General Terms and Conditions

The non-profit and regenerative SONQO CIRCULAR CULTURE, which is made up of two organizations:

SONQO ASSOCIATION
Buonaserstrasse 30
CH-6434 Rotkreuz
+41-79-705-49-85

and

SONQO.SHOP GMBH
Buonaserstrasse 30
CH-6434 Rotkreuz
+41-79-705-49-85

The association is referred to below as VS for short, but SONQO.SHOP GMBH is referred to as SG. If both organizations are meant, then this will be referred to as SONQO.

Thank you very much for your interest in SONQO!

The satisfaction of our members and customers is particularly important to us. For this reason, SONQO informs its members and customers of their rights and obligations within the framework of these General Terms and Conditions of Business and Events (hereinafter referred to as “GTC”).

SONQO offers a wide variety of events (hereinafter: events), teacher certification and training programs (hereinafter: programs), memberships (hereinafter: membership) as well as online events or courses and online products (hereinafter: digital content) on the website www.sonqo.org. The following GTC apply to all contracts that SONQO concludes with its customers (hereinafter: contractual partners).

For better readability, the masculine form is used exclusively in these GTC. However, we would like to expressly state that this refers to all genders. SONQO stands for an inclusive circular culture. Regardless of origin, gender, culture and religion, all people who think, feel and act constructively and respectfully are equally welcome at SONQO.

1 Subject matter and scope of application

1.1 Subject to paragraph 1.3, the following terms and conditions apply exclusively to the events and programs offered by SONQO as well as to membership and digital content. The currently valid version of these GTC can be accessed and saved at any time at www.sonqo.org. Any terms and conditions of SONQO’s own or deviating from these GTC shall be excluded for contracts between SONQO and the contracting partner.

1.2 Terms and conditions of the contractual partner shall not apply.

1.3 The following terms and conditions apply to all events, programs or digital content offered at www.sonqo.org for which the organizer is also the provider.

2 Conclusion of contract and prices

2.1 By placing an order (clicking on the button “order with obligation to pay” or “pay now”), the contractual partner confirms a binding booking. A booking made by telephone or email or a purchase request expressed by telephone or email is also binding.

2.2 Before the contractual partner submits a binding contractual offer, the total costs are shown on the website. Unless otherwise stated, the total costs for events do not include the costs for travel, accommodation and meals.

2.3 Unless otherwise stated, all payments are due without deduction within five days of receipt of the request for payment. SONQO has the right, but not the obligation, to cancel the booking of an event or program or to withdraw from the contract for the sale of a membership or digital content if the contracting partner fails to pay the total or partial amount due for the booking or purchase by the specified due date. In the event of such a cancellation of an event or program booking on the part of SONQO, cancellation fees shall be due in accordance with point 4.1 of these GTC. Alternatively, SONQO reserves the right to demand payment of the full amount despite the contracting partner’s non-participation in a booked event or program. Likewise, SONQO reserves the right to demand payment of the full amount despite the contracting partner not making use of the benefits of membership or not consuming the digital content purchased.

2.4 Payment shall not be deemed to have been made until SONQO’s account has been irrevocably credited. In the event of default, default interest of 4% per annum shall be deemed agreed. SONQO may charge reminder fees of CHF 20 or EUR 20 per reminder. SONQO is entitled to claim damages caused by the contracting partner and incurred by SONQO, in particular the necessary costs of appropriate extrajudicial debt collection or recovery measures, provided these are in reasonable proportion to the claim being pursued. Late payments shall first be set off against the reminder charges, then against interest and finally against the outstanding capital.
Any set-off of alleged counterclaims by the contracting partner against claims by SONQO is excluded.

3. Compensation and warranty

3.1 Unless otherwise stipulated in paragraph 2.4, the respective contractual partner shall only be liable for damages resulting from culpable breach of contract in the event of its own fault or that of a vicarious agent in the event of intent or gross negligence. This does not apply to personal injury.

4. Right of withdrawal for events

4.1 In principle, the contracting partner has no right of withdrawal in the case of contracts for events, as this is a service in connection with leisure activities which SONQO must provide at a specific time. SONQO does, however, grant the contracting partner a right to cancel under the respective seminar-specific cancellation conditions stated individually at www.sonqo.org for each event. In the event that no seminar-specific cancellation conditions are specified, the following conditions shall apply: In the event of cancellation, the contractual partner will be charged a cancellation fee specified in more detail below. If the total amount of the event, which consists of the tuition fee and, in the case of physical events, possibly also any costs for accommodation and/or meals, or a part thereof, has already been paid prior to the cancellation, the payment will be refunded less this cancellation fee:

If the cancellation is received 120 days or more before the (first) event date: no cancellation fee. If the withdrawal is received less than 120 days but more than 29 days before the (first) event date: 15% of the total event fee. If the withdrawal is received less than 30 days but more than 6 days before the (first) event date: 50% of the total event fee. If the withdrawal is received less than 7 days before the (first) event date: 100% of the total event amount.

