TERMS OF PAYMENT

(eCheck/Credit Card)

BEFORE YOU CAN USE OUR SERVICE, YOU MUST AGREE TO THE FOLLOWING TERMS

These Terms of Payment set forth the terms of the online payment service ("Online Payment Service") offered to you by the County of Los Angeles ("County," "we," "us," "ourselves" or "our") via the Electronic Permitting and Inspections - County of Los Angeles ("EPIC-LA") website ("Website"). The Online Payment Service provides customers with the ability to make payments online by either: (a) a method of instructing financial institutions to electronically transfer funds from one account to another, eliminating the use of paper checks ("eCheck"); or (b) using credit/debit cards, both of which are subject to the applicable terms and conditions set forth below. Capitalized terms used in these Terms of Payment shall have the meanings given to such term in the Terms of Use and/or Privacy & Security Policy, as applicable.

Conditions of Payment for eCheck

You may only use eCheck to request an electronic transfer of U.S. funds drawn from U.S. based financial institutions using only a U.S. business/corporate or personal checking account. The types of accounts not eligible to use eCheck include, but are not limited to, the following:  

• Brokerage Accounts
• Cashier's Checks
• Credit Card Accounts
• Equity Line of Credit Accounts
• Money Market Accounts
• Money Orders
• Savings Accounts
• Third Party Checking Accounts
• Travelers Checks
• U.S. Treasury Checks

If you do not have a U.S. business/corporate or personal checking account, you may make your payment by credit/debit card or by using one of the other methods described in the "Other Methods of Payment" section below.

When you request a payment using eCheck for a one-time payment, you are authorizing a one-time electronic funds transfer from your U.S. checking bank account to our bank account. Upon receipt of your authorization, we will process it using the Automated Clearing House ("ACH") system to debit your U.S. bank account. Once you click the "Submit" button, you will not be able to make changes to your payment or to change or revoke your authorization for this payment, as your authorization is processed immediately. However, if you decide after you click the "Submit" button that you do not want to make this payment, you will still have the option of contacting your financial institution to place a stop payment order. If a stop payment order is not received by your financial institution in a timely manner, your payment will not be stopped. It is your responsibility to know what your financial institution considers to be a "timely" stop payment request. Contact your financial institution promptly for details about placing a stop payment order.

Your bank account must be "ACH-enabled," meaning that the account can be debited electronically. Before using eCheck, please contact your bank to confirm that your account is ACH-enabled.

eCheck transactions are limited to a maximum of $250,000.00 per transaction. For bills exceeding $250,000.00, please make payment by mail or in person, as described under the "Other Methods of Payment" section below.

You must provide a valid U.S. bank account to be electronically debited by us. Both the bank routing number and the bank account number you provide to us must be correct. If either or both numbers are wrong, your bank may not honor the eCheck payment and will return it to us unpaid, which may result in applicable returned eCheck fees or other penalties. In addition, please ensure that you have sufficient funds in your designated bank account. You will be charged a returned eCheck fee as described below if your eCheck payment is returned for any reason.   To help avoid penalties, costs and/or a returned eCheck fee, please double-check all data you have entered to ensure its accuracy, as well as the availability of funds in your designated bank account, and that you are using a U.S. checking account before submitting the payment.

Conditions of Payment for Credit Card

Credit/debit card payments using the Online Payment Service are limited to a cardholder who has a billing address within the United States of America . We do NOT accept payments through the Online Payment Service from any party/individual who has a credit/debit card billing address outside of the United States, who is not an authorized user of the credit/debit card utilized for the payment to the County, or who is making a payment from a foreign country that does not support a minimum of 128-bit encryption (even if that person's billing address is within the United States).

Credit/debit card transactions are limited to a maximum of $50,000.00 per transaction. For invoices exceeding $50,000.00, please make payment by mail or in person, as described under the "Other Methods of Payment" section below.

Other Methods of Payment

Your Representations

In addition to the representations in these Terms of Use, you represent to us that: (i) if you are using eCheck, you are using a U.S. checking account; (ii) the information you provide to us in connection with this service will be accurate; (iii) you have the right to authorize us to obtain payment from the bank account or credit/debit card account designated in your instructions; and (iv) no other person's authorization or action is needed to approve our creation and processing of the transaction involving your designated bank account or credit/debit card account.

