The AVV consists of 21 articles:

ARTICLE 1 – Definitions

In these terms and conditions the following definitions apply:
a customer: the client and/or the person whose household goods are the subject of the removal agreement;
b contractor: VDW Removals, which professionally carries out consumer removals;
c removal agreement: the contract of carriage whereby VDW Removals undertakes towards the customer to transport household goods either entirely within a building or dwelling, partly within a building or dwelling and partly by road, or entirely by road;
d household goods: items located in a covered or uncovered space, intended for the furnishing or fitting out of that space and already used as such;
e contents: all household goods that fall under the removal agreement; money and securities are not considered part of the contents;
f consumer removal: the removal of the household contents of a natural person not acting in the exercise of a profession or business;
g business: any enterprise or institution, whether established independently or not, with or without profit motive;
h …
i delay damage: financial loss resulting from delayed delivery of household goods, as referred to in Article 6:96 of the Dutch Civil Code.

ARTICLE 2 –

Applicability
1 The AVV apply to consumer removals:
– within a building;
– or involving transport exclusively by road, including transport of a lorry by ferry or rail within Europe as part of the road transport leg (e.g. transport to the UK by ferry or via the Channel Tunnel);
– or a combination thereof. All insofar as they take place within, from or to the Netherlands.
2 For removals that are (partly) not carried out by road, other general terms and conditions may be agreed;
3 The AVV do not apply to:
– consumer removals overseas;
– consumer removals commissioned by a third party that take place against the will of the owner of the household goods (evictions);
– the sale and rental of materials used by the customer to carry out a removal at their own expense and risk.
4 If storage or safekeeping of the household goods also takes place in connection with the removal, the AVV apply to that storage.

ARTICLE 3 –

The quotation
1 The quotation is issued in writing or electronically;
2 The quotation will in any case state:
– the work to be carried out by VDW Removals;
– the price of that work (including VAT);
– the time and method of payment;
– that during the removal within the Netherlands the contents are insured up to €100,000 in accordance with Article 4 of these conditions;
– that in the event of storage as part of the removal within the Netherlands, the contents are insured under the same conditions as during the removal for the first thirty days;
– where known: the date and start time of the removal and a general indication of its reasonably expected duration;
– that the AVV apply to the work to be carried out. A copy of these general conditions (AVV) is sent with the quotation or provided to the customer no later than upon conclusion of the removal agreement.
3 The quotation is dated and irrevocable for thirty days after the quotation date.

ARTICLE 4 –

Household contents insurance

1 VDW Removals has insured the household contents for the customer during the removal within the Netherlands for at least €100,000 against all loss of and material damage to the contents as further described in the General Insurance Conditions for Private Household Goods (PV05). The contents are insured on a new-for-old basis. New-for-old means the amount required immediately before the damage to purchase new items of the same type and quality. In the event of theft of personal jewellery, a maximum compensation of €5,000 per event is provided. For damage to items intended for commercial and professional purposes, a maximum compensation of €25,000 per event is provided. Both maximum compensations are part of the total insured amount. The customer may request VDW Removals to take out additional insurance at the customer’s expense for destinations outside the Netherlands, storage or safekeeping for a period longer than 30 days, or for a higher cover than the aforementioned €100,000;

2 In the case of storage as part of the removal within the Netherlands, the contents are insured for the first 30 days as during a removal. If no other agreements are made, the contents remain insured (for a fee) in accordance with paragraph 1 of this article. When extending the storage period, the customer may choose to keep the contents insured (for a fee) on the basis of Article 4 paragraph 1 of the AVV or for another amount to be agreed. If the insurance (possibly for an amended amount) is not continued, the liability of the warehouse keeper after the first 30 days of storage is limited on the basis of the AVBV (Articles 15 and 18);

3 Regarding the extent of damage:
– Damage is deemed to be the difference between the value of the insured items immediately before and immediately after the event or, at the insurers’ option, the repair costs established immediately after the event, provided the items are repairable in the experts’ opinion. Any residual depreciation caused by the event that is not eliminated by repair is also considered damage, as established by the experts;
– The value immediately before the event will be taken as the amount of the prior appraisal or the new-for-old value. The appraisal values will be considered where possible when determining the value immediately after the event;
– Damage is assessed on current value for motor vehicles, trailers, caravans, vessels and their parts and accessories and for objects whose current value is less than 40 % of the new-for-old value; items with antiquarian or rarity value are compensated at market value. Damage to rented items is assessed on the compensation owed to the lessor;
– If parts of the household goods have been appraised by experts in advance, this prior appraisal is valid for three years from the date of the appraisal report;
– Repair of damage or replacement of partially lost or missing goods may only take place after agreement on the amount of the damage between the customer and the remover and/or the loss adjuster or insurer, or after the damage has been sufficiently documented.

