Terms of Use

Introduction

Scope

Services (conversations by phone, mail or chat) and the website www.143.ch are services offered by Tel 143. These terms of use regulate these services. For services provided by third parties, the corresponding guidelines of the partners apply.

Update

Use of the Tel 143 services constitutes acceptance of these Terms of Use.

The version of the Terms of Use published on www.143.ch at the time of use is binding. The Association reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time. In case of doubt, the German version of these Terms of Use applies.

Legal entity

If the services of Tel 143 are mentioned below, reference is made to Tel 143 – Die Dargebotene Hand as the legal entity. «Heart2Heart» is a temporary project providing counselling to English-speaking communities in Switzerland. The project aims at providing an English helpline, which can be reached daily from 6pm to 11pm on 0800 143 000.

Address:

Swiss Association Die Dargebotene Hand
Beckenhofstrasse 16
8006 Zurich

Website disclaimer

Tel 143 does not assume any liability or guarantee for the topicality, correctness, completeness, non-infringement of third-party rights, freedom from viruses or suitability for a particular purpose of its website. In particular, it is not liable for loss of profit or other direct or indirect damage resulting from the use of the website.

Tel 143 accepts no liability for the way in which users interpret and implement information and advice contained in the information texts. Likewise, Tel 143 accepts no liability for the services of partner companies or other third parties that operate the website.

Disclaimer services

Liability for services provided by Tel 143 is excluded to the extent permitted by law. Any liability for consequences of actions resulting from the conversations by phone, mail or chat on the part of users is excluded. The users themselves are responsible for the handling of information and for their actions.

Contacting Tel 143 and the communication conducted in the course of the conversations do not establish any contractual obligations.

Division invalidity

Any invalidity of individual provisions shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions and the Terms of Use as such.

If one or more provisions of the Terms of Use are or become wholly or partially invalid, ineffective or otherwise unenforceable for any reason, the validity of the remainder of these Terms of Use shall not be affected thereby, and the invalid provision shall be replaced by a provision which the parties would have negotiated in good faith if they had been aware of the invalidity of the relevant provisions.

Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

These terms of use and the relationship between Tel 143 and its users are subject to Swiss law. The ordinary courts of the Canton of Zurich shall have exclusive jurisdiction over any disputes arising from this legal relationship.

General information on services (conversations by phone, chat or mail)

Target groups for services

Services are primarily available to people in Switzerland and the Principality of Liechtenstein. There is no age limit or other exclusion criteria. All these people are called users in the following. We would like to point out that the services offered by Pro Juventute (Tel 147 or chat on 147.ch) are aimed specifically at children and young people.

Limits of services

An empathetic conversation on the phone or an online dialogue can bring relief and give courage. If you find yourself in a legal, medical, psychological or economic emergency situation, it is important to also seek advice from professionals. These conversations do not replace therapy or medical help.

The conversations are usually considered to be initial sessions and not support processes over a longer period of time. Tel 143 reserves the right to limit the duration of conversations so that as many users as possible can be helped.

Qualification of staff

The staff who implement the services at Tel 143 are volunteers who have training and practice in conducting empathic conversations and in all relevant life issues. All volunteers undergo several months of professional training, have life experience, empathy and the competence of self-reflection. Through further training, intervision and supervision, their competences and expertise are continuously expanded. No bots or voice recognition programmes are used.

Anonymity and confidentiality

Anonymity and confidentiality are guaranteed at all times by all Tel 143 staff and board members.

Users are never asked for personal data such as name, place of residence, etc. Tel 143 also does not provide information about people who may have been in contact with it before they died – neither whether they had contact with the organisation, nor about the content of the contact.

Users’ contact information is stored by providers; however, this information is transferred to the authorities in rare cases only:

if life and limb of a third party is endangered (e.g. threat of rampage)
with minors in dangerous situations who refuse support
in the event of continued misuse of the offer (e.g. for a criminal charge).
or on a court order in connection with a criminal offence.

Data storage

After each conversation or online dialogue, the following information is collected for statistical purposes:

presumed age group (up to 18 years, 19-40 years, 41- 65 years, over 65 years)
Presumed sex (male, female, diverse)
1 to max. 3 topics of conversation (e.g. suicidality, relationship issues, loneliness)
Date, time and duration

The statistical and technical data are used for annual reports and stored indefinitely. If technically possible, an immediate deletion of chat and mail histories can be requested.

All data are confidential and are used exclusively for quality assurance and reflection work of the volunteers. By making use of the services, users agree to the safeguarding of their data, which do not allow any conclusions to be drawn about a specific person. Further information on data protection can be found in our Privacy Policy.

Approach

Services at Tel 143 are based on a humanistic view of mankind and use a needs-based approach. It is limited by the possibilities that conversations without direct contact entails.

Disclaimer

As long as the volunteers in the counselling have done everything possible to avert a danger to the user, there is no criminal liability in terms of failure to render assistance (Art. 128 StGB).

Abuse

Tel 143 does not tolerate obscene, insulting, derogatory, pornographic, sexually harassing, racist, xenophobic or threatening statements towards its staff or third parties.

