Terms and Conditions of Sale
Article 1: General Provisions
Unless otherwise agreed, our general terms and conditions of sale are deemed to have been accepted by our customers, regardless of their general terms and conditions of purchase.
Any document containing an order, purchase, or confirmation, prepared by our Customers and not in accordance with the general terms and conditions of sale, shall be binding on our Company only after we have provided written consent, bearing our signature and that of the Purchaser.
Article 2: Offers – Quotes
Our offer sets forth the specific terms and conditions that supplement or modify these general terms and conditions. It remains valid for three months from the date it is sent and must be signed by the buyer to constitute a contract between the parties.
If we receive an order from the buyer, it must be expressly accepted by us. The accepted document, which may include modifications, will in this case constitute the special terms and conditions.
Quotes and documents of any kind provided or sent by the seller remain the property of the seller at all times and may not be disclosed or reproduced without the seller’s express authorization, under penalty of damages.
Quotes and documents prepared by the seller that do not result in an order must be returned to the seller, without prejudice to the seller’s right to bill for design, prototype development, and travel expenses.
In any case, it is the customer’s responsibility to verify the content of any estimates, designs, or calculation sheets that may be provided by the seller and to certify that they meet the intended conditions of use.
Article 3: Orders
An order is not considered final until it has been submitted in writing to SFEL and confirmed by written acceptance and/or an order acknowledgment issued by SFEL.
SFEL reserves the right to request any guarantee it deems necessary and to suspend any order—even one that has already been accepted—until it is satisfied.
SFEL reserves the right to stipulate that fulfillment of the order is contingent upon the payment of one or more installments, and compliance with the payment terms is an essential condition.
Failure to comply with any of these terms may therefore result in a delay in the fulfillment of the order, or even its cancellation, without the BUYER being entitled to claim any right to have the order fulfilled.
Any down payments made shall remain the property of the SELLER, who also reserves the right to use all legal means to demand full payment of any amounts still owed. The BUYER has no right of recourse.
Technical specifications, dimensions, weight, etc., as defined in catalogs, product sheets, advertising materials, etc., are for informational purposes only and are not binding.
The discovery by SFEL at any time of a technical or other incompatibility in the terms of the order—particularly in the order description—shall automatically constitute a condition subsequent.
In such a situation, SFEL will have the option of either canceling the order or modifying these items.
SFEL shall not be held liable under any circumstances if such modifications were not mentioned by SFEL at the time the order was accepted or if the BUYER maintains the original terms.
Any changes to an order may be made only with the Company’s prior written consent.
Similarly, any order canceled in part or in full by the Customer without the Company’s prior written consent will be billed to the Customer.
Article 4: Catalog – Prices
The seller reserves the right to make any changes it deems necessary to its products at any time, without any obligation to modify products that have already been delivered or are currently on order.
The seller reserves the right to modify, without prior notice, the models described in its brochures, catalogs, and various advertising materials, as these documents are not contractually binding.
Unless otherwise agreed, our goods are invoiced based on the price list in effect on the date of delivery, and our services are invoiced based on the price list in effect on the date they are performed.
Prices are exclusive of tax, ex-factory, except for special packaging, which is billed separately.
All fees, taxes, duties, or other charges payable under French laws and regulations or those of an importing country or a country of transit shall be borne by the customer, unless otherwise specified.
Article 5: Delivery – Acceptance
Delivery is made either by handing the product directly to the customer, by simply notifying the customer that the product is ready for pickup, or by delivering it to a shipper or carrier.
The customer agrees to accept delivery of the products at the specified location and on the specified date. If the customer fails to do so, delivery, with all its effects, shall be deemed to have taken place on that date.
Deliveries are made only based on availability and in the order in which orders are received. The seller is authorized to make either full or partial deliveries.
Delivery times are indicated as accurately as possible but are subject to the seller’s supply and shipping availability and do not begin until the day the seller is in possession of all the technical information necessary to perform the work.
When production drawings are submitted to the customer for prior approval, manufacturing will not begin until the customer has approved and signed off on the documents; in such cases, delivery times begin on the date those documents are received.
Delays in delivery shall not give rise to claims for damages, withholding of payment, or cancellation of pending orders.
The seller shall not be held liable if technical constraints that could not have been foreseen at the time the order was accepted result in changes to the products or services offered.
The seller shall not be liable in any case of force majeure that automatically releases the seller from its obligation to deliver, including, but not limited to, war, riots, fire, strikes, accidents, and the inability to obtain supplies.
In any case, on-time delivery is possible only if the customer is up to date with his or her obligations to the seller.
Delivery may be made to the location requested by the customer, who will be responsible for the shipping costs; in all cases, the goods are shipped at the recipient’s own risk; in the event of damage or missing items, it is the recipient’s responsibility to make all necessary observations, confirm any reservations in an extrajudicial document or by registered letter with return receipt to the carrier within three days of receiving the goods, and notify the seller.
Without prejudice to any action to be taken against the carrier, complaints regarding apparent defects or nonconformity of the ordered product must be submitted in writing within forty-eight hours of the products’ arrival.
It shall be the customer’s responsibility to provide evidence of the existence of any defects or irregularities found. The customer must allow the seller every opportunity to verify the defects and to remedy them. The customer shall refrain from taking any action himself or from having a third party take action for this purpose.
For pre-packaged products, the weights and measurements at the time of shipment serve as proof of the quantities delivered.
Any product return must be formally agreed upon by the seller and the customer. Any product returned without such agreement will be held for the customer and will not result in the issuance of a credit. The customer will then be responsible for the costs and risks associated with the return.
