1 Scope and Parties to the Agreement
1.1 These User Terms shall exclusively regulate the use of the HORSE24.com platform and the use of the subsidiary platforms (hereinafter jointly called the „Online Auction Platform“). The User Terms shall not regulate the content of the agreements concluded about the Online Auction Platform. The latter is determined solely by the applicable auction terms.
1.2 For users of the Online Auction Platform, the contracting party is HORSEMEDIA GmbH, Lütke Venn 1, D-49536 Lienen (hereinafter called “HORSEMEDIA”). HORSEMEDIA only provides the operators of the subsidiary platforms with the technical infrastructure. HORSEMEDIA itself does not become a contracting partner of the Agreement concluded within the framework of the auctions.
2 Subject of the Agreement
2.1 The Online Auction Platform is a platform where horses of individuals and legal entities and of business partnerships (hereinafter called the "auction organisers") can be auctioned by means of an online auction. Users can participate in this online auction as bidders.
2.2 HORSEMEDIA provides the Online Auction Platform to the users free of charge. HORSEMEDIA is therefore only liable for damages resulting from defects or errors of the Online Auction Platform, including its unavailability, if HORSEMEDIA has fraudulently concealed (arglistig Verschwiegen) the defect / error causing the damage from the user (§ 600 German Commercial Code, Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch, BGB).
2.3 Auctions published on the Online Auction Platform and the bids placed therein are not verified by HORSEMEDIA for their legality, correctness and completeness. This applies in particular to the correctness and completeness of the information provided concerning the horses offered; HORSEMEDIA provides no warranty for this whatsoever. Questions about the auctions and the horses offered must be directed to the respective auction organiser.
2.4 HORSEMEDIA may make the use of the Online Auction Platform or individual functions thereof or the extent to which individual functions can be used subject to certain conditions. For example, these may apply to the verification of access data or to the type of account (private/commercial).
2.5 HORSEMEDIA can restrict or temporarily suspend the operation of the Online Auction Platform if this is necessary due to capacity limits, or due to the safety or integrity of the server or due to performing technical measures, in particular maintenance work. HORSEMEDIA is not obliged to extend auctions that end during such a period, even if bidding is not possible.
2.6 No. 2.5, sentence 2 applies mutatis mutandis to periods in which the Online Auction Platform is completely or partially unavailable due to reasons beyond the control of HORSEMEDIA, in particular due to a cyber attack or an overload of the Online Auction Platform by too many users.
2.7 HORSEMEDIA may authorise third parties (subcontractors) to perform its obligatory services, or it may employ these to help with the performance of such services.
3 Registration
3.1 To participate in an auction as bidder requires registration as a user of the Online Auction Platform. Registration can only be done with the registration form provided by HORSEMEDIA on the Online Auction Platform. Upon confirmation of the registration by HORSEMEDIA, the user is accepting these User Terms. Registration establishes an agreement between HORSEMEDIA and the user concerning the use of the Online Auction Platform (hereinafter called "User Agreement") HORSEMEDIA is not obligated to confirm a registration and thus the conclusion of the User Agreement.
3.2 The data requested in the registration process include obligatory questions which must be answered completely and correctly. In particular, it is inadmissible to use a concealed identity. Registering users must truthfully state whether they will use the Online Auction Platform as part of their commercial or self-employment activities. In that case, users must provide their VAT ID number.
3.3 Individuals must be of legal age at the time of registration. When individuals register, only individual persons must be named as users.
3.4 Legal entities or partnerships may only be registered by an individual with representation authority whose personal name must be given.
3.5 Should the information submitted upon registration change, users are obligated to update the information in their user account without delay.
3.6 Every individual or partnership may register only once for the Online Auction Platform. The user account is not transferable and may be used only by the person who has registered. In particular, bids may be placed only by the person who has registered as a user.
3.7 After a reasonable period of time, HORSEMEDIA may delete users who have not completed the registration process. If a user is not active on the Online Auction Platform for a period of at least 180 days although online auctions were held during that period, HORSEMEDIA may deactivate or delete the user's access. HORSEMEDIA will notify users before deactivating or deleting them.
4 Using the Online Auction Platform
4.1 It is prohibited to use several user accounts or to interact with other users to manipulate the auctions held on the Online Auction Platform. In particular, it is prohibited to manipulate the price for an offered horse by placing bids without the intention of buying the horse.
