General Terms and Conditions

These are the General Terms and Conditions used by Hoogbloeier® cvba for agreements with individual course participants and for purchases made through our webshop. They govern various situations that may arise, such as the cancellation of an agreement or our return policy, and outline the rights and responsibilities of both Hoogbloeier® cvba and the participant or purchaser.

As a general principle, Hoogbloeier® cvba aims to resolve any issues or disputes in a fair and reasonable manner. The conditions described below are intended as general guidelines. If, in a specific situation, it would be unreasonable or unfair for Hoogbloeier® cvba to rely on these provisions, a participant or purchaser may submit a reasoned request within a reasonable timeframe asking for an exception to be made. Hoogbloeier® cvba will then review the situation once again.

General Terms and Conditions for Course Participants

Article 1 – Scope of Application

1. These General Terms and Conditions apply to every agreement entered into between Hoogbloeier® cvba (hereinafter referred to as "Hoogbloeier") and course participants, as well as to all quotations issued by Hoogbloeier. Any deviations from these terms shall only be valid if expressly agreed upon in writing.
2. Should one or more provisions of these Terms and Conditions be declared invalid or become unenforceable, the remaining provisions shall remain in full force and effect.

Article 2 – Offers and Quotations

1. All offers and quotations issued by Hoogbloeier are non-binding and, unless expressly stated otherwise in writing, remain valid for a period of 30 days.
   An agreement with Hoogbloeier is concluded when the participant submits the designated registration or application form, or when Hoogbloeier sends a confirmation to the participant by email or in writing.
2. Any additional agreements, amendments, or commitments made thereafter shall only be binding on Hoogbloeier if they have been confirmed to the participant in writing or by email.

Article 3 – Cancellation

1. Agreements may only be cancelled by the participant in writing:
   - Up to four weeks before the start date of the course, cancellation is possible subject to an administrative cancellation fee of €25.
   - Between four and one week before the start date of the course, cancellation is possible subject to a cancellation fee equal to 50% of the agreed course fee.
   - If the course is cancelled within one week of the start date, on the start date itself, or after the course has commenced, 100% of the agreed course fee will be charged as a cancellation fee
2. If the participant terminates their participation after the course has started or otherwise chooses not to attend the course, the participant shall not be entitled to any refund.
3. Hoogbloeier reserves the right to cancel a course or refuse a participant's enrollment without stating any reasons. In such cases, the participant shall be entitled to a full refund of all amounts paid to Hoogbloeier.

Article 4 – Payment Terms

1. Payment must be made no later than thirty (30) days from the invoice date. In the case of installment payments, each payment must be made on the agreed payment date and, in any event, no later than thirty (30) days from the invoice date. Objections regarding the amount invoiced and/or the performance of the services do not entitle the participant to suspend their payment obligations. If payment has not been received within the applicable period, the participant shall be deemed in default and shall owe statutory interest, calculated per month or part thereof, on the outstanding amount from the invoice date onward.
2. Travel expenses, accommodation and arrangement costs, as well as any required course materials or literature related to participation in a course, are not included in the course fee unless expressly agreed otherwise in writing.
3. In the event that the participant:
   - is declared bankrupt, applies for a suspension of payments, or has a substantial part of their assets seized;
   - passes away or is placed under legal guardianship;
   - fails to fulfill any obligation towards Hoogbloeier;
   all outstanding amounts shall become immediately due and payable, and Hoogbloeier shall have the right to terminate, in whole or in part, any agreement(s) entered into with the participant without requiring any judicial intervention.
4. All judicial and extrajudicial costs incurred in connection with the collection of outstanding amounts shall be borne by the participant.

Article 5 – Objections and Complaints

1. Complaints regarding the services provided must be submitted to Hoogbloeier in writing within eight (8) days of their discovery and, in any event, no later than fourteen (14) days after the completion of the relevant services. Any objections to invoices must likewise be submitted in writing within eight (8) days of the invoice date.

Article 6 – Termination

1. Any agreement may be terminated in writing before its completion if, due to changed circumstances that could not reasonably have been foreseen by the terminating party at the time the agreement was entered into, and which do not fall within that party's risk under these Terms and Conditions, applicable law, or generally accepted standards, continued performance of the agreement can no longer reasonably be expected. If an agreement is terminated prematurely by the participant on the grounds set out in this article, Hoogbloeier shall be entitled to pro rata payment for the services already provided, as well as compensation for any costs incurred (including, but not limited to, loss of occupancy) and loss of profit to the extent that such costs and losses are not already covered by the aforementioned pro rata payment.

