General Terms and Conditions for the BRITA Online Shop

1. Scope of application and delivery restrictions

  1. All contracts for the sale of goods between BRITA SE, Heinz-Hankammer-Str.1, 65232 Taunusstein, Germany, telephone: +49 6128 / 746-0, fax: +49 6128 / 746-355 (hereinafter "BRITA") and the customer shall be governed exclusively by these General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter "GTC").
  2. Customers within the meaning of these GTC may be both consumers as well as entrepreneurs (hereinafter "Customer").“Consumer” is an individual acting for purposes which are wholly or mainly outside that individual’s trade, business, craft or profession. “Trader” is a person acting for purposes relating to that person’s trade, business, craft or profession, whether acting personally or through another person acting in the trader’s name or on the trader’s behalf.
  3. BRITA will only supply Customers who provide a delivery address in the United Kingdom.

2. Conclusion of contract

  1. The presentation of the goods in the BRITA online shop does not constitute a binding offer to conclude a purchase contract.
  2. The purchase contract is concluded upon submission of an order by the Customer (offer) and subsequent acceptance by BRITA. After the order has been submitted, BRITA shall send the Customer an email confirming receipt of the order and listing the details of the order (order confirmation). This order confirmation does not constitute acceptance of the Customer's offer. Acceptance occurs when another email is sent to the Customer confirming the shipping of the goods (shipping confirmation).
  3. BRITA may refuse to conclude a contract with the Customer.
  4. The Customer can place an order by performing the following steps:
    1. Adding an item to the shopping basket;
    2. Confirming the shopping basket;
    3. Following the various order steps indicated in the order progress bar at the top of the relevant pages of the BRITA online shop, entering the information required at each step;
    4. The Customer may review and modify certain details of their order at any stage of the ordering process. In addition, they have the opportunity to check and change all the information relating to the order as well as the data they have provided (including the details and the total order value) in the last step of the process before placing the order. The last step in question is appropriately highlighted in the order progress bar at the top of the BRITA online shop page; it is also indicated by the presence of a button or link to "Submit" (thereby submitting) the order (as opposed to the "Continue" button displayed on the previous pages of the process).
    5. Transmission of the order to BRITA takes place via the button or the "Buy now" link in the last step of the ordering process.
  5. The order placed by the Customer and the contract concluded shall be archived by BRITA and made available to the Customer in the BRITA online shop.

3. Right to Withdraw from Distance Contracts

  1. If the customer is a consumer, he/she shall be entitled to a right to withdraw as set forth in the following Information concerning the Right to Withdraw, provided if a distance contract has been concluded:

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the goods.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (BRITA SE, Heinz-Hankammer-Str. 1, 65232 Taunusstein, Germany, Tel: 0800 279 4145, email: shop@brita.net) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired.

We will bear the cost of returning the goods insofar as the return shipment will be made from the United Kingdom. Goods which cannot be sent as a parcel will be collected from the customer.

You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

2. The right of cancellation does not apply to the delivery of sealed goods which, for reasons of health protection or hygiene, cannot be returned if their seal has been removed after delivery.

4. Model withdrawal form

To

BRITA SE

Heinz-Hankammer-Str.1
65232 Taunusstein
Deutschland (Germany)
E-Mail: shop@brita.net:

I/We (1) hereby give notice that I/We (1) withdraw from my/our (1) contract of sale of the following goods (1)/for the provision of the following service (1),

Ordered on (1)/received on (1),

Name of consumer(s),

Address of consumer(s),

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),

Date

(1) Delete as appropriate.

5. Delivery and shipping costs

  1. Unless otherwise agreed, the Customer shall bear the shipping costs indicated on the web pages. When ordering via the BRITA online shop, the shipping costs are indicated both on the web pages and in the shopping basket. The costs for a specific shipping method or special packaging requested by the Customer shall be borne by the Customer.
  2. BRITA reserves the right to make partial deliveries unless this is unreasonable for the Customer. Additional shipping and packaging costs arising from partial deliveries shall be borne by BRITA.
  3. If BRITA is in default, the Customer shall only be entitled to withdraw from the contract after the unsuccessful expiry of a reasonable grace period set for performance by BRITA.
  4. BRITA is entitled to withdraw if a supplier of BRITA breaches its contractual obligation and does not supply BRITA with the ordered goods. In this case, BRITA shall inform the Customer immediately of the non-availability of the ordered goods and reimburse any counter-performance already rendered by the Customer without delay.

