General Terms and Conditions for the Use of “partslink24”

General Terms and Conditions of Business (hereinafter referred to as "T&C") of LexCom Informationssysteme GmbH (hereinafter referred to as "LexCom"; refer to the Legal Notice for more contact and company information), Rüdesheimer Strasse 23, 80686 Munich, Germany, for the “partslink24” Internet offering addressed by the domains “partslink24.com” and “partslink24.de” (hereinafter referred to as “partslink24”).

 

Version: March 2017July 2019

 

(The T&C set out below also include legal information on the rights of consumers pursuant to the statutory provisions on distance selling contracts and electronic business transactions.)

§ 1 Scope of Application

1. The user accepts these T&C by clicking on a button designed for this purpose during the registration process or by selecting a subscription. Users may access these T&C at any time also after conclusion of the contract by following the "T&C" link which is available anywhere on partslink24 (on the top right of the website).
2. The terms and conditions set out below shall apply to all contracts between users of partslink24 and LexCom relating to the use of partslink24. Users of partslink24 are usually entrepreneurs (§ 14 BGB - German Civil Code); however, the service is also open to consumers (§ 13 BGB). Those provisions of the T&C that relate specifically to entrepreneurs are identified accordingly.
3. Any deviating, contrary or supplementary T&C shall not become an integral part of the contract unless their validity has been expressly agreed to in writing.  

§ 2 Scope of Services

1. partslink24 offers information of various automotive manufacturers about their genuine spare parts. In addition, users are offered to use the partslink24 platform to make inquiries without commitment relating to genuine spare parts of these automotive manufacturers from providers registered with partslink24 (usually authorized dealers) and these inquiries may result in purchase orders.  partslink24 is usually available all around the clockoffers an average monthly availability of 98.5%, except for a scheduled maintenance window on Sundays from 6:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. (German time) and except for any causes which are beyond the responsibility of LexCom. The use of partslink24 is subject to a charge. The amount of the fees is displayed for the selected product on registration. The prices appear under the "Register nowSubscription" field depending on the specific country. If the use of partslink24 should be free of charge during any previously announced pilot phases, its use shall be at the user's own risk.
2. LexCom shall not be responsible in the course of rendering its services for (a) the completeness of the spare parts entered into its database (b) the completeness and accuracy of the data and information provided by the manufacturers (including their respective general terms and conditions) since the compilation of these data is beyond the control of LexCom. Whenever any deficiency regarding the data should become apparent, LexCom will immediately inform the manufacturer concerned and make corrected data available. All spare part prices displayed are recommended retail prices specified by the manufacturers. Only the individual seller can provide binding pricing information.
3. The partslink24 concept is understood as an offer to facilitate the flow of information from the manufacturers to the actors in the secondary market such as, for example, authorized car dealers or spare part dealers and brand-independent car repair shops. The parties enter into a business relationship by the buyer sending an inquiry without commitment (clicking the "Send" button on the "Validate&Send" page) and the seller accepting the inquiry. Any subsequent conclusion of contract, delivery and payment of the spare parts between the users (prospective buyers and dealers) is beyond the responsibility of partslink24.
4. partslink24 itself offers neither spare parts nor information beyond the contents of the database.
5. partslink24 offers users registering as dealers to make their general terms and conditions, purchasing and shipping modes available for access via the menu option "Administration > Edit dealer data".  

§ 3 Obligations of Spare Part Dealers

1. Spare part dealers are obliged to process inquiries received via partslink24 with due care and in due time, make inquiring persons aware of any obvious errors and handle the inquiry in the further course of the transaction in accordance with generally accepted business practice. However, there is no obligation to submit a purchase offer in response to an inquiry. If an inquiry should be rejected, the prospective buyer shall be informed accordingly without delay. The same shall apply in case of any changes, replacements or additions in the dealer's offer in relation to the prospective buyer's inquiry. A purchase order with binding effect shall only be created by the prospective buyer accepting an offer from the dealer. The status of inquiries is evident from the status field of "Received orders/offer requests". For the meaning of the various status indications, please refer to the online help.
2. Spare part dealers consent to the manufacturers participating in partslink24 and their importers being granted access to information about ordering activities with the dealers for the purpose of performance measurement. Such information shall exclusively relate to the brand(s) of the specific manufacturer/importer and will not include any information about specific customers of a dealer.

