General Terms and Conditions
Please note: This is a translation for convenience. The German version is the legally binding text. Read the binding German version
| Provider | NK IT Service – Nikolaj Kinas, Rauentaler Str. 22/1, 76437 Rastatt |
| support@nk-it.de | |
| Scope | All contracts, deliveries and services |
§ 1 – Scope and contracting parties
1.1 These general terms and conditions (GTC) apply to all contracts, deliveries and services between NK IT Service, owner Nikolaj Kinas, Rauentaler Str. 22/1, 76437 Rastatt (hereinafter “Provider”) and the customer (hereinafter “Customer”).
1.2 These GTC apply to both consumers and businesses. Deviating, conflicting or supplementary terms of the Customer do not become part of the contract, even if the Provider does not expressly object to them. Deviations apply only if the Provider expressly confirms them in text form.
1.3 These GTC apply to all services of the Provider, in particular IT services, IT support, remote support, maintenance and managed services, web hosting, e-mail services, domain services, the setup and administration of IT systems, consulting, project work, training as well as the sale and delivery of hardware and software.
§ 2 – Definitions
2.1 A consumer is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are predominantly outside their trade, business or self-employed professional activity.
2.2 A business is a natural or legal person or a partnership with legal capacity that, when concluding the contract, acts in the exercise of its trade, business or self-employed professional activity.
2.3 Text form means in particular e-mail or other electronic communication that allows a permanent record to be reproduced.
2.4 A service contract is a contract for recurring services such as maintenance, managed services, hosting, system support or comparable continuing obligations.
2.5 Work performance (Werkleistung) exists where a specific result is owed. A service (Dienstleistung) exists where only an activity is owed, but no specific result.
§ 3 – Conclusion of contract exclusively online
3.1 Contracts are concluded exclusively online via digital communication and ordering channels (in particular online forms, digital acceptance of quotes, e-mail, electronic order processes).
3.2 The presentation of services, prices and descriptions does not constitute a legally binding offer, but an invitation to the Customer to submit an offer.
3.3 The Customer submits a binding offer by completing the ordering process in full and, in the final step, clicking the button “Vertrag zahlungspflichtig abschließen” (conclude contract subject to payment). By clicking it, the Customer confirms that they are placing an order subject to payment.
3.4 The contract is concluded as soon as the Provider accepts the order, confirms it or begins to perform the services.
3.5 The Provider is entitled to reject orders without stating reasons, in particular where payments are outstanding, where technical implementation is not possible, where there is a recognisable risk of misuse or where the Customer fails to cooperate.
3.6 The Customer is obliged to provide complete and truthful information when concluding the contract. The Customer bears the risk of any consequences of incorrect or incomplete information.
§ 4 – Scope of services, service description, contract documents
4.1 The specific scope of services follows from the respective contract, quote, service description, booked package or an annex agreed in writing.
4.2 Response times, availability, service levels, prioritisation, maintenance windows, uptime and the specific content of the services follow exclusively from the individual service contract or the respective service description. These GTC do not establish any fixed response times or availability commitments.
4.3 The Provider is entitled to have services performed by vicarious agents or subcontractors.
4.4 The Provider is entitled to adapt services where this is necessary for security reasons, because of technical developments or statutory requirements, and remains reasonable for the Customer.
§ 5 – Duties of the Customer to cooperate
5.1 The Customer provides all information, documents, content, data, decisions and access rights required to perform the services.
5.2 The Customer ensures that they hold the rights required to use and pass on data, software, licences, content and access credentials.
5.3 Delays caused by missing or late cooperation lead to a reasonable extension of deadlines. Additional work is remunerated separately.
5.4 Unless backups have been expressly agreed as a service, the Customer is responsible for the backup and recoverability of their own data.
5.5 The Customer is liable for damage and disruption caused by inadequate cooperation, incorrect information, missing system requirements, missing licences or interventions by third parties.
§ 6 – Remuneration, invoicing, late payment
6.1 The prices agreed in the contract apply. All prices are net prices plus statutory VAT, where VAT is payable.
6.2 Recurring services are invoiced in advance unless expressly agreed otherwise.
6.3 Invoices are due immediately unless a different due date has been agreed.
6.4 If the Customer is in default of payment, the Provider is entitled to suspend services, block access and withhold further services until payment has been made in full.
6.5 The Provider is entitled to charge reminder fees and default interest in accordance with the statutory provisions.
6.6 Set-off is permitted only against claims that are undisputed or have been established by a final court decision.
§ 7 – Term, renewal, termination
7.1 Unless agreed otherwise, the minimum term for recurring services is 12 months.
7.2 The contract is automatically renewed for a further 12 months in each case unless it is terminated in text form no later than 2 months before it expires.
