General terms & conditions

Delivery and payment conditions

The following delivery and payment terms apply to all our offers and deliveries; they exclude the validity of conflicting terms and conditions set by customers on order forms or in any other way. Our terms and conditions apply to the business relationship as well as to subsequent orders until the Customer is informed of a change or an order on different terms is specifically confirmed.

1)            Offer and conclusion of contract

1.1)        Unless otherwise agreed individually, we are bound to our offers for two weeks; in commercial transactions price, quantity, delivery time and the possibility of making delivery, as well as our offers, are always subject to delivery to us on the part of our own suppliers.

1.2)        The Customer is bound to his offer for two weeks.

1.3)        In order to have legal effect, orders must be accepted and confirmed by us in writing. The content of our confirmation letter is decisive for the contractual relationship. Any deviating terms and conditions of the Customer are superseded by these terms and conditions, without the need for an objection in individual cases.

Any subsidiary agreements also require our written confirmation.

2)            Prices

2.1)        Unless otherwise agreed, prices are carriage paid or free to the German border. Packaging will be charged at cost price. Packaging will not be taken back. The calculation of our claims is based on the dimensions and weights determined by us.

2.2)        The prices quoted by us are generally exclusive of statutory VAT. The agreed prices will be subject to the addition of the rate of VAT applicable at the time of execution, delivery or service.

3)            Delivery

3.1)        All deliveries shall be shipped at the Customer’s expense and risk.

3.2)        In commercial transactions, the delivery times stated or promised will be adhered to wherever possible, but are otherwise non-binding. If delivery is delayed due to our sole fault, the Customer may declare withdrawal from the contract, setting a reasonable deadline in writing for the delivery to be made.

3.3)        In commercial transactions, compensation for losses due to delay or non-performance is excluded. However, in cases of gross negligence causing delay or impossibility, the rights of the Customer in accordance with the provisions of law remain unaffected.

3.4)        Deliveries can also be made in parts. Deviations in dimensions, weight and quality are permissible within the usual market tolerances and within the possible error limits. In the case of custom-made products, excess or short deliveries of up to 10% are within the normal scope of delivery. Operational or traffic disruptions, floods, strikes, lockouts, shipping disruptions, official orders and all cases of force majeure release us from the obligation to deliver or accept goods for the duration of the disruption.

If, after confirmation of the order, doubts arise regarding the Customer’s creditworthiness, for example due to unfavourable information, bill protests, lawsuits etc., we shall be entitled to demand advance payment of the purchase price or security or to withdraw from the contract. The same applies if the Customer defaults on payment of an outstanding debt. We are also entitled to withdraw if the Customer has not called off the purchased quantity by the lapse of the supply deadline. Our further claims are not affected by this.

4)            Payments

4.1)        Payments are subject to the payment conditions stated in our order confirmations.

4.2)        Payments with discharging effect for all claims must be made to us free of charge by transfer into our accounts. Other payments require our approval to be legally effective.

4.3)        Payments to these accounts are only deemed to discharge the Customer’s debts once the amount paid has been credited to the account. We reserve the right to accept bills of exchange and cheques.

4.4)        Bills of exchange and cheques are only accepted as payment and are only considered payment once they have been fully honoured. Discount charges and bill of exchange tax are borne by the Customer. When accepting bills of exchange and cheques, no guarantee is given that a protest will be presented or lodged in a timely manner.

4.5)        Payments will generally be credited to the oldest claims.

4.6)        Set-offs against counterclaims of the Customer are only permissible if they are claims which have been recognised by us or legally established. The same applies to the retention of due invoice amounts or partial invoice amounts.

4.7)        If the payment date printed on the delivery invoice is exceeded, the buyer will be deemed to be in default. In this respect, the buyer waives the right to a reminder upon conclusion of the contract and in particular gives his assurance that he will pay without being asked to do so, even if the payment date is not specified as a calendar date. Therefore, default interest will be charged from the due date, subject to the assertion of further claims losses due to late payment. The default interest shall amount to at least 2% over the current discount rate of Deutsche Bundesbank, plus the VAT rate applicable at the time the delivery or service is performed.

4.8)        If the Customer defaults on a payment, a bill of exchange is protested or a cheque is not honoured or he transfers goods of any kind for the purpose of satisfying or securing creditors, or if a third party sues him or enforces claims against him, all invoices, including those not yet due, shall become due for immediate payment.

4.9)        Our payment obligations cannot be assigned (§ 339 of the German Civil Code (BGB)).

5)            Retention of title

5.1)        The delivered goods remain our property until all claims arising from the business relationship, including those not yet due, have been settled. This also applies in the event of the balance acknowledgment being issued. In this case, the retention of title serves as security for the claim arising from the balance.

