General Terms and Conditions 4strings

Article 1 – Company identity

The e-commerce site www.4strings.be (the 'Site(s)') are online sites selling strings for string instruments and accessories (the 'Product') which belong to 4strings BVBA, whose registered offices are at Koepoortstraat 8, 2500 Lier, Belgium, company registration number: BE0675.428.717 , telephone number 0032 (0)15 10 00 56 (referred to hereinafter as '4strings').

Internet users wishing to buy 4strings's products are referred to in these General Terms and Conditions as 'the Customer'.

By ordering any Product offered on the Sites, the Customer is presumed to have consulted the General Terms and Conditions as set out in Article 2 and accepted them expressly.

Validating an order form is deemed to be equivalent to an electronic signature which has the same value between the Parties as a written signature and serves as evidence that the order is complete and proper and that the amounts due may be claimed in performing that order.

The contract for sale may be concluded in Dutch, French or English, as the Customer wishes.

Article 2 – Scope of application

The present General Terms and Conditions govern the rights and obligations of the Parties arising out of the online sales of Products offered on Sites belonging to 4strings. Although the Sites are aimed at Benelux and the rest of EU, 4strings provides all its services from Belgium, and the contract between the Parties will be deemed to be performed in Belgium, dispatching to different countries.

These General Terms and Conditions apply to all Products sold via the Sites, and prevail over any and all other terms and conditions on the part of 4strings or the Customer. They may not be varied without 4strings's express prior consent in writing.

Apart from these General Terms and Conditions, if explicitly indicated, additional terms may be applicable on certain products. If our General Terms and Conditions are contradictory to these additional terms, then the Customer can use those terms that are most favourable to his or her situation.

Article 3 – Capacity in law and Acceptance

Anyone wishing to buy Products from 4strings must have capacity to act in law. Should anyone be declared without capacity, they may not buy any Products on 4strings's site and so acquire the capacity of Customers. They must then purchase via their lawful representatives.

The Customer accepts these General Terms and Conditions expressly by clicking on a tick or putting a cross against the words “I agree with the Terms & Conditions”.

The Customer has been able to download and print these General Terms and Conditions.

Article 4 - Products

Products 4strings offers are those as they appear on the Sites at the time the Customer implements their order subject to those Products being available.

4strings agrees to make every effort to deliver all orders.

4strings cannot however be held liable for Products not being available or for any losses which might arise as a result. Should one or more Products in an order not be available, 4strings will inform the Customer via e-mail or in writing that it has cancelled his or her order wholly or in part or split it.

Should Products be found to be unavailable and the Customer is informed of this but they have already paid for their Products, 4strings will ask its bank to refund the amount paid for the products in question immediately, informing the Customer by e-mail accordingly. How fast the refund is actually made depends on how the Customer chose to pay when making their purchase. If they paid by credit card, the refund will appear on the next following monthly statement for that credit card. Should the Customer find the refund is taking an abnormal length of time, they are advised to contact their bank.

4strings will in any case make the refund within 14 days.

All Products offered for sale on Sites are described in good faith and conscientiously and as accurately as is possible; but the photographs on the website are of no contractual value whatsoever. 4strings cannot accept any liability for any errors which may appear in the descriptions of the Products or photographs, including slight variations in colours and dimensions.

Article 5 – Prices and Invoicing

Prices are those as shown on Sites at the moment the Customer places their order. Prices may vary from one Site to another, as they are aimed at different countries and are subject to different rules, including on VAT. The prices which apply to the Customer are those stated on the Site aimed at the country from which the Customer places their order. Customers must place their orders from the country in which they are usually resident / want the items delivered. Orders cannot be placed in one country for delivery to another.

Prices stated during the purchasing process are expressed in euros and include VAT and administrative costs unless expressly stated otherwise.

Product and service prices do not include transport costs: these will be charged separately, and the Customer must pay them in addition to the purchase price. Any discount the Customer is allowed will be deducted from the price separately.

4strings reserves the right to vary selling prices and transport costs at any time, although the Products purchased and costs will always be invoiced at the prices as stated in the e-mail which confirms the order. These are the prices that applied at the time of purchase, provided the Products were available.

The Customer agrees to 4strings sending its invoices electronically; but if the Customer would like a hard copy invoice, they can simply request one via the contact form.

Products will remain 4strings's property until such time as the Customer pays for them in full, i.e. until they pay the purchase price and costs in full.

Article 6 – Payment methods

Purchases can only be paid for online, by Visa, MasterCard, Bancontact/Mister Cash, and via direct banking (iDEAL for the Netherlands).4strings may choose to add additional payment methods to its website in the future and will inform clients through its website.

The Customer's bank account will be debited once the purchase has been confirmed, and payment will not take effect until such time as the Customer's bank has given its consent to 4strings. Should the Customer's bank refuse payment, the order will be refused automatically.

The Customer warrants they are authorised to make payments by one of the payment methods as stated above, and that there are sufficient funds in the bank account linked to the credit card to cover all the costs arising out of the transaction, failing which 4strings may refuse the order.

