Terms & Conditions

abc business communication
Owner: Uwe Meinert

§ 1 Scope

Our general terms and conditions of business apply for all orders which result in our providing services to our clients (hereafter referred to as ‘client’). Clients’ terms and conditions which differ from these are not binding without written acknowledgement thereof.

§ 2 Conclusion of Contracts

1. Our quotations/offers are subject to change. abc will be bound in principle for a maximum of 6 months by its quotations/offers. Subsequently, express confirmation is required for quotations/offers not to have lost their validity.
2. At our discretion, we can accept assignments within 2 weeks by sending an order confirmation or by delivering the service in the agreed fashion.
3. Amendments or additions to written contracts must be done in writing

§ 3 Subject of Contract/implementation

Implementation and payment is in accordance with the method and scope of the contract awarded. The Client and abc will strive together to achieve the careful and timely execution of the assignment.

§ 4 Responsibility

All agreements relating to the type, time, duration and content of training, allocation or reallocation of levels or such like, are to be reached only with abc. Other agreements, in particular those reached with trainers supplied by abc, are not binding and require express confirmation by abc.

§ 5 Services

1. The agreed training courses take place at the time agreed and for the agreed duration. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, a training unit (a teaching hour) is 45 minutes long. abc reserves the right, for good cause, for example, sickness, to replace the allocated trainer temporarily or permanently by another trainer. This does not represent a reason for withdrawal from the contract or a reduction of price.
2. Should abc ascertain that a course participant does not possess the required level for a course, abc may, if possible, transfer the participant to another course or exclude the participant from continuing. In these circumstances, the client will be informed immediately and alternatives will be suggested.

§ 6 Charges

Our prices are exclusive of the rate of VAT in force at the time when our services are delivered in Germany. Services delivered outside of Germany are free of VAT. Price lists are only valid in their current form. With the appearance of a new price list, all old price lists automatically become invalid.

§ 7 Payment of Charges

1. Our invoice is payable within 8 days of the date of invoice, with no deductions.
2.. In the case of late payment, we have the right to charge interest for late payment of 5% above the applicable bank rate at the time.
3. The client only has the entitlement to set off balances and to withhold monies if his counterclaim has been legally established, is undisputed or expressly acknowledged by abc.

§ 8 Cancellation of Intensive Courses and Language Coaching

Intensive training courses can be cancelled up to two weeks before commencement of the course. Cancellation must be in writing. The date the notice is received by abc is decisive when assessing whether the notice period has been observed. For cancellations up to one week before commencement of the course, we charge 50% of the fees. In the case of later cancellations, we will charge the full price.
Additional expenditure by trainers or employees of abc after the award of the contract, such as overnight stays or travelling expenses (flights, rail fares etc.), will be charged on to the client in the case of a cancellation. This will equate to the amount invoiced to us.

§ 9 Cancellation of lessons

1. Weekly training courses (extensive courses) or in-house courses may be cancelled free-of-charge up to a maximum of 24 hours before commencement of the course. If the cancellation is at short notice, i.e. less than 24 hours before the agreed appointment, the lesson will be counted and invoiced, irrespective of the reasons for the cancellation.
2. It is possible to suspend a course, following mutual agreement, for a maximum period of 6 months. After this period, the entitlement to take the lesson lapses, even when the course fees have already been paid. A contractually agreed course of training may be terminated with notice of one month to the end of a respective teaching month. The notice must be in writing.

§ 10 Cancellation of events

abc reserves the right to cancel an event, for example where the lecturer is unavailable or due to insufficient participant numbers. In any event, we will make every effort to inform you about the cancellation or changed arrangements in good time before commencement of the event. Where an event is cancelled, we will reimburse the fees already paid or agree a new date. Monies owing by abc or by the client to abc are to be paid 14 days before the commencement of the course. Further claims are excluded unless they are connected with grossly negligent conduct by employees or other vicarious agents.

§ 11 Copyright

Working documents distributed at our courses/events are protected by copyright and may not be copied or used commercially, including extracts of those documents, without the approval of abc and the trainer concerned.

§ 12 Data Protection

Your data will be stored by us in accordance with legal requirements for internal processing and our own marketing purposes. If it is your wish not to have your information sent on, please let us know. We will then note our records accordingly.

§ 13 Liability

1. abc is liable to the client in relation to contractual or legal provisions regarding liability only where there is intent or gross negligence. In any case of abc’s liability, even in non-commercial activity, liability is limited to damages that might typically be predicted.
2. abc’s liability – particularly for objects which go missing, as well as various damage to objects and financial losses – is limited to cases of intent and gross negligence.

§ 14 General Provisions

Deviations from these terms and conditions of business or additional agreements are only binding where they are in writing. Changes to this clause also require the written form. Should one of the aforementioned provisions be or become invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions are not affected. The invalid provision is to be replaced by a valid one which accords as closely as possible with the commercial objective of the parties and which is legally permissible.

§ 15 Applicable Law / Place of Jurisdiction

The contract is subject to German law. For business people as defined by the German Commercial Code, the place of jurisdiction for claims and disputes arising from the contractual relationship, including summary procedures and special procedures for deciding claims arising out of bills of exchange, is that of abc’s head office.