Login and Security

You will need a user name and password to use this Website. If you do not have your user name and/or password, you cannot use the Online Payment Service. You can create your own login by going through the online registration process. State law and/or local ordinance mandates that a penalty shall be assessed if a payment is received after the delinquency date. Therefore, if the Online Payment Service is unavailable or you do not have your user name and/or password, you should use an alternate payment method prior to the delinquency date to avoid such a penalty.

For security reasons, you agree to maintain the confidentiality and security of the user name and password to this Website. If you provide the user name and password to someone else, you will be responsible for his or her actions or ensuing liabilities in connection with the Online Payment Service. The County of Los Angeles does not assume any responsibility with respect to the use, misuse, and/or loss of your user name and/or password.

Payment Date for eCheck

Your eCheck payment is deemed "received" at the time that: (1) you select the "Submit" button for a payment; (2) we confirm the transaction; and (3) we provide you with a receipt number. We may process your eCheck immediately, even if it is before the date the payment is due.

Payment Date for Credit Card

Your credit/debit card payment is deemed "received" at the time that: (1) you select the "Submit" button for a payment; (2) your payment is approved; and (3) we provide you with a receipt number. We may process your credit/debit card payment immediately, even if it is before the date the payment is due.

Transaction Receipt

A payment is not deemed made until we provide you with an online receipt number for such payment. You can download or print a copy of the receipt page with your receipt number for your records. In addition, we will send you an email confirmation of your payment. We recommend that you check your email's SPAM folder for our emails and add @lacounty.gov and @fisgov.com domain names to your Safe Senders List to ensure that you continue to receive our emails in the future.

Returned Payment

If the eCheck or credit/debit card payment is returned for any reason (e.g., because you do not have sufficient funds in your account, closure of your designated bank or credit/debit card account, or, if you are using eCheck, if the bank account information you provided is incorrect, or, if you are using eCheck, the bank account you are using is not a U.S. checking account), all obligations will remain outstanding and will be subject to all applicable late payment penalties, costs and fees, if the payment is delinquent. In addition to any late payment penalties, costs and fees, you agree to pay us $33.00 for each eCheck payment that is returned unpaid for any reason.

Electronic Communications

Any notice or other type of information that is provided to you in connection with this service, such as these Terms of Payment, the Terms of Use, Privacy & Security Policy, payment confirmations, amendments or other service information ("Communications"), may be provided to you electronically (e.g., by posting the information at this Website or by sending it to your email address). We will not be obligated to provide any Communication to you in paper form. If you do not agree to electronic Communications, you do not agree to use the Online Payment Service and should select the "Cancel" button.

In order to use our Online Payment Service, you will need a working connection to the Internet from a personal computer device. The service may not function properly using web-enabled television, cellular telephone or similar connections to connect to this Website. Your Internet browser must support the Transport Layer Security ("TLS") and 128-bit encryption protocol. The latest versions of Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and Safari will support this feature. You will also need either a printer connected to your computer to print Communications or sufficient hard drive space available to save the information. You must have your own Internet service provider ("ISP"), as we do not provide ISP services.

Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability

We offer this Online Payment Service as a courtesy only. In addition to the disclaimer of warranties included in the Terms of Use, we assume no obligation to ensure that it is available for your use. There may be times when the Online Payment Service is unavailable due to, among other reasons, system maintenance or outages.

In addition to the limitation of liability included in the Terms of Use, you agree that for any liability related to the payment, the County of Los Angeles shall not be subject to any amount of damages above the aggregate dollar amount paid by you for such services.

Amendments/Termination

We reserve the right to amend (i.e., add to, delete or otherwise change) the terms of these Terms of Payment and the Online Payment Service at any time. By using the Online Payment Service after any amendment, you consent to the Terms of Payment, which may be changed from time to time. Furthermore, we may terminate your use of the Online Payment Service at any time, without cause or prior notice.

Entire Agreement

These Terms of Payment, together with the Terms of Use, and the Privacy & Security Policy constitute the entire agreement between the County and you with respect to this Website and the Online Payment Service.

By selecting the "I have read and agreed to the Terms of Payment" and the "Next" button below, you are confirming that: (1) if you are using eCheck, you are using a U.S. checking account; (2) you agree to receive Communications electronically; (3) your computer system meets the requirements set forth above; (4) you are able to access and print and/or store information presented at this Website; and (5) you agree to the terms of these Terms of Payment, which will be deemed to supplement the Terms of Use and Privacy & Security Policy found elsewhere at this Website and incorporated herein by this reference.

Updated: 2/15/2017