General Rental Terms (GRT) for Germany

Valid from 15 Jan. 2014

The following contract terms are exclusive to the rental agreements concluded between Delight Rental Services GmbH – hereinafter referred to as Lessor – and the customer – hereinafter referred to as Lessee. By entering into such an agreement the Lessee recognises these GRT and the General Insurance Terms of our Automobile and Equipment Rental Insurance Company, which are available for inspection on our business premises.

Divergent terms of the Lessee are ruled out even if not expressly objected to by the Lessor.

Divergent arrangements are only valid if agreed in writing.

Section 1 Rental fees and terms of payment

Rental fees are governed by the given price list of the Lessor and by the written covenants of the given rental agreement/ notice of acceptance of the given offer.

The fees are quoted without statutory VAT.

Hired articles are insured. Rights of retention (excess) and insurance details are dealt with in Section 10 below. Fees are invoiced by the Lessor with the proviso that the invoice amount is payable without deductions by the date named on the invoice.

In case of payment by credit card, the fee and, where appropriate, forwarding charges and the security deposit are blocked on the credit card, so that the given amount is not available to you for further transactions. At closing, the fee and, where appropriate, the forwarding charges are debited. The security deposit is reversed on receipt of hired articles returned and on inspection without complaint. Unless otherwise agreed, all amounts due are debited to the Lessee’s credit card. The Lessee authorises the Lessor to debit all accounts receivable due to the credit card designated for the purpose by the Lessee.

If the date of payment is exceeded, the Lessor is entitled to bill consumers for default interest at a rate of 5 percentage points above the European Central Bank’s base rate of interest except that the rate applicable to merchants is 8 percentage points above the above rate. The Lessor may charge the Lessee a lump sum of € 5.00 for each dunning notice given after the due date.

The Lessee is not entitled to offset claims of its own against the Lessor’s payment claims or to assert a pertinent right of retention (excess) except if the Lessee’s counterclaim is undisputed or final.

Section 2 Rental period

The rental period is governed by the given contract, beginning as of the point of time when the given hired article is available at the Lessor’s warehouse and ending on its receipt at/return to the Lessor’s warehouse, not, however, before expiry of the agreed rental period. If the Lessee keeps using a hired article beyond expiry of the agreed rental period, the rental relationship shall not be deemed to have been extended. Section 545 BGB [German Civil Code] is not applicable.

Section 3 Take-over of hired articles, Lessee’s duty of immediate inspection

The Lessee is required to inspect a hired article complete with accessories on collecting or receiving it. Notice of recognisable defects shall be given immediately following such pick-up/receipt. Otherwise, the Lessee is required to confirm the impeccable and contract-compliant condition of the article/accessories at the point in time of taking delivery.

Where hired articles are found to be defective/damaged after being put into use, the Lessor shall immediately be notified by e-mail or fax. Such notice shall specify the nature of the defect/damage along with the point in time when is occurred. Hired articles/accessories must not be repaired by the Lessee or any third person. All repairs need to be performed by the Lessor.

Customers failing to give notice of a defect on time and/or within the agreed time limit are not exempt from payment of the rental fee nor entitled to any reduction thereof.

The Lessee may not transfer a hired article for use to a third party without the Lessor’s express written consent. The Lessee is required to promptly advise the Lessor in writing by e-mail or fax of any third-party recourse e.g. by levy of execution.

Section 4 Return of hired articles

Hired articles are to be returned as contracted for. The Lessee shall undertake to do so. The rental period may not be extended except with the Lessor’s written consent. If the Lessee keeps using a hired article beyond expiry of the agreed rental period, the rental relationship shall not be deemed to have been extended. Section 545 BGB [German Civil Code] is not applicable.

Where hired articles are returned late, the Lessor is entitled to compensation pursuant to Section 546a BGB, in which case the fee is recalculated taking account of the day of actual return and the Lessee is obligated to pay compensation, in respect of each day of such delay, at the level of the daily fee agreed on the basis of the Lessor’s applicable price list plus statutory VAT. In any case of late return, the full daily rate shall be payable regardless of the time of day of such return.

Hired articles shall be returned in their original wrappings/packaging and complete with accompanying records – e.g. operating instructions - to the extent provided by the Lessor.

Section 5 Forwarding, costs, passage of risks

The Lessor readies the hired article for pick-up at the scheduled point in time at the agreed warehouse. As of the point in time of pick-up by the Lessee the pertinent risks pass to the latter.
At the Lessee’s request the carriage/shipment (in either direction) of the hired article may be organised by the Lessor, in which case the transport/shipping charges need to be borne and paid to the Lessor by the Lessee. Where the Lessor, at the Lessee’s request, enlists the services of a third party/a third-party company for forwarding or delivering the hired article, the risk of deterioration or loss of the article/accessories passes to the Lessee as of the point in time of hand-over of the article by the Lessor to the carrier/the person designated for the purpose. For the purpose of return transport/return shipment the passage of risks to the Lessor occurs as of the point in time of receipt of the hired article/accessories by the latter.

