Terms of Service

 

Any person who completes an order on the David l’instant chocolat website, accepts the general terms and conditions of sale without restriction.

1. General remarks

The general terms and conditions of sale (hereinafter the « TCS ») are established by the Swiss company L’Instant Chocolat Sàrl, registered in the commercial register of the Canton of Valais under number CH-114.769.627, with registered office at Ecoparc de Daval C 30, 3960 Sierre (hereinafter « L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT »).

L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT creates and manufactures in Switzerland under the Swiss trademarks "DAVID CHOCOLATIER" and "DAVID L'instant chocolat" registered respectively on July 17, 2017 and September 22, 2020 (hereinafter the « Trademarks ») high-end and premium chocolates, nougats and confectionery (hereinafter the « Products »), marketed through its website at www.davidchocolatier.ch (hereinafter the « Site ») in Switzerland, Albania, Germany, Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Cyprus, Denmark, Spain, Finland, France, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macedonia, Monaco, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Slovenia, Sweden, the Czech Republic, and the Vatican City (hereinafter the « Countries »).

 

2. Scope

The TCS apply to all Products sold exclusively on the Site.

The Products are exclusively intended to be sold to final consumers, natural or legal persons, browsing the Site and purchasing Product(s) for themselves or for a third party (hereafter the « Customer »). The Customer declares that he/she is buying the Products for personal, family or domestic use and not reselling them for commercial purposes.

Furthermore, the Customer confirms that he/she is at least 18 years old when purchasing one or more Products containing alcohol. If this minimum age is not reached when purchasing the Product containing alcohol, the sale will be refused.

L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT reserves the right to update the TCS at any time, which are accessible on the Site by clicking on the link « General Terms and Conditions of Sale ». If they are amended, the TCS applicable to the Customer are those in force at the time the Customer places his/her order (hereafter the « Order »), as defined in article 3.2 of the TCS.

 

3. Conclusion of the sale agreement

3.1. Identification and account creation

In order to place an Order with L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT on the Site via the Shop, the Customer must first provide personal and up-to-date information, such as his/her surname, first name, company name, address, e-mail address, telephone numbers (private and mobile), user name and password (hereinafter collectively referred to as the « Personal Data »), which will enable him/her to create and register an account on the Site (hereinafter referred to as the « Account »), and to access it via the « Menu » by clicking on the button marked « connection ». When the Account is created, the Customer also has the possibility of subscribing to the Newsletter created by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT to be informed of events, new products, or discoveries that it offers.

The Customer guarantees the authenticity and accuracy of his/her Personal Data.

As soon as the Customer's Account is registered on the Site, the Customer will receive an e-mail from L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT confirming his e-mail address (as an identifier) and his password, both of which constitute the access codes on the Site of L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT (hereafter the « Access Codes »).

Creating an Account allows the Customer to:

  • Track deliveries of Products and view the history of his/her Orders;
  • Add or modify his/her delivery and billing addresses for future Orders.

The Customer also undertakes to update his/her Personal Data registered on his/her Account.

The Customer shall ensure that his/her Personal Data, which are strictly personal to him/her, are always kept secret and safe. He/she therefore undertakes never to communicate them to third parties.

L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall in no case be held responsible for any fraudulent use, loss or theft of the Customer's Account resulting from the access by a third party. In all the above cases, the Customer undertakes to notify L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT in writing immediately.

The confidentiality policy of the Site (hereafter the « CP »), accessible on the Site, is defined by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT and concerns the use of the Customer's Personal Data, which he/she has accepted to communicate on the Site.

The Customer has complete information on the use that may be made by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT of his/her Personal Data, in article 4 of the TCS as well as in the CP.

With a view to proceed with the payment of the Product(s), the Customer will be asked to confirm his/her acceptance of these TCS in force at the date of his/her Order, at the time of each purchase of a Product on the Site. The TCS may be accessible by the Customer before and at the time he/she is asked to confirm acceptance thereof.

