TERMS OF SERVICE

1. Agreement and Scope

1.1. Parties. These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between the customer or website visitor (“Customer,” “you,” or “your”) and Cathouse Industries LLC, a California limited liability company doing business as Catlin Computer Solutions (“CCS,” “we,” “us,” or “our”).

1.2. Acceptance. You accept these Terms when you use CatlinComputers.com, book an appointment, approve an estimate or work order, purchase a product or subscription, authorize remote access, enroll a device, sign an order form, or otherwise request or receive Services. If you do not agree, do not purchase or use the Services.

1.3. Business customers. A person accepting these Terms for a company, nonprofit, care facility, government entity, or other organization represents that the person has authority to bind that organization and authorize access to its devices, accounts, premises, and data.

1.4. Order of precedence. A signed statement of work, managed-services agreement, business associate agreement, data-processing agreement, or order form controls over these Terms only where it expressly conflicts. The approved estimate or work order controls the specific scope and price of a repair. Current checkout disclosures control the price and billing interval of a subscription.

1.5. Electronic records. You consent to electronic contracts, estimates, authorizations, invoices, renewal notices, and other records. You are responsible for maintaining a valid email address and saving copies for your records.

2. Service Categories

CCS provides several different services. Buying one category does not automatically include another.

2.1. No universal inclusion. Only the features listed in the applicable plan, estimate, work order, order form, or statement of work are included. Hardware, replacement parts, travel, on-site service, data recovery, cloud storage, third-party licensing, and project labor are separate unless expressly included.

2.2. No emergency service. CCS is not a 911, emergency-response, safety, medical, life-support, or guaranteed cyber-incident-response service. Do not rely on CCS monitoring for immediate protection of life, health, property, or regulated operations.

3. Repair Estimates and Authorization

3.1. Diagnostic authorization. Before accepting a device or beginning diagnosis, CCS will disclose the diagnostic charge in writing. The diagnostic charge may be earned even when you decline the recommended repair, provided it was disclosed and authorized before work began.

3.2. Written estimate. Before repair work begins, CCS will provide a written or electronic estimate stating the authorized work, estimated parts and labor, and applicable service-call or travel charges. Taxes may be stated separately.

3.3. Approval methods. Authorization may be captured by signature, checkbox, email, text message, customer portal, recorded business workflow, or another legally permitted method. CCS will retain the authorization with the transaction record.

3.4. Revised estimate. If additional work or parts are reasonably required, CCS will describe the additional scope and total revised amount and obtain your approval before proceeding. You are not responsible for unauthorized repair charges.

3.5. Declined work. If you decline the estimate, you remain responsible for authorized diagnosis, travel, shipping, inspection, or other charges already disclosed. CCS will return the device subject to payment of authorized amounts and any lawful possessory rights.

3.6. Maximum authorization. Where a work order includes a “not-to-exceed” amount, CCS may perform the described work up to that amount without further approval. Work outside the described scope still requires approval.

3.7. Independent repair provider notice. Unless CCS expressly states otherwise in writing, CCS is an independent repair provider and is not an authorized repair provider for the device manufacturer. CCS will disclose before repair when it proposes to use used, refurbished, aftermarket, or non-manufacturer parts.

4. Booking Deposits, Appointments, and Travel

4.1. Diagnostic booking deposit. The website currently collects a $55 diagnostic booking deposit. The deposit reserves the appointment and is credited against the first authorized diagnostic or service hour. It is not an estimate authorizing additional repair work.

4.2. Customer cancellation. You may cancel or reschedule without penalty at least 24 hours before the appointment. With timely notice, the deposit may be transferred to a new appointment or refunded upon request. A cancellation with less than 24 hours’ notice or a no-show may make the deposit nonrefundable as compensation for reserved time, except where law requires otherwise. CCS may allow one transfer as a courtesy.

4.3. CCS cancellation. If CCS cancels and cannot offer a reasonably acceptable replacement time, CCS will refund the unused deposit.

4.4. Arrival windows. Appointment times are good-faith scheduling targets, not guarantees. Traffic, prior jobs, weather, security procedures, and technical complexity may affect arrival. CCS will communicate material delays when reasonably possible.

4.5. On-site access and safety. You must provide a safe, sanitary, lawful, and reasonably accessible work area; a responsible adult; working electricity and internet where needed; and access to the equipment. CCS may leave or refuse service if the location presents weapons, aggressive animals, harassment, illegal activity, biohazards, unsafe wiring, infestation, smoke, or other unreasonable risk.

