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Terms & conditions are an essential part of any membership you have with a website, we hope you will enjoy this website and find your time with us useful and interesting. We've listed everything important you should take notice of, some of this can be a bit 'wordy', so if you look below each clause we've added a 'what this means' feature which will explain in clear and plain English each clause.
We appreciate Terms can sometimes be difficult to understand and we'd like to make ours as easy as possible to find your way around. If you don't understand anything at all please contact us via the support desk 'contact us' button: it'll answer most questions via the FAQ (frequently asked questions and responses) you will see in this area, but if there's anything we've missed or you have a specific question to ask, this is the place to contact us.
In the meantime, we're always keen to make our site and its terms and conditions as clear as they possibly can be so if you do have any suggestions with what you think could be simplified, we'd be very pleased to hear from you.
Enjoy the site!
1. Statement
This Agreement is a legal document which sets out your rights and obligations and also those of Forces Reunited Ltd, a company registered in England with registration no. 04381547, in relation to this site and the Services offered by Forces Reunited.
What this means: when you put your name & details onto the Forces war records Website, you agree to all of the terms and conditions on this page and in the privacy statement also. Every time you use the website you confirm that agreement. Visitors (anyone who hasn't registered) agree that they are bound by these terms and conditions each time they access this/these websites. We can change these terms occasionally to reflect changing regulations or to clarify changes in the site(s). You must agree to the Terms & Conditions if you use the website, or buy something from us. If you do not agree with our Terms & Conditions or Privacy Policy, you must not use the website.
You can contact us by post at PO Box 3645, Melksham, Wilts, SN12 6AJ. You can also contact us 24 hours a day via the support desk which is available through the 'contact'/'contact us' link on the left hand side of all pages. Please do not use any other email address or postal address you might see elsewhere either on an advertising or receipt email from us or elsewhere on the internet: the support desk or postal address are the ONLY methods that are guaranteed to reach us. We regret we do not have a telephone support line as it would be impossible to offer adequate support to over 1 million customers via this method. The support desk will be able to quickly resolve any issues via email, or if you are not able to use that, by post. 2. Membership.
People who register for the Forces war records Website become "Members".
What this means: If you pay us for full access to the site you're then 'a full member', if you decide not to pay you're 'a basic member'. Surfers using the site without registering are referred to as 'Guests'. Once you are logged in you are referred to as a 'Member'.
3. Full Membership.
If you decide to become a Full Member, you agree to take the Full Membership we make available to you immediately after that fee is paid. Please note that in accordance with the ‘Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000’ all services that are made available to you immediately upon payment are non refundable and do not have any ‘cooling off’ period.
What this means:The moment you pay, our system will give you access to every bit of information we have on our databases, because of this we do not consider refunds if you then change your mind and we do not offer any guarantee that searchers will find specific information any more than any other similar site would do. Sorry that we're strict about this, but you can use a basic membership & see what the service is like or ask specific questions of us before you decide to buy.
Transaction errors: we will endeavour to investigate all reported suspected errors as soon as we can. If any error is found to be that of FRs making we refund in full with no charge. You (the customer) are liable for any errors made during the payment process where incorrect options are selected by mistake.
What this means: If you think there's a mistake in the amount you've paid or the (goods &) services you received, you can contact us and find out what has happened and have an explanation.
Everyone makes mistakes occasionally and we'll gladly refund at NO cost at all to you and apologise if we find the fault is ours, if the fault is yours we will explain what we can do to solve the problem.
Your Full Membership will last for one, three, six or twelve months depending on the service paid for, each month is determined to be a period of 28 days for these purposes.
If you wish to continue with Full Membership after the expiry of that period, we will enable you to do so, at our then-current terms and prices. But please note that we reserve the right to change the amount of the fee for Full Membership, the period which it covers, the Websites which it enables you to obtain and other factors from time to time. However, these changes, unless they are changes under Clause 8 or Clause 9 below, will not affect your then-current Full Membership.
what this means: We want you to enjoy the site and use it's full services as much as you'd like, we may change prices and the amount of time you get for each payment, but we won't change the original prices or terms you agreed to if you are already a full member unless this is affected by clauses 8 or 9 in the terms below.
Group membership Groups or classes of access will be granted automatically for unlimited searches via a single email address log in provided the minimum membership period is 3 months, please contact us to facilitate payment details for you.
