Commercial Attorneys

CYBERCRIME ALERT

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Cybercrime is an ever-increasing threat all to all businesses and clients worldwide, and law firms are no exception. We take every precaution within our power to protect our systems and information, including antivirus software, multi-factor authentication and strict compliance with FICA and POPIA law to ensure the accuracy and safety of our clients' information - but no cybercrime protection is complete without your help. Please note:

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1. We will never send you a link in an email or otherwise. You must never open a link contained in an email purporting to be from us, no matter what.

2. We will never advise you of a change in our bank account details without a letter issued by our bankers AND in-person confirmation by our Director. Even if you receive such a letter, you should assume it is a phishing email. Contact our offices in order to confirm the authenticity of same, and obtain additional independent confirmation from your banking institution.

3. Scrutinise every email you receive. Scammers can set the name of their email account to be someone else's email address, but if you hover your mouse over the name in the email, you should see the true email address pop up.

4. We will never ask you to make a payment in cash or any form of currency or asset other then EFT.

5. Scrutinise every attachment you receive. We will never send you anything other than a Word document or PDF.

6. You must maintain a comprehensive antivirus system on your devices.

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Terms and Conditions

Version 3.0

Date: 1 July 2021

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CONTENTS

1. Protection of Personal Information (POPI)

2. General Terms and Conditions

3. Transactional Services

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PROTECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

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Maybery Inc. is a Responsible Person in terms of the Protection of Personal Information (POPI) Act, and we hold the confidentiality and privacy of your personal information in the utmost regard. In order to use our website, contact us and use our services, we require your consent to the processing and of your personal information. We also need to store your personal information and thereby per definition further process it, for the purpose of legal compliance as well as providing our services to you. which may include but is not limited to:

• your name,

• your telephone and cellphone numbers,

• your email address,

• your home address,

• your identity number,

• your biometric information (your face on your ID),

By continuing to use our site, you consent to the processing of the above personal information.

 

When you speak to us via telephone, we process your contact details (telephone number) and we may record the conversation at our discretion, for quality and training purposes, as well as for the safety of our staff.

 

When you visit our offices, we additionally process:

• your name, identity number, contact details and health information in compliance with COVID-19 regulations;

• your biometric information (measuring your body temperature in compliance with COVID-19 regulations), and your face and likeness via CCTV camera for security purposes;

• your vehicle information (your “number plate” registration number) via CCTV camera for security purposes.

 

When you enter an online meeting or video call with us, we process:

• your contact details; and

• your biometric information (i.e. your face is displayed on our computers – but is not recorded); and

• depending on the room you are in and your choice of background, we may have access to additional sensitive information. You should take steps to ensure that such information/background is not visible should you not wish it to be seen (and thereby “processed” per definition).

 

When you become a client, in the course of our services we will be required to process the following personal information in compliance with the Financial Intelligence Centre Act (FICA):

• your name;

• your telephone and cellphone numbers;

• your email address;

• your home address;

• your identity number;

• the name, address and contact details of the juristic person you may represent;

• your marital status; and

• your financial information and the information of the juristic person you may represent.

 

It is necessary to verify and continually process your bank account details:

• to verify your identity in compliance with FICA; and

• to transfer payments received on your behalf from debtors, to you.

 

In the course of your attorney-client relationship with us, it may become necessary to divulge highly sensitive information and personal information relating to you personally, your family (e.g. divorce), your children (e.g. divorce / custody disputes), and/or the juristic person you represent. Such information can include but is not limited to:

• the personal information of a minor;

• philosophical belief;

• political affiliation;

• trade union membership;

• health / sex life;

• criminal record; and

• financial information.

You consent to us processing such information and confirm that you have complied with all obligations imposed on you by POPI in providing such information to us.

 

In the event that you engage us on behalf of a juristic person, we may require you and another person (for example your spouse) to sign surety for payment. In such an event:

• you confirm that you have obtained consent from such co-surety to divulge their personal information to us;

• you confirm that you have taken all reasonable steps to comply with your own obligations under POPI to process the co-surety’s personal information lawfully; and

• the co-surety also provides their consent to us directly.

