I. General Part
1. All our crane and transport services are based on the following conditions, unless mandatory provisions of national and international law conflict. For forwarding activities, the ADSp (General German Freight Forwarders' Standard Terms and Conditions) apply as agreed, which are attached to these conditions as an annex, with the exception of paragraph 2.3 of ADSp.
1.1 These conditions do not apply to transport contracts with consumers. A consumer is a natural person who concludes the contract for a purpose that can neither be attributed to their commercial nor their independent professional activity. Furthermore, for towing and transport services, securing, storage and custody of vehicles and trailers, our General Terms and Conditions apply according to the latest VBA (Association of Towing and Recovery Companies Germany e.V.) recommendation.
2. Crane and transport services:
Within the meaning of these conditions (crane), two standard service types are provided for crane and transport services:
2.1 Service Type 1 – Crane provision:
Crane provision means the provision of mobile lifting equipment together with operating personnel to the client for carrying out work according to their instruction and disposition.
2.2 Service Type 2 – Crane work and transport services:
Crane work is the transport of goods, in particular the lifting, moving and relocation of loads with the help of mobile lifting equipment and describes the assumption of one or more agreed lifting maneuvers by the contractor according to their instruction and disposition. Transport services within the meaning of these terms and conditions are the transport of goods in road freight transport, motor vehicles as well as the movement or relocation of goods by means of special transport aids such as tank rollers, rolling wagons, lifting blocks etc.
3. Only our General Terms and Conditions apply to contracts concluded with us; other conditions do not become part of the contract, even if we do not expressly object to them.
3.1 Deviating agreements only apply if they have been agreed in writing in individual cases.
3.2 All offers from the company are subject to change and require written confirmation for their effectiveness.
3.3 Oral - including telephone - communications, commitments, declarations or other agreements by simple vicarious agents require written confirmation by the contractor, their legal representatives or their senior employees for their validity.
3.4 Construction site inspections and special agreements, e.g. regarding loading and unloading location, crane position etc. must be recorded in writing by the parties in order to effectively become part of the contract.
3.5 Contracts whose implementation requires official permission or approval, in particular according to §§ 18 para. 1 sentence 2, 22 para. 2 and 4, 29 para. 3, 46 para. 1 no. 5 StVO as well as § 70 para. 1 StVZO are concluded under the suspensive condition of timely permission or approval.
3.6 Fees and costs for official expenses as well as procurement costs and costs arising from official requirements as well as police escort fees and other costs for officially ordered safety precautions are borne by the client, unless otherwise agreed. The contractor is furthermore entitled to reimbursement of expenses that they could reasonably consider necessary under the circumstances.
3.7 The contractor is entitled - subject to a different agreement - to involve other companies in fulfilling the contractually assumed obligation.
3.8 The contractor is entitled to withdraw from the contract, excluding any claims for damages, if a careful examination before or during the use of vehicles, equipment or work devices of any kind shows that significant damage to third-party or own property and/or assets or personal injury is to be feared.
3.9 The right of withdrawal does not apply if the contractor has not observed the care of a proper merchant (carrier). In case of withdrawal, the agreed remuneration is calculated proportionally for all services. Weather-related interruptions do not reduce the claim to remuneration, unless otherwise agreed.
II. Special Part
1. Crane provision and assembly services
1.1 If the main service of the contractor consists in crane provision according to paragraph 2.1, the contractor owes the careful selection of operating personnel and the provision of a generally and specifically suitable mobile lifting equipment that is TÜV and accident prevention regulation tested and operational according to the relevant legal provisions and applicable technical regulations.
1.2 If the main service of the contractor consists in assembly service, they commit to properly and professionally execute all orders given to them with the means and technical possibilities available to them, observing the relevant technical regulations.
1.3 Liability provisions.
The contractor is only liable if the damage was caused intentionally or by gross negligence of the contractor, their legal representatives or their senior employees. In case of breach of essential contractual obligations also through simple negligence, the contractor is only liable for contract-typical foreseeable damages. The liability exclusion also does not apply insofar as the contractor is liable for the absence of guaranteed properties. Liability for goods and other property damage that occurs during the execution of the order is limited to a maximum of EUR 511,292. If necessary, an increase in the liability limit can be agreed upon based on special agreement. The contractor can separately charge the client for the costs of coverage increase. For consequential damages resulting from goods damage, the contractor's liability is limited to EUR 127,823 per damage event.
1.4 Warranty. The warranty is initially limited to the rectification of assembly services. Only if this has failed can the client demand a reduction in remuneration or reversal of the assembly order. Warranties for defects based on wear or improper use of the item are excluded.
2.0 Crane work and transport services: Obligations and liability of the contractor
2.1 The contractor commits generally and specifically to deploy suitable means of transport and lifting equipment that are operational, operationally safe and tested according to applicable regulations TPV and accident prevention regulations. Furthermore, the contractor commits generally and specifically to provide suitable operating personnel (crane operators and drivers) who are familiar with the operation of the means of transport or lifting equipment. The contractor furthermore provides necessary auxiliary, instructional and other personnel, as well as the possibly required slinger by agreement and at the client's expense.
