GTC
1. General
1.1 Provider
www.villa-schmidt.de is a service of VILLA SCHMIDT GMBH, REPRESENTED BY THE MANAGING DIRECTORS ANTONIO SCHMIDT and TIMEO SCHMIDT, KÜCKALLEE 2, 21465 REINBEK, VAT identification number pursuant to § 27 a Umsatzsteuergesetz: DE 176978853, register court: Amtsgericht Lübeck, register number HRB 2544, telephone: +49 0(40)-727 333 30, fax: +49 0(40)-727 333 55, e-mail: info@villa-schmidt.de (hereinafter: VILLA SCHMIDT).
1.2 Applicability of the GTC
All business relationships arising between VILLA SCHMIDT and its customers are conducted on the basis of the following General Terms and Conditions (GTC) in the version valid at the time of the order, unless individual contractual agreements have been made. Individual contractual agreements take precedence over these General Terms and Conditions.
1.3 Customer / consumer and trader
A customer within the meaning of these terms and conditions is both the consumer and the trader, unless otherwise specified. Pursuant to § 13 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code), a consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for a purpose that can be attributed neither to their commercial nor to their independent professional activity. Pursuant to § 14 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, a trader is a natural person or legal entity (e.g. a limited liability company or a stock corporation) or a partnership with legal capacity (e.g. a limited partnership, a civil-law partnership or a general partnership) which, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of its commercial or independent professional activity. Where the “customer” is referred to in the masculine form, this also refers to the female customer.
2. Conclusion of the contract
A purchase contract is concluded by offer (of the customer) and acceptance of the offer (by VILLA SCHMIDT). For a contract to come into existence, it is imperative that the ordering process has been completed by the customer sending the order to VILLA SCHMIDT.
2.1 Offer
The placement of goods in the VILLA SCHMIDT online shop does not constitute an offer to anyone within the meaning of § 145 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (German Civil Code). The placement of goods is merely to be understood as an invitation by VILLA SCHMIDT, directed at the customer, to submit a purchase offer to VILLA SCHMIDT. The customer submits a purchase offer to VILLA SCHMIDT by ordering the displayed goods from VILLA SCHMIDT. In doing so, the customer bindingly declares their intention to purchase the goods in question.
A subsequent cancellation of the order does not revoke the offer, unless the customer can demonstrate that an error material to the declaration is involved. The customer's right of withdrawal remains unaffected by this.
2.2 Acceptance
Receipt of the order (i.e. the customer's offer pursuant to clause 2.1) will be confirmed without delay by electronic means (by e-mail) once the order can be retrieved by VILLA SCHMIDT under ordinary circumstances. In the case of an electronic order placed via the internet, retrievability is given once the order has passed the electronic interface of the server receiving the order.
Acceptance of the customer's offer by VILLA SCHMIDT takes place no later than 2 days after receipt of the purchase offer, either as part of the automatic e-mail confirming receipt of the order or by separate e-mail containing the notice “We hereby accept your purchase offer as per your order of [date]”. If, 2 days after placing their order (purchase offer), the customer has not yet received any of the aforementioned declarations of acceptance of their offer from VILLA SCHMIDT by e-mail, the order shall be deemed rejected.
2.3 Contract reservation
The conclusion of the contract is subject to the proviso that VILLA SCHMIDT — insofar as the goods are not held in stock — is supplied by the respective supplier in good time and correctly as to type and quantity. This proviso only applies if VILLA SCHMIDT is not responsible for any failure of the delivery to arrive, in particular if it has concluded in good time a so-called congruent covering transaction to fulfil its contractual obligations. If the goods are not available, the customer will be informed of this circumstance by VILLA SCHMIDT without delay. If the customer has already paid the purchase price and ancillary costs (e.g. shipping costs), these will be refunded by VILLA SCHMIDT without delay or may — but only insofar as the customer expressly so wishes — be offset against another order.
