Postfaro Terms of Service

DRAFT — requires review by a qualified lawyer before publication. This text was prepared as a working draft. It has not been reviewed for any specific jurisdiction. Items in [SQUARE BRACKETS] must be completed or decided before publication.

Last updated: [DATE] Effective from: [DATE]

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between you and [COMPANY LEGAL NAME], a company registered in [JURISDICTION] under number [REGISTRATION NUMBER], with its registered address at [ADDRESS] (“Postfaro”, “we”, “us”). They govern your use of the Postfaro service, the website at postfaro.com and the customer panel (together, the “Service”).

By creating an account, completing a purchase, or using the Service, you agree to these Terms. If you are accepting them on behalf of a company or other organisation, you confirm that you are authorised to bind it, and “you” means that organisation.

The following documents form part of these Terms:

• Acceptable Use Policy — what you may and may not send
• Privacy Policy — how we handle personal data about you
• Data Processing Agreement — how we handle personal data of your recipients on your behalf
• Refund Policy
• Cookie Policy

If there is a conflict, the Data Processing Agreement prevails on data protection matters, the Acceptable Use Policy prevails on sending rules, and these Terms prevail on everything else.

1. What Postfaro is

Postfaro is a managed outgoing email (SMTP) service for bulk and campaign email. In short:

1. We set up a dedicated sending domain for you — one you buy through us (Path A), a separate domain you already own and point to our nameservers (Path B), or a subdomain of your main domain that you delegate to us (Path C).
2. We manage the technical records for that sending domain (SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX, return-path and related records), its warm-up and its reputation monitoring.
3. You send from your own tools — for example a CRM, Microsoft Outlook mail merge, or a WordPress newsletter plugin — by connecting them to our SMTP server with the credentials we give you.

We never send bulk email from the domain you use for day-to-day correspondence. This is a design rule of the Service, not an option.

Postfaro does not store or manage your contact lists. Your lists stay in your own tools. We process recipient data only to deliver the messages you submit (see section 9).

2. Your account

2.1 Business customers only. The Service is sold only to businesses, organisations and professionals acting for the purposes of their trade, business or profession. It is not available to consumers. When you sign up, you give your company or organisation name and confirm that you are buying on behalf of a business. You must be at least 18 years old and authorised to bind the business you represent. We may ask for evidence (for example a VAT or company registration number), and we may refuse or close an account that does not meet this condition.

2.2 Accurate information. You must give us accurate and complete information (including a working email address, your legal or business name and billing details) and keep it up to date. If you buy a domain through us, the registrant information must be accurate, as required by the domain registry rules (see section 4).

2.3 Security. You are responsible for keeping your panel login and your SMTP credentials secret. Each SMTP password is shown only once; store it safely. Enable two-step login where offered. Tell us immediately at [SECURITY EMAIL] if you believe your account or any credential has been compromised. You are responsible for all email sent with your credentials until you revoke them or tell us they are compromised.

2.4 One account per organisation. You may not create multiple accounts to get around the daily sending cap, a suspension, or any other limit.

3. Sending domains

3.1 Three paths. Each account sends from exactly one of the following kinds of sending domain:

3.2 DNS control. For the Service to work, the authoritative DNS for the sending domain (Path A and B) or subdomain (Path C) must be hosted on our nameservers. In the customer panel you can view all records. Records that the Service depends on (NS, SOA, SPF, DKIM, DMARC, MX and the return-path subdomain) are locked and cannot be changed by you. You may add, edit and delete other records — for example website records (A, AAAA, CNAME) and verification TXT records — subject to technical checks (for example, we reject a second SPF or DMARC record and wildcard records). Changes are logged.

3.3 Path B and C eligibility. Before we accept a domain or subdomain, we may check it (for example: whether it already receives day-to-day email, appears on blocklists, or has conflicting records). We may refuse a domain that we believe would harm deliverability or is used for day-to-day correspondence.

