Fair Usage Policy

1.Purpose and scope

This Fair Usage Policy ("Policy") sets out how the services provided or arranged by Real Agent Group, trading as Utility Umbrella ("we", "us", "our"), may be used. It is designed to protect our customers, our networks and our suppliers from misuse, and to ensure a fair and reliable service for everyone.

This Policy forms part of your Terms & Conditions and applies to all services we provide, including telephony and VoIP, broadband, AI agents, card payments and POS, and our websites.

2.General principles

Our services are intended for normal, lawful business and personal use. "Fair usage" means using the services in a way that is reasonable, does not adversely affect other customers or the integrity of the network, and is consistent with the way the service is described and priced.

Where a service is described as "unlimited", this is subject to fair and reasonable use. Patterns of use that are excessive, abnormal, or inconsistent with ordinary use may be subject to the measures described in this Policy.

3.Prohibited use

You must not use any service to:

• break any law, regulation or third-party right;
• send spam or unsolicited bulk communications;
• transmit material that is unlawful, defamatory, obscene, fraudulent or malicious;
• distribute viruses, malware or other harmful code;
• gain or attempt to gain unauthorised access to any system, network or data;
• infringe intellectual property rights;
• resell or commercially exploit a service without our written agreement; or
• act in a way that damages our reputation or that of our suppliers.

4.Telephony and VoIP

Telephony and VoIP services are provided for ordinary business and personal calling. To protect the network and comply with Ofcom rules and the law, you must not:

• make nuisance, silent, abandoned or harassing calls;
• operate auto-diallers, call-blasting or artificial traffic generation without our prior written consent;
• use the service to commit or facilitate fraud, including international revenue-share fraud;
• make calls of a volume, duration or pattern that is not consistent with normal use (for example, continuously connected calls or extreme call volumes); or
• use the service for premium-rate or call-centre dialling in a way not agreed with us.

We may apply credit limits, monitor for fraudulent or abnormal traffic, and bar destinations or suspend the service to prevent fraud or abuse. You remain responsible for charges arising from calls made through your service, including fraudulent calls where you have not kept your credentials and equipment secure.

5.Broadband and data

Broadband services are shared resources. To ensure a fair and reliable service for all customers, you must not use the service in a way that places an abnormal load on the network or degrades the experience of other users. In particular, you must not:

• generate sustained, excessive traffic that disrupts the network;
• run public servers or services on a residential connection where this is not permitted;
• use the connection for activity that breaches this Policy or the law.

We and our suppliers may apply traffic management at times of congestion to protect the overall quality of service. Details of any traffic-management practices that apply to your product will be made available to you.

6.Mobile services

Mobile services are provided using approved UK mobile network operators. The following fair-use conditions apply to all mobile voice, SMS, and data services we supply or arrange:

Data

Where a data allowance is described as "unlimited", this is subject to a fair-use threshold applied by the underlying network operator. Sustained data consumption that is excessive, inconsistent with normal device use, or that adversely affects network performance for other users may be subject to speed management or, in serious cases, service restriction. You will be notified of any applicable threshold at the time of sale or when we become aware that one has been reached.

• Tethering and personal-hotspot use is permitted only where your tariff explicitly includes it; any tethering data counts toward your allowance and fair-use threshold.
• Data must not be used to run a public Wi-Fi service, to resell connectivity, or to aggregate traffic from multiple devices without our written agreement.
• Roaming data usage is subject to the fair-use limits and operator-specific caps applicable to your tariff in each country visited.

Calls and SMS

Unlimited call and text allowances are intended for ordinary personal or business use between individual users. You must not use them to:

• operate auto-diallers, bulk SMS platforms, or predictive-dialler systems;
• generate artificial traffic, inflate call volumes, or participate in international revenue-share schemes;
• make continuously connected calls or calls of an abnormal duration or frequency that is not consistent with ordinary person-to-person calling; or
• send commercial bulk SMS, marketing messages, or spam without our prior written authorisation and the consent of recipients.

SIM and device use

SIM cards remain the property of the network operator and must not be used in any device, SIM box, or routing equipment in a way that is not consistent with normal handset use. Devices supplied by us must not be unlocked, modified, or used in a way that voids the network operator's terms. You are responsible for keeping your SIM and device secure; charges arising from loss or unauthorised use remain your responsibility until you notify us and we arrange a suspension.

Roaming

Roaming is provided in accordance with your tariff. Permanent or habitual roaming (using a UK SIM predominantly outside the UK for an extended period) is not permitted and may result in roaming being barred or the service being terminated. Country and zone availability and applicable fair-use caps will be communicated to you at the point of sale.

7.AI agents and automated services

AI phone agents and automated services must be used responsibly and lawfully. You are responsible for the content and conduct of any automated interactions, for ensuring that callers are treated fairly, and for complying with applicable rules on marketing, recording and data protection. Automated services must not be used to make nuisance calls, to deceive, or to circumvent the telephony rules set out above.

8.Card payments and POS

Card payment and POS services must be used only for legitimate transactions for goods and services genuinely supplied by your business. You must not:

• process transactions for a business type that is prohibited by the card schemes or our payment partners;
• process payments on behalf of a third party or aggregate transactions without authorisation;
• submit fraudulent, falsified or laundering-related transactions; or
• deliberately generate excessive chargebacks or refunds.

You must comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS) and the rules of the relevant card schemes and acquirers.

9.Monitoring

We do not routinely monitor the content of your communications. However, we and our suppliers may monitor usage and traffic data to manage the network, investigate suspected misuse, prevent fraud, and comply with legal obligations. Any monitoring is carried out in accordance with the law and our Privacy Policy.

10.Consequences of breach

If we reasonably believe you have breached this Policy, we may take steps that are proportionate to the breach, including:

• contacting you to ask you to stop the activity;
• applying traffic management, call barring or usage limits;
• suspending or restricting the service, with or without notice in serious cases;
• passing on charges incurred as a result of the breach; and
• terminating the service and/or your Contract.

Where the breach is serious — for example, involving fraud, illegal activity, or a threat to network security — we may act immediately and without prior notice, and may report the matter to the relevant authorities.

11.Reporting misuse

If you become aware of misuse of any service, or believe your service has been compromised, please contact us immediately at help@utilityumbrella.com so we can investigate and help protect your account.

12.Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time to reflect changes in technology, the law, or the way our services are used. The latest version will always be available on this page, with the "last updated" date shown above.

Related policies

See also our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.