GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF DE MEUBELTAXI AS OF 11-03-2023
ARTICLE 1 - DEFINITIONS
In these terms and conditions, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them:
Company: any business or institution, whether or not independently established, with or without profit motive;
Consumer: a natural person acting for purposes outside of their business or professional activity;
Consumer move: the relocation of the household goods of a natural person who is not acting in the course of a profession or business;
Day value: the new value minus an amount for depreciation due to aging or wear and tear;
Household goods: all the goods being moved under the moving agreement; cash and negotiable securities are not included in the household goods;
Customer: the client, and/or consumer whose household goods are the subject of the moving agreement;
Market value: the amount for which an item can be traded on the regular market;
New value: the amount required immediately before the damage to purchase new items of the same kind and quality;
Moving goods: items located in a covered or uncovered space intended for furnishing or decoration of that space and already used as such; Moving agreement: the agreement for the transportation of goods whereby the Mover undertakes to transport household goods either solely within a building or dwelling, partly within a building or dwelling and partly over the road, or solely over the road;
Mover: the contractor who professionally handles consumer relocations.
Delay damage: financial loss resulting from delayed delivery of moving goods, as mentioned in article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code.
ARTICLE 2 - APPLICABILITY
1. These general terms and conditions apply to
consumer relocations:
- within a building; or
- where transportation is solely by road, including transport of trucks by ferry or rail within Europe, as part of the road transport route (e.g., transport to the UK by ferry or via the Channel Tunnel);
- or a combination thereof. All within, from, or to the Netherlands.
2. Different general terms and conditions may be agreed upon for relocations that are (partly) not carried out by road.
3. These general terms and conditions do not apply to:
- consumer relocations overseas;
- consumer relocations ordered by a third party against the will of the owner of the moving goods (evictions);
- the sale and rental of materials used by the customer to carry out a move at their own expense and risk.
4. Solely and exclusively these general terms and conditions, to the exclusion of any other general terms and conditions, apply integrally to all legal relationships between the Mover and the Customer, except to the extent that these terms have been explicitly deviated from in writing.
5. Acceptance of the non-binding quotation or placing an order for relocation implies acceptance of the applicability of these conditions.
6. If storage or warehousing of the moving goods also takes place in connection with the relocation, the general terms and conditions of the executing mover and the general terms and conditions of the company where the moving goods are stored apply, in which case these
conditions have been enclosed with the quotation or have been handed to the customer at the latest upon conclusion of the contract. Furthermore, the conditions will be sent upon first request.
ARTICLE 3 - THE QUOTATION
1. The quotation is provided in writing or electronically.
2. The quotation shall include at least:
- the work to be performed by the Mover;
- the price of those services (including VAT);
- the time and method of payment;
- if known: the date and starting time of the relocation as well as an approximate indication of the expected duration of the relocation;
- a statement that these general terms and conditions apply to the work to be performed. A copy of the general terms and conditions shall be enclosed with the quotation or shall be provided to the customer at the latest upon conclusion of the moving agreement.
3. The quotation shall be dated and shall be valid for the period stated in the quotation.
ARTICLE 4 - INSURANCE OF HOUSEHOLD GOODS
1. The Customer must declare the household goods to their own household insurance before the relocation.
2. The Mover insures the household goods for the Customer during the relocation within the Netherlands for an amount of at least €100,000 against all losses and material damage of the household goods, solely in case of liability of the Mover.
Additional conditions apply when indemnifying damages under this insurance:
- The household goods, except for the vehicles mentioned below and items with an antique or rarity value, are insured on the basis of new value, unless the day value is less than 40% of the new value. In the latter case, the day value is reimbursed.
- For motor vehicles, trailers, caravans, vessels, and their associated parts and accessories, a payout is always based on the day value.
- For items with an antique or rarity value, a payout is based on market value. Damage is defined as the difference between the value of the insured items immediately before and immediately after the event, or, at the discretion of the insurers, the repair costs determined immediately after the event by experts, plus any depreciation that remains unrepaired according to experts' assessment.
