Terms and conditions

1. Scope

These Terms & Conditions apply to all contracts between ELFA UG (haftungsbeschraenkt), Pullach im Isartal, Germany ("VQ1") and its customers regarding the services and products offered on the VQ1 platform. The version valid at the time the contract is concluded shall apply. Deviating terms of the customer shall not become part of the contract unless VQ1 expressly agrees to their validity in writing.

2. Conclusion of Contract

The presentation of products and analyses on the platform does not constitute a legally binding offer but an invitation to order. By submitting an order via the "Order with obligation to pay" button, the customer makes a binding offer. The contract is concluded once VQ1 accepts the order by confirmation via email or by providing the service.

3. Prices and Payment

The prices stated at the time of the order apply. All prices include statutory VAT. Payment is processed via the payment service provider Stripe (Stripe Payments Europe, Ltd.). Upon completing the order, Stripe's terms for the respective payment method additionally apply. The payment methods available to you are shown during checkout before you place the order. For subscriptions, the agreed amount is charged recurrently at the respective billing date until the subscription is cancelled.

4. Digital Content and Analyses

VQ1 creates rule-based nutrition and requirement analyses for horses based on the information provided by the customer (e.g. questionnaire, hay analysis, lab values). The quality of the evaluation depends on the accuracy and completeness of this information. The analyses are provided as digital content. Regarding the expiry of the right of withdrawal for digital content, see the separate withdrawal policy.

5. No Substitute for Veterinary Treatment

VQ1's analyses and recommendations serve as nutrition-related information and do not replace veterinary diagnosis, advice, or treatment. In case of health problems of the horse, a veterinarian must always be consulted. VQ1 makes no medical healing promises.

Right of Withdrawal

(1) Consumers have a statutory right of withdrawal. The details follow from the separate withdrawal policy, which forms part of this contract, including the model withdrawal form. (2) Exclusion for the individually mixed supplementary feed: Under Sec. 312g(2) no. 1 BGB, there is no right of withdrawal for goods that are not prefabricated and for whose production an individual selection or specification by you is decisive. The supplementary feed mixed specifically for your horse falls under this provision; we point this out to you clearly before you place your order. (3) Digital analysis content: The right of withdrawal expires under the conditions of Sec. 356(5) BGB if we began performance only after your express consent and after you acknowledged that you thereby lose your right of withdrawal. (4) Voluntarily extended return period: By law, you have two weeks after a withdrawal to hand back what you received; we voluntarily extend this to thirty days from the day on which you notify us of your withdrawal. Your statutory rights remain unaffected.

Voluntary 30-Day Satisfaction Guarantee

(1) In addition to the statutory right of withdrawal, we grant you a voluntary 30-day satisfaction guarantee. It applies alongside your statutory rights and does not restrict them. (2) If you are not satisfied within 30 days of delivery, we will refund the purchase price of the analysis. The supplementary feed mixed specifically for your horse is excluded from the voluntary refund because it is produced individually for your horse; your statutory rights remain unaffected. (3) The voluntary guarantee expires as soon as you download or access the digital analysis content; any statutory rights remain unaffected. (4) The details are governed by the guarantee terms.

Subscription, Term and Cancellation

(1) For a subscription (recurring analysis/delivery), the scope of services, the delivery interval and the total price due per billing period follow from the product description in the order process. (2) Term/cancellation: The minimum term is 3 months with monthly billing. The subscription is offered with terms of 3, 6 or 12 months; the term chosen in the order process is the minimum term of your subscription, and the monthly price for each term follows from the product description in the order process. After the chosen term has expired, the subscription can be cancelled monthly with 1 month's notice to the end of a month. In addition, you may cancel within the first 30 days after the contract is concluded. These provisions stay within the limits of Sec. 309 no. 9 BGB; any automatic renewal takes place only within the legally permissible limits and always transparently. (3) Cancellation button (Sec. 312k BGB): A subscription concluded online can be cancelled at any time via the button „Cancel contracts here“, which is easy to find; you will receive a confirmation stating the date and time. (4) The right to terminate for cause remains unaffected.

Use of data for research purposes

We would like to use data from our analyses to help improve the understanding of equine health. The work is carried out within VQ1 by our own team and at universities and scientific research institutions — for example for doctoral theses and scientific studies. Whether your data is used for this is entirely your decision. This contract is not the legal basis. Any use for research purposes takes place solely on the basis of a separate, explicit consent that you give independently of concluding the contract (its own opt-in, not a bundled checkbox). Without that consent, no research use takes place. Voluntary, with no disadvantage. Consent is not a condition for using our services. Your analysis, its result and all other services run independently of it and at the same quality — even if you do not consent or later withdraw your consent. What would be used. This would cover the details about your horse and its care (such as breed, age, weight and body condition, housing, use, ration and analysis results). Your contact details — name, e-mail address, phone/WhatsApp number and postal address — are not included. Pseudonymised, not anonymous. Before any research use, the data is separated from your contact details and held under an identifier instead of your name (pseudonymisation). Deliberately not fully anonymised: only this way can your data still be found if you withdraw your consent. Fully anonymised data could no longer be attributed to anyone — a withdrawal would then no longer be practicable. Withdrawable at any time. You may withdraw your consent at any time and without giving reasons, with effect for the future, most easily in your account under “My data & privacy”. This does not affect the lawfulness of use up to that point; scientific analyses already published cannot be retracted. Details — in particular purposes, legal bases, recipients and storage periods — are set out in the privacy policy.

Automated analysis of uploaded photos

DRAFT — not yet approved by our lawyer. (1) Photos you upload in the questionnaire (for example a photo of your horse or the label of a feed) may be analysed automatically once we offer this feature: to assess your horse's body condition from a photo and to read the ingredients from a label photo. (2) Both features are currently not in operation. Until then, the photos are only stored. (3) An automated analysis does not replace a professional review. Every analysis is reviewed by a professional before it is released. (4) We record which version of these terms you accepted and when. Details on how your data is processed and on your rights are set out in the privacy policy.

6. Liability

VQ1 is liable without limitation for damages resulting from injury to life, body, or health, as well as for damages based on intent or gross negligence. For slight negligence, VQ1 is liable only in the event of a breach of an essential contractual obligation (cardinal obligation), limited to the foreseeable damage typical for the contract. Any further liability is excluded. Liability under the Product Liability Act remains unaffected.

7. Final Provisions

The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, excluding the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods. Mandatory consumer protection provisions of the state in which the customer has their habitual residence remain unaffected. Should individual provisions of these Terms be invalid, the validity of the remaining provisions remains unaffected.

DRAFT — to be reviewed by a lawyer before go-live. These Terms are a draft and must be legally reviewed before going live.