General terms and conditions

What it means

General terms and conditions are standard contract terms prepared in advance that a company uses for a large number of similar transactions. They cover orders, prices, payment, delivery, liability for defects, warranty claims, withdrawal and dispute resolution.

For the terms to form part of a contract, the contract must refer to them and the other party must know them or have had the chance to read them before the contract was concluded. In online shops this is achieved by displaying the terms and obtaining consent when ordering.

Strict rules apply to consumer transactions. Unfair terms that create an imbalance to the consumer’s detriment are invalid. The terms must also contain mandatory information, such as on the right of withdrawal, complaints and alternative dispute resolution.

How it works in practice

When drafting terms for clients we start from how the company actually sells: only to businesses or also to consumers, online, by phone or in person, at home or abroad. A generic template from the internet often does not fit and may contain invalid provisions.

In business-to-business dealings we watch for the battle of the forms, where each party refers to its own terms. We recommend stating clearly which terms prevail, or settling key points in a framework agreement.

An online shop’s terms are usually accompanied by information on personal data processing under GDPR. This is usually a separate document referred to in the terms, and both must be kept up to date whenever the sales process changes.

What to watch out for

Terms the customer could not see before ordering, or that the company changed without notice, do not apply to them. When terms change, older versions should be kept so that in a dispute it can be shown which terms applied at the time of the order.

The Slovak Trade Inspection checks online shops’ terms and fines them for missing mandatory information or unfair terms. Reviewing the terms regularly is cheaper than dealing with penalties and complaints.