General conditions of sales

General Terms and Conditions of Sale

DEFINITIONS

 

"Customer(s)"

denotes Internet users browsing the Site and making an online purchase of Product(s) for personal purposes.

 

"General Terms and Conditions of Sale"

denotes the hereby general terms and conditions of sale of Products on the Site.

 

"LMDE"

denotes "La Maison de l’Eponge", a trademark registered by the SARL CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES company registered in the Créteil Register of Companies as number 612 022 236, headquartered at 192 rue Carnot, Z.I de la Pointe, 94120 Fontenay sous bois. Telephone: +33 (0)1 48 73 98 46; contact@la-maison-eponge.com

 

"Party/ies"

denotes alternately or collectively LMDE and/or the Customer(s).

 

"Products"

denotes the various types of natural sea sponges and baby care products for sale on the Site according to the conditions described in clause 3 below.

 

"Site"

denotes the LMDE e-commerce web site, accessible via the Internet network at the address http://www.la-maison-eponge.com  where the Products are for sale.

 

2. PURPOSE - SCOPE OF THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE

 

The purpose of the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale is to define the arrangements for online sale of Products to Customers by LMDE, as well as the rights and obligations of the Parties stemming from online sale of the Products available on the Site, exclusively concerning the relations these terms and conditions establish on the Internet network and solely on the Site.

 

They determine all the steps necessary to place an order and govern execution of this order between the Parties.

 

By placing an order for a Product on the Site, the Customer acknowledges that they are familiar with the General Terms and Conditions of Sales and has accepted them without any restriction. This acceptance is under no circumstances conditional upon a handwritten signature by the Customer.

 

Consultation of the Site by the Customer is also governed by the Site's legal information, which the Customer accepts without reservation and which is accessible at http://www.la-maison-eponge.com.                                          

 

It is stipulated that the Customer may save or print the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale, provided however that they do not modify them.

 

LMDE reserves the right to update the General Terms and Conditions of Sale at any time.

 

The General Terms and Conditions of Sale apply to any online sale carried out on the Site and exclude use of any other document, in particular the terms and conditions applicable for sale in stores or by means of other distribution and commercialisation circuits.

 

3. PRODUCTS

 

The Products put on sale by LMDE are those shown on the Site, on the day the Customer consults the Site, and within the limits of available stock. LMDE reserves the right to withdraw Products from sale at any time.

Catalogue photographs are not contractually binding. This is because each sponge is unique, no two sponges are ever identical. LDME undertakes to sell you a sponge corresponding to the indicated quality and size. The size is measured in centimetres across the largest part of the sponge when wet.

 

4. PRICES

 

The prices of the Products are firm. They are indicated in Euros. The applicable price is the price indicated on the Site, except in the event of typing errors.

 

These prices include the V.A.T. applicable on the date of the order, but do not include delivery costs which will be billed in addition and will be specified to the Customer when their order is definitively validated.

 

The amount of the delivery costs is calculated at a fixed rate as described in clause 8 below.

 

The price billed to the Customer is the price indicated on the order confirmation that LMDE sends to the Customer by e-mail.

 

LMDE reserves the right, which the Customer accepts, to modify its prices at any time, without any formalities being necessary, apart from indicating the modifications on the Site. However these modifications shall not apply to orders that LMDE will have accepted before these modifications came into effect, provided that the ordered Products are available.

 

5. PROPERTY RESERVATION

 

The ordered Products remain the property of LMDE until their complete price has been collected.

 

However, on the effective delivery date, the Customer is responsible for assuming the risks (in particular of loss, theft or damage) concerning the delivered Products.

 

6. ORDERING ARRANGEMENTS

 

6.1 Browsing within the Site

 

The Customer may obtain information about the different Products put on sale by LMDE on the Site. The Customer can browse the different pages of the Site without restriction, without being under any obligation to place an order.

 

6.2 Registering the order

 

To place an order on the Site, the Customer must be an adult, have their main place of residence in metropolitan France (including Corsica) or Monaco, have full legal capacity and hold a bank card as defined in clause 7 below.

