General business terms and conditions
I. Basic Provisions
§ 1 Application
The contract is concluded with SPET - Sparkling Enterprises, Viktor Schmidt, Erfurter Ring 9, 38444 Wolfsburg (further, the “seller”).
The following contractual terms and conditions apply to all contracts concluded between the seller and the relevant purchaser and are expressly accepted upon the placement of an order. Where the purchaser is an individual who enters into a legal transaction for a purpose that cannot be attributed to his/her trade, business or profession (a consumer, Section 13 of the German Civil Code) Articles 1 to 8 apply. Otherwise, Articles 1 to 5 and 9 to 12 shall apply.
§ 2 Vouchers
(1) Vouchers can be used by the buyer to pay for goods bought in the seller's online shop. The voucher price includes VAT and is payable upon conclusion of the contract. There are no postage costs. The value displayed on the voucher cannot be exchanged for cash.
(2) The presentation of vouchers on the seller's website merely constitutes an invitation for the buyer to make a binding offer. Personal data that is collected as part of the order process is used only for the technical execution of the transaction and is not shared with third parties. By completing the order process, the buyer submits a binding order, which the seller accepts by sending a declaration of acceptance by e-mail. In this declaration, the seller informs the buyer that the voucher will be sent to them by post as soon as the payment has been received in full. The usual delivery time within Germany is 3 to 5 working days after receipt of payment.
(3) A voucher number is printed on each voucher. Vouchers are worth a specific amount and can only be used once. They are valid for a period of two years from the date of issue. The buyer can redeem the voucher themselves or transfer it to a third party. A voucher entitles and commits the seller to provide goods or services to the person presenting it. The voucher can only be cancelled if there is a legally valid reason for cancellation. The voucher credit can be used to make full or partial payment. In the case of partial payment, the remaining balance is retained on the voucher. If the voucher credit is not sufficient to pay for the purchased goods in full, the outstanding amount can be paid by other means. The remaining balance cannot be exchanged for cash.
(4) If the voucher is not used fully or partially within the validity period, the balance expires. After expiry of the validity period, the voucher can be exchanged for a new voucher corresponding to the balance of the old one; this may be done within two years from the end of the year in which the voucher was issued and is subject to an administration fee of 15% of the purchase price, but no more than 15.00 euros. The buyer reserves the right to prove that the exchange has resulted in much lower costs or no costs at all for the seller. It is not possible to exchange the value of the voucher for cash instead of a new voucher.
(5) The seller assumes no liability for unauthorised redemption of vouchers. The seller is not obliged to replace the voucher or the voucher credit if the voucher is lost, stolen or damaged. If the buyer loses the voucher, they must let the seller know. The seller will then block the voucher and issue a new one; this is subject to an administration fee of 15% of the purchase price, but no more than 15.00 euros.
(6) The vouchers issued by the seller may not be resold or used for other non-private purposes, unless the seller has provided its explicit consent. The seller reserves the right to assert its own rights, especially those relating to compensation.
§ 3 Retention of Title
The goods remain the property of the seller until the purchase price has been paid in full.
§ 4 Choice of Law
German law shall apply subject to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods but only insofar as this does not remove the protection provided by the mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the customer is habitually resident.
§ 5 Limitation of Liability
(1) The seller shall bear unlimited liability for damages resulting from loss of life, physical injury or impairment of health to the extent he/she/it maliciously conceals a defect or has guaranteed the quality of the purchased item, for damage caused deliberately or as a result of gross negligence, for damage under the Product Liability Act and otherwise as far as provided under mandatory legislation.
(2) To the extent this affects material obligations under the contract, breach of which threatens the achievement of the purpose of the contract, the seller’s liability is restricted, in the case of simple negligence, to foreseeable damage typical of this type of contract.
(3) In case of breach of contractual obligations which are not material, liability is excluded for breaches of obligation resulting from simple negligence.
II. Supplemental Terms for Consumers
§ 6 Terms of Payment and Dispatch
Consumers are asked to inspect goods thoroughly upon delivery to check that they are complete and to check for manifest defects and damage that may have occurred during transportation, and to notify the seller and the freight forwarder of any complaints as soon as possible. This is without prejudice to your claims under warranty.
The risk of accidental destruction and accidental impairment of the sold item during dispatch only passes to the purchaser when the goods are handed over to the purchaser.
§ 7 Warranty
(1) The legal regulations shall apply.
(2) In case of used items the warranty term for consumers is one year from delivery of the goods. The one-year warranty period does not apply to damages arising from loss of life, physical injury or impairment of health for which the seller is to blame. It also does not apply to damages caused as the result of gross negligence or deliberately or where the seller acts maliciously or to recourse claims under Sections 478 and 479 of the German Civil Code.
§ 8 Jurisdiction
Where the consumer has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany or the EU or where his/her/its domicile or habitual place of residence is unknown when the claim is asserted, the courts at the seller’s registered address shall have jurisdiction. This is without prejudice to the power to have recourse to the courts of a different legal jurisdiction.