 

In many instances, such as in High Court litigation, or highly specialised legal issues, it may become necessary to involve a specialist attorney or an advocate in your case, and in so doing, we may pass your sensitive information on to third parties. These Legal Practitioners are equally bound by POPI and the ethical requirements of the Attorneys’ Profession. You consent to us passing your personal information on to these third parties.

 

You consent to us processing your personal information to any Credit Bureau:

• (in the course of establishing the attorney-client relationship with you) for the purpose of determining your creditworthiness; and/or

• (in the event that you default on payment to us) for the purpose of reporting your default payment to any Credit Bureau.

 

​Transfer of information to foreign countries – nowadays, almost every reputable online service uses data servers located in several international jurisdictions. For example, when you send an email from your gmail account, that email is stored on an international server. It is unavoidable. These data servers are found in several international locations outside of South Africa. Maybery Inc. uses Microsoft for its email (Outlook), video calling (Teams) and data storage (Onedrive). These services allow us to provide the best possible services to you, but inevitably store personal information, such as your emails and the documents you provide to us, in international locations. You therefore must consent to the transfer of your personal information to these servers in international locations in order to use our services. While these servers have world-class levels of encryption, and to the best of our knowledge are the safest possible option for storing data, we cannot guarantee the integrity or security of such servers.

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Providing your personal information and consent to us is voluntary, but is mandatory should you wish to access our services to you. Without such personal information and consent to all of the above, we cannot assist you and no attorney-client relationship will arise.

 

Safety of your personal information – we take all steps that we possibly can to protect your personal information, including identifying risk, device encryption, antivirus software, and strict procedures for the divulging of any personal information.

 

Cybercrime prevention - We will never notify you of a change of banking details unless same is supported by a letter issued by our bankers. Even if you receive such a letter, you must contact our offices and speak to our director personally in order to confirm the authenticity of same, and obtain additional confirmation from your banking institution. You should scrutinise every email purporting to emanate from our offices to confirm that it is, in fact, from us. We will never send you a link, and you should never open a link, whether received by email, SMS, Whatsapp or any other medium. Even if you do see a link in an email or on our website, you should verify the destination of that link by hovering your mouse over it, and checking what address appears in the bottom left corner of your browser.

 

You have the right of access to, and right to rectify the information collected, as well as the right to object to the processing of the information and right to lodge a complaint to the Information Regulator, whose contact details are:

https://www.justice.gov.za/inforeg/

General enquiries: inforeg@justice.gov.za

Complaints email: complaints.IR@justice.gov.za

Address: JD House, 27 Stiemens Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg, 2001

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GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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Definitions and Interpretation

“Us”, “we”, "the Attorneys" or “our” means Maybery Attorneys Incorporated.

“Use” includes inter alia to view, or access.

“You” or the “user” means any person who accesses this Website for any purpose.

“Website” means the Internet website and its related webpages at URL www.mayberyinc.co.za.

 

These Terms and any Product/Service Specific Terms form an agreement between you and us, so please ensure that you understand all of them.

 

Your use of our Website (www.mayberyinc.co.za) is subject to the terms and conditions set out hereunder. We reserve the right to amend these Terms and Conditions, and it is therefore your responsibility to read these Terms and Conditions every time you use our Website. By using this Website you agree to observe all terms & conditions of use, including any privacy or other policies which may appear elsewhere on this Website. If you do not agree with any term of these Terms and Conditions, you must immediately cease your use of this Website. Please refer to the last revision date at the top of this document. Continued use of the Website subsequent to any amendments having been affected constitutes your acceptance of the terms and conditions as amended.

 

Content

All information viewed or accessed from this Website is provided “as is” without any warranty, whether express or implied unless this is specifically imposed by law.

The information and content provided on this website is merely a summary of the law and legal developments at the time the information was published. It constitutes general guidance and opinion only and does not constitute legal advice. The specific facts in your case may be different, and no attorney can provide any guarantee as to the success of a case.

