General Terms and Conditions (T&Cs)

General Terms and Conditions

between

STEX GmbH, hereinafter referred to as Contractor

and

Client, hereinafter referred to as Customer

Preamble

The Contracting Parties shall base their contractual agreement on accepting goods and shipping at the behest of the Customer on the following General Terms and Conditions, whereby the Customer can be a consumer or an entrepreneur.

In the case of consumers, the order confirmation shall be sent with an additional separate confirmation to recognise these General Terms and Conditions.

Contradictory general terms and conditions of legal persons are excluded.

Article 1 Placing Orders and Necessary Information from the Customer

The Contractor shall not be required to accept orders from customers made via the Contractor’s price calculator; there is no need for a justification. The Contractor may terminate the contract even after accepting the offer while excluding claims for damages on the part of the Customer. However, the Customer has the option to avert the refusal by means of advance payment within a deadline set by the Contractor. In the event of termination of the offer due to doubts about creditworthiness, the Contractor shall inform the Customer by telephone or in text form during its business hours (Monday to Friday 08:00 to 17:30 hours, except for statutory public holidays) within 2 hours of accepting the offer and request advance payment. If the advance payment is not made, the Customer shall be put in the same position as if he had cancelled the offer at short notice.
The Customer shall draw up his query using the forms www.stex-gmbh.com/de/expressversand-kosten-preisrechner/(or email dispo@stex-gmbh.com) on the transport of parcelled goods, shipping units and/or whole cargoes with precise designation of the dimensions, such as width, height, length and the weights and details of the content and, where applicable, details of designation as hazardous goods or temperature-controlled transport.
The goods must be stackable. If they are not, this must be indicated specially by the Customer. If the goods do not fit in the selected freight space at the time of ordering, the Contractor shall be entitled to extraordinary termination or adjustment of the contract. If the contract is adjusted, the rate is automatically adjusted to the next highest level, as can be seen in the price calculator. In this case, it behoves the Contractor to choose between using a larger vehicle or – where possible – using another vehicle; if both options are possible, the Contractor shall choose the cheaper option. Claims for damages against the Contractor shall be excluded unless prescribed by law.
The Customer’s goods must permit load securing using securing straps, otherwise they can be rejected according to Article 2 No. 9 of the T&Cs.
Household goods for house moves, art, unique and valuable items, especially precious metals and precious stones, are excluded from transport unless a special agreement with the corresponding insurance and a contract that has been negotiated in detail has been concluded. Reference is made to Article 6 for commissions relating to household goods for house moves.
The Customer’s details entered on the price calculator webpage are the basis for price calculation and are binding for him after the offer has been made. Any additional costs incurred, such as duties, taxes, costs for ferries or tunnels, etc., shall only be invoiced directly to the Customer.
The times offered in the price calculator are not guaranteed dates for collection and delivery, but are initially only the rough timeframe for the transport. Fixed time periods are set only after acceptance by the Contractor. Fixed dates need special confirmation by the Contractor.

Article 2 Drawing Up Quotes and Acceptance

The Contractor warrants that it will respond to the Customer’s binding offer made in the price calculator within 24 hours during the opening times stated in Article 1 No. 1 and confirm or refuse it within the deadline.
The vehicle type stated by the Contractor is only of a fictitious nature and should be understood as a basis for the rate calculation. The loading area dimensions of the vehicle type express the maximum available area in this rate. There is only an entitlement to transporting the packages actually booked.
The relevant shipping documents for the correct implementation of the transport must be provided by the Customer in plenty of time before implementation of the transport, but at least 24 hours in advance, in the case of transports involving border crossings and possible customs duties, at least 48 hours in advance. This also explicitly applies to necessary documents for customs clearance. Reference is made to the forms made available on the internet by the Contractor.
Additional expenses due to missing documents and information required for implementing the transport must be borne by the Customer. This also includes additional expenses due to possible extensions to the transport times for which the Contractor is not responsible.
The fee are determined according to the rates cited on the internet at www.stex-gmbh.com/de/expressversand-kosten-preisrechner/.
If the Contractor deploys third parties as a carrier, he warrants that all statutory regulations are being complied with, in particular compliance with the German Minimum Wage Act, otherwise reference is made to Article 1 No. 7.
Fixed dates or delivery dates on the next day require explicit acceptance by the Contractor and shall be paid separately.
The offer shall be accepted in text form.
Cancellation of the contract shall result in 50 % of the agreed freight costs for cancellation up to 48 hours before implementation, and of 90 % of the freight costs for cancellation from 24 hours beforehand. Article 415 of the German Commercial Code (HGB) remains unaffected.

