General Terms of Delivery

1. Area of validity

  1. These terms of delivery apply to contracts of BRITA SE and its affiliated companies ("BRITA" or "we") with customers for the delivery of movable goods ("goods" or "product(s)"). They also apply mutatis mutandis to works and services.
  2. Our deliveries, services and offers are made exclusively in accordance with these terms. They also apply to all future transactions even if they are not expressly agreed again. Customer acknowledgements referring to his own business and/or purchasing terms shall not become part of the contract.
  3.  Our delivery terms shall only apply to contractors under the terms of § 310 para.1 BGB

2. Quotations and conclusion of the contract

  1. Our offers are non-binding, unless the binding nature of the offer has been expressly indicated; this also applies to the presentation of goods in the online shop. Contracts are only concluded when we accept the customer's order (offer) by means of a written order confirmation or our delivery, in which case the invoice replaces the order confirmation.
  2. Drawings, illustrations, dimensions, weights or other performance characteristics are only binding if this has been agreed in writing.
  3.  We reserve ownership rights and copyright to quotation documents, illustrations, drawings, calculations and other documentation. They may not be passed on to third parties.
  4. Documents that are marked "confidential" must be kept secret. The customer requires our express written permission before passing them onto a third party.

3. Prices, payment terms, charging, retention

  1. Prices are ex-works plus the currently applicable statutory sales tax.
  2. Unless otherwise stated we shall be bound by the prices contained in our quotations marked as binding for four weeks from the date of the quotation. 
  3. Unless otherwise agreed our invoices are payable without deduction 30 days after the invoice has been issued. This period is calculated by the date we receive the payment.
    Notwithstanding the customer's other provisions we shall be entitled to set payments off first of all against earlier debts and will inform the customer of the method use to allocate payment. Should costs and interest already have arisen we shall be entitled to set off the payment first of all against the costs, then against the interest and finally against the principal service.
  4. The deduction of a discount requires a special written agreement.
  5. Should the customer fall behind with payments we shall be entitled to demand interest of 8% above the basic annual interest rate from the relevant date (§ 247 BGB). The possibility of our asserting further claims against the customer remains unaffected by this.
  6. Should we become aware of circumstances that cast doubt on the customer's creditworthiness, particularly if a cheque and/or a bill of exchange is not honoured, we shall be entitled to make the remaining debt payable, even if we have accepted cheques. In this case we shall also be entitled to demand pre-payments or some form of security.
  7. The customer shall only be entitled to set off rights if his counter claims have been legally established or recognised by us. He is also only entitled to exercise his right to retention insofar as his counter claim is based on the same contractual relationship and has been legally established, indisputed or has been acknowledged by us.
  8. When using the payment method SEPA Direct Debit Mandate, we undertake to send you advance notice at least 2 calendar days before the due date.

4. Delivery period, partial deliveries, trading units, acceptance default

  1. Delivery dates or periods require written confirmation from us if they are to be binding. In all other cases delivery dates or periods are non-binding.
  2. The delivery period will be observed as long as we receive the right supplies at the correct time. We shall notify the customer as soon as possible should delays arise.
  3. We shall be entitled to make partial deliveries or perform partial services at any time.
  4. We reserve the right to round the customer's order quantities up or down to complete trading units.
  5. Observing our delivery and performance obligations requires the customer to fulfil his obligations properly and in good time.
  6. Should the customer delay acceptance or should he infringe other obligations to co-operate, we shall be entitled to demand any damages arising including any additional expenses. In this case the risk of any accidental loss or any accidental deterioration in the article purchased shall pass to the customer for the period for which he delays acceptance.

5. Transfer of risk

  1. Goods shall be transported or collected after consultation with the customer.
  2. The risk is transferred to the customer as soon as the consignment has been transferred to the person who is to deal with transportation or as soon as it has left our stores (ex ramp) for despatch (delivery date). Should the despatch be impossible through no fault of our own the risk is transferred to the customer when he is notified that the goods are ready for despatch.

6. Claims for defects

  1. Should there be a defect in the item purchased for which we are responsible the customer shall be entitled to demand a remedy within a reasonable time.
  2. Claims for defects by the customer presuppose that he has carried out the testing obligations and complied with the obligation to notify defects in time in accordance with § 377 HGB.
  3. The notice of defect shall be sent to us in writing as soon as a defect has been detected.
    Claims by the customer for expenses required for remedying the defect, in particular transport, despatch, labour and material costs shall be precluded if costs increase because the purchased item was taken to a place other than the place of fulfilment unless this complied with its use according to the regulations.
  4. Should the second remedy fail after a reasonable time and/or it is not possible or reasonable to make a replacement delivery, the customer may demand either a reduction in the price or cancellation of the contract. Claims for damages may only be made under the provisions of Clause 8 of these General Delivery Terms.
  5. No claims for defects may be made for insignificant defects and for natural wear and tear.
  6. Claims for defects may only be made within 12 (twelve) months of delivery.
  7. The above provisions only include claims for defects in the purchased item and exclude other claims for defects of any kind.

7. Installation of the goods at third parties

If the goods are resold by the customer to a third party and installed there, the customer shall be liable for ensuring that the installation is carried out professionally and in accordance with the state of the art. The customer shall be fully liable to BRITA for all costs incurred by BRITA as a result of BRITA remedying installation defects for which the customer is responsible at the request of the third party or the customer.