7.3 The right to extraordinary termination for good cause remains unaffected. Good cause exists in particular where payment is more than 4 weeks in arrears or where essential duties to cooperate are persistently breached.
7.4 If the Customer terminates early without good cause, the claim to remuneration remains in place until the end of the agreed term, less any expenses saved.
§ 8 – IT services, IT support and remote support
8.1 IT support, remote support, fault analysis, troubleshooting, consulting and administrative work are provided as services unless expressly agreed otherwise. No particular result is owed.
8.2 The Provider does not owe an immediate solution, but professional handling in accordance with the agreed service conditions.
8.3 The Customer must ensure that remote access is technically possible and that all necessary permissions are granted.
8.4 The Provider is entitled to stop or refuse work where security-relevant risks exist or where the Customer refuses necessary cooperation.
8.5 The Customer acknowledges that work on IT systems, updates, configuration changes and troubleshooting can lead to temporary restrictions or outages. The Provider is not liable for unavoidable side effects, provided the work was carried out professionally.
8.6 The Provider is entitled to take suitable measures for fault analysis and restoration, in particular restarts, updates, rollbacks, configuration changes, log analyses and the replacement of components, provided this is necessary and proportionate.
§ 9 – Maintenance and managed service contracts
9.1 Managed services and maintenance contracts cover only the services expressly described in the contract.
9.2 The Provider is entitled to carry out maintenance work at its own discretion within the agreed maintenance windows.
9.3 Response times and prioritisation are governed exclusively by the respective service contract.
9.4 Not included are in particular: a) repairing damage caused by third-party interventions, improper use or missing updates on the part of the Customer, b) resolving faults at third-party suppliers (providers, manufacturers), c) free-of-charge restoration of data where no backups exist, d) training, additional documentation or restructuring, unless agreed.
9.5 The Provider is entitled to suspend or restrict services if the Customer permanently refuses security-relevant measures, in particular necessary updates, password changes or minimum protection standards.
§ 10 – Web hosting, e-mail services, domain services
10.1 Web hosting and e-mail services are provided as continuing obligations. Uninterrupted availability cannot be guaranteed.
10.2 The Provider is entitled to carry out maintenance, updates, security measures and system adjustments where this is necessary.
10.3 The Customer is obliged to keep passwords secure, to change them regularly and to report misuse without delay.
10.4 The Customer is solely responsible for the content stored or sent via hosting or e-mail services. The Customer indemnifies the Provider against all third-party claims arising from this.
10.5 The Provider is entitled to block accounts or content where there are concrete indications of misuse, spam, malware, legal violations or security risks, or where the Customer is in default of payment.
10.6 Domain services are subject to the allocation rules of the respective registries and providers. The Provider does not owe a result where a domain registration fails for reasons outside the control of the Provider.
10.7 The Customer is obliged to provide correct domain owner and contact details and to keep them up to date. The Customer bears any costs or damage caused by incorrect details.
10.8 On termination of the contract, the Customer is obliged to arrange for the backup and transfer of their data or domains in good time before the contract ends, if they wish to do so. The Provider is not obliged to retain data for longer than is technically necessary.
§ 11 – Setup, configuration, administration and support of systems
11.1 The setup and administration of systems (e.g. servers, clients, networks, Microsoft 365, security solutions, firewalls, backup systems) is carried out within the agreed scope.
11.2 The Provider does not owe permanent freedom from defects, as IT systems depend on updates, changes made by manufacturers and external influences.
11.3 The Provider is not liable for faults or restrictions caused by manufacturer updates, provider problems, third-party software, improper use or third-party interventions.
11.4 The Customer is obliged to implement recommended security measures. If the Customer fails to do so, they bear the resulting risk.
11.5 The Provider is entitled to implement security-relevant measures immediately where this is necessary to avert concrete risks.
§ 12 – Consulting, project work, training
12.1 Consulting, training and project-related work are provided as services unless expressly agreed as work performance. No particular commercial, technical or legal result is owed.
12.2 Statements, recommendations and assessments are based on the knowledge available at the time the service is provided. Changes by manufacturers, legislation, the market or technology may mean that recommendations have to be adjusted later.
12.3 The Customer is responsible for the decisions they take on the basis of the advice given.
12.4 The Provider is not obliged to carry out legal reviews or to provide legally binding advice. Where the Customer has to implement legal requirements, the Customer is responsible for obtaining suitable legal advice.
§ 13 – Sale and delivery of hardware and software
13.1 Where the Provider sells hardware or software, the delivery terms agreed in the contract apply. Delivery dates are binding only if they have been expressly guaranteed.
13.2 The Provider is entitled to make partial deliveries where this is reasonable for the Customer.
13.3 The goods remain the property of the Provider until payment has been made in full.
13.4 The Customer must inspect deliveries without delay and report transport damage immediately.
13.5 Warranty claims are governed by the statutory provisions, unless these GTC provide for a permissible limitation.
13.6 The following applies in addition to business customers: obvious defects must be reported in text form within 5 working days, otherwise the goods are deemed to be approved.