By ticking the box provided for this purpose, the Customer acknowledges having read, understood, and accepted without reservation the present TCS and the CP of L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT.

The Data recorded by the Site constitutes proof of all transactions between L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT and the Customer. In the event of a dispute between L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT and the Customer regarding a transaction carried out on the Site, the Data recorded by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall be considered as valid and conclusive evidence of the content of the transaction.

The Customer may deactivate his Account at any time by sending a request to this effect by e-mail to Customer Services via the « Contact » section. After deactivating his/her Account, the Customer is free to create a new Account at any time.

 

3.2 Order terms and procedure
3.2.1 Selection of Products and payment

The Site allows the Customer to order from L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT a selection of Products bearing the Trademarks and presented on the Site for delivery in one or more Countries.

The Customer may place an Order for one or more Products on the Site. Certain Products offered on the Site may contain alcohol. Therefore, the Customer chooses the desired Product by clicking on « Select » and then clicking on the « With Alcohol » or « Without Alcohol » option in the drop-down menu. In addition, the Customer always has the possibility to check for each Product offered on the Site under the heading « ALL ASSORTMENT » whether the Product is available for sale. To this end, the indication « Available » appears in green for each Product offered, if this is indeed the case.

Once the Customer has chosen the Product and the quantity, he/she clicks on « Basket » to place this Product in his/her « Basket ». The Customer may then decide to continue shopping by clicking on « Continue Shopping » and add it to his/her Basket (subject to availability) or proceed to payment by clicking on « Proceed to Payment ». The Customer may also remove one or more of the selected Products from the Basket by clicking on « Remove » next to the selected Product.

 

3.2.2 Acknowledgement of receipt of Order by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT

Once the Customer has placed an Order on the Site, he/she will receive from L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT an acknowledgement of receipt of the Order by e-mail, stating the details of the Order. The acknowledgement of receipt of the Order, which has the value of an invoice, contains a reference number allocated by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT, which the Customer is requested to keep carefully (hereinafter the « Reference Number »). This Reference Number is useful for any subsequent request or search for information concerning the Customer's Order. This acknowledgement of receipt of the Order does not constitute acceptance of the Order by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT.

 

3.2.3  Order Confirmation by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT

Once L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT has sent the Customer an acknowledgement of receipt of the Order, including the Customer's payment for the Product(s), L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT will carry out the usual security and anti-fraud checks and will then process the Order.

If L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT accepts the Customer’s Order, L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT will confirm its acceptance by sending a detailed acknowledgement of receipt by e-mail to the address provided by the Customer, indicating the total amount of the Order, the quantity of Products purchased and information about the costs and delivery times.

L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT reserves the right to refuse or cancel a Customer's Order, notably in the following cases:

  • L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT is involved in dispute with this Customer concerning a previous Order,
  • The payment is refused by the banking institution or payment centre,
  • L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT reasonably believes that the Customer has violated the TCS and/or the Privacy Policy, or that the Customer is engaged in any fraudulent or criminal activity,
  • For any other legitimate reason, such as incomplete or erroneous information provided by the Customer.

If, for any reason whatsoever, L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT is unable to fulfil the Order, it will inform the Customer as soon as possible either by e-mail or by telephone to the address indicated by the Customer on the Site. In this case, the Customer will be offered either to order another Product presented on the Site as a replacement, or to replace a variety that makes up the Product with another variety, or to cancel the Order and the corresponding amount will not be debited from the Customer’s bank account.

 

3.3. Availability of Products

The Products and prices offered by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT are those that appear on the Site within the limits of available stocks. In addition, the Customer always has the possibility to check for each Product offered on the Site under the heading « ALL ASSORTMENT » whether the Product is available for sale. To this end, the indication « Available » appears in green for each Product offered, if this is indeed the case.

If the Product is no longer available, the indication « temporarily unavailable » appears in grey for the Product concerned. In this case, the Customer will not be able to click on the Basket to order the Product on the Site. The Customer, who wish to order a Product that is temporarily unavailable, may contact Customer Services by telephone or by e-mail at david@instant-chocolat.ch or by sending a message in the « Contact » section of the Site to find out about its possible availability, indicating the telephone number at which L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT may contact him/her. The Customer will be informed by Customer Service as soon as possible, either by telephone or by e-mail, of the date from which the Product will be available again and can be ordered on the Site.

