General Terms and Conditions of Sale

The guarantee is limited to the repair, pure and simple replacement of the defective item, or a credit to your Marine Life account without any compensation being due, including for damages resulting from failure or mortality.

1 – SCOPE OF THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE

These general terms and conditions of sale automatically apply to all sales of products and animals marketed by Marine Life.

The sale is deemed completed on the date of acceptance of the order by the Vendor.

Prior to this date, these terms and conditions of sale were made available to the Purchaser, as referred to in Article 441-6 of the French Commercial Code.

Any order implies the unreserved acceptance of these general terms and conditions of sale which prevail over all other conditions, except those which have been expressly accepted by the Vendor.

Marine Life reserves the right to modify these terms and conditions of sale at any time subject to showing these changes on its website.

2 – GUARANTEE

Guarantee for hidden defects:

Items sold are covered by the legal guarantee for hidden defects within the meaning of Article 1641 of the French Civil Code. The Purchaser has 15 days to report any guarantee issue to the Vendor by registered letter with advice of receipt, after which is will not be accepted.

The Article provides that ‘the Vendor is bound to a warranty against hidden defects in the thing sold that render it unfit for its intended use, or that so impair its use that the Purchaser would not have bought it, or would only have given a lesser price for it if he had known of the defects’. No claim for compensation will be accepted for direct or indirect damages as understood in French case law.

Contractual guarantee

The items distributed are guaranteed by their manufacturers for a period of one month.

The following are not covered by this guarantee:

• Normal wear parts such as pump rotors, ampoules and tubes of all types, seals, etc.
• Damage resulting from inappropriate use (moisture in electrical or electronic items, submersible devices operating dry, etc.).
• All products modified or repaired by the Purchaser or any other person not expressly authorised by Marine Life.
• Unfinished electrical items (sockets, ballast, etc.).
• Consumables, such as live animals, marine algae, live rocks, natural seawater, feed, and perishable products.

The procedure given by the Vendor must be followed for all returns of items under the guarantee mentioned above.

Conformity guarantee:

In accordance with the provisions of articles L. 211-1 et seq. of the French Consumer Code, the Vendor will exchange products that do not conform with the order or credit the amount to the customer's Marine Life account.

For live animals, the shape, size, and colour cannot be guaranteed.

The procedure given by the Vendor must be followed for all returns of items under the guarantee mentioned above.

The following are not covered by any guarantee:

Consumables, such as live animals, marine algae, live rocks, natural seawater, feed, and perishable products.

In the event of a return under a guarantee, the Vendor will credit the amount of the items, less shipping costs, to the Purchaser's Marine Life account.

3 – CUSTOMER DECLARATION

The customer expressly declares:

• that they are an individual over the age of eighteen in full command of their faculties, that they are not under guardianship or trusteeship, and that, generally, that are in capacity to contract.
• that they have been informed that order confirmation entails pure and simple acceptance of these general terms and conditions.

As such, as a result of their confirmation, the Customer expressly waives the use of any conflicting document and, in particular, its own general terms and conditions of purchase.

4 – ORDERS

All orders must be made online using the form(s) available on the Vendor's website.

By confirming an order form, the user unreservedly accepts the terms and conditions of sale.

The Vendor's acceptance of the order results in an invoice being drawn up and sent.

The Purchaser may cancel any order or change its content before payment. As of this date, all orders are deemed firm and final.

5 – RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL

Under Article L. 121-20 of the French Consumer Code, the customer has a right of withdrawal for any subscription or order made remotely.

As such, the customer has seven days, as of receipt of their order, to exercise their right of withdrawal through the Vendor without being required to give a reason or pay a penalty, except the costs of return.

When the period of seven days ends on a Saturday, Sunday, or bank holiday, it will be extended to the following working day.

In the event of a return during the withdrawal period, the Vendor will credit the amount of the order, less shipping costs, to the Purchaser's Marine Life account.

The right of withdrawal only applies to individuals.

However, the following are exempt from the provisions of Article L.121-20 of the French Consumer Code (right of withdrawal):

• goods made to consumer specifications or significantly personalised or which, because of their nature, cannot be returned or perish quickly.
• Perishables, such as live animals, marine algae, live rocks, natural seawater, and feed.