§ 4 Registration

1. Users must register with true and correct information in order to use partslink24. For this purpose, the user's first step is to enter the user's customer and payment data ("Customer data, select a password and click “Continue”. In the next step (“Availability of data"), confirm”), the user is shown additional information about the selected subscription and the range of functions in the selected country. The user acknowledges this information, confirms acceptance of the present T&C and confirmconfirms this information by clicking the "Continue" button. The user affirms that the information provided is true and complete. The user is also obliged to enter any changes in the administration area without delay.
2. In the next step ("OrderPayment options"), the user is presented a summary of the data that are essential for the registration procedure. The user selects the desired payment method and enters the user's payment data if necessary. By clicking the "Pay now" button, the user accepts LexCom's offer to conclude a user contract, also referred to as a subscription, for the use of partslink24.
3. The user affirms that the information provided is true and complete. The user is also obliged to enter any changes (company master data, billing data and user data) in the Administration area without delay.
4. Registration is only permitted to individuals and legal entities with full legal capacity to contract. If the user is registered by a representative, LexCom shall be entitled to demand proof of power of representation. The details concerning this power of representation shall be defined by LexCom and the representative must be named (e.g. “Managing director” entry in the field “Position”.”).
5. LexCom will inform the user about the completion of registration by (non-encrypted) e-mail. Along with this the user will be assigned a partslink24 ID (company ID),) and a user name and a password. This partslink24 ID and the user name serve as a unique identification of the user. The user may change the password at any time while using partslink24. The user must keep the password confidential and shall not disclose it to any third party. partslink24 will never ask a user for the password by e-mail or on the telephone. If a user having administrator rights - usually named "admin" - is permitted to create further users under the same partslink24 ID, the admin user shall register such users accordingly with true and correct data and make them aware of the necessity to maintain secrecy about the access information.
6. A user contract may also be created by the user being invited by LexCom to temporarily use partslink24 free of charge by sending the user a partslink24 ID (company ID), a user name and a password. After entering these data on the partslink24 homepage, the user will be prompted to enter and confirm the user's customer data. The user contract is concluded by the user clicking on the "Register" button on completion of the input. Subsequently the user will receive a message from LexCom asking to changefor verification of the passworduser's e-mail address. § 4 (4) of the present T&C shall be applicable.
7. The user can benefit from partslink24 by optimizing the spare part purchasing process with a dealer after registration and initiating a business relationship with a dealer by submitting an inquiry. The dealer is at liberty to respond to the inquiry and enter into a business relationship or not. This is effected accordingly by processing the inquiry or not. Inquiries can also be sent through illustration-text transmission. This feature allows dealers to e-mail individual catalogue pages from different LexCom applications to their customers via a link (valid for 24 hours). After opening the link, the recipient can either log in with his or her partslink24 login data (if available) or visit the partslink24 catalogue page as a guest. An online order for the parts listed on the page can then be placed with the sender.
8. LexCom reserves the right to cancel a user's registration at any time without prior notice and disable access for the user in case of any false statements when registering, violation of the duties arising from the user contract (particularly §§ 3 and 6) or misuse of the partslink24 portal.
9. Each user shall only be allowed to have one registration at a time on partslink24.

§ 5 Data Protection and Security

 

Any and all personal data collected from the user are handled in compliance with the German data security legislation that is applicable for LexCom. LexCom is committed to the data privacy statement available at www.lexcom.de/privacyPrivacy Statement.

§ 6 User's Obligations

1. The user confirms that the input and messages submitted by the user do not violate any legal provisions or rights of third parties and that they will not have any adverse effects on the data or the data processing system of LexCom. In particular, the user is prohibited to offer or request information or data that would violate any criminal-law or other legal provisions or the commerce of which is prohibited or subject to permission.
2. It is not permitted for users to reproduce, to save in other media, to distribute or to change the information, data, drawings, specifications and documentations ("partslink24-material") integrated in partslink24. Access to the partslink24-material via automated processes (e.g. robots, spider tools etc.) is prohibited. Individual pages may only be printed or saved for personal use.

