1. Scope, contractual partners, amendments, form

(1) These General Terms and Conditions for the storage and custody of precious metals in Degussa’s vault storage or bonded storage (Vault Storage Terms and Conditions) apply to all contracts concluded between you as a customer (consumers and traders) and us as the operator of Degussa’s vaults for storage and custody of precious metals (Storage Agreement). The only items eligible to be kept in our vaults are precious metal products with variable prices (“investment products”) that have been purchased from us. We do not accept any other products for storage. Unless otherwise provided in the Vault Storage Terms and Conditions, the statutory provisions (section 467 and following German Commercial and section 688 and following German Civil Code) will additionally apply.

(2) Consumer within the meaning of the statutory definition is any natural person who enters into a legal transaction for purposes that are outside their trade, business or profession. Several consumers can be joint contractual partners according to clause 6(3). If a company is named as the customer when the Storage Agreement is concluded, this company will be our contractual partner.

(3) The operator of the vaults and your contractual partner is: Degussa Sonne/Mond Goldhandel GmbH (Degussa), based in Munich, Germany, registered in the Munich Commercial Register under HRB 188979. VAT registration number: DE 275313528

(4) We reserve the right not to carry out the storage ourselves, but to use the services of another company in the Degussa group, being a company specialising in the storage and custody of precious metals that has suitable premises for this purpose, including the necessary technical and personnel security facilities. By entering into the Storage Agreement, you also permit storage by a third party.

(5) Our Degussa bonded storage is offered for tax-free purchases of silver. The same conditions apply to bonded storage as to vault storage, unless otherwise stipulated, in particular with respect to the vaulting fees (see clause 5 and the applicable price list).

(6) The legally binding version of these Vault Storage Terms and Conditions govern the details of storage and at the same time contain important information for customers. You can save and/or print the Vault Storage Terms and Conditions using links on our website from your computer.

(7) We are entitled to modify the Vault Storage Terms and Conditions, especially in order to comply with legal requirements or in order to reflect commercial developments. Such modifications will become effective for existing Storage Agreements regarding the items stored by us if you have agreed to the new terms (for example when you last stored items) or we notify you of the changes in writing and you do not object to them within four weeks of receiving the notification. We will draw your attention to this consequence again in the notification.

(8) All orders and other legally relevant statements concerning the Storage Agreement (such as termination) must be provided by you in writing, meaning in text form (Textform) (i.e. made on a durable medium in readable form, especially email or fax) or in hand-signed written form (Schriftform). Our right to perform legal reviews and impose formal requirements, as well as to require additional evidence, especially where doubts exist as to the identity of the person making the statement, remain unaffected. For security reasons, we recommend hand-signed written form.

(9) If we have received your e-mail address, we assume that you agree to receive electronic communications from us (e.g. sending account statements and invoices as PDFs). Written messages will be sent by post upon request.

2. Conclusion of contract, user account, identity checks, delivery

(1) The Storage Agreement comes into effect when the order form is signed, accepted by us, the precious metal is purchased from us and payment has been received. The Storage Agreement primarily governs authorisations and access rights.

(2) Under the statutory provisions we are obliged to verify the customer’s identity and, where applicable, that of the (other) authorised person(s) (authorised person(s) or legal representative(s)) upon conclusion of the contract. For security reasons, the same will apply to any subsequent transactions and sales to Degussa. Verification of identity is done on site by our senior sales representative, but can also be done immediately via Post-Ident. A person’s identity is usually verified by personally presenting a valid official photo ID (especially identity card or passport) and possibly further proof (e.g. birth certificate, birth certificate for underage customers, court decision on parental authority for single parents, power of attorney, commercial register excerpt for companies). Where an official photo ID is used, the original document must be submitted and for other documents an officially certified photocopy. In all cases, we may require a copy of the Storage Agreement signed by you and – at our discretion – the submission of a photocopy of your identity card or passport to confirm the contract and verify your identity and to serve as a sample of your signature in connection with subsequent orders and other legally relevant declarations. As long as the identification check has not been completed without any doubts, no disposals will be possible and we will be entitled to withdraw from the Storage Agreement.

(3) As soon as the purchase price and the first quarterly storage fee have been paid in full, or as soon as we have selected an item for you from our stocks, ownership of the goods will be transferred to you. From this moment we will possess the goods (from now on also storage goods) for you as their owner (section 930 German Civil Code). Irrespective of your possible statutory right of withdrawal (see clause 3), we will then immediately arrange for the goods to be transferred to the Degussa Vault Storage. We will inform you of this by e-mail when you purchase the goods (confirmation of payment). In all cases you will receive your updated warehouse receipt (see clause 4(2)) after the goods have been stored.

