General Terms and Conditions of Business (GTB)
(valid as from 01.08.2005)
 
1. Imprint
Groundline GmbH, Dapontegasse 1/5, A-1030 Wien
Telephone: +43 (0) 1-713 45 50, Facsimile: +43 (0) 1-713 45 50-50
Information, data disclosure and complaints to:
Commercial Register No: FN201787x, Registration Court: Commercial Court, Vienna, VAT ID: ATU50559809
Member of the Austrian Federal Economic Chamber, Travel agency Section
Right of cancellation: 14 days from receipt of goods or, as to services, from the date of order
Place of performance and court of jurisdiction: At registered office
Oversight authority: Vienna District Court
Legal regulations: Industrial Code
Description of business: Retail
Media owner, editor, publisher, CEO: Peter Kratochwill
Address, postcode, place: see address above
Objects of the enterprise: Sale of tickets for sightseeing tours, public transportation, Museums, Attractions

 
2. Terms of Use of the website
Groundline warrants that the information provided on this web site was correct and complete as at the time of its placement herein. However, if, in spite of this, any unintended errors have arisen, we regret them. Groundline does not assume any liability for the information which Groundline has used directly or indirectly and provided on this website. The foregoing shall also apply as to any possible disadvantages which might arise directly or indirectly as a result of the information provided herein.
We reserve the right, at any time and without prior notice, to effect improvements or modifications as to the information, services, products and any other aspects of the content of this website, or to discontinue this website.
We further reserve the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time; any such amendments to be immediately valid and effective as from the time the amended Terms of Use are placed upon this website.
Accordingly, by continuing to access or to use this website you shall be deemed to agree to the amended Terms of Use.
To the extent that the software of third parties is linked to this web site by means of hyperlinks, the rules of that website provider shall apply and the rights of that website provider must be observed.
You may only use this website in conformity with these Terms of Use and exclusively for legal and legally permissible purposes. The foregoing includes obeying all applicable laws and regulations in Austria or in another jurisdiction from which you access this website.
Links on this website may point to other internet websites. We do not promote any of those websites and bear no liability for the information, the content, the products or services offered on those websites or made available through such websites. Your access to those websites and your use thereof shall be exclusively at your own risk.
We reserve the right to subject any connections to this website to our express written consent. We expressly reserve the right to withdraw our consent at any time with respect to any link that we deem to be inappropriate or controversial.
 To the extent not otherwise provided, the right of authorship for all content placed upon this website shall reside solely with Groundline GmbH. Use thereof in any manner whatsoever without our consent is impermissible and constitutes a criminal offence.
 
3. Orders
These General Terms and Conditions of Business shall apply for the sale and delivery of goods by Groundline GmbH. Terms and Conditions of the Purchaser deviating herefrom shall apply only if we have consented to them in writing or by a signature binding the company. By placing an order, the Purchaser is consenting to these General Terms and Conditions of Business and agrees to be bound by them.
Our range of products is without obligation. An order placed by a customer constitutes an offer to conclude a purchase agreement. A confirmation sent by us regarding receipt of the order and any subsequent status reports do not represent acceptance of that offer. The purchase agreement does not arise until such time as we dispatch the goods ordered and confirm such dispatch to the customer.
You may find a description of the purchase process in our online shop at: http://www.groundline.com
The prices set forth in any catalogues, brochures, price lists etc. remain at all times subject to confirmation, to the extent nothing is specifically agreed to the contrary in an individual case. In cases of doubt, the prices and services as set forth on the website shall always be deemed to be valid.
Our prices are based on our costs as at the time of providing the initial price quotation. If our costs change before the time of supply, then GROUNDLINE shall be entitled to effect a corresponding price adjustment.
Point 2.3 shall not apply to transactions with consumers within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act.
In order to place an order, the Purchaser must register with us in the course of placing the order. As to entrepreneurs: It shall be sufficient thereafter to enter the login and password which were set at the time of initial registration.
For consumers: For transactions with consumers within the meaning of the Austrian Consumer Protection Act, these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Supply [sic] shall apply only to such extent as they do not contradict mandatorily applicable provisions of the Consumer Protection Act.
 
4. Language of the contract
The content of the agreement, all other information, customer service, data and the resolution of complaints shall be offered generally in German and English.
 
5. Prices
To the extent not otherwise stipulated, all price information is deemed to include the legal rate of VAT plus any possible addition charges which shall be separately shown and billed in the form of a service charge. If export or import duties should fall due in the course of shipping, such duties shall be borne by the customer.
Sales to customers outside the EU are not subject to VAT, but such customers must pay any relevant national import duties. Sales to businesses within the EU shall not be subject to Austrian VAT where the VAT ID is stated, but such businesses must pay the VAT in their own country. Invoicing is performed in Euros.
 