You should not act or refrain from acting on the information contained in this Website without first verifying the information and as necessary obtaining full legal advice.

The contents of the Website should under no circumstances be seen as a quotation or invitation to do business and no legal relationship between us as attorneys and the user as a client shall arise as a result of the user’s use of the content and information provided on this website.

Any use of or reliance on this Website, the contents of this Website or the information provided through this Website will be at your sole risk. We make no representations or warranties whatsoever as to the accuracy of the information contained in this Website.

We do not warrant that this Website or the delivery, hosting and ancillary services or facilities of third party suppliers utilised by us will continue to operate, will operate without interruptions or will be error-free or that it will be free of any software virus or other harmful component. You will be entirely responsible for any resulting damage to software or computer systems and/or any resulting loss of data caused as a result of any use of this Website.

 

Third Party Sites

The Website contains hyperlinks to websites owned and / or operated by third parties. We are not responsible for the content of such websites, and do not endorse or approve the contents thereof.

We consequently do not accept any liability in connection with any third party websites that may be linked to this Website (regardless of whether or not a link has been permitted by us) and are not responsible for the content of any website that is linked to this Website. The fact that a website is linked to this Website does not imply that we sponsor, endorse or are affiliated or associated with the entity that owns or is responsible for the website.

 

Data Protection

You consent to us collecting your Personal Information from you and where lawful and reasonable, from public sources for credit, fraud and compliance purposes, as well as the purposes set out below. If you give us Personal Information about or on behalf of another person (including, but not limited to, account signatories, shareholders, principal executive officers, trustees and beneficiaries), you confirm that you are authorised to: (a) give us the Personal Information; (b) consent on their behalf to the Processing of their Personal Information, specifically any cross-border transfer of Personal Information into and outside the country where the products or services are provided; and (c) receive any privacy notices on their behalf.

You consent to us Processing your Personal Information:

provide products and services to you in terms of this agreement;

to carry out statistical and other analyses to identify potential markets and trends, evaluate and improve our business (this includes improving existing and developing new products and services);

in countries outside the country where the products and services are provided. These countries may not have the same data protection laws as the country where the products or services are provided. Where we can, we will ask the receiving party to agree to our privacy policies; and

by sharing your Personal Information with our third-party service providers and insurers locally and outside the country where the products or services are provided. We ask people who provide services to us, including our insurers, to agree to our privacy policies if they need access to any Personal Information to carry out their obligations

You acknowledge that we are required by various laws, including but not limited to FICA and the FAIS Act, to collect and report some of your Personal Information and you agree to share this information with us, and indemnify us in full from all consequences which may arise herefrom.

If you are unsure about your tax or legal position because your Personal Information is Processed in countries other than where you live, you should get independent advice.

 

Identity and fraud related checks

We may carry out identity and fraud checks on you and share information relating to your application to us for your Account and on the conduct of your Account generally, with the South African Fraud Prevention Service (SAFPS).

 

Suspected unlawful conduct

If we suspect that you are using our services for unlawful purposes, we may also provide your Account and contact details, as well as details of any conduct on your Account that caused our suspicion, to the SAFPS or any other authority or interested third party. We may be required to withhold or pay over any amount held on your behalf in our trust account if ordered to do so by a legislative authority. You indemnify us fully in this regard.

 

Credit and related checks

We may enquire about your financial position at any time and you must provide us with any financial or other important information which we may ask for from time to time.

We may make enquiries about your credit record with any credit reference agency or any other party.

We may provide credit reference agencies with regular updates regarding the conduct of your Account including any failure on your part to meet these Terms.

 

FICA

We are required by law to request certain information about you and any persons related or associated to you, and to verify that information with documents which we will request from you when we believe it is necessary or appropriate.

If you do not comply with our requests or if you do not furnish the information or documents, we may refuse any application which you have made to us, and we may refuse to render services to you.

If at any time, we suspect that you are no longer compliant with FICA, we may prevent transactions from being initiated or processed until your Account is fully compliant with FICA.

