Terms of Service

The provider and operator of the “WerkConnect” platform (the “Platform”) is:

These terms apply to use of the Platform by clients (“Auftraggeber”) and by providers of trade and other services (“Handwerker”); together they are referred to as “users”. We object to any differing or conflicting terms put forward by users unless we expressly agree to them in writing.

WerkConnect provides an online platform through which clients can post jobs and tradespeople can submit quotes for them. The Platform serves solely to broker and initiate contact between clients and tradespeople.

WerkConnect expressly does not become a party to the contracts concluded between a client and a tradesperson for the provision of trade or other services. WerkConnect performs no trade work itself and owes neither its execution nor any particular brokering outcome.

• WerkConnect does not check quotes or jobs for accuracy, completeness or lawfulness.
• The contracting parties alone are responsible for performance, quality, freedom from defects, and invoicing of the brokered services.
• Any verification of tradespeople amounts only to a supporting plausibility check and constitutes no warranty as to their qualifications.

Use of the Platform’s main functions requires registration and the creation of a user account. Registration forms a platform user agreement between the user and WerkConnect free of charge; this is distinct from any paid additional services (see section 6).

• The user is obliged to provide truthful and complete information on registration and to keep it up to date.
• Registration is permitted only to natural persons with unrestricted legal capacity and to partnerships and legal entities with legal capacity.
• Login credentials must be kept secret and protected against access by third parties.
• As a rule only one account per user is permitted.

Users undertake not to misuse the Platform. In particular, it is prohibited:

• to post unlawful, abusive, misleading or anti-competitive content,
• to infringe the rights of third parties (in particular copyright, trade mark or personality rights),
• to post jobs or quotes directed at unlawful services,
• to use the Platform in order to initiate contact off-platform specifically to circumvent any platform fees, where this is prohibited,
• to distribute malware or impair the functioning of the Platform.

The user shall indemnify WerkConnect against all claims asserted against WerkConnect by third parties on account of a culpable breach of the above obligations or of third-party rights, including reasonable costs of legal defence.

A client posting a job constitutes a non-binding invitation to tradespeople to submit a quote. By submitting a quote, the tradesperson makes a binding contractual offer. The contract for provision of the service is formed when the client accepts the quote through the Platform (commissioning).

That contract is concluded exclusively between the client and the tradesperson. WerkConnect merely provides the technical infrastructure for it. The content, scope, remuneration and performance of the service are governed by what the contracting parties agree.

Registration and basic use of the Platform are generally free of charge for clients. WerkConnect may charge for certain services — for instance tradesperson subscriptions, featured placements, or brokering and service fees.

• Paid services are clearly identified as such before the contract is concluded; the applicable prices are shown separately.
• Unless stated otherwise, all prices are final prices. As a small business within the meaning of section 19 UStG, no VAT is shown.
• Payment may be processed via the payment service provider Stripe; its terms apply in addition in that respect.

Users may post content on the Platform (e.g. job descriptions, images, profile details, reviews). The user remains responsible for the content they post and warrants that they hold the necessary rights.

The user grants WerkConnect the non-exclusive right, limited in territory and in time to the duration of its availability, to store, reproduce and display that content in the course of operating the Platform. Reviews must be factually accurate and must not contain untrue statements of fact or abusive criticism. WerkConnect is entitled to remove unlawful content once it becomes aware of it.

WerkConnect endeavours to operate the Platform with as little interruption as possible but owes no particular level of availability. Maintenance, further development, and disruptions outside WerkConnect’s sphere of influence (e.g. force majeure, outages at third-party services) may lead to temporary restrictions.

WerkConnect is liable without limitation for damage arising from injury to life, body or health, and in cases of intent and gross negligence. In cases of ordinary negligence, WerkConnect is liable only for breach of a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation) — one whose fulfilment makes proper performance of the contract possible in the first place and on whose observance the user may regularly rely — and then limited in amount to the foreseeable damage typical of this type of contract.

Any further liability is excluded. In particular, WerkConnect as a pure intermediary is not liable for the provision, freedom from defects or contractual conformity of the services agreed between client and tradesperson, nor for the accuracy of content posted by users. Liability under the German Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

The platform user agreement is concluded for an indefinite period. The user may delete their account or terminate the agreement at any time without notice. For paid services, the terms and notice periods stated for them apply.

WerkConnect may terminate the agreement on reasonable notice. The right to terminate for cause remains unaffected. In the event of serious or repeated breaches of these terms, WerkConnect is entitled to suspend the account temporarily or close it permanently.

If the user is a consumer within the meaning of section 13 BGB (German Civil Code), they have a statutory right of withdrawal in respect of paid contracts concluded via the Platform. The details are set out in the separately provided withdrawal instructions, which are made available before a paid contract is concluded.

In the case of digital services, the right of withdrawal may lapse early where the consumer expressly agrees that performance shall begin before the withdrawal period expires and confirms their awareness that the right of withdrawal is thereby lost.

WerkConnect is entitled to amend these terms with effect for the future where there is good reason to do so (e.g. a change in the legal position, an extension of the services offered) and users are not unreasonably disadvantaged as a result. Users will be informed of amendments in good time before they take effect. If the user does not object within the period notified, the amended terms are deemed accepted; this consequence will be pointed out separately.

Governing law and place of jurisdiction

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. In relation to consumers, this choice of law applies only in so far as it does not deprive them of the protection afforded by mandatory provisions of the law of the country in which they are resident. If the user is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law, the exclusive place of jurisdiction is the provider’s registered office.

Dispute resolution

The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR), available at https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. We are neither obliged nor, as a rule, willing to take part in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board.

Severability

Should individual provisions of these terms be or become wholly or partly invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions shall remain unaffected.

This page is a translation provided for convenience. The contract is the German Allgemeine Geschäftsbedingungen. In the event of any discrepancy between the two, the German text prevails. Both carry the same version number and are updated together.