Article 7 – Force Majeure

1. Neither party shall be obliged to fulfill any obligation towards the other if performance is prevented by circumstances beyond its reasonable control and not attributable to its fault, nor for which it is responsible under the law, a legal act, or generally accepted standards. Such circumstances include, but are not limited to: strikes and/or work stoppages (whether organized or unorganized), government measures that impede the provision of services, illness or unforeseen termination of employees intended to be involved in the delivery of the services for whom, in Hoogbloeier's reasonable judgment, no suitable replacement can be found, as well as failures by suppliers (whether attributable or not) that prevent Hoogbloeier from fulfilling its obligations towards the client in whole or in part.
   Hoogbloeier may also invoke force majeure even if it is already in default.
2. The parties may suspend their obligations under the agreement for the duration of the force majeure situation. If this period exceeds two months, either party shall be entitled to terminate the agreement without any obligation to compensate the other party for any damages.
3. To the extent that, at the time the force majeure situation arises, Hoogbloeier has already fulfilled part of its obligations under the agreement, or is still able to fulfill part of those obligations, and provided that the completed or remaining part has independent value, Hoogbloeier shall be entitled to invoice that part separately. The participant shall be obliged to pay such invoice as if it concerned a separate agreement.

Article 8 – Confidentiality

1. Beide partijen zijn verplicht tot geheimhouding van alle informatie die zij in het kader van de uitvoering van de diensten van elkaar verkrijgen en waarvan zij het vertrouwelijke karakter kennen ofwel redelijkerwijs dienden te kennen.

Artikel 9 – Intellectuele eigendom

1. All intellectual property rights arising from the services provided by Hoogbloeier for the benefit of the participant shall remain vested in Hoogbloeier.
   All materials provided by Hoogbloeier, including but not limited to reports, advice, agreements, course materials, drafts, drawings, software, and other documents, are intended solely for the participant's personal use. They may not be reproduced, published, or disclosed to third parties without the prior written consent of Hoogbloeier, unless the nature of the materials clearly implies otherwise.
2. If computer software is provided, the participant shall only acquire a non-transferable license to use such software in accordance with its intended purpose.
3. Hoogbloeier reserves the right to use the knowledge acquired through the performance of its services for other purposes, provided that no confidential information is disclosed to third parties. Hoogbloeier is entitled to identify itself as the creator of any materials produced on commission and may, with due regard for the client's interests, use such commissioned work for its own advertising and/or promotional purposes.

Article 10 – Governing Law and Disputes

1. All agreements between Hoogbloeier and the participant shall be governed by and construed in accordance with Belgian law. Any disputes arising out of or in connection with these agreements shall be submitted to the competent courts of Ghent, unless Hoogbloeier chooses to submit the dispute to the competent court in the participant's place of residence or registered office.

General Terms and Conditions for the Webshop

Article 1 – Identity of the Seller

• We are: Hoogbloeier cvba
• Address: Tarbotstraat 23 - 9000 Gent (Belgium)
• Email: info@hoogbloeier.be
• Phone: +32 468 49 89 95
• VAT: BE0507.674.541
• Banc account: BE83 1030 3700 0215

Article 2 – Applicability and Terms and Conditions

1. Our General Terms and Conditions apply to every offer we make as an online retailer to you as a Consumer (any natural person who acquires or uses products or services placed on the market exclusively for non-professional purposes).
2. We currently deliver only within Belgium and the Netherlands. If you provide a delivery address in another country, we reserve the right to refuse your order.
3. To place an order, you must be at least 18 years old. If you are under the age of 18, we ask that the order be placed by your parents or legal guardian. If we discover that an order has been placed by a minor, we reserve the right to refuse that order.
4. Placing an order through our website constitutes your explicit acceptance of our General Terms and Conditions of Sale, which are always available on our website.
5. When you place an order online, we will provide you with a copy of these General Terms and Conditions together with the order confirmation or, at the latest, upon delivery, in a format that can be saved or printed. We strongly recommend that you keep a copy for your records.
6. If additional special terms and conditions apply alongside these General Terms and Conditions, the same principles shall apply to those special conditions. In the event of any conflict between these General Terms and Conditions and any special conditions, you, as the consumer, may always rely on the provision that is most favorable to you.

