General Terms & Conditions
  • General Terms of Delivery and Payment
    (Version of 10-01-2013)

  • 1. General Remarks
    All services rendered for the customer by Sommer cable GmbH will be effected exclusively in accordance with the following General Terms & Conditions. Divergent provisions shall only be valid if agreed upon in writing between Sommer cable GmbH and the customer.

  • 2. Conclusion of Contract
    Only such persons shall be entitled to conclude a contract with Sommer cable GmbH who have reached the age of 18 years and are not limited in their legal capacity at the time of the formation of the contract.

    2.1 The web offers submitted by Sommer cable GmbH are a non committing invitation to the customer to order goods from Sommer cable GmbH.

    2.2 When the customer orders goods in writing or by e-mail, this is a binding offer for the conclusion of a sales contract.

    2.3 Sommer cable GmbH shall be entitled to accept this offer within a period of 5 calendar days by sending out an order acknowledgement. The order confirmation will be issued in writing, usually by e-mail. After the fruitless expiration of the 5-day period, during which the customer request has remained unanswered, the offer shall be regarded as declined.

    2.4 Assurances and warranted characteristics only exist where they have been explicitly marked as such by us. In particular indications in catalogs, plans, drawings, DIN standards as well as declarations of weight and specified dimensions do not represent warranted qualities.

  • 3. Delivery Times
    3.1 All items will be delivered on the dates scheduled in the order confirmation, if available from stocks and only while supplies last. Should an item not be available at short notice, we will inform you by e-mail about the presumable delivery time, provided we have your e-mail address on hand. In case of a delay in delivery, for instance due to force majeure, traffic disruptions and orders from higher authorities or other events for which Sommer cable GmbH cannot be held liable, damages cannot be claimed against Sommer cable GmbH.

    3.2 In the event of subsequent alterations of the contract which might affect the term of delivery, the delivery deadline will be extended appropriately, unless specific agreements have been made on this.

    3.3 If we are responsible for failure to comply with binding delivery terms and dates, or if we are in default, the customer shall be entitled to claim a delay compensation in the amount of 0.5 % for each full week of such delay in delivery, however not exceeding 5 % of the value of that part of the whole consignment which, due to the delay, cannot be used in time or in a conventionary manner. Any further demands are excluded unless such default is due to intent or gross negligence on our behalf, our senior employees or our agents or subcontractors.

  • 4. Packing and Shipping Charges
    The package will be charged at original costs. For each delivery we reserve the right to decide if we take back the package. Details are included in the order confirmation. At the customer’s request we can also transact express deliveries for which the buyer shall bear the extra costs involved. As a matter of principle, shipping will be performed uninsured and for account of the customer.

  • 5. Prices and Payment
    5.1 For lack of a specific agreement, prices are understood ex works Straubenhardt, loading on factory grounds included, but without packing. The statutory VAT needs to be added. The extra costs for packing, transport, postage and – where applicable – for insurance, customs duties etc. will be charged at original costs.

    5.2 The prices quoted in our catalogs and other sales documents are valid for the time of publication of the relevant sales documentation. Unless they explicitly become a subject matter of the contract, they shall not be binding. We therefore reserve the right to change prices after the catalog’s publication and before the conclusion of a contract.

    5.3 Prices quoted in our offers or order confirmations respectively are based on our calculation valid at the time of submission of a tender or order confirmation. We reserve the right to charge handling fees in the event of noncompliance to the PU. Orders for which no fixed prices have been agreed explicitly, will be charged at the list price (daily price) valid on the delivery date. If there is a period of more than four months between conclusion of contract and delivery date, and if a substantial change in our calculation should occur between conclusion of contract and delivery date which might lead to a price increase or decrease for our products of at least 10 % due to variations in commodity or material prices, material costs, staff salaries, energy costs, sales tax as well as customs duties, each contractual partner may demand a new pricing by way of negotiations, insofar as such variations of the aforementioned cost factors are related to the specific contract and the stated cost factors have a real effect on the price.

    5.4 Unless otherwise stipulated, invoices are due on the billing date and payable within 30 days after the date of invoicing without deduction. Payments must be made free of charges to the supplier’s paying agent. For payments within 14 days from invoicing, calculated from the billing date, the customer shall be entitled to deduct a discount in the amount of 2 % of the net invoice amount.

    5.5 If the customer has failed to meet his or her payment obligation within the term mentioned under paragraph 6, Sommer cable GmbH reserves the right to invoice the customer for the additional reminder fees and handling charges resulting thereof.

