Terms and Conditions - Balikbayan-Service EUROPE oHG - Home of PinoyBox

(1)These terms and conditions apply to contracts of carriage with Balikbayan-Service EUROPE and affiliated companies, hereinafter Balikbayan-Service.

(2) All contracts are based on the laws of the European Community (EC law), provided by mandatory law or written individual agreement not otherwise specified.

(3) In addition to these terms, the price list of Balikbayan-Service in its current version applies. It can be viewed online at www.bestbalikbayan.de or will be sent on request without charge.

(4) Provided these Terms shall be available in several languages, the German version is binding.

§2 Contract Basis and Exclusions

(1) Subject to the provisions of Paragraph (2) contracts of carriage are concluded by the transfer of packets by or for the sender and incorporating them into the care of Balikbayan-Service in accordance with the present terms and conditions. Different conditions must be agreed in writing. Conflicting terms and conditions are hereby expressly disagreed.

1. Packages, their contents, exterior design, transport or storage violates a statutory or regulatory prohibition, especially export-, import- or customs provisions of the EU, the Philippines or transit countries.

3. Packages, by whose contents or exterior design people may be infected or injured, or property damage can be caused.

4. Packages with living animals, animal carcasses, body parts or remains of people.

5. Packages with drugs or intoxicating substances.

6. Packages with an actual value of more than 1.000 €. The liability limits acc. § 6 are unaffected.

8. Packages whose recipients are registered on sanctions lists.

(3) If a package is not in line with the above conditions, or is it in any other conflict with these terms, it is at the Balikbayan-Service's discretion, to refuse to accept a package or return a package already passed or hold it available for return. This also applies on suspicion of excluded goods or other breaches of contract, if the sender refuses upon request of Balikbayan-Service to provide for detailed information. The Balikbayan-Service is not obliged to check for exclusions from carriage pursuant to § 2 (2), however, she is entitled to open and inspect the packages in case of suspicion.

§3 Services and Duties of Balikbayan-Service

(1) The Balikbayan-Service conveys the packages passed to him and delivers them to its appropriate recipient in the Philippines. It is up to the Balikbayan-Service to commission domestic or foreign companies to carry the packets.

(3) The carriage of packages is done "from door to door" (door-to-door). The packages are picked up at the senders address. The packages are delivered to the specified recipient's address. Excluded are addresses in remote regions of the Philippines (remote areas), remote islands in the open sea (remote Islands), as well as political crisis areas or areas with civil war conditions. A reference to such areas can be found in our price list.

(4) The obligation for the transport and delivery to the recipient exists only for such packages where the transport fee is paid in full.

(5) Adherence to a time limit is not due.

§ 4 Rights, Duties and Obligations of the Sender

(1) The sender has to keep his shipment ready at the agreed collection time, together with the completed shipping document(s). The packages must be easily accessible, so that the removal is possible without overcoming obstacles and without mechanical assistance.

(2) The sender is responsible to pack his consignment with great care so that the content is protected from damage, and that it cannot cause any harm to Balikbayan-Service and any third party parcels.

(3) Outer packaging as well as inner packaging is the sender’s exclusive responsibility. Transport requires packaging which has the ability to protect commodities against mechanical stress from automatic sorting systems  and handling (drop height to corner, edge or side from up to 50 cm) as well as against widely differing climatic conditions. Also it has to prevent access to the contents without leaving any evidence or trace. The sender has to check, whether the retail packaging meets these requirements.

(4) Imprints or stickers like “Glass, handle with care!” or “TOP” are not binding and do not discharge the sender from his liability to use adequate transport packaging according to §4 (3).

(6) The sender has to adequately identify his consignment. Both sender and receiver address have to be marked clearly on at least two places on each package.

(7) The sender has to complete the required export declaration (Packing List) for each package fully and truthfully and pass it together with the parcel to the Balikbayan-Service. The Balikbayan-Service does not assume any responsibility for the content of the shipment nor for this document. The sender bears the sole respon¬sibility and risk for all consequences resulting from an illegal shipment of goods to the Philippines and violations of such rules.

(1) The consignor undertakes to pay on delivery of his shipment to the Balikbayan-Service the remuneration prescribed according to the price list.

(2) The fee is payable at pick-up of the packages in cash, if not agreed upon a different method of payment in individual cases. In any case, the charges for the transportation of the consignment have to be paid in full before the arrival in the Philippines, e.g. before delivery of the shipment to the appropriate recipient.

§6 Liability for Damage during Shipping

(1) The Balikbayan-Service is liable for loss or damage of packages in line with the contract and for wrongful improper implementation only to the extent of direct contractual damages, and only up to the maximum of 300.00 €. Differing liability limitations require separate written agreement.

(2) Damage or loss of items which are not recorded on the export declaration shall not be accepted under any circumstances.

(3) For fragile items (such as glass, porcelain, ceramics etc.) no liability shall be assumed. It is solely the shipper’s responsibility for the safe packaging of such objects.

(4) The Balikbayan-Service is on improperly packaged shipments exempt from any liability, as well as for damage caused by circumstances that even with the greatest care cannot be avoided and whose conse¬quences cannot be averted (strike, force majeure, seizure, etc.).

(5) In case of suspected damage to the contents, such as strikingly damaged package, this is immediately to be docu¬men¬ted, if possible in the presence of the delivery agent at the time of receipt of the shipment.

§7 Undeliverable Shipments, Unpaid Shipments

(1) The sender is obliged to mark its packages with a valid recipient address by Philippine standards, and to pay the transport charge acc. §5. Costs and expenses, that result from insufficiently addressed shipment, e.g. caused by redirection or other measures shall be borne by the sender. The same applies to costs arising from the fact that packets cannot be delivered because the carriage fee is not paid.

(3) Packages which cannot be served within a reasonable period of time shall be recovered by the Balikbayan-Service, usually in the form of a donation to a charitable organization. The return to the sender in Germany is excluded. The obligation to pay the transportation fee will remain unaffected.

§8 Other Provisions

(1) Gaps in the regulation have to be closed by regulations which meet sense and purpose of the original provision best, based on governing law.

(2) The invalidity of individual regulations does not result in the invalidity of the entire contract.