General terms and conditions are pre-formulated contractual conditions that can be applied to many contracts. This keeps contracts short and basic provisions do not always have to be renegotiated.

In addition, you also fulfill your duty to inform your contractual partner (customer) with the GTC.

Generators and templates are a good basis for your initial considerations. However, you must bear in mind that templates may be out of date – and therefore invalid. Unfortunately, mistakes can result in costly warnings.

In addition, there is always the question of the extent to which templates and generators comply with any provisions of the Consumer Protection Act (KSchG) and include them in the general terms and conditions. Case law is very strict, especially when concluding contracts with consumers, which can lead to enormous payment defaults or unwanted contract withdrawals.

We must advise against this, as there are strict legal requirements for the creation of general terms and conditions. Without the necessary legal knowledge, general terms and conditions quickly become invalid and mistakes can be expensive.

Important:
You should also not copy the terms and conditions of a company that is similar to yours. This is because you are committing a copyright infringement.

The costs for a lawyer can vary greatly. On the one hand, this is due to the prices that the respective lawyer charges for their services and the amount of work involved.

Reviewing general terms and conditions is often less time-consuming than drawing them up from scratch. The business model can also have an impact on how time-consuming it is to draw up general terms and conditions.

We work with all-inclusive prices so that you always know what costs you will incur. This means you can rely on a fixed price from the outset – without any nasty surprises afterwards.

Individual GTCs are particularly important, for example, if you offer your products or services across national borders. This is because different regulations and clauses often apply in different countries.

Unwanted consumer protection regulations, legal proceedings abroad or contract rescissions can result in considerable sales losses.

Even if your company is very complex, a review by a lawyer makes particular sense. We are happy to support you in Austria and throughout Europe with the creation and review of your general terms and conditions.

How long the creation process takes varies from case to case. The individual requirements play a major role here. In addition, different regulations apply in cross-border trade (e.g. Europe-wide) than in national trade (e.g. only in Austria).

During a free initial consultation, we will discuss your requirements and give you an estimate of how long the creation or review will take.

On the one hand, the contract (e.g. purchase contract, service contract) or the offer must contain a reference to the GTC. These should also be linked at this point or printed on the back.

Your customers should also always be able to find the general terms and conditions on the website. The two-click rule applies here: the terms and conditions must be accessible from every subpage with just two clicks. It is therefore a good idea to link to the terms and conditions on every subpage in the footer of the website.

Important:
If the reference to the GTC is only included on the invoice or on delivery bills, your terms and conditions are invalid, as the reference must be made before the contract is concluded.

Yes. In the B2C sector, distance selling law applies with its strict regulations. On the other hand, there are also some clauses in the B2B area that are not permitted in the general terms and conditions for consumers.
The type and manner of consent is also regulated differently in both areas.

End consumers must be made aware of the GTC and agree to them before placing an order in the online store, for example. For business customers, on the other hand, it is sufficient to hand over the GTC. These are then deemed to have been accepted if no objection is raised.

In a free initial consultation, we will also clarify these points and then draw up your general terms and conditions in such a way that they meet all the legal requirements in your individual case.

If a clause is deemed to be unlawful or grossly disadvantageous, it is deemed null and void and has no legal effect. In practice, this means that general (dispositive) statutory law applies instead of the invalid clause – often to the detriment of the company.

Despite the invalidity of individual clauses, the rest of the contract generally remains valid. However, the use of inadmissible general terms and conditions can have far-reaching consequences, especially for consumers. There is a risk of injunctions by consumer protection organizations such as the Verein für Konsumenteninformation (VKI), combined with court proceedings, publication obligations and, in some cases, sensitive claims for reimbursement of costs. There is also the risk of administrative sanctions and – in the event of specific damage – civil claims for damages.

GTC clauses on the right of withdrawal and the due date of payments are particularly sensitive. Inadmissible restrictions to the statutory right of withdrawal – for example in online transactions with consumers – are not only ineffective, but can also lead to costly reversals. It is therefore essential to draft these areas in a legally sound manner in order to avoid bad debts and disputes.

According to the highly regarded decision of the European Court of Justice in the Gupfinger case (C-625/21), even the statutory substitute right may remain unavailable to the user of the GTC if this would undermine the consumer’s level of protection. In such cases, the contractual loophole in question cannot simply be closed by national law, which is particularly disadvantageous for entrepreneurs. This increases the pressure on companies to use legally compliant and transparent T&Cs from the outset.