ARTICLE 5 –

Removal price

1 The following methods may be used to calculate the removal price:
– a lump-sum price (fixed-price method) for which the removal is fully carried out, including VAT and the agreed components and work listed in paragraph 2 of this article but excluding unforeseen expenses referred to in paragraph 3;
– a cost-plus price, calculated on the basis of pre-agreed rates per volume and/or distance and/or duration, whereby the agreed work and the method of price formation are described in detail. If the customer requests an indicative price, it may not be exceeded by more than fifteen percent;

2 The removal price is determined by the following elements and work of VDW Removals, insofar as agreed in the removal agreement:
– transport including loading and unloading of the household goods;
– packing and unpacking of goods to be transported in crates or boxes and dismantling and re-assembling of furniture;
– work such as taking down, removing, disconnecting, placing or hanging lamps, curtains, floor coverings, cookers, fireplaces, sanitary fittings and anything else attached to or on ceilings, walls, floors and roofs, and the dismantling and assembling of a waterbed. VDW Removals may only perform this work if no specific specialist knowledge is required;
– premiums and fees for the insurances referred to in Article 4;

3 Unless otherwise agreed in writing or electronically, the removal price does not include: the costs of using ferries, tolls, parking permits and licences, customs and border costs, and reasonably incurred costs for unforeseeable measures to preserve or deliver the household goods;

4 The removal price is increased if the customer owes VDW Removals other costs under these conditions or in connection with additional work. If there is less work, the price is reduced. The invoice must specify any deviation from the removal price. “Additional work” means work later requested by the customer that was not agreed upon when concluding the removal agreement. “Less work” means work agreed upon when concluding the agreement that VDW Removals and the customer later agree will not be carried out by VDW Removals;

5 If no removal price has been agreed, VDW Removals is entitled to determine a removal price that is reasonable and fair.

ARTICLE 6 –

The agreement
The agreement is concluded:
– as soon as the customer has verbally, in writing or electronically indicated acceptance of the quotation from VDW Removals;
– if no quotation has been issued, at the moment VDW Removals has sent the order confirmation;
– as soon as the customer actually places household goods at the disposal of VDW Removals for removal.

ARTICLE 7 –

Customer’s duty to inform
1 Regarding the household goods, the customer must inform VDW Removals in good time of:
– all items whose presence involves a particular risk of damage to the household goods or the equipment;
– all technical items for which the manufacturer has made known special security measures to be taken before transport begins;
– all items of a special nature subject to regulations of domestic and/or foreign authorities, such as items of special value, works of art, valuable collections, firearms.

2 Regarding the removal, the customer must in good time inform VDW Removals of:
– details concerning the new residence (e.g. a living room on the first floor);
– other matters and circumstances relevant for VDW Removals to know for the removal (e.g. a dug-up pavement in front of the house on the day of removal). This unless the customer may assume that VDW Removals is aware of these facts.

ARTICLE 8 –

Obligations of VDW Removals
1 VDW Removals is obliged to:
– deliver the household goods at the destination (placing them at the location indicated as far as reasonably possible) in the state in which they were handed to him for packing or dismantling, or in the state in which they were entrusted to him for transport;
– complete a started removal without delay.

2 The obligations of VDW Removals arising from the removal agreement end once the household goods have been delivered at the agreed destination.

ARTICLE 9 –

Hazardous items or substances
1 If the customer hands hazardous items or substances as referred to in the Carriage of Dangerous Goods Act to VDW Removals, the customer must inform VDW Removals of the nature of the danger involved and indicate the precautions to be taken.
2 VDW Removals has the right not to move hazardous items or substances about which he was not informed when the agreement was concluded.
3 VDW Removals has the right to unload at any time and place hazardous items or substances about which he was not informed when the agreement was concluded, and to render them harmless or destroy them at the customer’s expense. In addition, the customer is liable for all reasonably incurred and attributable costs and damage arising from the transport thereof.

ARTICLE 10 –

Customs formalities
For removal agreements to or from the Netherlands carried out by road, the following provisions apply:
– VDW Removals must inform the customer to the best of its ability about existing regulations regarding customs and other formalities to be carried out for the execution of the removal agreement;
– the customer must provide VDW Removals with the necessary documents and all information required to perform the formalities.