4.6. Travel charges. On-site service within Ridgecrest does not currently carry an additional service-call fee. Travel outside Ridgecrest starts at $25 and may vary by distance. All applicable travel, transportation, or service-call charges will be disclosed in the written estimate before work begins.

4.7. Unproductive visit. An authorized diagnostic, travel, or minimum service charge may still apply when CCS cannot complete work because the customer is absent, denies access, lacks required credentials, has no working internet or electricity, provides inaccurate information, or presents an unsafe environment.

5. Device Intake and Customer Property

5.1. Service receipt. When CCS takes possession of a device, CCS will issue a service receipt, claim check, or equivalent electronic record describing the customer, device, reported problem, visible condition, and other information required by applicable law.

5.2. Preexisting condition. Devices may have hidden defects, prior liquid exposure, corrosion, missing screws, cracked housings, damaged connectors, failing storage, unauthorized modifications, counterfeit parts, or previous repair damage. CCS is not responsible for preexisting conditions or failures that occur through ordinary diagnosis when the device was already fragile or failing, except to the extent caused by CCS negligence or unlawful conduct.

5.3. Testing. You authorize CCS to power on, open, disassemble, test, benchmark, update, connect peripherals, and operate the device as reasonably necessary for the authorized service. Testing may expose an already failing component or battery.

5.4. Ownership and authorization. You represent that you own the device or have lawful authority from the owner. CCS may request identification, proof of purchase, or proof of authority and may refuse to bypass activation locks, encryption, passwords, antitheft controls, or account security.

5.5. Pickup and storage. You must retrieve completed or unrepaired property promptly after notice. CCS may charge a reasonable storage fee after 15 days if the fee is disclosed in the final notice or invoice. Property unclaimed for 90 days may be handled as abandoned property only after required notices and in accordance with applicable law. CCS will not dispose of customer property merely because this paragraph exists.

5.6. Replaced parts. Unless a core return, warranty, environmental rule, or written agreement requires otherwise, you may request replaced parts before work begins. Parts not requested may be recycled, returned to the supplier, or disposed of lawfully.

6. Data, Credentials, and Privacy During Service

6.1. Backup responsibility. You are responsible for maintaining a current, verified backup before service. Repair, malware removal, storage failure, operating-system work, encryption, updates, and component replacement may cause data loss. A backup service is included only when expressly purchased and successfully configured.

6.2. Data access authorization. You authorize CCS to access files, settings, logs, accounts, and system information only to the extent reasonably necessary to perform the approved service, test the result, protect systems, or follow your instructions. CCS personnel must not browse unrelated personal content.

6.3. Credentials. Provide credentials only through an approved secure method. CCS may use temporary administrative credentials, one-time codes, or customer-assisted login. You should change any credential disclosed to CCS after service unless it is a dedicated service credential managed under a business agreement.

6.4. Sensitive information. Before service, close or remove unrelated sensitive material where practical. Do not send passwords, payment card details, Social Security numbers, protected health information, authentication tokens, or private keys through ordinary email or text. Business customers must use the approved secure process.

6.5. Illegal or dangerous material. CCS may stop work and preserve, restrict, or report information when reasonably required by law, court order, imminent safety concerns, suspected child sexual abuse material, stolen property, active malware, or a threat to CCS systems or personnel. CCS does not voluntarily search for customer content unrelated to the authorized service.

6.6. Temporary copies. Temporary copies made for transfer, backup, recovery, or testing will be protected with reasonable safeguards and deleted when no longer needed, subject to legal retention, system backup cycles, and the applicable order. You should not treat CCS temporary storage as your permanent backup.

6.7. Data recovery. Data recovery is best-effort and not guaranteed. Recovered files may be incomplete, corrupted, mislabeled, or unusable. Advanced clean-room or forensic recovery requires a separate provider and quote.

7. Parts, Upgrades, and Custom Builds

7.1. Parts sourcing. Parts may be manufacturer-original, authorized, aftermarket, refurbished, used, or customer-supplied as disclosed in the estimate. Availability and prices may change before purchase. CCS will obtain approval for a material substitution or price change.

7.2. Special orders. Special-order and custom-configured parts may require full prepayment and may be nonreturnable once ordered, except for defect, supplier cancellation, or a right that cannot be waived. Restocking, return shipping, and supplier fees may be passed through when disclosed.