 

3.4. Products overview

It is the Customer's responsibility to check the accuracy of the selection of the Product(s) before confirming the Order. While every effort is made to ensure that the packaging, appearance, colour, design and composition of the Products displayed on the Site are faithful to the original Products, variations may occur, due notably to technical limitations in rendering colours on the Customer's computer equipment, seasonality or the manufacturing process of the Product used. Consequently, L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT cannot be held responsible for non-substantial errors or inaccuracies in the photographs or graphic representations of the Products appearing on the Site and for variations resulting from the seasonality or the manufacturing process of the Product used. In the event of questions about the Products, the Customer may of course contact Customer Service by telephone, or by e-mail at david@instant-chocolat.ch or by a message in the « Contact » section of the Site, indicating the telephone number at which L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT may contact him/her.

 

3.5. Improper use of the Products

The Products marketed on the Site by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall be protected against humidity, high temperatures or intense light. The Products are fresh Products, which shall therefore be kept at an ideal temperature of 15 to 20 degrees and protected from light and shall be consumed within a certain period. For this purpose, an expiry date is indicated on the packaging of the Products.

Some Products that contain alcohol should be kept out of the reach of babies, infants, and young children, regardless of the level of alcohol therein contained.

Some Products may contain peanuts, lactose, or other ingredients subject to allergies or intolerances. It is the Customer's responsibility to ensure in advance that the Products ordered for themselves or a third party do not contain any food/ingredients to which they or the third party are allergic or intolerant.

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT cannot exclude that some Products that do not contain allergens, such as peanuts, have been in contact with products that contain such allergens.

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall not be liable for any damage caused by improper use of its Products, as defined in the preceding paragraphs.

 

3.6. Price

The prices of the Products on sale on the Site are in Swiss francs, all taxes included (TTC). They include the VAT of 2.5%. For Orders delivered in one or more Countries other than Switzerland, the VAT is deducted from the prices of the Products shown on the Site. L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT reserves the right to modify the price of its Products at any time. The prices of the Products invoiced to the Customer at the time of delivery are those in force at the date of the Order and which appear on the Order confirmation issued by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT.

The prices of the Products do not include shipping costs.

 

3.7. Shipping costs

Regardless of the shipping country of the Order, which the Customer selects during the validation process of the Order basket, the Customer shall be required to pay a separate shipping charge in addition to the price of the Product(s). Shipping costs are determined according to the weight of the Order and the Country to which the Order is shipped.

 

3.8. Customs duties and taxes

Any customs duties and taxes specific to each Country, except for delivery in Switzerland, are the responsibility of the Customer and shall be paid by the Customer, in addition to the amount of the Order and any shipping costs. Depending on the law in force in the Country of destination of the Customer's Order, they may be duly claimed from the recipient of the parcel, even if this is the Customer, who placed the Order, and the recipient is not the Customer. It is therefore the Customer's responsibility to contact the competent authorities in his/her Country or in the Country of the recipient of the Order.

 

3.9. Secure payment

Regardless of where the Customer is domiciled, payment for the Product(s) is made on the secure PayPal platform using a payment card or the Twint digital payment application. The payment cards currently accepted are: Visa, MasterCard, American Express, PostFinance, Diner Club International.

The Order will be considered effective after confirmation of the agreement of the bank payment centre.

In accordance with the regulations in force, and to ensure the security and confidentiality of their information, L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT does not store its Customers' bank details. Therefore, the Customer shall save and print his/her payment certificate if he/she wish to keep the payment details relating to his/her Order.