III. Supplemental Terms where the Purchase is not a Consumer
§ 9 Transfer of Risk
The risk of accidental destruction and accidental impairment of the purchase item passes to the purchaser, who is not a consumer, as soon as the seller delivers the item to the freight forwarder, the carrier or to another person appointed to carry out dispatch. This is without prejudice to Section 447(2) of the German Civil Code.
§ 10 Warranty
(1) The warranty period is one year from delivery of the goods. This does not apply to damages arising from loss of life, physical injury or impairment of health for which the seller is to blame and not to damages caused as the result of gross negligence or deliberately or where the seller acts maliciously or to recourse claims under Sections 478 and 479 of the German Civil Code.
(2) In terms of the quality of the goods, only the seller’s own information and the manufacturer’s product description are deemed agreed, not, however, any other advertising, public promotional material or statements by the manufacturer.
(3) The purchaser, who is not a consumer, is obliged to inspect the goods for quality deficiencies and any shortfall in quantity immediately and with due care, and to give written notice of any manifest defects within seven days of receiving the goods. For compliance with the time limit it is sufficient to send such notice within seven days. The same shall subsequently apply to hidden defects identified, i.e. seven days from the day of their discovery.
No claims may be asserted under warranty where the duty to inspect and give notice of a defect is not complied with.
(4) The seller shall, in the case of a defective item, comply with the warranty claim by making good the item or delivering a replacement, the choice being at its discretion. Where the defect persists following two attempts to remove it, the purchaser may, at his/her/its discretion, demand a reduction in the purchase price or rescind the contract.
Where the item is made good, the purchaser bears the increased costs arising from the fact that the goods have been transferred to a different place from the place of performance, as far as the transfer is not consistent with the use of the goods for their intended purpose.
§ 11 Extended Retention of Title
(1) The seller retains title to the goods for purchasers, who are not consumers, until all demands arising from the ongoing commercial relationship have been met in full. The seller shall not be entitled to pledge the item or transfer it by way of security prior to transfer of title to the retained goods.
(2) The purchaser is entitled to sell the goods on in the ordinary course of his/her/its business.
In such case the purchaser shall assign to the seller all claims arising from the onward sale in the amount of the sum of the invoice. The seller accepts the assignment.
The purchaser is further entitled to recovery under the claim. The seller reserves the right to recovery under the claim itself where the purchaser does not properly meet its payment obligations.
(3) Where the retained goods become bound or mixed together with other goods, the seller acquires joint ownership of the new item pro rata to the invoice value of the retained goods as compared with the processed items at the time of processing.
(4) The seller undertakes to release the security granted to it at the request of the purchaser to the extent the value of the securities exceeds the claim to be secured by more than 10%. The choice of the securities to be released is the responsibility of the seller.
§ 12 Place of Performance, Jurisdiction
The place of performance for all services under the existing commercial relationship with the customer, as well as the place of jurisdiction, shall be the registered office of the seller. This is without prejudice to the power to have recourse to the courts of a different legal jurisdiction.
§ 2 Vouchers
(1) Vouchers can be used by the buyer to pay for goods bought in the seller's online shop. The voucher price includes VAT and is payable upon conclusion of the contract. There are no postage costs. The value displayed on the voucher cannot be exchanged for cash.
(2) The presentation of vouchers on the seller's website merely constitutes an invitation for the buyer to make a binding offer. Personal data that is collected as part of the order process is used only for the technical execution of the transaction and is not shared with third parties. By completing the order process, the buyer submits a binding order, which the seller accepts by sending a declaration of acceptance by e-mail. In this declaration, the seller informs the buyer that the voucher will be sent to them by post as soon as the payment has been received in full. The usual delivery time within Germany is 3 to 5 working days after receipt of payment.
(3) A voucher number is printed on each voucher. Vouchers are worth a specific amount and can only be used once. They are valid for a period of two years from the date of issue. The buyer can redeem the voucher themselves or transfer it to a third party. A voucher entitles and commits the seller to provide goods or services to the person presenting it. The voucher can only be cancelled if there is a legally valid reason for cancellation. The voucher credit can be used to make full or partial payment. In the case of partial payment, the remaining balance is retained on the voucher. If the voucher credit is not sufficient to pay for the purchased goods in full, the outstanding amount can be paid by other means. The remaining balance cannot be exchanged for cash.
(4) If the voucher is not used fully or partially within the validity period, the balance expires. After expiry of the validity period, the voucher can be exchanged for a new voucher corresponding to the balance of the old one; this may be done within two years from the end of the year in which the voucher was issued and is subject to an administration fee of 15% of the purchase price, but no more than 15.00 euros. The buyer reserves the right to prove that the exchange has resulted in much lower costs or no costs at all for the seller. It is not possible to exchange the value of the voucher for cash instead of a new voucher.
(5) The seller assumes no liability for unauthorised redemption of vouchers. The seller is not obliged to replace the voucher or the voucher credit if the voucher is lost, stolen or damaged. If the buyer loses the voucher, they must let the seller know. The seller will then block the voucher and issue a new one; this is subject to an administration fee of 15% of the purchase price, but no more than 15.00 euros.
(6) The vouchers issued by the seller may not be resold or used for other non-private purposes, unless the seller has provided its explicit consent. The seller reserves the right to assert its own rights, especially those relating to compensation.[MS1]