
Your
understand that you cannot claim withdrawal directly from ViaMat.
Your right to withdrawal is to be effected through BullionVault who have the
means and responsibility for identifying you reliably. Depending upon the
quantity withdrawn you may be required to identify a local bank or equivalent
institution to which your gold can be delivered.
Upon
withdrawing bullion you accept that you may lose anonymity where these
transactions are monitored by appropriate authorities.
Upon
withdrawing bullion you accept that you may become liable to taxes which you
would otherwise not become liable to, and you permit BullionVault to deduct
those taxes appropriately.
Where
international law permits it you have a right of transfer of gold within BullionVault
from one vault location to another, but only in the form of entire and
appropriate bars. Transfers of this kind are performed through accredited
bullion couriers. Vault and courier charges are variable, are payable by you,
and can be quoted at the time.
If
it is not possible for transferred bars from one location to be accepted as
good delivery in the alternate location of your choice there may be additional
charges to cover either the selling of your gold and its replacement with a
locally acceptable form, or its refining and manufacture into a locally
acceptable form.
In
addition to direct shipping costs borne by you BullionVault makes a 0.5%
arrangement fee for this service subject to a minimum of $500.
Upon
transferring bullion you accept that you may lose anonymity where these
transactions are monitored by appropriate authorities.
Upon
transferring bullion you accept that you may become liable to taxes which you
would otherwise not become liable to, and you permit BullionVault to deduct those
taxes appropriately.
BullionVault
accepts responsibility for implementing security procedures which prevent the unauthorised removal of gold from a vault.
Excepting
only duly authorized shipments to another BullionVault gold storage location -
such as might be requested by customers in response to an international crisis
- BullionVault undertakes that on no single day shall any amount exceeding both
25 kilograms and 5% of the bullion vaulted at a BullionVault location be
authorized for removal.
Where
from time to time BullionVault needs to authorize removal of up to 25 kilograms
or 5% (whichever is the larger) of gold from a given vault, for example to settle
a main market sale, it accepts an obligation openly to declare the fact on the
front page of its website at http://www.BullionVault.com
and it shall link conspicuously to details explaining both the quantity of gold
due to be removed and the published nickname of the user(s) whose gold is to be
removed.
This
public notice shall appear not later than the business day before removal is
scheduled and shall remain visible to all visitors of the BullionVault website
until the gold has been delivered out of the vault.
The
declaration is an obligation on BullionVault known to ViaMat
and BullionVault confirms that ViaMat is
contractually bound to check adherence to the publication of the withdrawal
when clearing gold for withdrawal.
The
withdrawing customer having been publicly identified by nickname BullionVault
undertakes to ensure that this customer has sufficient gold to cover the
withdrawal - as publicly evidenced on the Daily Audit.
Checking
that the customer has sufficient gold is an obligation on BullionVault known to
ViaMat and BullionVault confirms that ViaMat is also contractually bound independently to check
that the nicknamed investor has sufficient gold to cover the withdrawal,
according to BullionVault's published Daily Audit.
You
acknowledge your competence to trade having read and understood relevant
aspects of the operation of the BullionVault system from the on-line help
system accessed from http://www.BullionVault.com/help/index.do
You
understand that you may enter orders to buy and sell gold on the BullionVault
system, at quantities, prices and physical locations under your control, but
only when having sufficient resources already at BullionVault to effect
immediate settlement.
You
agree that your orders are to be submitted to BullionVault's servers by
yourself via the internet.
BullionVault
will accept your orders to buy gold, in any vault, provided the purchase limit
price is specified in a currency in which you have sufficient available funds
to settle the entire purchase.
BullionVault
will accept your orders to sell gold from a given vault for any currency,
provided the quantity specified is currently stored and available on your
behalf in the vault specified.
BullionVault
accepts your orders at prices broadly consistent with current market prices.
If
one or more of the above conditions are not met your order will be rejected.
Your
orders on BullionVault are always limited as to price. Purchase limits place a
maximum buying price on your purchase orders. Sale limits place a minimum
selling price on your selling orders.
Your
orders are also limited as to quantity of bullion (measured in kilograms).
On
receipt of your order the BullionVault system automatically attempts to match
the order with another customer's prior and opposing order, and subject to both
customers' limits. The system will trade at the most attractive prices for your
new order, achieving lowest possible price within the limit for purchases, and
highest possible price above the limit for sales.