 

Intellectual Property

Except where expressly stated to the contrary, copyright in the HTML, text, graphics, audio clips, video clips, source and / or object code and all other works contained in this Website is owned by Maybery Inc, and our rights in this regard are reserved. Access to or use of this Website will not in any way result in an assignment or license of any intellectual property owned by us or any other party.

The contents of this Website may not be transmitted, transcribed, reproduced, stored or translated into any other form without prior written permission from us. However, we do permit you to display the content of this Website on your computer and to print, download and use the underlying HTML, text, graphics, audio clips, video clips and other works available to you on this Website provided that:

this is for your personal education or your own professional business with respect to the practice of law or the provision of legal services;

you do not modify the content of this material;

our Website is the acknowledged source including the reference www.mayberyinc.co.za; and

we may revoke this permission at any time.

No other use of this Website is permitted. Without restricting the generality of the foregoing, you may not make commercial use of the content of this Website, include the content of this Website in or with any product that you create or distribute, or copy the content of this Website onto your own or another’s website, unless as set out in these terms and conditions.

 

Linking, Framing and Crawling

Our express permission in writing is required before any hyperlink other than to the Home Page of this Website is created. Permission, if granted, will be subject to the condition that the party linking to this Website alerts users to the application of these terms and conditions. Requests for permission can be emailed to reception@mayberyinc.co.za.

Permission to link to this Website is given without assumption of any liability. We reserve the right to withdraw permission granted to link to this Website at any time and for any reason.

Our express permission in writing, which may be subject to conditions, is required before this Website, any of its pages and/or any of the information contained on the Website is framed. Requests for permission can be emailed to reception@mayberyinc.co.za.

Apart from bona-fide search engine operators and use of the search facility provided on the Website for users, no person may use or attempt to use any technology or applications (including web crawlers or web spiders) to search or copy content from the Website for any purpose without our prior written consent.

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Financial

Our services are charged at R1,500.00 excl. VAT per hour for all work required over and above the tasks in this quotation. Our services are further subject to the terms of your client agreement signed with us. A deposit is payable before work commences; balance payable on completion. Deposit terms: for services under R10,000: 100% deposit required; for services exceeding R10,000: 50% deposit required. 

Any unpaid amounts are payable upon presentation of our invoice. Interest of 2% per month will be payable on all arrears amounts. Quotations are valid for 30 days.

Where any payment owed by the client in terms of a debit order agreement has not been received, necessitating resubmission of the debit order request, this will incur an admin fee of R50 excl. VAT per resubmission. 

 

Security

We will prosecute any person who delivers or attempts to deliver any destructive code to this Website or attempts to gain unauthorized access to any page on this Website.

Although we take all reasonable security precautions, no liability will lie for damage caused by the malicious use of this Website or by destructive data or code that is passed on to you through the use of this Website.

 

Personal Information

Further information regarding the manner in which we respect the privacy of users’ personal information is contained in our Privacy Policy.

 

Disclaimer and Indemnity

We expressly disclaim all liability for any direct, indirect or consequential loss or damage occasioned from the use or inability to use this Website whether directly or indirectly resulting from inaccuracies, defects, errors, whether typographical or otherwise, omissions, out of date information or otherwise, even if such loss was reasonably foreseeable and had been advised of the possibility of the same. Consequential and indirect loss and damage will include but not be limited to loss of profits, loss of goodwill, and wasted expenditure.

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless our servants, subcontractors, subsidiaries and affiliates from any demand, action or application or other proceedings, including for attorney’s fees and related costs such as tracing fees, made by any third party and arising out of or in connection with your use of or access to this Website.

 

Jurisdiction

These terms and conditions are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Republic of South Africa; you and we both agree to submit any dispute arising out of the use of this Website to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Republic of South Africa.

 

General

These terms and conditions contain the record of the entire agreement between users and us in respect of access to and use of the Website.

We may change these Terms at any time without notice to you. A change will not cancel this Agreement.

If any provision of these terms and conditions is found to be invalid by any court having competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of that provision will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions which will remain in full force and effect.