7.3. Customer-supplied parts. CCS does not warrant customer-supplied parts. You remain responsible for compatibility, authenticity, completeness, and manufacturer warranty. Labor to diagnose, remove, or replace a defective customer-supplied part is separately billable unless CCS caused the defect.

7.4. Custom builds. A custom build begins only after approval of the parts list, labor estimate, deposit, and expected timeline. Component substitutions require approval when material. Performance estimates are not guarantees, and software, games, peripherals, displays, network conditions, and silicon variation affect results.

7.5. Mobile-device sealing and calibration. Opening phones, tablets, watches, and similar devices may reduce original water or dust resistance even when new seals are installed. Some repairs may require manufacturer calibration, pairing, or software that is unavailable to independent repair providers. CCS will disclose known limitations before repair where reasonably possible.

7.6. Manufacturer warranty. Independent repair or non-manufacturer parts may affect a manufacturer warranty. CCS does not decide or control manufacturer warranty coverage.

8. Remote Support, Business IT, and Digital Services

8.1. Remote-session authorization. When you request or accept remote support, you authorize CCS and approved service providers to connect to the identified device for the approved purpose. You should save work and close unrelated sensitive applications. CCS may record session metadata, but will not record screen content unless disclosed and authorized.

8.2. Remote limitations. Remote work depends on power, internet, device condition, permissions, third-party systems, and customer cooperation. Some problems require on-site service, parts, manufacturer support, or a separate project.

8.3. Business projects. Business IT, migration, network, security, cloud, and implementation projects require a separate scope. Estimates are based on known conditions. Change requests, hidden conditions, customer delay, third-party delay, after-hours work, or added systems may change the price and schedule after approval.

8.4. No compliance certification. CCS does not provide legal advice and does not certify HIPAA, PCI DSS, CJIS, CMMC, FERPA, NIST, insurance, or other compliance merely by providing technology services. Regulated work may require a separate assessment, written controls, data-processing terms, business associate agreement, or specialist.

8.5. Digital deliverables. Website, hosting, domain, content, advertising, social-media, and digital-presence services are governed by the applicable statement of work. Customer-supplied content remains the customer’s responsibility. CCS does not guarantee search ranking, traffic, leads, sales, platform approval, uninterrupted hosting, or business results.

8.6. Third-party accounts. Domains, hosting, social-media, advertising, email, cloud, and payment accounts should be registered in the customer’s name where practical. The customer remains bound by each platform’s terms and responsible for fees, policy violations, and account verification.

9. Catlin Care Subscriptions

This section applies to recurring Catlin Care and cloud-account services. The plan shown at checkout determines the features and billing units.

9.1. Plan controls. The current plan description and checkout summary control the included features, number of devices or users, storage, price, billing interval, and any onboarding fee. Marketing summaries do not add unlisted services or guaranteed outcomes.

9.2. Billing units. Device plans are billed per enrolled computer, and cloud services are billed per protected user or account. Removing software or deleting a user does not automatically reduce the paid subscription quantity; the subscription quantity must also be changed or canceled.

9.3. Enrollment and activation. After purchase, you must complete onboarding, install required agents, provide authorized cloud access, and schedule setup when requested. Protection cannot operate until enrollment succeeds. Payment reserves licenses and onboarding capacity, so failure to complete installation does not automatically stop billing.

9.4. Software authorization. You authorize CCS and its providers to install, configure, update, operate, and remove software needed for the selected plan. Agents may run in the background, collect device and security telemetry, install approved updates, scan for threats, transmit backups, enforce selected controls, and permit authorized remote support.

9.5. Support scope. Included remote support is limited to the selected plan and reasonable support use. It does not include unlimited project labor, physical repair, replacement parts, advanced data recovery, migrations, on-site visits, or support for unrelated or unsupported systems unless the order says otherwise.

9.6. Security limitations. No security service can detect or prevent every malicious file, phishing attempt, vulnerability, account takeover, ransomware event, insider action, or service interruption. You remain responsible for passwords, multifactor authentication, user behavior, physical security, and prompt incident reporting.

9.7. Backup limitations. Backup operates only after successful configuration and depends on connectivity, power, storage capacity, supported systems, selected data, retention settings, and provider availability. You must review alerts and maintain an additional independent copy of irreplaceable data. Restore work outside the plan may be separately billable.

