General Terms and Conditions of Business

1. Orders and acceptance of orders

(1) All orders received by Quartier Malleribes directly from the purchaser or via sales representatives need to be accepted by means of a written order confirmation, except in the case of cash transactions.

(2) Ordered or delivered articles may deviate from the order, in particular in respect of material and finish, as determined by technical advances.

2. Delivery period

(1) Should a delivery period have been agreed or be required, the following shall apply:

The delivery dates given by Quartier Malleribes shall not be binding, unless these have explicitly been confirmed as "binding delivery dates" by Quartier Malleribes in writing.

(2) Delivery by Quartier Malleribes shall be subject to Quartier Malleribes obtaining supplies itself. Quartier Malleribes shall immediately notify the purchaser should it not be able to obtain supplies itself.

Should Quartier Malleribes not be able to obtain supplies itself, the contract of sale shall be deemed not to have been concluded. Quartier Malleribes assumes no risk whatsoever in respect of obtaining supplies.

The assertion of claims for compensation shall be excluded except in the case of gross negligence or intentional acts or omissions on the part of Quartier Malleribes. Should it not be possible to deliver a particular item or replacement item, Quartier Malleribes shall be entitled to refuse delivery. Quartier Malleribes shall notify the purchaser immediately should it be unable to deliver.

(3) Compliance with the delivery period shall be subject to the purchaser's fulfilment of his contractual obligations in good time, in particular making the agreed payments and, where applicable, providing the agreed security.

(4) Furthermore, in the event of default for which Quartier Malleribes is responsible, the purchaser shall only be entitled to assert further rights once an additional period of at least 3 weeks set by him after the default has occurred, has expired without result.

3. Shipment

(1) Should the ordered goods have to be shipped, this shall be done from the registered office of Quartier Malleribes for the account and risk of the purchaser. Except where a special agreement has been made, Quartier Malleribes shall be free to choose the transport company and the means of transport. The risk shall pass to the purchaser when the goods are dispatched from the registered office of Quartier Malleribes even where delivery carriage paid has been agreed.

(2) Should the shipment be delayed for reasons attributable to the purchaser, the risk shall pass to the purchaser at the time at which the goods are ready for shipment; the costs arising as a result of the delay (in particular storage charges) shall be borne by the purchaser.

(3) Quartier Malleribes shall not be obliged to insure the package against damage in transit or to have this insured, unless Quartier Malleribes has undertaken to do so, in writing.

4. Postage and packing costs

(1) The postage and packing charges are as follows:

1 book € 1.00
2 books € 1.50
3-4 books € 2.00
5-6 books € 2,50
7-10 books € 3,00

The following shipping costs shall be charged for delivery outside Germany:

(2) If the order value is more than € 100.00, delivery within the Federal Republic of Germany is free, however only when paying cash on delivery.

5. Liability for defects

(1) The purchaser shall be obliged to check the delivered goods for obvious defects immediately after delivery and to notify Quartier Malleribes of these defects in writing immediately and in any event no later than within 2 weeks of the delivery.

Obvious defects which are only reported later, that is, after the expiry of the period given above, shall not be considered by Quartier Malleribes and shall not be covered by the warranty.

(2) The purchaser must immediately notify the supplier of defects which are not obvious and which only appear over the course of time.

(3) Goods which have to be returned to Quartier Malleribes as a result of a defect may only be returned with its prior consent. Quartier Malleribes does not have to accept goods which are returned without its prior consent. In such a case, the purchaser shall bear the cost of returning the goods.

(4) Should a justified defect have been reported and the goods are then redelivered, the provisions in respect of the delivery period shall apply accordingly. Where the defect in the goods is to be removed, Quartier Malleribes must be given a period of at least 3 weeks to do this.

(5) A defect in the goods shall give the purchaser the following rights:

(6) Should the goods be defective, the purchaser shall first of all be entitled to require Quartier Malleribes to rectify this.

Quartier Malleribes shall have the right to choose whether the goods will be redelivered or whether the defects will be removed, at its own discretion.

(7) Quartier Malleribes shall furthermore have the right, should its attempt to rectify the situation come to nothing, to make a second attempt to rectify the situation, again at its own discretion as to the manner in which this is to be done, and within a reasonable period. Only if the second attempt fails, shall the purchaser be entitled to cancel the contract or to reduce the purchase price.

(8) The purchaser may only claim compensation or the reimbursement of expenses incurred in vain in the event of the grossly negligent or intentional violation of the obligation to deliver goods free from defects. The purchaser must provide evidence of the grounds for and the amount of the loss or damage incurred. The same shall apply to the expenses incurred in vain.

(9) The warranty period for new goods shall be 2 years and for used goods 1 year from the date of delivery. Once 6 months have passed since delivery, the purchaser must prove that the defect was already present at the time of the delivery.