 

In order to place an order, the Customer must:

 

- either log in to their account on the Site by typing in their e-mail address (user name) and password;

- or create an account on the Site if they do not have one, by completing a form where some of the fields indicated by an asterisk must be filled in for their order to be taken into account (in particular name, billing address, delivery address, telephone number).

 

It is stipulated that the Products are destined for the Customer's personal use, without any direct association with the Customer's business activities. In this respect, the Customer's attention is drawn in particular to the fact that they may not order more than ten (10) Products with the same reference in each order.

 

The orders will be accepted within the limits of available stock. To this end, the Customer is informed when placing the order, either by the Customer Service Department or on the Site information page describing each of the Products, as to the availability of the Product.

 

If ordered Products prove to no longer be available despite the vigilance of LMDE, LMDE shall inform the Customer by any means (telephone call or e-mail) as quickly as possible, and shall reimburse any billed amount by crediting the Customer's bank account.

 

If the Customer wishes to place an order, they will choose the Products they are interested in and wish to purchase, and express this interest by clicking on the "ADD TO CART" button, specifying if necessary the desired quantities. The Product(s) is/are then added to the Customer's "Basket".

 

Once the Customer has finished adding items to their "Basket", they click on the "CHECKOUT" button. They check that the contents of the basket correspond to the products they wish to purchase and click on the ETAPE SUIVANTE button. They then provide information concerning the preferred delivery method (express mail or standard delivery), and at this point the amount of the delivery costs is specified.

 

Once all of this information has been properly entered and confirmed, the price of the Products – as defined by clause 4 - and the delivery costs are displayed automatically.

 

The Customer then clicks on the "CONTINUE" or "POURSUIVRE MES ACHATS" button if they want to add to their "Basket".

 

If the Customer clicks on the "CONTINUE" button, they must indicate the desired billing address and delivery address, and click on the "CONTINUE" button again to get to the next step, "PAYMENT".

 

6.3 Eligible delivery territory for an order

 

The Customer can only place an order for Products if they are to be delivered in metropolitan France, Corsica, Monaco, Switzerland or the European Union. Any order indicating another point of delivery may be rejected.

 

 

6.4 Definitive validation of the order

 

The Customer supplies information concerning the payment chosen in compliance with the conditions in clause 7 of the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale.

 

The Customer must tick the box next to the message "J’ai lu et j’accepte les Conditions Générales de Vente".

 

Before clicking on the "VALIDATE" button, the Customer can:

 

- check the details of their order and its total price;

- correct any mistakes made while entering the data or modify their order by going back to previous steps or browsing the Site.

 

To definitively validate their order the Customer must click on the "Valider mon paiement" button in order to debit their bank account.

 

The bank account debit authorisation issued by the Customer's bank is displayed. We recommend the Customer should save the said debit authorisation and/or print it out. Once the Customer's bank has issued the bank account debit authorisation, their "Panier" is transmitted immediately to the LMDE order preparation department, and the Customer's order number will then be displayed.

 

Once the Customer has confirmed their order by clicking on the "Valider mon paiement" button, they can no longer cancel or change the order.

 

However, on receipt of the order the Customer will be able to exercise their right to withdraw in accordance with the conditions stipulated in clause 10 of the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale.

 

After the Customer's payment has been validated, LMDE will send the Customer confirmation that the order has been accepted.

 

6.5 Confirmation of order acceptance

 

The sale will only be considered definitive once LDME has sent the Customer confirmation of order acceptance, by e-mail.

 

In accordance with the provisions of article 1369-2 of the Civil Code, the Customer formally accepts use of e-mail for LDME to confirm the contents of their order.

 

This confirming e-mail contains all the information communicated by the Customer, and if necessary indicates any difficulties or reservations relating to the order (availability of ordered items, delivery times, or chosen payment method). It gives the order number LMDE has assigned to the Customer.

 

7. PAYMENT

 

Unless the server is not available, the Customer will be able to pay for their order after definitively validating it on the Site using a bank card (Carte Bleue, Visa, Mastercard, Eurocard) issued for an account domiciled in metropolitan France (including Corsica). The Customer will enter their card number, the card expiry date, the name of the card holder and the security number (the three or four last digits on the back of the bank card).

