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GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR AIR CONDITIONING INSTALLATION WORK FOR CONSUMERS

These General Terms and Conditions for Air Conditioning Installation Work for Consumers of the Dutch Association of Enterprises in the Field of Refrigeration and Air Conditioning (NVKL) have been drawn up in consultation with the Consumers’ Association under the Self-Regulation Coordination Group (CZ) of the Social

Economic Council. They take effect April 1, 2013.

Filed at the Registry of the District Court of The Hague, dated February 19, 2013 under No. 13/2013.

SECTION I. General Provisions

ARTICLE 1 Definitions

  1. In these general terms and conditions, the following definitions shall apply: Consumer: the natural person, not acting in the exercise of a profession or business, who enters into an agreement regarding an air conditioning installation;

Installer: The natural or legal person who, as a member of NVKL, concludes an agreement concerning an air conditioning installation;

Work: The total of the work agreed between the consumer and the installer and the materials delivered by the installer in the process;

Installation: air conditioning system, including a heat pump system;

Additional and less work: additions to or reductions in the agreed work desired by the consumer that result in additional payments over or deductions from the agreed contract price; MaintenanceMaintenance : all periodic work aimed at the reliable and safe use of the installation;

Service: the set of actions aimed at investigating and/or remedying the cause of an unexpectedly arising defect such as, for example, malfunction, blockage or leakage;

Maintenance/service subscription: The agreement that obliges the installer to regularly perform maintenance and/or service on an installation;

Item: an expenditure objective designated as such in the offer or the agreement with a specified amount of money, which is included in the contract price and from which expenses further described in the agreement are charged, whereby the amount of money must be set at such a level that the expenditure objective can be realized with the specified amount of money;

Disputes Committee: Airconditioning Installation Disputes Committee of the Consumer Disputes Committee Foundation, PO Box 90.600, 2509 LP The Hague.

  1. All amounts mentioned in these terms and conditions include VAT.

ARTICLE 2 Scope

These general conditions apply to the work agreed between a consumer and an installer regarding an installation, with the exception of maintenance and service performed within the framework of a maintenance/service subscription.

SECTION II. Offer

ARTICLE 3. Installer’s offer

  1. The offer for work shall be made in writing or electronically, unless urgent circumstances make this impossible. The offer shall be dated and shall be irrevocable for 20 days after receipt. The following paragraphs of this article shall apply to each offer.
  2. The offer shall include a description of the work to be performed and the materials to be supplied, which shall be sufficiently

detailed is to allow proper consumer assessment of the offer.

  1. The offer shall state the time when or the period during which the work can be started and shall contain an indication of the duration of the work.
  2. The offer provides insight into the pricing method that will be used: contract sum or direction.

– Under the contract sum pricing method, the parties agree on a fixed amount at which the work will be performed.

– In the directing pricing method, the installer makes a

accurate statement of price factors (including

hourly unit prices of labor to be performed and unit prices

of materials required). If desired, if the situation allows, the installer will give an indication of the expected execution costs by quoting a guide price. 5. The offer states the method of payment.

  1. The drawings, technical descriptions, designs and calculations forming part of the offer, which have been made by the installer or on his instructions, remain the property of the installer. They may not be given or shown to third parties without his permission. Nor may they be copied or otherwise reproduced without his permission. If no commission is granted, these documents must be sent to the installer carriage paid within 14 days of a request made by the installer.
  2. If the consumer does not accept the offer, the installer is entitled to charge the costs involved in making the quotation, provided he has informed the consumer in writing of the existence of this obligation and the amount of these costs immediately on or after requesting the offer. If the installer makes use of the option referred to in this paragraph and the consumer has paid the costs in question, the drawings accompanying the quotation will transfer ownership to the consumer, without prejudice to the intellectual and industrial property rights of the installer.
  3. If the installer wishes to use storage space of the consumer in the performance of the work, he should mention this in the offer.
  4. The offer is accompanied by a copy of these general terms and conditions.

SECTION III. Establishment and

execution of the contract

ARTICLE 4 Establishment

The agreement is established by the consumer’s acceptance of the offer. Acceptance is preferably and where possible by written or electronic means. In the case of electronic acceptance by the consumer, the installer will confirm receipt of the order to the consumer electronically. If the consumer accepts the offer verbally, the installer confirms the order preferably in writing or electronically.