4.2 The contractual partner can exercise the right to cancel by sending an email to info@sonqo.org.

4.3 SONQO reserves the right to withdraw from contracts for event participation without giving reasons.

4.3.1 If the event booked by the contracting partner takes place but SONQO withdraws from the contract for the contracting partner’s participation in the event (in other words, cancels the contracting partner’s registration for this event), SONQO will immediately transfer back to the contracting partner any payments made for the total amount of the event. Reimbursement of travel expenses or other expenses incurred by the contracting partner in connection with the event are completely excluded.

4.3.2 If the entire event booked by the contracting partner is canceled for any reason whatsoever, the following conditions shall apply:
If the contracting partner has already paid the total amount of the event or a part thereof, this shall be refunded to him less the cancellation fee charged to SONQO by the event accommodation provider for each participant booked. However, if this cancellation fee is higher than the partial payment already made by the contracting partner, the difference will be charged to him.
If the contracting partner has not yet made any payment for the booked event, he will be charged the cancellation fee charged to SONQO by the event accommodation company per booked participant.
Reimbursement of travel expenses or other expenses incurred by the contracting partner in connection with the event are in any case completely excluded.

5. Event regulations

5.1 During events (online & offline), the contracting party is strictly prohibited from making recordings. All image and/or sound recordings, regardless of the medium, are therefore prohibited without SONQO’s written consent. For this reason, SONQO is also entitled to exclude a contracting partner who violates this prohibition from the event without compensation.

5.2 The content conveyed in the course of an event and all documents which the contractual partner receives in the course of an event are protected by copyright. The contractual partner is granted the right to use the content and all documents exclusively for private purposes. The contracting partner is therefore prohibited from reproducing, distributing, publishing or passing on the documents in whole or in part, and from publicly performing, showing or teaching the contents or parts thereof, in particular the methods, practices and techniques taught by SONQO.

5.3 Participation in an event is generally permitted for persons who have not yet reached the age of 18. However, a corresponding request can be made to info@sonqo.org. Should an event be permitted for under-18s in individual cases, the written consent of a parent or legal guardian is required for participation.

5.4 The events offered by SONQO are physically and mentally demanding. The contracting partner takes part in the events at its own risk and, by booking and accepting the GTCs, declares that it is in a mentally and physically fit condition to take part in the event. Should an individual exercise or an entire event exceed the Contractual Partner’s mental and/or physical capacity, the Contractual Partner must terminate the exercise or participation in the event on his own responsibility. If the contracting partner breaches this obligation, SONQO’s liability is completely excluded. In this case, any reimbursement of participation costs is excluded.

5.5 By booking an event and accepting the GTC, the contracting party authorizes SONQO to take photographs, make video recordings and audio recordings (“recordings”) of it as part of the event. In addition, the contracting party authorizes SONQO to use, publish and edit all Recordings at its own discretion for training and advertising purposes, in particular on SONQO’s websites and SONQO’s social media channels. The contracting partner agrees that SONQO owns all rights of any kind to the recordings, which it assigns to SONQO without compensation, and that no further claims can be asserted on its part.

6. membership regulations

6.1 SONQO offers a membership with the category “SONQO friends” on the www.sonqo.org website. Through this membership (CHF or EUR 100.-), the contracting partner becomes an extraordinary member of SONQO (“Membership – Friends of SONQO”) without voting or other rights relating to the SONQO association and its operation. This extraordinary membership only includes the right to receive those benefits that are mentioned in the description on www.sonqo.org under the item Membership (“Friends of SONQO”) or specifically in the invitation to tender for events.

6.2 Membership (“Friends of SONQO”) begins on the date on which SONQO has confirmed receipt of payment. Membership is automatically renewed for a further year at the end of the year. Written notice of termination by email (info@sonqo.org) must be received by September 30 at the latest for the following year. Otherwise the full annual fee for the following year will be owed.

6.3 SONQO reserves the right to withdraw from membership contracts at any time without giving reasons. In this case, SONQO will immediately transfer back to the contracting partner any payments made for the membership in the relevant calendar year.

