§ 1 OFFER & AGREEMENT
Offers of the coach hire provider shall be deemed to be subject to amendments, unless explicitly otherwise arranged.
Orders can be made by letter, electronic message or orally. The agreement shall become effective and binding, once the order has been confirmed in writing either by letter or electronic message by the coach hire company, unless otherwise agreed. In the event that the confirmation should diverge from the order, the agreement shall come in effect upon endorsement of the content of the confirmation by the hirer within one week of the date of receipt.
§ 2 AGREED SERVICES
The extent of the agreed services shall be determined by the content of the order confirmation, notwithstanding the provisions of § 1, section 2 and § 3
Unless otherwise stated in the order confirmation, the services shall comprise the hire of the agreed vehicle, including the driver, and the execution of the transport service; the legal provisions relating to work contracts shall not apply.
The agreement shall not include the following:
Achievement of the purpose of the journey
Surveillance of the passengers, notably children, teenagers and disabled persons
Surveillance of personal belongings left unattended by the hirer or a passenger in the coach
Surveillance of the passengers’ luggage during the loading and unloading
Information on regulation that normally applies to all passengers, notably provisions regarding foreign currency, passport, visa, tariff and health issues as well as on obligations arising from such rules. This provision shall not apply when otherwise agreed between the parties.
§ 3 CHANGES IN SERVICES
The coach hire provider shall be entitled to amend the agreed services after the signature of the agreement, if it is required by circumstances that are not due to any acting in bad faith or wilful misconduct of the coach operator, provided that the modifications are of a minor nature and therefore shall be deemed to be reasonably acceptable by the client. The coach hire company is required to give the client immediately notice of the amendment and the underlying causes.
Amendments requested by the client shall come in effect upon consent of the coach hire provider. The amendments have to be requested and confirmed in writing by letter or email, unless otherwise agreed.
§ 4 FARE & PAYMENT
The client has to pay the agreed fare.
The hire rate shall not include additional charges (for example road tolls, parking fees, accommodation cost for the driver/drivers), unless otherwise agreed
The hirer shall be charged with additional costs arising from changes in services requested by himself/herself.
The provider shall be entitled to claim compensation for damages or costs arising from exceptional cleaning.
The agreed price shall be due in full upon receipt of the invoice.
The coach operator shall be entitled to require full prepayment of the agreed fare from private clients or hirers having the place of residence abroad.
§ 5 WITHDRAWAL OR RESCISSION BY THE CLIENT
Withdrawal
The client shall be entitled to withdraw from the agreement at any time prior to agreed travel date. If the hirer chooses to cancel the agreement, the provider shall have the right to require the payment of a reasonable compensation for the costs incurred instead of the agreed hire price, unless the withdrawal were due to a circumstance arising from its own fault. The amount of the compensation shall be equal to the agreed fare, less the saved costs and potential proceeds from alternative uses of the vehicle.The following scale of compensation shall apply in the event of the client’s withdrawal
Up to 30 days before the agreed travel date: no cancellation charge
29 to 20 days prior to the agreed travel date: 10 % of the agreed fare
19 to 10 days prior to the agreed travel date: 25 % of the agreed fare
9 to 1 day prior to the agreed travel date: 50 % of the agreed fare
Less than 24 hours before the agreed travel date: 90 % of the agreed fare
unless the client can prove that the coach operator has incurred minor losses compared to the above compensation rates, or no loss at all.
Indemnity claims shall be excluded, if the withdrawal of the hirer is due to major amendments to the agreed services made by the coach operator that cannot be deemed to be reasonably acceptable for the client, notwithstanding further rights of the hirer.
Rescission:
If amendments to the agreed services turn out to be necessary during the journey, the client shall be entitled to rescind from the agreement, provided that the changes are not reasonably acceptable, notwithstanding further rights of the hirer. In such cases, the coach operator shall be obliged to carry the client’s party back to the departure point. However, this obligation shall be limited to the transport on the vehicle the use of which has been agreed. In event of a rescission, the client shall incur additional costs arising from the return journey due to “Force majeure”.
Further compensation claims of the client shall be excluded, if amendments to the services are due to circumstances that cannot be attributed to a fault of the coach operator.
If the client rescinds from the agreement, the coach operator shall have the right to require a reasonable indemnity for the costs incurred in the execution of the agreement, relating to either services provided in the past or services that are still due, provided that the latter are still of interest for the client.
§ 6 WITHDRAWAL OR RESCISSION BY THE COACH OPERATOR
Withdrawal
The coach operator shall be entitled to withdraw from the agreement at any time prior to the agreed travel date, if exceptional circumstances outside its sphere of influence should arise that make the performance impossible. In such cases, compensation claims of the client shall be limited to the costs that have directly arisen from the vehicle booking procedure.
