Terms and conditions of retail, on- and offline services
Valid regulations are a prerequisite for a business
Even outside the online trade, GTCs are correct and important. Provided that the correct wording of the General Terms and Conditions of Business is correctly worded, the user has considerable advantages, e. g. with regard to liability or claims for damages. Often own terms and conditions of business also serve to annul the contractual partner's conditions.
However, all terms and conditions must be designed in such a way that they do not violate applicable law. Sections 305 to 310 of the German Civil Code form the framework for this. The general terms and conditions must be understandable (transparency requirement). Nor must they place consumers at an unreasonable disadvantage. And the customer must also be able to take note of them in a "reasonable manner". This means that he has to be able to find and read the used terms and conditions easily (without needing a magnifying glass!).
The content of each GTC is subject to review by the courts. In short, anything that puts the customer at an unreasonable disadvantage, for example because the regulation is surprising or deviates considerably from the applicable law, is ineffective. In case of doubt, even unclear or ambiguous clauses shall be borne by the seller.
Benefit from our many years of experience in the creation of tailor-made terms and conditions.
Your contact person for the preparation and review of GTCs is Lawyer Marco Rössel, who has been dealing with the preparation and review of reliable GTCs for several years.