Down payments collected for specific and custom-made items will not be returned in the case of cancellation of the order if the order is delivered within a normal period of time.

The procedure given by the Vendor must be followed for all returns of items under the guarantee mentioned above.

Only products returned in their entirety, in their full and undamaged original packaging and in perfect condition for resale will be accepted.

Any product that has been damaged or the original packaging of which has been damaged will not be refunded, taken back, or exchanged.

No penalty will be charged of this right of withdrawal is exercised, except for the cost of return. In the event that the right of withdrawal is exercised, the consumer may request for either a refund of the sums paid or an exchange of the product. In the case of exchange, shipping costs will be at the consumer's expense. If the right of withdrawal is exercised, the Vendor will make every effort to promptly reimburse the sums due to the consumer's Marine Life account.

6 – FORCE MAJEURE :

Neither party will have failed in their contractual obligations, if their performance is delayed, hindered, or prevented by an unforeseeable event or a case of force majeure.

Any unavoidable and unforeseeable event or circumstance, beyond the control of the parties and independent of their will which can not be prevented by them, despite all reasonably possible efforts.

The party affected by such circumstances must inform the other within ten working days of the date on which it becomes aware of them.

Both PARTIES will then meet within three months, unless this is not possible due to the event of force majeure, to examine its potential impact and agree on the conditions under which to continue perform the contract.

If the case of force majeure has a duration of over one month, these general terms and conditions may be terminated by the injured party.

The following events, in addition to those usually retained by French case law, are expressly considered as unforeseeable events or cases of force majeure: interruption of transport means, earthquakes, fires, storms, floods, lightning, shut-down of telecommunication networks or difficulties specific to telecommunication networks that are external to customers.

Under no circumstances may the company be held liable for any delay or non-performance resulting from a case of force majeure recognised under French case law.

7 – UNAVAILABILITY

In case of unavailability of one or more products, the Customer will be credited the amounts to their Marine Life account, without the latter being able to claim any compensation.

In case of unavailability of more than half of the order, the customer will be credited shipping and packaging costs in addition to the value of the undelivered items, without the latter being able to claim any compensation.

8 – INFORMATION ON CATALOGUE PRODUCTS

Catalogue products (marine fishes, marine invertebrates, marine algae, live rocks, natural seawater, sea salt, sand, aquariums, scenery, equipment, feed, marine additives, treatments and books offered for sale by the Vendor are those shown on the website www.marinelife.com on the day the customer consults the website.

These catalogue products are offered for sale on stock and on order.

These catalogue products offered for sale are described and presented as accurately as possible. However, the Vendor may not be held liable for any errors or omissions in this presentation. The photographs and the texts illustrating the products are for information purposes only and are in no way contractual except those featured in the WYSIWYG section.

9 – DELIVERY

Products are sent by several transport methods: courier, standard, and 24-hour express.

The Vendor delivers to the 27 member countries of the European Union as well as Andorra, Liechtenstein, and Switzerland.

Please contact the Vendor for other countries.

Exceeding delivery times will not result in any deduction or compensation.

However, a Purchaser who is not delivered on the date indicated may cancel all or part of their order seven days after formal notice remaining without effect.

The delivery time specified shall also be automatically suspended by any event beyond the Vendor's control resulting in late delivery.

In any event, timely delivery can only be made if the Purchaser is up to date with all their obligations and, in particular, payment to the Vendor.

The costs and risks associated with delivery of the products are the Vendor's sole responsibility.

On delivery, the risks of the products are transferred to the Purchaser.

No delivery will be made without full payment of the order.

In the event of a transport issue (delay of over 24 hours or damaged package), only circumstantial reservations issued on the delivery slip about the quality of the goods (fish dead on arrival or broken aquarium) may result in consideration of a claim.

The carrier cannot be held liable for reservations, such as conditional handover, subject to unpacking or package broken; therefore, they will not be taken into consideration.

The company may not be held liable for any delays in delivery or transport incidents.