ARTICLE 5 Obligations of the installer 1. The installer will perform the work well, soundly and according to the terms of the contract. The work will be carried out within the installer’s normal working hours, unless otherwise agreed. If the consumer’s order to the installer is to provide service, the installer is obliged to make every effort to identify the cause of the defect and then to remedy the cause of the defect. 2. In the execution of the work, the installer will observe the regulations applicable to it, as they are or will be in force at the time of the execution of the work. An increase in the price as a result of a change in the regulations may be passed on to the consumer, provided that the installer demonstrates that he could not have been aware of the change at the time of concluding the contract.

  1. The installer is obliged to make the consumer aware of what is reasonably known and relevant to the work:

– inaccuracies in the assigned work;

– inaccuracies in the methods and constructions required by the consumer;

– defects of the movable or immovable property on which the work is performed; – defects in or unsuitability of materials or tools provided by the consumer;

– inaccuracies in the details provided by or on behalf of the consumer; all the foregoing insofar as these reveal themselves to the installer before or during the execution of the work and the installer must be considered expert in the matter.

  1. The installer is liable for damages, unless they cannot be attributed to him, up to a maximum of €500,000 per event.
  2. The installer indemnifies the consumer against third-party claims for compensation for damage, insofar as it was caused by the performance of his work and is due to the negligence, carelessness or wrongful actions of the installer himself or his

subordinates or of other auxiliaries engaged by him in the performance of the work.

ARTICLE 6 Obligations of the consumer

  1. The consumer gives the installer the opportunity to perform the work.
  2. The consumer will ensure that the installer has timely access to the approvals required for the work (such as permits and exemptions) and the data to be provided by him for the work. If required, the installer will provide instructions in his field of expertise for this purpose.
  3. The consumer shall provide the connection facilities available to him for the purpose of the energy required for the work. The necessary electricity, gas and water shall be at his expense.
  4. The consumer shall ensure the undisturbed use of the storage space referred to in article 3 paragraph 8 and shall take care of the items in the storage space as a good custodian.
  5. The consumer must ensure that work and/or deliveries to be carried out by third parties, which do not belong to the work of the installer, are carried out in such a way and in such a timely manner that the execution of the work is not delayed as a result. If a delay in the sense of this paragraph nevertheless occurs, the consumer must inform the installer of this in good time.
  6. If the commencement or progress of the work is delayed by a circumstance that is at the risk of the consumer, the consumer must compensate the installer for the resulting damage if it can be attributed to the consumer.
  7. The consumer bears the risk for damage caused by: – inaccuracies in the assigned work;

– inaccuracies in the constructions and methods required by the consumer;

– defects in the movable or immovable property on which the work is performed; – defects in materials or tools provided by the consumer;

– inaccuracies in the details provided by or on behalf of the consumer; all this without prejudice to the obligation of the installer to warn the consumer pursuant to Article 5 paragraph 3.

  1. In case of a shortcoming on the part of the installer in the execution of the contract, the consumer shall point this out to the installer in writing, with a clear description of the shortcoming and with a reasonable time limit to remedy the shortcoming, unless the installer is already in default due to the mere shortcoming.

ARTICLE 7 Delay in commencement or continuation of work

  1. If the installer does not comply with his obligations regarding the commencement or continuation of the work, the consumer summons him in writing to commence the execution or continue the work as soon as possible. The consumer can point out that he will consider the contract dissolved without judicial intervention if the installer remains in default 14 days after receipt of the letter. In that case, the consumer is authorized to have the work carried out or continued by a third party.
  2. If he makes use of the option referred to in the previous paragraph, the consumer is entitled to compensation, including any reasonably incurred additional costs to have the work carried out or completed by others. The consumer may offset this against what he still owes the installer.

ARTICLE 8 Termination of the work in an unfinished state 1. The consumer may terminate the performance of the work in whole or in part at any time.