Article 3 – Our Offer and Your Order

1. If an offer is valid only for a limited period or is subject to specific conditions, this will be expressly stated in the offer.
2. We always strive to describe as completely and accurately as possible what we are selling and how the ordering process works. In any event, the description will be sufficiently detailed to allow you to make an informed assessment before placing your order. Where images are used, they are intended to provide a truthful representation of the products and/or services offered. However, mistakes can happen, and if we have made an obvious error, we are not obliged to provide the product or service under those incorrect conditions.
3. Your order is complete and the agreement between us becomes final once we have confirmed your order by email and, in the case of payments made by credit or debit card, once we have received authorization from the card issuer for your payment transaction. We accept Bancontact, Mastercard, Visa, KBC, and iDEAL. If your card issuer refuses to authorize your payment, we cannot be held responsible for any delays in the delivery or non-delivery of your order. Orders without a valid payment in the name of the registered cardholder will not be accepted or processed.
4. To purchase a product, simply add it to your shopping cart. You will then be asked to provide your contact and billing details. Next, you can choose your preferred delivery method: postal delivery. In the final step, you will be shown an order summary, where you must accept our General Terms and Conditions and confirm your payment by clicking the order button labeled "Order with Obligation to Pay." Once you have completed these steps, your purchase becomes final.

Article 4 – Right of Withdrawal

1. If you purchase goods or services from us, you have the right to withdraw from the purchase within fourteen (14) days from the date of delivery or from the conclusion of the agreement. During this period, you may decide that you do not wish to keep the goods and return your order without having to pay any penalty or provide any reason (the cost of returning the goods is your responsibility). Within fourteen (14) days after we have received your returned order, or after you have informed us that you wish to withdraw from the agreement, we will refund the full purchase price using the same payment method that you used for the original transaction.
2. The direct costs of returning the goods are therefore your responsibility. We will indicate these costs or provide an estimate if they cannot reasonably be calculated in advance. If the goods cannot reasonably be returned by post, we will arrange to collect them from you, and no charges will be imposed for this collection.
3. We may withhold reimbursement until we have received the returned goods or until you have provided proof that you have sent the goods back, whichever occurs first.
4. During the first fourteen (14) days following delivery, we ask that you handle both the product and its packaging with due care. If you wish to return the goods as described above, you may only unpack or use them to the extent necessary to determine whether you wish to keep them. Returned goods may have been inspected or tried out, but they must not have been used. If you return the goods, they should, where reasonably possible, be returned in their original packaging, together with all supplied accessories, and in their original condition and packaging, in accordance with the instructions provided below.
5. You may return your package by post or through a courier service.
6. To exercise your right of withdrawal correctly, you can notify us by email that you wish to return your order. We will send you an acknowledgment of receipt of your withdrawal request by email.

Article 5 – Pricing

1. During the validity period stated in our offer, our prices will not change, except for price adjustments resulting from changes in VAT rates.
2. Our prices include all taxes, VAT, duties, and service charges unless stated otherwise. This means you will never encounter any unexpected costs. We may, however, decide to charge shipping costs in addition to the purchase price. In that case, we will always inform you of these costs before you finalize your purchase.

Article 6 – Payment

1. We only accept payments made through the payment methods available on our website.
2. To ensure secure online payments and protect your personal data, transaction information is transmitted over the internet using SSL encryption technology. You do not need any special software to make payments via SSL. You can recognize a secure SSL connection by the padlock icon displayed in your browser's address bar or status bar.

Article 7 – Conformity and Warranty

1. We guarantee that our products conform to your order and meet the reasonable expectations you may have of them, taking into account the product specifications. We also guarantee that our products comply with all applicable laws and regulations in force at the time of your order.
2. In addition, we apply the statutory minimum warranty period of two years for the delivery of goods if the product does not conform to the order placed. This means that any defects or non-conformities discovered within two years after delivery will be repaired or the product will be replaced free of charge. To the extent that it is possible and reasonable, you may choose between repair and replacement. Only if repair or replacement is impossible, disproportionate, or cannot be carried out within a reasonable period of time are you entitled to request a price reduction or the termination of the sales agreement. If the defect or non-conformity becomes apparent within six months of delivery, it is presumed to have existed at the time of delivery unless we can prove otherwise. After six months, you will need to demonstrate that the defect already existed at the time of delivery.