9.8. Automatic renewal and affirmative consent. Catlin Care renews automatically at the billing interval shown at checkout until canceled. Before charging, CCS will clearly disclose the renewal terms and obtain express affirmative consent. CCS will retain verification of consent for the period required by law and provide a retainable acknowledgment with cancellation instructions.

9.9. Price and material changes. CCS may change prices or features for future billing periods. Required advance notice and cancellation instructions will be provided before a fee change or material change takes effect. Security, legal, or vendor emergencies may require immediate technical changes.

9.10. Online cancellation. A Catlin Care subscription may be canceled at any time through the Stripe Customer Portal. Authentication may be required to protect the account, but CCS will not impose unnecessary steps that obstruct cancellation. Cancellation help is also available at support@catlincomputers.com or 760-301-6619.

9.11. Effect of cancellation. Cancellation stops future renewals and becomes effective at the end of the current paid billing period. Service, monitoring, licensing, remote access, and backup retention end according to the applicable cancellation and vendor terms. Backup data and vendor-held data may be deleted promptly under provider retention rules, so export or restore needed information before termination.

9.12. Suspension for nonpayment. Failed payments may be retried. CCS may suspend or terminate licenses and Services after notice. Suspension can cause missed updates, monitoring, alerts, backup jobs, or threat detection. Paying later does not guarantee recovery of deleted data or expired configurations.

9.13. Not a service contract or insurance product. Catlin Care is a technology monitoring, support, security, and backup service. It is not insurance, an extended warranty, or a promise to pay for hardware replacement or every future repair. Physical repair and parts are separately quoted unless an expressly approved written plan states otherwise.

10. Payments, Cancellation, and Refunds

10.1. Payment authorization. You authorize CCS and its approved payment processors to charge the payment method presented for approved one-time charges, deposits, invoices, recurring subscriptions, taxes, and agreed additions. Payment processors may retain credentials and perform lawful retries.

10.2. Invoices. Invoices are due when stated. Business accounts may receive written payment terms. Past-due balances may result in suspension, collection costs allowed by law, and refusal of additional work.

10.3. Taxes and fees. You are responsible for applicable sales, use, excise, telecommunications, currency-conversion, bank, or government charges, except taxes based on CCS net income.

10.4. Repair refunds. Authorized diagnostic labor, completed labor, travel, custom work, and installed parts are generally nonrefundable. Refunds may be issued for duplicate charges, unused canceled work, supplier refunds, CCS error, or where required by law. Warranty correction is the usual remedy for covered workmanship issues.

10.5. Subscription refunds. No prorated or partial-period refunds are offered. Subscription charges are nonrefundable once a billing period begins, except for a confirmed duplicate or erroneous charge, a CCS-approved credit, or a right required by law. Cancellation prevents future renewal and leaves the subscription active through the current paid billing period.

10.6. Chargebacks. Contact CCS first so the issue can be investigated. A chargeback does not by itself cancel a subscription. CCS may suspend the disputed account while a payment dispute is pending.

11. Warranties and Service Limitations

11.1. Labor warranty. Unless the work order states a different period, CCS warrants paid repair labor for 30 days after completion. The warranty covers correction of the same workmanship issue and does not cover unrelated failures, new malware, customer changes, misuse, physical or liquid damage, power events, network problems, unsupported software, failing parts, or third-party changes.

11.2. Parts warranties. Parts are covered only by the warranty stated in the estimate, supplier documentation, or manufacturer terms. CCS may assist with a valid claim but is not responsible for a manufacturer’s denial, delay, replacement policy, shipping, or data loss.

11.3. No guaranteed repair or recovery. CCS does not guarantee that a device is economically repairable, that every symptom will be reproduced, that malware can be removed without reinstalling software, or that data can be recovered.

11.4. Service availability and response. For Catlin Care, CCS provides an initial response within 24 calendar hours. This is not a promise of resolution within 24 hours. Resolution time depends on the nature, severity, access requirements, and complexity of the problem. CCS does not otherwise guarantee an arrival time, completion date, uptime, backup recovery point, or recovery time unless a signed service-level agreement states the specific commitment and remedy.

11.5. Disclaimer. To the maximum extent permitted by law, Services are provided on an “as available” basis and CCS disclaims implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, uninterrupted operation, and noninfringement. This disclaimer does not waive rights that cannot lawfully be waived.

