1. DEFINITIONS
Offer: any offer, in whatsoever form, made by or on behalf of Efra Animal Transport with a view to concluding an agreement. The offer contains a description of the service, the costs involved, and the conditions under which the service is being offered.
General Terms & Conditions: these General Terms & Conditions of the Efra Animal Transport Company, which are applicable to the offer, the agreement and the service.
Service: the service or services by means of which the client uses the services of Efra for the transport of animals, whether or not for consideration.
Efra Animal Transport: The European Foundation for Relocation of Animals, registered address: Steenoven 7D, 3911TX Rhenen [the Netherlands].
Order: any activity related to the transport of animals to be carried out by Efra Animal Transport at the order of the client.
Client: the natural person or legal entity who/that enters into an agreement with Efra Animal Transport.
Agreement: the agreement between Efra Animal Transport and the client, on the basis of which Efra Animal Transport provides the service; these General Terms & Conditions will apply to all agreements.
Website: Efra Animal Transport internet site is www.efra.nl.
2. GENERAL PROVISIONS
2.1 The General Terms & Conditions apply - to the exclusion of any others - to the offer, the agreement and the service, and to all other juristic or commercial acts that may reasonably precede these. The General Terms & Conditions are applicable at all times.
2.2 Provisions which deviate from these General Terms & Conditions can only be agreed in writing.
2.3 Any Terms & Conditions used by the client will remain unaffected insofar as they are not incompatible with the General Terms & Conditions of EFRA. In the event of any conflict arising, the provisions of the General Terms & Conditions of Efra Animal Transport will prevail at all times, even if the contracting party stipulates otherwise.
2.4 In the event of a discrepancy between the oral and written communications of Efra Animal Transport, the written communications will take precedence.
2.5 If the client provides EFRA with information, in any form whatsoever, the client warrants the accuracy of such information. Efra Animal Transport is not under any obligation to verify the accuracy of this information.
2.6 The client must inform EFRA of any change of address at least 14 days in advance. Efra Animal Transport can never be held liable for any damage or loss resulting from an untimely or incorrect change of address notice.
2.7 The client may not transfer, resell or otherwise make available to third parties his rights and obligations ensuing from the agreement without the prior written consent of EFRA; the agreement is deemed to include the offer and the use of the service.
2.8 EFRA reserves the right to combine separate transport orders from different clients.
3. OFFERS AND THE FORMATION OF THE CONTRACT
3.1 Any offer made by Efra Animal Transport, in whatsoever form, is made without obligation unless the offer indicates otherwise.
3.2 The transmission of confirmation(s), approval(s) and/or other documentation can never be deemed to oblige Efra Animal Transport to accept an order.
3.3 Except where parties have expressly agreed otherwise, in writing, an offer will only be deemed to have been approved by the client when Efra Animal Transport has received a written confirmation to that end.
3.4 The agreement comes into effect as soon as Efra Animal Transport accepts or has accepted the order in writing; the date of the confirmation is decisive. Barring an immediate written protest by the client against the confirmation, the order is deemed to reflect the content of the agreement correctly and in full.
3.5 No rights may be derived from an offer, irrespective of the form in which it is made.
3.6 Efra Animal Transport reserves the right to pass on any changes or fluctuations of the currency exchange rate in the price of the service.
4. PERFORANCE OF THE SERVICE
4.1 Efra Animal Transport will make every effort to carry out the service with due care. The service will be exclusively carried out for the client, not for any third party that may be associated with the client. Efra Animal Transport cannot guarantee that the result intended by the client will be achieved.
4.2 Efra Animal Transport cannot guarantee that use of the service will be appropriate for the client, unless and insofar as it has expressly indicated otherwise.
4.3 The client is at all times obliged to provide any data and information which Efra Animal Transport may require or otherwise desire. The client is also obliged to provide Efra Animal Transport, at all times and in good time, with details of any other facts and circumstances that might be of importance for a correct performance of the service.
4.4 The client is at all times responsible for the correct delivery of any official documents that may be needed for the transportation of the animal(s). These documents must be provided to Efra Animal Transport in good time, and in any event no later than at the start of the transport operation.