Article 8 – Delivery and Performance

1. AAll goods and services will be delivered to the address you provided when placing your order.
2. If an item is in stock, it will be delivered to your address within a maximum of one week. We ensure that the product is shipped as soon as possible after payment of the invoice has been received. If an item is not currently in stock in our webshop, delivery will take place in consultation with you, and we will inform you before shipping the product.
3. We always ship our products via bpost at a rate of €6.85 within Belgium and €16.50 to the Netherlands.
4. If we are unable to deliver your order on time, we will always notify you before the expected delivery period expires. If we fail to do so, you have the right to cancel your order free of charge. In that case, we will refund you no later than thirty (30) days after the cancellation of the agreement.
5. All shipments are made at our risk. You therefore do not need to worry about goods that are lost during delivery. However, if you return goods to us within the fourteen-day withdrawal period because you no longer wish to keep them, you are responsible for the return shipment and its associated risks.
6. If the goods delivered by us have been damaged during transport, do not correspond to the items listed on the delivery note, or do not match the items you ordered, you must notify us as soon as possible and, in any event, within three (3) days of receipt. The items must then be returned to us within fourteen (14) calendar days after receipt. We cannot be held liable for any consequential damages resulting from late delivery or non-delivery by the carrier appointed by our company. In such cases, our liability shall be limited to the value of the items that can be proven not to have been received by the customer.

Article 9 – Duration of the Agreement

1. The Consumer may terminate an agreement concluded for an indefinite period at any time, subject to the agreed termination procedures and with a notice period of no more than one month.
2. An agreement concluded for a fixed term shall have a maximum duration of two years.
3. If a fixed-term agreement for the supply of goods provides that the distance contract will be automatically renewed unless the Consumer objects, the agreement shall continue as an agreement of indefinite duration, and the notice period following such renewal shall be no more than one month.
4. If a fixed-term service agreement between the Company and the Consumer contains an automatic renewal clause, this clause shall be displayed in bold and enclosed in a separate box on the front page of the first page of the agreement.
5. This clause shall specify the consequences of the automatic renewal, including the provisions of the following paragraph regarding termination, as well as the final date by which the Consumer may object to the automatic renewal of the agreement and the manner in which such objection must be communicated. Following the automatic renewal of a fixed-term service agreement, the Consumer may terminate the agreement at any time without penalty, subject to a notice period of no more than two months.

Article 10 – Force Majeure

1. In the event of force majeure, we shall not be obliged to fulfill our contractual obligations. In such cases, we may either suspend our obligations for the duration of the force majeure event or permanently terminate the agreement.
2. Force majeure means any circumstance beyond our reasonable control that wholly or partially prevents us from fulfilling our obligations. This includes, but is not limited to, strikes, fire, business disruptions, power outages, failures in a (telecommunications) network or connection, failures of communication systems, the temporary unavailability of our website, and the failure or delay of suppliers or other third parties engaged by us to deliver goods or services.

Article 11 – Intellectual Property Rights

1. Our website, logos, texts, photographs, names, and, more generally, all of our communications are protected by intellectual property rights owned either by us or by our suppliers or other rights holders.
2. It is prohibited to use, modify, copy, or reproduce any of the intellectual property rights described in this article without our prior and explicit written consent. This includes, but is not limited to, drawings, photographs, names, texts, logos, color schemes, and other protected materials.

Article 12 – Complaints Procedure and Dispute Resolution

1. We naturally strive for all of our customers to be 100% satisfied. If, however, you have a complaint about our services, you can contact us by email at [info@hoogbloeier.be](mailto:info@hoogbloeier.be). We will do everything we can to address your complaint within seven (7) days.
2. In the event of an out-of-court dispute resolution procedure, the Consumer Ombudsman Service of the Belgian Federal Government is authorized to receive all requests for the extrajudicial settlement of consumer disputes. The Ombudsman Service will either handle the request itself or refer it to a qualified dispute resolution body.
   You can contact the Consumer Ombudsman Service via the following website:
   http://www.consumentenombudsdienst.be//nl
3. For cross-border disputes, you may also make use of the European Union's Online Dispute Resolution (ODR) platform: http://ec.europa.eu/odr.
4. All agreements concluded with our customers, regardless of their place of residence, shall be governed exclusively by Belgian law, and any disputes shall fall within the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent Belgian courts. If, for reasons of private international law, another legal system should nevertheless apply, the interpretation of these General Terms and Conditions shall, in the first instance, be guided by the principles of the Belgian Code of Economic Law concerning market practices and consumer protection.