- A maximum insurance of €5,000 per event applies for theft of personal jewelry.
- A maximum compensation of €25,000 per event is granted for damages to goods intended for commercial and professional purposes.
4. The determination of value (new value, day value, or market value) is made by experts, or based on pre-appraisal if a valid appraisal report exists. If parts of the moving goods have been appraised in advance, this pre-appraisal remains valid for three years (counted from the date of the appraisal report).
5. Repair of damages and replacement of partially lost goods or missing goods may only take place after agreement on the amount of the damage has been reached between the Customer and the Mover (or the damage expert or insurer), or after the damage has been sufficiently documented.
6. In case of storage as part of the relocation within the Netherlands, the household goods are insured for the first 30 days as during a relocation. If no other agreements are made between the parties, the household goods (for a fee) remain insured in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article. The Customer has the choice to keep the household goods insured (for a fee) based on Article 4 paragraph 1 of these general terms and conditions, or for a different agreed amount. If the
insurance (possibly for a modified amount) is not continued, the liability of the custodian after the first 30 days of
storage is limited based on the AVBV 2015 (Article 15 and 18).
ARTICLE 5 - FORMATION OF THE AGREEMENT
1. Every offer made by the Mover is non-binding and can be withdrawn at any time, even immediately after its acceptance by the Customer. The Mover can only commence the execution of a contract after the order confirmation, including the declaration of applicability of the Mover's general terms and conditions, has been accepted by the Customer via email, and this acceptance has been received by the Mover. If the parties have agreed on an advance payment, the execution of the contract by the Mover will furthermore only take place after receipt of the agreed advance payment.
2. In a quotation or on the website, the standard hourly rate, or any other unit price, is always stated excluding taxes, permits, and other additional costs.
3. The formation of a contract may also be evidenced by other facts and circumstances, such as the commencement of work by the Mover for the Customer.
4. No reliance can be placed on verbal assurances or agreements. All agreements are electronically confirmed in a Contract, which is updated with each amendment.
ARTICLE 6 - AMENDMENT OF THE AGREEMENT DURING THE RELOCATION
1. The customer may request the Mover to modify the execution of the moving agreement. The desired change must be feasible for the Mover and must not disrupt the Mover's operations. Additionally, the customer must indemnify the Mover for all necessary costs and disadvantages arising from the modification of the moving agreement.
2. If the Mover is unable to execute the moving agreement in accordance with its instructions and within a normal timeframe due to unforeseen circumstances, the Mover must:
- request new instructions from the customer, or
- if this is not possible, take measures that, in the Mover's opinion, are in the best interests of the customer.
ARTICLE 7 - CUSTOMER'S DUTY TO PROVIDE INFORMATION
1. The customer shall timely inform the Mover about the moving goods:
- all items whose presence poses a particular risk of damage to the moving goods or business equipment;
- all technical items for which the manufacturer has specified special security measures to be taken by users before the start of transportation;
- all items of special nature subject to special regulations of domestic and/or foreign authorities, such as items of special value, artworks, valuable collections, firearms;
- all items valued at more than €1,000;
- all items weighing more than 75 kilograms or longer than 2 meters.
2. Regarding the relocation, the customer shall timely inform the Mover about:
- specifics regarding all locations (such as the presence of floors, stairs, or elevator, distance between the front door and the spot where the moving truck can be parked);
- other matters and circumstances that are important for the Mover to know for the purpose of the relocation (such as a broken sidewalk in front of the house on the day of the move, or road construction nearby that limits the accessibility of the location).
3. The customer is responsible for the accuracy, completeness, reliability, and suitability of the material provided to the Mover for the execution of its assignment or the data provided to the Mover.
4. The principle is that the moving goods from a certain floor are moved to the same floor at the new location. If this deviates (for example, a significant part of the household to a higher floor), the Mover reserves the right to refuse this. Any additional costs resulting from this refusal shall be borne by the Customer.
