Terms and conditions valid?
May 12, 2011 | 25,00 EUR | answered by Dr. Dr. Danjel-Philippe Newerla
Twago is an online platform with project mediation function. In their terms and conditions, it states that service providers must pay a percentage of the contract value to Twago (depending on membership status). This also applies to all subsequent contracts within the following 12 months.
http://www.twago.de/static/tos#7 - §7.4
This is not about existing know-how that could be used by competitors. Are such terms and conditions legally binding at all?
Apart from membership termination, could there be any consequences if one disregards this part of the terms and conditions?
Dear inquirer,
Thank you for your inquiry. I would like to answer it as follows:
1. Are such terms and conditions even legally binding?
If I understand you correctly, this platform is not directed at consumers, but at entrepreneurs.
If I further understand correctly, orders are generated directly through the platform.
So, this is a kind of commission.
In my assessment, this is generally effective and quite common.
2. Apart from membership termination, could something worse happen if one disregards this part of the terms and conditions?
This would constitute a breach of contract, for which you could potentially be liable for damages in accordance with § 280 BGB if disregarded.
However, it would also need to be proven that damage has occurred.
In this case, it would likely be the lost commissions and possible default interest.
I hope to have provided you with some initial legal guidance and wish you much success and all the best!
I would like to finally point out the following:
The legal information I have provided is based solely on the facts you have provided. My response is only an initial legal assessment of the situation and cannot replace a comprehensive review of the facts. Adding or omitting relevant information could result in a completely different legal assessment.
I hope my explanations have been helpful to you. You are welcome to contact me through the follow-up option.
I wish you a pleasant Thursday afternoon!
Best regards from the North Sea coast,
Dipl.-Jur. Danjel-Philippe Newerla, Attorney at Law
Stresemannstr. 46
27570 Bremerhaven
kanzlei.newerla@web.de
Fax. 0471/140244
Tel. 0471/140240 or 0471/140241
