Terms and Conditions

The following general terms and conditions shall apply to both business conducted between merchants as well as to contracts entered into between businessman and consumer in the sense of the distance selling directive (Fernabsatzgesetz). Any diverging agreements, in particular contradictory general terms and conditions by the purchaser, are subject to the Publisher’s express written agreement.

  • General Terms of Payment and Delivery (Incl. Cancellation Policy)
  • General terms of use for eBooks
  • Model Withdrawal Form

General Terms of Payment and Delivery (Incl. Cancellation Policy) Concerning the Book and Periodical Distribution Sector of Hogrefe Publishing GmbH

I. General Terms

Prices in Germany are quoted in EURO, including value-added tax, unless otherwise stipulated. For shipments from Germany to foreign countries prices are quoted in EURO, excluding value-added tax.

Quotations and services as well as any other statements or agreements shall be binding for the Publisher only if made in writing or confirmed by the Publisher.

Prices agreed apply to the respective contract only in accordance with regulations for the control of prices.

Part shipments are allowed, whereby the respective dispatch cost rate incurred in each case will be charged.

Claims concerning goods delivered and received damaged shall be made known in writing by the purchaser within eight days from receipt of shipment. Any claim must include the date, type of delivery of goods and the relevant invoice.

II. Terms of Payment

Baring any other agreement, all deliveries are against cash payment. Should goods be supplied on account payment for such shipment is due immediately, without deduction and free of expense, on receipt, payable Period of payment shall be considered adhered to if the money is available to the Publisher within the time limit stipulated. The Publisher may also decide to offset payments against any other accounts still outstanding. Cheques and drafts, insofar as payment by draft has been arranged, will be accepted as payment. The purchaser shall immediately refund to the Publisher any discounts and collecting fees both for cheques and drafts as well as interest. Offsetting or retention by the purchaser is not permitted unless such offsetting or retention is undisputed or its validity has been established. The Publisher shall be entitled to prevent the execution of right of retention by lodging of security, including guaranty. Should the purchaser be in default, wholly or in part and irrespective of any other rights of the Publisher, he shall be liable to pay interest on arrears amounting to 5% per annum over and above the discount rate of the European Central Bank as per § 1 of the Discount Rate Transference Act (Diskontsatz-Überleitungsgesetz), insofar as the Publisher is unable to prove greater loss.

Deductions for postage and shipping are not allowed. Payments free of expense and with the effect of a full discharge may only be made to the Publisher to one of the bank accounts stipulated. Should the purchaser suspend payment, or in the event of excessive debt or else insolvency proceedings be applied for or if the purchaser is in default with a draft, in such an event the Publisher’s total claim shall be due immediately. In such events the Publisher shall be entitled to demand adequate provision of security or to terminate the contract.

III. Retention of Ownership

All goods supplied shall remain the property of the Publisher until such time as any claims against the purchaser have been met in full. Pledging or assignment as security of the conditional commodity is not permissible.

In the event of resale of conditional commodity, admissible within the scope of regular business activities, the purchaser hereby assigns to the Publisher as security any future claims against his customer which he incurs from resale or leasing until full settlement of any claims by the Publisher, without the need for further special declarations. The assignment shall cover any account balances resulting from an existing open account relationship or from termination of such relationship between the purchaser and his customer. Should the conditional commodity be sold or leased together with other items, without a unit price having been agreed for the conditional commodity, the purchaser shall assign to the supplier in priority to the remaining debts such portion of the total price, respectively the total lease price, equivalent to the value of the conditional commodity invoiced by the Publisher. Until revoked, the purchaser shall be entitled to collect the assigned claims resulting from resale or leasing. However, he shall not be entitled to dispose of these in any other manner, e.g. by assignment. On demand of the Publisher the purchaser shall be obliged to advise of the assignment and to submit the necessary documents to the Publisher, e.g. invoices and necessary information, proving his claims against the customer. The purchaser shall be responsible for any collection charges and possible interventions. Should the purchaser receive drafts based on the authorisation conferred upon him to collect the assigned claims resulting from resale, ownership of such documents with vested title shall devolve as security to the Publisher. Delivery of the drafts will be replaced by the agreement that the purchaser agrees to take these into safe custody on behalf of the supplier and in turn delivers same endorsed and without delay to the Publisher. Should the purchaser or his bank receive cheques covering the counter value of the claims assigned to the Publisher, the purchaser shall immediately advise of such receipt of payments and pay over such amounts. Ownership of the cheques together with vested title shall pass to the Publisher as soon as these have been received by the purchaser. Delivery of the documents shall be replaced by the agreement that the purchaser will retain the documents on behalf of the supplier and will deliver the endorsed documents to the Publisher without delay.

Should the purchaser, totally or in part, be in default of his obligation to pay or in the payment of a draft or cheque or in the event of excessive debt or suspension of payment or if a voluntary petition in bankruptcy or insolvency proceedings has been filed the Publisher shall be entitled to repossess any goods still subject to retention of ownership. In addition, he may immediately assert further rights pertaining to retention of ownership. The same shall apply to any other significant worsening of the purchaser’s financial situation. In such an event the purchaser shall grant the Publisher or his representatives access to his entire business premises during business hours. Demanding return or repossession of goods does not constitute rescission of contract. The Publisher shall be entitled to use the conditional commodity with the appropriate care of a sound businessman and to satisfy any of the outstanding claims from the sale of such goods.