3.4 Connecting the domain. For Paths B and C you pay first and then connect the domain (change its nameservers, or add the two NS records). Nothing is created on our nameservers before payment; an unpaid order is removed after 14 days. After payment we create the DNS zone and all records at once, and complete the setup as soon as we detect the change. We remind you by email 1, 3, 7 and 14 days after payment; if the change has still not been made after that, we contact you personally. If you cannot make the change (for example because your DNS provider does not support NS records for subdomains), you can switch to another domain or subdomain you own in your panel at no extra cost, or ask us to switch you to Path A (a new domain registered through us; any price difference applies). [DECIDE: whether any refund applies if the domain is never connected (see the Refund Policy).]

3.5 Reserved addresses. Certain addresses on your sending domain are reserved for us and cannot be used as sender addresses, including postmaster@, abuse@ and dmarc@ [ADD FULL LIST IF ANY].

4. Domains registered through us (Path A)

4.1 Registration in your name. Domains bought through us are registered in your name (you are the registrant) through our registrar partner [REGISTRAR — currently planned: Openprovider]. You therefore also agree to the registrar’s terms and the applicable registry policies, which we will link at checkout: [LINK TO REGISTRAR / REGISTRY TERMS].

4.2 Registrant verification. Under ICANN rules, the registrant email address must be verified, usually within 15 days of registration. The verification email is sent by the registrar, not by Postfaro. If it is not verified in time, the registry or registrar may suspend the domain, which will stop your sending. We remind you, but verification is your responsibility.

4.3 Supported extensions. Currently only .com and .net, sold as part of the “Plan + domain” bundle. A domain cannot be bought on its own.

4.4 Renewal. The domain renews together with your annual plan as long as the bundle is active and paid.

4.5 If you leave. The domain remains yours. [DECIDE AND DESCRIBE: how a customer obtains the transfer authorisation code, whether a domain can be transferred out before its first anniversary (registry rules usually block transfers within 60 days of registration), what happens to the domain’s DNS after cancellation, and whether the customer can keep renewing the domain through us without a sending plan.]

4.6 Failed registration. If we cannot register the domain you chose (for example because it was taken in the meantime), we refund the amount paid for it automatically, or let you choose another domain.

5. Sending rules and limits

5.1 Daily cap. Your plan includes up to 5,000 emails per day per account. The cap is shared by all sender addresses on the account. Each recipient of a message counts as one email. A sending “day” is [DEFINE: e.g. 00:00–24:00 UTC].

5.2 Use it or lose it. Unused daily capacity does not carry over to another day and has no cash value.

5.3 Queue. If you submit more than your remaining capacity for the day, we accept the messages and place them in a queue. They are sent over the following days, up to the daily cap each day, in the order received [CONFIRM]. You can see and cancel queued messages in the customer panel. Messages that cannot be delivered within [MAXIMUM QUEUE TIME, e.g. 30 days] expire and are reported as not delivered.

5.4 Warm-up. New sending domains (and accounts on new infrastructure) must build a reputation with mailbox providers. During the warm-up period your effective daily limit starts lower and rises step by step to 5,000. The schedule is shown in your panel and in your setup email. Warm-up typically takes about 1–2 weeks for an established domain and 3–4 weeks for a newly registered domain, and can take longer if bounce or complaint rates are high.

5.5 Delivery pace. We adjust the hourly pace for each receiving provider (for example Gmail or Microsoft) to protect deliverability. A message may therefore leave our system some hours after it was accepted.

5.6 One sender per credential. Each sender address has its own SMTP username and password, which can only send with that address in the From field. Messages with any other From address are rejected.

5.7 Suppression (“cancelled addresses”). We do not send to addresses that have hard-bounced, complained (marked a message as spam), unsubscribed through our unsubscribe mechanism, or are on our shared do-not-mail list [DEFINE CRITERIA]. Messages to these addresses are accepted from your tool but not delivered. We report them to you in the panel as “cancelled addresses” with the reason. We do not write this data back into your CRM or other tools; keeping your own lists clean is your responsibility.

5.8 Unsubscribe header. We add a one-click unsubscribe header (RFC 8058) to every bulk message. You must not remove or circumvent it and must honour unsubscribe requests received through any other channel.