6.4 SONQO offers a patronage with the category “SONQO supporter” on the www.sonqo.org website. Through this patronage (with an amount of CHF or EUR 500.- or more), the contracting partner becomes an extraordinary member of SONQO (“Membership – Friends of SONQO”) without voting or other rights relating to the SONQO association and its operation. This extraordinary membership only includes the right to receive those benefits that are mentioned in the description on www.sonqo.org under “Supporters of SONQO” or specifically when events are advertised.

7. Digital content

7.1 SONQO offers two different formats of digital content for purchase on its website www.sonqo.org: on the one hand online events or courses (hereinafter: online events) and on the other hand online products. Online events are events that are not held at a physical location but live via an online platform. Online products are digital files (video or audio files and any digital teaching materials) that can be accessed online via our website www.sonqo.org after purchase. It is not possible to download video or audio files.

7.2 All digital content and the teachings conveyed in the digital content are protected by copyright. The contractual partner is granted the right to use the digital content exclusively for private purposes. The contracting partner is therefore prohibited from recording, reproducing, distributing, publishing or passing on the digital content in whole or in part, as well as from publicly performing, showing or teaching the content or parts thereof, in particular the methods, practices and techniques taught by SONQO.

7.3 The instructions conveyed in the digital content are physically and mentally demanding. The contracting party consumes the digital content at its own risk and performs the exercises shown at its own risk and declares that it is in the mental and physical condition to do so. If an individual exercise or the entirety of the digital content exceeds the contracting party’s mental and/or physical capacity, the contracting party must discontinue the exercise or the consumption of this digital content on its own responsibility. If the contracting partner breaches this obligation, SONQO’s liability is completely excluded. A refund of the costs paid to SONQO is excluded in this case.

7.4 The contractual partner has no right to withdraw from the contract for the purchase of digital content after conclusion of the contract (right of withdrawal).

7.5 The purchase of digital content is generally not permitted for persons who have not yet reached the age of 18. However, a corresponding request can be made to info@sonqo.org. Should the purchase of digital content be permitted for under-18s in individual cases, the written consent of a parent or legal guardian is required.

7.6 The contracting partner authorizes SONQO to make video, audio and screen recordings (“recordings”) of it as part of an online event. In addition, the contracting partner authorizes SONQO to use, publish and edit all Recordings at its discretion for training and advertising purposes, in particular on SONQO’s websites and SONQO’s social media channels. The contracting partner agrees that SONQO owns all rights of any kind to the recordings, which it assigns to SONQO without compensation, and that no further claims can be asserted on its part.

8. Program regulations

8.1 SONQO offers participation in teacher certification and training programs (“Programs”) on the website www.sonqo.org. Note: The same provisions apply as listed under points 6 and 7.

8.3 SONQO reserves the right to withdraw from contracts for participation in programs at any time without giving reasons. In this case, SONQO will immediately refund to the contracting partner any payments already made for participation in the program.

9. Liability

9.1 The contracting partner waives any claims and/or demands against SONQO and releases SONQO from any liability for damages, unless they are due to intent or gross negligence. Likewise, the contracting partner releases SONQO from any liability for accidents caused by non-compliance with the instructions or by false information about its physical condition. In addition, the contracting party releases SONQO from any liability for damage to its valuables caused by third parties and/or for injuries caused by other participants.
The events, programs and digital content do not constitute medical advice and are not intended to replace a medical examination and/or treatment.

10 Place of jurisdiction and place of performance

10.1 Legal disputes arising from this contract shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law. The application of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods, the conflict of laws rules of the IPRG and Regulation (EC) No. 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 17, 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I Regulation) is excluded.
10.2. If permissible, the place of jurisdiction for legal disputes arising from this contract is the competent court in Zug, Switzerland. The place of performance is Zug/CH.

11. Final provisions

11.1 SONQO is covered by the alternative dispute resolution bodies “Online Dispute Resolution” (https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/odr). If the contracting party is a consumer, it has the option on the aforementioned platforms of making use of out-of-court dispute resolution by an impartial arbitration body. SONQO’s email address is: info@sonqo.org.

11.2 Amendments or supplements to these GTC must be made in writing to be effective. This also applies to any waiver of the written form requirement.

11.3 If individual provisions of these GTC are legally invalid, the remaining provisions and the contracts on which they are based shall remain valid. The parties are obliged to replace the invalid provision with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the meaning and purpose of the invalid provision.

General terms and conditions of the webshop

of sonqo.store gmbh, Buonaserstrasse 30, CH 6343 Rotkreuz

Tel: +41 (0)79-705-49-85 or e-mail store(at)sonqo.org
Management: Ángel Herrera and Aline Feichtinger

(hereinafter referred to as “we”).