12. Acceptable Use, Suspension, and Termination

• Use Services to violate law, another person’s rights, or a platform’s rules.
• Enroll, monitor, access, or control a device or account without authorization.
• Distribute malware, evade security controls, conduct unlawful surveillance, or attack systems.
• Share CCS credentials, remote-access links, licenses, or restricted documentation.
• Reverse engineer, resell, sublicense, scrape, or misuse CCS systems except where law expressly permits.
• Threaten, harass, discriminate against, or endanger CCS personnel or contractors.
• Provide false identity, ownership, billing, device, or authorization information.

12.1. Suspension. CCS may immediately suspend access or work when reasonably necessary for security, safety, suspected fraud, nonpayment, legal compliance, provider restrictions, or investigation. CCS will restore service when the issue is resolved if restoration is lawful and practical.

12.2. Termination by CCS. CCS may terminate for material breach, repeated nonpayment, abuse, unlawful use, technical incompatibility, security risk, loss of required provider access, or circumstances that make service unlawful or commercially unreasonable. When practical, CCS will provide notice and an opportunity to cure.

12.3. Customer termination. You may decline an estimate, stop future work before it is performed, or cancel a subscription using the applicable process. You remain responsible for authorized charges already incurred, noncancelable parts, and completed work.

13. Liability and Dispute Terms

13.1. Excluded damages. To the maximum extent permitted by law, CCS is not liable for indirect, incidental, special, exemplary, punitive, or consequential damages, including lost profits, lost revenue, lost opportunities, business interruption, reputational harm, or loss of data.

13.2. Liability cap. To the maximum extent permitted by law, CCS total aggregate liability arising from the Services will not exceed the greater of $500 or the fees paid for the affected Services during the six months before the event giving rise to the claim. This cap does not apply where limitation is prohibited, including certain willful misconduct or statutory liabilities.

13.3. Customer mitigation. You must take reasonable steps to reduce loss, including maintaining backups, following security recommendations, preserving evidence, stopping use of unsafe equipment, and promptly reporting suspected incidents.

13.4. Business indemnity. A business Customer will defend and indemnify CCS from third-party claims arising from the Customer’s unlawful instructions, unauthorized device or account access, infringing content, misuse of Services, or material breach, except to the extent caused by CCS negligence, willful misconduct, or violation of law.

13.5. Informal resolution. Before filing a lawsuit, the parties will attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute. A written notice should identify the account, transaction, facts, requested resolution, and supporting documents. Either party may use small claims court without extended informal negotiation.

13.6. Governing law and venue. California law governs, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Subject to nonwaivable consumer rights and small claims jurisdiction, proceedings will be brought in a court serving Kern County, California.

14. General Legal Provisions

14.1. Privacy. The Catlin Computer Solutions Privacy Policy explains how CCS collects, uses, discloses, retains, and protects personal information and is incorporated by reference.

14.2. Third-party services. CCS uses payment, scheduling, hosting, endpoint management, cybersecurity, backup, cloud, communications, and other providers. Those services may be subject to provider terms and availability. CCS is responsible for selecting providers with reasonable care but does not control every provider outage, policy change, or defect.

14.3. Intellectual property. CCS and its licensors retain ownership of branding, software, reports, workflows, documentation, website materials, and other intellectual property. Customer receives only the limited right needed to use purchased Services during the applicable term.

14.4. International service. Remote Services may be available outside the United States where lawful and technically supported. Export controls, sanctions, provider coverage, local law, payment availability, and data-transfer rules may restrict service. Mandatory local consumer rights remain unaffected.

14.5. Assignment. You may not transfer these Terms or a subscription without written approval. CCS may assign the agreement in a merger, restructuring, financing, sale of assets, or transfer of the business if the successor assumes the applicable obligations.

14.6. Severability and waiver. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be modified or severed to the minimum extent necessary, and the remaining provisions remain effective. Failure to enforce a provision once is not a waiver.

14.7. Changes. CCS may update these Terms for future transactions and renewals. Material changes will be communicated as required by law. The version accepted with a completed repair or current billing period governs that transaction unless a lawful change applies.

14.8. Notices. Notices may be sent to the email, billing address, portal, or phone associated with the account. Legal notices to CCS should be sent to support@catlincomputers.com with “Legal Notice” in the subject and to the mailing address shown on the applicable invoice.

14.9. Entire agreement. These Terms, the Privacy Policy, accepted estimate, work order, checkout disclosures, plan description, and any signed service agreement form the complete agreement for the applicable Services. An informal statement does not change the agreement unless confirmed in an authorized writing.

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