Echoschall
Kopenhagener Straße 75
10437 Berlin

Phone: 030-440 10 900
e-mail: info(a)echoschall.de

Owner: Carsten Lohmann, named "Echoschall" in the following
 

§ 1 General

(1) All services and offers by Echoschall occur exclusively on the basis of legal regulations as well as the following general terms and conditions in their current version at the time of concluding the contract. Divergent terms and conditions of the renter shall be hereby explicitly declined. These shall become an integral part of the contract neither through hand-over of the rental object nor through any other implied action. 

(2) A Consumer according to these general terms and conditions is any individual who enters into the legal transaction for purposes not covered by his/her commercial or self-employed professional activity (§ 13 BGB).  An Entrepreneur is a natural or legal person or a judicable partnership, which in concluding a legal transaction is exercising its commercial or business activity (§ 14 BGB).

 

§ 2 Service Description, Collection und Return

(1) The object of these general terms and conditions is the gainful rental of audio recording equipment and accessories. The rental of microphones in addition to accessories shall occur exclusively for the purpose of studio recording. Use at live events is prohibited. This does not apply for live recordings of classical performances.

(2) The acceptance of the rental object occurs as a debt to be collectible by the creditor, the return as a debt to be delivered by the creditor, each at Echoschall's headquarters. The renter shall assume any incidental transport and/or packaging costs. 

(3) The hand-over of the rental object occurs only with presentation of a valid identification card or valid passport in tandem with a current confirmation of registration as well as a cash deposit of 100 euros.  For the models U47, M49, U67 and M149 from Fa. Neumann and the AKG C12, due to insurance and technical reasons, a trade license or proof of freelance work in the music/film/media industry or authorization by a public corporation or authorization by a registered association must be presented.

(4) The collection of the rental object as well as its return take place from Monday to Friday by appointment.  Devices in addition to accessories shall be rented on a day-to-day basis.  Rental costs are charged per calendar day. Should the rental object be rented for one calendar day, it is to be returned at the latest upon expiry of 24 hours from collection. The time of return is prolonged on the basis of the number of rental days.  (Example: With a rental period of three days and collection of the rental object on Monday at 2 PM, the rental object would be due at the latest on Thursday at 2 PM.)

(5) If the renter does not return the rental object after termination of the rental contract, Echoschall can demand as compensation the agreed upon rental fee for the duration of its withholding subject to further claims for damages. The basis of calculation for each one-sided executed rental day is the 1-day rate. A tacit extension of the rental contract upon continued use of the rental object after expiration of the rental period is hereby expressly disclaimed according to § 545 BGB. 

 

§ 3 Prices and Payment

(1) Insofar as no other agreement has been made in individual cases, our prices stated at the time of the conclusion of the contract apply as separately indicated. All indicated prices are gross prices plus value added tax in the currently applicable statutory amount.

(2) The agreed prices are due after return of the rental object and shall be paid in cash upon return of the rental object.

(3) Insofar as payment by invoice was arranged in deviation from Paragraph 2, invoices from Echoschall are payable within 14 days and in full. In case of shipping the payment is in advance.

(4) In the event of default in payment, Echoschall is entitled to charge customers default interest at five percentage points and companies at eight percentage points above the current base lending rate per year.

(5) Granted discounts can be availed only in compliance with the payment deadline (14 days).

(6) Costs which arise as a result of reversing a payment transaction due to lack of funds or as a result of data transmitted incorrectly by the customer shall be charged to the customer.

 

§ 4 Set-off, Suspension, Assignability of Claims

(1) A right to set-off exists for the renter if his/her counterclaims are ascertained as legally binding or undisputed. The renter is authorized to exercise his/her right of retention if his counterclaim is based upon the same contractual relationship.

(2) The renter is not entitled to assign his/her claims against us from this contract.

 

§ 5 Right of Withdrawal

In the event that renting proves to be impossible or unreasonable for factual reasons after termination of the contract, Echoschall is entitled to withdraw from the contract. Difficulties of this kind may consist of, in particular, a defect in the reserved equipment at short notice, that it got lost or is otherwise unavailable and an adequate replacement in reasonable condition is not obtainable in good time despite considerable efforts on Echoschall's behalf.