What this means: If you'd like to start a educational project or a hobby group and you'd all like to share one membership then we are happy to allow you to do this provided you pay for a minimum of 3 months and use the same email address and password, you should contact us first to let us know your registration is on a group basis, we're happy for groups to use basic (free) membership without asking.
Fees The total payable membership fee also includes a 5% charge for the debit/credit card transaction charges and vat at the current rate. Advertised rates do not include vat,unless otherwise advised. We split out the taxes for the benefit of our business clients. VAT is payable on all transactions no matter where the purchaser is resident: this is because all services provided by this site are wholly hosted in the UK. Non EU residents should contact their respective tax office for details on reclaiming tax paid overseas. What this means: If you live outside the EU normally you do not pay British taxes, however you must reclaim this tax paid via your own countries tax system, we are sorry we cannot do this for you.
Full members are supplied full access to all records currently contained within the databases for the entire period they subscribe to, they may utilise their access for unlimited searches using the search options on the site.
Whilst we hope you find the contents of this web site interesting and informative, you agree that the contents are for general information only. Whilst we believe the contents to be true and accurate as at the date of writing under English law, we can give no assurances regarding the accuracy of the contents in relation to specific situations or particular circumstances. As such, the contents should not be relied upon. If in doubt, please contact us with any specific queries. Whilst we make every effort to ensure the accuracy of the information on it, any liability which might arise from the use of it or reliance on it is excluded. We will not enter into correspondance regarding the detail of records or the constituent makeup of our databases and their sources, unless we feel a valid point has been raised.
What this means: We are constantly looking for, working on, investigating and then putting on the information you will find, this means you should find more information added throughout even the shortest full membership term, so it's worth looking back during that period. We're a small company that ONLY researches military records and we're linked to the largest British ex forces community too, that gives us a unique insight into this information and allows us to research very specialised areas of military history others ignore. We won’t make any promises about the accuracy or completeness of the records or any other information on the website. We just give you full access to it to search all the records we have at that time, we don't limit the number of searches you can make -this is what we mean by unlimited: as it truly is unlimited.
Historical records are commonly flawed or incomplete & there will inevitably be errors, inaccuracies and omissions made. Some are incorrectly translated, recorded originally incorrectly or even written in 'olde' English!
We can make no promises that we have any more information than the factual statements in our adverts and website claims. Over the years records can be created, amended, altered and destroyed with astonishing regularity, what one person would record another does not think important enough, sometimes records are deliberately destroyed or damaged beyond repair.
We do add to the records constantly but we are very sorry if you can't find any specific information you hope for, we are appreciative of genuine constructive feedback where you feel we are missing information we should have and that is actually possible to obtain. We are happy to help you in your research and will look into any issue you might have with the sites information, but we can't examine aspects of the site for you personally should we feel it will take too long to resolve.
Renewals of Full Membership will be taken automatically if you paid by credit/debit card (unless you update your account to signify you do not wish this to happen), unless your current card fails and we will then send you an email informing you of such. There is an option to not have payment taken automatically from your profile after paying for your first terms Full Membership.
You can switch this option to NO or YES at any time: Simply: login to your account, go to Your Profile Page, Once there scroll down the page until you see a box labelled: 'renew membership' Auto Renew Payment ‘YES’ edit Click on Edit, and select ‘NO’ and then click on the word GO. You have now Stopped the auto renewals.
If you wish not to be charged recurrently for an automatic renewal then you MUST change this option before the expiration of your current term. If you do not do so then consequent terms are granted automatically and as they are immediately granted services (whether used or not) refunds cannot be considered.
What this means: When you pay there is a check box you should leave 'ticked' if you want to carry on being a full member after your term of membership runs out, if you want it to run out you should 'untick' this box. You can also switch this off at any time or you can contact us and we'll gladly do this for you. If you leave this box ticked we'll renew your membership every month to ensure you can search as much as you'd like to
Deleting accounts and cancelling full membership To cancel your subscription you must either: (a) Log into your forces war records account and switch ‘automatic renewal’ to ‘NO’ and THEN delete your account or not. (b) Log into your forces war records and send us a support request asking us to stop your full membership subscription for you or/and delete your account. (c) Write to us at Forces reunited PO BOX 3645 Melksham Wiltshire SN12 6AJ with your desired instructions.