§ 7 Prices and Conditions for partslink24

1. The fees charged are evident fromcan be viewed on the price list for the use of partslink24 homepage*.
2. All prices listed are gross prices and possibly include the applicable VAT, depending on the residence or the registered office of the recipient of service (EU/Third countries)
3. Every subscription has a minimum duration as specified in the price listMinimum durations and notice periods for the use of subscriptions can be viewed on the partslink24*. If a monthly subscription is not terminated, it shall automatically be renewed for another month. If an annual homepage*. If a subscription is not terminated, it shall automatically be renewed for another yearthe period of the minimum duration. Other products or services are subject to payment according to the price list for the use of partslink24*. The partslink24 user may terminate the subscription by clicking the red cross in the system under "Administration -> Administer subscriptions".
4. LexCom shall provide the user with invoices for the prices to be paid for the subscription in text form (PDF format).
5. All fees shall be settled by either credit card or direct debiting, depending on the user’s location. It is the responsibility of the user to ensure that the account or the credit card maintains an adequate balance and that all credit card or bank data are up to date and correct. In the event of a failed booking / reversal, LexCom may demand that the user reimburses the actual costs incurred. If settlement is made by prepayment, all fees incurred for the bank transfer shall be at the user’s charge. The user will be cleared and enabled when the amount is credited to the account of LexCom.
6. If settlement is made by prepayment, all fees incurred for the bank transfer shall be at the user’s charge. The user will be cleared and enabled when the amount is credited to the account of LexCom.
7. The user grants third parties the rights to close the FX contract and to remit the funds relating to payments executed via boleto bancario, credit cards or PAYPAL.**
8. The third parties act on behalf of the user and do not account for collecting taxes, which might originate in relation to this operation.*
9. The user grants the merchant, and any and all payment processors which may process payment transactions on behalf of the merchant, to close the FX contract and to transfer the funds relating to payments executed via Oxxo, credit cards or PAYPAL.***
10. Any and all payment processors which may process transactions on behalf of the merchant do not account for collecting taxes, which might originate in relation to this operation.***
11. Should a dealer’s status as an authorized dealer or authorized service facility of a vehicle brand be revoked, the dealer may terminate the partslink24 user contract to the end of the month during which the status was revoked. Compliance with this period of notice depends on the date the e-mail is sent to [email protected] specifying this reason.

§ 8 Consumers' Right of Withdrawal

 

Consumers (private users) have the right of withdrawal for a period of fourteen days subject to the following provisions (the right of withdrawal is excluded for traders / business users):  

§ 9 Notices and Declarations

1. According to the nature of the platform, the sales contracts initiated via partslink24 are concluded by means of electronic communications. This involves that the declarations of intent are usually made via e-mail.
2. The users recognize the unrestricted validity of declarations of intent made in this manner subject to the following clauses:
   1. In the e-mail message, common information must neither be suppressed nor circumvented by anonymization, i.e. the message must include the name and the e-mail address of the sender, the time the message was sent (date and time) as well as a repetition of the sender’s name at the end of the message. Unless proven otherwise, an e-mail message received according to the criteria of this clause shall be deemed to originate from the other party.
   2. All messages shall be phrased in German or English language and the associated “KontaktContact” module must be used.
3. The user is obliged to take note of the messages addressed to the user at least once a week.
4. Please direct any messages or declarations regarding these T&C to [email protected].

§ 10 Disruption of Service

 

If any substantial disruption of service of partslink24 should occur that is within the scope of responsibility of LexCom, a downtime of more than 24 hours shall extend the period of use by the same period.

§ 11 Limitation of Liability

1. LexCom shall be liable to the user without limitation in case of intent or gross negligence for any damage caused by LexCom or its legal representatives or persons employed in performing obligations.
2. As to ordinary negligence, LexCom shall be liable without limitation in case of injury to life, limb or health. In all other respects, LexCom shall only be liable insofar as the company should have violated an essential contractual duty. Essential contractual duties are obligations that must be fulfilled for proper performance of the contract, whose breaching would jeopardise achievement of the purpose of the contract and on whose observance the contracting party may duly rely. Liability in such cases shall be limited to the foreseeable typically occurring damage.
3. Liability pursuant to the provisions of the product liability legislation shall remain unaffected.

§ 12 Indemnification

1. The user shall indemnify LexCom against any and all claims asserted by other users or other third parties against LexCom for any violation of their rights by contents published by the user on partslink24. The user shall bear all reasonable costs incurred by LexCom as a result of any violation of a third party's rights, including any reasonable expenses incurred for legal defence. All other rights as well as any claims for damages on the part of LexCom shall remain unaffected. The user shall be at liberty to prove that LexCom has actually incurred lower costs.
2. If the user's contents should violate any rights of any third party, the user shall at the election of LexCom either procure the right to use the contents for LexCom at user's own expense or revise the contents in such a way that they are not subject to property rights.

§ 13 General Provisions / Legal Venue / Applicable Law

1. German law shall apply, excluding the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). If the user is a consumer, the applicability of binding provisions of the legislation valid in his place of residence shall remain unaffected.
2. The place of performance for all mutual services and payments under the contract shall be Munich, Germany.
3. If and to the extent a user is an entrepreneur, the legal venue shall be Munich, Germany.
4. The present T&C are published in German language and in various other languages. In case of doubt, the German version shall be authoritative for the interpretation of the T&C.
5. LexCom reserves the right to amend these T&C at any time and without having to state any reasons for such amendments. The user will be made aware of any amendment by means of an electronic message sent to the e-mail address specifiednotification while using partslink24. Should the user not object to the amendment within a period of four weeks after receipt of the messagenotification, the amended clauses shall be deemed accepted.
6. We areLexCom is neither obliged nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.

* For the detailed prices and subscription periods, please refer to the information provided in the menu "Register nowSubscription".

** Only valid for the Brazilian market

*** Only valid for the Mexican market