Such statements will be considered abusive, admonished and will result in the termination of the conversation or online dialogue. Repeated disruptions of the service may lead to a temporary blocking of the user. If the abusive contact continues despite warning and blocking, Tel 143 reserves the right to take criminal action against such users.

Use of the telephone channel

Organisation of the telephone channel

If you call 143, service is available around the clock. The English line, available on 0800 143 000, is open daily from 6pm to 11pm. Both services are provided by volunteers working in shifts. Users cannot be guaranteed to be advised by the same person if they call repeatedly.

Capacity bottlenecks

In case of high demand, it may happen that all telephone lines are busy. In this case, users have the option of calling again later or using online services.

As a rule, our staff can interrupt an ongoing call and take a call on an additional line. If it turns out that the 2nd call is more urgent than the first, the ongoing call will be interrupted and continued at a later time. If the 2nd call can wait, the user will be asked to call at a later time. However, no callbacks are offered because this would remove anonymity.

Anonymity in the telephone channel

All telephone numbers calling the number 143 or 0800 143 000 are suppressed. No telephone calls are recorded either. The services providers, which operate the emergency call platform and provide the software for analysing the technical data, have access to the telephone numbers. This information is only used in extremely rare exceptional cases, see General information on services.

Use of the chat channel

Organisation of the chat channel

You can start a dialogue via chat without registering. Chat services are available during the published opening hours. There is currently no chat service available in English.

This offer is ensured by volunteers working in shifts. Users cannot be guaranteed to be advised by the same person in case of repeated chat requests.

Capacity bottlenecks

The chat channel is used very frequently, wherefore there can be capacity bottlenecks. For urgent cases, the number 143 can be called. This line is available around the clock every day. The English line, available on 0800 143 000, is open daily from 6pm to 11pm.

If a request cannot be answered within one minute, users will be informed immediately. Users are asked to try again at a later time.

Anonymity in the chat channel

Every user decides how much information he or she discloses in the chat dialogue. The service provider, which operates the chat platform, records all messages, the IP address and the time of login in so-called «log files».

The data exchange is encrypted. It is based on the HTTPS standard, which is also used for online banking, for example. However, Tel 143 points out that the data in the worldwide web is not absolutely safe from unauthorised viewing by third parties. To reduce this risk, the contents of chats are deleted after 60 days.

Use of the mail channel

Organisation of the mail channel

For a dialogue by mail it is necessary that you register with a nickname (pseudonym) and a mail address. A conversation by mail can be started at any time. Mail enquiries are usually answered within 48 hours. There is currently no mail service available in English.

This offer is ensured by volunteers working in shifts. Users cannot be guaranteed to be advised by the same person in case of repeated mail requests.

Capacity bottlenecks

Tel 143 cannot guarantee a timely response, as this depends on the workload of the staff. Mail services are therefore not suitable for situations that require immediate support. For urgent cases, the number 143 can be called. This line is available around the clock every day. The English line, available on 0800 143 000, is open daily from 6pm to 11pm.

Anonymity in the mail channel

Each user decides how much information he or she discloses in the e-mail. Each email is deposited on a platform anonymously. As soon as the answer is available, the users are informed, that they can view the answer on the platform.Volunteers will not see the personal email address throughout the process. Professionals with administrator rights are authorised to view personal email addresses. If you wish to remain completely anonymous to Tel 143, it is advisable to set up a separate email address that does not allow any conclusions to be drawn about your surname and first name.

The service provider, which operates the mail platform, records all messages, the pseudonym, the IP address and the time of login in so-called «log files». Since most IP addresses are assigned flexibly by the system, it is not possible for Tel 143 staff to draw any conclusions about the person. Specialists can, if a situation requires it, view the mail addresses as administrators. This information is only used in extremely rare exceptional cases, see General information on services.

Use of the website

Content of the website

Tel 143 reserves the right to change or redesign individual information offers, functionalities or services of the website www.143.ch or to take them offline without prior notice. It is not responsible for the consequences if certain information is not or no longer available in the previous form. It does not guarantee that the information made available on the Internet is up-to-date, accurate or complete at all times.

Content rights

The content of this website is protected by copyright and other intellectual property rights. All rights are reserved. The storage and reproduction of texts, images or graphics from this website are not permitted, with the exception of the processes necessary for normal access to the website.

References and links

Tel 143 is not liable for the content of third parties – be they websites, offers or addresses – to which the website refers or links directly or indirectly. It has no influence on the websites of third parties and therefore accepts no responsibility. Users follow links at their own risk.

Tel 143 receives no kickbacks or commissions for links to third-party offers.

Availability, functionality

Tel 143 cannot guarantee the permanent availability of the website. It cannot exclude the possibility that access to the website may be unavailable for shorter or longer periods of time due to technical problems.

There is also no guarantee that the website and the online contact options offered on it are free of defects. Therefore, no claims can be made against Tel 143 if functions on the website are interrupted or faulty, or if the website contains malware.