4strings uses Multisafepay to handle payments online. Multisafepay is European market leader in the field of secure payments online, and the security system it uses is one of the most secure and reliable in the world. 4strings has no access to its Customers' confidential payment details, nor does it keep them.

4strings reserves the right to refuse any order from a Customer with whom it is in dispute or who has brought a dispute in the past. 4strings may also refuse an order should the Customer not have paid for a previous order, wholly or in part.

In case of a late or non-payment of the Customer, the Customer owes 4strings by law and without prior notice an interest equal to 8% of the total order amount, starting the day the payment should have taken place and ending the day the amount has been paid in full, as well as a flat-rate compensation of 10% of the total order amount with a minimum of 150 euro.

Also, at the expense of the Customer are all (extra)judicial costs of any kind that 4strings, as a result of late payment of the Customer, has to incur.

In case of a late payment, 4strings has the right to cancel the agreement with immediate effect or to suspend (further) delivery until the point where the total order amount has been paid by the Customer, including the interest and additional costs.

Article 7 – Ordering Products

Notwithstanding any evidence the Customer may have in writing, it is expressly agreed that data registered in 4strings's IT systems, those of its hosting partners or Internet payment partners alone shall constitute evidence of the communications, the content of the orders and the entire transactions which have taken place between the Parties.

To place an order, the Customer goes to the heading of their choice, chooses the item they wish to receive and then click on ‘Add to shopping cart’. This puts the article selected in the ‘shopping cart’. The Customer can correct their order as long as they are in the ‘shopping cart’. If the Customer wishes to confirm their order, they must select a delivery and payment method. The total amount that must be paid is stated clearly throughout the whole of the billing process. Once the payment process is completed, the order is now final and cannot now be changed.

The Customer will be sent an initial e-mail confirming their order once they have made their purchase in any case. They will then get a second e-mail when their order is dispatched.

All contractual details of the order will be communicated to the Customer in the language the Customer chose when they registered at the time they confirmed their order.

Article 8 - Deliveries

When confirming their order, the Customer can choose delivery to a given address (home, work, or other).

Should the Customer opt for delivery to a given address, 4strings will do its best to ensure that that order is dispatched to that address within a few days of confirming the order. The carrier will attend that address between 08.00 and 18.00 on working days and will hand over the package(s) to the addressee or anyone else present at that address, or post it in the mailbox of the address if the package is small enough. If no-one is there, a message will be left in the mailbox of the address stated which can be used to ask for another attempt to deliver, either to the same address or to another address.

Should the Customer fail to arrange for redelivery within three weeks of confirming the order, or should they be out when that redelivery is made, the order will be returned to 4strings automatically, who will then contact the Customer to arrange for the order to be delivered, in which case the Customer may be asked to pay additional delivery costs.

Products ordered will be delivered to the delivery address as stated by the Customer during the ordering process and then subject to the terms and conditions described therein.

Orders can only be delivered to addresses within in the European Union.

Any mentioned delivery term is an indication, and no right can be derived from this term. Save for other conditions, the utmost delivery term will be thirty (30) days after reception of payment for the order.

If a product is temporarily out of stock, 4strings will inform the Customer accordingly with an estimated delivery term. 4strings aims to contact its customers within 24 hours after ordering.

If transport damages occur, the Customer is obligated to inform 4strings as soon as possible after receiving the items and no later than 3 days after reception of the goods. Any damage claim made outside of this 3-day term will be void.

4strings reserves the right to split orders into one or more deliveries as Products are available. Each delivery will be notified by e-mail. Deliveries will be accompanied by a delivery note which also gives details of the goods delivered.

Should a delivery go missing during the delivery process, and the provisions of this article are complied with, 4strings will send a new shipment entirely at its expense if the Product is still available or refund the value of the order including transport costs. The risks of loss and/or damage pass to the Customer on delivery. This obligation expires if the Customer has provided 4strings a wrong delivery address, in which case delivery could not have been guaranteed in the first place.

Article 9 – Right to revoke and returns

Unless the Sites expressly state otherwise, the Customer may notify 4strings within 14 calendar days of receiving the Product that they wish to exercise their right to revoke without being liable to pay any damages on that account and without having to give any reasons.

Should a Customer notify 4strings that they wish to revoke their contract to buy, they must do so within 14 calendar days of receiving the Product as above.

If the Product has already been delivered to the Customer, the Customer can exercise their right to revoke by sending a mail to [email protected] Further instructions for the return shipment will be provided.

The customer can also choose to cancel the complete order by sending an email to [email protected] and including the following information: order number, date of order, shipping address & products and their quantity. 