ARTICLE 8 - OBLIGATIONS OF THE MOVER
The Mover is obligated to:
- deliver the moving goods to their destination (placing them at the possibly designated spot) in the condition in which they were provided to him for packaging, disassembly, or in the condition in which they were made available for transportation.
- complete a commenced relocation without delay.
2. The obligations of the Mover arising from the moving agreement shall terminate once the moving goods have been delivered to the agreed destination.
ARTICLE 9 - CANCELLATION AND DISSOLUTION
1. The customer may cancel the agreement at any time without reason, as referred to in paragraphs 2 and 3. However, the customer is liable to the Mover for compensation. In case of cancellation within thirty days before the agreed moving date, the Mover is entitled to charge a compensation of 15% of the agreed moving price. In case of cancellation up to fourteen and seven days before the moving date, the Mover is entitled to charge a compensation of at least 50 and 75 percent of the moving price, respectively. In case of cancellation within seven days before the moving date, the full moving price is due.
2. The customer may dissolve the moving agreement if it becomes known that the Mover will not be able to carry out the move on the agreed day and time. The termination must be communicated to the Mover shortly after becoming aware of this, in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article.
3. If circumstances arise before or at the time of offering the moving goods to the Mover by one of the parties, which the other party did not need to know at the time of concluding the agreement, but which, if known, would reasonably have given it grounds not to enter into the moving agreement, or to enter into it on different terms, the other party is entitled to dissolve the agreement.
4. The dissolution shall be effected by written or electronic notification to the other party, and the agreement terminates upon receipt thereof.
5. A change in the assignment or the moving date is considered as a cancellation of the original assignment and is therefore subject to the provisions of this article.
6. If the Customer has not complied with the provisions of article 7, the Mover reserves the right to refuse assignments if this may pose a danger to personnel. This includes heavy safes, concrete furniture and pianos, or hazardous or unhygienic conditions at the location.
ARTICLE 10 - PAYMENT
1. Payment must be made in cash immediately after completion of the assignment, or prior to the move by bank transfer. The Mover reserves the right to charge a 10 percent surcharge on the total invoice if the Customer refuses to pay after the completion of the move.
2. If it has been agreed in writing in advance that the payment by the Customer may also be made by invoice, this must be done within 14 days after the invoice date, in the manner
indicated on the invoice.
3. The Customer is in default from the moment the payment term expires. After the payment term has expired, the Mover will send a payment reminder and give the customer the opportunity to pay within seven days after receipt of this payment reminder. If payment is still not made after the expiry of the payment reminder, the Mover is entitled to charge statutory interest from the expiry of the payment term and all reasonable extrajudicial collection costs incurred by him. The amount of these extrajudicial collection costs is subject to legal limits.
4. If the Customer is in default towards the Mover in the performance of any of its obligations, all reasonably incurred extrajudicial collection costs are borne by the Customer. Any judicial and enforcement costs incurred are also recovered from the Customer.
5. The Customer is also liable to pay statutory interest on all amounts owed by the Mover from the date on which default occurs until full payment of the amount due.
6. If the Customer is not the same as the person whose moving goods are the subject of the moving agreement, the Mover will make separate arrangements with the Customer regarding the payment of the costs arising from the moving agreement and the delivery if the owner of the moving goods is not reachable. If the Customer fails to fulfill its payment obligations, the owner of the moving goods is liable for the payment of the moving costs.
7. Offset against claims for payment of the moving price is not permitted unless agreed upon in writing or electronically by the parties.
ARTICLE 11: LIABILITY OF THE CUSTOMER
1. The Customer is liable for the costs and damages incurred by the Mover as a result of not providing or insufficiently providing the information mentioned in Article 7.
2. The Customer is obligated, except in cases of force majeure, to compensate the Mover for damages if, due to the actions or omissions of the Customer, the moving agreement cannot be executed or not according to agreement.
