General Terms and Conditions
General terms and conditions with customer information
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Table of contents
1. Scope of application, definitions
2. Services of the provider
3. Conclusion of contract
4. Right of cancellation for consumers
5. Prices and terms of payment
6. Authorisation to participate, transfer of contract
7. Shortfall of the minimum number of participants
8. Change or cancellation of the event
9. Contractual right of withdrawal (cancellations)
10. Contract term and cancellation
11. Teaching material
12. Liability
13. Applicable law
14. Place of jurisdiction
15. Alternative dispute resolution
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1) Scope of application, definitions
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1.1 These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "GTC") of Sophie's Universe c/o Schwardt GmbH (hereinafter "Provider") apply to all contracts for participation in coaching sessions (hereinafter "Events") that a consumer or entrepreneur (hereinafter "Client") concludes with the Provider with regard to the Events presented on the Provider's website. The inclusion of the Customer's own terms and conditions is hereby rejected, unless otherwise agreed.
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1.2 A consumer within the meaning of these GTC is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business or profession.
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1.3 An entrepreneur within the meaning of these GTC is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity who, when concluding a legal transaction, acts in the exercise of their commercial or independent professional activity.
2) Services of the provider
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2.1 The Provider offers both online and face-to-face events. The content of the event is set out in the respective description on the Provider's website.
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2.2 In the case of online events, the Provider shall provide its services exclusively in electronic form via online video conference using appropriate technical means. For this purpose, the provider shall provide the customer with suitable application software before the start of a video conference, whereby the provider may also use the services of third parties for this purpose. For error-free participation in the online video conference, the customer's system must fulfil certain minimum requirements, which are communicated to the customer on the provider's website. The customer is responsible for complying with the system requirements. The Provider shall not be liable for technical problems that are attributable to inadequate system requirements on the part of the Customer.
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2.3 In the case of face-to-face events, the Provider shall provide its services exclusively in personal contact with the Customer and in premises selected by the Customer for this purpose. Unless otherwise stated in the provider's description, the customer is not entitled to select a specific venue for the realisation of the desired event.
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2.4 Unless otherwise stated in the description on the Provider's website and unless the parties have agreed otherwise, the Provider shall provide its services in its own person.
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2.5 The Provider shall provide its services with the utmost care and to the best of its knowledge and belief. However, the Provider does not owe any specific success. In particular, the Provider does not guarantee that the Customer will achieve a specific learning outcome or that the Customer will achieve a specific performance target. This depends not least on the personal commitment and will of the customer, over which the provider has no influence.
3) Conclusion of contract
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3.1 The events described on the Provider's website do not constitute binding offers on the part of the Provider, but are intended for the submission of a binding offer by the Customer.
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3.2 The Customer can submit his offer via the online registration form provided on the Provider's website. After entering their data in the registration form, the customer submits a legally binding contractual offer in relation to the selected event by clicking the button that concludes the registration process. Furthermore, the customer can also submit the offer to the provider by email, telephone or via the Instagram messaging function.
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3.3 The Provider may accept the Customer's offer within five days,
- by sending the customer a written confirmation of registration or a confirmation of registration in text form (fax or e-mail), whereby the receipt of the confirmation of registration by the customer is decisive in this respect, or
- by requesting payment from the customer after submission of the customer's contractual declaration.
If several of the aforementioned alternatives exist, the contract is concluded at the point in time at which one of the aforementioned alternatives occurs first. The period for accepting the offer begins on the day after the offer is sent by the customer and ends at the end of the fifth day following the sending of the offer. If the provider does not accept the customer's offer within the aforementioned period, this shall be deemed a rejection of the offer with the consequence that the customer is no longer bound by his declaration of intent. The same applies in the event that the event selected by the customer begins before the expiry of the acceptance period and the provider does not accept the customer's offer at the latest 24 hours before the start of the event, unless otherwise agreed between the parties.
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3.4 In the case of registration via the Provider's website, the text of the contract shall be saved by the Provider after the contract has been concluded and sent to the Customer in text form (e.g. e-mail, fax or letter) after the Customer's order has been sent. The provider will not make the text of the contract available beyond this.
3.5 Before submitting a binding offer via the provider's online registration form, the customer can correct their entries at any time using the usual keyboard and mouse functions.
3.6 The German language is available for the conclusion of the contract.
4) Right of cancellation for consumers
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Consumers are generally entitled to a right of cancellation. Further information on the right of cancellation can be found in the provider's cancellation policy.
5) Prices and terms of payment
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5.1 Unless otherwise stated in the provider's offer, the prices quoted are total prices that include statutory VAT.
5.2 Costs for travel, accommodation and catering for face-to-face events are not included in the price and must be borne by the customer, unless otherwise stated in the provider's description.
5.3 The customer will be informed of the payment options on the provider's website.
5.4 If payment is made using a payment method offered by PayPal, payment shall be processed via the payment service provider PayPal (Europe) S.à r.l. et Cie, S.C.A., 22-24 Boulevard Royal, L-2449 Luxembourg (hereinafter referred to as "PayPal"), subject to the PayPal Terms of Use, available at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/useragreement-full or - if the customer does not have a PayPal account - subject to the terms and conditions for payments without a PayPal account, available at https://www.paypal.com/de/webapps/mpp/ua/privacywax-full.
6) Eligibility to participate, transfer of contract
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6.1 Only the person named in the registration confirmation is authorised to participate. A transfer of the contract to a third party is only possible with the consent of the provider.
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6.2 If a third party enters into the contract between the customer and the provider, he and the customer shall be jointly and severally liable to the provider for the participation fee and any additional costs incurred by the entry of the third party.