2.4 Technical steps for the conclusion of the contract
To purchase an item from VILLA SCHMIDT, the customer must place an order. The following technical steps are required for this:
a. The customer must first select the goods from the VILLA SCHMIDT range. This is done by clicking the "Add to cart" button next to the goods. The goods are then added to the customer's shopping cart.
b. The customer can then click on the "Proceed to checkout" button. He will then be redirected to a page on which, after entering his contact details and further information required for an order (delivery and payment preferences), the customer reaches the order summary page of VILLA SCHMIDT via the "Continue" button.
c. If the customer clicks the "Order with obligation to pay" button, the customer submits to VILLA SCHMIDT a binding order for the goods contained in the shopping cart ("purchase offer"). Reference is made to clause 2.2 of these General Terms and Conditions.
d. The customer subsequently receives a confirmation e-mail stating that VILLA SCHMIDT has received his order and will examine it further. Reference is made to clause 2.1 of these General Terms and Conditions.
2.5 Identifying and correcting input errors
The customer can change or delete the contents of the shopping cart by opening the shopping cart menu item. The changes can be made using the mouse. For this purpose, click with the left mouse button on the quantity to be changed and overwrite it, followed by a click on the "Update shopping cart" button, or click the "Remove item" button.
By clicking the "Proceed to checkout" button, the customer is redirected to a page on which he can check and change his delivery and payment preferences and view the General Terms and Conditions.
By clicking the "Continue" button, the customer reaches the order summary page, on which he can check all his details once again and also change them. At this point the customer can cancel his order; in this case, no contract is concluded.
2.6 Content of the contract; essential characteristics of the goods
The content of the contract concluded between the customer and VILLA SCHMIDT, and thus also the essential characteristics of the goods, are determined by the description of the goods placed in the online shop by VILLA SCHMIDT, by public statements made by VILLA SCHMIDT or an agent, or by the manufacturer of the goods within the meaning of § 4 (1) and (2) of the Produkthaftungsgesetz (German Product Liability Act) or an agent, in particular in advertising or in the labelling concerning specific properties of the item, unless VILLA SCHMIDT was not aware of the statement and was not required to be aware of it, unless the statement had been corrected in an equivalent manner by the time the contract was concluded, or unless the statement was not capable of influencing the customer's purchase decision. Individual agreements between the customer and VILLA SCHMIDT concerning the content of the contract or the characteristics of the goods take precedence over the aforementioned alternative determination of the content of the contract or of the characteristics of the goods.
2.7 Storage of the contract text
The text of the contract is stored by VILLA SCHMIDT GmbH after the conclusion of the contract. It is accessible to the customer. The text of the contract can be requested from VILLA SCHMIDT by the customer by e-mail and will then be sent to the customer by VILLA SCHMIDT by e-mail. The text of the contract, including the general terms and conditions and the withdrawal instructions, will additionally be sent to the customer with the confirmation e-mail. When the customer retrieves the e-mail, the text of the contract is saved on the customer's computer and can be accessed there until it is deleted.
2.8 Contract language
Only the German language is available for the conclusion of the contract.
3. Prices/costs, method of payment, due date
3.1 Prices/costs
The purchase price includes statutory VAT. If delivery to the customer is not possible for reasons for which the customer is responsible (e.g. absence despite a previously agreed appointment; delivery not being possible because the dimensions of the goods are too large, despite the dimensions being stated clearly and comprehensibly in the product description), the customer shall bear the additional costs of the unsuccessful delivery attempt.
3.2 Customs
Depending on the individual legal provisions of the country in which the buyer is domiciled, import charges payable by the buyer may be incurred in addition to the purchase price. Import charges include customs duties, import VAT and special excise duties, such as spirits duty or tobacco duty. Customs duties are charges or taxes payable in cross-border trade in goods with third countries. No customs duties are payable within the European Union. VILLA SCHMIDT recommends that the customer obtain information on import charges from the national customs authority responsible for them.
3.3 Due date of the purchase price
In the case of the payment method "payment in advance", unless otherwise agreed, the purchase price is due immediately after VILLA SCHMIDT has accepted the customer's offer to conclude the contract (cf. clause 2.2).
By way of derogation from the above provision, in the case of cash-on-delivery shipments the purchase price is due after actual tender of the goods forming the subject of the contract by the delivery agent commissioned by VILLA SCHMIDT (e.g. DHL) at the delivery address specified by the customer.
3.4 Method of payment
For payment, VILLA SCHMIDT offers the option of payment in advance by bank transfer, PayPal or credit card, or Klarna. VILLA SCHMIDT will advise of any further payment methods available in individual cases on request.
In the case of payment by credit card, fees may possibly be charged by your credit card institution in accordance with the agreements made with you. VILLA SCHMIDT has no influence on this.