6. Liability for other breaches of duty by Quartier Malleribes

Without prejudice to the provisions in respect of the warranty as well as other special regulations laid down in these provisions, the following shall apply in the event of a breach of duty by Quartier Malleribes:

(1) The purchaser must give Quartier Malleribes an appropriate additional period of at least 3 weeks within which to remedy the breach of duty.

Only once this additional period has expired without result may the purchaser cancel the contract and/or claim compensation.

(2) The purchaser may only claim compensation for loss or damage in cases of grossly negligent or intentional breaches of duty by Quartier Malleribes. The compensation shall in any event be limited to the amount of the purchase price.

(3) Should the purchaser be solely or predominantly responsible for circumstances which would justify his cancellation of the contract, or should the circumstances justifying the cancellation of the contract occur during the purchaser's failure to take delivery, cancellation of the contract shall not be permitted.

7. Exclusion of risk in respect of obtaining supplies and guarantees

The supplier does not assume any risk in respect of obtaining supplies with regard to ordered items which are not immediately deliverable. The assumption of any kind of guarantee whatsoever is excluded, unless an explicit written agreement has been concluded with the purchaser about this.

8. Prices

Prices are calculated as from the registered office of the supplier in euro plus the applicable VAT.

(1) All prices given by Quartier Malleribes within the context of its Internet range are end customer prices in euro and contain the statutory VAT. These prices apply exclusively to e-commerce orders.

(2) The prices valid at the time of the order shall always apply.

9. Payment terms

(1) Ordered goods are delivered on account, with payment in advance or cash on delivery.

(2) Goods can only be delivered to customers with registered office outside the Federal Republic of Germany where payment has been made in advance.

(3) Should the purchaser choose payment on account, a payment period of 7 days as from receipt of the delivery shall apply.

(4) Should the purchaser fail to pay, a charge of € 5.00 shall be levied for each reminder sent, as well as default interest of 5% (if the customer is an entrepreneur, public law corporation or public sector fund, 8%) over and above the respective base rate published by the Deutsche Bundesbank.

(5) The purchaser shall not be permitted to withhold the payment or set this off against any counterclaims of the purchaser, except where claims are undisputed or have been finally and conclusively established.

(6) All claims of Quartier Malleribes against the customer, regardless of the legal relationship on which these are based, shall become immediately due and payable should circumstances arise which give Quartier Malleribes the right to cancel the contract pursuant to statutory or contractual provisions.

10. Refusal to take delivery

Should the purchaser refuse to take delivery of the ordered goods without having cancelled the contract of sale in advance, a processing fee of € 25.00 plus postage and packing costs shall be due and payable per consignment. These costs shall be charged to the purchaser separately; the invoice must be paid immediately.

11. Retention of title

(1) All the goods delivered by Quartier Malleribes shall remain the property of Quartier Malleribes until the purchase price has been paid in full and until all claims arising from the business relationship have been settled in full (extended retention of title).

The purchaser shall not under any circumstances be permitted to dispose of the goods subject to the retention of title (for example by selling or pledging the goods, transferring the ownership thereof by way of security, giving the goods as a gift, or by ceding the right to use the goods).

(2) Should the purchaser have disposed of the purchased goods in violation of the contract, the purchase price paid or to be paid or any other performances received or to be received in respect of the acquisition shall take the place of the goods. The purchaser hereby assigns, now for henceforth, all claims arising from any alienation of the goods to Quartier Malleribes. The purchaser shall not be entitled to collect this claim. The purchaser must, within the framework of this assignment, cooperate in the disclosure of the assignment to the acquiring party and see to it that the latter pays Quartier Malleribes or carries out the performance vis-à-vis Quartier Malleribes, as the case may be. Taking into account the extended retention of title (anticipatory assignment of the respective purchase price claim), assignment to third parties, in particular to a bank, is in violation of the contract and is therefore not permitted. Quartier Malleribes shall be entitled to check the sales documents of the purchaser and inform his buyer of the assignment at any time.

(3) Should execution be levied in respect of the goods at the purchaser, the supplier must immediately be notified, by being sent a copy of the record of the execution and a statutory declaration in lieu of an oath, that the goods on which execution was levied are goods delivered by Quartier Malleribes and are subject to a retention of title.

(4) The assertion of the rights of Quartier Malleribes arising from the retention of title shall not release the purchaser from his contractual obligations. The value of the goods at the time at which they are taken back will simply be credited against the existing claim of Quartier Malleribes against the purchaser.

12. Right of cancellation of Quartier Malleribes

Quartier Malleribes shall be entitled to cancel the contract for the following reasons:

(1) Should it become apparent, contrary to what was assumed before the contract was concluded, that the purchaser is not creditworthy. Lack of creditworthiness may in any event be assumed in the case of default in payment by the purchaser or an unsuccessful attempt to levy execution at the purchaser. This does not necessarily have to relate to the relationship between Quartier Malleribes and the purchaser.