ARTICLE 11 –

Amendment of the agreement during the removal
1 The customer may request VDW Removals to modify the execution of the removal agreement. The desired amendment must be feasible for VDW Removals and may not disrupt the business operations of VDW Removals. The customer must also compensate VDW Removals for all necessary costs and disadvantages actually resulting from the amendment of the agreement. If the amendment benefits VDW Removals, it will not charge the reasonably saved costs.
2 If VDW Removals, due to circumstances, cannot execute the agreement according to its instructions and within a normal time, it must:
– request new instructions from the customer, or;
– if this is not possible, take the measures that in its opinion are as much as possible in the customer’s interest.

ARTICLE 12 –

Cancellation and Termination

1 The customer may cancel the agreement. The customer owes VDW Removals compensation for this. For cancellation up to thirty days before the agreed removal date, the compensation amounts to a maximum of 15 % of the agreed removal price. For cancellation up to fourteen and seven days before the removal date, the compensation amounts to a maximum of 50 % and 75 % of the removal price respectively. For cancellation within seven days before the removal date, the full removal price is payable;

2 The customer may terminate the removal agreement if it becomes clear that VDW Removals will not be able to carry out the removal on the agreed day and time. The termination must be communicated to VDW Removals shortly after this becomes known, in accordance with paragraph 4 of this article;

3 If, before or at the offering of the household goods to the remover, circumstances arise for either party that the other party did not need to know at the time of concluding the agreement, but which, if known, would reasonably have been grounds not to conclude the agreement or to conclude it on different terms, that party has the right to terminate the agreement;
4 Termination shall be effected by written or electronic notice and the agreement ends at the moment of receipt;
5 According to standards of reasonableness and fairness, the parties are obliged after termination to compensate each other for the damage suffered, provided it is demonstrated. Except in circumstances as referred to in Article 12 paragraph 2 of these conditions. The compensation cannot exceed the agreed removal price.

ARTICLE 13 –

Payment

1 Payment of the removal price shall be made in cash at the moment VDW Removals delivers the household goods at the destination, unless otherwise agreed. The customer must pay the removal price upon presentation of the invoice and against receipt issued by VDW Removals. Cash payment also includes crediting the amount owed to a bank or giro account designated by VDW Removals at the time of delivery, or payment using forms of electronic payment recognised by banks;

2 If, upon presentation of the invoice, it appears that the customer does not meet or will not meet their payment obligation, VDW Removals is entitled to suspend the (completion of the) removal. VDW Removals is then also entitled to store and sell the household goods, provided it has the court’s permission referred to in Article 8:1194 paragraph 2 of the Civil Code.

3 If it has been expressly agreed at the conclusion of the agreement that payment will not be made in cash upon delivery, but no payment term has been agreed, payment must be made within fourteen days after receipt of the invoice;

4 The customer is in default from the expiry of the payment date. After that date VDW Removals sends a payment reminder and gives the customer seven days to pay after receipt of this reminder. If payment is still not made after the reminder expires, VDW Removals is entitled to charge statutory interest from the expiry of the payment date and all reasonably incurred extrajudicial collection costs;

5 If the contracting party is not the same as the owner of the household goods, VDW Removals makes separate arrangements with the contracting party about payment of the costs arising from the agreement and about delivery if the owner is not accessible. If the contracting party fails to meet its payment obligations, the owner of the household goods is liable for the payment of the removal costs;

6 Set-off against claims for payment of the removal price is not permitted, unless the parties agree otherwise in writing or electronically.

ARTICLE 14 –

Liability of VDW Removals

1 If VDW Removals fails to fulfil the obligations imposed on it under Article 9, it is liable for the resulting damage unless the failure was caused by a circumstance that a diligent VDW Removals could not have avoided and the consequences of which such a VDW Removals could not have prevented. When determining the extent of material damage due to damage to or loss of goods, Article 4 paragraph 3 also applies. In the case of delay damage, VDW Removals is not liable for damage exceeding the removal price; the customer must prove the extent of the delay damage;

2 VDW Removals cannot disclaim its liability by invoking:
– the defective condition of the vehicle used for the removal;
– the defective condition of the equipment used, unless provided by the customer; equipment does not include a ship, aircraft or rail wagon on which the vehicle used for the removal is carried;
– the defective condition of support points used for fixing hoisting equipment or for using a removal lift;
– any damage to the household goods caused by third-party acts not at the customer’s risk.