A delay in delivery of material will not result in any refund by the company, except if the delay in delivery is over 30 days with regards to the indications given on ordering.

Upon receipt of the order, the customer must check the conformity of the products delivered with those ordered and ensure that there are no apparent defects.

The customer must issue reservations specifying the nature of the damage found on the delivery slip.

A customer who has placed an order for live animals cannot refuse delivery even in the event of delayed delivery of live animals or full or partial mortality.

Upon receipt of the order, the customer agrees to check the conformity of the aquatic fauna and flora delivered with those ordered.

To prevent the extinction of over 3 000 animal species and over 40 000 wild plant species on our planet, a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) was signed in Washington on 3 March 1973.

The CITES import number will be specified on each invoice if the specimen is covered by the CITES.

10 – PRODUCT ACCEPTANCE

If the Purchaser does not issue any complaint or reservation in this respect in writing on the day of receipt of the products, the products will not be taken back or exchanged, under the provisions of Article 1642 of the French Civil Code.

In case of apparent defect or non-conformity of delivered products with the ordered products identified by the Purchaser on the day of receipt, the Vendor will replace the products delivered with new products identical to the order.

11 – PRICE

All prices are quoted in euros, inclusive of taxes, but excluding shipping costs.

Products will be invoiced according to the prices in force in the catalogue on the date of the order, it being specified that the Vendor reserves the right to change to its prices.

The customer may benefit from special offers on some products in the line offered by the Vendor, it being specified that the various offers are not cumulative.

12 – PAYMENT

Payment by bank card:

Invoices may be paid by bank card.

User data and payment transactions made through the website are processed in a secure environment based on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology. To be able to use the SSL payment method, the customer must use an SSL-compatible web browser.

Payment may also be made:

• By cheque
• By bank transfer

Late payment interest:

The company's invoices are payable on receipt. In the event of late payment, the Vendor reserves the right to charge late payment interest at the average effective rate charged by credit institutions for consumer loans during the previous quarter, as well as collection fees.

13 – INVOICING

Upon receipt of the order, the Vendor will prepare an invoice which will be emailed to the customer.

14 – RETENTION OF TITLE

Products are sold subject to retention of title: in accordance with the provisions of Articles 2367 et seq. of the French Civil Code, the Vendor expressly retains ownership of the delivered products until full payment of the price of sales, fees, and accessories. However, the risks are transferred as indicated to the customer upon delivery of the goods.

15 – PERSONAL DATA

Customer personal data collected on the company's website is protected under the French Data Protection Act of 6 January 1978, as amended. This information may be used by the Vendor to manage the services offered to website's users or for direct marketing purposes regardless of the media used to inform the customer of its offers and services.

The customer has the right to access, correct, and oppose the use of their personal data.

If the customer does not want to receive the vendor's newsletter, they must log on to their Marine Life customer account to unsubscribe from this service.

Your personal may not be transferred to third parties without your prior authorisation. You have the right to access, correct, update, and, if necessary, oppose the use of your personal data at any time. You may exercise this right by sending a written request to Marine Life's registered office or by emailing the company using this email address: info@marinelife.com and providing your full name, address, and email.

Marine Life's file has been declared to the CNIL (French data protection authority) under registration no. 1472714 dated 15/12/2010. Any registered person has the right to access, correct, and oppose the use of their personal data, in accordance with the French Law of 7 January 1978, as amended.

Find out more at www.cnil.fr

16 – COMPETENT COURTS – APPLICABLE LAW

All disputes relating to the interpretation and performance of these General Terms and Condition of Sale of Products fall within the exclusive competence of the Paris Commercial Courts.

The applicable law is French law including the 1980 Vienna Convention on the International Sale of Goods.

The language of this contract is French in case of dispute.

The Vendor elects its address for service at its registered office mentioned above.

17 – ENTIRE AGREEMENT

In the event that any of the provisions of this contract become null and void as a result of a change of legislation, regulation, or court decision, this will not affect the validity and compliance with these General Terms and Conditions of Sale in any way.

18 – TERM

These conditions apply for the duration the services offered by the Vendor are online.