Any
pre-existing order posted on the order board against which a new order is
matched will achieve exactly its limit price.
To
the extent that an order can be executed against pre-existing limit orders
posted by other BullionVault users the order is executed immediately, and to as
great an extent as possible (i.e. the smaller quantity of the two orders)
before any other order received subsequently is processed. To the extent that
it cannot be executed it may — at your request — be itself posted as a limit
order on the BullionVault order board until it expires through age,
cancellation or otherwise.
Your
order ranks behind all valid limits past or future which offer a more
attractive price. It ranks ahead of all valid orders past or future which offer
a less attractive price. It ranks behind all valid orders at the same price,
received by BullionVault before it, and ahead of all valid orders at the same
price received by BullionVault after it.
You
have the right at any time to transmit a request to remove an unexecuted
element of any open order you placed on the board. Upon receipt
BullionVault must respond by removing your order such that it will not match
with any subsequently received order.
You
understand and accept that where another user has entered an opposing and matchable order instruction, which arrived at BullionVault
before your request for removal, then the match will occur, and to the extent
that the match occurred your order will have matched and will not be capable of
removal, although any remaining open element of the order will be removed.
BullionVault
may at its discretion remove from the order board your unexecuted purchase and
sale orders where they are both (i) older than one
week and (ii) where they are limited at prices which for sales exceed 5% above
the prevailing price of gold, or which for purchases are less than 5% below the
prevailing price of gold.
Where
BullionVault removes your orders from the order board it accepts an obligation
to notify you instantaneously by email.
BullionVault
will acknowledge executed orders and parts thereof to you via email shortly
after each execution occurs.
The
completion of an order - either through deal executions or order cancellation when
only part executed - will result in BullionVault sending you, via email, a
formal contract in respect of the complete amounts traded as a result of the
original order.
You
authorise BullionVault to accept your order as an
instruction to settle immediately in the event that your order executes,
whether in whole or in part.
BullionVault
accepts full responsibility for the ability of executed orders to settle. It
stands as guarantor behind any purchase that the seller is able to deliver gold
to the purchaser in the quantity purchased. It stands as guarantor behind any
sale that the purchaser is able to pay currency to the seller for the
consideration of the sale.
Settlement
of a BullionVault transaction happens instantaneously at the point of trade.
The
buyer receives gold and the seller is credited with money net of expenses.
Similarly the buyer is debited with cash net of expenses and the seller makes
delivery of gold.
The
delivery of gold in settlement is effected by book entry within the
BullionVault system. Your resulting gold balance represents outright ownership
of gold held at the relevant vault.
BullionVault
instructs ViaMat in its capacity as managing agent
for your custody requirement. The inward delivery of gold for a buying customer
is always matched exactly with a simultaneous but opposite outward delivery of
gold for a selling customer. No material changes arise at the vault as a result
of instantaneous settlement of your bullion trade.
The
payment of money is effected by book entry within the BullionVault
system. Your resulting BullionVault money balance represents your
currency assets of segregated Client money held at Lloyds TSB bank.
BullionVault
instructs the bank in its capacity as a managing agent for your segregated
funds. The receipt of proceeds (net of expenses) for a selling Customer opposes
a simultaneous payment of consideration (net of expenses) for a buying
Customer. No material changes arise at the bank as a result of instantaneous
settlement of your bullion trade.
BullionVault
guarantees that the settlement of funds occurs simultaneously with the delivery
of gold.
You
can immediately see your new gold and money balances on the BullionVault
system.
Each
business day BullionVault undertakes, so far as is practicable, to publish
on-line a full customer by customer reconciliation of gold and money to the
underlying currency statements from the bank, and bar lists from the vault, in
both cases as at the close of business on the previous business day.
BullionVault
accepts orders in respect of vaulted gold in various locations, and potentially
in multiple currencies. An order is only capable of being matched against an
order in the same currency entered in respect of the same vault location.
It
may be the case that an order on one BullionVault location and in one currency
could have been dealt by executing against one or more limits on other
locations and via other currencies. BullionVault does not accept responsibility
for identifying and executing such arbitrage opportunities.
The
following lists indicate such risks as BullionVault considers material. It does
not constitute a statement of all possible risks.
