I. General – application
1. These general terms of business apply to all existing and future contractual relationships.
Customers as defined by these general terms of business can be both consumers and companies.
3. Any divergent, contradictory or supplementary terms of business will not be a part of the contract, unless their application is expressly recognised by KARE.
II. Conclusion of contracts
1. For customers the order (contractual offer) is binding for three weeks .
2. On placing an order the customer makes a binding declaration that he wishes to purchase the goods.
We will have the right to accept the contractual offer contained in the order within three weeks from receipt of the order. The order can be accepted either in writing, verbally, by delivering the goods to the customer or by accepting an advance payment on the purchase price.
3. The conclusion of contract is subject to the correct and punctual delivery of the goods to us by our supplier. This applies only in the event that the non-delivery is not our responsibility, in particular when an appropriate supply agreement has been concluded with our supplier.
The customer will be informed without delay that the goods are not available, and any payment which has already been made will be refunded.
III. Prices
1. Prices are firm prices and include VAT.
2. In contracts involving the transport of goods the purchase price does not include any shipping costs which may be agreed in individual cases.
3. Any additional work which is not included in the purchase price and is agreed separately, for example assembly or decorative work, will be invoiced separately and payment will become due at the latest on delivery or customer acceptance.
4. The agreed purchase price is due at the latest on receipt of the goods. At the latest 14 days after receipt of the goods the customer will be in arrears.
5. The customer will only have a right of set-off if his counter-claims have been established by court of law or accepted by KARE.
6. The customer will only be able to exercise any set-off rights if his counter-claims are based on the same contractual relationship.
IV. Retention of title
1. In the case of contracts with consumers we reserve title to the goods until the purchase price has been paid in full.
In the case of contracts with companies we reserve title to the goods until all receivable payments from a current contractual relationship have been met in full.
2. The customer has the duty to treat the goods with care.
3. The customer has the duty to inform us without delay if a third party has access to the goods, for example in the event of their being attached, or if they are damaged in any way or destroyed. The customer must also inform us without delay if there is a change in the ownership of the goods or if he changes his own place of residence.
V. Transfer of risk
1. If the customer is a company the risk of any accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the goods is transferred when the goods are handed over to the company. In the case of purchases involving transport of the goods the risk is transferred on delivery of the goods to the freight forwarder, the carrier or to whatever person or organisation has been entrusted with the transport.
2. If the customer is a consumer the risk of any accidental loss or accidental deterioration of the goods is transferred when the goods are handed over to the customer. This also applies to purchases involving transport of the goods.
3. If the customer delays taking delivery of the goods the goods will still be regarded as having been handed over to him.
VI. Delivery period
1. If KARE is unable to meet the agreed delivery period the customer agrees to grant KARE a reasonable extension of four weeks, beginning from the day the customer gives written notice that KARE is in arrears with delivery or, in the case of delivery periods arranged in terms of the calendar, on expiry of the period concerned. 2. Legal stipulations with regard to compensation on the grounds of non-performance of contractual obligations are not affected by this.
VII. Assembly
1. KARE personnel are not authorised to carry out any work which goes beyond the obligations of KARE under the contract. However, if such work is after all carried out by KARE personnel at the request of the customer this will be without prejudice to the contractual relationship between KARE and the customer.
2. The customer has the obligation to inform the KARE personnel who are carrying out the assembly work about any structural information which is relevant to the assembly operations, in particular about the condition of the walls in the case of wall-mounting installation work.
VIII. Dimensions
1. The customer has the duty of checking if the goods he has ordered can, in terms of their dimensions and characteristics, be transported to the intended location and installed there. If the dimensions and characteristics of the goods make it impossible to transport them to the intended location this will be at the risk of the customer.
IX. Warranty
1. If the customer is a company KARE provides a remedy for defective goods either in the form of repair or replacement.
If the customer is a consumer he has the choice of supplementary performance in the form of repair or replacement of the goods. However, we will have the right to reject the choice of supplementary performance if this will only be possible at unreasonable expense and if the other form of supplementary performance will be without significant disadvantage to the consumer.
2. If the supplementary performance is unsuccessful the customer has the choice of a reduction in price or withdrawal from the contract. This right of withdrawal will not apply, however, in cases where the defects to the goods are only minor.
3. Companies must report to us any visible defects in writing within a period of two weeks from receipt of the goods. If this is not done any claims under the warranty will be null and void. To comply with this period it is sufficient to send the written report within the specified period. The company has the burden of proof with regard to all preconditions for entitlement to compensation, in particular for proving that the defect itself exists, together with the time at which the defect is established and for reporting the defect in good time.
If the consumer was persuaded to buy the goods on the basis of inaccurate statements on the part of the manufacturer it is the consumer's duty to prove that this was the case. In the case of used goods the consumer has the obligation of proving that the goods are defective.
If the supplementary performance is unsuccessful and the customer claims compensation the goods will remain with the customer, provided this is reasonable. The compensation will be limited to the difference between the purchase price and the value of the defective goods. This will not apply if we have been guilty of breach of contract in bad faith.
4. If the customer receives incorrect assembly instructions we will only be obliged to supply the correct assembly instructions, and only then if the incorrect instructions will prevent the correct assembly of the goods.
5. The customer does not receive from us any warranties in the legal sense. This is without prejudice to the manufacturer's warranty.
X. Reservation of the right to make changes
1. Our offers are subject to confirmation. We reserve the right to make reasonable technical changes, changes in form or weight as well as standard commercial and reasonable divergence in colour and grain in the case of wooden surfaces.
2. We also reserve the right to any standard commercial and reasonable divergence in textiles (e.g. furniture and decoration fabrics) compared to sample fabrics, especially in the case of colour shades.
3. Series-produced furniture is sold on the basis of sample or illustration.
4. Demands on the quality of ordered goods can only be made to the extent that such quality can reasonably be expected in commercial terms for goods in their price class.
XI. Limitations on liability
1. In the event of any infringement of contractual obligations resulting from minor negligence, our liability to the consumer will be limited to the predictable, contractually typical, average direct damage. This also applies to infringement of contractual obligations resulting from minor negligence on the part of our legal representatives or those acting on our behalf.
We accept no liability towards companies in the event of any infringement of contractual obligations resulting from minor negligence.
XII. Concluding provisions
1. If any contractual provision, including these general terms of business should be invalid in whole or part, this will not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The provision which is invalid will be replaced by whatever provision comes closest to fulfilling its original business purpose.