(Please remember: You MUST put the email address you registered your account with in this letter for us to successfully trace your account) Please note: we ALWAYS reply to all communications received and will confirm instructions made to us have been acted upon, in the event you do NOT receive such a reply within 7 days of an email, or 14 days of a letter being sent, you should check your own account has been altered and contact us again by any of the above methods without further delay. These are the only methods which are guaranteed to reach us and therefore cancel your membership (full or basic) and stop any further full membership fees setup under a recurring billing authority, Forces reunited Ltd cannot be held responsible if these instructions are not adhered to.
In the case of monthly subscriptions, please ensure that you correct any information which has changed in respect of your payment details to prevent your subscription lapsing due to us being unable to process your payment. Memorial scrolls & dedicated research undertaken Please note that all items that are made or commissioned for you individually (i.e. this inludes memorial scrolls and research undertaken at your request specifically) are regarded under & in accordance with the ‘Consumer Protection (Distance Selling) Regulations 2000’ as non refundable & do not have any ‘cooling off’ period.
What this means: When a scroll is made for you we can't take it back for a refund as it has been made only for you.
Hiring a researcher to find individual records on your behalf is a set fee (clearly shown on the hire a researcher page and also upon payment) Please note that of this fee a deposit amount will be taken initially, the remainder only when the research commisioned has been completed and made available to you. The deposit is non refundable in all cases as this covers the initial cost(s) of ascertaining whether real documentary evidence exists to support the full search, if no further research is possible after this stage you will be informed and the research will be marked completed, only if a full research case is completed will the remainder of the full research payment be taken. The researcher is a professional accredited independant and will only proceed with the full tracing of records if he feels this is viable, in the event that he is ultimately unable to trace records then the final fee is still payable. What this means: Researchers cannot always guarantee success, he will only charge the deposit of £10 if he thinks your search will not be possible or it is very unlikely to be succesful. If the search looks like it could be possible, he will start researching for you, at this point the whole payment is made, whether there are results or not leading from this.
you should ensure that any payment card used to hire the researcher is valid for at least 3 months before it's expiry to allow the completion fee to be taken, you are wholly responsible for ensuring that agreed payments are made in this respect. Links to other products not from Forces reunited Ltd We give credit to the copyright holders and contributers of data we use on the site, occasionally we will also advertise their own services and products in return for this. Only goods which are actually supplied by us can we discuss or be responsible for.
4. Registration.
You undertake to register for the Forces war records Website using accurate and current information about yourself – including your correct name, email address and any other requested details. If you are asked for, and provide, details of a credit, debit or charge card; in that event, you must ensure that (a) you are fully entitled to use that card, and (b) it has available funds sufficient to cover the charges which are deducted from it. You also undertake to keep your email address and other details on the site updated to the correct information should any of your information change at any time.
In the event that an email address or name details are considered not to be accurate then we reserve the right to amend, delete or freeze the account and block access to services without recompense or notification.
What this means: We can remove or change your account if you don't use your real name and correct email address and if you change your email address you should either edit your details on your account or let us know so we may do this for you.
5. Privacy Policy.
Forces war record's Privacy Policy forms part of this Agreement, and by agreeing to this Agreement, you also give your consent to the way we may handle your personal data in that policy. Given the global nature of the World Wide Web, any posting on the Forces war records Website (including any which contain personal information) is, of course, accessible to internet users around the world.
What this means: By joining us you give your full permission that we can record your given details and so you should be aware that any messages you place on the sites forums or other public areas can be seen by all.
6. Forces war records.
You, whether you are a Full Member or just a Basic Member who visits the Forces war records Website, acknowledge that we are not and cannot be responsible for the behaviour of Members - whether on the Forces war records Website or outside of it. We only provide a venue where the Forces Genealogy Website may be accessed. In particular, you should be aware that Forces Reunited does not pre-screen or monitor the material contributed by Members.
What this means: We don't vet our membership nor do we check any material which other members place on the site, if you see something wrong or something that upsets you then you should let us know, however we are not responsible for anything placed by other members.
