General Terms and Conditions (GTC)
Section 1 Scope
The following General Terms and Conditions shall apply to the business relationship between Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts and the buyer/ordering party in the version valid at the time the order is placed. Any diverging conditions shall be stipulated in writing and require the express consent of both parties.
Section 2 Placing of order/conclusion of contract
Orders will only be accepted in written form.
When placing an order, the type of harp and any special requests must be specified.
The order for the production of a harp shall be considered placed and accepted once the ordering party has transferred an agreed advance payment of 20% of the net price of the harp to Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts Without advance payments, written orders shall only be considered placed upon agreement of the parties. Depending on the circumstances, public institutions, orchestras, etc. may be exempt from these regulations.
Section 3 Cancellations
3.1. Cancellation of orders within 14 days
After placing the order in writing, the ordering party may cancel the order within 14 days.
Advance payments will be refunded within this period.
If, within this period of 14 days prior to the start of the execution of the order, activities have already become necessary to be carried out for, or have been requested or commissioned by the ordering party (e.g. research, preliminary planning, costs for correspondence and communication, etc.), an expense allowance shall be agreed with the supplying party which shall be based on the expenses already incurred but shall not be less than € 150.
After this period, cancellations shall no longer be possible and no refund of the advance payment shall be made. The contract for work and services is thus legally valid.
3.2. Cancellation of orders at a later point in time
In exceptional cases – e.g. in case of insolvency etc. – and only with the consent of the supplying party, the ordering party shall be given the opportunity to find a substitute customer after 14 days from the date of placing the order until the completion of the order execution. The substitute customer shall then act as the new ordering party and assume the associated legal obligations of the original ordering party. Only in this case shall the original ordering party be legally released from accepting the product and effecting the corresponding payment.
3.3. Withdrawal from the contract by the Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts
Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts undertakes to accept the order of the ordering party corresponding to the conditions set out on the website www.thurau.harps.com. Rainer M. Thurau assumes no liability for typing, printing and calculation errors and is entitled to withdraw from the contract at any time.
Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts may also withdraw from the sales contract if the buyer has demonstrably given false information about his/her person, has given false information about his/her financial circumstances or if there are other reasonable grounds for withdrawal.
Section 4 Cost estimates
Cost estimates for custom-made products or repairs shall only be provided upon written request of the ordering party.
Cost estimates are not binding.
The final price for work effort and material shall be determined only after completion of the work.
However, any overrun of the estimated costs shall be limited to an increase in the final price of no more than 15%.
Notwithstanding the foregoing:
If, during the course of restoration or repair work, additional costly defects, etc. are discovered, which could only be discovered during the work already begun on the ordering party’s instrument (e.g. after disassembly of a harp), the ordering party will be notified in writing, prior to the continuation of the commissioned work, stating the reason and details regarding any additional costs that may be incurred. If the ordering party decides against carrying out the additional work, the supplying party is not liable for any consequential damages resulting from this non-processing.
Cost estimates are provided free of charge as long as they do not exceed a reasonable amount of time for processing.
If a potential buyer wishes a very detailed and extensive cost estimate, e.g. regarding the restoration of a historical pedal harp, they will be informed prior to establishing the cost estimate that, depending on the effort involved, this cost estimate is not free of charge and is considered as a service rendered and will be invoiced after consultation.
Section 5 Manufacturing price
The prices for new productions in the respective valid price lists at the time of completion and invoicing, as well as the agreed prices for special productions are ex workshop Wiesbaden plus shipping costs, packaging and plus the value added tax (VAT) applicable in Germany. For customers from non-EU countries, no German VAT will be charged. In such cases, export declarations etc. must be submitted as a copy. Due to the long waiting times for handmade harps, prices valid at the time of completion and invoicing may be different, taking into account changed economic conditions during the manufacturing period. As a general rule, these prices are valid as the production price at the time of completion. However, in the event of significantly changed delivery times due to changes in order situations and other unforeseen circumstances, it is agreed that the invoice amount at the time of completion will be no more than 10% higher than the price at the time the order was placed.
Section 6 Payments
6.1 New productions:
The ordering party will receive an invoice with a request to make an advance payment (see placing of order). The order is considered placed and accepted only upon receipt of this amount.
After completion of the instrument, the ordering party will receive a final invoice, offsetting the advance payment.
The invoice is due for payment within 10 days without deduction. The delivery or personal handover of a product or a restoration/repair shall take place – without exception – only after full payment of the balance.
6.2. Repairs/restorations:
After a repair/restoration has been carried out, the client will receive a final invoice which is due for payment within 10 days.
The payment obligation is independent of the point in time at which the ordering party receives their instrument:
a.
If neither the personal collection of the instrument by the ordering party nor its shipment to the ordering party is possible immediately after the work has been completed, the ordering party shall not be released from their obligation to immediately pay for the services rendered and invoiced by Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts
b.
The ordering party shall not be entitled to delay payment, neither for a limited nor for an unlimited period of time, claiming that they first want to assess the quality of the services before paying for them. (see also 2.3.)
A commissioned service shall be due for payment, without exception, at the moment it has been rendered and invoiced by Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts
Delivery of a restoration/repair shall take place – without exception – only after full payment of the balance has been effected.
Section 7 Default of payment
If the ordering party is in default of payment, Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Artsis entitled to charge interest for default in the amount of 10% above the base interest rate p.a. announced by the European Central Bank. If Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts has demonstrably incurred higher damages due to default, Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Artsshall be entitled to assert such damages.
Section 8 Delivery times
8.1. The delivery time starts from receipt of the advance payment. The supplying party shall endeavor to meet the specified delivery date. The supplying party reserves the right to postpone the delivery date in case of illness, unforeseeable events of force majeure, incoming urgent repairs, etc., as well as in case of problems with the procurement of materials.
8.2. Delivery time specifications are not binding.
8.3 The ordering party cannot assert any claims for damages with respect to concert contracts for concerts with the instrument commissioned for production if the supplying party did not or could not specify any concrete completion dates at the time such contracts were concluded. In this case, the ordering party will bear the sole responsibility for lost concerts.
Section 9 Delivery
Handover of the manufactured instrument, etc., shall take place, depending on the agreement, either by personal collection, freight delivery or delivery by the supplying party. Handover shall only take place upon full payment by advance bank transfer or by payment in cash upon handover. (see 6. Payments)
Section 10 Other costs
Costs for deliveries, freight forwarding, and all other costs, including extraordinary costs, incurred by the supplying party in accepting and executing the order shall be borne by the ordering party. On request, the supplying party shall substantiate the reasons for the incurrence of these costs to the ordering party.
§ 11 Reservation of ownership
Until full settlement of all claims existing against the ordering party the manufactured harp shall remain the property of Rainer M. Thurau – Studio for Applied Arts. This also applies to claims arising from commissioned restorations and repairs to harps of the ordering party.
Section 12 Warranty
Rainer M. Thurau, owner of the Studio of Applied Arts grants the following warranties:
Concert harps – constructed by Thurau: 5 years
Historical reconstructions – constructed by Thurau: 5 years
Concert harps of other manufacturers – repairs by Thurau: 2 years
Restorations of historical harps (warranty only on parts reconstructed by Thurau): 2 years
§ 13 Copyright
Any sketches, documents or drawings that may have been handed over and that are required for the construction or use of the instrument (e.g. stringing lists) are the intellectual property of Rainer M. Thurau and are subject to statutory copyright protection; they must not be used or passed on to third parties without permission.
§14 Place of performance
Place of performance and jurisdiction shall be Wiesbaden. German law shall apply.