7) Falling below the minimum number of participants
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7.1 The Provider may specify a minimum number of participants for its coaching sessions. If a minimum number of participants is specified, the Provider shall expressly indicate this in the description.
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7.2 If the minimum number of participants is not reached, the provider may withdraw from the contract by giving notice to the customer no later than seven days before the start of the coaching session. The Provider shall notify the Customer of its cancellation immediately after becoming aware that the number of participants has not been reached, but no later than seven days before the start of the coaching.
7.3 If the Provider exercises its right of cancellation in accordance with the above clause, the Customer may demand participation in another event of at least equal value if the Provider is in a position to offer such an event from its range at no extra cost to the Customer. The customer must assert his request to the provider immediately upon receipt of the provider's declaration.
7.4 If the customer does not exercise his right in accordance with the above paragraph, the provider shall immediately reimburse the customer for any participation fee already paid.
8) Change or cancellation of the event
8.1 The Provider reserves the right to change the time, place, person of the coach and/or content of the event, provided that the change is reasonable for the Customer, taking into account the interests of the Provider. Only insignificant changes to services that become necessary after conclusion of the contract and were not brought about by the provider in bad faith are reasonable. In the event of a change to the time, place, person of the coach and/or content of the event, the provider shall inform the customer of this in good time.
8.2 In the event of a significant change to the service, the customer may withdraw from the contract free of charge or instead request participation in another event of at least equal value if the provider is in a position to offer such an event from its range at no extra cost to the customer.
8.3 The customer must assert the rights in accordance with the above paragraph immediately after informing the provider of the change in service.
8.4 The Provider is entitled to cancel the event at short notice for important reasons, such as force majeure or illness of the coach, against full reimbursement of any participation fee already paid. The provider will endeavour to find an alternative date if the event is cancelled.
9) Contractual right of withdrawal (cancellations)
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Irrespective of any existing statutory right of cancellation, the Provider grants the Customer the right to cancel its registration for an event of the Provider free of charge in accordance with the following provisions (contractual right of cancellation):
9.1 The Customer may cancel its registration up to 1 day before the start of the booked event without stating reasons by submitting a declaration to the Provider in text form (e.g. email). The date of receipt of the declaration by the provider shall be decisive for compliance with the cancellation deadline. If the customer cancels his registration in due time, the provider shall refund any participation fee already paid in full within a period of two weeks from receipt of his declaration. For this purpose, the Provider may use the same means of payment that the Customer used for his payment to the Provider.
9.2 Any existing statutory right of cancellation of the customer shall not be restricted by the right of withdrawal regulated above.
10) Contract term and cancellation
10.1 The right of the provider and the customer to terminate the contract for good cause remains unaffected. Good cause shall be deemed to exist if the terminating party cannot reasonably be expected to continue the contractual relationship until the agreed termination or until the expiry of a cancellation period, taking into account all circumstances of the individual case and weighing the interests of both parties.
10.2 Cancellations can be made in writing, in text form (e.g. by e-mail) or in electronic form via the cancellation facility provided by the provider on its website (cancellation button).
11) Teaching material
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11.1 The Provider is the owner of all rights of use that are necessary for the realisation of the event. This also applies with regard to teaching materials that may be provided to the customer in connection with the event.
11.2 The customer may only use the content of the event, including any teaching materials provided, to the extent necessary in accordance with the contractual purpose agreed by both parties. In particular, the customer is not authorised to record the event or parts thereof or to reproduce, distribute or make publicly accessible teaching materials without the separate permission of the provider.
11.3 In the case of online events, the customer shall be provided with course-related teaching material (e.g. teaching materials) exclusively in electronic form by e-mail or for download. Unless otherwise agreed, the customer is not entitled to receive the teaching material in physical form.
12) Liability
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The Provider shall be liable to the Customer for all contractual, quasi-contractual and statutory claims, including claims in tort, for damages and reimbursement of expenses as follows:
12.1 The Provider shall be liable without limitation for any legal reason
- in the event of wilful intent or gross negligence,
- in the event of wilful or negligent injury to life, limb or health,
- on the basis of a guarantee promise, unless otherwise regulated in this respect,
- due to mandatory liability such as under the Product Liability Act.
12.2 If the Provider negligently breaches a material contractual obligation, liability shall be limited to the foreseeable damage typical of the contract, unless liability is unlimited in accordance with the above clause. Essential contractual obligations are obligations which the contract imposes on the provider according to its content in order to achieve the purpose of the contract, the fulfilment of which makes the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on the observance of which the customer may regularly rely.
12.3 Any further liability of the Provider is excluded.
12.4 The above liability provisions also apply with regard to the liability of the Provider for its vicarious agents and legal representatives.
13) Applicable law
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The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to all legal relationships between the parties. In the case of consumers, this choice of law shall only apply insofar as the protection granted by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which the consumer has his habitual residence is not withdrawn.
14) Place of jurisdiction
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If the customer acts as a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law with its registered office in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract shall be the registered office of the provider. If the customer is domiciled outside the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, the place of business of the provider shall be the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from this contract if the contract or claims arising from the contract can be attributed to the professional or commercial activity of the customer. In the above cases, however, the provider is in any case entitled to appeal to the court at the customer's place of business.
15) Alternative dispute resolution
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15.1 The EU Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution on the Internet at the following link: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr
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This platform serves as a contact point for the out-of-court settlement of disputes arising from online purchase or service contracts in which a consumer is involved.
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15.2 The provider is neither obliged nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
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