Gold
price movements
— You are exposed to the risk of potential loss arising from a falling gold
price during the time in which you own gold. This risk is not a
BullionVault responsibility.
Money
politics
— Governments and other agencies seeking currency stability, or for other
reasons, might seek to constrain or tax the ownership of gold to the
disadvantage of its owners. BullionVault provides for multiple locations from
which you may choose one or more. The actuality or fear of government action
might affect the value of gold stored in a given location. This risk is not a
BullionVault responsibility.
Bank
insolvency
- Your cash balances at BullionVault are deposited in segregated accounts at a
highly rated bank, but your money's safety is dependent on bank integrity. All
banks are subject to possible failure. Depending on a number of factors in the
event of bank failure you might be entitled to receive compensation from
appropriate authorities, but the terms of such compensation are complex and the
timescale for receiving compensation might be long. This risk is not a
BullionVault responsibility. [Note that when your money is used to buy gold
your exposure to bank insolvency ceases]
Identity
theft
— If your BullionVault account number and password are compromised you are at
risk of unauthorised access to your account. Such
access will be alarmed within minutes by SMS messages if both your BullionVault
Burglar alarm is enabled and your account is of sufficient size. Any
change of your account details would be acknowledged to you. Any
withdrawal resulting from use of a compromised password would only be to your
linked bank account or - in unusual circumstances - would be in person, in
which case it would be validated against your filed identity verification, and
subject to indemnity insurance taken out by BullionVault, at the withdrawer's
expense, which would compensate you against loss. As a result the most serious
risk arising from the theft of a password are (i)
loss of privacy and (ii) the entering of mischief orders on BullionVault -
which would execute at market prices and thereby potentially switch you between
gold and money - or vice versa - at prevailing values but not according to your
wishes. An attempt to bleed your account of value in favour
of another account would be reversed whenever advised in reasonable time, and
would of course lead to detection and prosecution of any criminal activity
without gain. In these ways BullionVault seeks to minimise
the risks to you associated with identity theft but these are not a
BullionVault responsibility unless the breach of security can be shown to have
occurred because of BullionVault's error.
Liquidity
risk —
BullionVault is available only to its users, so your ability to convert your
gold into money depends on there being another user bidding for that gold. It
is possible that liquidity could dry up leaving you temporarily unable to realise the apparent value of a bullion holding within
BullionVault. This risk is mitigated by affording to all users who can make
large bar delivery a right of sale on the local bullion market. In this way all
system users - including BullionVault on it own
account - are powerfully motivated to bid for under-priced gold in an illiquid
markets as the transaction has a high probability of being profitable, and this
would eliminate by natural market forces any lack of liquidity.
Nevertheless the risks associated with a lack of immediate liquidity are not a
BullionVault responsibility.
System
availability
— BullionVault's computerised machinery, which is
accessed by you across the internet, might become inaccessible for periods of
time. This could prevent you from executing a transaction which you would
otherwise have made. This risk is not a BullionVault responsibility.
Insurance
exclusions -
As your property your gold is subject to insurance exclusions imposed by
insurance underwriters in line with established insurance practice regarding
the physical protection of your gold. These excluded risks are presented
on the insurance certificate published on the BullionVault site and include
events like nuclear war. These risks are not a BullionVault
responsibility and are risks you undertake with respect to your gold, except
that no exclusion absolves BullionVault in undertaking its correct duties of
care in arranging the security of your property to levels considered
commercially acceptable.
Force
Majeure —
The risks described under Force Majeure are not BullionVault responsibilities.
BullionVault
accepts it has duties of care with regard to aspects of risk to your property
and undertakes to manage risks so as to contain them at minimal levels,
consistent with best business practices.
Subject
to the provisions for Exclusions and Limits of liability in these Terms and
Conditions BullionVault accepts liability for failing in this duty.
Physical
bullion theft —
Your gold could conceivably be stolen from a vault by determined thieves.
It is the Vault Operator which accepts a duty to retain sufficient security
measures, and to maintain cover against such an eventuality either in terms of
its own resources or its insurance policies. BullionVault accepts a duty
to regularly monitor the Vault Operator to ensure the maintenance of a limit
sufficient to cover at least the value of the gold stored.
Subject
to the provisions for Exclusions and Limits of liability in these Terms and
Conditions BullionVault accepts liability for failing in this duty.
