General Terms and Conditions of Business and Delivery

of HOMESTORYS GmbH. Industriestraße 38, B-4700 Eupen/Belgium
Company number: BE0866.321.648

1. General provisions

1.1. These General Terms and Conditions of Business and Delivery (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”) apply to all orders, reservations and deliveries made by HOMESTORYS GmbH (hereinafter referred to as “Seller”) via the online store www.originalhomestories.com. Any general terms and conditions of the customer/buyer or verbal agreements shall not apply to transactions concluded via this online store, even if they have not been expressly contradicted.

1.2. The websites www.homestorys.com and www.shop.homestorys.com were created on behalf of HOMESTORYS GmbH and are also operated by it. Customers/buyers may view and print all information on this website for personal use free of charge. This does not apply to commercial use.

1.3. Minors or other persons incapable of acting must be represented by their parents or legal representatives, who are also bound by these Terms and Conditions of Sale and must complete the order form themselves, for which they must in turn provide the explicit consent of the person incapable of acting. If they are unable to do so, the order cannot be accepted. In this case, the provisions of the following § 11 regarding the processing of personal data remain in full force and effect.

1.4. Placing an order on the website constitutes express acceptance of the general terms and conditions of sale and delivery published on this website. In order to place an order, it is necessary to accept the general terms and conditions of sale and delivery. Every customer therefore declares that they are aware of and accept the “General Terms and Conditions” of the “Seller” when placing an order. The General Terms and Conditions of Business and Delivery are available at all times on the Homestorys websites www.homestorys.com and www.originalhomestories.com.

1.5. In addition to these GTC’s, additional conditions may also apply to certain products if these are expressly stated.

1.6. Should one of the above clauses be invalid, the other contractual clauses shall nevertheless remain valid. In the event of the invalidity of a clause, the statutory provision in accordance with the Belgian Civil Code shall then apply in place of the invalid clause.

1.7. The General Terms and Conditions of Business and Delivery of HOMESTORYS GmbH apply worldwide in their current version and are not limited in time.

2. Offer and order

2.1. All offers in the online store are subject to change and merely represent a non-binding invitation to the customer to submit a contractual offer.

2.2. The customer’s online order is a binding offer to conclude a purchase contract for the goods ordered. By clicking the “Buy” button at the end of the order process, the binding offer for the customer is sent to Homestorys.

2.3. Homestorys shall confirm receipt of the acceptance of the offer by electronic means as soon as possible. As long as the receipt of the acceptance has not been confirmed, the consumer may cancel the contract. Reference is made to the general terms and conditions of business and delivery.

2.4. An online order can only be processed if the customer has identified himself. Homestories does not accept orders from persons under the age of 18.

2.5. An order is only final after acceptance of the general terms and conditions of sale and delivery, the prices and the description of the offer. If any information in the offer or after placing the order is unclear, the customer can always contact Homestorys by e-mail at info@homestorys.com or by telephone on +32(0)87/59 59 15 or +32(0)87/84 06 75 to resolve the problem.

2.6. Promotional offers and special offers are expressly only valid for the period of validity stated in the offer of the goods and while stocks last.

2.7. Homestorys reserves the right to refuse to accept orders in the event of plausible suspicion of abuse of rights or bad faith, reasonable suspicion of commercial purposes unacceptable to the seller or if the stock of a particular item is exhausted.

3. Conclusion of the purchase contract

3.1. A purchase contract shall only be deemed to have been concluded when Homestorys has sent the customer a contract confirmation or invoice by e-mail or has carried out the shipment within 5 working days.

3.2. The conclusion of the contract is subject to complete and timely delivery to Homestorys. This reservation shall not apply to short-term delivery disruptions or to cases in which Homestorys is responsible for non-delivery, i.e. only in cases in which Homestorys has not received the goods through no fault of its own despite concluding a congruent hedging transaction. Homestorys shall inform the customer immediately of the non-availability of the ordered goods and refund any payments already made.

4. Correction of input errors

4.1. The customer can correct his entries before submitting his order using the “Back” button. These corrections can also be made using the normal keyboard and mouse functions (back button of the browser) directly on the previous order page in the corresponding input fields. An order can also be changed or canceled from the shopping cart. Once the “Buy” button has been clicked, it is no longer possible to make corrections.

4.2. In addition, input errors can also be corrected by canceling the purchase process and restarting an order process.

5. Prices and shipping costs

5.1. The prices stated at the time of ordering a product shall apply. All prices are quoted in euros in accordance with the statutory provisions and include the VAT prescribed in Belgium.