These General Terms and Conditions (hereinafter referred to as GTC) apply to all orders (online, telephone, post) placed directly with sonqo.store gmbh – (hereinafter referred to as sonqo Shop) for all services provided on the Market Access platform and for use in Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and the European Union (hereinafter referred to as the EU).

Users of the sonqo store are natural persons and organizations who order products (hereinafter referred to as customers), natural persons and organizations who offer projects on the Market Access platform (hereinafter referred to as project owners), natural persons and organizations who provide non-material or material support for the projects offered on the Market Access platform (hereinafter referred to as supporters).

12. scope of application

We provide our deliveries and services in the sonqo store exclusively on the basis of the following GTC. The version of the GTC valid at the time of the order is authoritative. We reserve the right to update these GTC if necessary. By using our websites, users give their consent to the current GTC. Use is deemed to have taken place when sonqo is called up in an Internet browser.

13 Offer, conclusion of contract and fulfillment of contract

The national provisions on the purchase contract and other relevant laws and regulations apply. In Switzerland, this is the Swiss Code of Obligations (OR) in particular:

In the sonqo store

Our price lists, brochures and publications on the sonqo store and in our electronic media are non-binding and subject to change.

The contract is concluded upon acceptance of the order. The detailed order conditions including various discounts, special shipping conditions and the detailed revocation policy can be found on the respective subpages, accessible via the menu at the bottom of our website.

The following conditions apply to discounts:

Discount codes are not cumulative

We are entitled to withdraw from the contract in cases of obvious typing and invoicing errors.

Our confirmation is decisive for the scope and execution of the order. Unless otherwise expressly agreed or evident from the nature of the transaction, benefit and risk shall pass to the customer upon dispatch of the goods from our warehouse. The goods remain our property until full payment has been made.

Deliveries, products or services requested by our customers that are not included in our offer will be invoiced by us.

14. right of return / right of withdrawal

Customers have the right to return the goods within 14 days of delivery of the goods. The right of return is exercised by returning the goods; no justification is required.

After receipt of the goods, we will refund the customer the purchase price including delivery costs within 14 days of receipt of the withdrawal notification. Refunds will be made by crediting the customer’s account using the payment method originally selected. The customer shall bear the costs of the return shipment.

A deduction from the purchase price to be refunded or an invoice for possible damage, excessive wear and tear or goods already consumed remains reserved. No deduction shall be made if the loss in value or consumption of the goods is due to handling necessary to establish the nature, condition and functionality of the goods.

Supporters are entitled to revoke a payment within 5 working days by written notification to sonqo, Buonaserstrasse 30, 6343 Rotkreuz, Switzerland, without giving reasons. Repayments are made by crediting the supporter’s account using the payment method originally selected. Repayments will be made within 30 days.

If a funding target is not reached, this does not constitute a right of withdrawal on the part of the supporter. It is at the discretion of the project owner whether a project can still be carried out or whether a repayment should be made to the supporters.

15. Prices & resale

THE PRICES are quoted in Swiss francs (CHF) in the Swiss webshop and in euros (EUR) in the European webshop. The prices are inclusive of statutory sales tax.

In addition to the prices stated, shipping costs may apply depending on the delivery address, quantity of goods and item. The exact shipping costs are displayed to the customer during the ordering process. There are no further costs for delivery. From an order value of CHF or EUR 150, there are no shipping costs. sonqo reserves the right to change this amount. The value stated in the current GTC applies in each case.

RETAILERS: For a limited selection of products there is a price list for resellers, which can be obtained from us. By accepting the terms and conditions, resellers also agree to always adhere to the minimum sales price. The minimum selling price is given by the regular price of the smallest order unit of the respective product in the sonqo webshop. The minimum selling price is also to be understood as including VAT and shipping costs for resellers. A higher sales price than the regular unit price is possible at any time. Further provisions can be found in the reseller regulations HERE.

16. Terms of delivery

Delivery is only made to delivery addresses within Switzerland, the Principality of Liechtenstein and to countries on the continent of Europe. This also applies to commercial customers.

Unless otherwise stated in the offer, the standard delivery time is 3-7 working days. If the maximum delivery time of 14 working days is exceeded, the customer has the right to withdraw from the contract.

If not all products ordered are in stock, we are entitled to make partial deliveries. The customer shall not incur any additional costs due to partial deliveries. Any deadlines shall only commence upon receipt of the last partial delivery.