 

Payments by cheque are not accepted.

 

Payment is made via the secure server of our partner, SOGENACTIF, a secure payment operator. This means that no bank information concerning the Customer passes through the Site. Payment by bank card is therefore completely secure.

Payment by Paypal is also accepted.

 

 

LMDE reserves the right to refuse to accept any order or delivery that exceeds the ceilings indicated in clause 6.2 of the hereby contract, or if there is an ongoing dispute with the Customer, if the Customer has not paid in full for a previous order, or if banking organisations refuse to authorise payment by bank card.

 

The Customer guarantees LMDE that they have the necessary authorisations to use the payment method chosen when validating the order. If the bank rejects the payment, the order will be cancelled automatically, and the Customer will be notified by e-mail or via the Customer Service Department.

 

As part of the fight against Internet fraud, information concerning the orders is checked by the payment partner designated by LMDE, the secure payment operator. This company is responsible for automatic processing and storing of information relating to each order, including the bank card details, in a secured environment.

 

LMDE suggests the Customer should print the order summary.

 

In general, it is stipulated by an explicit agreement between LMDE and the Customer that e-mails shall be considered binding between the Parties

Data relating to orders is archived on a reliable permanent medium that can be produced as proof.

 

8. DELIVERIES

 

8.1 The Products are delivered by the French Post Office or Chronopost (the Customer cannot choose this delivery method for Corsica) within a maximum period of 5 business days for Colissimo Suivi or 2 business days for Chronopost in continental France (not including Corsica) and Monaco.

 

The delivery costs amount is calculated based on a fixed price as follows:

 

- By carrier up to 1 kg: € 11.72 deliverable within three business days (no delivery on Saturday)

- Colissimo Suivi: according to applicable price

  delivery of the chosen items in return for signature, within 3 to 5 business days after the order date.

 

8.2 Items can only be delivered:

 

- to the Customer's habitual place of residence;

- or to the delivery address indicated by the Customer when ordering, bearing in mind that the said address must correspond to the habitual place of residence of a third party beneficiary chosen by the Customer, habitually residing in metropolitan France (including Corsica) or in Monaco, or failing this to the address of the company where the said third party beneficiary works, provided this address is within this same territory.

 

Deliveries are never possible when the delivery address entered on the Site is:

 

- a hotel or other accommodation centres;

- a "poste restante";

- a post box;

- a temporary address or domicile (i.e., without this list being exhaustive: mobile homes, caravans, camping sites and other temporary addresses) or in a collective location where an individual address cannot be assigned clearly and permanently to a physical person or legal entity.

 

8.3 The Products will be delivered to the delivery address indicated by the Customer, after payment of the order amount has been registered. For this purpose, the Customer undertakes to provide LMDE with an accurate delivery address.

 

8.4 The ordered Products will be delivered on the date or within the period indicated to the Customer by LMDE, and no later than thirty (30) days as from the order confirmation date.

 

9. ANOMALIES CONCERNING DELIVERY - CONFORMITY - WARRANTY

 

9.1 The Customer must verify that the Products are in good condition when delivered, and that the delivered Products correspond to their order. Any delivery anomaly (damaged packages, items missing compared to the LMDE invoice, delay in delivery, etc.) must be indicated by means of reservations written on the delivery receipt presented by the carrier. The Customer must also report this anomaly in writing to LMDE at CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES (letter to the following address: 192 rue CARNOT, Z.I de la Pointe, 94120 Fontenay sous Bois with a copy of the reservations written on the delivery receipt.

 

9.2 In the event the Customer reports that a product is missing, an investigation will be conducted with the carrier, and may last for up to 21 business days. If the missing Product is found during this period, it will be transported to the place of delivery indicated on the order form.

 

However, if the ordered Product is not found, LMDE will carry out a new shipment of the missing products initially ordered by the Customer at its own expense, or if the Customer decides to denounce the contract as specified in article L 138-2 of the Consumption Code, LMDE will reimburse the Customer for the total amounts paid no later than 14 days as from the date on which the contract was denounced.