7. Additional Websites.
Forces Reunited or its affiliates may offer new or additional Websites through the Forces Reunited Website from time to time. Your use of those Websites may be subject to additional terms and conditions, or rules of use, which you must comply with. Provided that those terms or rules are notified to you on the Forces Genealogy Website in an appropriate manner (as determined by Forces Reunited in its reasonable discretion), any failure by you to comply with a material provision of the terms or rules governing those Websites will amount to a breach of this Agreement. What this means: We may add in new websites, if you use any new websites you are reminded that they may have new terms added that you should check you agree with first.
8. Operation of Forces Reunited Websites.
Forces Reunited reserves the right to withdraw or modify one or more aspects of the Forces Reunited Websites where we have legal or technical reasons to do so (including technical difficulties experienced by Forces Reunited or on the Internet) or for any other reason. This includes the forum where we may modify or remove posts made where we have a legal, technical or moral reason to do so or for any other reason as we see fit.
There may also be times when the Forces war records Website becomes unavailable, whether on a scheduled or unscheduled basis. For security or other reasons, we may require you to change password or other information which facilitates access to the Forces Reunited Website. what this means: We may have to repair or replace certain parts of the equipment or software in the site and it's services occasionally, we apologise unreservendly for any loss of service however you should be aware this may happen. We may also have to change various parts of the log in process and may need you to change passwords etc, we will help you do this should this be needed.
Members should always ensure that their own computer equipment and software are compatible with the operation of this website, we are not responsible for any errors that may occur due to incompatibilities.
9. Misuse of Forces war records Website.
Forces Reunited's misuse policy forms part of this agreement. We reserve the right (a) to suspend or terminate any Member’s access to the Forces war records Website, or parts of it, and/or (b) to edit, or require the Member to edit, material posted on the Forces war records Website, if the relevant Member or material appears to us to be in breach of any provision of this Agreement. Any person whose access has been suspended or terminated must not re-register for, or re-access, the Forces war records Website Website without our prior consent. You are responsible for everything which is done on or through the Forces war records Website Website while your Membership account is logged on to the Forces war records Website Website, or through your email address(es).
What this means: If we think you are deliberately misusing the site or are harming others enjoyment of it we can alter,freeze or delete your account. If we do this we won't allow you to rejoin without our permission.
10. Relevance.
The Forces war records Website Website is intended to be used by its Members for the purposes referred to in Clause 2 above. Accordingly, Members must not:
- include an email address, postal address, phone number, the address of any website, or any other information which is intended to facilitate direct communication, in material which is posted on the Forces war records Website – Full Members, and the recipients of their emails, can share this information, should they wish, once direct contact has been made;
- place material on, or otherwise use, the Website for any business or commercial purpose; or
- use your access to the Forces war records Website, or information gathered from it, for the sending of unsolicited bulk email (sometimes known as spam).
What this means: We don't allow: contact details of any sort (email address/phone number/postal address/website address) to be added by you to the site or your own account profile. We don't allow advertising of any other business by you. We don't allow you to send unwanted mail to large numbers of other members advertising anything.
11. Fees
(i) You acknowledge that we are entitled to alter the amount or the basis of the calculation of our fees from time to time. (ii) Fees paid by a Full Member will not be rebated or refunded by Forces Reunited, unless the Forces war records Website for which the Full Member has subscribed is completely withdrawn from that Full Member (and no full member services have been used) by us other than in circumstances permitted under this Agreement. We may add new or ancillary Websites from time to time which require the payment of fees – either to us or a nominated third party – on terms which will be provided to you at the time.
Fees may be periodically renewable and in which case we will take payment automatically. There will be an option to not have payment taken automatically in every site profile.
Members should contact us immediately they find any transaction in our favour they disagree with, under no account should a member take any other action without succesfully contacting our accounts department in the first instance.
What this means: We can change prices from time to time, we will only refund your payment if we remove the entire website you've paid for. If you see a payment from your bank you don't agree with you should let us know immediately, before contacting anyone else. If your bank/card takes back any payment we may, regretably, have to contact your bank and others concerning this. We will have to freeze your account whilst we investigate, we can't delete accounts before we have sorted this out.
12. Prohibitions.
You are responsible for ensuring that no material you post, or which is posted through a machine on which you access the Forces war records Website, nor any activity or communication you make in connection with any Forces war records Website, will be capable of (a) infringing the intellectual property or other rights of any person or entity, (b) breaching any applicable law, whether criminal, tortious or otherwise, or (c) appearing to be offensive, threatening, obscene, pornographic, false, unreliable or misleading.