IMPORTANT: If the delivery of perishable goods is the subject of the delivery contract, the following applies: The customer shall ensure the acceptance of perishable goods by taking suitable precautions, for example by accepting the goods himself or by instructing a person to accept them at the specified delivery address.

Should the delivery of the goods fail through the fault of the customer despite three delivery attempts, we may withdraw from the contract. Any payments made will be refunded.

17. Deposits and withdrawals and terms of payment

Payment is made by invoice, credit or debit card or forwarding via an e-payment gateway to a payment provider. We reserve the right to exclude payment by invoice in individual cases or for new customers.

Credit balances from advance payments or returns will be transferred to users as soon as we have the necessary account details. Credit balances from previous business transactions shall be deducted directly from the invoice. Offsetting against counterclaims that are not recognized or have not been legally established is excluded.

We hand over unpaid claims to an external debt collection agency after unsuccessful reminders.

The payments collected from supporters on behalf of the project owner are paid out by us to the project owner on completion of the project. This payment is usually made within 30 days of the completion of the project.

18. Copyright

The copyright and all other rights to content, images, photos or other files on the website belong exclusively to sonqo.store GmbH or the specifically named rights holders. The written consent of the copyright holders must be obtained in advance for the reproduction of any elements.

19 Special obligations of users

The user undertakes not to misuse our services, in particular:

not to disseminate any illegal material or information (e.g. pornographic, racist, inciting or comparable content).
not to introduce any data into the system that contains a computer virus or other harmful software and could damage our hardware and software.
not to publish any data that is protected by copyright unless the user has the rights to use it.

The user also undertakes to indemnify us against any costs, legal action, damages, losses or other claims that we may incur as a result of his/her registration or participation in our services.

The user is obliged to treat information about other users confidentially and only make it accessible to third parties with the express prior consent of the sender. This applies in particular to names, telephone and fax numbers, address data, e-mail addresses and URLs.

By providing content, the project owner grants us a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual and free right to use the project information. The project owner grants us the right to store this project information (texts, images, videos), to publish it and to pass it on to third parties for publication if this passing on serves to promote the project, the project owner or us. We are entitled to use or pass on the project information in its entirety or in modified form, alone or in combination with our own content.

20. Liability

All offers are subject to change and non-binding. We reserve the right to change, supplement or delete parts or the entire product range or parts or the entire service without prior notice or to discontinue publication temporarily or permanently.

Liability regarding the delivery of products from the sonqo store:

We shall be liable without limitation for intent and gross negligence and in accordance with the Product Liability Act. In the event of slight negligence, we shall be liable for breach of a material contractual obligation. Liability for slight negligence is limited to damages foreseeable at the time of conclusion of the contract, the occurrence of which must be regularly expected, with the exception of damages to life, body and health.

We accept no responsibility for products supplied on behalf of project owners as part of a “test delivery” in a market access project. The responsibility for these deliveries remains with the project owner, even if we assume an advisory function for him.

If a product is damaged or spoiled, we will take it back within 14 days and send a replacement at our expense, provided that the product has been handled in accordance with the instructions in the webshop. If this is not possible, the customer has the right to cancel the purchase or reduce the purchase price.

If the customer resells the products, he is responsible to the buyer, us or third parties for compliance with domestic and foreign food trade regulations and other laws such as export regulations and is solely liable for any damage. The provisions of the Product Liability Act remain reserved.

Liability regarding the services of the Market Access platform and the websites:

We assume no responsibility or liability for the timeliness, accuracy, completeness or quality of the information provided by the project owner or for any misuse of information.

Any liability for economic, physical or immaterial damage resulting from the use of the Market Access platform is expressly excluded.

We are not liable for the unauthorized misuse of user data by third parties.

We are not liable for references and links to third-party websites. Any responsibility for such websites is rejected. Access to and use of such websites is at the user’s own risk. Should we become aware of a link to a website with illegal content, we will remove the link in question as quickly as possible.

21 Final provisions

Should individual provisions of these GTC be or become invalid in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions and the validity of the contract as a whole. The invalid provision shall be replaced by the parties with a valid provision that comes as close as possible to the economic purpose of the invalid provision. The same applies to any loopholes in the contract.

These GTC and all other agreements between the user and us shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law, to the exclusion of the provisions of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. The place of jurisdiction is Zug (CH).

Where the national law at a user’s place of residence does not permit the application of Swiss law, and only then, the national law at the user’s place of residence shall apply. In this case, the place of jurisdiction is that of the customer’s place of residence.

The parties shall endeavor to settle any disputes amicably.

Rotkreuz, July 25, 2024

AGB’s