The payments processed by the Site of L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT are subject to a security system of the highest level to date: PCI DSS level 1 certification. This international standard, established by the main players in the market (MasterCard, Visa, American Express) governs the security requirements for international payments:

  • Setting up, management, and maintenance of a secure network
  • Cardholder data protection
  • Implementation of a vulnerability management program
  • Implementation of effective access control measures
  • Continuous and regular monitoring and testing networks
  • Establishment of an information security policy

 

3.10. Mode of delivery

The Products are delivered, according to L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT 's choice, by Swiss Post (hereinafter the "Post") or Planzer Transport AG (hereinafter "Planzer") in all Countries to the address indicated by the Customer during the Order process on the Site.

For reasons of speed and to avoid having to store the Products in postal warehouses, L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT sends all Orders delivered within Switzerland by post from Monday morning to Wednesday noon (except on public holidays). L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT may sometimes use, for reasons of speed, local delivery services other than those of the Post or Planzer, namely Dring Dring when its Products are delivered to Vevey or Sion and Green Bell when its Products are delivered to Crans-Montana.

When Products are delivered to Countries other than Switzerland, the Post or Planzer will carry out the customs clearance formalities and hand over the parcel to the addressee, according to the information and address indicated by the Customer during the Order process on the Site.

 

3.11. Delivery time and problems

L ’INSTANT CHOCOLAT and its partners La Poste, Planzer, Dring Dring and Green Bell make every effort to meet delivery dates and times.

Delivery times given as an indication are generally around 1 to 3 working days for Switzerland, 3 to 4 working days for Europe and 4 to 5 working days for Canada from the forwarding by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT of the acknowledgement of receipt proving as confirmation of the Order.

As delivery times are longer during holiday periods, particularly in December, Orders must be placed by the Customer on the Site either by 9 December at the latest for delivery on 24 December, or by 24 December at the latest for delivery on 1 January.

In periods of high temperatures, particularly during heat waves, L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT may add cooling means to the shipment but reserves the right to refuse the Order or postpone the delivery. In case of refusal of the Order or postponement of the delivery, L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT will contact the Customer within a reasonable period of time, either by e-mail or by telephone at the address indicated by the Customer on the Site.

Any defect or delay in delivery does not entitle the Customer to any compensation.

The Customer must check the conformity of the Product(s) at the time of delivery. Any anomalies noted (open package, Product damaged during transport, error on the references of the Product ordered by the Customer or defective Product) must be reported within 24 (twenty-four) hours of receipt, if possible on the delivery slip, in the form of handwritten reservations, accompanied by the Customer's signature and sent to Customer Services by e-mail to the address david@instant-chocolat.ch. If the Customer does not complain to L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT within this period, the delivery shall be deemed to have been accepted.

If the delivered Product does not correspond to the references of the Product ordered by the Customer, or if the delivered Product is defective, L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT reserves the right to request a photo of the delivered Product or any other means of proof.

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT will take the necessary measures to replace the delivered Product with another Product of the same price chosen by the Customer, or to reimburse the Customer in the form of a credit note for an equivalent amount, within 30 (thirty) days following the Customer's complaint accompanied by proof of the defect (photo of the delivered Product).

 

3.12. Assumption of risk and retention of ownership

All Products ordered remain the property of L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT until full payment has been received by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT. The Customer acknowledges the right of L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT to register the Products, which are the subject of an Order, in the Register of Reservation of Ownership of the Customer's domicile.

However, the Customer assumes the risk of loss, theft, or damage to the Products during transport from the date of confirmation of the Order by L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT in accordance with article 3.2.3 of the TCS.

 

3.13. Warranty for defects of the goods

The Products sold on the Site by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT are subject to the legal warranty conditions provided for in Articles 197 et seq. of the Swiss Code of Obligations (CO), to the exclusion of all other guarantees.

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall deliver to the Customer a Product that conforms to the sales contract and is defect-free in conformity at the time of delivery of the said Product, in the sense that the Product shall be fit for the purpose usually expected of a similar good and shall have the characteristics presented at the time of sale.

