General terms and conditions -

All products

Article 1 Scope of application

These general terms and conditions apply to all online transactions between the City of Ghent and the Customer in the context of placing an Order for Goods offered by the Van Eyck web shop of the City of Ghent.

Article 2 Capacity of organiser of online sales

The web shop is the online point of sale for the City of Ghent. The web shop can be reached at [email protected] / www.vaneyckshop.gent ….

Article 3 Definitions

The terms used in these general terms and conditions are defined as follows:

GTC: abbreviation for current general terms and conditions of sale;

Order: a selection made by the Client from the products which implies an obligation to pay.

Ordering process: the steps the Customer follows in order to select a product from the web shop.

Customer: any natural person of at least 18 years of age or any legal person placing an Order.

Purchase agreement: the online purchase agreement between the City of Ghent and the Customer, which is considered a distance contract, i.e. any contract concluded within the framework of an organised distance sales or service provision system without the simultaneous physical presence of the provider and the Customer and which exclusively uses one or more means of distance communication (online, telephone, email, etc.).

The Parties: the City of Ghent and the Customer.

Article 4 General provisions

1. The Customer acknowledges to have taken note of the GTC and declares to agree with their contents by confirming the Order.

2. These GTC are available on the website of the City of Ghent in a format that the Customer can save or print.

3. After the conclusion of the contract, the Customer’s Orders are temporarily stored by the City of Ghent in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

4. The Customer accepts that the (electronic) communication and the electronic files stored by the back-office application may serve as proof of any relevant fact.

5. The City of Ghent reserves the right to amend the GTC at any time. The amendments to the GTC will apply from the date of its publication on the home page of the Van Eyck web shop of the City of Ghent.

6. Any Order placed after an amendment of the GTC implies acceptance of the new GTC. It is the responsibility of the Customer to consult the GTC in force before confirming the Order.

Article 5 Prices

1. Subject to price changes and/or errors, the prices mentioned in the web shop at the time of the online Order shall apply to all online purchases.

2. All prices are expressed in euros and include VAT, taxes and services.

3. The shipping costs are at the expense of the Customer and are shown during the ordering process.

Article 6 Conclusion of the Purchase Agreement

1. By publishing the range of products on the web shop, the City of Ghent provides a binding offer. By confirming an Order, the Customer accepts this offer thus concluding the Purchase Agreement between the Parties.

2. The Purchase Agreement is concluded in Dutch. All further communication between the City of Ghent and the Customer will be in Dutch.

3. With each new Order, the Customer must confirm his or her acceptance of these GTC, or the Order will not be completed.

4. In order to place an Order, the Customer must go through the steps of the Ordering Process as stipulated in Article 9.

Article 7 Online payment systems

The products ordered online by the Customer can only be paid online using one of the following payment systems offered: Bancontact/MisterCash, Maestro, Mastercard, PayPal and Visa.

Article 8 Fees for online payment

No administrative fees will be charged for an online payment transaction initiated from the web shop.

Article 9 The ordering and cancellation process

9.1. Ordering process

The Ordering Process consists of four steps (1) Selection, (2) Placing an Order, (3) Payment and (4) Confirmation.

STEP 1: Selection

The Customer selects a product. When a product is no longer available, it will not be possible to continue the ordering process.

STEP 2: Placing an Order

The products selected by the Customer can be found in the Customer’s shopping basket. In this shopping basket, the Customer can view and, if necessary, modify his or her selection before proceeding with the Order.

The products are stored in the shopping basket for 30 minutes. If the Customer does not place the Order within this period, the shopping basket will be emptied and the Ordering Process will be aborted.

Orders must be paid online, which requires the Customer to select a payment method (see step 3). By clicking on the confirmation button and thus accepting the GTC, the Customer undertakes to pay for the Order. After ordering (and paying online) the Customer will be shown an overview of the Order placed.

STEP 3: Payment

The Customer pays online via one of the payment methods referred to in Article 7: bancontact/MisterCash, Maestro, Mastercard or Visa.