  1. The parties shall mutually cooperate in jointly recording the actual condition of the work at the time of completion in an unfinished state.
  2. Until the time of delivery in an unfinished state, the installer is obliged, for compensation, to take measures to prevent and limit damage.
  3. The consumer will reimburse the installer for the contract sum to which he is entitled, plus the cost of the fee(s) referred to in paragraph 3 as well as other costs incurred as a result of the termination, and minus the non-delivered and non-executed costs.
  4. If a pricing method was used in which no contract sum was determined, the consumer will reimburse the installer for the labor and material costs spent by the installer on the work, the fee(s) referred to in paragraph 3, the other

costs incurred by the termination, as well as the lost profit the installer would have enjoyed over the entire work.

ARTICLE 9 Additional and less work

  1. Under the “contract sum” pricing method, the consumer may order more and less work after the contract has been concluded, provided that the balance of the resulting offsets does not exceed 15% of the contract sum.
  2. In case of additional work ordered by the consumer, the installer can only claim a price increase, if he has informed the consumer in time of the resulting price increase, unless the consumer should already have understood this himself.
  3. If the sum of expenditures charged to a line item turns out to be higher or lower than the amount of that line item, the discrepancy is settled as being more or less work.
  4. Additional and less work in an amount exceeding €300 will be recorded in writing before or at the time of the order for this purpose, except in urgent circumstances.
  5. The absence of a document does not affect the claims of installer or consumer for settlement of more or less work. In that case, the proof of the order rests with the person making the claim.

ARTICLE 10 Unforeseen circumstances

  1. If unforeseen circumstances arise, the installer will notify the consumer of this as soon as possible. 2. If the installer cannot reach the consumer, he must interrupt the work, except if the unforeseen circumstance requires immediate action.
  2. Any additional costs incurred by the installer in connection with an unforeseen circumstance that requires immediate action and that are reasonable to mitigate damages will be reimbursed by the consumer.
  3. If the unforeseen circumstance does not require immediate action, then the parties will jointly determine the further execution of the work.

ARTICLE 11 Force Majeure

If the execution of the work becomes impossible for one of the parties due to a cause that cannot be attributed to him, he is entitled to terminate the execution of the work (or have it terminated) against reimbursement to the other party of the costs already actually incurred.

ARTICLE 12 Completion

  1. The work is delivered when the installer has notified the consumer that the work is complete and the consumer has accepted the work. 2. The work is considered delivered:

– or when 8 days have passed after the consumer has received notification from the installer that the work has been completed and the consumer has failed to accept the work within that period;

– or when the consumer puts the installation into operation (again), on the understanding that by putting into operation a part of the work, that part is considered delivered, unless the consequence associated with putting into operation (delivery) is not justified.

  1. If a fixed agreed delivery date is exceeded, the installer is obliged to compensate the damage suffered by the consumer as a result.
  2. Where the parties have agreed on a probable date of completion, the work shall be completed on or about that date.

SECTION IV. Payment

ARTICLE 13 Prepayment/security

  1. For an order, the installer is entitled to require advance payment of up to 35% of the final amount on condition that he provides sufficient financial security for this if requested by the consumer.
  2. The installer may stipulate security from the consumer when concluding the contract.
  3. After concluding the contract, the installer can stipulate security if he has good reason to fear that the consumer will not meet his payment obligation. If and as long as the consumer refuses or is unable to provide security in that case, the installer is entitled to interrupt the execution of the work, insofar as this is justified.

ARTICLE 14 Payment by installments

GENERAL TERMS AND CONDITIONS FOR

AIR CONDITIONING INSTALLATION WORK FOR CONSUMERS SECTION V. Conformity and warranty

  1. The parties may agree that payment will be made in installments in proportion to the progress of the work. In that case, payment shall be made in each case no later than 14 days after receipt of the invoice.
  2. If payment in installments is agreed upon and the installer does not meet his obligation regarding the continuation of the work, the consumer is authorized to suspend his payment of an installment, without prejudice to the provisions of Article 8.

ARTICLE 15 The final bill

  1. Within a reasonable time after completion, the installer shall submit the final bill to the consumer.
  2. In case of application of the contract sum pricing method, the final statement shall contain a clear description of the

original order and any commissioned additional and/or less work.

  1. In the case of applying the cost-plus pricing method, the final settlement will contain a specification of the materials used and their costs, of the hours worked and the hourly rates, and of the other costs. If the installer has stated a guide price, the guide price may not be exceeded by more than 10%, unless the installer has warned the consumer in good time of a greater excess of the guide price.
  2. Payment of the final bill shall be made within 30 days of receipt of the bill.