6. Right of Cancellation
For entrepreneurs: For entrepreneurs (Groundline partners) the separately agreed Terms and Conditions valid in that fiscal year shall apply.
For consumers within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, the following terms and conditions shall apply:

6.1. Customers from Austria and the EU zone (except for Germany)
Customers who are consumers within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, may cancel an agreement they have entered into by distance sale (or a contractual declaration made by distance sale) within a period of 14 days from the time of receiving the goods. For this purpose it shall suffice if the cancellation notice is sent within that period without any necessity to state the grounds therefor.
In the event of a cancellation, full or partial reimbursement of the purchase price shall not be made until such time as the return of the products received by the customer is completed. The foregoing shall not apply with respect to the service charge stated in the invoice, which is not subject to any refund. The prerequisite for refunds is that the goods must be in an unused condition such that they are capable of being resold, and have been returned in their original packaging to the extent possible. The costs of shipping shall be borne by the customer.

6.1. Customers from Germany
If the customer is a consumer within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act, he may cancel his contractual declaration by letter, e-mail or facsimile, or by returning the goods, within a 14 day period without any need to state the grounds therefor. The period shall begin to run at such time as the goods are received. In order to comply with the cancellation period, it shall suffice if the customer dispatches the notice of cancellation or the goods within the period. The notice of cancellation shall be addressed to our corporate address.
In the event of a valid cancellation, the consideration received by both parties shall be returned and any utility which may have been derived shall be disgorged. If the customer is unable to return the goods in whole or in part or only in impaired condition, then the customer must in such case pay compensation to us where appropriate. Where the customer is permitted to hold goods prior to sale the foregoing shall not apply where the impairment of the goods is exclusively attributable to the examination of the same, such as this might have occurred in a retail shop. In other cases the customer may avoid any obligation to effect compensation for loss of value by not using the goods as an owner thereof would do and by avoiding any action which adversely affects the value thereof.
The goods ordered shall be returned to us. Where goods from a shipment of which the value of the order was up to ? 40.00, the customer shall bear the costs of return shipping if the goods supplied conformed to the order. In other cases the seller shall assume the costs of return shipping.

7. Delivery
Groundline reserves the right at any time to effect substantive modifications to the goods and services offered from time to time at www.groundline.com . The prices for the goods and services offered at www.groundline.com do not include costs charged by third parties. If it should not be possible to supply all of the products ordered immediately, then shipment shall not be effected until such time as all of the products are again in stock. Shipment shall be effected by registered mail. If the customer desires a more rapid form of delivery, then the same shall be subject to a separate charge.
 
8. Time of delivery
In normal cases, delivery shall be effected within 8 business days as from the time the order is confirmed, but shall in any event be effected within the legally prescribed time of delivery of 30 days as from the date of order.
If, exceptionally, delivery should be subject to delay in an individual case, we shall immediately make contact with the customer upon learning of the delay, but prior to the expiry of the 30-day period, and shall seek the customer?s agreement regarding a later delivery. If the customer is not in agreement therewith, the customer shall be entitled to rescind the contract.
 
9. Modes of payment, payment
Groundline offers its customers the highest level of comfort in handling their orders. Payment may only be made by credit card (world-wide, Eurocard/MasterCard and Visa). For retailers (tour operators and travel agents), the additional option of ?delivery on account? is offered. For credit-card payments, encrypted transmission of the data corresponding to the current state of the art, known as SSL encryption, is provided, which protects your data against unauthorised access by third parties. Payment debits are not effected until the date the goods are dispatched.
If the purchaser is in default of payment or some other obligation, Groundline may defer performance of its own obligations until such time as the arrearages or other obligations are satisfied, may avail itself of a reasonable delay in the time of delivery or may immediately accelerate the outstanding purchase price and/or all outstanding payments.
Your payment data are not stored by us and the payment procedure is carried out via  an encrypted web site. The data are transmitted in SSL encrypted form and are protected from misuse. Processing of payments is handled by Quenta Paymentsolutions Beratungs-und Informations GmbH, Primoschgasse 3, A-9020 Klagenfurt, www.quenta.at.
 