§ 14 – Acceptance of work performance
14.1 In the case of work performance, the Customer is obliged to accept the work.
14.2 The Provider makes the work available for acceptance and informs the Customer that it is ready for acceptance.
14.3 The Customer must declare acceptance in writing or in text form within 7 calendar days, or report material defects in concrete terms.
14.4 Acceptance is deemed to have taken place if the Customer uses the work productively, publishes it, makes it available to third parties or does not report any material defects within the acceptance period.
14.5 Immaterial defects do not entitle the Customer to refuse acceptance.
14.6 The warranty period begins on acceptance.
§ 15 – Rights in respect of defects, rectification, warranty
15.1 Where a defect is reported with justification, the Provider has the right to subsequent performance. The Provider decides at its own discretion whether to perform by rectification or by replacement.
15.2 The Customer must describe defects in a comprehensible way and provide all information required to examine them.
15.3 A defect exists only where there is a deviation from the expressly agreed service description. Requests for changes are not defects.
For consumers (private customers)
15.4 a) Consumers have the statutory rights in respect of defects. b) Further rights (price reduction, withdrawal from the contract, damages) arise only after subsequent performance has failed or been refused, or after a reasonable period has expired without result.
For businesses (commercial customers)
15.5 a) Businesses must inspect services without delay. b) Obvious defects must be reported in text form within 5 working days at the latest. c) If the business fails to report defects in good time, the service is deemed to be approved and warranty claims are excluded. d) For business customers, the limitation period for claims in respect of defects is 12 months from acceptance or from performance of the service, as far as legally permissible. e) The Provider is entitled to make subsequent performance conditional on prior payment in full of the remuneration due.
§ 16 – Guarantee
16.1 A guarantee is given only where this has been expressly agreed as a guarantee in text form.
16.2 General statements about quality, security, performance or “optimisation” do not constitute a guarantee.
16.3 Manufacturer guarantees or third-party guarantees exist exclusively in relation to the respective manufacturer or third-party supplier.
§ 17 – Right of withdrawal – for consumers only
17.1 Businesses have no right of withdrawal.
17.2 In the case of distance contracts, consumers generally have a 14-day right of withdrawal. The withdrawal period begins when the contract is concluded.
17.3 To exercise the right of withdrawal, the consumer must inform the Provider of the decision to withdraw from the contract by means of a clear declaration in text form.
17.4 Early start of the service: if the consumer ticks the separate checkbox provided for this purpose when concluding the contract, they expressly request that the service begin before the withdrawal period expires.
17.5 Expiry of the right of withdrawal: the right of withdrawal expires where the Provider has fully performed the service and the consumer, before performance began, expressly consented to the Provider starting performance before the withdrawal period expires and confirmed their awareness that they lose the right of withdrawal upon full performance of the contract.
17.6 Compensation for value: if the consumer withdraws after performance has begun, they owe compensation for the value of the services provided up to the withdrawal. This compensation covers in particular working time, analysis, configuration, support, documentation and other partial services.
§ 18 – Liability
18.1 The Provider is liable without limitation in cases of intent and gross negligence, for damage arising from injury to life, body or health, and where liability is mandatory by law.
18.2 In the case of slightly negligent breach of essential contractual obligations, liability is limited to the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract.
18.3 The Provider is not liable for lost profit, loss of anticipated savings, indirect damage, consequential damage, loss of production or business interruption.
18.4 The Provider is not liable for data loss where the Customer has not carried out adequate backups or where those backups are not up to date.
18.5 The Provider is not liable for faults, outages or restrictions caused by providers, third-party systems, third-party software or other external influences beyond the control of the Provider.
§ 19 – Rights of retention, blocking, discontinuation of services
19.1 The Provider is entitled to withhold, block or discontinue services where payments due are not made or where there is substantial suspicion of a security risk or of misuse.
19.2 The Customer has no right to have items handed over or data exported before all outstanding invoices have been settled in full.
§ 20 – Confidentiality and data protection
20.1 Both parties undertake to treat all information that is not publicly known as confidential.
20.2 The Provider processes personal data within the framework of the applicable data protection laws.
§ 21 – Force majeure
21.1 Events of force majeure release the Provider from the obligation to perform for the duration of the disruption.
21.2 Claims by the Customer on the grounds of force majeure are excluded as far as legally permissible.
§ 22 – Final provisions
22.1 German law applies.
22.2 For business customers, the place of jurisdiction is the registered office of the Provider, as far as legally permissible.
22.3 Should any provision of these GTC be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.
22.4 Amendments and additions must be made in text form.