Theft
of Customer money —
Money held in the segregated Client accounts could be illegally transmitted
through the banking system by a determined thief, or thieves, operating within
BullionVault. At any one time the control on initiating outward transfers
of money from the Client account rests with two senior individuals at
BullionVault who must both approve payments. The responsibility for daily
reconciliation rests with a third.
Subject
to the provisions for Exclusions and Limits of liability in these Terms and
Conditions BullionVault accepts liability for failing in this duty.
BullionVault
segregation management — A failure by BullionVault's system to prevent a
customer from over-purchasing beyond his cash balance, or over-selling beyond
his gold balance would render a segregated account temporarily incapable of
meeting its obligations to other customers. All BullionVault software is
designed to eliminate this eventuality. Moreover BullionVault checks its
accounts daily for such eventualities. The risk of material loss is extremely
small, because any such over-trading would be substantially offset by a surplus
in the opposite segregated account.
Subject
to the provisions for Exclusions and Limits of liability in these Terms and
Conditions BullionVault accepts liability for failing in this duty.
BullionVault
record keeping —
a risk in all business record keeping systems is that internal records may show
a position which satisfies the organisation's
officers but does not represent the real world, and where the problems only
come to light when it is too late. The risk rises with increasing complexity of
transactions and the availability of credit, neither of which apply to
BullionVault. For all businesses the record keeping risk is statutorily
addressed by annual audit. In addition BullionVault controls its record set by
voluntarily submitting its daily reconciliations of Customer property to public
inspection on the web.
Subject
to the provisions for Exclusions and Limits of liability in these Terms and
Conditions BullionVault accepts liability for failing in this duty.
BullionVault
insolvency —
As of March 2007 BullionVault maintains sufficient shareholders' funds to pay
for all its planned operations for a period of 4 years, even in the absence of
all operating revenue. This makes it an exceptionally strong business in
financial terms.
However
unforeseen events could conceivably damage that financial strength, rendering
BullionVault insolvent.
The
insolvency of BullionVault would not affect your property rights with regard
to money or gold in a BullionVault account, but it would be likely to
create some inconvenience and delay for you in taking hold of that
property.
Disastrous
data loss —
BullionVault's system contains data in electronic form which could conceivably
be lost in a widespread and catastrophic machinery failure. BullionVault
operates a redundant machinery policy which means that every component of its
data storing capability is protected by both local and remote data duplication.
The likelihood of a simultaneous loss of all data copies is extremely low.
However, in addition to this the system prints out a complete system balance
once a week, sends an encrypted copy to remote data vaults, and during each
week logs in paper format all transactions, ensuring that data loss is a
temporary inconvenience, not a disaster. Moreover you can save the published
reconciliation of your property on your own computer, thereby duplicating that
part of the records which relates to your own property.
In
the interest of transparency and good marketplace practice certain information
is made freely available to users.
- You may post limit Orders on the BullionVault website and the best prices available combine to define the current trading prices of gold on BullionVault. The best prices, and their associated Order sizes are published on the site. In this way your Orders ordinarily become visible to other users of the system, but not in a way which is attributable to you.
- A transaction ticker reports on the BullionVault website the prices and sizes of trades which have been executed. In this way your transactions ordinarily become visible to other users of the system, but not in a way which is attributable to you.
- Vault Bar Lists are produced by the vault manager and reconciled to the holdings of entitled BullionVault holders of gold at that vault. The reconciliation is published, but only identifies you by an alias (or nickname), which is a private and unique label chosen for the purpose by you and typically only recognised by you.
- Bank statements of segregated accounts are treated in the same way. Together these reconciliations enable you to see that your property is an identified part of a reconciled pool of all users' property, held at arms length from BullionVault. In this way your cash and gold balances ordinarily become visible to other users of the system, but not in a way which is attributable to you.
- BullionVault may report your activity to duly authorised government agencies with a formal right either to monitor gold trading activity or investigate activity which arouses suspicion of money laundering.
In
the event of your death there are different procedures depending on the
jurisdiction in which you die.
BullionVault
undertakes to process your BullionVault account in accordance with the legally
authorized binding instructions of your executors.