2.2 The contractor is liable for all their activities according to this section according to legal provisions. However, the following regulations apply, insofar as mandatory or standard terms and conditions legal provisions do not determine otherwise.
2.3 Insofar as §§ 425 ff HGB do not apply, the contractor is not liable for damages that arose from - insufficient packaging or marking, in particular of the center of gravity and attachment points of the goods by the client or third parties - agreed or customary outdoor storage. If damage could arise from one of the circumstances listed above, it is presumed that it arose from this.
2.4 Insofar as §§ 425 ff HGB do not apply, the contractor is liable for damages that arose from - serious theft or robbery (§§ 243, 244, 249 StGB); - force majeure, weather influences, equipment or line defects, influence of other goods, damage by animals, natural changes of the goods only insofar as they can be proven to have culpably caused the damage.
2.5 Liability limitations:
The contractor's liability in case of loss or damage to goods (goods damage) is limited in amount to two special drawing rights (SDR) of the International Monetary Fund per kilogram of gross weight of the damaged or lost goods. If only individual packages or parts of a shipment have been lost or damaged, the maximum liability amount is calculated according to the gross weight - of the entire shipment, if the shipment is completely devalued, - of the devalued part, if only part of the shipment is devalued.
2.6 The contractor's liability per damage case is limited in amount to €1 million per damage event or two special drawing rights for each kilogram of lost and damaged goods, whichever amount is higher.
2.7 The above liability exemptions and limitations do not apply if the damage was caused intentionally or by gross negligence of the contractor, their legal representatives or their senior employees. In case of breach of essential contractual obligations also through simple negligence, the contractor is only liable for contract-typical foreseeable damages.
3. General liability provisions:
3.1 The liability limitations mentioned in sections II. 1 and 2 also apply to non-contractual claims.
3.2 If the client desires a higher liability amount than that mentioned in sections II 1.3, 2.5 and 2.6, an agreement must be reached before placing the order and the contractor is entitled to charge the client for the costs of correspondingly higher insurance for their increased liability.
4. Insurance
4.1 The contractor is only obligated to insure goods if there is an express order to do so, specifying the insurance value and the risk to be covered. The mere indication of value is not to be regarded as an order to take out insurance.
4.2 By accepting an insurance certificate (policy), the contractor does not assume the obligations incumbent on the client as the policyholder; however, the contractor must take all usual measures to maintain the insurance claim.
5. Obligations and liability of the client.
5.1 The client must create and maintain all technical prerequisites required for proper and safe execution of the order at their own expense and risk during deployment. In particular, the client is obligated to (1) keep the goods to be handled in a condition ready and suitable for execution of the order, (2) provide the correct dimensions, weights and special properties of the goods (e.g. center of gravity, type of material etc.) as well as in case of crane services the attachment points, in case of transport services the lashing points in good time.
5.2 The client must obtain the necessary consent from owners to drive on third-party properties, non-public roads, paths and squares and hold the contractor harmless from claims by third parties that may arise from unauthorized use/utilization of third-party property.
5.3 Furthermore, the client must ensure that the ground, space and other conditions at the deployment site as well as the access roads - except public roads, paths and squares - allow proper and safe execution of the order. In particular, the client must ensure that the ground conditions at the loading and unloading location or crane position can withstand the occurring support pressures, axle loads as well as other stresses. The client is obligated to inform themselves about the existence and location of underground cable shafts, utility shafts, lines, other underground lines and cavities that could impair the load-bearing capacity of the ground at the deployment site or access roads and to point this out to the contractor without being asked. If the client fails to fulfill these notification obligations, they are liable for all resulting damages, including property and consequential property damages, as well as financial damages to vehicles, equipment and work devices of the contractor. Statements and declarations by third parties whom the client uses to fulfill their obligations are considered the client's own declarations.
5.4 After placing a transport or crane work order, the client may not give instructions to the personnel deployed by them without the contractor's consent that deviate in type and scope from contractual agreements or run counter to the contract purpose.
III. Final provisions
1. The contractor's services are advance payments and not entitled to discount deduction. The contractor's invoices must be settled immediately upon receipt of invoice after fulfillment of the order. In case of default, the contractor may charge interest at 3% above the 3-month Euribor (interbank interest rate) applicable at the time of default and the usual local charges. Against claims from the contract and related non-contractual claims, offsetting or retention is only permissible with due counterclaims against which no objection exists.
2. Place of performance and jurisdiction, including for check and bill of exchange actions, is the contractor's registered office. This jurisdiction is exclusive for claims against the contractor. All contracts concluded by the contractor are subject to German law. This also applies to foreign clients.
3. These terms and conditions can be invoked by subcontractors commissioned by the contractor and all workers involved in executing the order.
4. For towing, recovery and transport services for vehicles and trailers, our General Terms and Conditions according to VBA (Association of Towing and Recovery Companies Germany e.V.) recommendation apply.
5. Should individual parts of these General Terms and Conditions be or become invalid or not applicable in individual cases, all other provisions remain unaffected; § 139 BGB is excluded.
Status: March 1999