4.2 Users may not place a bid in an Online Auction when either the entire Online Auction or individual offers within it are characterised as an offer directed exclusively to entrepreneurs.
4.3 The Online Auction Platform must not be used for racist, discriminatory or pornographic purposes, for purposes that are contrary to the youth protection laws, purposes which are politically extreme or otherwise illegal or which are in violation of official regulations or conditions, or to store such data on the server of the Online Auction Platform. In case of violations, HORSEMEDIA is authorised to delete the data thus affected and to deactivate or delete the user's access following a prior warning.
4.4 Users shall keep their access data, in particular their password, confidential, protect these data against being known and against third parties gaining access to them, and users shall not share these data with unauthorised persons. A secure password must be chosen with at least eight characters containing at least one capital letter, one number and one special character.
4.5 Users shall notify HORSEMEDIA immediately if they suspect that their access data, in particular their password, may have become known to unauthorised persons.
5 Blocking and limiting access
5.1 HORSEMEDIA may - as a precaution against damages - temporarily limit or block the user's access to the Online Auction Platform, especially access to the bidding function, when and if there is a sufficient probability that (i) the user has violated the User Agreement, these User Terms and/or existing law, the user has shared or is sharing access data with third parties, or that there is another kind of abuse, third-party use or abuse of the access data, and (ii) if there is another use contrary to the Agreement that adversely affects the Online Auction Platform, HORSEMEDIA, the auction organisers, other users of the Online Auction Platform or the rights of third parties such that a direct action to prevent damages is required. HORSEMEDIA shall limit the blockage to a period necessary for preventing damages and shall notify the user when a limitation or blocking of access is intended as long as this does not thwart the prevention of damages. This clause shall not affect the rights of termination.
5.2 In a case where a user is repeatedly committing a violation under No.5.1, sentence 1, in spite of a warning by HORSEMEDIA, HORSEMEDIA reserves the right to permanently block the user's access and to permanently exclude the user from the future use of the Online Auction Platform. In case of an only temporary blocking, the access right is reactivated after the blocking period and after the end of the reason for the blockage, and HORSEMEDIA will notify the user of this by email. A permanently blocked access right cannot be restored; the affected user account will be deleted. In any case, HORSEMEDIA shall immediately notify the user of a blockage. This clause shall not affect the right of termination.
5.3 A user whose access was blocked permanently may not register with the Online Auction Platform again.
6 Termination
6.1 Users may terminate the User Agreement at any time.
6.2 HORSEMEDIA may terminate the Agreement at any time effective at the end of a month by giving 14 days notice. This clause shall not affect the right of HORSEMEDIA to block and limit access in accordance with No. 5.
6.3 When HORSEMEDIA terminates a user agreement with a user, that user may not register for the Online Auction Platform again.
6.4 This shall not affect the right of both parties to terminate the agreement for an important reason.
7 Conclusion of an agreement for auctions
7.1 Every auction on the Online Auction Platform has a certain bidding period.
7.2 When auction organisers enter a horse in the Online Auction Platform for auction, they automatically place an offer to conclude an agreement. The offer may include other terms named in the bidding terms. Users accept the offer as they place a bid. Acceptance is valid under the condition precedent that the user is the highest bidder after the bidding period has expired. A bid expires when another buyer places a higher bid during the bidding period.
7.3 The auction organisers and HORSEMEDIA are entitled to discontinue the auction before the bidding period ends. In that case, there is no agreement with the users who have already placed bids.
7.4 Users can withdraw bids only for a valid reason. The following are valid reasons for withdrawing a bid: (i) the inadvertent placement of a wrong amount, and (ii) a substantial change in the description of the offered horse after the bid was placed. Other valid reasons for withdrawing a bid may be established in the auction organiser's auction terms. If a bid is withdrawn because of the inadvertent placement of a bid with a wrong amount, the user is obligated to pay compensation for damages under section 122, Civil Code (BGB).
7.5 The content and the parties of the Agreement concluded via the Online Auction Platform are determined by the auction terms of the auction organiser in question.
8 Liability
8.1 Without detriment to HORSEMEDIA's liability for defects and errors of the Online Auction Platform according to No. 2.2, HORSEMEDIA shall in any case only be liable according to the following provisions in No. 8.2 to 8.6:
8.2 In case of intent or gross negligence, HORSEMEDIA shall be liable without limitation for all damage caused by it and its legal representatives or employees.
8.3 In case of slight negligence, HORSEMEDIA shall be liable without limitations for loss of life, physical injury or damage to health.