 

9.3 In the event the delivered Products are not in conformity with the order, the Customer must:

 

-  inform LMDE as quickly as possible of this problem by postal letter to the following address: 192 rue Carnot, Z.I de la pointe, 94120 Fontenay sous Bois, or by e-mail sent to the following address: contact@la-maison-eponge.com  providing proof that the Product is not in conformity with the order.

 

  • - return the relevant Products in their original packaging (or at the least, in packaging providing equivalent protection of the said products during their return transport), in perfect condition, complete (in their original box or bag, without having been used, etc.), and accompanied by the duly completed withdrawal/return form to the following address: LMDE - CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES-192 rue Carnot , ZI de la Pointe, 94120 FONTENAY SOUS BOIS, France .
  • We recommend the Customer should conserve any proof that the Products have been returned by registered mail, or by any other means providing proof of a date.

 

In the event the return of the non compliant / defective product is justified, LMDE shall, according to the Customer's choice, or failing any request from the Customer according to LMDE's choice, reimburse the defective/non-compliant Product by crediting the Customer's bank account, no later than fourteen (14) days as from receipt by LMDE of the returned Product, or shall exchange the Product insofar as this Product is available in stock, to the exclusion of any compensation.

 

No Product exchange is authorised, except in the circumstances set out above.

 

10. RIGHT OF WITHDRAWAL

 

10.1 In accordance with the provisions of article L.121-21 and subsequent articles of the Consumption Code, the Customer has a right of withdrawal that they can exercise, without having to provide any justification, within a period of fourteen (14) days as from receipt of the Products.

 

10.2 In this context, the Customer is entitled to return the delivered Products:

 

- within a period of fourteen (14) days as from the date on which they exercised their right of withdrawal;

 

- in the original packaging (or at least in packaging providing equivalent protection of the said items during the return transport) in perfect condition allowing LMDE to put them on sale once more;

 

- accompanied by the product return form, supplied with the delivery form.

 

- or accompanied by any other unambiguous declaration expressing their desire to withdraw in accordance with article L 121-21-2 of the Consumption Code;

 

- to the following address: LMDE - CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES192 rue Carnot , ZI de la Pointe, 94120 FONTENAY SOUS BOIS, France .

 

10.3 LMDE does not pay the costs of returning the products.

 

10.4 If the above-mentioned conditions are fulfilled, LMDE will reimburse the Customer for all the amounts they have paid in connection with purchase of the relevant Product or Products, EXCEPT the costs of returning the Products if return of the Products complies with clause 9.3 or 10.5 of the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale, within a period of fourteen (14) days as from the date the Products are recovered by LMDE, or until the Customer has provided proof of shipment of these Products. The date adopted shall be the date of the earliest of these events, in accordance with article L.121-21-4 of the Consumption Code.

 

 

11. LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY

 

11.1 Although LMDE takes the greatest possible care to be as accurate as possible when putting information online, with the descriptions of items and the data available from the Customer Service Department or on the Site, and makes regular updates of all this information, LMDE cannot be held liable for non substantive mistakes that may occur. Similarly, although the photographs and other reproductions of the items faithfully represent them on the Site and with regard – within the limits of technology and in line with best practice –, they may nevertheless comprise non substantive mistakes, that the Customer acknowledges and accepts. Regardless of the circumstances, in the event the delivered item does not comply with its description, LMDE undertakes to correct this mistake, according to the terms and conditions of clauses 9 and 10 below.

 

11.2 LMDE cannot be held liable:

 

- for interruptions or delays affecting the Customer Service Department or on the Site, due to performance of maintenance work, technical failures, occurrence of a force majeure event, events attributable to a third party or any circumstances whatsoever that are beyond its control;

 

- for the Customer's or LMDE's incapacity to contact the Customer Service Department and/or temporarily to access the Site, due to events beyond its control such as: IT failures, interruptions in the telephone network, Internet network, failure of Internet network reception hardware, etc.

 

11.3 LMDE does not provide any guarantee that the Site will be available continuously, without temporary interruptions, without suspension or without errors.

 

11.4 The Customer remains solely liable for assessing whether the items they order are appropriate and suitable for their needs and for their consumption.