(For
further information please refer to Help / In case of Death)
Smaller
accounts
The
above service description does not preclude BullionVault from applying
different procedures on smaller accounts where the costs of the above procedure
are considered too high a proportion of the final estimated proceeds. Your
administrators may be requested to pay for an insurance indemnity where an
abbreviated procedure is applied.
The
prevailing BullionVault tariff is published on the BullionVault website.
Charges
are ordinarily settled out of your cash resources on BullionVault. In the
event that charges are outstanding because you have neither paid money in, nor
raised cash by selling gold, BullionVault has the right to sell gold to raise
money sufficient to pay the charges.
Commission rates for both purchases and sales are applied according to the
aggregate value of
bullion traded throughout the calendar year - starting on first trade date. They are as follows :- There is no minimum commission per trade. Regular small volume traders
will pay commissions of $0.01 per trade on deals up to $50 in value. The custody charge is 0.12% per annum. It is computed on pro-rata daily balances, so
ordinarily there is no charge for days you do not own gold. The custody charge is charged monthly at 0.01% and subject to a minimum monthly fee of $4
or approximate foreign currency equivalent during any
month in which a balance is held at any time. BullionVault debits a fee to cover the messaging costs of the Burglar Alarm each time it sounds. The charge per SMS is 20 cents or approximate foreign currency equivalent. When you withdraw your money the cost of wiring funds direct to your bank is
deducted from the amount withdrawn. The charge is $30 or approximate foreign currency equivalent. BullionVault reserves the right to charge for its Time and Materials in
respect of its internal administration and services where those services could
reasonably have been supplied via its website. The standard hourly rate for time billings is $50 per hour
or currency equivalent. BullionVault reserves the right to charge for inappropriate use of its
servers by automated web trading devices which operate without appropriate
regard for the BullionVault resources their devices require. Ordinarily
these charges will not be applied without fair warning.Commission rates
Sum of all
purchases in
the year so far
Commission rate
on the purchase
Up to
$30,000
0.800%
The next
$30,000
0.400%
The next
$540,000
0.100%
then
0.020%
Sum of all
sales in
the year so far
Commission rate
on the sale
Up to
$30,000
0.800%
The next
$30,000
0.400%
The next
$540,000
0.100%
then
0.020%
Commission not subject to a minimum
Custody charges
Dollar value
of your gold
Typical annual
custody charge
Effective annual
% rate
$5,000
$48
0.960%
$10,000
$48
0.480%
$20,000
$48
0.240%
$30,000
$48
0.160%
$40,000
$48
0.120%
$50,000
$60
0.120%
$75,000
$90
0.120%
$100,000
$120
0.120%
$250,000
$300
0.120%
$500,000
$600
0.120%
$1,000,000
$1,200
0.120%
Burglar Alarm Charging
Funds wire
Miscellaneous Time and Materials billing
Machinery utilisation billing
The
system is scheduled to operate continually each week from 09.00 GMT Sunday to
05.00 GMT Sunday the following week.
There
may also be planned service interruptions at other times where maintenance
requires urgent action which cannot wait until a weekend. Such service
interruptions will where possible be planned at times of lower public demand
for the service.
Where
service interruption is planned and you have an open order your order will
ordinarily survive the service interruption.
When
an unscheduled service interruption occurs and you have an open order your
order will ordinarily be removed at the resumption of the service and any
un-traded element of the order will be treated as cancelled.
We
will endeavour to keep you informed via email when
you have open orders during a period of unscheduled service interruption, but
the nature of the service interruption may make it impractical for us to do
this.
You
accept that service interruption is an unavoidable event on networked
computers. You accept our terms for handling service interruption vis-a-vis your open orders.
You understand that leaving a firm order on the order board can expose you to
risks which are increased in the event of a service interruption, and you accept
those risks.
BullionVault
is an English Limited Company regulated by English Law which covers well
established Western principles of statutory property rights and statutory
company law.
Regulatory
responsibility rests on three mutually independent arms of law enforcement: (i) the investigating authority, (ii) the prosecuting
authority and (iii) the Criminal Courts.
There
is no cost to you in reporting a crime and it is the duty of the above
authorities to bring before the courts a case against BullionVault or its
officers arising from a breach by BullionVault of statute law.
In
addition you have recourse to the civil law, which would rule on disputes
between you and BullionVault arising when either alleges against the other a
damaging breach of these stated Terms and Conditions. Bringing and
defending a case under civil law would ordinarily incur costs.