Article 3 Implementation and Processing of the Order

The Client is not entitled to a specific vehicle, but rather a vehicle chosen by the Contractor that is suitable and has the appropriate dimensions for the load. The choice of the fictitious transport vehicle in the price calculator is only for illustrative purposes and is not binding. The Contractor shall make the decision as to whether the goods are to be transported by one vehicle with the appropriate dimensions or by several smaller vehicles, although, if both options are possible, the cheaper option shall be chosen.
Loading and unloading are not part of the transport order. The Customer shall ensure loading that is safe for transport, the Contractor or a driver commissioned by him shall ensure operationally safe loading.
The goods shall be unloaded by the recipient who, in this respect, is a vicarious agent of the Customer, with the consequence of liability for damage of the goods to be unloaded and/or the vehicle.
The Contractor must be notified in writing of changes to weight or volume at least 24 hours before the start of the transport. The Contractor is entitled to terminate the freight order if the transport can no longer be carried out in line with the specifications of the offer. The choice between termination or carrying out the order, possibly with a different transport vehicle, is a matter for the Contractor; there is no need for a justification. Claims for damages on the part of the Customer are explicitly excluded in this regard. In the event of termination after information about weight or volume changes less than 24 hours before carrying out the transport, the Contractor shall be entitled to 50 % of the freight price. In the event of carrying out the transport, the freight price shall rise in line with the stated weight or volume change.
If it transpires that, contrary to the Customer’s information, the freight has resulted in overloading, there is also the right of extraordinary termination with the consequences cited at No. 3 para. 1. If this was not recognisable and/or if the Contractor is faced with fine proceedings or other official and/or police proceedings, the Customer must exempt the Contractor of all costs, fines, recovery amounts according to Article 29a of the Act on Regulatory Offences (OWiG), and prosecution costs. He shall also bear the costs of any reloading that may be necessary.
Access for collection and access to the recipient’s premises must be possible for standard-sized lorries, and the same must be the case for loading and unloading, especially on ramps in underground car parks or staggered delivery points. If collection, access, loading or unloading is not possible, contrary to sentence 1, the Customer shall be requested to provide a remedy or to name a suitable loading/unloading place. All further costs, idle times, travel expenses, etc. thereby incurred shall be borne by the Customer and shall be paid without undue delay.

If the loading and/or unloading time within a transport radius of max. 150 kilometres is more than 1 hour and otherwise more than 2 hours, € 30.00 per hour or part thereof shall be charged as demurrage for transport with a Caddy/Transporter/curtain side truck, € 60.00 per hour or part thereof for HGVs and temperature-controlled vehicles.

If no suitable instruction is received within 3 hours, the Contract is entitled to extraordinary termination subject to the proviso of further damages for the costs of the return transport and any necessary storage in addition to the original transport. If the Customer does not collect the goods within 3 days, the Contractor may auction off the goods or dispose of them at the Customer’s expense. Proceeds of the auction shall be paid to the Customer after deduction of all costs.

The Customer shall ensure that a responsible person shall be available for the period of the transport and, if this person is not reached via the company’s contact information, a means of contacting this person is stated.

If the stated responsible person or another qualified employee or contact of the Customer is not reached within two hours of the first contact, in spite of repeated attempts, and starting or continuing the transport is therefore not possible, the Contractor is entitled to terminate the order at the Customer’s expense and to remove the vehicle provided from the transport.

Article 4 Payment and Delivery in Line with the Contract

Payment is made in advance or by invoice, whereby the decision shall be made by the Contractor and does not need any justification.
The Customer shall be responsible for unplanned state levies, such as customs duties or taxes on customs duty, and they can be charged as an advance payment. The Contractor cannot be held liable for delayed delivery due to this provided that he passes the costs on directly.

If the Contractor works only for advance payments, agreed fixed deadlines shall be deemed to have been agreed only if the payment is made on time, at least 24 hours before collection, or at least 48 hours before in the case of cross-border runs with the risk of customs clearance. If payment is later, delivery on time can no longer be guaranteed. This also explicitly applies to costs associated with customs clearance.

Delivery to the addressee stated on the item is carried out by handing over the item in return for a signature from the recipient. The Customer agrees that handover may be to another person if, according to the situation, it can be assumed that they are entitled to accept the item. People of this kind are either members and employees of the household present in the recipient’s premises, a third party permitted to accept the item by virtue of a written authorisation from the recipient as well as immediate neighbours of the addressee, except for commercial customers. In these cases, a person authorised to accept deliveries must be explicitly named, otherwise the item will be returned to the sender with consequences according to Article 3 No. 7. If the item is left with a neighbour, the Customer shall receive a notification email with a qualified indication of the time and place of handover.
If the item is handed over to the Customer with loading devices and/or aids, there is no obligation for return unless this has been separately agreed with separate payment, both for accepting the exchange risk and for the return transport. Article 812 of the German Civil Code (BGB) is not applicable.

Article 5 Assignment, Retention and Offsetting

Customer claims against the Contractor may be assigned to third parties only after explicit approval. Approval is always on a case-by-case basis.

Offsetting or retention of freight claims or associated rights of the Contractor outside the contract shall be permitted only for undisputed, due and/or legally certain claims.

The Customer shall assign to the Contractor any claims for damages for transport and/or vehicle damage to the vehicle used. The Contractor shall accept the assignment.

Article 6 Special Clauses for Household Goods for House Moves

The specifications of these T&Cs shall apply accordingly unless explicitly regulated otherwise in the following.
Securing of the household goods so that they can be transported safely, as well as loading or unloading shall be done solely by the Customer. Operationally safe loading shall be done by the Contractor. The Contractor’s liability for any damage during the transport is excluded, except in the event of intent or gross negligence, or if the Customer and/or parties involved in the house move named by him are also carried. There is no entitlement to being carried. The passenger insurance to be taken out for this shall be invoiced to the Customer.
A special insurance policy for household items in a house move shall be offered and recommended.
The waiting time for loading and unloading included in the price shall be limited to max. 3 hours. Any waiting times above and beyond this shall be charged at € 30.00 per hour or part thereof for Bully/box van/small lorries and € 60.00 per hour or part thereof for large lorries.

Article 7 Final Provisions, Choice of Law and Place of Jurisdiction

Unless stated otherwise, the regulations of the General German Shippers’ Conditions (current ADSp 2017) shall apply and, unless ruled otherwise, the general German law, including the rules of the current version of the Commercial Code.
German law shall apply; international commercial law is excluded.
The place of jurisdiction is Straubing.
If one provision of this contract is or becomes ineffective or is or becomes invalid, the effectiveness of the remaining provisions shall not be affected.

Instead of the ineffective/invalid provision, the partners will agree a provision that is closest to what was intended with the ineffective/invalid provision. This also applies to filling any loopholes in the contract.