    5.6 If the customer is in default of payment, Sommer cable GmbH shall be entitled to charge default interest in the lawful amount. The right of Sommer cable GmbH to possibly claim further damages shall remain unaffected by this.

    5.7 We reserve the right to supply customers, notably new customers, on advance payment.

  • 6. Reservation of Ownership
    6.1 Sold goods shall remain our property until full settlement of all our current and future claims resulting from the purchase contract and our ongoing business relation (secured claims) with the customer.

    6.2 Prior to full payment of the secured claims, the goods supplied under reservation of title must neither be pawned to third parties nor pledged as security. The buyer has to inform us immediately by e-mail if and when third parties have seized the goods which are still our property.

    6.3 If the customer acts in breach of contract, especially in case of default in payment of the due purchase price, we shall be entitled in accordance with the legal regulations to withdraw from contract and demand that the goods be returned by reason of the title retention and the withdrawal. If the buyer fails to pay the due purchase price, we may enforce this contract only after a fruitless expiration of an appropriate payment deadline or if such setting of a deadline is dispensable according to the legal regulations.

    6.4 The buyer shall be entitled to resell and/or process the goods under reservation of ownership in the proper course of business. In that case the following supplementary provisions shall apply.

    a) The reservation of ownership shall be extendable onto such products created by processing, blending or merging of our goods for their full value, whereby we shall be regarded as the manufacturer. If in case of processing, blending or merging with third-party goods their right of ownership remains in force, we shall acquire joint property in relation to the invoice values of the processed, blended or merged goods. Apart from that, the same shall be applicable to the resulting product as to the goods supplied under reservation title.

    b) As security the buyer shall assign to us in advance those claims against third parties resulting from a resale of the goods or product in full or in the amount of our possible joint property share respectively, in accordance with the previous paragraph. The obligations of the buyer mentioned in paragraph 2 shall also apply in view of the assigned claims.

    c) The buyer shall remain authorized along with us to collect the outstanding debt. We commit ourselves not to collect the claim for as long as the buyer will perform his or her payment obligations towards us, not get into arrears, not file for insolvency proceedings and no other fault can be found with his or her financial solvency. Should this happen, however, the buyer shall be obliged to report to us the assigned claims and their debtors, to furnish all the particulars required for a collection, to hand over the corresponding documents and to notify the debtors (third parties) about the cession.

    d) Should the realizable value of the securities exceed our claims by more than 10 %, we will release securities at our own discretion if requested by the buyer.

    e) The orderer must notify us immediately about compulsory enforcement measures, above all garnishment, or other third-party seizures of the goods under reservation of title or the claims assigned in advance, by handing over the documents required for an intervention / action against execution. If the third party is not able to reimburse us for the judicial and / or extrajudicial costs incurred in this context, the buyer shall be held liable for this.

    f) Following a reminder we shall also be entitled to take back the goods supplied under reservation of title. In these cases the buyer is obliged to hand over to us the goods supplied under reservation of title.

    g) The enforcement of the reservation of property as well as the garnishment of the delivery item by us shall not be considered as an avoidance of contract. After the return of the goods we shall be authorized to dispose of them. The proceeds thereof less reasonable disposal costs shall be offset against the customer’s liabilities.

  • 7. Limited Warranty
    7.1 Buyer claims against Sommer cable GmbH, which are justified by a defective item, shall comply with the statutory provisions.

    7.2 The customer shall be bound to check the goods on receipt for possible defects and, in case that such a defect is found, to notify Sommer cable GmbH immediately about it. Should the customer notice at a later date that the goods is defective, he / she shall be obliged to inform Sommer cable GmbH about such a defect immediately after discovery of the same. If the customer fails to report a defect, the goods shall be considered as accepted.

    7.3 Damages to the goods, which the customer has caused by inappropriate use or handling contrary to the terms of contract, shall not be regarded as defects. The decisive factor for the inappropriateness and lack of conformity are the statements made by the goods manufacturer.

    7.4 Buyer claims for defects require that he / she has met his / her legal obligations to check for or give notice of defects.

  • 8. Liability
    8.1 In cases of intent or gross negligence Sommer cable GmbH shall be liable according to legal provisions. In cases of light negligence Sommer cable GmbH shall be liable as follows: for loss of life, physical injury or health damages or because of a violation of significant contractual obligations solely according to the provisions of the German Product Liability Act. However, the claim for damages in the event of light negligence of significant contractual obligations shall be limited to the contractually typical, foreseeable damage, unless we are liable for loss of life, physical injury or health damages. For the negligence of subcontractors and representatives Sommer cable GmbH shall be liable to the same extent.