5.9 Automatic pause. To protect you, other customers and our infrastructure, we automatically pause sending on an account if its bounce rate exceeds 2% or its complaint rate exceeds 0.1% [DEFINE MEASUREMENT WINDOW], or if our content checks detect phishing, malware or similar content. Your first day of sending is treated as a trial and is monitored closely. While paused, new messages are temporarily refused and queued messages are held. We tell you the reason and the next steps. We may require you to clean your list or explain the source of your contacts before resuming.

5.10 Content checks. We automatically check messages for spam characteristics, blocklisted links and phishing, including with automated (AI-assisted) classification. Messages that fail these checks may be held for review or rejected. See the Privacy Policy and DPA for how this content is processed.

5.11 Replies. Replies sent to a sender address are forwarded to the mailbox you choose for that address. We may filter forwarded mail for viruses and spam. We do not keep copies of forwarded replies [CONFIRM].

5.12 No guarantee of inbox placement. We configure your sending domain to current best-practice standards, including the requirements published by major mailbox providers for bulk senders. However, the final decision on whether a message lands in the inbox, a spam folder, or is rejected is made by the receiving provider, based on factors we do not control, including your content, your list quality and how recipients interact with your email. We do not guarantee inbox placement, open rates, or delivery of any particular message.

6. Your responsibilities

You agree that:

• you will comply with the Acceptable Use Policy and all laws that apply to your email, including anti-spam, e-privacy, consumer protection and data protection laws in the countries of your recipients;
• you have a lawful basis — normally the recipient’s consent — for every message you send through the Service;
• you are the controller (or have authority from the controller) for the recipient data you submit;
• your messages identify you as the sender and include a valid physical postal address where the law requires it;
• you will not use the Service to send transactional email that must arrive immediately (for example password resets or order confirmations), because messages may wait in the queue (see section 5.3);
• you are responsible for the content of your messages and for your sending tools’ configuration.

7. Prices, payment and renewal

7.1 Prices. Current prices are shown on postfaro.com/pricing. At the time of writing:

Prices exclude taxes. Applicable VAT, GST or sales tax is calculated and added at checkout.

7.2 Paddle is our reseller. Our order process is conducted by our online reseller Paddle.com (“Paddle”). Paddle is the Merchant of Record for all our orders. Paddle provides all customer service inquiries related to payment and handles returns [CONFIRM WORDING REQUIRED BY PADDLE]. Your purchase is also subject to Paddle’s Buyer Terms: [LINK]. Payment details are entered on Paddle’s checkout and are never seen or stored by us.

7.3 Automatic renewal. Plans are billed annually in advance and renew automatically at the end of each yearly term at the then-current price, unless you cancel before the renewal date. We send a reminder before each renewal [DEFINE: e.g. 30 and 7 days before]. If prices change, we tell you at least [30] days before the change applies to your renewal.

7.4 Failed payment. If a renewal payment fails, Paddle will retry it. If payment has not succeeded [GRACE PERIOD, e.g. 7 days] after the renewal date, we pause sending: your SMTP credentials stop working until payment is made. If payment has still not been made [e.g. 30 days] after the renewal date, we may close the account (section 8). For Path A domains, see also the domain renewal notice in section 4.

7.5 Refunds. See the Refund Policy.

7.6 Immediate start. The Service starts immediately after payment. At checkout you tick a box confirming: “I am buying for my business. I ask for the service to start immediately and acknowledge that I lose my right of withdrawal.” This applies to the extent that any right of withdrawal would apply to you despite section 2.1. We keep a record of this confirmation and its time.

8. Cancellation, suspension and termination

8.1 By you. You can cancel automatic renewal at any time in the customer panel [or via Paddle’s subscription management link]. The Service then continues until the end of the paid term, after which sending stops. You can also ask us to delete your account at any time.

8.2 By us — suspension. We may suspend all or part of the Service immediately, with notice to you where possible, if:

• you breach the Acceptable Use Policy or these Terms;
• the automatic protections in section 5.9 are triggered;
• we receive credible complaints or a request from a mailbox provider, blocklist operator, registrar, registry, hosting provider or authority;
• your credentials appear to be compromised;
• payment is overdue; or
• it is necessary to protect the Service, other customers or recipients.