What this means: If you think anything on our site belongs to you and we haven't had your permission to use it, is untrue or offends you then you should contact us and we'll take steps to sort this out.
13. Alerting Us.
If you see anything on the Forces war records Website which appears to infringe this Agreement, then please contact us to inform us of it. We do not generally monitor material contributed by Members before it is placed on the Forces war records Website, and so we are reliant upon users to point out any which infringes this Agreement.
In addition if you see anything on the Forces Reunited website or any associated sites that you believe to be incorrect either posted by a member or written by us, we will endeavour to correct once we are informed of it's presence.
What this means: We're proud that the websites that we run are as accurate and easy to use as we can, please let us know if you see anything that we need to change.
14. Withdrawal of material and Termination of Membership.
Each Member acknowledges that we are entitled to withdraw any material on the Forces Reunited Website which appears whether based on information received from Members or others, or our own determination to be capable of breaching any part of this Agreement, or to bring the Forces war records Website into disrepute. However, each user acknowledges that we do not monitor material which appears on the Forces Reunited Website, and that we are reliant upon you and all users to notify us of anything you see here which appears likely to breach this Agreement, using the notification techniques which are made available on the Forces war records Website.
15. Disclaimer and Release.
Forces Reunited has no control over or responsibility for the truth or accuracy of any material available on the Forces war records Website, whether provided by Members or others. If any third party sites are linked to/from the Forces war records Website, this does not mean that we endorse or have any responsibility for the site in question or anything which appears on it.
- You should exercise no lesser degree of caution in appraising what you see on the Forces Reunited Website than you do offline.
- Even though Members are prohibited from doing so, people may provide information, or otherwise behave, in a way that is unreliable, misleading or even illegal. Further, you should note that people may not necessarily be who they say they are.
- Your use of the Forces war record Website is entirely at your own risk.
Accordingly, to the extent that the law permits, you release Forces Reunited its directors, contractors and employees from all liability arising out of or in connection with the Forces war record Website and the material included here by Members and other third parties.
16. Intellectual Property.
You acknowledge that all copyright, trade marks, and other intellectual property rights in and relating to the Forces war record Website (including the material which is contributed by Members) are owned by Forces Reunited Ltd. It is easy to copy material which appears on web-sites, but this does not mean it is legal. Therefore, no-one may copy, distribute, show in public or create any derivative work from the Forces war record Website, or any of the material which is found on the Forces Reunited Website unless properly licensed to do so by us.
By submitting any material to the content to the Forces war record Website, you:
- are representing that you are fully entitled to do so;
- grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, non-terminable licence right to copy, modify, distribute, show in public and create derivative works from that material in any form, anywhere; and
- authorise us to adapt the relevant material in the course of doing so, and so waive your moral rights to object to any derogatory treatment, or to be identified as the author, of the material in question.
If you believe that you own the copyright in any of the content on the website and we have not recognised you as the copyright owner, please get in touch and we will investigate quickly. While we are investigating, we may temporarily remove the records in question. If we agree that you are the copyright owner, we will work with you to find a solution that you agree with, or we will take the record in question off the website permanently.
What this means: We'd like members and visitors to freely offer us any information they'd like to for us to consider placing on the website for others to see. We allow you to do this by contacting us via the support desk or by writing to us at:
PO BOX 3645 Melksham Wiltshire SN12 6AJ
When you do offer information, you must check it's ok for us to use it: it doesn't 'belong' to anyone else and you are free to send it to us. If you think anything on our site belongs to you and we haven't had your permission to use it then you should contact us and we'll take steps to sort this out.
17. Excluded loss.
We will not be liable to you or any third party for any indirect or consequential loss or damage, or for any loss of data, profit, revenue or business, howsoever caused (whether arising out of any negligence or breach of this Agreement or otherwise). Forces Reunited will also not be liable for any failure to perform of its obligations under this Agreement caused by matters beyond its reasonable control.
18. Maximum liability.
Without limiting the preceding Clause, during any period of twelve months, the aggregate liability of Forces Reunited under this Agreement (whether arising in negligence or otherwise) will not under any circumstances exceed the greater of (a) £5+VAT, or (b) an amount equal to the sums paid by you to us by way of Full Membership fees during the relevant period of twelve months, regardless of the cause or form of action.