STEP 4: Confirmation

The Customer will receive a confirmation of the Order by email.

9.2. Cancelling the order

Prior to clicking on the confirmation button and thus accepting the GTC, the Customer can cancel the Order at any time.

Article 10 Respecting the privacy of the Customer

1. The City of Ghent respects the privacy of the personal data entered by the Customer and handles these data in accordance with the General Data Protection Regulation.

2. For what purpose, with whom and for how long?

The information collected by the City of Ghent at the time of the Order will only be used for the purpose of processing the Order. The data will never be transferred to third parties, unless these concern co-organisers.

3. Rights of the Customer

The Customer always has the right to view his or her data and to modify incorrect data.

If the Customer wishes the City of Ghent to stop using his or her personal data, he or she can request this via: [email protected]. In some cases, the Customer may have his or her data erased.

4. If the Customer suspects that someone is using his or her personal data unlawfully, he or she can report this via: [email protected].

The Customer also has the right to submit a complaint to the Flemish Supervisory Commission for the processing of personal data.

5. More information about rights and privacy can be found here.

Article 11 Right of withdrawal

The provisions of this article only apply to Customers who, in their capacity as consumers, purchase articles online from the Van Eyck Web Shop.

The Customer has the right to withdraw from the agreement within a period of 14 calendar days without stating reasons.

The withdrawal period expires 14 calendar days after the day on which the Customer or a third party designated by the Customer, who is not the carrier, physically receives the goods.

To exercise your right of withdrawal, the Customer must inform

the City of Ghent

Van Eyck Shop

Botermarkt 1

9000 Ghent

[email protected]

by sending an unequivocal statement (in writing by post or email) of his or her decision to withdraw from the contract. The Customer can use the standard withdrawal form which can be found here.

If the Customer invokes this right, we will immediately send the Customer an acknowledgement of receipt of this revocation via a durable medium (e.g. by email).

In order to comply with the withdrawal period, the Customer must send this notice concerning his or her exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

The Customer must return or hand over the goods to the City of Ghent without delay, but in any case no later than 14 calendar days after the day on which the Customer has notified the City of Ghent of his or her decision to withdraw from the agreement, to

the City of Ghent

Van Eyck Web Shop

Botermarkt 1

9000 Ghent

If the Customer returns the goods before the period of 14 calendar days has elapsed, the Customer will be deemed to have returned the goods in time.

The direct costs for returning the goods shall be borne by the Customer.

We ask the Customer to return the items in their original condition and packaging, together with all accessories supplied with them, as well as any instructions for use. If the returned product has in any way diminished in value, the City of Ghent reserves the right to hold the Customer liable and to claim damages for any diminished value of the goods resulting from the use of the goods by the Customer beyond what is necessary to determine the nature, characteristics and functioning of the goods.

All returned items will be examined carefully. The basic principle here is that consumers should only inspect the item as they would in a shop. Returned items may be tried on, but must not have been used. If an item has suffered a reduction in value as a result of the Customer’s use, this will be charged to the Customer.

If the Customer cancels the agreement, the City of Ghent will refund to the Customer all payments received from the Customer up to that time, including the standard delivery charges, within a maximum of 14 calendar days of the City of Ghent being informed of the Customer's decision to cancel the agreement, however, the refund will not be made until all the goods have been received, or until the Customer has proved that he or she has returned the goods, whichever comes first.

Any additional costs resulting from the Customer’s choice of a method of delivery other than the cheapest standard delivery offered by the City of Ghent will not be refunded.

The City of Ghent will reimburse the Customer by bank transfer unless the Customer has expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, the Customer will not be charged any fees for such reimbursement.

Article 12 Guarantee

By virtue of the law of 1 September 2004 on the protection of consumers in respect of the sale of consumer goods, consumers have legal rights. This legal guarantee applies from the date of delivery to the first owner. Any commercial guarantee does not affect these rights.