4.5 Efra Animal Transport is entitled to pass on to the client any necessary costs incurred as a result of prevailing legislation. Efra Animal Transport is also entitled to pass on to the client any costs incurred as a result of changes introduced by the client after performance of the service has commenced.
4.6 A maximum of 120 minutes is allowed for both the loading and unloading of the animal(s).
5. CANCELLATION
5.1 The agreement is binding. The order cannot be cancelled after the agreement has been concluded. If the order is nonetheless cancelled five (5) working days before the service is to be carried out, the client is obliged to pay Efra Animal Transport 50% of the invoice amount plus any costs as described in article 5.3 of these General Terms & Conditions as have already been incurred. If the order is nonetheless cancelled three (3) working days or less before the service is to be carried out, the client is obliged to pay Efra Animal Transport the full invoice amount plus any costs as described in article 5.3 of these General Terms & Conditions as have already been incurred.
5.2 If the order is cancelled during the actual service, in connection with circumstances unrelated to the performance of Efra Animal Transport, the client is obliged to pay Efra Animal Transport the full invoice amount and to defray any costs as described in article 5.3 of these General Terms & Conditions as have already been incurred.
5.3 The client is obliged to pay Efra Animal Transport for costs incurred in connection with the service (for example: reservation fees, costs for the booking of a vessel, payment of truck tolls (LKW Maut), transport insurance, etc.).
5.4 If an order which is to be carried out as a joint delivery or transport operation in combination with the order of another client is cancelled, the client is obliged to pay Efra Animal Transport the full invoice amount and to defray any costs as described in article 5.3 of these General Terms & Conditions as have already been incurred.
6. LIABILITY AND FORCE MAJEURE
6.1 Efra Animal Transport excludes all and every liability with regard to the animals it cares for and transports. Performance of the agreement, which explicitly includes the transport and care of the animals, is always at the risk of the client.
6.2 Efra Animal Transport can never be held liable for indirect damage or loss suffered by the client, which expressly includes but is not limited to immaterial damage and/or trading loss, including loss of profits.
6.3 For the purposes of these General Terms & Conditions, “force majeure” will be taken to mean: any and every circumstance that is unforeseen and/or independent of our will and which cannot be imputed to Efra Animal Transport. The term also includes any non-imputable shortcoming of Efra Animal Transport suppliers and/or third parties that Efra Animal Transport has engaged for the performance of the agreement, transport difficulties, hindrance, failure or malfunctioning of equipment, illness, fire, acts of war, government measures (which includes, in any event, import and export bans), quota restrictions and operational disruptions affecting Efra Animal Transport or its suppliers, involuntary disruptions or obstacles as a result of which performance of the agreement becomes more expensive and/or more onerous, such as storm damage and/or other natural disasters, as well as imputable non-performance on the part of Efra Animal Transport suppliers as a result of which Efra Animal Transport is unable or no longer able to fulfil its obligations to the client.
6.4 If, as a result of force majeure, Efra Animal Transport must deviate from the agreed transportation date and/or time, Efra Animal Transport cannot be held liable for any ensuing damage or loss (for example: travel expenses, unworked hours, etc.).
6.5 Efra Animal Transport is not obliged to fulfil any obligation if it is prevented from or hampered in doing so, in whole or in part, by force majeure, irrespective of the temporariness or permanence of the situation.
6.6 Efra Animal Transport obligations will be suspended if performance thereof is affected by force majeure. If the force majeure situation continues for more than ninety (90) days, each party has the right to terminate the agreement by sending written notice to this effect to the other party. In such cases, any partial performance of the agreement already made will be settled proportionally.
6.7 Force majeure situations caused by third parties, as a result of which the transported animals cannot be delivered to the correct destination, are for the account and risk of the client; this also includes waiting times and other costs incurred such as standstill, telephone, overtime, engagement of external transport companies, stabling, etc. Waiting time is charged at EUR 55 per hour per driver.
7. SUSPENSION
7.1 Efra Animal Transport is entitled to suspend performance of its obligations ensuing from the agreement, in part or in whole and without notice of default being required, if the client fails to fulfil its obligations in respect of the agreement; this includes performance of the service.
