GTC – General Terms and Conditions of OELCHECK

General remarks
1. The following general terms and conditions of business of OELCHECK GmbH apply to the services agreed, including consultancy services, information, deliveries and similar, as well as for supplementary services provided or contractually agreed supplementary obligations.
2. Possible third-party terms and conditions of business are not part of the contract even if OELCHECK does not explicitly contradict them, and in particular are not tacitly accepted. Agreements made verbally or by telephone that diverge from this are only binding insofar as they are confirmed in writing by OELCHECK. Any contract alterations or additions, including this clause stipulating agreement in writing, have to be in writing to be valid.
3. Should a provision or a part of a provision of these general terms and conditions of business not be legally effective, this shall not affect the validity of the other conditions. If a provision of these general terms and conditions of business is found not to be legally effective, OELCHECK is authorised to replace the ineffective condition with a legally permissible arrangement that is as close as possible to its financial equivalent.
Contract completion
1. An effective contract comes into existence when we accept your order in writing, by email, by fax, by post or by telephone, or by supplying the goods/services.
Offers
1. Until the final contract completion, offers from OELCHECK are, especially in respect to their execution, prices and terms of delivery, free of engagement and non-binding, insofar as they have not been expressly described as 'binding'.
Scope and schedule of services
1. Only a concordant declaration signed by both sides is decisive for determining the scope of a service. If this is not present, then the written confirmation of an order by OELCHECK is valid.
2. OELCHECK is liable for the descriptions of services and statements of its employees and agents only if these have been explicitly described as binding by OELCHECK.
3. The contractually agreed terms of delivery are based on estimates. These are only binding if they have been explicitly described as binding in writing and come into force once OELCHECK's contract partner has rendered any cooperation he is required to render in advance.
Cooperation
1. OELCHECK's contractual partner guarantees that all required cooperation – including by its agents – have been rendered on time and without cost to OELCHECK.
2. OELCHECK's contractual partner must bear any additional cost resulting from work having to be repeated or delayed as a result of delayed, incorrect or incomplete information on his or her part. Even if a fixed price has been contractually agreed, OELCHECK is entitled to make additional charges for any such cost.
Guarantee and liability
1. Defects must be immediately reported to OELCHECK in writing.
2. OELCHECK is not liable for damage caused as a result of incorrect statements by the customer.
3. As a guarantee, the contractual partner may only demand a free rectification of the defective service. If this is ineffective, the contractual partner can demand the cancellation of the contract or a reduction in payment.
4. Further claims by the contractual partner, in particular liability for resulting damages, are not permissible under any circumstances, unless the defect was caused by gross negligence or was the direct result of the violation of a 'cardinal obligation' as specified by this contract.
5. OELCHECK's limited liability applies in the same way for the benefit of its employees and management staff.
6. OELCHECK's liability for damages is limited to a maximum of EUR 250 per order. In addition, any liability towards engineers and legally recognised businessmen is limited in terms of its nature and extent to those damages that were foreseeable for them at the time the contract was concluded.
Liability for transport losses and damages
1. The risk of loss or damage to samples transfers to the contractual partner upon handover to the transport company. This applies both to the return shipment of samples in customer-owned bottles and to prepaid samples in original OELCHECK analysis bottles.
2. OELCHECK assumes no liability for samples that are damaged or lost during transport, unless the damage is due to intentional or grossly negligent conduct on the part of OELCHECK.
  Note: If taking a sample involves significant effort or cost, the contractual partner should take an additional retention sample and store it until the analysis is complete.
Terms of payment
1. In addition to all prices and fees, the value-added tax valid at the time of billing will be charged in each case.
2. All payments are immediately payable when they are due. Discounts are not granted.
3. Complaints about the bill must be reported to OELCHECK within a cut-off period of 10 calendar days along in the form of a written explanation.
