Terms of Service

These Terms of Service ("Terms") govern all courier and document-delivery services provided by USA Venture Group LLC, doing business as The Baltimore Courier Company ("Company," "we," "us"), whether booked as a one-time delivery through our website or booked by a Client under a separate Master Service Agreement ("MSA") governing a standing account. By booking a delivery, checking the agreement box at booking, or otherwise engaging our services, you ("Client," "you") agree to be bound by these Terms. Where a signed MSA exists between the Company and a standing-account Client, the MSA governs the ongoing account relationship and these Terms apply to the extent they do not conflict with the MSA.

1. Description of Services

The Company provides point-to-point legal document courier services in the Baltimore metropolitan area and Harford County, Maryland, including but not limited to: courthouse filings and courtesy copies, file-stamped return of filed documents, State Department of Assessments and Taxation (SDAT) filings, title and real estate settlement packages, deed recordings, sealed probate and domestic relations records, and secure business document delivery.

We deliver documents. We do not serve process. Delivering an already-filed or already-executed document is legally distinct from serving a summons, complaint, or other process on a party to litigation, which requires proper service under the Maryland Rules of Civil Procedure. The Company does not perform process service, skip tracing, or location of parties under any circumstances, regardless of how a request is phrased. If you require process to be served, we can refer you to a licensed process server, but we will not undertake that work ourselves.

2. Prohibited Items

The Company transports documents, filings, and related business paperwork only. We do not accept, and reserve the right to refuse or discontinue transport of: cash or negotiable instruments above an amount we specify at booking; blank stock certificates; original wills or stock certificates without advance written arrangement specifying declared value and handling terms; perishable goods; hazardous, flammable, or biohazardous materials; controlled substances or pharmaceuticals; or any item whose transport would require a license or authorization the Company does not hold.

3. Booking, Scheduling & Capacity

Quotes generated through our online calculator are based on round-trip mileage from our dispatch hub to the pickup address, to the drop-off address (and any additional stops, in sequence), and back to the hub, using typical (not live-traffic-adjusted) drive time estimates. The final price is confirmed at the time of booking and will not change after booking absent a change in the addresses, stop count, or service tier initiated by the Client.

The Company operates with limited solo-driver capacity and may decline a booking, or offer the next available slot, when weekly volume approaches a level that would put on-time performance at risk for existing commitments. This is not a breach of any obligation to you; it is how we protect the reliability we've already promised to other clients.

4. Rush & STAT Service

Rush and STAT surcharges secure priority dispatch relative to other bookings. They do not and cannot guarantee that a courthouse, recorder's office, or other destination will be open, staffed, or willing to accept a filing outside its own posted hours or internal procedures. It is the Client's responsibility to confirm that a rush window is procedurally realistic before booking a time-sensitive delivery.

5. Client Responsibilities

You are responsible for:

• Providing complete, accurate pickup and drop-off addresses, including any unit or suite number, and accurate contact information.
• Ensuring the document or package is fully prepared, properly executed, and ready for pickup at the scheduled time. The Company is responsible for timely transport, not for the legal sufficiency, completeness, or accuracy of a document's contents.
• Confirming that the destination will accept delivery, including confirming courthouse or office hours where relevant.
• Disclosing at booking if a package requires special handling, contains an original that cannot be reissued, or exceeds normal declared-value limits (see Section 7).

6. Chain of Custody & Handling

Every delivery is handled point-to-point by a single driver from pickup to drop-off, without routing through a third-party sorting facility. Sealed and confidential handling is standard practice on every delivery at no additional charge. Delivery is confirmed by signature and timestamp at drop-off. Where a courthouse or recording office requires a file-stamped copy to be returned, that return leg is billed as an additional stop unless otherwise agreed.

7. Declared Value & Limitation of Liability

Unless a higher value is declared in writing before pickup and reflected in the price charged, the Company's liability for loss of, theft of, or damage to a document or package while in our care, custody, and control is limited to $100 per delivery. A Client may declare a higher value at or before booking; the Company may, at its discretion, accept the higher declared value, decline the shipment, or require additional payment to reflect the increased risk.

This limitation applies to ordinary negligence only. Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes the Company's liability for gross negligence, willful misconduct, or any liability that cannot lawfully be limited or excluded under Maryland law. The Company will exercise ordinary care and diligence consistent with its duties as a bailee for hire under Maryland law.

The Company is not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages — including but not limited to lost business, missed deadlines, adverse court rulings, or the cost of reconstructing a lost document beyond the declared value limit above — except to the extent such damages arise from the Company's gross negligence or willful misconduct. Nothing in this section limits any remedy available under a Client's own document-loss insurance, including Valuable Papers & Records coverage, where applicable.

8. Timeliness, Delays & Force Majeure

The Company will use commercially reasonable efforts to complete each delivery within the service window selected at booking. The Company is not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by circumstances beyond its reasonable control, including but not limited to severe weather, traffic accidents not involving the Company's vehicle, courthouse or government office closures, security delays at a destination, or other events of force majeure. Where a filing is rejected by a clerk or recording office for reasons unrelated to the timeliness of delivery — such as an incomplete, unsigned, or improperly prepared document — that is not a failure of the Company's performance, and re-delivery following correction may be billed as a new run.

9. Pricing & Payment

Rates are published on our website and confirmed at booking. Payment for one-time bookings is due upon completion of delivery unless online payment authorization at booking is offered and used. Standing-account Clients are billed according to the payment terms in their MSA; as a general matter, the Company bills standing accounts via card-on-file or ACH and does not offer net-terms invoicing.

10. Standing Accounts

A standing account requires a minimum monthly commitment specified in the Client's MSA. Standing-account rates, minimum commitments, and any in-cluster or point-to-point pricing arrangements are governed by the MSA and are not available through the public online booking flow. A Client interested in a standing account should submit an inquiry; standing accounts are activated only after a signed MSA is in place.

11. Insurance

The Company maintains commercial insurance coverage described at baltimorecourier.com/insurance. Current certificates of insurance are available on request. This Section does not expand the liability limitation in Section 7; insurance coverage and contractual liability limits are separate matters.

12. Cancellations

A booking may be canceled at no charge before a driver has been dispatched. Once a driver has been dispatched toward pickup, a cancellation fee may apply reflecting time and mileage already incurred. Repeated late cancellations on a standing account may be addressed in the Client's MSA.

13. Termination

The Company may decline or discontinue service to any Client at its discretion, including for non-payment, provision of false information, requests for prohibited items or process-serving work, or conduct that puts our driver or the public at risk. Standing-account termination is governed by the applicable MSA.

14. Dispute Resolution & Governing Law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Maryland, without regard to conflict-of-laws principles. Any dispute arising from these Terms or our services shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Baltimore County, Maryland, and both parties consent to jurisdiction there.

15. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. The version in effect at the time of a given booking is the version that applies to that booking. Material changes will be reflected by an updated effective date at the top of this page.

16. Severability & Entire Agreement

If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force. These Terms, together with any applicable MSA, constitute the entire agreement between the parties regarding the services described here and supersede any prior understanding on the same subject.

17. Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to dispatch@baltimorecourier.com or (410) 648-FAST.