Our omission to exercise any right under these terms and conditions will not constitute a waiver of any such right unless expressly accepted by us in writing.

Notwithstanding the fact that hyperlinks in these terms and conditions to certain documents should be deemed part of these terms and conditions in terms of section 11 of the Electronic Communications and Transactions Act 25 of 2002, the fact that some or all of the hyperlinks may be non-operational, will not play a role in determination of the validity and interpretation of these terms and conditions.

You may not change any provisions of these Terms and Conditions.

The relevant Service Specific Terms will apply if there is any conflict between them and the Terms in this document.

We may institute legal action against you in a Magistrate’s Court, even if our claim against you is greater than would otherwise be allowed.

Any favour, waiver or concession we may allow you shall not affect or substitute any of our rights against you and shall not constitute a variation or novation of this agreement.

If you owe us money, a certificate, signed by any of our managers that states:

the fact that the debt is payable;

the amount payable;

the applicable interest rate; and

the date from which such interest is calculated, will be enough proof of the facts stated on the certificate, unless you can prove otherwise. The appointment of the manager who signed the certificate does not have to be proved.

You must write to us immediately if your circumstances change or could create any risk for us. Failure to do so shall constitute a waiver of your rights.

The invalidity, illegality or unenforceability of any of the clauses of these Terms or any Product/Service Specific Terms shall not affect the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining clauses of these Terms or any Product/Service Specific Terms.

 

Limitation of Liability

We (including any third party for which we are responsible) will not be responsible for any loss resulting from inter alia:

the closure of or suspension of access to or restriction of activity on your Account by us for any reason;

our compliance with any Laws;

any circumstances beyond our control, such as (without limitation), uncontrollable natural forces in operation, strikes or labour disputes, riot, civil commotion or unrest, any type of restriction imposed (or action taken) by a Sanctioning Body or a governmental or statutory authority or any other third party; any Service interruption, delay, power cuts, failure or malfunction in any equipment, electronic data terminal, ATM, network or other system.

The provisions of the above clause include claims in contract, delict or statute for direct, indirect, punitive; consequential or special damages, including loss of profit.

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TRANSACTION SERVICES TERMS AND CONDITIONS

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Thank you for your interest in our escrow Transaction Services. Our Transaction Services protect both buyer and seller by ensuring that:

• both parties are legitimate and committed to the transaction;

• the buyer can make payment without fear of loss or fraud; and

• the seller can receive payment without risking loss of goods.

 

Transaction Services are a unique service provided only to qualified clients, and are subject to special terms and conditions. Your use of the Services constitutes acceptance of these Terms and Conditions.

 

Verification Procedures

The Attorneys are an Accountable Institution in terms of the Financial Intelligence Centre Act, and are required by the provisions of the Act to take steps to identify and verify all parties to a transaction, to report transactions above a threshold amount to the Financial Intelligence Centre, and to report parties or transactions which are deemed suspicious in terms of the Act.

 

We are neutral

In order to provide a service that is fair to both parties, the attorney is required to act as a neutral party. It is our job to ensure that the terms of the contract between the party are adhered to in an impartial manner.

This is similar to a conveyancing transaction where, despite the fact that a seller may appoint the conveyancer, the conveyancer must act as a neutral party.

This means that, despite any attorney-client relationship, in the event of a dispute between the parties we may not favour any one party. The dispute must be resolved in the manner set out by the contract between the parties.

 

Consent to sharing of Personal Information

The parties consent that the Attorneys may provide the personal information of each party to the other. This personal information may include, without limitation, a party’s name, ID number, address, company name, company address, telephone number and email address. Unless a party specifically directs the Attorneys in writing not to divulge personal information, before the Transaction Amount is received by the Attorneys, the Personal Information may be divulged to the other party.

Parties should be aware that any instruction not to divulge personal information may have adverse consequences on a transaction including delay or cancellation by the other party.