ARTICLE 16 Failure to make payment 1. If the consumer does not pay on time, he is legally considered to be in default without any notice of default. Nevertheless, the installer will send one free of charge payment reminder, in which he reminds the consumer of his default and still gives him the opportunity to pay within 14 days after receipt of this payment reminder, stating the extrajudicial collection costs due as a result of non-payment within the aforementioned period.

  1. The installer can charge interest on the payment not made on time from the expiry of the payment date referred to in Article 14 paragraph 1 and Article 15 paragraph 4 until the day of receipt of the amount owed. This interest is equal to the legal interest pursuant to Article 6:119 of the Civil Code.
  2. After expiry of the period of 14 days referred to in paragraph 1, the installer is authorized to proceed to recovery of the amount owed to him without further proof of default. If the installer proceeds to this, the associated extrajudicial costs are reasonably payable by the consumer. The installer may charge up to the collection fees listed below.

Principal Amount Percentage Fee maximum collection costs ______________________________________________________________ Over the first € 2,500.00 15% Minimum € 40.00 _______________________________________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________________________________ € 2.500,00 10%

About the next

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ € 5.000,00 5%

About the next

_______________________________________________________________________________________________ € 190.000,00 1%

About the next

Over the excess 0.5% Maximum €6,775.00

The installer may deviate from all of the above amounts and percentages for the benefit of the consumer.

  1. The installer remains the owner of materials not yet processed until the consumer has fulfilled his payment obligation. 5. If the installer does not pay a payment or compensation owed by him to the consumer in time, the consumer will point out his default by letter. If the installer has not paid within 14 days of receipt of this letter, he is deemed – without further notice of default – to be in default. Paragraphs 2 and 3 of this article apply accordingly in that case.

ARTICLE 17 Suspension of payment

  1. If the completed work does not comply with the agreement, the consumer has the right to suspend payment, with the understanding that the amount to be suspended must be in reasonable proportion to the observed defect.
  2. If the amount suspended is not in reasonable proportion to the observed defect, the installer is entitled to claim the interest referred to in Article 16 paragraph 2 on the excess amount suspended.

ARTICLE 18 Compliance of work with contract and guarantees

  1. The installer guarantees that the work delivered corresponds to the contract. The installer also guarantees that the work has those properties which, taking all circumstances into account, are necessary for normal use, as well as for special use insofar as this has been agreed.
  2. If, after completion of the work, a shortcoming reveals itself that makes the work not comply with the agreement as described in the first paragraph, the provisions of the following paragraph apply – without prejudice to the rights granted by law to the consumer.
  3. Does the deficiency occur within eighteen months after the delivery of the work, then it is presumed that the work did not meet the contract upon delivery. In that case, the installer will remedy the shortcoming free of charge, unless he demonstrates that the shortcoming cannot be attributed to him.

In any case, there is no question of an attributable shortcoming if: – defects to the installation have not been reported in writing to the installer as soon as possible after they were discovered or could reasonably have been discovered;

– defects are caused by error, improper use or omission of the consumer who placed the order or his legal successor, or by external causes;

– the defect is not a result of the work;

– during the guarantee period, without written permission from the installer, the consumer has given instructions of any kind to a third party to make provisions to the installation, or if such provisions have been made by the consumer himself, on the understanding that the guarantee does not lapse if this is not justified in view of the nature and scope of the provisions made;

– during the warranty period, no inspection and periodic maintenance is performed on the air conditioning system requiring servicing;

– the consumer has not fulfilled his payment obligations, unless he exercises the right to suspend payment in accordance with Article 17, on the understanding that the guarantee does not lapse in the event that the consumer cannot be blamed for not paying on time;

– the consumer does not take care to manage the air conditioning system in a way that prevents loss of refrigerant during use.

  1. The installer may set longer terms than those mentioned in the third paragraph. The installer may also, in addition to the provisions of the third paragraph, offer other forms of guarantee, provided it is stated that they do not detract from the rights or claims that the consumer has under the law.

SECTION VI. Complaints and disputes

ARTICLE 19 Complaints

Complaints about the realization or execution of the contract must be fully and clearly described and submitted to the installer in good time after the consumer has discovered the defects. Not submitting the complaint in time can result in the consumer losing his rights in the matter.