You
understand and acknowledge that together with the whole of the London Gold
Bullion Market BullionVault's regulatory status is markedly different from the
financial services industry.
Modern
financial services businesses throughout Europe and America tend to be
companies which deal in paper based instruments generally called 'securities',
and these are subject to increasing legal sophistication and regulation.
Because
BullionVault offers a credit-free environment, and because it deals in the
absolute ownership of physical metal, and not paper based contractual rights,
it falls outside the defined scope of formal financial services regulation, as
does the rest of the physical gold bullion industry in London.
The
London Gold Bullion market - which is the biggest in the world - is instead
regulated by traditional English property law, and not by the United Kingdom's
Financial Services Authority.
We
believe this offers a clearer and better enforced regulatory environment.
In BullionVault you own gold, and not a piece of paper evidencing an
entitlement under a trust. The property right this gives you is much simpler,
better established, and less subject to change than modern securities law.
In
the event of administrative error BullionVault is entitled after the event to
make appropriate adjustments to records of your account.
Neither
BullionVault nor you has the right to make profits from trading system
failures.
The
BullionVault system is designed to protect all users from clear trading errors
by rejecting orders priced substantially away from the prevailing gold
price. This protection depends on receiving currency and bullion market
price data from a variety of digital sources. The effectiveness of this
protection is to an extent out of BullionVault's reasonable control. In
the event of a failure to protect participants in this way both BullionVault
and you accept that reasonable adjustments may be made after the event in order
to ensure the marketplace operates fairly to all participants.
(a)
The following provisions set out the entire financial liability of BullionVault
(including any liability for the acts or omissions of its employees, agents and
sub-contractors) to you in respect of:
(i) any breach of these Terms and Conditions; and
(ii) any representation, statement or tortious act or omission including negligence arising under or in connection with these Terms and Conditions.
(b)
All warranties, conditions and other terms implied by statute or common law
(save for the conditions implied by section 12 of the Sale of Goods Act 1979)
are, to the fullest extent permitted by law, excluded herefrom.
(c)
Nothing in these Terms and Conditions excludes or limits the liability of
BullionVault:
(i) for death or personal injury caused by BullionVault's negligence; or
(ii) under section 2(3), Consumer Protection Act 1987; or
(iii) for any matter which it would be illegal for BullionVault to exclude or attempt to exclude its liability; or
(iv) for fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation.
(d)
Subject to paragraphs (b) and (c) above:
(i) BullionVault's total liability in contract, tort (including negligence or breach of statutory duty), misrepresentation, restitution or otherwise, arising in connection with the performance or contemplated performance of these Terms and Conditions shall be limited to the value of your cash balance and/or gold bullion from time to time deposited with or by BullionVault; and
(ii) BullionVault shall not be liable to you for any pure economic loss, fall in the value of your gold or currency, loss of profit, loss of business, depletion of goodwill or otherwise, in each case whether direct, indirect or consequential, or any claims for consequential compensation whatsoever (howsoever caused) which arise out of or in connection with these Terms and Conditions.
You
are responsible for paying such local taxes as are or may be applied on gold
purchases, gold sales and gold custody, and on any associated charges, and such
taxes are added to charges where appropriate.
BullionVault
shall not be liable to you for any delay or failure by it to perform its
obligations if such delay or failure arises from any unforseeable
causes beyond its reasonable control including, but not limited to, acts of
God, floods, lightning, earthquakes, labour disputes,
shortages, rationing, utility failures, war, terrorism, riot, embargoes, and
actions of any government agency or subdivision thereof.
You
are entitled to consider that reasonable care has been taken by BullionVault in
the translation into different languages of BullionVault's procedural and
operational material, and that these translations fairly reflect the underlying
meaning of an original document in the reference language of BullionVault,
which is English.
You
can contact BullionVault in any language in which the BullionVault site is
published.
You
can make informal complaints in any language in which the BullionVault site is
published.
You
can make formal complaints in any language in which the BullionVault site is
published. You will provide a translation into English to enable the
adjudicating council to assess your complaint fairly in words submitted by you
or your translator.
Dispute
resolution shall take place in English and communicated to you in English, and
also in the language of your complaint.
The
law governing the provision of the BullionVault service to the Customer is the
law of England and any disputes arising in respect hereof shall be governed
exclusively by the English courts.