Section 6 Title to hired articles

The hired articles are the property of the Lessor. They may not be pledged, transferred by way of security or disposed of. Nor may they be assigned to any third party except with the Lessor’s express written consent. The Lessee is required the promptly inform the Lessor of any enforcement action. Any costs thereby incurred to protect the Lessor’s rights of possession and ownership are borne by the Lessee, who is moreover required to reimburse the Lessor for any loss thereby sustained by it as a result of the loss of the hired articles.

Section 7 Lessor’s liability

The Lessor is liable for any damage based on the grossly negligent or wilful breach of its duties (including by the Lessor’s representative or vicarious agents).

Any other claims for liability (e.g. for damage due to the interruption of operations/defects to devices expressly including loss of data) are excluded. Nor is the Lessor liable for any loss of data attributable to the deployment of the storage mediums. The Lessee is obligated to protect itself by suitable measures against any potential loss of data.

This exclusion of liability does not extend to injury to life, body or health. The latter risk is governed by the applicable statutory provisions. Claims to damages arising from any breach of material contractual obligations are limited to foreseeable damage typical of the given type of contract. Where the Lessor has been charged with the delivery of the hired article to the Lessee and such delivery is delayed for reasons for which the Lessor is not answerable, the Lessee has no pertinent claims e.g. by way of damage by default. The same shall analogously apply where the Lessor is charged to collect the hired article. Nor is the Lessor liable for any direct or indirect damage to property or other legal interests of the Lessee or third persons arising from interruptions of operations, failures etc. of hired articles including accessories. Any liability of the Lessor for damage to property or other legal interests of the Lessee or any third persons is ruled out.

Section 8 Lessee’s undertakings and liability

The Lessee undertakes to handle the hired articles and the accessories expertly, properly and with care. The Lessee is obligated to safeguard the hired articles against damage or theft by third parties. The Lessee represents that the hired articles will be transported, kept safe, assembled and operated only by persons properly introduced to their respective duties. The article-specific usage, transport and safety instructions issued by the Lessor are mandatory. The Lessee is obligated to check the hired articles for defects right after collecting them/taking delivery thereof and to immediately give notice of such defects. Notice of defects or damage sustained by hired articles and/or accessories at a later stage needs to be immediately given to the Lessor by e-mail or fax (see Section 3 above).

If a hired article is stolen or involved in a burglary or robbery or otherwise lost, the Lessee is obligated to promptly call in the police and have the incident recorded by them.

The Lessee is liable for any damage culpably caused by it. In this context the Lessee shall be held liable for intent and gross negligence, Section 276 BGB. The same is true of any damage done to a hired article by a person associated with the Lessee. The Lessee’s liability also extends to such damage as is caused by inappropriate packaging or in the course of return delivery or of late return delivery at the Lessee’s fault.

Where the Lessee or any third party within the meaning of Section 278 BGB is answerable for the loss of or damage to a hired article, the Lessee is obligated to bear the rental fee plus VAT applicable to the period of repair work as well as in case of loss.

Hired articles may not be sublet.

Section 9 Liability for third party activities

Within the scope of its obligation to exercise care, observe due diligence and its duty of disclosure, the Lessee is answerable also for fault on the part of persons coming into touch with hired articles at the Lessee’s instigation.

Section 10 Insurance and retention (excess)

The Lessor has insured the hired articles with an insurance provider against theft and damage. Coverage is worldwide. As breakage of glass is not covered, the Lessee is free to arrange for such coverage on its own. The Lessee undertakes to handle the hired articles in accordance with the applicable insurance terms. Any failure to do so entails the loss of insurance cover and full liability on the Lessee’s part. The applicable insurance terms are available for inspection by the Lessee at the Lessor’s places of business.

Net amounts retained are

  • € 400.00 in respect of damage to equipment per rental transaction and
  • € 1,000.00 in respect of damage to hire cars,

so that in each case of damage the Lessee will at least have to bear or refund to the Lessor the above retention.

Please note that the subject insurance policy does not provide for any compensation in case of intent or gross negligence. Damages of that kind shall be refunded by the Lessee to the Lessor in full. The Lessee is obligated to promptly notify the Lessor in writing by e-mail or fax of any occurrence of damage. If a hired article is stolen, involved in a burglary or robbery or otherwise lost, the Lessee is obligated to promptly inform the police and have the incident recorded by them.

Section 11 Miscellaneous

Oral collateral agreements have not been made or would be invalid. Modifications of and amendments to the given agreement require the written form.

Section 12 Venue

Disputes arising from the given agreement are exclusively governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany. The Lessor maintains several places of business. Current locations are Berlin, Stuttgart and Marbella. It is hereby agreed that, if the Lessee is a merchant, the applicable venue shall be the Lessor’s place of business through which the given agreement is concluded.