General conditions

Applicability 

1. Our general conditions and terms apply to all contracts entered, unless contrary stipulations are adopted and with the exclusion of all conditions of the co-contractor, hereafter referred to as the client. The general conditions and terms are an integral part of the contracts and exemptions are only valid if stated explicitly in writing by all parties.  

Studies, offers & stipulations 

2. Our offers are only binding in the event of the presence of the manager’s or her appointee’s signature and the offers remain valid for 2 months, unless otherwise stipulated. In consideration of placing an order after this allotted time period has transpired, a price adjustment can occur, in which case the client may refrain from proceeding with the order.

3. Additional work, i.e. the execution of work in addition to the prior adopted assignment, is always executed at an hourly fee and the materials used are charged at the tariff price. The client agrees with the applicable rates of that moment, after prior appraisal on his part, unless there are explicit deviations hereof. By way of derogation from article 1793 BW, additional work can be proven to the fullest extent of the law.

4. All studies, measurements, plans, documents, drafts, blueprints, samples, and designs remain our property, protected under intellectual property rights. After the delivery of the aforementioned property, it may not be misused neither by the clients nor by a third-party. The client has liability for any potential misuse, and COUST Acoustics BV (hereafter “COUST”), reserves the right to claim compensation, with a minimum of 10% of the contract price.

Orders/advances/prices

5. Once the order has been confirmed, cancellation or returning the product(s) can only occur in mutual agreement. When a unilateral breach of contract has occurred by means of an action of the client, the client will be obliged to pay the sum of the work executed to date, the commodities already purchased for the specific project, and 20% of the contract price as compensation. Work is deemed executed, in the event of the customization process being finalized or the customization process already being initiated.

6. Once the order has been confirmed, an advance of 50% of the contract prices is required to be paid immediately.

7. If we need to revisit a workplace in order to deliver an additional product or in order to complete the original assignment as a result of a client’s negligence or a client’s or third-party’s wishes, transport and working hours will be charged at cost-plus prices from the company and back to the company, even if this order has been included in the offer.

8. All adjustments to the order or to additional work, that are asked for, will be settled in the aforementioned manner at cost-plus prices after its completion.

Execution of the works

9. The workplace is required to be accessible in a normal manner and to have been cleaned at the expense of the client to facilitate the regular execution of the works. Futile commuting costs and possible waiting time will be charged at the expense of the client as well.

10. The client provides our employees with a parking area from approximately 10 meters, and hereby adopts the costs of the potential lease for parking signs, and the costs of procuring a non-parking permit. Parking infractions and expenses on account of not providing an adequate/lawful parking area near the building are invariably charged at the expense of the client.

11. Services provided by the client free of charge: electricity, telephone, potential elevators and lifting devices.

12. The client or his representative attends the commencement of the installation. He/ She receives our assembly team; indicates where our products should be installed; makes the decisions having regard to the precise installation of our ceiling and wall panels and signs the delivery document to indicate reception after the completion of the installation.

13. The client concedes and concurs that the installation of acoustic solutions potentially entails noise disturbance and dust, and the client adopts appropriate measures to ensure that this inconvenience is restricted/abated. COUST commits itself to work as cleanly as possible. If the works cannot proceed due to the client’s miscommunication (working area not accessible, no adjustments to the electricity), the futile commuting costs and the costs of a secondary offer are charged at the expense of the client with a minimum of € 200 for each installer. A secondary offer only occurs after the payment of the entire sum.

14. In the event of the client’s supplied plans not corresponding to the actual situation and/or in the event of the client’s absence at the commencement and his consequential inability to instruct our assembly team in the precise installation of the acoustics products, COUST cannot be held accountable for potential miscommunication.

15. The commodities are transported at risk of COUST to the working area. When the materials are collected by the client, conveying the commodities will occur at the client’s own risk. 

16. After delivery and/or the installation of the commodities, the risk is transferred to the client.

17. All delivery times stated in our orders should be deemed as an indication and outside of our responsibility. The implementation period is adjourned by unforeseeable circumstances without any fault of COUST and no compensation is due.

18. If there is a danger that conduits and pipelines could be damaged during the installation, we would like to ask you to make us aware of this risk and to provide us with a blueprint of the pipelines’ or conduit’s network.

19. The company COUST does not on any account perform works having regard to electricity. We confine ourselves to the installation of an MDF-block, in which the wiring of lighting, smoke detectors, sound installations, etc. can be put through, and confine ourselves to putting the cable through. All electric fixtures are removed by the client before the installation, and after completion the electric fixtures are reconnected by the client as well. The cables are extended by the client to a minimum of 10 centimetres, if this extension is required to be able to put the cable through the ceiling/wall panel.

Retention of title

20. The commodities remain the property of COUST until the full payment of the price. All risks are at the expense of the buyers. We conserve the advances paid as compensation for potential losses upon resale. Henceforth, in the case of a resale of commodities, still property of the seller, the buyer conveys all claims as a result of the resale to the seller.

Delivery, warranty and liability 

21. The visible defects or the defects in conformity, which existed at the moment of the installation, have to be declared within 5 days in a registered letter, otherwise they will be deemed as admissible.

22. Unless a contrary stipulation is adopted, it is agreed that within 5 days after completion with no notices in a registered letter to COUST that the workmanship will be deemed as definitively accepted.

23. Not to be deemed as deficits in conformity, irrespective of it being visible or concealed: slight differences in colour or dimensions, as far as these cannot be prevented from a technical perspective, or as far as these are generally accepted or as far as these are specific to the materials used.

24. The company COUST is not liable for any damages to pipelines, cables, wiring. The drilling and cutting into the walls, partitions, floor, ceiling, and others like these are conducted at the risk of the client. The client will make the company COUST explicitly aware of the possibility for damages to pipelines and others like these, if this risk is present, a blueprint of the pipelines will have to be provided by the client. If however, irrespective of this stipulation, in a legal procedure or by an arbitration procedure, some liability is withheld in pursuance of the company COUST, a sum equal to the amount of exemption determined by the company COUST and its insurer for such risk negotiated policy, remains at the expense of the client.  

25. The civil liability of a contractor, in the event of a mistake, is restricted to the amount for which he is insured.

Payment/invoicing 

26. Our invoices are payable within 14 days at our registered place of business. The performances are charged in accordance with the contract. All our invoices are deemed to have been accepted, if no registered letter disputing the invoices has been submitted within 5 days. 

27. If the invoices are not paid within the allotted time limit, late payment interests are due by right and without further proof of default at the legally prescribed rate, increased by four points, until the date of the actual payment. Hereafter a standard reimbursement of 10% from the amount still due is owed by right and without further proof of default. In the event of a non-timely payment of an invoice, all other claims to the client that have not yet been expired will become demandable.

Disputes

28. All disputes, that stem from this agreement, fall within the jurisdiction of the courts in the district of Ghent. All contracts are covered by Belgian law.

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