©
BullionVault.com 2010 - Buy gold online at live gold prices.
Things
you can do (before you die) to ensure efficient estate administration:
Step
1 - Notification of Death.
Your
estate's administrators should inform us of your death as soon as reasonably
practicable.
Upon
being notified of your death we will verify the report by attempting to contact
you at the correspondence address, email address and telephone number you have
filed on your BullionVault account. We will also attempt to contact people who
are listed under your Expression of Wish.
Unless
we have good reason to doubt the report of your death we shall within 7 days
start to process the notification of your death in good faith.
Step
2 - Correct legal process
Depending
upon the location of your death and on your nationality and citizenship we will
contact our own lawyers. They are members of an international organization
which connects lawyers processing deceased estate administration across
international borders. If we do not already have a relationship with lawyers in
the relevant country we will be put in touch with one through this
organization.
Your
administrators will be requested to send to us the relevant documents required
in the jurisdiction appropriate to your estate. Usually your administrators
will be named in your will, then on official documents produced after your
death, and those documents will bear the seal of the official issuing body -
usually a court. These documents, and the Death Certificate, are what are sent
to us.
We
will copy these for our file and forward the originals to our lawyers there,
together with our instructions to perform the necessary investigation, and to
provide us with authority to accept instructions from certain individuals -
usually your estate's administrators - with regard to processing your
BullionVault account. Our lawyers will check the validity and completeness of
these documents in the appropriate jurisdiction.
Once
we have received instructions from those lawyers confirming who we can deal
with as administrators of your estate we will rename the account as
"Estate of
Step
3 - Deceased Account Statement
We
will send a single printed statement by private courier to the address detailed
on your BullionVault account.
We
will send a single printed statement by private courier to any address provided
by your administrators.
We
will then await a written instruction from them in the following general form.
Step
4 - Form of instruction
Your
administrators should write to us as follows :-
<enter
the date> <Your administrators' names,
addresses, and contact details>
The
Manager,
BullionVault,
<please check under 'Contact us' on our website at www.BullionVault.com for
our address>
Dear
Sir
BullionVault Username : <your username>
Regarding
the Estate of <Deceased account holder's name> please accept this
instruction to sell the gold on the above account, and wire the <choose a
currency from 'US Dollar', 'Sterling' or 'Euro'> proceeds to :-
<Enter
here the name and address of the receiving bank>
The
bank/branch code is <Enter the bank's Routing code, BIC code, Sorting code
or equivalent>
Please
pay to the account of <please enter the account name at the bank> with an
account number of <please enter the account number at the bank>
I
authorize the deduction of legal and other expenses to the extent that they do
not exceed 1% of the value of the gold, or $500, (whichever is the larger)
without my prior approval.
Signed
Name
: <enter the administrator(s) name>
IMPORTANT
- Having
established the correct local processing of the death within the relevant
jurisdiction BullionVault is authorised to accept the
instructions of the administrator. It is now essential that the signature on
the above document is independently verified to be the stated administrator.
Usually the administrator should take this letter and a passport to a public
notary, or local lawyer, who will endorse and/or stamp the letter bearing the
signature and provide a contact detail at which they themselves can be contacted
to verify the endorsement. The administrator should send the instruction to us
by private courier.
Step
5 - The sale of the gold
Upon
receipt of these instructions BullionVault will arrange the sale of the gold,
at the latest by the end of the day following receipt of the instruction. The
sale price will be set according to the London PM fix price which is an
internationally recognized and standard valuation of gold bullion. A 0.25%
reduction from the London PM fix price will apply.
A
contract will be sent to the email address recorded on the BullionVault
account.
Step
6 - Sending the proceeds
After
not less than 7 days and not more than 21 days from the sale BullionVault will
initiate a bank wire sending the account balance to the requested bank account.
Fees
Ordinary
BullionVault costs
Fees
specific to administration of the deceased account
We
accept a general obligation that these fees specific to the administration of a
deceased account will not exceed the higher of $500 or 1% of the value of the
account without explanation from us and prior approval of the administrator.
Responsibility
of BullionVault and Indemnity
You
agree and accept the procedures described above. You indemnify BullionVault
from losses incurred in returning money to persons being or purporting to be
your administrators according to these procedures.