10. Data protection
Out staffmembers are subject to the obligations of confidentiality imposed by the Data Protection Act. Even the mere fact that an exchange of information has occurred is subject to an obligation of confidentiality. Routing and domain information, however, must and may be relayed to third parties.
The customer acknowledges the use of the data set forth in the contract regarding the customer for purposes of our bookkeeping and customer identification [sic] shall be stored and processed. The data are used by us in fulfilling legal requirements and for handling payment transactions.
Customer data is not provided to third parties, unless this is absolutely necessary in order to perform the contract. Our contract partners have been instructed with respect to our data protection rules and are under an obligation to us in this regard. If you should have any further questions, please contact the information officer for data protection information, general questions, complaints, etc.:
 
Information regarding 'cookies?
Cookies are small text files that are stored on your PC when you visit our website. They exclusively serve the purpose of differentiating your PC from the PCs of other users who are accessing our site at the same time. The use of cookies is widespread, because they serve to enable web sites to function more efficiently and to transmit business and marketing-relevant data to the owners of the website.
 
Information regarding ?phishing?
?Phishing? is the illegal storage of personal data by fraud. From lists third parties have procured illegally, customers are contacted unbidden and receive an e-mail requesting that they enter or confirm their bank or password details on an illegal, copied website.
We wish to note that Groundline will by no means ask you by e-mail to enter personal banking or credit card information. We only require your personal data at the time of your order. We require these details in order to debit and/or credit the relevant amount of your invoice as well as to be able to send your order to the desired address. No credit-card specific data are stored at our company.
If you should have any further questions, please contact the information offucer for data protection information, general questions, complaints, etc. :  

11. Reservation of title, Warranties, Liabilities, Guarantee
Groundline acts exclusively as the broker for the products offered herein and does not bear liability for the proper performance or fulfilment of the characteristics inherent in the products of its suppliers. As the operator of www.groundline.com Groundline effects its services with the greatest of care, but does not bear liability for goods or services provided by or procured from third parties in the event the same should arrive at our premises late or fail to arrive at all. 
Groundline shall bear liability exclusively for damage resulting from intentional acts or gross negligence and pertaining to the handling of the order as well as the delivery of orders received. 
Until such time as the ordered goods are completely paid for, the goods shall remain our property. Prior to complete payment for the goods, the customer is prohibited from using or pledging the goods, transferring title to the goods as security or granting third parties other rights therein.
Our warranty is limited to the legally prescribed period of 24 months.
The customer shall notify us of any defects discovered, if possible at the time of delivery and/or at the time the same became apparent, without, however, this being associated with any adverse legal consequences for customers for failing to do so if those customers are consumers within the meaning of the Consumer Protection Act.
Where defects are claimed with justification, we shall either provide a replacement free of charge or shall remedy the defect, in which case a reasonable time for doing so must be allowed.
If the purchase is a commercial transaction for the customer pursuant to § 1 of the Consumer Protection Act (377 subs. 1 HGB) (B2B), then the customer must inspect the goods immediately upon receipt thereof and notify Groundline without delay as to any defects discovered.
To the extent the transaction in question is not a consumer transaction, the party having suffered damage shall bear the burden of proving the existence of slight and/or of gross negligence. No compensation shall be payable for consequential damages arising from the defect as well as due to other damage to property, pecuniary losses and damages of third parties raised against the customer.
 
12. Applicable law, place of jurisdiction
The contract parties agree to the application of Austrian law to the extent no mandatory provisions of law otherwise require.
If the other contract party is a consumer, then the mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which that consumer has his usual residence shall be applicable to this agreement.
For disputes arising from this agreement, to the extent the other contract party is an entrepreneur, the parties agree that our registered office shall be the place of jurisdiction. If the other contract party is a consumer, then he or she may raise claims against Groundline either in Austria or before the courts of the contract state in whose sovereign territory he or she has his or her place of residence. If the other contract party had his or her residence or ordinary residence in Austria at the time of concluding the contract, then any claims against Groundline may only be brought before the Austrian courts.
 
13. Place of performance:
The place of performance for all consideration arising under this agreement is the official registered office of the company in Vienna.
 
14. Copyright
All information, graphics and the design of the website of Groundline GmbH are intended solely as personal information for our customers. The use thereof is at your own risk. All of the data contained in this internet publication are subject to protection under §4 and §§87a et seq. of the Copyright Act.
The reproduction, duplication and printing of this entire website are permitted only for purposes of placing orders with Groundline. Any processing, duplication, dissemination and/or public reproduction thereof exceeds ordinary use and constitutes an infringement of the copyright.
 
15. Mediation authority
We acknowledge the internet ombudsman as an extrajudicial mediation authority. For further questions on mediation, please contact our customer service: www.groundline.com  or the internet ombudsman at: www.ombudsmann.at.
 
16. Other
The invalidity, nullity or cancellation of individual provisions hereof does not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Business.
The application of the UN CISG as well as all provisions referring to the UN CISG is  hereby expressly excluded.
 
17. Compliance with law
The user of the quality mark covenants to comply with the requirements of law.