5.2)        The Customer is entitled to resell or process the delivered goods in the ordinary course of business. In the event of resale, the delivered goods shall be replaced by the Customer's claim against his customer, which is deemed assigned to us already now up to the total amount of the claims. The Customer shall be entitled to collect the claim until such time as that entitlement is revoked. The amounts collected must be deposited and remitted separately by the Customer until our claims have been settled in full. For the event that a customer of the Customer pays by bank transfer, the Customer hereby assigns to us the resulting claim against the relevant financial institution. The Customer must provide us with all requested information and grant us access to the relevant documents upon request.

5.3)        Insofar as goods still being our property are processed or worked on by the Customer, it is agreed that the processing or working is carried out for us, i.e. we become the owner of the new items. Should the costs of the processing or working considerably exceed the value of our goods, it is agreed that the processing or working will be carried out with us and that we will acquire joint ownership of the new item in proportion to the value of our goods. For the event that goods still being our property are combined by the Customer with another item in such a way that they become an integral part of another item which is to be regarded as the main item, the Customer hereby transfers to us the proportional co-ownership of the new item. The new item will be stored by the Customer for us free of charge. In the event of resale, the above provisions shall apply accordingly.

5.4)        If, after the conclusion of the contract, circumstances become known which give rise to concerns about the Customer’s creditworthiness or if the Customer defaults on the fulfilment of an obligation towards us, we shall be entitled to demand the surrender of the goods which are our property or joint property as security until the claim has been settled in full. Our rights set out in points 3) and 4) above remain unaffected by this.

5.5)        If third parties access the goods that are our property or joint property or the claims to which we are entitled, in particular in the event of attachments, the Customer must immediately prove to the third party or the enforcement officer that we are the owner or holder of the item; in addition, the Customer must immediately inform us of these measures and support us in every way in protecting our rights.

5.6)        Transfer of goods being our property or joint property to third parties for the purpose of their satisfaction, transfer of ownership as security, pledging of our goods and the like are not permitted. If the value of the security held by us exceeds our claims by more than 20%, the Customer shall be entitled to demand the release of the security to that extent.

6)            Complaints

6.1)        Complaints regarding defective or incomplete deliveries must be made in writing no later than eight days after receipt of the goods or their arrival at the destination and before their processing, with a precise description of the complaint, otherwise the delivery and services will be deemed to be flawless.

6.2)        Please note the instructions for accepting the goods included with the shipment. In particular, a weight check must be carried out immediately. Any discrepancies resulting from it must be reported immediately (see section 6.1); later complaints are expressly excluded.

6.3)        Hidden defects may be reported within one month after receipt of the goods or their arrival at the destination.

6.4)        Complaints or notices of defects are deemed to have been submitted on time if they are verifiably received within five days after the expiry of the aforementioned deadline.

6.5)        In the event of a timely, justified complaint, only withdrawal can be declared and the return of the defective goods requested.

6.6)        The following are excluded from complaints:

-              technically unavoidable deviations in quality, colour, finish or processing.

-              goods processed or reworked by the buyer.

6.7)        All dimensions are approximate.

6.8)        Complaints about defects do not release the Customer from the obligation to make payment.

7)            Copying of models; ownership of tools and stamping dies

7.1)        Copying models is prohibited and will give rise to an obligation to pay compensation for losses, but at least a contractual penalty of EUR 1,000 for each individual case, without proof of losses by us.

7.2)        We will invoice the Customer for the costs of any tools manufactured by us or our agents for special orders. They shall remain our property and in our possession. Their delivery to the Customer cannot be required even if the tool costs have been expressly included in the prices of the goods delivered.

Embossing stamps will be made on request and invoiced at cost. Unless otherwise requested by the Customer, they will be stored by us for 1 year. They shall become the property of the purchaser after all claims have been settled and their return can then be requested at any time. Embossing stamps provided to us will be returned to the Customer without request after delivery of the order.

8)            Governing law

8.1)        Unless otherwise agreed, the laws applicable in the Federal Republic of Germany shall be deemed to have been agreed between the contracting parties.

9)            Processing of data within the meaning of the Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG)

By accepting our offer, the natural persons named within the meaning of Section 1 Paragraph 1 BDSG agree that data subject to data protection will be stored and processed electronically to the extent that this is necessary for our business operations. There will be no separate notification to those affected.

10)         Place of performance and jurisdiction

10.1)     The place of performance for all claims arising from the delivery is 91572 Bechhofen.

10.2)     The place of jurisdiction for merchants who are not tradespeople as referred to in Section 4 of the German Commercial Code, legal entities under public law or special funds under public law is 91522 Ansbach.

10.3)     For other contractual partners, 91522 Ansbach is also agreed as the place of jurisdiction in the dunning process.

10.4)     We may assert claims against a foreign supplier before the court having jurisdiction over their registered office. In this case, we can base the dispute resolution on the relevant national laws.

11)         Final provisions

Should individual provisions of these delivery and payment conditions be invalid based on the legislation governing the law of the general terms and conditions, by special agreement or for any other reason, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining conditions.