6. Prices and terms of payment

  1. All prices stated in the BRITA online shop, in the e-mail order confirmation, in the shipping confirmation or elsewhere are inclusive of the respective applicable British value added tax. If an increase in value added tax comes into force after the Customer's order (submission of the offer), this shall not affect the costs to be paid by the Customer. Any customs duties incurred shall be borne by the Customer.
  2. The Customer may select a payment method from the list of payment methods.
  3. In order to hedge the credit risk, BRITA reserves the right to make the delivery of the ordered goods dependent on advance payment in individual cases.
  4. Unless otherwise stated in the order, the order confirmation, the shipping confirmation or elsewhere, the remuneration owed by the Customer shall be due without deduction upon delivery of the goods to the Customer. If the Customer fails to pay an invoice within 30 days of the due date and receipt of the invoice, BRITA is entitled—without prejudice to any other claims—to charge annual interest on arrears at a rate of five percentage points above the base rate applicable at the time. BRITA expressly reserves the right to assert further damages.
  5. For the first demand for payment (first reminder) (unless the Customer only formally falls into arrears with this demand for payment/reminder) a fee of GBP 2.00 will be charged; for the second demand for payment (second reminder) a fee of GBP 4.00 will be charged. Each party shall be at liberty to prove higher or lower costs.

7. Retention of title

  1. The goods shall remain the property of BRITA until the amount owed has been paid in full.
  2. If the Customer does not pay the amount owed in full, BRITA is entitled to withdraw from the contract after the setting and unsuccessful expiry of a reasonable period of grace. In the event of withdrawal, BRITA shall take back the goods and, if necessary, demand that the Customer assign to BRITA all claims against third parties for surrender of the goods.

8. Material defects

  1. BRITA warrants in accordance with the following provisions that all delivered goods shall be free of material defects at the time of transfer of risk.
  2. BRITA shall remedy material defects within a reasonable period of time (subsequent performance), either by eliminating the defect (rectification) or by delivering an item free of defects (replacement delivery). If subsequent performance fails, is unreasonable for the Customer or is refused by BRITA—or is justified for other reasons after weighing up the interests of both parties—the Customer shall be entitled, without restriction, to the statutory rights of withdrawal or reduction and, if applicable, compensation for damages and expenses. However, there shall be no right of withdrawal if the defect is merely an insignificant material defect.
  3. BRITA's liability shall not apply if the Customer modifies the goods themselves or has them modified by third parties without BRITA's consent, unless the Customer proves that the material defects in question have not been caused either wholly or in part by the modification and that the modification does not make subsequent performance more difficult.
  4. BRITA shall not be liable for defects arising from normal wear and tear, external factors or improper use.

9. Liability

  1. BRITA shall be liable for damage in accordance with the statutory provisions for personal injury, for damage in accordance with the Product Liability Act, for damage caused by fraudulent conduct and for damage caused by intent or gross negligence on the part of BRITA, BRITA's legal representatives or BRITA's vicarious agents.
  2. BRITA shall be liable for other damage in accordance with the following provisions, insofar as nothing to the contrary results from a guarantee assumed by BRITA: BRITA's liability for damages shall be limited to the amount of the foreseeable damage typical of the contract in the event of a slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations or of obligations, the fulfilment of which is essential for the proper performance of the contract and the observance of which the Customer may regularly rely upon (cardinal obligations).
    In all other cases, any liability of BRITA for damage caused by slight negligence shall be excluded.
  3. Under the current state of technology, data communication via the Internet cannot be guaranteed to be error-free and/or available at all times. BRITA shall therefore not be liable for the constant and uninterrupted availability of the BRITA online shop or for technical and electronic errors over which BRITA has no control and which occur during a business transaction, in particular for delays in the processing or acceptance of offers.
  4. The above exclusions and limitations of liability shall also apply with regard to the personal liability of the statutory organs, legal representatives and employees of BRITA as well as the persons used by BRITA to fulfil its obligations.

10. Statute of limitations

  1. The Customer's claims for subsequent performance and damages due to a defect shall become time-barred—except in cases of fraudulent intent—within two years from delivery of the respective goods to the Customer. The exercise of a right to withdraw from the contract or to reduce the remuneration shall be excluded if the Customer's claim for performance or subsequent performance is already time-barred.
  2. Claims of the Customer based on a breach of duty other than a defect shall become time-barred—except in cases of intent or gross negligence—within three years of the claim arising. This does not apply to claims for damages due to bodily injury.

11. BRITA "money-back guarantee"

  1. BRITA grants a voluntary "money-back guarantee" for correspondingly marked products in the BRITA online shop.
  2. The Customer is entitled to return goods covered by the "money-back guarantee" to BRITA within 30 days without stating reasons. The 30-day period begins with the receipt of the goods by the Customer. The timely dispatch of the goods shall be sufficient to meet the deadline.
  3. The Customer shall bear the risk associated with the return. In all other respects, clause 3 above on the right of withdrawal shall apply mutatis mutandis to return shipping and the assumption of the costs thereof.
  4. The Customer is not obliged to pay compensation for any deterioration in value caused by the intended use of the goods that are covered by the money-back guarantee. If and insofar as the Customer has already made a payment (i.e. purchase price and shipping costs) for the returned goods, BRITA shall refund this payment within 30 days. If the Customer returns only some of the purchased goods and if these goods fall under the "money-back guarantee" and were ordered by the Customer as individual goods of an order comprising several goods, BRITA shall refund the purchase price of the returned goods and the corresponding share of the shipping costs.