3 VDW Removals that fails to meet its obligations is liable for the resulting damage unless the failure is due to special risks associated with one or more of the following circumstances:
– packing or dismantling, or unpacking or assembling household goods by the customer or by any person or means provided by the customer at their own initiative;
– assistance during the removal by the owner of the goods, their relatives, friends or third parties asked by them to assist;
– the customer’s choice—although VDW Removals offered another option—of a method of packing or execution of the agreement that differs from what is customary for the agreed removal;
– the presence among the goods of items for which VDW Removals, if it had been informed in accordance with Article 8 by the customer of their presence and nature, would have taken special measures;
– the nature or condition of the goods themselves, which are subject to loss or damage solely due to causes inherent in that nature or condition, such as leakage, emptying or melting of other goods forming part of the contents, the dying of plants; loss of banknotes, documents of value, precious metals, coins and medals, precious stones, pearls, documents and collections, unless the customer handed these items to VDW Removals separately and stating quantity and value before the removal began;
– the malfunctioning of electrical, electronic and mechanical equipment.

4 When VDW Removals proves that the failure to fulfil its obligation could have resulted from one or more of the special risks mentioned in paragraph 3, it is presumed that the failure results therefrom, without prejudice to the customer’s right to provide counter-evidence;

5 VDW Removals is liable for wrongly leaving behind or wrongly taking items from the loading places if this was or should have been known to him;

6 If the customer fails to appear, refuses to receive goods or does not receive them promptly, or if goods are seized, VDW Removals is entitled to store these goods for account and risk of the entitled party in a suitable place. He must inform the customer in writing or electronically as soon as possible;

7 Without prejudice to this article, VDW Removals is not liable for damage other than caused by failure to fulfil its obligations referred to in Article 9 of these conditions.

ARTICLE 15 –

Liability of the customer
1 The customer is liable for the costs and damage suffered by VDW Removals as a result of not providing or insufficiently providing the information referred to in Articles 7, 9 and 10, unless this cannot be attributed to the customer.
2 Except in cases of force majeure, the customer is obliged to compensate VDW Removals if the removal agreement cannot be executed or not as agreed due to the customer’s act or omission. The compensation amounts to a maximum equal to the removal price. In case of cancellation, Article 13 applies.
3 The customer shall indemnify VDW Removals on first request if VDW Removals is held liable by third parties outside the agreement for damage or financial loss—including criminal fines—connected in any way with the execution of the removal agreement by VDW Removals, its employees and agents, if such damage results from the customer’s conduct or omission contrary to any legal provision, such as the unlawful presence in the contents of narcotics, pornographic literature, unlicensed software, etc.

ARTICLE 16 –

Damage notification
If damage is observed upon delivery of the household goods, the customer must report this to VDW Removals during the removal. If there is no opportunity to establish damage upon delivery, the customer must declare this in writing or electronically beforehand or at the latest upon delivery. It is strongly recommended to notify VDW Removals of damage in writing or electronically within two working days after the removal. If VDW Removals has not received such notification within fourteen days after the removal, it is deemed to have carried out the removal without visible damage.

ARTICLE 17 –

Compensation in case of liability
1 If it is not possible to claim under the insurance referred to in Article 4 of these conditions, the compensation payable by VDW Removals for failing to fulfil its obligations (Article 9) is limited under Article 8:1182 BW (€23,000 per household contents);
2 If VDW Removals undertakes in one and the same agreement to move more than one household contents, the liability referred to in paragraph 1 applies per contents;
3 VDW Removals cannot rely on any limitation of its liability insofar as the damage is caused by its own act or omission, with intent to cause such damage, or recklessly and with knowledge that such damage would probably result;
4 Damage to the contents up to and including €150 (excess) is for the customer’s account; for damage above €150, VDW Removals can be held liable for the full damage amount minus the excess, without prejudice to the other paragraphs of this article;
5 All claims founded on or related to the removal agreement become time-barred in accordance with the Civil Code one year after delivery of the household goods.

ARTICLE 18 –

Complaints
Complaints about the execution of the agreement must be submitted to VDW Removals fully and clearly described, in a timely manner after the customer has discovered the defects. Failure to submit the complaint in time may result in the customer losing their rights in this regard.

ARTICLE 19 –

Applicable law
Dutch law applies to agreements concluded, amended or supplemented on the basis of the AVV, unless mandatory rules provide otherwise.

ARTICLE 20 – Amendments.

ARTICLE 21 – Citation title