5.2. The prices for special offers are only valid for the period of validity stated in the current offer.

5.3. All prices quoted in the webshop are exclusive of shipping costs.

5.4. Information on shipping costs can be found in the respective offer of the goods (product description). The shipping costs depend on the shipping route, the shipping method, the order value and the place of delivery.

6. Terms and conditions of payment

6.1. The credit cards specified in the online store (Mastercard, Visa) are accepted for payment. Unless otherwise stated, invoices can also be paid by prepayment, PayPal, KBC/CBC Banking or instant bank transfer. In individual cases, delivery against invoice is also possible.

6.2. For orders, the prices quoted at that time are always valid. All prices quoted are inclusive of the 21% VAT applicable in Belgium.

6.3. The costs for shipping at home and abroad will be indicated when the order is placed, before the order is definitely placed.

6.4. In the event of payment by credit card, the terms and conditions of the card issuer in question shall apply. Homestories is not a party to the relationship between the customer and the card issuer.

6.5. If payment is made by bank transfer, the order will only be processed after receipt of the invoice amount. If payment is made by bank transfer, the item will be reserved for seven days, during which the transfer must have been made and reached the seller. If this does not happen, the order expires.

6.6. In the event of late payment, Homestorys is entitled to terminate the purchase contract with immediate effect without giving reasons or to suspend delivery until the customer has met his payment obligations in full.

6.7. The customer shall only be entitled to set-off rights if its counterclaims have been legally established, are undisputed or have been recognized by Homestorys.

7. Delivery conditions and transport damage

7.1. Insofar as the customer does not make any special requests in his online order, such as express delivery or “free place of use” (see also the information sheet “Shipping and Service” on the website www.shop.homestorys.com), the choice of shipping route and shipping method is at the discretion of Homestorys

7.2. In the case of payment in advance, PayPal or Sofortüberweisung, the delivery will only be carried out after receipt of the full purchase price plus shipping costs.

7.3. Delivery of the ordered items is always made to the address specified by the customer on working days between 8 am and 6 pm. A specific delivery time cannot be selected (see also the information sheet “Shipping and Service”). Orders will not be delivered at weekends and on public holidays. Deliveries to a PO box are not possible. Exceptions to this are deliveries with the “Premium deliveries” option, where a precise delivery and assembly date is agreed with the customer, which could also take place in the evening or at the weekend if desired.

7.4. If the delivery address provided by the customer is incomplete or incorrect, resulting in additional shipping costs (e.g. additional shipping costs), these shall be borne by the customer.

7.5. Orders received on working days before 2 p.m. will be processed on the same day. Orders received on public holidays and at weekends as well as orders received after 2 p.m. can only be processed on the following working day. When completing the order, the customer can specify the desired delivery time.

7.6. Homestorys will dispatch accepted orders either itself or via a third party as quickly as possible in the order in which they are received. If a product is in stock, the average delivery time is three working days from the order date.

7.7. The delivery time (stated in working days) is counted from the day on which Homestories hands over the ordered goods to the shipping department. Customers will then receive an e-mail with the shipment number so that they can track their shipment.

7.8. If the ordered goods are not in stock – for example due to high demand – the customer will be informed immediately of the delay caused by repeat orders.

7.9. Homestorys shall not be liable for damages of any kind resulting from exceeding the announced delivery times.

7.10. If goods are delivered with obvious transport damage, please complain about such defects to the deliverer as soon as possible and contact us immediately. Failure to make a complaint or contact us has no consequences for your legal claims and their enforcement, in particular your warranty rights. However, you will help us to assert our own claims against the carrier or transport insurance company.

7.11. Homestorys does not deliver to packing stations or neighbors.

8. Warranty and guarantee

8.1. Information on the subject of the delivery or service does not constitute a guarantee for the quality of the goods, unless it is expressly designated as such.

8.2. If the customer is a consumer, he is entitled to his statutory warranty rights without limitation if the purchased item has a material defect.

8.3. If the customer is an entrepreneur who is acting in the exercise of his commercial or independent professional activity when concluding the contract, or a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law, the following provisions shall apply:

Claims for defects on the part of the customer presuppose that the customer has properly fulfilled his obligations to inspect the goods and give notice of defects in accordance with § 377 HGB.
In the event of a justified notice of defects, Homestorys shall only be obliged to provide subsequent performance in the form of rectification of the defect or delivery of a defect-free item (against return of the delivered goods). In the event of subsequent performance, Homestorys shall be obliged to bear all expenses necessary for the purpose of remedying the defect, in particular transport, travel, labor and material costs, insofar as these are not increased by the fact that the purchased item has been taken to a place other than the place of performance.
If Homestorys does not fulfill this obligation within a reasonable period of time or if a rectification fails despite repeated attempts, the customer shall be entitled to reduce the purchase price or withdraw from the contract. Further claims, in particular claims for reimbursement of expenses or compensation for damages due to defects or consequential damages, shall only exist within the scope of the provisions of § 9.
The limitation period for claims for defects is 12 months, calculated from the transfer of risk. The limitation period in the event of a delivery recourse according to §§ 478, 479 BGB remains unaffected.
Liability for quality or durability guarantees as well as liability for fraudulent concealment of defects, intent, gross negligence and injury to life, limb or health shall not be affected by the above provisions. In these cases, the statutory provisions and warranty periods shall apply.

In the following cases Homestorys does not assume any warranty and customers cannot claim any warranty:

In the event of damage caused by repairs not carried out by Homestorys or a third party designated by Homestorys.
If changes or modifications have been made to the product.
If the product has been used for purposes other than those for which the product was/is intended.
Wear and discoloration due to intensive outdoor use, for example if the products are left in the rain or in direct sunlight.

Furniture-specific guarantees:

Series-produced furniture is sold by sample and model. There is no entitlement to delivery of the display items unless otherwise agreed in writing when the contract is concluded. Deviations in the color and grain of wood surfaces or other natural materials that are typical for the trade and goods are reserved and are conceded by the buyer.
The same applies to minor deviations in shape, size and color.
In the case of work based on wood samples and supplementary pieces, no guarantee is given for the same shade or wood structure.
Any wood designations used refer to the essential surfaces of the front or table tops or other parts that make up the essence of the piece of furniture. The use of other suitable types of wood or plastics is permitted and is conceded by the purchaser.
We also reserve the right to deviations in textiles, plastics, lacquers, leather and other natural materials (stone, ceramics, etc.) that are customary in the trade or typical of the material.
In the case of supplementary items, deviations are conceded as unavoidable.
In the case of wood, fabric and leather products, the special problems arising from these materials are accepted by the buyer as being in accordance with the contract, such as wood cracks, reflections, swirls, etc. caused by dryness and moisture.
In the case of leather, slight differences in color and unevenness, for example insect bites, must be accepted.
The warranty does not cover damage caused to the buyer by natural wear and tear, moisture, excessive heating of the rooms, other temperature or weather influences or even improper handling.

In any case, the seller has the right to repair the goods himself or have them repaired.

9. Retention of title

9.1. The delivered goods shall remain the property of the Seller until the purchase price has been paid in full. In the event of non-compliance with the payment agreements made in this contract or subsequently, the buyer undertakes to return the purchased goods to the seller at his own expense without a court order. The goods must be handled with care and insured against fire and water damage. Any insurance claims arising in the event of damage must be assigned to the seller. The buyer must inform the supplier of any change of residence, change of location of the object of purchase or parts thereof within 8 days.

10. Code of conduct

10.1. We have submitted to the following code of conduct: Trusted Shops quality criteria: http://www.trustedshops.de/shopbetreiber/qualitaetskriterien.html

11. Right of withdrawal and withdrawal policy

11.1. Here we refer to the revocation policy listed separately on the website www.originalhomestories.com

12. Disposal

12.1. We would like to point out that batteries, old appliances and electrical waste etc. must be disposed of properly in accordance with the applicable regulations.

13. Applicable law and place of jurisdiction

13.1. In the event of disputes, Belgian law shall apply exclusively. The court of Eupen shall have jurisdiction (place of jurisdiction).

13.2. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is excluded.

13.3. In principle, “HOMESTORYS GmbH” is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board, as they exist in some countries.

14. Contract storage

14.1. We save the text of the contract and send you the order data and our GTC by e-mail. You can also view and download the GTC here on this page at any time. You can view your past orders in our customer login.

15. Severability clause

15.1. Should individual provisions of these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Delivery be invalid or contradict the statutory provisions, this shall not affect the remainder of the contract. In the event of the invalidity of a clause, the statutory provision in accordance with Belgian civil law shall apply in place of the invalid clause.

Status: March 2024