Should the value of the security overall exceed the Publisher’s claims against the purchaser in the current business relations by more than 20%, the Publisher shall be obliged, on demand of the purchaser, to release the securities to which he is entitled at his discretion.

IV. Warranty

If the purchase is a commercial deal for both parties the purchaser shall check the goods immediately on receipt, insofar as is practical according to proper business operations, and in the event of defect report this without delay to the Publisher. In the absence of any such report the goods shall be deemed accepted unless it is a defect which was not discernible at the time of checking the goods. Otherwise §§ 377 ff. HGB (German Commercial Code) shall apply to the commercial sector. It is at the Publisher’s discretion to limit any warranty claims to either rectification or replacement of goods. Should such rectification or replacement fail the purchaser shall be entitled to demand, at his discretion, reduction of compensation or cancellation of contract. Shipping costs are charged ex works, respectively ex warehouse.

V. Cancellation Policy

Consumers have a statutory right to withdraw from the contract. A consumer is any natural person concluding a legal transaction for a purpose that can be attributed neither to this person’s commercial nor to his or her self-employed professional activities (§ 13 BGB, German Civil Code).

Right of Withdrawal
You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the last lot or piece. To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Hogrefe Publishing GmbH, Herbert-Quandt-Str. 4, D-37081 Göttingen; Telefon: 0551/99950-950; Fax: 0551/99950-955; E-Mail: distribution@hogrefe.de) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory. To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of Withdrawal
If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement. We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired. You will have to bear the direct cost of returning the goods.

You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

-End of the cancellation.-

The cancellation policy is not applicable to goods that were manufactured in accordance with the customer’s specifications or tailor-made to the customer’s individual needs or which are not suitable for returning due to their intrinsic nature. Moreover, the cancellation policy is not applicable to distance selling contracts for the delivery of audio or video recordings or software, if the storage media have been unsealed by the customer. Furthermore, the cancellation policy is not applicable to the conclusion of subscriptions, unless the value of the subscription exceeds EUR 200, as well as the delivery of individual periodicals.

VI. Additional Terms

Periodical subscriptions will be renewed for a further twelve months unless cancelled eight weeks before the end of the current year of subscription. Returns not authorised by the Publisher shall be returned at purchaser’s expense and risk or – at the discretion of the Publisher – will be credited at a 10% increased discount. Any returns shall be sent free house by the purchaser. Return shipments will then be made at the expense and risk of purchaser/customer.

VII. Place of Fulfilment and Jurisdiction

If the purchaser is a merchant, Göttingen is exclusive place of jurisdiction including for proceedings concerning cheques and drafts. The same place of jurisdiction shall apply if the purchaser at the time of initiating legal proceedings does not maintain a general place of jurisdiction in Germany. However, the purchaser shall be entitled to call upon any court applicable. The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply. The Hague Convention of 01.07.1964 concerning uniform laws governing international sales and the United Nations’ Agreement of 11.04.1980 regarding agreements concerning international sales of movable objects do not apply.

General terms of use for eBooks

1. Usage Rights, Third-Party Access, Duplication, Printing, Storage

The purchaser is granted a single, nontransferable license for his or her personal use of the E-book and all related files.

The purchaser is not authorized to grant access to the E-book, in whole or in part, to any third party, in particular, to sublicense, to transfer, to timeshare, or to rent out the E-book.

Making the E-book available on the Internet or in other networks, reselling the E-book, and/or any use for commercial purposes is not permitted.  

Making copies or printouts and storing a backup copy of the E-book on another device is permitted for private, personal use only. This must not give rise to third-party access.

Inclusion of the E-book, in whole or in part, in a purchaser’s own print or online publication is not permitted.

Copying of E-book contents is only permitted for private purposes and only in the form of excerpts.

The above conditions also apply to any audio, video, or other files that accompany the E-book.

2. Content Alteration, Third-Party Rights

Barring differing compelling legal obligations, the E-book may not be altered by the purchaser in form or content in any way. The purchaser is not authprized to create derivative works based on the contents of the E-book, nor to use these contents in any way that would infringe the copyrights in this material.

Any proprietary or copyright notices, disclaimers, digital watermarks, trademarks, onscreen notices, labels, or other marks must not be removed or suppressed from the E-book in any way.

3. Registration, Access Details

The purchaser is provided with login credentials upon registration with the Hogrefe webshop. Access to the licensed E-books is via the customer account. Registration is via e-mail address (user name) and password. Registration is only possible when all mandatory fields are completed truthfully. Multiple registrations are not permitted.

The password must be kept secure by the purchaser. It must not be passed on to third parties. If a purchaser becomes aware of anything that indicates that a third party may have acquired access to his or her password or may actually be using it, the purchaser must change the password immediately or request the publisher to do so.

4. Accessibility

The publisher makes no warranties as to continuous unlimited access to the licensed E-books. Disruptions or service failures cannot be ruled out.

The publisher reserves the right to alter, expand, limit, or discontinue the environment in which E-books are made available and to remove data at any time and without further notice. The publisher accepts no liability for data losses.

5. Misuse

The publisher reserves the right to investigate occurrences of suspected unauthorized use or other contract violations and to take appropriate action, in particular, to deny the purchaser further access to the licensed E-books, either in full or in part, temporarily or, in case of major violations, permanently.

Hogrefe Publishing GmbH, August 2014

Model Withdrawal Form

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

Hogrefe Publishing GmbH

Contact
  • +49 551 99950 950
  • +49 551 99950 955 (Fax)
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Address

Herbert-Quandt-Str. 4

37081 Göttingen
Germany