3. Right of withdrawal

If storage of the goods takes place as a distance-selling transaction and you are consumer, you will be able to withdraw from the Storage Agreement in accordance with the statutory provisions. Withdrawal from the Storage Agreement also leads to termination of any purchase contract previously entered into. As a result, the terms and conditions in effect at the time of the termination of the purchase agreement of the goods will become effective, in particular with regard to the purchase price.

INSTRUCTIONS ON WITHDRAWAL

Right of withdrawal

You have the right to withdraw from this contract within 14 days without giving any reason. The withdrawal period will expire 14 days from the date of conclusion of the contract. To exercise your right of withdrawal, you must inform us (Degussa Goldhandel GmbH – Wertlagerung -, Kettenhofweg 29, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany, e-mail: wertlagerung@degussa-goldhandel.de, fax: +49 69 860068-222, telephone: +49 69 860068-160) of your decision to withdraw from this contract by an unequivocal statement (e.g. a letter sent by post, fax or e-mail). You may use the attached model withdrawal form, but it is not obligatory. To meet the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient for you to send your communication concerning your exercise of the right of withdrawal before the withdrawal period has expired.

Effects of withdrawal

If you withdraw from this contract, we will reimburse to you all payments received from you for in connection with the Storage Agreement without undue delay and in any event no later than 14 days from the day on which we are informed about your decision to withdraw from the contract. We will carry out such reimbursement using the same means of payment as you used for the initial transaction, unless you have expressly agreed otherwise; in any event, you will not incur any fees as a result of such reimbursement.

Model withdrawal form

(If you want to withdraw from the contract, please fill out this form and send it back.)

To Degussa Goldhandel GmbH – Wertlagerung -, Kettenhofweg 29, 60325 Frankfurt, Germany, e-mail: wertlagerung@degussa-goldhandel.de, fax: +49 69 860068-222, telephone: +49 69 860068-160)

I/we (*) hereby cancel the contract of sale concluded by me/us (*) for the following goods (*)/

provision of the following service (*)

Ordered on (*)/received on (*)___________

Name(s) of consumer(s) ___________

Address of consumer(s) ___________

Signature of the consumer(s)    
(only if this form is provided in paper form) ___________

Date___________

(*) Delete as appropriate.

4. Execution of vault storage

(1)         We maintain a special security area for customers of the Degussa Group (jointly referred to as Degussa Vault Storage) for the purpose of vault storage and bonded storage, if necessary, with a specialist storage company. For security reasons, we cannot grant you any direct access to the Degussa Vault Storage or the stored goods.

(2)         The goods stored in the Degussa Vault Storage are not kept in collective storage; item stored is instead exclusively assigned to a customer by means of a unique identification number (Ident-No.). Immediately after storage, the customer will receive a written deposit receipt issued to him or her. In addition, the customer will receive a current stock overview and a stock movement log with each deposit invoice.

(3)         In order to safeguard the stored goods, we use a control system developed with the involvement of an independent auditor that enables us to determine and verify the current state of storage for each individual customer at any time. In addition to control and inventory reports, physical inventory checks (spot checks) are carried out at regular intervals by the auditor appointed by us. Upon request, we will provide a photocopy of the auditor’s certificate of the results of the most recent physical inventory.

(4)         You are entitled to sell your stocks to Degussa no later than three months after conclusion of the contract at the conditions applicable at this time. The sale must be declared in writing (see clause 1(8)).

(5)         Termination of the Storage Agreement will be by sale of all the stored precious metals to Degussa. There will be no delivery.

5. Fees and costs, insurance

(1)         The storage fees will be determined in accordance with the current price list and invoiced on a quarterly basis by bank transfer, and will depend on the relevant stock value. If there is a positive difference (in EUR) between the total investment made and the actual purchase price due, this difference will be offset against the storage fees incurred instead.

(2)         Your stocks are insured at full value against loss and damage to the extent customary in the industry. The assessment date is the date of the loss/damage. The insurance cover is included in the contract and not invoiced separately.

6. Right of disposal, power of attorney, customer majority, legal succession

(1)         Subject to other agreements and legally valid powers of attorney, only the customer registered with us or his/her legal representative will be entitled to dispose over the Degussa Vault Storage facilities assigned to him and the precious metals stored there. The power of disposal includes the right to make deposits and to make and receive other legally relevant declarations with regard to the Storage Agreement. Unless otherwise stated in an original power of attorney, the power of attorney will survive the death of the customer but will not entitle the holder to give notice of termination, amend the contract or grant any sub-power of attorney.

(2)         Subject to any other agreements, the person acting in each case must identify her-/himself and, if she/he is not the customer, identify himself as authorised to represent the customer. Unless otherwise known to us, the person authorised to act on behalf of the customer (in particular a company) will generally be the person who has already acted effectively on behalf of the customer at the time of conclusion of the contract or to whom the customer has subsequently issued an effective power of attorney, including after a corresponding identification check by us. If a customer who is a minor at the time of the conclusion of the contract reaches the age of majority, the parents’ legal power of representation of the ends and a separate identification check must be carried out for that customer. The possibility of viewing the user account online assigned to one of the parents will remain in place as long as the customer does not object in writing. In all cases (in particular any power of attorney to receive or confirmation of receipt) will only be recognised in writing and upon presentation of an official photo ID for the authorised person and the customer. In all other respects, clause 2(2) will apply by analogy to checks on the legitimacy of orders.