8.4 Otherwise, HORSEMEDIA shall only be liable for violating a substantial contractual (cardinal) obligation. Substantial contractual obligations are all obligations the performance of which allows the proper performance of the Agreement, on which users do rely and may rely regularly, and the violation of which jeopardises the achievement of the contractual goal. In those cases, liability is limited to compensation for predictable damage typical for this type of agreement.
8.5 HORSEMEDIA shall be liable for the loss of data only up to the extent that would have been required for the restoration of these data if the data had been properly and regularly safeguarded.
8.6 Liability according to the Product Liability Act shall not be affected.
9 Concluding provisions
9.1 HORSEMEDIA may at any time propose to the user amendments to these User Terms. Amendments to these User Terms will be proposed to users in text form (e.g. by e-mail) at least 30 days before the proposed amendments would become effective. The user's acceptance shall be deemed to have been declared if HORSEMEDIA is not notified in writing before the proposed date on which the amendments take effect. If users are not satisfied with the amendments, they are entitled to terminate without notice and without cost up to the date on which the amendments would come into effect. In its notification of proposed amendments, HORSEMEDIA also especially advises users of their right to reject, of the rejection deadline and of the possibility to terminate. In addition, the amended User Terms will be published on the Online Auction Platform.
9.2 All declarations made by users to HORSEMEDIA under the User Agreement must be in written form (e.g. via email). This also applies to the termination of the User Agreement or to a waiver of this requirement for the written form.
9.3 The User Agreement shall be subject to German substantive law and excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. For consumers in the European Union, the mandatory terms of the consumer protection laws of the member state in which they reside are applying in addition.
9.4 There are no ancillary provisions outside this Agreement and outside any of its annexes if applicable.
9.5 Should individual provisions of these User Terms prove to be invalid, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining content of the User Terms.
9.6 Should gaps arise in the practical application of the User Agreement which the parties have not foreseen, or should the invalidity of a provision of these User Terms become legally recognised or binding, or unanimously recognised by both parties, the parties agree to fill or replace these gaps or invalid provisions in an objective manner and in recognition of the economic purpose of the Agreement.
9.7 HORSEMEDIA is neither prepared not obligated to participate in a settlement procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
9.8 In the event of contradictions or deviations between the German and English language version of these User Terms, the German language version shall prevail.
9.9 For users who are merchants within the meaning of the German Commercial Code, who represent a public-law fund or a public corporation, the exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes in connection with this User Agreement is Oldenburg unless a statutory standard requires another jurisdiction.
The following Declaration of Cancellation applies exclusively to the User Agreement with HORSEMEDIA and not to auctions.
Widerrufsbelehrung You have the right to cancel this Agreement within fourteen days without stating reasons. The cancellation deadline is fourteen days following the date of the Agreement. To exercise your right to cancel, you must inform us, HORSEMEDIA GmbH Lütke Venn 1 D-49536 Lienen Telefon: +49 5484 9994925 E-Mail: info@horsemedia.com by means of a clear declaration (e.g. a letter sent via post, fax or email) about your decision to cancel this Agreement. For this purpose, you may use the enclosed sample cancellation form, although that is not required. To observe the cancellation deadline, it is sufficient to mail the notification about exercising the cancellation before expiry of the cancellation period. Consequences of cancellation If you cancel this agreement, we must refund all the payments we received from you including the cost of delivery (except for additional costs resulting from your request for a different kind of delivery than the standard most favourable kind we have offered), without delay and no later than fourteen days after the date on which we received the notification of your cancellation of this Agreement. For that refund we will use the same payment method which you have used for the original transaction unless we have specifically arranged a different method with you; in no way will there be any charges because of this refund. If you have requested that the services are to begin during the cancellation period, you must pay us an appropriate sum commensurate with the proportion of the services already rendered until the time at which you have notified us that you have exercised your cancellation right for this Agreement in relation to the entire services agreed upon in the Agreement. Sample cancellation form (If you wish to cancel the Agreement, please complete this form and return it to us) – An die HORSEMEDIA GmbH, Lütke Venn 1, D-49536 Lienen, Telefon: +49 5484 9994925, E-Mail: info@horsemedia.com – I/we (*) hereby cancel the Agreement I/we (*) have concluded about providing the following services: – Ordered on (*) – Name of user(s) – Address of user(s) – Signature of user(s) if notified in paper form – Date ____________________________________________ (*) Delete if inapplicable |