Rescission
The coach operator shall be entitled to rescind from the agreement during the journey, if the fulfilment of the contractual obligations turns out to be seriously impeded, dangerous or significantly compromised due to “Force majeure”, the conduct of the passengers or other adverse circumstances, such as war, violence, hostilities, riot, civil war, imprisonment, seizure, interference of authorities or disturbances by the population, barricades or road closures, strike, lockout or walk-out. In the event of a rescission due to “Force majeure”, grave operational difficulties, perils or serious impediments, the coach operator shall be obliged to carry the passengers back to the departure point upon request of the client. However, this obligation shall be limited to the transport on the vehicle the use of which has been agreed. The client shall incur additional costs arising from the return journey due to “Force majeure”.
If the coach operator rescinds from the agreement, it shall have the right to require a reasonable indemnity for the costs incurred, relating either to services already provided or services due in the future, provided that they are still relevant for the client.
§ 7 LIABILITY
The coach operator shall be held responsible for the careful and orderly execution of the agreed services according to the commonly recognised standards in business relationships.
The coach operator shall not be held responsible for default on performance due to “Force majeure” or grave operational difficulties, perils or serious impediments arising from unforeseeable circumstances, such as war, violence, hostilities, riot or civil war, imprisonment, seizure, interference by an authority, strike, lockout or walkout.
The above provision regarding the return journey shall apply.
§ 8 LIMITATION OF THE LIABILITY
The liability of the coach operator for damages arising from the agreement shall be limited to three times the hire price (see the above § 4). The compensation for damages incurred by single passengers shall be limited to a pro rata share of the maximum compensation amount as established. Damage claims arising from tort shall not exceed € 4,000 per passenger. However, the indemnity per passenger shall be limited to the pro rate share of the maximum compensation amount, even if the damages or losses are higher.
With the provisions of § 23 PBefG applying, the liability for material damages shall be limited to € 1,000.00.
The limitations laid down in sections 1 and 2 shall not apply, if damages are due to wilful misconduct or gross negligence.
The coach operator shall not be held liable for damages that are due to the fault of the client or the passengers.
The client shall keep indemnified the coach operator and any third party involved in the execution of the agreement against any claims relating to the provisions of § 2, section 3, a-e.
§ 9 BAGGAGE AND BELONGINGS
A normal amount of luggage will be carried on the coach. Special objects or equipment may be transported upon request.
The client shall be held liable for damages caused by his own objects or belongings or the property of the passengers, if they are due to his own or the passengers’ fault or misconduct.
§ 10 CONDUCT OF THE PASSENGERS
The hirer is responsible for the conduct of the passengers aboard the coach during the journey. The passengers are obliged to follow the instruction of the crew.
Passengers, who do not pay heed to reasonable instructions of the crew, may be required to leave the coach, if the non-observance of instructions compromises the safety or the orderly operation. Travellers whose transport is no longer reasonably acceptable for the coach operator for any reason may also be excluded from the journey. In such cases, the client shall not be entitled to raise damage claims against the coach operator.
The crew shall immediately be given notice of any grievance or complaint. If it were not reasonably possible to take suitable remedial action, the coach operator shall be informed.
The client shall be obliged to help remedy operational problems as far as reasonably feasible to avoid or limit damages or losses.
§ 11 PLACE OF FULFILMENT AND COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION
Place of fulfilment
The site of the coach operator shall be deemed to be the exclusive place of fulfilment for agreements with businesses, legal entities and special funds under public law.
Competent court
If the client is a business or a legal entity or special fund under public law, any controversy arising from the agreement shall be brought before the court of competent jurisdiction for the site of the coach operator.
This shall also apply, if the hirer has his place of residence in a foreign country or moves to a foreign country after the signature of the agreement or if his place of residence is unknown at the time when a complaint is filed.
Any agreement with the coach operator shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany.
§ 12 VOLUNTARY DISPUTE RESOLUTION
The coach operator does not engage in a voluntary dispute resolution procedure. If such a dispute settlement procedure should become compulsive after the publication of these terms and conditions, the coach operator would give notice to the clients in an appropriate form.
The European Online Dispute Resolution Platform http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/ shall be relevant for all travel agreements signed by electronic means.
§ 13 SEVERABILITY
The ineffectiveness or unenforceability of single provisions of the contract or these terms and conditions relating to coach hire agreements shall not entail the ineffectiveness of the agreement as a whole.