3. The Customer shall indemnify the Mover upon its first request if the Mover is held liable by third parties outside the agreement for damages or financial loss – including criminal fines – in any way related to the execution of the moving agreement by the Mover, its employees, and auxiliaries. This is if such damages result from actions or omissions of the Customer in violation of any legal provisions, such as the unlawful presence of narcotics, pornographic literature, unlicensed software, etc., in the belongings.
4. The Customer undertakes to organize the circumstances on and around the location, including parking space, transport space, permits, and exemptions for the moving trucks, moving lifts, and personnel, in such a way that the Mover is able to carry out the assignment without damage and under acceptable conditions, unless otherwise agreed in writing.
5. The Customer must apply for permits and exemptions for the assignment from the municipality (this can be done via the digital portal and usually needs to be requested 10 days in advance). If this is not the case, the Mover may refuse the assignment or the assignment will be at the Customer's risk. The Mover is never liable for consequential damage caused by this, and costs due to the Customer's negligence will be borne by the Customer and must be paid immediately from the date on which the costs and damages arise.
6. The Customer's belongings must be packed for transport by the Customer, unless otherwise agreed in advance in the assignment. Failure to do so is at the Customer's risk. Small items must be packed in closed boxes in advance. Transportable packing includes, for example:
- Fragile goods such as glassware and crockery must be individually wrapped in packing paper and packed in a moving box;
- Glass, mirrors, paintings, and natural stone in custom-made casings;
- Mattresses in mattress covers;
- Furniture wrapped in cardboard or moving blankets and film;
- Electronic devices must be packed in original boxes;
- Cabinet doors must be locked with keys and shelves removed;
- All items must be free of protruding or sharp parts;
- Assembled furniture must be of sturdy quality and, if not, must be disassembled; for example, table legs must be securely attached and not easily broken.
ARTICLE 12: LIABILITY OF THE MOVER
1. The Mover is liable for incorrectly leaving items in or taking them from loading areas if he was expressly aware of or should have been aware of them.
2. Insofar as the Customer does not appear, refuses to receive the moving goods, or does not promptly receive them, or if attachments are placed on the moving goods, the Mover is entitled to store these moving goods at the expense and risk of the rightful owner in a suitable storage place. He is obliged to inform the Customer in writing or electronically as soon as possible.
3. The Mover is not liable for damages other than those caused by the non-performance of his obligations.
The Mover who fails to fulfill his obligations is liable for the resulting damages, unless such non-performance is the result of special risks associated with one or more of the following circumstances:
- - The packing or dismantling, or unpacking or assembly of moving goods by the customer or with the assistance of any person or means provided by the customer on his own initiative;
- Assisting in the move by the owner of the moving goods, his family members, friends, or third parties requested by him to assist in the move;
- The customer's choice - although the performing mover offered him another option - of a method of packing or execution of the moving agreement that differs from what is customary for the agreed move;
- The presence among the moving goods of items for which the Mover, if he had been informed by the Customer in accordance with Article 7 of their presence and nature, would have taken special measures;
- The nature or condition of the moving goods themselves, which have been exposed to complete or partial loss or damage solely due to causes related to their own nature or condition, such as leakage, deflation, or melting of other items forming part of the household effects, the death of plants; the loss of banknotes, valuable papers, precious metals, coins and medals, precious stones, pearls, documents, and collections, unless the customer has handed over these items separately and indicating quantity and value to the performing mover before the start of the move;
- The failure or malfunctioning of electrical, electronic, and mechanical equipment.
5. The Mover is not liable for any damage to the Customer if such damage arises due to the provision by the Customer of incorrect information and/or inadequate materials.
6. The Mover accepts no liability towards anyone other than the Customer, and is indemnified by the Customer for the financial consequences of any such claims by third parties.
7. The Mover is never liable for consequential damages, lost profits, savings, or any damages due to business interruption of the Customer.