In the event of a lack of conformity of the Product (error on the references of the Product ordered by the Customer or defective Product), the Customer will be able to obtain from L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT either the reimbursement of the total price of the Product by means of a credit note, or its replacement, provided that he/she sends his/her complaint accompanied by the proof of the defect by e-mail to the Customer Service at the address david@instant-chocolat.ch or by a message in the “« Contact » section within 24 (twenty-four) hours following receipt of the Product. When making a complaint, the Customer shall indicate the telephone number at which L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT can contact him/her.

The costs of returning the Products shall be borne by L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT, which shall arrange for the return itself, provided that the Customer has notified L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT in writing in advance.

 

4. Protection of Personal Data

Regardless of the nature of the Customer's Personal Data, which he/she has communicated to L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT, either in application of the TCS, or which L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT collects in an automated manner, L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT undertakes to make every effort to process them with the strictest confidentiality, to ensure their protection and to use them strictly and exclusively for the purpose of meeting Customer's requests or improving services which may be offered to the Customer on the Site.

However, the Customer may at any time exercise his/her right of access, rectification, or opposition to his Personal Data from his/her Customer Account or by sending an e-mail to L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT at the address david@instant-chocolat.ch.

 

5. Force majeure

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall not be liable for any delays in the delivery of the Products resulting from events beyond its control, such as force majeure, traffic jams, extreme weather conditions or detention of the Products by customs authorities. These events do not constitute grounds for cancellation of the sales contract between L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT and its Customer. The Customer shall not be entitled to any compensation for damage suffered in connection with the occurrence of one or more of these events.

 

6. Responsibility

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT shall not be liable:

  • In case of stock shortage or unavailability of Products, as defined in article 3.3 of the TCS.
  • For direct or indirect damage resulting from improper use of the Products, as defined in article 3.5 of the TCS.
  • In case of default or delay in delivery, as defined in article 3.11 of the TCS.
  • In case of force majeure.
  • In the event of loss, theft or damage to the Product during transport, irrespective of the method of delivery, or damage resulting from improper storage after the Product has been handed over to the Post or to Planzer, or after the Product has been delivered to the Customer or his/her auxiliaries.
  • For direct or indirect damage resulting from access to or use of the Site or parts of it, as well as from the impossibility of accessing or using it.
  • For any risks related to the installation of software that may allow the consultation of the Site or for any damage resulting from transmission errors, technical defects, overloads or interruptions of communications.

 

7. Intellectual Property

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT benefits from all exclusive exploitation rights on all elements (drawings, models, illustrations, images, soundtracks, texts) constituting the Site. The Customer and any visitor to the Site are prohibited from reproducing in whole or in part, by any means whatsoever, from distributing, publishing, transmitting, modifying, or selling all or part of the content of the Site, or from creating works derived from it.

L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT benefits from all exclusive exploitation rights on the Trademarks as well as on all other trademarks and logos related to L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT, registered or not, appearing on the Site, as well as on the domain name "DAVIDCHOCOLATIER.CH". Any reproduction, distribution, transmission, modification or use of the Trademarks and/or any other trademarks and logos related to L'INSTANT CHOCOLAT and/or the domain name " DAVIDCHOCOLATIER.CH " for any reason whatsoever is prohibited.

The Customer and any visitor to the Site are not permitted to remove any work appearing on the Site that is protected by copyright, any Trademarks, other signs, or any other content contained therein. The Customer and any visitor to the Site may make a single copy of the web pages published on the Site for their own private, personal, and non-commercial use, provided that any copy of such web pages retains all mentions of "copyright" and exclusive rights of use contained therein.

 

8. Applicable law/place of jurisdiction

The rights and obligations arising from these TCS, as well as from any sale to which these TCS apply, shall be governed exclusively by Swiss law. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with the execution or interpretation of the TCS or any sale to which they apply shall be governed by Swiss law, whether such dispute is in contract or tort. The application of the 1980 United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods is expressly excluded.

The courts of the Canton and Republic of Sierre, where L’INSTANT CHOCOLAT has its head office, shall have exclusive jurisdiction, appeals to the Swiss Federal Court being reserved.