4. No refund can be provided for services not used.
5. Demands by OELCHECK can only be offset against demands that have been recognised as lawful or are not disputed.
6. Should OELCHECK's contractual partner default on payment, they shall owe to OELCHECK, subject to claims for further damages, a lump-sum compensation payment of 0.5% of the billed amount per week, up to 33% of the billed amount in total, without the need for proof of the amount and cause of the damage.
Transfer (assignment)
1. Either Party may only transfer/assign their rights and obligations from a contract between OELCHECK and the contractual partner in whole or in part with the prior written agreement of the respective other party. This agreement may always be refused, and the refusing party is not required to state reasons for refusal.
Retention of Title
1. Goods delivered by OELCHECK remain the property of OELCHECK in accordance with clauses 9.2 - 9.4 below. Clauses 9.2 and 9.3 expressly differ depending on whether OELCHECK's contractual partner is a consumer or a company.
2. If OELCHECK's contractual partner is a consumer, clause 9.3 below does not apply. An item delivered by OELCHECK remains the property of OELCHECK until OELCHECK has been paid in full for that item.
3. If the contractual partner of OELCHECK is a company, clause 9.2 above does not apply. An item delivered by OELCHECK remains the property of OELCHECK until all claims OELCHECK has due to its business relationship with the contractual partner fall due and have been paid to OELCHECK in full.
4. The following applies to both consumers and companies: Until transfer of ownership of the respective goods has taken place, the delivered item may be used in accordance with its specific, functional purpose, but may not be passed on/entrusted to one or more third party/parties, and/or the consumers and companies may further process the item and/or have the item processed. The contractual partner must always handle the item with care.
Copyright and publications
1. All copyright for test results, assessments and calculations produced by OELCHECK remains the property of OELCHECK.
2. The contractual partner may only use test results, assessments and calculations produced by OELCHECK for the agreed purpose.
3. The transfer of analysis results and comments to laboratories carrying out oil analyses in competition with OELCHECK is prohibited. Any transfer of test values to a third-party laboratory requires the written approval of OELCHECK. Individual laboratory reports can be transferred to third-parties in the form of a print-out or as a .pdf file without approval from OELCHECK.
Jurisdiction, place of performance, choice of law
1. Insofar as is lawful, it is assumed that both parties have agreed that the area of jurisdiction is that of the headquarters of OELCHECK GmbH, Brannenburg.
2. Brannenburg, as the headquarters of OELCHECK, is for both parties the place of performance in terms of all rights and obligations arising from the contract.
3. Relations between the contracting parties are governed exclusively by German law, with the exception of requirements of private international law and UN commercial law.
Statement of terms of termination
1. If you are a company owner (cf number 1.2 of our General terms and conditions of business) within the meaning of Section 14 of the Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch (BGB, German civil code) and are acting in a capacity deriving from your commercial or self-employed activities at the time of the completion of the contract, there is no right of termination.
  For consumers, the following applies:
Right of termination
1. You can terminate your agreement to the contract without stating a reason within 14 days in written form (e.g. letter, fax, email) or – if the object in question has come into your possession before the cancellation period has expired – by returning the object.
2. The termination period starts after this statement of terms has been received in written form, but not before the goods have been delivered to the recipient (in the case of repeated deliveries of similar goods, not before the first delivery has been made), and not before we have fulfilled our duties of information pursuant to Article 246 Section 2 in combination with Section 1 Para. 1 und 2 EGBGB (Introductory law of the German civil code) as well as our obligations according to Section 312e Para. 1 Sentence 1 BGB in combination with Art. 246 Section 3 EGBGB. The punctual dispatch of the withdrawal notice or the object is sufficient to qualify as being within the termination period. The termination is to be addressed to:
  OELCHECK GmbH, Kerschelweg 28, 83098 Brannenburg
Consequences of termination
1. In case of a lawful termination the services already received are to be returned and, if appropriate, any benefit derived from the service to be rendered.
2. If you have requested that the services begin within the termination period, you must pay us an appropriate amount corresponding to the proportion of the services already delivered – up to the point at which you informed us of your exercise of your right of termination – in relation to the full amount of the services agreed in the contract.

State: May 2025