Even to the extent that a deviation from the statutory provisions is permissible, the following are ineffective in standard business terms:
1. (Price increases at short notice) a provision stipulating an increase in payment for goods or services that are to be delivered or rendered within four months of the contract having been concluded; this does not apply to goods or services delivered or rendered in connection with continuing obligations;
2. (Right to refuse performance) a provision by which
a) the right to refuse performance to which the party contracting with the user is entitled under section 320 is excluded or restricted, or
b) a right of retention to which the party contracting with the user is entitled, insofar as it is based on the same contractual relationship, is excluded or restricted, or in particular is made contingent on the acknowledgement of defects by the user;
3. (Prohibition of set-off) a provision by which the party contracting with the user is deprived of the power to set off a claim that is uncontested or has been finally and bindingly established;
4. (Dunning letter, setting of a period of time) a provision by which the user is exempted from the statutory requirement of dunning the other party to the contract or of setting a period of time for the latter to provide performance or cure;
5. (Lump-sum claims for damages) the agreement of a lump-sum claim by the user for damages or for compensation of a reduction in value if
a) the lump sum, in the cases covered, exceeds the damage expected under normal circumstances or the customarily occurring reduction in value, or
b) the other party to the contract is not expressly permitted to prove that damage or reduction in value either has not occurred or is substantially less than the lump sum;
6. (Penalty for breach of contract) a provision by which the user is promised the payment of a contractual penalty in the event of non-acceptance or late acceptance of the performance, in the event of payment default or in the event that the other party to the contract frees itself from the contract;
7. (Exclusion of liability for injury to life, limb or health and in case of gross fault)
a) (Injury to life, limb or health) an exclusion or limitation of liability for damage from injury to life, limb or health due to negligent breach of duty by the user or intentional or negligent breach of duty by a legal representative or the user or by a person deployed to perform an obligation of the user;
b) (Gross fault) an exclusion or limitation of liability for other damage arising from a grossly negligent breach of duty by the user or from an intentional or grossly negligent breach of duty by a legal representative of the user or by a person deployed to perform an obligation of the user;
letters
(a) and
(b) do not apply to limitations of liability in terms of transport and tariff rules, authorised in accordance with the Passenger Transport Act (Personenbeförderungsgesetz), of trams, trolley buses and motor vehicles in regular public transport services, to the extent that they do not deviate to the disadvantage of the passenger from the Order on Standard Transport Terms for Tram and Trolley Bus Transport and Regular Public Transport Services with Motor Vehicles (Verordnung über die Allgemeinen Beförderungsbedingungen für den Strassenbahn- und Obusverkehr sowie den Linienverkehr mit Kraftfahrzeugen) of 27 February 1970; letter (b) does not apply to limitations on liability for state-approved lotteries and gaming contracts;
8. (Other exclusions of liability for breaches of duty)
a) (Exclusion of the right to free oneself from the contract) a provision which, in the event of a breach of duty for which the user is responsible and which does not consist of a defect of the object of the purchase or the work, excludes or restricts the right of the other party to the contract to free itself from the contract; this does not apply to the terms of transport and tariff rules referred to in no. 7 under the prerequisites set out there;
b) (Defects) a provision by which, in contracts relating to the supply of newly produced things and contracts relating to the performance of work
aa) (Exclusion and referral to third parties) the claims against the user due to defects are excluded in their entirety or with regard to individual parts, are limited to the granting of claims against third parties or made contingent on prior court action taken against third parties;
bb) (Limitation to cure) the claims against the user are limited in their entirety or with regard to individual parts to a right to cure, to the extent that the right is not expressly reserved for the other party to the contract to reduce the purchase price if the cure should fail or, except where building work is the object of liability for defects, at its option to revoke the contract;
cc) (Expenses for cure) the duty of the user to bear, or reimburse, the expenses necessary for the purpose of effecting cure pursuant to section 439 subsections (2) and (3) or section 635 (2) is excluded or limited;
dd) (Withholding cure) the user makes cure dependent upon prior payment of the entire fee or a portion of the fee that is disproportionate when taking the defect into account;
ee) (Cut-off period for notice of defects) the user sets a cut-off period for the other party to the contract to give notice of non-obvious defects which is shorter than the permissible period of time under double letter (ff) below;
ff) (Easing of limitation) the limitation of claims against the user due to defects in the cases governed by section 438 (1) no. 2 and section 634a (1) no. 2 is eased, or in other cases a limitation period of less than one year reckoned from the beginning of the statutory limitation period is attained;
9. (Duration of continuing obligations) in a contractual relationship the subject matter of which is the regular supply of goods or the regular rendering of services or work performance by the user,
a) a duration of the contract binding the other party to the contract for more than two years,
b) a tacit extension of the contractual relationship that is binding on the other party to the contract, unless the contractual relationship is extended only for an indefinite period of time and the other contractual party is granted the right to terminate the extended contractual relationship at any time, observing a notice period of no longer than one month, or
c) a notice period incumbent on the other party to the contract of longer than one month prior to the expiry of the duration of the contract as initially provided for;
this does not apply to contracts relating to the supply of things sold as belonging together, nor does it apply to insurance contracts;
10. (Change of other contracting party) a provision according to which, in the case of purchase, loan or service contracts or contracts to produce a work, a third party enters into, or may enter into, the rights and duties under the contract in place of the user, unless, in that provision,
a) the third party is identified by name, or
b) the other party to the contract is granted the right to free itself from the contract;
11. (Liability of an agent with power to conclude a contract) a provision by which the user imposes on an agent who concludes a contract for the other party to the contract
a) a liability or obligation to assume liabilities for the principal on the part of the agent itself, without any explicit and separate declaration to this effect, or
b) in the case of agency without authority, liability going beyond section 179;
12. (Burden of proof) a provision by which the user modifies the burden of proof to the disadvantage of the other party to the contract, in particular by
a) imposing on the latter the burden of proof for circumstances lying in the sphere of responsibility of the user, or
b) having the other party to the contract confirm certain facts;
letter (b) does not apply to acknowledgements of receipt that are signed separately or provided with a separate qualified electronic signature;
13. (Form of notices and declarations) a provision by which notices or declarations that are to be made to the user or a third party are tied
a) to a more stringent form than the written form for a contract regarding which the law prescribes notarial recording,
b) to a more stringent form than the text form for contracts other than those set out in letter (a), or
c) to special receipt requirements;
14. (Waiver of action) a provision by which the other party to the contract is permitted to assert its claims vis-à-vis the user in court only after it has attempted to amicably settle the matter in proceedings serving the out-of-court resolution of disputes.
15. (Part payments and provision of security) a provision by which, in the case of a contract to produce a work, the user
a) may demand part payments from the other party to the contract for part performance that are significantly higher than the part payments to be made pursuant to section 632a (1) and section 650m (1), or
b) is not obliged to provide the security pursuant to section 650m (2) or only in a lower amount.