(3)         If several persons (e.g. spouses, partners) are joint parties to the Storage Agreement and no joint power of attorney with respect to disposals has been agreed individually (“and” vault storage), they will each be individually authorised to dispose of the deposited items without the participation of the other parties (“or” vault storage). The individual power of disposal does not authorise the holders to give notice of termination, amend the contract or grant any sub-power of attorney. If a customer revokes the individual power of disposal to us in writing, “and”-stock will be created and it will only be possible to dispose of the stocks jointly with the participation of all other parties to the contract. The heirs of one of several joint parties to a contract also each have a right of revocation.

              In this case the Storage Agreement will be transferred to the new customer after her/his identity has been verified. The new customer will receive a new warehouse receipt, if necessary by taking over the identification number. The deposit slip issued to the previous customer will become invalid and must be returned to us.

(4)         Any heirs will be required to provide evidence of their identity by means of a certificate of inheritance, a notarised testamentary disposition including an official memorandum documenting the opening of the will or a European certificate of succession, unless the right of inheritance can be proven more simply and/or more cheaply by other documents

              If, on the basis of the documents submitted and our knowledge of the facts of the case, there is no doubt as to the succession or the right to dispose of the estate (e.g. due to execution of the will), we will be entitled to regard the person or persons designated as heirs as entitled to dispose of the estate and, in particular, to make payments to them with discharging effect. Unless otherwise agreed, the power of attorney of another customer and of any person authorised to act as a representative upon or after a customer’s death will remain unaffected. As soon as we become aware of the death of a customer, we will be entitled (but not obliged, except where specific grounds to suspect abuse exist) to carry out a disposition or instruction by another customer (including a customer with individual power of attorney) or an authorised representative only with the consent of the heir. This applies in particular if the individual power of attorney or the power of attorney has been revoked by one or more heirs

7. Liability for damage

(1)         Our liability for damages is governed by the statutory provisions, unless otherwise specified below.

(2)         In the event of breach of duty in connection with this contract, including damage caused by the loss of or damage to the stored goods during the period from acceptance for storage to delivery, we will be liable for wilful misconduct and gross negligence. We will only be liable for ordinary negligence:

–             for injury to life, body or health.

–             for damage resulting from the breach of a material contractual obligation (obligation whose fulfilment makes the proper execution of the contract possible in the first place and on compliance with which the contractual partner regularly relies and may trust); in this case, however, our liability will be limited to compensation for the foreseeable, typically occurring damage.

(3)         The above limitations of liability will also apply to breaches of duty by persons for whose fault we are responsible according to the statutory provisions. Claims under the German Product Liability Act will remain unaffected in all cases.

8. Terminating the contract

(1)         The Storage Agreement is entered into for an indefinite period of time. It can be terminated by you or by us after the expiry of a minimum term of three months to the end of each calendar month. The right of either party to terminate the agreement for cause remains unaffected.

(2)         Notice of termination must be given in signed written form in accordance with clause 1(8). The storage fees must continue to be paid until the Storage Agreement actually ends.

(3)         Any assignment of the rights under the Storage Agreement (in particular for the purpose of transferring the stocks to a third party) will only be valid if made in writing and signed and with our written consent.

9. Choice of law, dispute settlement, jurisdiction

(1)         These terms and conditions and the contractual relationship are governed by the laws of the Federal Republic of Germany. The statutory provisions limiting choice of law and the applicability of mandatory provisions, in particular those of the state in which you have your habitual residence as a consumer, remain unaffected.

(2)         We will endeavour to resolve any disputes arising from the contractual relationship with our customers amicably. However, we are neither obliged nor willing to participate in a dispute resolution procedure before a consumer arbitration board. We will make a binding decision on a case-by-case basis after the dispute has arisen. We will inform you of our decision together with the contact details of a consumer dispute resolution body responsible for you if the dispute cannot be settled directly, in accordance with the statutory provisions. In addition, the European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR), which you can find here: http://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr/. Both parties are entitled to take legal action in the general courts of law. The legal provisions regarding consumer status apply.

(3)         If you are a merchant, a legal entity under public law or a special fund under public law (Sondervermögen), the exclusive place of jurisdiction (also internationally) for all disputes arising from the contractual relationship will be at the location of our headquarters in Frankfurt, Germany. The same applies if as a customer you are a different form of trader. In all cases, however, we will also be entitled to bring an action at the place of performance of the storage obligation or at your general place of jurisdiction.