Any return accepted by the seller will result in the issuance of a credit to the customer in the event of an apparent defect or nonconformity of the delivered products, duly verified by the seller as stated above.
The customer may obtain a free replacement or, at the seller’s discretion, a replacement of their choice, excluding any compensation or damages.
Article 6: Payment—Terms and Conditions
Our sales are deemed to have been made and are payable in SAULGE (86). Our invoices are payable immediately upon issuance, without discount.
Invoices addressed to the government, local governments, and their public agencies are payable in accordance with the terms set forth in the Public Procurement Code, including its provisions regarding late-payment interest, which shall be automatically due in the event of failure to pay within the required time limit.
Any amount not paid by the due date shall, without prior notice, result in:
Upon immediate payment of any outstanding amount, regardless of the payment method and terms originally agreed upon;
Payment of a late-payment penalty calculated by applying to the outstanding amounts a rate equal to the interest rate applied by the ECB to its most recent refinancing operation plus 7 percentage points, provided that such penalty does not affect the enforceability of the debt.
Interest accrues from the due date until payment is made.
Furthermore, in the event of nonpayment, eight days after a formal notice has gone unanswered, the sale may be automatically terminated at the seller’s discretion, without prejudice to any other damages.
The resolution will apply not only to the order in question, but also to all previous unpaid orders, whether they have been delivered or are in the process of being delivered, and regardless of whether payment is past due.
In the event of payment by commercial paper, failure to return the instrument shall be deemed a refusal to accept it, which is equivalent to a default on payment.
The customer must reimburse all costs incurred in the collection of amounts owed through legal proceedings, including the fees of court officers.
Under no circumstances may payments be offset in any way without the prior written consent of the seller.
Any partial payment will be applied to the unsecured portion of the debt, in the order of the amounts that became due earliest.
Any deterioration in the customer’s creditworthiness may justify a requirement for collateral or payment in cash or by a demand draft prior to the fulfillment of orders received.
A flat-rate fee of €40 for collection costs is added to late payment penalties in accordance with Article 121-II of Law No. 2012-387 of March 22, 2012.
Article 7: Transfer of Risk
Risk passes to the buyer upon shipment from the seller's warehouses.
Article 8: Retention of Title
The seller retains ownership of the goods sold until full payment of the principal and ancillary amounts has been made.
Failure to pay any installment may result in the recovery of these goods; however, the customer assumes the risk of loss or damage and liability for the goods as soon as they are delivered.
The customer will also be responsible for the costs of dispute resolution services, as well as any legal and court costs.
The customer is liable for a penalty for delayed return set at 5% of the amounts due for each month the item is retained, from the date of delivery until its return. This penalty will be offset against any advance payments that may have been made.
Protection Against Third Parties
The buyer shall be required to use all legal means to contest any claims that third parties may assert against the sold goods through seizure, confiscation, or equivalent proceedings.
He must notify the Seller as soon as he becomes aware of this, in order to allow the Seller to protect his interests.
If the business owner does not own the premises where the business is conducted, he or she must inform the landlord of the legal status of the products sold and provide proof to the seller that this requirement has been met.
The customer may not, without the seller’s express authorization, move the sold goods outside their usual storage locations.
Any action that would impair the seller’s ability to take back the goods in their current condition or that would alter the legal status of all or part of the goods sold (such as resale or the transfer of rights to such goods to third parties) may not be taken without the seller’s prior written consent and only after payment of the balance of the purchase price still due for the goods in question.
Article 9: Warranty
All claims regarding apparent defects, errors in workmanship, nonconformity, or any other irregularities must be submitted by certified mail no later than one week after the delivery date.
All of our products are covered by a 5-year warranty under normal use (unless otherwise specified) against any manufacturing defects, excluding light bulbs, batteries, and rechargeable batteries, effective from the date of shipment.
For LEDs, this warranty applies only to failure and not to a decrease in light output.
This warranty is expressly limited to the replacement of parts found to be defective, without any compensation for delays, shipping costs (both ways), installation or removal, accidents—whether directly or indirectly caused or alleged to be so—or any other damages whatsoever.
Our warranty will be completely void if the customer, without consulting us, tamper with or modify the mechanism of our devices.
Article 10: Return and Pickup of Goods
In the case of returns of standard new products ordered within the past six months, subject to our approval and following inspection by our staff, a minimum 30% deduction for administrative fees will be applied to the credit, in addition to any repair costs.
Special items not listed in the catalog cannot be returned or exchanged.
All returned merchandise must be accompanied by a return slip.
For any inquiries, please send an email to: sav@sfel.fr
Article 11: Jurisdiction Clause
For any disputes arising from the performance or interpretation of this agreement, the commercial court within whose jurisdiction the seller’s principal place of business is located shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
Article 12: Recycling of Electrical and Electronic Waste
The unique identifier FR002901_05P6VR, certifying registration in the EEE industry’s producer registry pursuant to Article L.541-10-13 of the Environmental Code, was assigned by ADEME to SFEL (SIRET 306 794 462 00029).
This identifier certifies that the company has complied with its obligation to register with the Registry of Producers of Electrical and Electronic Equipment and has submitted its market placement declarations to Ecosystem.
SFEL
La Trutte – P.O. Box 50020
, 86501 Saulgé CEDEX – France
Tel.: +(33) 5 49 91 06 78
Fax: 05 49 91 37 01
Email: contact@sfel.fr
Website: www.sfel.fr
SAS 500,000 € – 76 B 85 30679446200029 – 2740Z – VAT: FR 62306794462