19. Non-excluded Liabilities.
Nothing in this Agreement limits Forces Reunited's liability for death or personal injury resulting from our negligence, or any other liability which may not by law be excluded. Any statutory rights you may have as a consumer remain unaffected.
20. Indemnity. You agree to indemnify us against all liabilities, claims and expenses that may arise from any breach of this Agreement by you or through a machine on which you access the Forces war record Website.
21. Assignment. We reserve the right to assign this Agreement, and to assign or subcontract any or all of our rights and obligations under this Agreement. You may not without the written consent of Forces Reunited assign or dispose of this Agreement.
22. Entire Agreement. This Agreement includes our privacy policy. Together they contain the whole of the agreement between us and you concerning the Forces war record Website and they replace all earlier agreements and understandings with you, except for any fraud or fraudulent representation by either of us. A person who is not a party to this Agreement has no right under the Contracts (Rights of Third Parties) Act 1999 to rely upon or enforce any term of this Agreement.
23. Changes to this Agreement.
Forces Reunited reserves the right to change this Agreement from time to time, and post the new version on the Forces war record Website. The new version of these terms and conditions will take effect, and will govern all Forces Reunited Websites and your relationship with Forces Reunited:
- commencing four weeks after the date of posting (or such later date as Forces Reunited indicates in the relevant posting), if any of the changes is to an operative provision of this Agreement which is capable of adversely affecting you; if you do not wish to be governed by the new version of the Agreement, you may notify us on or before the date when the new version of the Agreement is to take effect, and from that date you must cease to use the Forces Reunited Website; or
- immediately upon the date of posting (or such later date as Forces Reunited indicates in the relevant posting), if the changes are not to operative provisions, or not capable of adversely affecting you - examples of which would include, without limitation, changes to one or more of Forces Reunited’s addresses or email addresses referred to in this Agreement.
24. Severability In the event that any term of this Agreement is held to be invalid or unenforceable by judicial decree or decision, the remainder of this Agreement shall remain valid and enforceable.
25. Law.
This Agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of England and Wales.
26. Contact.
You can contact us by post at PO Box 3645, Melksham, Wilts, SN12 6AJ. What this means: We'd prefer you to use the easy email system to talk to us, but if you wish to write, this is our address. Please ignore any previous addresses you may find elsewhere on the internet, we do move offices as we have expanded over the years, the address above is correct and the only one that will reach us.
27. Unregulated Link Advertising.
Forces Reunited works incredibly hard to ensure that the information contained upon our web pages is accurate, relevant and of the high quality that our visitors have come to expect.
We are aware of software that exists which will create external links from our content to what they consider to be related material, which other companies have paid to have shown. These links are in the form of either bright green or bright yellow links and some maybe in the form of highlights. We are not responsible for the quality of this software or the nature of the material that it links to. Please raise a support request from our contact page in case of being directed to objectionable material.
We emphasise that we are strictly against this form of unmoderated and unregulated link advertising and strictly prohibit its use within our site content.
We will pursue any infringement of this notice to the maximum extent of UK law.
If you find you have any of this software on your machine and would like to remove it we recommend visiting http://www.lavasoft.de For further information, please raise a support request from our contact page.
28.Sources and acknowledgements.
We will list our general sources and acknowledgements here, however we can also place more significant source information connected to particular databases within articles and reference pages. If you feel we have not acknowledged work then please contact us and let us know.
Our thanks and acknowledgements for information obtained from or via or supplied by (in no particular order): David Barnes, Wikipedia, The National Archives, Britains small wars, the BBC, Archive.org, The National Army musueum, The MOD, West Glamorgan Archives, Lawrence Woodcock, CWGC, Justmedals.com, Queensmen.com, The Jack Clegg memorial database, Mansell.com, POW Research Network Japan, the Hong Kong Veterans association.
29.Suggestions We are constantly adding new data and striving to improve the site :If you have any suggestions or comments on how we can improve the site and any of its processes, if you know of any sources of information that may be useful or have a database yourself you'd like to offer us for licensing we'd be more than happy to hear from you & discuss this further, please contact us via the support system.
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