(2) Should it become apparent that the purchaser gave incorrect information about his creditworthiness and this information is of considerable significance.

(3) Should the goods of Quartier Malleribes which are subject to a retention of title be alienated other than in the ordinary course of business of the purchaser, in particular by transferring ownership by way of security or pledging the goods. Exceptions to this shall only apply insofar as Quartier Malleribes has given its written consent to the alienation of the goods.

13. Data protection

(1) The data required to process the order shall be stored and treated as confidential with due observance of the provisions of the German Data Protection Act.

(2) Quartier Malleribes however reserves the right to transmit data for the purpose of checking creditworthiness. The purchaser shall have the power of revocation at any time.

14. Warranty/technical information

(1) The warranty period for the items sold by Quartier Malleribes shall be 2 years. The warranty period shall commence at the time of delivery. Should the purchaser be an entrepreneur, public law corporation or public sector fund, the warranty period shall be 1 year.

(2) Should the item sold be a used item, the warranty period shall be 1 year.

(3) The purchaser shall be obliged to report patent defects to Quartier Malleribes in writing within 2 weeks of receipt of the goods. No claims may be made in respect of patent defects once this period has expired.

(4) Insofar as technical information is provided by Quartier Malleribes, this relates to manufacturer's information; this information is provided without any guarantee.

15. Information pursuant to the German Long Distance Sales Act

The following information is provided pursuant to the statutory obligation (German Long Distance Sales Act) to provide information in respect of sales which are carried out exclusively by using long-distance communication media:

a) Identification of party offering the goods
The range of goods under the internet addresses www.quartier-malleribes.com and mehrsprachige-kinderbuecher.de are offered by the following company:

Verlag Quartier Malleribes, GbR
Managing directors:
Miriam Jennifer Schroer
Judith Marie Antoinette Schauerte
Marderweg 62
D-46282 Dorsten
Tel.: 0049 (0) 211-87630290
Fax: 0049 (0) 211-87630292

b) Conclusion of contract
The purchaser waives the receipt of a declaration of acceptance (§ 141 para. 1 German Civil Code). Once the order has been submitted by clicking on the relevant button ("Submit order now" or similar wording) the customer will immediately receive an email containing the order. On receipt of this confirmation, the customer's confirmation will take effect, in any event no later than on receipt of the delivery.

c) Delivery proviso
Should, in exceptional cases, it not be possible to deliver an item ordered by the purchaser or where the delivery period would be more than 4 weeks after the confirmation, Quartier Malleribes will either notify the purchaser of the exact delivery date or of the fact that delivery cannot be made, as quickly as possible.

d) Prices and additional costs
All prices given are end customer prices in euro and already include the statutory VAT. The prices valid at the time of the order shall apply.

e) Right of return
The statutory right to return the goods within 2 weeks without giving reasons for this shall be granted exclusively for legal transactions concluded by a natural person which do not relate to his commercial or freelance activities. This period shall commence on receipt of the delivery and shall be deemed to have been observed if the goods are sent to Quartier Malleribes (registered office of the branch establishment) within the given period. The contract of sale shall only take effect on the expiry of the 2 week period.

This right of return does not include items which Quartier Malleribes does not keep in stock and which were acquired pursuant to a special request by the customer.

Where damaged or faulty goods are returned, Quartier Malleribes shall be entitled to assert claims for compensation against the purchaser.

Quartier Malleribes shall in any event reimburse the purchase price of the returned goods and the postage costs (in accordance with the rates charged by Deutsche Post AG). Quartier Malleribes shall not reimburse the costs for other carriers. Returns sent for which the postage has not been prepaid shall not be accepted by Quartier Malleribes and shall be sent back at the expense of the purchaser. It is therefore important to ensure that the package has enough stamps.

f) Data protection
The data required to process the order shall be stored and treated as confidential with due observance of the provisions of the German Data Protection Act. Quartier Malleribes however reserves the right to transmit data and information to other companies for the purpose of checking creditworthiness.

16. Place of performance

The place of performance for all obligations arising from the contractual relationship including any warranty claims shall be the registered office of the company Quartier Malleribes.

17. Place of jurisdiction

Insofar as the purchaser is an entrepreneur or public law corporation or public sector fund, the place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of the branch establishment of the company Quartier Malleribes.

18. Other provisions

The invalidity of individual provisions of the underlying contract including the General Terms and Conditions of Business shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions.

Declarations of any kind relating to the contractual relationship between Quartier Malleribes and the purchaser must – unless agreed otherwise in writing – be made in writing in order to be valid. In particular, this written form requirement may only be set aside in writing.

Verbal agreements must in any event immediately be confirmed in writing in order to be valid. Should they not be confirmed in this way, they shall be regarded as not having been made.