4. Passing of risk
4.1 Passing of risk for consumers
Where the customer is a consumer acting in a private capacity pursuant to clause 1.3 of these GTC, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods passes to the customer upon handover of the item to the customer.
4.2 Passing of risk for traders
Where the customer is a commercially active trader pursuant to clause 1.3 of these GTC, the risk of accidental loss and accidental deterioration of the goods passes to the customer upon delivery of the item to the undertaking designated to carry out the shipment; only in this case (the buyer is a trader) is the place of performance the head office of VILLA SCHMIDT.
4.3 Passing of risk in the event of default of acceptance
The risk also passes to the buyer if the buyer is in default of acceptance.
5. Delivery
5.1 Delivery address
Delivery is made by dispatch from the warehouse to the delivery address provided by the customer. The delivery address may differ from the invoice address. If no delivery address is provided, delivery will be made to the invoice address. VILLA SCHMIDT draws attention to the reservation of self-supply (cf. 2.3).
5.2 Delivery period
If no delivery period is stated for an item held in stock by VILLA SCHMIDT, that item is available for immediate delivery. In this respect, delivery takes place within 3 working days after all requirements for delivery of the goods (payment where advance payment has been agreed, correct address details) have been met.
6. Customer service / procedure for handling complaints
VILLA SCHMIDT's customer service is available for questions and complaints on working days from 10.00 – 15.00 via the contact details given in clause 1.1.
If the customer raises a complaint with VILLA SCHMIDT, it will be recorded by VILLA SCHMIDT and stored against the customer's purchase transaction in VILLA SCHMIDT's IT system. VILLA SCHMIDT will then respond by e-mail or, if no e-mail address has been provided to VILLA SCHMIDT, via another channel of communication (e.g. telephone or letter post), stating how the customer's complaint was dealt with and whether, where applicable, a remedy could be provided for the matter in question. Insofar as a customer's complaint (also) discernibly asserts statutory warranty rights, the customer's statutory warranty claims will be fulfilled.
7. Retention of title
VILLA SCHMIDT retains title to the purchased goods until the respective purchase price and the respective shipping costs have been paid.
8. Costs of returning the goods in the event of withdrawal
The customer bears the direct costs of returning goods that can be sent as a parcel. The customer also bears the direct costs of returning goods that cannot be sent as a parcel. The costs are estimated at a maximum of approximately 500 EUR.
9. Warranty / statutory liability for defects
The customer is entitled to warranty claims for defects in accordance with the statutory provisions (the so-called "statutory liability for defects").
VILLA SCHMIDT does not grant the customer any guarantee of its own pursuant to § 443 BGB (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch — German Civil Code) on the goods offered. The customer can consult the product documentation to see whether a guarantee exists on the part of the manufacturer or a third party which stands alongside the warranty provided by VILLA SCHMIDT. Guarantee claims under a manufacturer's guarantee establish a separate legal relationship with the manufacturer and must be asserted directly against the manufacturer. Guarantee claims under the guarantee of a third party establish a separate legal relationship with the third party and must be asserted directly against that third party.
10. Freight forwarding
In most cases, the goods are delivered disassembled and unassembled in cardboard boxes. The carrier is not obliged to assemble the goods, nor is it obliged to deliver the goods to the terrace or the balcony, unless this has been agreed between the orderer and Villa Schmidt GmbH.
11. Final provisions
Should one or more provisions of these GTC be invalid, this shall not entail the invalidity of the other provisions of the GTC. The invalid provision shall be replaced by the relevant statutory provision.
For all disputes arising from the contractual relationship, if the purchaser is a registered merchant (Vollkaufmann), a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the action must be brought before the court having jurisdiction for the principal place of business of VILLA SCHMIDT. This also applies if the customer is a consumer but has no general place of jurisdiction in Germany, or if their place of residence or habitual abode is not known at the time the action is brought. VILLA SCHMIDT is also entitled to bring an action at the principal place of business of a purchaser who is a trader. The right to apply to the court at another statutory place of jurisdiction remains unaffected by this.
VILLA SCHMIDT does not participate in out-of-court dispute resolution proceedings before an alternative dispute resolution body (arbitration board).
German law applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Mandatory provisions of the state in which the consumer has his habitual residence remain unaffected.
Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed for data transmitted unencrypted over the internet. Encrypted communication can be offered on request.
GTC version: V5.5.3 / 02.05.2022
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