8.3 By us — termination. We may terminate your account with [30] days’ notice for any reason, or immediately for serious or repeated breaches of the Acceptable Use Policy, fraud, or illegal activity. If we terminate without cause, we refund the unused part of your prepaid plan fee on a pro-rata basis.

8.4 After termination. Sending stops, credentials are revoked and queued messages are deleted. We delete your account data as described in the Privacy Policy. For Paths B and C, you should point your nameservers or NS records back to another DNS provider; we will keep serving the zone for [e.g. 30 days] to give you time to do so [CONFIRM]. For Path A domains, see section 4.5.

9. Data protection

9.1 Your account data. We process personal data about you (for example your name, email address and billing details) as a controller, as described in the Privacy Policy.

9.2 Your recipients’ data. When you send email through the Service, you are the controller and we act as your processor. The Data Processing Agreement applies automatically and forms part of these Terms.

9.3 Minimal storage. Recipient data and message content are processed only transiently to deliver your messages (including while they wait in the queue). The only recipient data we keep long-term is the list of addresses that must never be emailed again (bounces, complaints, unsubscribes), so that we can protect them from further email. [CONFIRM AGAINST FINAL SYSTEM DESIGN, INCLUDING DELIVERY LOG RETENTION.]

10. Intellectual property

The Service, our software, website, documentation and brand are owned by us or our licensors. We give you a non-exclusive, non-transferable right to use the Service during your subscription in line with these Terms. You keep all rights in your content and your data. You give us the limited permission we need to transmit, process and check your messages in order to provide the Service.

If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them without obligation to you.

11. Availability and changes to the Service

We aim to keep the Service available and messages flowing, but we do not promise uninterrupted operation. We may carry out maintenance, and we may change or improve features. If we make a change that materially reduces the Service you have paid for, we will tell you in advance and you may cancel and receive a pro-rata refund of the unused part of your prepaid fee.

12. Disclaimers

Apart from what is expressly stated in these Terms, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent permitted by law, we disclaim all implied warranties, including fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. Nothing in these Terms limits any rights you have under mandatory consumer law.

13. Limitation of liability

13.1 Nothing in these Terms excludes or limits liability that cannot be excluded or limited by law (for example for fraud, or for death or personal injury caused by negligence).

13.2 Subject to 13.1, neither party is liable for indirect or consequential loss, or for loss of profits, revenue, business, goodwill or data, arising out of or in connection with these Terms.

13.3 Subject to 13.1, our total liability arising out of or in connection with these Terms in any 12-month period is limited to the total fees you paid us in that period.

13.4 We are not liable for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including the decisions of receiving mailbox providers, blocklist operators, registries or registrars.

14. Indemnity

You agree to compensate us for reasonable losses, costs and claims by third parties (including fines and reasonable legal fees) that arise from email you send through the Service in breach of these Terms, the Acceptable Use Policy or applicable law. [LAWYER TO REVIEW SCOPE AND ENFORCEABILITY.]

15. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will tell you about material changes by email and in the customer panel at least [30] days before they take effect. If you do not agree, you may cancel before the change takes effect and receive a pro-rata refund of the unused part of your prepaid fee. Continuing to use the Service after the effective date means you accept the new Terms.

16. General

• Governing law and courts: These Terms are governed by the laws of [JURISDICTION]. The courts of [VENUE] have exclusive jurisdiction, except where mandatory law gives you the right to bring proceedings elsewhere.
• Notices: We send notices to the email address on your account. You can contact us at [CONTACT EMAIL] or by post at [ADDRESS].
• Assignment: You may not transfer your account without our consent. We may transfer these Terms as part of a reorganisation or sale of our business, with notice to you.
• Entire agreement: These Terms and the documents listed at the top are the entire agreement between us about the Service.
• Severability: If any part of these Terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect.
• No waiver: If we do not enforce a right immediately, we have not given it up.
• Language: These Terms are written in English. Translations are provided for convenience; the English version prevails [CONFIRM — some jurisdictions require the local language to prevail for consumers].

17. Contact

[COMPANY LEGAL NAME] [ADDRESS] Email: [CONTACT EMAIL] Abuse reports: [ABUSE EMAIL]