In order to benefit from the guarantee, the Customer must be able to present proof of purchase. Customers are advised to keep the original packaging of the goods.

For items purchased online and delivered to the Customer’s home, the Customer must contact Customer Service and return the item at the Customer’s expense.

If a defect is detected, the Customer must inform the City of Ghent thereof as soon as possible. Any defect must in any case be reported by the Customer within a period of 2 months after noticing the defect. Any right to repair or replacement shall lapse after this period.

The guarantee shall never apply to defects resulting from accidents, neglect, falls, use of the item contrary to the purpose for which it was designed, failure to comply with the instructions for use or manual, alterations or modifications to the item, rough handling, poor maintenance, or any other abnormal or incorrect use.

Defects that manifest themselves after a period of 6 months following the date of purchase or delivery, whichever applies, are deemed not to be hidden defects, unless the Customer can prove the contrary.

Article 13 Liability

1. The City of Ghent cannot be held liable for any direct or indirect damage resulting from:

the use of the web shop by the Customer;
a malfunctioning or temporary (un)availability of the website/web shop;
loss of or damage to data on the Customer’s device.

2. The City of Ghent reserves the right to deactivate all or part of the web shop at any time for maintenance or any other reason and to modify its content, without notice or notification and without the Customer being able to claim any compensation for this. The City of Ghent cannot be held liable for any damage resulting from such deactivation or modification.

Article 14 Force majeure

1. In case of force majeure, the City of Ghent shall not be obliged to fulfil its obligations regarding online Orders. In that case, the City of Ghent is entitled to suspend its obligations for the duration of the force majeure or to deactivate the web shop.

2. Force majeure shall be understood to mean any unforeseen and unforeseeable circumstance beyond the will and control of the City of Ghent that wholly or partially prevents the fulfilment of its obligations. This includes: floods, fire, business interruptions, energy failures, failures in a (telecommunications) network or connection or used communication systems and/or the unavailability of the website at any time, non-delivery or late delivery by suppliers or other third parties engaged. This list is not exhaustive.

3. The City of Ghent will inform the Customer of the force majeure at the earliest opportunity. The City of Ghent will fulfil its obligations as soon as reasonably possible after the cause of the failure or delay has been remedied.

Article 15 Debtor

The Customer who places an Order or the person who is civilly responsible for it shall be considered to be solely responsible for its payment.

Article 16 Intellectual property

Taking into account the legal provisions concerning artistic and industrial property, all designs and computer software developed by the City of Ghent within the framework of this web shop will remain its property. Under no circumstances may they be copied or reproduced.

Article 17 Customer service

For questions or information, the Customer can contact the City of Ghent’s Culture Department, accessible via:

Van Eyck Shop

Sint-Baafsplein 2 A

9000 Ghent

+32 9 266 70 70

[email protected]

Article 18 Complaints procedure

18.1. Complaints procedure of the Department

If the Customer has a complaint about their Order, they should first contact the Culture Department / Van Eyck Shop directly

Sint-Baafsplein 2A

9000 Ghent

+32 9 266 70 70

[email protected]

Together with the Customer, the Culture Department will examine if, and if so, which solution can be offered.

18.2. Complaints procedure of the City of Ghent

Insofar as the Customer cannot reach a solution with the Culture Department, the Customer is free to report his or her complaint to the Ombudsperson Service of the City of Ghent:

Botermarkt 17, 9000 Ghent

+32 9 266 55 00

+32 9 266 55 19 (Fax)

[email protected]

Article 19 Disputes

1. The Purchase Agreement between the Customer and the City of Ghent is governed exclusively by and construed in accordance with Belgian law.

2. In the event that discussions or disputes should arise within the framework of the Order and/or payment and - if after all reasonable efforts - the Parties fail to reach an amicable agreement, the dispute may be settled by the courts and tribunals of the judicial district of East Flanders, Ghent section. The official language is Dutch.

Article 20 Nullity

The nullity of one of the provisions of these GTC shall in no way entail the nullity of the remaining provisions.