8. The Mover works exclusively with experienced movers. If others assist, other than employees deployed by the Mover, in carrying out the assignment, any damage caused by these persons is not covered by the liability of the Mover. The belongings placed in the truck by someone other than the moving staff are not insured.
9. Any delay may occur due to the extension of a move, traffic problems, bad weather conditions, incorrectly parked vehicles. The Mover is not liable for this, and the costs for waiting time are always borne by the Customer.
10. Damage to plants, aquariums, animals, stairwells, antiques, and floors remains excluded from the liability of the Mover (unless otherwise agreed in the assignment).
11. In case of hoisting with rope and pulley, it is necessary that we have access to the hoisting beam, this is your responsibility. Hoisting is at your own risk. All damages resulting from hoisting are fully at the expense of the Customer. The Customer is responsible for access to the moving hook as well as free passage for all the belongings to be moved.
12. The Mover reserves the right to terminate the agreement without any compensation being demanded in case of force majeure, strike, lockout, fire, war, mobilization, flood, and other natural disasters, or any cause of delay beyond the control of the moving company.
13. Disassembly and assembly of furniture are at the Customer's risk.
14. Liability of the Mover is void in case of damage on pre-existing damage.
15. The Mover is liable for damages resulting from an accident, negligence, or malice.
16. Movers are never authorized to make commitments. Only commitments made by management in the office, which are always confirmed in writing, are valid.
ARTIKEL 13 - SCHADEMELDING
Indien bij aflevering van de verhuisgoederen beschadigingen worden geconstateerd, dient de Klant deze bij de verhuizing aan de Verhuizer te melden. Indien bij aflevering geen gelegenheid bestaat om eventuele beschadigingen aan de verhuisgoederen te constateren dient de klant dit tevoren of uiterlijk op het moment van aflevering schriftelijk of elektronisch te verklaren.Het verdient sterke aanbeveling beschadigingen binnen twee werkdagen na de verhuizing bij de Verhuizer schriftelijk of elektronisch te melden. Indien de Verhuizer niet binnen veertien dagen na de verhuizing de hiervoor bedoelde melding heeft ontvangen wordt hij geacht de verhuizing zonder waarneembare schade te hebben uitgevoerd.
ARTICLE 14 - COMPENSATION FOR LIABILITY
1. The compensation owed by the Mover for failure to fulfill his obligations (Article 8) is limited based on Article 8:1182 BW (€23,000 per household).
2. The Customer has a mandatory deductible of €50, fifty euros, per damage, if the damage is demonstrably caused by the Mover.
3. All claims based on or related to the moving agreement expire in accordance with the Civil Code one year after delivery of the household goods.
4. The Customer may under no circumstances engage in debt comparison. Invoices must be paid at all times regardless of any damage incurred. Damage should be settled with the office afterwards.
5. In case of damage, the Customer must always provide the original receipt of the damaged item. If the original receipt is not available, the Customer should request a proof of value from the supplier.
ARTICLE 15 - COMPLAINTS
Complaints about the execution of the agreement must be fully and clearly described and submitted to the Mover promptly after the customer has discovered the defects. Failure to submit the complaint in a timely manner may result in the customer losing his rights in this regard.
ARTICLE 16 - STORAGE OR CUSTODY
Items stored with the Mover or at a storage facility determined by the Customer are not insured. The Customer must notify their own household insurance that the household goods are stored at a different address. The Mover is not liable for damages during storage, including but not limited to fire and water damage, power outages, break-in damage, damage, loss of goods, or theft.
ARTICLE 17 - APPLICABLE LAW
Dutch law applies to agreements concluded, modified, or supplemented based on the General Terms and Conditions for Removals (AVVV 2015), unless other mandatory rules dictate otherwise. Any disputes arising between the parties in connection with the moving agreement, resulting agreements, or general terms and conditions shall be exclusively settled by the Amsterdam District Court.