8. Industrial property rights and copyright

  1. Should claims be made against the customer for infringing commercial protection rights or a copyright as a result of his use of the purchased article within a year of delivery we shall be obliged to procure for the customer the right to continued use. A requirement for this shall be that the customer shall inform us immediately in writing of any third party claims and we reserve the right to take any defensive measures and any out of court measures. Under these terms should further use of the item not be possible under economically defensible terms, it shall be considered agreed that we shall either convert the item to eliminate the deficiency in title or replace or withdraw the item and refund the purchase price paid to us less an amount to cover the age of the purchase.
  2. Claims against us are precluded if rights infringements are caused because the purchased item was not used in the manner provided for in the contract. Moreover the provisions as set out in Clause 9 shall apply.
  3. We assume no liability for infringements of rights by the purchased item if has been produced based on construction documents or other specifications provided by the customer.

9. Limitation of liability

We shall only be liable for damages, for whatever legal reason,

  1. for malice aforethought
  2. for gross negligence
  3. for culpable injury to life, body, health
  4. for defects that we have concealed maliciously or whose absence we have guaranteed
  5. according to the Product Liability Act.

For a culpable infringement of essential contractual obligations we shall also be liable for slight negligence but limited to damages that are typical of the contract and which could have been reasonably foreseen.

Further claims are precluded.

10. Retention of title

  1. The goods remain our property (goods subject to reservation of title) until all payments have been made (including any balancing payments from the current account) that are due to us from the customer for any legal reason either now or in the future. Finishing or re-modelling is always carried out for us as the manufacturer but without any obligation for us. We shall be entitled to joint ownership of the new article in the ratio of the value of the goods subject to reservation of title (invoice value) to the new article. In this case the customer shall keep the article safe for us free of charge. Should the customer resell the new article Clause 10.3 shall apply to this accordingly. We undertake to release the securities we are entitled to on request either in whole or in part if their value exceeds our claims permanently by more than 20%.
  2. Provided that the customer receives payment from his customer in turn or makes the proviso that title only passes to his customer when he has fulfilled his payment obligations he is entitled to process and dispose of the goods subject to reservation of title properly as long as he is not in arrears. Pledging or security transfers of title are not permitted. The customer is obliged to insure the goods subject to reservation of title against all normal risks. The customer shall cede to us immediately as a precaution all receivables relating to the goods subject to reservation of title arising from reselling or for any other legal reason (insurance, unauthorised action). We authorise the customer to collect the receivables ceded to us in their own name for our account. This may be cancelled at any time. This authorisation to collect payments may only be cancelled if the customer does not comply properly with his payment obligations.
  3. With third party access to the goods subject to reservation of title, especially in the event of impoundment, the customer shall indicate our title and inform us immediately so that we may assert our rights to title. Should the third party not be in a position to refund any court or out of court costs arising from this the customer shall be liable for these.

11. Installation, repairs and other services

The following also applies to installations, repairs and other services if agreed in the individual contract:

  1. With deliverables risk is transferred to the customer as soon as they are inspected and accepted. Our deliverables are considered accepted 2 weeks after our notification that they are ready to be inspected unless the customer complains about major existing defects in writing within this period.
  2. The customer shall instruct our personnel about safety regulations and risks at his own expense and to take all the necessary measures to protect people and property in the work place. The customer shall support our personnel as required when carrying out the work at his own expense and shall provide any necessary assistance.
  3. The customer's auxiliary services must guarantee that our work can be started as soon as our personnel arrive and can be carried out without delays until inspection and acceptance.
  4. Should the customer not fulfil his obligations we shall be entitled, but not obliged, to carry out the actions that are the customer's responsibility instead of him and at his expense.
  5. If a service is not performed for reasons for which we are not responsible the customer shall pay for the services we have already performed and any costs arising.
  6. When parts are replaced the replaced parts become our property.
  7. Should the service founder or be downgraded through no fault of our own before acceptance, the customer shall pay the price less any costs saved.
  8. Repair periods are only binding if they have been confirmed by us in writing.
  9. With installations, repairs and other services the customer shall be entitled to a reduction as set out in legal provisions if - taking into consideration the legal exception cases - during the delay a reasonable period set for us to perform the service elapses without the services being performed. There is also the right to demand a reduction in other cases where defects have failed to be remedied. The customer is only entitled to withdraw if the installations, repairs and other services are demonstrably no use to the customer in spite of the reduction.

12. Confidentiality    

If there is no express agreement to the contrary, the information supplied to us in connection with orders shall not be considered confidential. 

13. Data protection    

If you provide your e-mail address when placing an order, we will use it to contact you by e-mail with commercial information, offers and beneficial promotions for BRITA products and services customised to you personally and your interests or use without any separate consent. If you do not wish to receive such commercial e-mails, you have the right to object to the processing of your data for direct marketing at any time with future effect and without any costs (cf. also section 2.5, Art. 21 para. 2 and 3 of the GDPR); the lawfulness of the data processing remains unaffected up to the time of your objection. You can object to the processing of your data for direct marketing at the time of placing your order or any time later by sending us an e-mail to info@brita.net (subject “Objection of processing of my data for direct marketing”) or you can object any time by using the “unsubscribe” option integrated in every commercial e-mail you will receive from us (the unsubscribe option is placed in the footer of our commercial e-mails).

14. General provisions

  1. The purchased good is subject to registration and is intended only for use or consumption in the country to which it is delivered.
  2. Should a provision of these terms and the further agreements made be or become invalid, the validity of the other terms shall not be affected by this. The contractual partners shall undertake to replace the invalid provision with a ruling as close as possible to the desired economic result.
  3. If the customer is a businessman under the terms of the Commercial Code, a legal person in public law or a separate estate governed by public law, the place of the registered office of BRITA shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising directly or indirectly from the contractual relationship unless another place of jurisdiction is compulsorily prescribed. 
  4. German law applies exclusively to the contractual relationships between us and the customer excluding the law of conflicts and United Nations' convention on contracts for the international sale of goods (CISG).

Version: April 2021