7.2 Suspension does not entitle the client to claim any form of compensation. The suspension will end when Efra Animal Transport has determined that the client has belatedly fulfilled his obligations. The costs of suspension are for the account of the client.
8. PAYMENT
8.1 Unless expressly agreed otherwise, payment must be made to Efra Animal Transport prior to the performance of the agreement; alternatively the client can issue Efra Animal Transport with a single payment direct debit authorisation by which the transfer of the invoiced amount can be effected. The client must ensure that there is sufficient balance on the account. A surcharge of EUR 15 applies in the case of a reverse charge. Unless a written agreement between the parties specifically dictates otherwise, the invoiced amount must be transferred to Efra Animal Transport bank account. The payment must be credited to Efra Animal Transport account within 14 days of the invoice date.
8.2 The value date indicated on Efra Animal Transport bank statement will be taken to be the date of payment.
8.3 All payments made by the client will first be set off against any outstanding interest due to Efra Animal Transport, then against any collection charges incurred by Efra Animal Transport, and subsequently against outstanding invoices starting with the longest overdue.
9. INTEREST AND CHARGES
9.1 If payment is not effected by the method described in article 8.1 of these General Terms & Conditions, or by another method agreed in writing, the client will be deemed to be in default by operation of the law. Interest on the outstanding amount, at the rate of 2.0% per month, is due from that moment.
9.2 All judicial and extrajudicial costs incurred are for the account of the client. Judicial costs also include the cost of legal counsel and representation during judicial proceedings, insofar as these exceed the court-approved scale of costs [liquidatietarief]. Extrajudicial collection costs amount to at least 15% of the amount outstanding from the client, including the aforementioned interest.
10. APPLICABLE LAW
10.1 The offer, the agreement and the service are governed exclusively by Dutch law.
11. DISPUTES
11.1 All disputes arising from or connected with an agreement subject to these General Terms & Conditions, including disputes which are only considered as such by one party and disputes relating to these General Terms & Conditions and/or their interpretation and application, whether of a factual or a legal nature, will be resolved by the competent civil chamber of the court of Utrecht, unless the subdistrict court is deemed competent.
12. PRICES
12.1 All prices quoted are exclusive of VAT [BTW] and the costs of transport insurance, unless agreed otherwise in writing.
12.2 In the event of an increase in one or more of its cost price factors, Efra Animal Transport is entitled to raise the prices, with due observance of any existing statutory provisions on the understanding that any known future price rises must be disclosed.
12.3 Efra Animal Transport uses different tariffs for its various services. Information on tariffs can be provided on request. No rights can be derived from Efra Animal Transport tariff schedule.
12.4 Introduction of a new tariff schedule automatically invalidates previous versions.
13. TRANSPORT AND GENERAL RISK
13.1 If no specific instructions are received from the client, Efra Animal Transport will determine the transport method on the basis of its own expertise. Unless a written agreement between the parties specifically dictates otherwise, the client will bear the full risk of the transport, including any damage or loss attributable to negligence and/or failure on the part of the carrier.
13.2 Any possible specific wishes of the client with regard to the transport can only be carried out if the client has declared in writing that he will bear the attendant costs.
13.3 The client has the option to insure the transport and the animal(s) to be transported against damage, including injury to and/or death of the animal(s). The cost of such insurance is for the account of the client. On request, Efra Animal Transport will inform the client of the cost of such insurance.
13.4 Stabling of the animal(s) is carried out at the risk of the client. On the basis of its professional experience, Efra Animal Transport will make every effort to ensure that the animal(s) is/are cared for and supervised/managed in the best possible way. The client bears the full risk, including any damage or loss attributable to negligence and/or failure on the part of Efra Animal Transport.
14. DISSOLUTION
14.1 The client may only dissolve the agreement on the grounds of a failure on the part of Efra Animal Transport if, after a proper written notice of default in which a reasonable period of time is granted for the remedy of the failure, Efra Animal Transport fails imputably in the fulfilment of the essential obligations ensuing from the agreement for which, under the terms of the agreement, it can be held liable.
Note: The English language version of Efra Animal Transport General Terms & Conditions is a translation. While every care has been taken in the translation, the original Dutch language version will prevail in the event of any dispute as to the interpretation of the provisions.