    8.2 The provision contained in the above paragraph (8.1) extends to the compensation of damages in addition to performance, the compensation of damages in lieu of performance and also the compensation claim for wasted expenses, for whatever legal reason, including the liability for defects, delay or impossibility.

  • 9. Statute of Limitation
    In derogation from § 438 subparagraph 1 no. 3 BGB the general statute of limitation for claims arising from material defects and defects of title shall be one year as of delivery unless an extended warranty period for the respective product is specified on the packaging or in the product information.

  • 10. Data Protection
    10.1 In accordance with § 33 BDSG we shall be authorized to store customer data within the scope of legal provisions, especially of the Federal Data Protection Act, and use them for in-house processing.

    10.2 Contract effective communication between Sommer cable GmbH and the customer: Sommer cable GmbH may notify the customer by e-mail in a legally binding form about changes to the Terms & Conditions, the price list or important technical circumstances. Our privacy policy is available on our website under the section Contact / Data Protection.

  • 11. Documents, Third-Party Property Rights, Copyrights
    11.1 The buyer shall be solely responsible for the correctness of the documents to be provided by him / her, in particular of samples, drawings etc. If the buyer furnishes particulars as to dimensions, weight, performance or the like, these need to be confirmed by us via e-mail.

    11.2 It lies solely in the responsibility of the buyer to verify if the documents provided to us by him / her constitute an infringement of third-party rights, notably industrial property rights and copyrights. Should we be sued by third parties for the utilization, use or reproduction of the documents and submittals, which were provided to us by the buyer because of the infringement of copyrights or industrial property rights or because of a violation of the Unfair Competition Act, the buyer shall be obliged to support us with the defense against such recourse. Moreover he / she has to reimburse us for any and all damages incurred as a result including the attorney’s fees and legal costs.

    11.3 The contents and works on these web pages compiled by the website operators are subject to the German copyright law. Any duplication, processing, dissemination and any type of utilization beyond the bounds of the copyright law will require the written consent of the respective author or creator. Downloads and copies of this site are only permitted for private, non-commercial use. Where the contents on this site have not been compiled by the operator, third party copyrights shall be heeded. In particular third party contents will be marked as such. Should you nevertheless become aware of a copyright infringement, we request appropriate information. As soon as infringements have been brought to our knowledge, we will immadiately remove such contents.

  • 12. Contents and Links on our Websites
    12.1 The contents on our internet sites have been compiled with utmost care. However, we cannot assume liability for the correctness, completeness and up-to-dateness of these contents. As a service provider we are responsible for our own contents on these sites according to § 7 subparagraph 1 TMG [Telemedia Act] in pursuance of the general legal provisions. On the other hand, according to §§ 8 to 10 TMG we, in our capacity as service provider, are not obliged to monitor conveyed or stored external information or to search for circumstances indicating an illegal activity. Obligations for removing information or blocking their utilization in accordance with the general legal provisions shall not be affected thereby. However, a liability in this regard can only be assumed from the time of knowledge of a concrete infringement. As soon as such infringements have been brought to our knowledge, we will immadiately remove those contents.

    12.2 The offer on our homepage www.sommercable.com contains links to external third party websites, the contents of which we have no influence on.

    12.3 Therefore we cannot assume any liability for such external contents. For the contents of the linked sites the respective supplier or operator shall be responsible by all means.

    12.4 The linked sites were checked for possible legal infringements at the time of linking. Illegal contents were not identifiable at the time of linking. However, a permanent content control of the linked sites without concrete indications of a legal infringement is unacceptable. As soon as infringements have been brought to our knowledge, we will immadiately remove such links.

  • 13. Place of Performance; Place of Jurisdiction
    13.1 The place of performance for all obligations resulting from the contractual relationship and the place of jurisdiction shall be the registered office of Sommer cable GmbH in Straubenhardt/Germany

    13.2 To all disputes which may arise from this legal relationship, German Law shall be applicable. The application of UN sales law is hereby excluded.

  • 14. Validity of the General Terms & Conditions
    Placing an order via our online shop is only possible after prior acceptance of our General Terms & Conditions (click and accept). If some of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions or a provision within the framework of other agreements relating to the contracts be or become ineffective, the validity of all other provisions or agreements shall not be affected thereby.

* incl. tax, plus shipping, without trade discount.