 

§ 6 Guarantee

(1) Echoschall does not make any guarantees. A large part of the recording equipment rented by Echoschall is so-called vintage technology, which is often over 40 years old. Despite diligent and regular maintenance by experienced service technicians, technical deficiencies may be possible.

(2) The renter is to bring obvious deficiencies to our attention promptly after identifying them.

(3) In any case, warranty claims by the renter are in line with legal requirements.

 

§ 7 Liability

(1) Our liability as well as that of our employees and breaches of duty of our vicarious agents is limited to willful intent and gross negligence. This does not apply to a breach of a material contractual obligation, that is, obligations whose fulfillment enables the proper implementation of the contract in the first place and the observance of which the client relies on and may rely on regularly. In the case of slight negligence, liability is limited to typical, foreseeable damage that may occur.

(2) Any claims for damages on behalf of the renter expire three months after termination of the contractual relationship, insofar as the claims are not asserted within this time period.  The renter may only claim damages after expiry of this time period if he/she was unable to observe the deadline due to circumstances beyond his/her control.  This does not apply for damage claims based on deliberate or grossly negligent breach of duty nor for claims arising from unlawful acts.(3) Any damage claims shall be statute-barred one year after they came into being.  This does not apply for damage claims based on deliberate or grossly negligent breach of duty nor for claims arising from unlawful acts.(4) In the case of claims arising from the product liability law, any other legal liability under a guarantee, as well as loss of life, physical injury and damage to health, the above limitations of liability do not apply.

 

§ 8 Renter Secondary Obligations and Duty of Care

(1) The renter is obligated to share precise information concerning the intended use of the rental object.  Before takeover of the rental object, the renter is further obligated to make sure of its integrity and functionality.  The takeover of the rental object is considered to be confirmation of its integrity and functionality.

(2) The rental object is to be handled carefully and may be set up, serviced and disassembled exclusively by specialized personnel.  Use of the rental object contrary to contract entitles Echoschall to an immediate, extraordinary termination of the contract.

(3) The rented recording equipment is to be used exclusively in closed areas. Deviant uses shall be permitted upon previous arrangement with and consent by Echoschall.

(4) The renter is to provide an uninterrupted energy supply for the use of the rental object.

(5) The renter is fundamentally prohibited from making repairs on devices him/herself.  These are to be performed strictly by an appropriate specialist.

(6) The unattended storage of the rental object in vehicles may not occur for longer than absolutely necessary.  The vehicle is to remain continuously locked according to law.  The rental object may not be visible from the outside. The rental object must be removed from the vehicle at night (10 PM - 6 AM) and to be stored in an appropriate, locked space.  In any case, the renter is to ensure that the rental object shall at no point in time be left unattended and thus freely accessible to a third party.

(7) The rental object may not be passed on to a third party or third parties for use.  The renter shall bear liability for all damages or losses that occur in the case of violation of Clause 1.

(8) In the event of the loss of the rental object due to robbery, larceny, burglary or similar reasons, the renter is obligated to notify the police as well as Echoschall (Tel.: 030-440 10 900) promptly.  In the event of other failures or malfunctions the renter is to notify Echoschall promptly.  He/She must immediately remove the affected device from the area in order to avoid further damage.

(9) Equipment rented from Echoschall may be used exclusively in Germany and Austria.  Crossing the borders of Germany respectively Austria with rental devices is prohibited.

(10) Furthermore, the renter shall be issued a usage regulation for microphones, the observation of which is obligatory.

 

§ 9 Applicable Law, Place of Jurisdiction

(1) Contracts with Echoschall are subject to German law.

(2) The local place of jurisdiction for all disputes in connection with these terms and conditions is Berlin, insofar as a salesperson, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law is involved on the side of the renter.  The same shall apply if the renter does not have a general place of jurisdiction in Germany or after termination of the contract, or if he/she has transferred his habitual abode to a country other than Germany or if his primary place of residence is unknown at the time the legal action is filed.

 

Date: February 2012