ARTICLE 20 Dispute resolution

  1. Disputes between consumer and installer about the conclusion or execution of the contract can be resolved both by the

consumer as well as by the installer to the disputes committee.

  1. The disputes committee will only handle a dispute if the consumer has first submitted his complaint to the installer in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 and this has not resulted in a solution satisfactory to both parties.
  2. A dispute must be brought before the Disputes Committee within three months of its occurrence.
  3. A fee is payable for handling a dispute. 5. When the consumer submits a dispute to the

disputes committee, the installer is bound to this choice. 6. If the installer wishes to submit a dispute to the disputes committee, he must first ask the consumer in writing to state within one month whether he agrees to this. In doing so, the installer must announce that after the aforementioned period has passed, he considers himself free to submit the dispute to the ordinary court.

  1. The Disputes Committee shall rule in accordance with the provisions of the regulations applicable to it. The decision of the

Disputes Committee shall be in the form of a binding opinion. 8. Only the ordinary court or the aforementioned disputes committee is authorized to take cognizance of disputes.

SECTION VII. Compliance Guarantee

ARTICLE 21 Compliance guarantee industry association 1. If an installer does not fulfil the obligations imposed on him in a binding advice towards the consumer, NVKL will take over these obligations up to the maximum stated in paragraphs 2 and 3. The assumption by NVKL of obligations of the installer will be suspended if and insofar as the binding advice has been submitted for judicial review within two months of its date, and will lapse as a result of the final judgment in which the court has declared the binding advice non-binding.

  1. In order to qualify for payment of the fulfillment guarantee, the consumer must transfer his claim on the installer pursuant to paragraph 1 to NVKL. If the consumer’s claim on the installer is € 5500 or less, NVKL will pay the full amount of the claim to the consumer in one lump sum. If the consumer’s claim against the installer amounts to more than € 5500, NVKL will pay € 5500 in a lump sum to the consumer. NVKL will only pay the excess amount to the consumer after deducting the demonstrable costs incurred. , after NVKL has successfully collected that multiple from the installer.
  2. In the event of suspension of payment, debt restructuring, bankruptcy and company closure of the installer, the fulfillment guarantee applies up to an amount of € 5,500 per binding advice, on the understanding that: – the fulfilment guarantee only applies in these cases

if the consumer has brought the dispute and has met the formal requirements for the dispute to be handled by the disputes committee (payment of complaint fee, return of completed and signed questionnaire and any necessary deposit) before the installer’s moratorium, debt restructuring, bankruptcy or cessation of business, and

– the total amount to be paid by NVKL to consumers on the basis of the fulfilment guarantee in these cases does not exceed € 15,000 per installer. If the total written claims by consumers on the performance bond amount to more than € 15,000 per installer, NVKL will pay

15,000 to those consumers in proportion to the amount of the claims. NVKL will only pay the excess, less any demonstrable costs incurred, to those consumers if and after NVKL has successfully collected that excess from the installer. NVKL has a best-efforts obligation to collect the excess from the installer and to keep the consumers informed of the state of affairs at least once per quarter, for as long as this is useful.

SECTION VIII. Final Provisions

ARTICLE 22 Applicable law

Dutch law shall apply to the agreements concluded, modified or supplemented on the basis of these general terms and conditions, unless other law applies on the basis of mandatory rules.

ARTICLE 23 Designation

These general conditions may be cited as General Conditions for Air Conditioning Installation Work for Consumers (and in abbreviated form: AVC/NVKL).

ARTICLE 24 Modification

NVKL will only amend these General Terms and Conditions in consultation with the Consumers’ Association and any other relevant consumer organization(s).

NEDERLANDSE VERENIGING VOOR ONDERNEMINGEN OP HET GEBIELD VAN KOUDETECHNIEK EN LUCHTBEHANDELING Boerhaavelaan 40 , Postbus 190, 2700 AD Zoetermeer, T 088 – 40 08 490, F 088 – 40 08 401, E info@nvkl.nl www.nvkl.nl ABN AMRO Den Haag, nr 516231537 t.n.v. NVKL, BTW-nr NL004760025B01, KvK-nr 40341595

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