The right to revoke in respect of Products delivered only applies provided the Product is also actually returned within 14 calendar days of the Customer notifying 4strings that they wish to revoke their purchase. The Product revoked must be sent back as new in its original packaging, in perfect condition and accompanied by the original sales invoice (of which the Customer retains one copy). Due to the nature of many of 4strings's string products, strings that have been unpacked and installed on any instrument cannot be accepted as valid returns. Any returns for which the sender cannot be identified will be refused. After the 14 calendar days, 4strings can no longer accept returns. Returns must be addressed to the address below:

4strings BV
BULO kantoorgebouw
Blarenberglaan 6 - magazijnpoort 10
2800 Malines
Belgique

The costs and risks involved in returns will be borne by the Customer.

Purchases will be refunded within 14 calendar days of 4strings receiving returns in good time, provided all conditions as specified above have been strictly complied with. Under no circumstances can the amount repaid ever exceed what the Customer actually paid.

Purchase will be refunded within 14 days of cancellation. 4strings reserves the right to postpone refunds until the goods have been received. 

Such refunds will be made as follows:

If a Customer has paid for their order by credit card, having examined the products returned, the credit card the Customer used to pay for the products returned will be credited, less the sums due or the sales vouchers or discounts used to pay for the order. The Customer will be refunded in accordance with the procedures agreed with the bank which issued the card. If the Customer paid for their order by iDeal of by Bancontact, the refund will be made through these procedures and the amount will be credited to the bank account associated with the card. If the Customer paid for their order in some other form of payment, the refund will be made by being credited to the bank account.

Article 10 – Statutory warranty & complaits procedure

4strings warrants that the Products offered for sale do not suffer from any visible or latent defects which render the Product impossible or dangerous to use.

This warranty is without prejudice to the statutory rights the Customer has under their national legislation.

The Customer is guaranteed against any non-compliance which exists when a Product is delivered and which manifests itself within two years of being delivered. This two-year period will be suspended for as long as it takes to repair or replace the product or should 4strings and the Customer be involved in negotiations with a view to settling matters amicably.

Customers must contact Customer Service should they wish to invoke this warranty immediately, and must notify 4strings of the non-compliance via Customer Service in writing in any case within two months of discovering the defect.

They must get in touch via the contact form which can be found under the ‘Contact’ contact option and follow the instructions on screen. The report will then be sent to Customer Service automatically; they can also be reached at [email protected]

Under no circumstances does the warranty apply to Products which are damaged intentionally or by the Customer's negligence; nor does it apply if the damage is due to sleet, transport or incorrect use.

ATTENTION: due to the nature of the product, no warranty can be provided for strings that have been put to use. Warranty claims on used strings are never valid and 4strings can never be held to the exchange of these strings. However, 4strings will do its best to contact the string manufacturer and come to an agreement with the client, providing the manufacturer allows 4strings to do so.

Customers can contact Customer Service if they have any queries as to the warranty.

If the customer has a complaint, they can contact Customer Service by filling out the contact form. Alternatively, you can reach Customer Service directly at [email protected] We will revise your complaints on working days from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We will make every effort to answer all your questions withing 24 hours.

The costs incurred by 4strings for the verification of compliance of prohibition of export for commercial purposes outside of the European Union will be borne by the Customer in case of infringement. 4strings also reserves the right to suspend or even refuse a sale if there is a prima facie indication that the prohibition is not respected.

Article 11 – Intellectual property rights

All elements (referred to hereinafter as the 'Elements'), including texts, the database with all data published on the website, the layout and graphic design of the web pages, the sales catalogue, photos, images, video and music on the Sites are protected by copyright, database rights, trademark rights, patent rights and all other forms of intellectual property rights worldwide, and thus remain the exclusive property of 4strings. They may not therefore be copied, published, imitated or used in any other way in any form whatsoever without 4strings's prior consent in writing. Such consent must be obtained in writing, unless 4strings itself has made it possible to share certain Elements via social networks, in which case consent will be limited to the specific Elements and social networks for which 4strings has made it possible to share them. Any infringements of this will be pursued in the courts.

Article 12 - Liability

4strings cannot under any circumstances be held liable for any losses suffered directly or indirectly (loss of use, loss of profits, loss of opportunity etc.) arising out of using the Sites or of their being unavailable. It cannot be held liable for any damage to the Customer's systems incurred through visiting the Sites including being hacked or computer viruses.

4strings cannot be held liable for any errors which may be in photographs or text used in describing products on Sites. 

4strings cannot be held liable for not delivering orders because products are out of stock or for reasons beyond its control, including circumstances of force majeure, including disturbances of or suspension of transport, post or communications services, in the event of flood or fire, accidents or damage inherent in using the network.

In any cases where 4strings is or could be held liable, 4strings's liability will be limited to the amount the Customer actually paid for the order concerned.

Whilst 4strings tries to ensure that all details, descriptions and prices which appear on the Sites are accurate, errors may occur. If 4strings discovers an error in the price of any Products which the Customer has ordered 4strings will inform the Customer of this as soon as possible and give the Customer the option of reconfirming the order at the correct price or cancelling it. If 4strings is unable to contact the Customer the order will be cancelled. If the Customer cancels and has already paid for the Products, the Customer will receive a full refund.