General Terms and Conditions – RKK Rheinländischer Kälte- & Klimafachhandel
§ 1 Scope
(1) These terms and conditions of RKK Rheinländischer Kälte- & Klimafachhandel (hereinafter referred to as “Seller”) apply to all contracts that the customer concludes with the Seller both with regard to the products presented in this shop and after personal direct sales. The inclusion of the customer's own terms and conditions is hereby rejected, unless otherwise agreed. Our silence on deviating terms and conditions or counter-confirmations shall not be deemed acceptance or consent. These General Terms and Conditions shall also apply to all future deliveries to the customer within the framework of an ongoing business relationship.
(2) Customers within the meaning of § 1 (1) are both consumers and entrepreneurs, whereby a consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly neither commercial nor their independent professional activity. In contrast, an entrepreneur is any natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their independent professional or commercial activity.
§ 2 Conclusion of contract
(1) The presentation of the products does not constitute a binding offer by the seller, but a non-binding invitation to the customer to place an order with the seller.
(2) By ordering a product by filling out and submitting the online form on the Internet, the customer makes a binding offer to conclude a contract. By sending the order to the seller, the customer assures that they have unlimited legal capacity. The seller is not obliged to accept the customer's offer. Confirmation of receipt of the customer's order does not constitute acceptance of the customer's offer.
(3) The seller is entitled to accept this offer within a period of seven calendar days by sending an order confirmation or by sending the ordered goods. The order confirmation is sent by email or fax. If the deadline expires without result, the offer is deemed to have been rejected.
§ 3 Prices
(1) The prices quoted by the seller are net prices. Any additional delivery and shipping costs are indicated separately in the respective presentation.
(2) For deliveries to countries outside the European Union, additional costs such as additional taxes and/or duties (customs duties) may apply in individual cases.
(3) Our prices are quoted ex delivery point, in accordance with the agreed Incoterms (as of 2010).
(4) Assurances, subsidiary agreements, or other deviating agreements are only effective if they have been expressly confirmed by us in writing.
§ 4 Terms of payment
Information about the specific terms of payment will be provided during the order process.
§ 5 Delivery/shipping conditions; return costs
(1) Goods are generally delivered by shipping (freight forwarding) to the delivery address specified by the customer. The delivery address provided by the customer to the seller is decisive for the processing of the transaction.
(2) If delivery to the customer is not possible, the contracted transport company will return the goods to the seller, whereby the customer shall bear the costs of the unsuccessful delivery. This does not apply if the customer was temporarily prevented from accepting the service offered, unless the seller had given the customer reasonable advance notice of the service.
(3) The customer shall bear the costs of returning the goods.
(4) We are entitled to make partial deliveries if there is a legitimate interest or if there is a delivery bottleneck on the part of manufacturers and these are reasonable for the customer. Partial deliveries may be invoiced separately.
§ 6 Delivery delay and delivery period:
(1) Binding delivery dates and deadlines must be agreed in writing. The date of our order confirmation is decisive for the start of the delivery periods. However, they do not start before the details of the order have been fully clarified and all information and other documents to be provided by the customer have been received.
(2) The supplier shall endeavor to deliver on time, but cannot guarantee this. Delivery dates and deadlines shall be deemed to have been met upon notification of readiness for shipment, even if deliveries cannot be shipped on time or arrive at the place of receipt through no fault of our own.
(3) In the event of a delay in delivery, our liability shall be governed by the following provisions in accordance with the statutory provisions: The customer's claim for damages due to delay shall be limited to 0.5% of the net order value for the delayed part of the delivery for each full week of delay, up to a total of 5% of the net order value. This limitation shall not apply in cases of intent or gross negligence. This provision does not imply a change in the burden of proof.
(4) The customer is entitled – including any other legal requirements – to withdraw from the contract due to a breach of delivery deadlines or dates if the seller is responsible for the non-compliance.
§ 7 Liability for defects
If the delivery is defective at the time of transfer of risk, we shall be liable as follows.
(1) The customer must notify us of the delivery in writing immediately, at the latest 3 working days after delivery. Hidden material defects must also be reported at the latest 3 working days after delivery. Otherwise, the delivery shall be deemed acceptable.
(2) In the event of any complaint, we shall be entitled to inspect and examine the goods complained about. Upon request, the customer must make the goods complained about available immediately.
(3) The seller shall either remedy the defects or replace the delivery with goods or services free of defects (hereinafter: subsequent performance).
