General Terms and Conditions

Conditions for the recovery and towing of motor vehicles, vehicles and trailers, the storage of loads and the provision of breakdown assistance (towing conditions 2017)

I. Placing an order
The client places the order on the basis of German law by signing an order form, unless the circumstances of the individual case make this impossible. The order form lists the conditions that are decisive for the calculation of the order. If the client is a consumer, he must be informed of his right of withdrawal. The client must declare his express consent if the contractor begins to carry out the order before the end of the withdrawal period. The right of withdrawal expires when the contract is fully fulfilled.

The client must be given a copy of the order form and given access to the price list.

II. Execution of the order
1. The client must conscientiously and completely answer all questions from the contractor or his representative about the circumstances important for the execution of the order and must draw attention to exceptional circumstances on his own initiative.

The contractor must carry out the order as quickly as possible in accordance with the rules of modern breakdown assistance, recovery and towing technology, using the emergency vehicles and equipment that are necessary and suitable under the circumstances, in the most cost-effective way for the client.

2. If the client has not specified a location to which his vehicle should be taken, the contractor must store the object of the order on his premises or give it to a reliable third party for safekeeping on a site close to the accident or breakdown site. In this case, the client must bear the costs of storage and otherwise make immediate arrangements for the vehicle’s further whereabouts.

3. If the object of the order is brought to the contractor’s premises on the client’s instructions, but it is not determined whether a parking space is to be rented there or whether the object of the order is to be taken into custody, the contractor will store the object of the order at the client’s expense.

4. If an order cannot be completed successfully because the object of the order has already been removed in another way, the contractor is entitled to reimbursement of his expenses.

If the order cannot be carried out due to the fault of the client, the contractor is entitled to the full fee.

III. Calculation of the order fee
1. The order fee is calculated based on the price list on which the order is based and with precise details of any special services. Deviations from the price lists are only valid if a special agreement has been made.

2. The deployment time begins when the emergency vehicle leaves the contractor’s premises with the aim of immediately completing the order. It ends when the vehicle is ready for the next deployment at the premises. The deployment time is billed by the hour. The first hour of deployment is paid in full. Every additional half hour is billed as a full half hour.

3. In the case of order fees that are not regulated in detail, the prices that were determined to be customary in the industry in the last price and structure survey conducted by the Association of Recovery and Towing Companies (VBA) apply.

IV. Payment
1. The order fee is due for payment after the order has been carried out and after an invoice has been presented in which the individual services are specified. The contractor is entitled to request an appropriate partial amount as a down payment. In the case of foreign vehicles, he is entitled to request advance payment of the work fee.

2. Payments must generally be made in cash or by an agreed means of payment.

3. Set-off against counterclaims is excluded unless the counterclaim is undisputed or has been legally established.

4. From the due date, the contractor is entitled to interest of 5 percentage points above the ECB base rate for consumers and 9 percentage points above the ECB base rate for commercial customers in accordance with Section 288 Paragraph 2 of the German Civil Code.

V. Lien and right of retention
1. The contractor is entitled to an agreed lien in accordance with §§ 1204 ff. of the German Civil Code (BGB) due to his claims from the order or related storage of the object of the order.

If the order fee due is not paid when the specified destination is reached, the contractor is entitled to take the object of the order to a company site and store it at the client’s expense based on his lien.

2. If the client is in arrears with the payment of the order fee or storage costs for more than one calendar month, the contractor is entitled to sell the pledge. If he wishes to exercise this right, a notification sent by registered mail to the client’s last known address is sufficient to threaten to sell the pledge, provided that a new address cannot be determined by information from the residents’ registration office.

3. In addition, the contractor is entitled to a right of retention in accordance with Section 273 of the German Civil Code (BGB) if the wages due are not paid when the specified destination is reached or if the fee for storing the object of the order is not paid.
If the contractor exercises his right of retention, the additional costs of storage and safekeeping must also be paid.
VI. Liability
1. The contractor is liable to the client for compensation for any damage caused to him during the execution of the order, unless the damage is due to circumstances that the contractor or his agent could not prevent despite exercising the necessary care. Liability is limited – except in cases of intent or gross negligence – to a maximum amount of € 500,000 per damaging event. The contractor’s liability is governed by the provisions on freight business (Sections 407 ff. of the German Commercial Code), unless these General Terms and Conditions provide otherwise.

2. In the event of liability on the part of the contractor according to §§ 407 ff. HGB, this is limited to a maximum amount of two special drawing rights (SDR) per kilogram of damaged or lost goods. Insofar as the contractor is liable for damages caused by exceeding the delivery deadline, liability is limited to the simple amount of the freight; this does not apply if the client is a consumer. The contractor is not liable for damage to property or personal injury that is not caused by loss or damage to the freight or exceeding the delivery deadline; this does not apply if such damage was caused intentionally or through gross negligence by the contractor, his staff or the people he uses to carry out the order.

3. The contractor must immediately notify the client of any damage or loss to objects and items that are in his care. The client is also obliged to immediately notify the contractor of any damage and loss for which the contractor is liable and to specify them precisely.

4. If it is necessary to cause damage to the object of the order or to the legal interests of third parties in order to achieve the success of the order, the client shall release the contractor from any liability for damages in this regard.

It is necessary to cause damage if the damage could not be avoided or could only be avoided by expending disproportionate means and costs.

VII. Place of performance and jurisdiction
The place of performance and exclusive jurisdiction for all claims arising from the order is the registered office of the contractor. For contracts with consumers, the legally established place of jurisdiction applies.

VIII. Out-of-court dispute resolution
1. The contractor is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

2. According to EU Regulation No. 524/2013, there is the possibility of dispute resolution via an online platform that can be accessed via the following internet address: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr.