General terms and conditions of business
1 Scope of application, definitions
(1) For the business relationship between the provider "The Smartest Pioneers Ltd. & Co. KG" with the agency website provenseo.de (hereinafter: "Provider") and the customer concluding the service contract (hereinafter: "Customer") as well as the user of the offers (hereinafter: "User"), the following General Terms and Conditions shall apply in the version valid at the time of the use of the services (hereinafter: "Products"). Deviating general terms and conditions of the Customer shall not be recognised unless the Provider expressly agrees to their validity in writing.
(2) The contract for the fee-based packages offered is concluded exclusively with entrepreneurs, freelancers and partnerships. The customer assures to be an entrepreneur.
(3) The customer is a consumer in the sense of § 13 BGB, insofar as the purpose of the ordered deliveries and services cannot be predominantly attributed to his commercial or self-employed professional activity. On the other hand, an entrepreneur in accordance with § 14 BGB is any natural or legal person or partnership with legal capacity that acts in the exercise of its commercial or independent professional activity when concluding the contract.
§ 2 Conclusion of contract
(1) The customer can select one of various packages on the website of the provider at www.provenseo.de (hereinafter: "website") and conclude a membership with costs. The contract is concluded when the customer has completed the payment process on the website or when he confirms this by clicking on the corresponding form button "Order with costs".
(2) The Customer must ensure that the e-mails sent by the Provider can be delivered. In particular, the Customer must check for typing errors in the e-mail address provided when placing the order and regularly check the spam folder of the e-mail inbox at the time the order is placed.
(3) The contract shall be concluded in German or English. The text of the contract shall be stored in compliance with the provisions of data protection law.
§ 3 Services
(1) The provider handles various services for the customer, which primarily serve to increase the visibility of websites on the web. These are divided into search engine optimization (SEO), backlink building and WordPress design.
(2) If the customer wishes the provider to create a website, he is obliged to ensure that this website will not offer any illegal activities, products or services in the sense of the law.
(3) The Provider shall build so-called backlinks for the Customer on various websites worldwide. These are understood as references to the URLs of the customer (landing pages). The Provider undertakes to check these backlinks for at least one year. He also assures that these backlinks will remain online for one year. If a website goes offline or backlinks are deleted for other reasons within 12 months of release, the customer will be offered a replacement for each deleted link.
(4) Backlinks are set on web portals, in web directories, on blogs and business pages. Likewise, the provider sets backlinks in forums. All links can be dofollow or nofollow and definitely marked as advertising.
(5) Furthermore, the provider offers packages for general search engine optimization. This includes analyses of the customer's existing websites. The Provider must log into the Customer's backend for the purpose of onpage analyses in order to locate statistical data about plugins, functionality and errors in the website structure. In this context, the provider assures to delete this data completely after the termination of the cooperation. Furthermore, the provider will not communicate any contract data to third parties.
(6) The customer receives within the SEO packages and through the backlink building the opportunity to rise in the so-called search engine ranking. For this purpose, the search results of the URLs of the customer rise in the ranks of the search engines - the goal is a top position between the 1st and 3rd place. A guarantee for this can not be given by the provider due to various external factors.
(7) The completion times stated for the WordPress design packages are approximate values. They depend on the type and scope of the website to be created and no blanket guarantee can be given for the completion of the website in the specified time window. However, the provider informs the customer about any delays, if these would occur.
§ 4 Reachability of the support
(1) The Provider offers the Customer support for technical and contractual questions. These are processed in the form of emails per form and a ticket system successively by the provider. A time guarantee for this cannot be guaranteed. Customers who purchase the high-priced premium packages will be treated preferentially.
(2) The sales department of the agency is not to be understood as technical support. If product questions exist with customers, these can be clarified with the sales department. All questions regarding contracts, payments and technical issues are directed via email to support@provenseo.de or sent via contact form at https://provenseo.de/kontakt/.
§ 5 Server setup for WordPress installations and transfers
(1) After completion of a WordPress website, the Provider shall set it up on the Customer's server. This includes the setup of the WordPress system, the MySQL databases and the transfer of the completed theme and the other modules.
(2) The customer grants the provider full administrative access to his server environment including FTP / SFTP or SSH access. If this is not possible, the customer will be sent the created WordPress product via zip file and the service 'wetransfer'. In this case, all guarantees for functionality and accessibility end with the sending of the zip file.
(3) After completion and transfer of the WordPress website to the customer's server, a file with access data including passwords and accesses will be sent to the customer. No guarantee can be given for the security of the encryption of the data.
(4) If the customer opts for a WordPress package with Cloudflare setup, the provider will set up a Cloudflare access for the customer's website within the provider's agency package. The customer does not receive direct access to Cloudflare for security reasons. All support activities are carried out by the provider. The provider must log into the DNS structure of the customer's server again for the purpose of setting up Cloudflare in order to transfer the name servers to Cloudflare. This is a managed account of Cloudflare and the customer secures at least 6 months of technical support depending on the WordPress package.
(5) The provider assures the customer six or twelve months of technical support in the WordPress tariffs 'Comfort' and 'Premium'. The support contract includes updates of the theme, technical problem solving for challenges that were not caused by the customer as well as functionality of the plugins and the Cloudflare environment. Any downtimes due to maintenance work are excluded, as these are not within the discretion of the provider.
(6) The support contract does not include technical crashes caused by the customer, misrepresentation of graphic elements, deletion of content or other problems caused by the customer. For these, support hours can be booked, which are billed at 69 € per hour.
(7) If the customer opts for a 'Premium' WordPress package, he also secures hosting for one year on the provider's NGINX high-speed servers. The Provider assures that these servers are located in Germany. In this case, the provider covers the same technical support areas. The customer also gets access to his backend system of the website to start content updates, blog posts or similar activities.
(8) For security reasons, all WordPress packages at the 'Comfort' and 'Premium' level hide essential functions such as the Theme Editor, Plugin Editor and other vital resources that ensure the smooth display and functionality of the site. This is done by means of a command that the provider executes after the site is completed. This is done solely for security purposes. If the customer explicitly wishes, this step can be reversed. In this case, the customer signs a waiver, as the entire risk will be on his side.
(9) With all WordPress packages, the customer is fully responsible for his users. He can control what rights his users get. The customer must be aware that users with administrator rights can do significant damage to the website. This does not fall under the technical support contract.
(10) The provider assures the customer that all plug-ins and media used as well as texts (content, partially included in the 'Premium Package') have been legally acquired and that he has the full rights to them. A transfer of rights to the customer occurs with final payment of the service.
§ 6 Payment for services
(1) The customer can book various services on the website of the provider. In the areas of 'search engine optimization' and 'backlink building', these services can be obtained monthly or annually. With the annual payment, the customer secures a discount compared to the monthly payment. Annual amounts are debited once a year.
(2) If the customer has secured a promotional discount at the conclusion of the contract, this cannot be applied for a renewed term, unless the provider agrees to this step. Furthermore, the customer has in principle no right to discounts in the future, which the provider has offered in the past.
(3) Services in the areas of 'backlink building' and 'search engine optimisation' shall be invoiced monthly or annually in full for the applicable contract period. The provider does not offer SEPA mandates. Services in the area of 'Wordpress Design' are billed 50% upon conclusion of the contract and 50% after completion of the project.
(4) All prices stated on the website of the Provider are inclusive of the applicable statutory value added tax, unless otherwise stated. The customer can process the payment by invoice and bank transfer, unless otherwise stated on the website of the provider or a different agreement has been made in text form.
(5) The obligation of the customer to pay default interest does not exclude the assertion of further default damages by the provider.
(6) The customer is only entitled to set-off against the supplier if his counterclaims have been legally established, are undisputed or have been acknowledged by the supplier. The customer may only exercise a right of retention insofar as the counterclaim is based on the same contractual relationship.
7 Term and termination
(1) The customer's monthly membership is extended by one month at a time. The customer can cancel with a notice period of 14 days to the end of the month.
(2) The annual membership is extended by one year at a time. The customer may terminate with a notice period of 1 month to the end of the term, unless otherwise stated in the contract.
(3) The right of both parties to extraordinary termination for cause remains unaffected. The provider is entitled to claim damages if the extraordinary termination is the fault of the customer.
(4) The termination must be in text form to be effective. The date of receipt by the contractual partner shall be decisive for the date of termination.
§ 9 Warranty for digital content, guarantee
(1) The content provided by the provider is for information purposes only. The information has been researched to the best of our knowledge and belief. Unfortunately, the actions described in the context of the publications can always change at short notice, over which the provider has no influence.
(2) If the Customer is an entrepreneur, defects must be reported to the Provider in writing without delay, but no later than two weeks after online provision, in order to preserve the Customer's claims for defects. At the time of service provision, the Provider shall confirm this to the Customer by report.
(3) Incompatibilities of browsers, computers and due to any maintenance work on websites and servers do not constitute a material defect.
(4) There is no additional guarantee.
§ 10 Liability
(1) Claims of the customer/user for damages are excluded. Excluded from this are claims for damages by the customer/user arising from injury to life, limb or health or from the breach of essential contractual obligations (cardinal obligations) as well as liability for other damages based on an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by the provider, its legal representatives or vicarious agents. Material contractual obligations are those whose fulfilment is necessary to achieve the objective of the contract.
(2) In the event of a breach of material contractual obligations, the Provider shall only be liable for the foreseeable damage typical for this type of contract if such damage was caused by simple negligence, unless it is a matter of claims for damages by the Customer/User arising from injury to life, limb or health.
(3) Liability for loss of profit is excluded vis-à-vis customers.
(4) The restrictions of paragraphs 1 to 3 also apply in favour of the legal representatives and vicarious agents of the provider, if claims are asserted directly against them.
(5) The limitations of liability resulting from paragraphs 1 to 3 do not apply insofar as the supplier has fraudulently concealed the defect or has assumed a guarantee for the quality of the item. The same applies if the supplier and the customer have reached an agreement on the quality of the item. The provisions of the Product Liability Act shall remain unaffected.
§ 11 Copyrights
(1) The contents distributed by the provider are protected by copyright. The customer/user undertakes to recognise and comply with the copyrights.
(2) The customer/user is only entitled to use the content received for the purposes of cooperation. It is prohibited to make the content available on the Internet, in intranets, in extranets or otherwise to third parties for exploitation. Reproduction of content links created by the provider is prohibited. A public reproduction or other republication, a commercial duplication and the resale of the contents is expressly excluded.
(3) For each case of infringement, a contractual penalty to be determined by the provider at its reasonable discretion and to be reviewed by the competent court in the event of a dispute shall become due for payment.
§ 12 Data protection
(1) The customer/user agrees to the storage of personal data within the framework of the legal relationship with the provider, in compliance with data protection laws, in particular the BDSG and the DSGVO. Data will not be passed on to third parties unless this is necessary for the implementation of the contractual/user relationship or consent has been given. Registration data will be stored until the termination of membership.
(2) Insofar as the customer/user transmits personal data of third parties, the customer/user assures that the consent of the third parties has been obtained. The customer/user indemnifies the provider from any claims of third parties in this regard.
(3) The rights of the customer/user or the person affected by the data processing result in particular from the following standards of the GDPR:
- ticle 7(3) - Right to withdraw consent under data protection law
- ticle 15 - Data subject's right of access, confirmation and copy of personal data
- ticle 16 - Right of rectification
- ticle 17 - Right to erasure ("right to be forgotten")
- ticle 18 - Right to restrict processing
- ticle 20 - Right to data portability
- ticle 21 - Right to object
- ticle 22 - Right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing, including profiling
- ticle 77 - Right to complain to a supervisory authority
(4) In order to exercise the rights, the customer/user or affected person is requested to contact the provider by e-mail or, in the event of a complaint, to contact the competent supervisory authority.
(5) Reference is made to the privacy policy on the website and the privacy policy of the app.
13 Settlement of disputes
(1) The EU platform for out-of-court online dispute resolution can be reached at the following Internet address:
https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/
(2) The provider is neither willing nor obliged to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board.
§ 14 Final provisions
(1) The law of the Federal Republic of Germany shall apply to contracts between the parties. The statutory provisions on the restriction of the choice of law and on the applicability of mandatory provisions, in particular of the state in which the customer/user has his habitual residence as a consumer, shall remain unaffected.
(2) The place of jurisdiction and performance for all disputes arising from contractual relationships between the parties is the registered office of the provider, insofar as the customer/user is an entrepreneur.
(3) The contract shall remain binding in its remaining parts even if individual points are legally invalid. The invalid points shall be replaced by the statutory provisions, if any. Insofar as this would represent an unreasonable hardship for one of the contracting parties, however, the contract as a whole shall become ineffective.
Status: 28.06.2020 (c)2020 The Smartest Pioneers Ltd. & Co. KG