(4) The place of performance for subsequent performance shall remain the original place of delivery. The seller shall not be obliged to reimburse freight and transport costs incurred by the customer for the purpose of subsequent performance.
(5) All other factors relating to liability for defects shall be governed by the statutory provisions.
§ 8 Limitation of liability
(1) Claims for damages and reimbursement of expenses by the customer, regardless of the legal basis, are excluded.
(2) However, RKK Rheinländische Kälte- & Klimafachhandel shall be liable for intent and gross negligence. Furthermore, the seller shall be liable for the negligent breach of obligations, the fulfillment of which is essential for the proper execution of the contract, the breach of which jeopardizes the achievement of the purpose of the contract, and on the observance of which you as a customer regularly rely. In the latter case, however, the seller shall only be liable for foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract. The seller shall not be liable for the slightly negligent breach of obligations other than those mentioned in the preceding sentences. The above exclusions of liability shall not apply in the event of injury to life, limb, or health.
(3) Data communication via the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be error-free and/or available at all times according to the current state of technology. In this respect, the seller is not liable for the constant or uninterrupted availability of our online trading system.
(4) For damages caused by delay, § 6/3 takes precedence over this clause 7.
§ 9 Retention of title
(1) The buyer is entitled to resell the delivered goods in the ordinary course of business. The buyer hereby assigns to us all claims in the amount of the invoice amount accruing to the buyer from the resale to a third party. We accept the assignment. After the assignment, the buyer is authorized to collect the claim. We reserve the right to collect the claim ourselves as soon as the buyer fails to meet their payment obligations properly and defaults on payment.
§ 10 Prohibition of assignment
The buyer is not entitled to transfer or assign rights or claims arising from our business relationship to third parties without our written consent.
§ 11 Confidentiality
(1) The buyer and seller undertake to treat the information and documents disclosed to each other as strictly confidential and to take all necessary measures to prevent them from becoming accessible to third parties.
(2) The above obligation does not apply to information that the customer can prove to have received from third parties without being obliged to maintain confidentiality, or that is publicly known.
(3) The customer undertakes to make the information and documents referred to in clause 1 available exclusively to those employees for whom this is necessary in order to examine the possibility of cooperation with the supplier and to conduct any negotiations or order processes.
§ 12 Provision of containers
(1) The seller delivers some products in containers, such as IBC containers for refrigerants or gas cylinders for CO2 or propane. As these are returnable items or rental containers, ownership of the containers is not transferred to the customer. Unless otherwise agreed, the prices valid at the time of order confirmation or offer apply to the rental fee. The 1000-liter IBC containers will be collected by the supplier again if there are more than 3 per delivery point. In the case of CO2 and propane, retention of title applies even for a single bottle or bundle. The corresponding deposit fees for propane bottles can be found in the currently valid order confirmation or offer. The deposit amounts will be charged to the customer upon delivery and refunded upon return of the empties, minus a small service fee.
(2) If a container is not returned as empty within a period of 20 months after delivery, we are entitled to retain the deposit amount. The containers must be returned to the seller immediately after emptying the product, but no later than 8 months after delivery.
(3) The gas cylinders, bundles, or Euro CYL containers delivered by us are provided to the buyer solely for the purpose of removing the products delivered by us. Any other use or filling of the containers by the customer or third parties is strictly prohibited, particularly for safety reasons.
(4) The buyer is liable for the containers provided to them, even in the event of accidental damage or loss. The customer will be invoiced for the resulting damage or loss of the containers, less any deposit amounts paid.
§ 13 Final provisions
(1) All legal relationships between the parties shall be governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany, excluding the laws on the international sale of movable goods (UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods). In the case of consumers, this choice of law shall only apply insofar as the protection granted by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has his habitual residence is not withdrawn.
(2) If the customer is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract shall be the registered office of the seller. The same shall apply if the customer does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany or the EU or if their place of residence or habitual abode is unknown at the time the action is brought.
(3) Should individual provisions of this contract be invalid or contradict statutory provisions, this shall not affect the remainder of the contract. The invalid provision shall be replaced by mutual agreement between the contracting parties by a legally effective provision that comes closest to the economic meaning and purpose of the invalid provision. The above provision shall apply accordingly in the event of loopholes.
As of: May 15, 2015
Schaffenbergstraße 11a – 41352 Korschenbroich, Germany
Owner: Stefan Schiefer