12. Set-off / Retention / Assignment

  1. The Customer may only offset their own claims if these claims have been legally established, are undisputed or acknowledged. There shall be no right of retention if this is based on claims arising from another contractual relationship. If the Customer is a consumer, the right to set off a claim they have against BRITA against a claim of BRITA against this Customer/consumer shall not be restricted or excluded.
  2. If the Customer is a company, claims against BRITA cannot be assigned.

13. Miscellaneous

  1. The business relationship between the Customer and BRITA shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany, to the exclusion of the United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (Vienna CISG Convention of 11 April 1980). If the Customer is a consumer, this choice of law shall not affect the mandatory provisions of the law in the United Kingdom if the Customer has their habitual residence here.
  2. If the Customer is an entrepreneur, does not have a general place of jurisdiction in the United Kingdom or moves their domicile or habitual residence out of the United Kingdom after conclusion of the contract or if the domicile or habitual residence is not known at the time the action is brought, the place of jurisdiction for all disputes shall be the registered office of BRITA, 65232 Taunusstein. However, BRITA is also entitled to institute legal action against the Customer in the courts with jurisdiction over the latter's place of residence. If the Customer is a consumer domiciled in the United Kingdom, the Customer is entitled to bring an action against BRITA before a court of competent jurisdiction at the Customer's domicile.

Special Supplementary Terms and Conditions for the "Cartridge Service"

1. Scope of application and delivery restrictions

  1. All contracts between BRITA and the Customer via the BRITA online shop for the "Cartridge Service" shall be governed exclusively by these GTC and these Special Supplementary Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as "Special Terms and Conditions").
  2. If and insofar as these Special Terms and Conditions deviate from the GTC, they shall take precedence over the GTC.

2. Object of the contract

The contract for the "Cartridge Service" is a contract for the supply of a set amount of selected cartridges determined by the Customer during a defined period of time  in the form of multiple separate deliveries. The times of the deliveries and the number of cartridges to be delivered with each of these deliveries is determined by the Customer in the order.

3. Right to Withdraw from Distance Contracts

  1. If the customer is a consumer, he/she shall be entitled to a right to withdraw as set forth in the following Information concerning the Right to Withdraw, provided if a distance contract has been concluded:

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason.

The withdrawal period will expire after 14 days from the day on which you acquire, or a third party other than the carrier and indicated by you acquires, physical possession of the first good.

To exercise the right of withdrawal, you must inform us (BRITA SE, Heinz-Hankammer-Str. 1, 65232 Taunusstein, Germany, Tel: 0800 279 4145, email: shop@brita.net) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory.

To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we shall reimburse to you all payments received from you, including the costs of delivery (with the exception of the supplementary costs resulting from your choice of a type of delivery other than the least expensive type of standard delivery offered by us), without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from this contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the goods back or you have supplied evidence of having sent back the goods, whichever is the earliest.

You shall send back the goods or hand them over to us, without undue delay and in any event not later than 14 days from the day on which you communicate your withdrawal from this contract to us. The deadline is met if you send back the goods before the period of 14 days has expired.

We will bear the cost of returning the goods insofar as the return shipment will be made from the United Kingdom. Goods which cannot be sent as a parcel will be collected from the customer.

You are only liable for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the handling other than what is necessary to establish the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

2. The right of cancellation does not apply to the delivery of sealed goods which, for reasons of health protection or hygiene, cannot be returned if their seal has been removed after delivery.

4. Model withdrawal form

To

BRITA SE

Heinz-Hankammer-Str.1
65232 Taunusstein
Deutschland (Germany)
E-Mail: shop@brita.net:

I/We (1) hereby give notice that I/We (1) withdraw from my/our (1) contract of sale of the following goods (1)/for the provision of the following service (1),

Ordered on (1)/received on (1),

Name of consumer(s),

Address of consumer(s),

Signature of consumer(s) (only if this form is notified on paper),

Date

(1) Delete as appropriate.

5. Delivery and shipping costs

The shipping costs incurred for delivery of filter cartridges within the framework of the cartridge service shall be borne by BRITA. Only the costs for special shipping methods or special packaging requested by the Customer shall be borne by the Customer.

6 Prices and terms of payment

The Customer shall pay the corresponding amount for each individual delivery. This amount owed by the Customer shall be due and payable without deduction upon invoicing. BRITA shall be entitled to issue the corresponding invoice 10 days before the respective delivery.

7. Retention of title

  1. BRITA shall remain the owner of the filter cartridges of the respective delivery until full payment of the amount owed for the delivery.
  2. If the Customer fails to pay the amount due for a particular delivery or fails to pay it in full, BRITA shall be entitled to dissolve the contract in respect of the delivery in question or future deliveries before the due date in part or in full by giving written notice to the Customer.

8. Right of termination

The "Cartridge Service" contract is a contract for the regular delivery of goods over a predefined binding period that is not automatically renewed. Ordinary termination during the contractual term is excluded. This shall not affect the right of the Customer to terminate the contract extraordinarily for special reasons and the right of revocation in accordance with clause 3 of these Special Terms and Conditions.

Version: September 2022