 

11.5 LMDE shall not be held liable for use of the Products not corresponding to their intended use.

 

11.6 LMDE cannot be considered liable for (i) loss or deterioration of, or fraudulent access to the Customer's personal data, (ii) accidental transmission of viruses or other harmful items as a result of access to Internet or e-mail transmissions.

 

11.7 Without limiting the scope of the other provisions in the General Terms and Conditions of Sale, LMDE may only be held liable in the event it is proved to have been negligent. Whatever the circumstances may be, this liability shall be limited to direct damage.

 

11.8 LMDE reserves the right to suspend operation of the Site.

 

12. PERSONAL INFORMATION

 

Distance selling makes it necessary to collect personal information (identity, password, e-mail address, telephone number, billing address, delivery address, payment methods, etc.) in order to process and deliver orders, and draw up invoices.

 

If information is lacking the order will automatically be rejected.

 

This information may be transmitted to LMDE partners, including commercial partners (intermediaries for payment of orders: SOGENACTIF, Paypal, or for delivery of orders, in particular: the French Post Office).

 

This information and data is also conserved for security reasons, in order to comply with legal and regulatory obligations and also to enable LMDE to improve and customise the services on offer and the information it sends to the Customer.

 

This information is strictly confidential.

 

  • In accordance with law no.78-17 of 6 January 1978 concerning data privacy, a declaration has been made to the National Commission for Data Privacy concerning the processing of personal information collected on the Site. The Customer has a right to access, modify, correct and delete LDME data that concern them. To exercise this right, the Customer must send a postal letter to the following address: LMDE - CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES192 rue Carnot, ZI de la Pointe, 94120 FONTENAY SOUS BOIS, France.

 

13. FORCE MAJEURE

 

LMDE cannot be held liable for total or partial failure to fulfil its obligations, if this obligation is due to unforeseeable circumstances or the occurrence of an event constituting force majeure such as, without this list being exhaustive, flood, fire, storm, lack of raw materials, transport strike, partial or general strike or lock-out.

These events constitute a cause of suspension or cancellation of LMDE's obligations towards the Customer, without any compensation being due to the Customer.

 

In the event this suspension of fulfilment of LMDE's obligations were to last for more than fifteen (15) days as from the date LMDE notified the Customer of this suspension, the Customer shall then be entitled to cancel the current order and LMDE will then reimburse this order as quickly as possible by crediting the Customer's bank account.

 

14. INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

 

The intellectual property rights attached to the items sold on the Site are and remain the exclusive property of CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES. All operating rights are exclusively reserved for CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES.

 In these conditions, reproduction, exploitation, dissemination or use in any way whatsoever, even partially, of the intellectual property rights is strictly prohibited without the prior written agreement of LMDE and CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES. The LMDE & CYPREOS FRANCE EPONGES brands and logos are registered trademarks. Consequently any reproduction constitutes an act of counterfeiting.

 

15. COOKIES

 

LMDE reserves the right to collect information about purchasers, including by making use of cookies, and if it wishes, to send this collected information to its commercial partners.

 

16. ENTIRETY OF THE CONTRACT

 

The General Terms and Conditions of Sale, the Site's Legal Information, the Personal Data Charter, and the confirmation of acceptance of the order sent by LMDE by e-mail to the Customer constitute a contractual whole and represent the entirety of contractual relations engaged into by the Parties.

 

17. NON RENUNCIATION

 

The fact that LDME waives its right at any time to demand fulfilment of any one of the obligations in the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale cannot be interpreted as signifying renunciation of its right to subsequently invoke the said total or complete failure to fulfil an obligation.

 

18. VALIDITY OF THE GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SALE

 

If any one of the stipulations in the hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale is declared to be partially or entirely null, the other rights and obligations stemming from these General Terms and Conditions of Sales shall remain unchanged and applicable.

 

19. APPLICABLE LAW - DISPUTES

 

The hereby General Terms and Conditions of Sale and contractual relations between the LMDE and the Customer are governed by French law.

 

The Customer is entitled to seek an amicable solution prior to any legal proceedings.