 

Transaction Fees

The Transaction Fee for the Transaction Services is 1% of the transaction amount deposited into our trust account, subject to, at the Attorneys' sole discretion, a minimum fee of R5,000.00 (five thousand rand).

The parties are free to negotiate between themselves as to the relative apportionment of the Transaction Fee between them, and should take the fee into account when settling on the transaction amount.

The Transaction Services are designed in such a way as to make the transaction as affordable as possible for the parties. Therefore, they take into account the professional work required to transfer the funds, verify the parties, conclude commercial negotiations, analyse documentation and provide advice, as well as the risk involved, for which parties are not charged upfront. Therefore, the Transaction Fees become payable upon receipt of the transaction amount in the Attorneys' trust account.

In the event the Seller does not begin delivery of the goods or services within either 10 Business Days or any other number of days as agreed by the Parties, then upon the buyer’s request, the Attorneys will notify all parties and refund the transaction amount after deduction of the Transaction Fee.

Should the parties subsequently elect to renegotiate the transaction or any of its terms, the transaction amount may be impacted. This may result in either a part or a full refund to the Buyer, net of Transaction Fees.

 

Interest

The Transaction Services are provided for transactions which require payment to be made immediately or within a very short time. Therefore, to the extent that interest accrues on the transaction amount, it accrues to the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund in terms of Section 86(5)(a) of the Legal Practice Act 28 of 2014.

If the transaction experiences unexpected delays before conclusion, the Buyer may request in writing an instruction to have the Attorneys place the transaction amount into an interest-bearing account for the benefit of the Buyer in terms of Section 86(4) of the Act.

 

Taxation

All Fees exclude any tax, rates, levies and any other governmental charge or expense payable, which will be payable where applicable by User in addition to the Transaction Fees.

 

Customs and Other Fees

The parties are responsible per the provisions of law for:

any duties, customs fees or other charges resulting from an international transaction, and shall include same in the purchase price; and

for proper declaration of the merchandise and its value for customs procedures.

 

Cancellation

The Parties may agree to cancel a Trade if all Parties agree in writing.

The Attorneys may cancel a transaction at any time in their absolute discretion. In such an event the Attorneys will refund any monies already paid by the Buyer less the Fees due.

 

Unclaimed Funds

In accordance with applicable law, funds held on deposit and not claimed for longer than 12 months may be forfeited to the Legal Practitioners’ Fidelity Fund.

 

Disclaimer

Use of the Transaction Services is at the sole responsibility and risk of each party.  The Transaction Services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis.  Except for the warranties given in the Agreement, the Attorneys expressly disclaim, to the extent allowed by law, all representations, warranties, or conditions of any kind, whether express or implied, including:

any implied warranties or conditions of satisfactory quality, no latent defects, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, system integration, title, and non-infringement; or

any warranties with respect to third party software.

The Attorneys does not warrant that the Transaction Services will meet the requirements of any party or be uninterrupted, be legally effective or complete, timely, secure or error-free, or that the parties will be immune to the fraudulent and/or otherwise criminal conduct of the other party or third parties.

 

Indemnity

Each party agrees to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless the Attorneys and the Attorneys’ employees from and against any claim, demand, loss, damage, cost, or liability (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating party’s use of the Transaction Services.

 

Limitation of Liability

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Attorneys’ maximum liability to a party for direct damages for anything giving rise to any legal action will be an amount equal to the total Transaction Fees already paid by the party to the Attorneys for the Services related to the claim.  The aggregate amounts for all claims shall not be greater than the maximum amount.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will the Attorneys or the Attorneys’ employees be liable for any indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages or losses (whether foreseeable or unforeseeable) of any kind (including loss of profits, loss of goodwill, damages relating to lost or damaged data or software, loss of use, damages relating to downtime or costs of substitute products) arising from the Agreement.

 

Prohibited Conduct

The Transaction Services may not be used for unlawful, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, defamatory, libellous, conduct, money laundering, fraud, deception, the sale or distribution of narcotics or firearms, or any other activity that is considered unlawful, harmful, suspicious or illegal.

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Read more about Terms and Conditions of consultations here.