General terms and conditions

Section 1 Scope

The following Terms and Conditions (T&C) apply exclusively to all current and future legal relationships between the company Schneider Chauffeurservice (SC) and its customers. Where these T&C are inconsistent with the T&C of the customer or other third parties with whom SC enters into a business relationship, these T&C shall take precedence. The customer’s terms and conditions of business shall not apply, even if they are not contradicted by SC in each individual case. Deviations from these T&C shall only be effective if they have been confirmed by SC in writing.

Section 2 Offer and conclusion of a contract

All offers submitted by SC are subject to change and non-binding. SC must confirm declarations of acceptance and all orders in writing for them to acquire legal effectiveness. The same applies to additions, amendments and ancillary agreements. The employees of the company SC and subcontractors are not authorised to enter into verbal ancillary agreements or to provide verbal assurances that exceed the scope of the written contract. A contract enters into force upon written confirmation of the order by SC. SC shall provide immediate order confirmation in most cases, but on all accounts within 7 days at the latest. Contracts also enter force if SC performs the commissioned services. When placing the order, the client is obliged to notify SC of all material factors for the performance of the contract, in particular the dates, pick-up and destination address, number of passengers and the type and amount of luggage/transported items. Where animals shall be transported under the supervision of passengers or on their own, the species and breed must be stated on all accounts. It is helpful if the client provides mobile telephone numbers for passengers in order to facilitate organisation at crowded locations such as airports and railway stations etc. SC reserves the right to check creditworthiness prior to entering into a contract.

Section 3 Price

Prices are exclusive of value-added tax. The current price list shall apply as amended, except where otherwise agreed. For the event that an alternative agreement is made, SC shall be bound to the prices stated in the offer for 30 days from the offer date. The prices quoted in the order confirmation are authoritative. The valid rate of value-added tax will be stated in all cases. Additional services will be charged separately. The invoice will be presented promptly after booking or completion of the service. The customer must settle the invoice in full within the period stated on the invoice. Employees are not authorised to collect payments.

Section 4 Object of the contract and exclusions from transportation

Persons, animals, products and documents are transported by means of a state-of-the-art transportation service. Each vehicle is insured as follows pursuant to the Terms and Conditions for Motor Vehicle Insurance (AKB):
A lump sum of €100 million for property damage and financial losses. The insurance provides cover of up to €8 million per person in the event of personal damage. Persons and products that present a danger to safety and public order are excluded from transportation. Passengers who have already entered the vehicle may also be excluded from transportation if
they present a clear danger to safety or orderly performance of the transportation service. Hazardous substances and objects, in particular explosive, highly flammable, radioactive, malodorous or caustic substances, as well as unpackaged or unprotected goods, that may cause injuries to passengers are also excluded from transportation in all cases. All items of luggage must be placed in the boot or the luggage compartment of the vehicle. The driver may refuse to transport items of luggage that do not fit into the boot or if there are too many items for them to be transported safely.
Animals are transported as a rule, when under the supervision of a passenger. Notwithstanding, they may be placed in the vehicle in such a way as to ensure safety and orderly performance of the transportation service. By way of exception, there is no obligation to transport animals under the supervision of a passenger if the danger presented by the animal, or the driver’s fear of the animal, would impair the driver’s ability to operate the vehicle safely. Documents shall be considered delivered upon handover at the designated address or to employees or assistants, except where personal handover has been agreed in advance. The customer must treat the vehicle with care and adhere to all regulations and technical rules that are applicable to its use. The driver’s instructions must be obeyed in all cases. Smoking is always prohibited in the SC vehicles. SC reserves the right in extreme cases to refuse transportation of persons who are not sound of mind. This contract may be terminated with immediate effect and without separate notice in the event of infringements of these T&C or improper behaviour. In most cases, however, the driver will first caution the passenger. SC retains its claim to remuneration for the entire agreed period, less saved expenses, in these instances. Moreover, SC shall be entitled to claim indemnification for damages caused directly by the customer though improper behaviour toward the vehicle, as well as to claim indemnification from the individual client insofar as they are not one and the same. They shall be jointly and severally liable in these cases. Liability shall also apply if the client is not at fault. Where vehicles belonging to the customer are used, the customer shall release SC from any liability to the extent permitted by law. The following cancellation fees shall be charged insofar as the client withdraws from the contract or in the event of no-shows:

For individual car/minibus transfers or single and multi-day bookings:

  • Cancellation up to 48 hours prior to the first day of the order: no charge
  • Cancellation between 48 hours and 12 hours prior to the first day of the order: 50% of the order value
  • Cancellation less than 12 hours prior to the first day of the order: 100% of the order value

The time at which written cancellation is received by SC shall be authoritative for the time of cancellation. The customer must pay the agreed price in full in the event of a no-show.

Section 5 Liability

The liability of SC for the violation of contractual obligations or for tort is limited to wilful intent and gross negligence and, in dealings with customers that enter into a contract with SC as business customers (= natural and legal persons or judicable partnerships acting in pursuit of their commercial or self-employed professional activities upon conclusion of the contract), to the replacement of typical damages. This does not apply to injury to the customer’s life, limb and health or to claims that are exercised in regard to the infringement of material obligations. SC shall be fully liable in these cases. Notwithstanding, liability for the infringement of material obligations shall be limited to typically foreseeable damage. This is without prejudice to the strict liability pursuant to the Road Transport Law (StVG). The customer shall not have a claim to performance of the contract insofar as SC is unable to adhere to an agreed appointment due to technical breakdown, force majeure, emergencies due to the weather or legal restrictions (e.g. smog etc.). The customer shall be reimbursed for all prepayments.
SC is entitled to provide a replacement vehicle in the event of a technical breakdown. The customer shall not be entitled to exercise any further claims. SC is released from its liability where an overrun in the duration of transportation is caused by circumstances that were unavoidable even by exercising the utmost diligence and the consequences of which were inevitable.

Section 6 Notice of claims and limitation period

The customer must provide written notice of damage and other claims without delay after completion of transportation. Where damage cannot be detected immediately, written notice of these claims must be submitted within three days of order completion. Should adherence by the customer to this short notice period be unreasonable in individual cases, the customer must report the claims without delay. The burden of proof that adhering to the notice period would be unreasonable rests with the customer.

Section 7 Place of jurisdiction, applicable law, written form requirement

Where the customer does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany or another Member State of the EU, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes in connection with this contract shall be the domicile of SC, therefore Essen. Where the customer is a registered business, the place of jurisdiction shall also be the domicile of SC, therefore Essen, although SC shall be entitled to file suit against the customer at its general place of jurisdiction. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies to this contract. Verbal assurances shall only be effective if they are confirmed in writing by SC.

Section 8 Secrecy

We undertake to maintain absolute discretion in regard to insight that we obtain about customers during our collaboration based on the contractual agreement. We undertake furthermore to require our employees and partners to enter into an equivalent secrecy undertaking. This secrecy undertaking is not time-limited and does not end upon completion of this contract. The secrecy undertaking does not extend to information that was in the public domain upon conclusion of the contract or that entered the public domain thereafter for reasons that do not constitute an infringement of this secrecy undertaking.

Section 9 Data protection

Kindly take note that personal data is stored for the performance of the contract and is transferred to third parties for compliance with legal obligations or when necessary for performance of the contract. Additional use or transfer does not take place.

Section 10 Severability clause

The invalidity of any provision contained in these T&C shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions. The Parties undertake to replace any invalid provision with a provision that most closely resembles the original clause and its commercial purpose.