General Terms and Conditions of Use (T&Cs) for MYCITYSECRET GmbH

The online platform ‘www.mycitysecret.com’ (hereinafter referred to as “MCS”) is an interactive city portal, which offers different businesses an opportunity to advertise. Every visitor to our website can find information on the particular products and services offered by this company. Registered users (”Members”) also have the option of publishing their own contributions free of charge (e.g. comments or “Secrets”), communicating with other Members and utilising the other products and services of MCS.

Our online platform has two areas: a public area open to all users and a private area for registered Members only. Users can register for free to make more extensive use of our service.

We want to use our city portal to introduce individual urbanites like you to the companies appearing on our website and bring these companies closer to you.

1. Operator and Contractual Partner

MYCITYSECRET GmbH, represented by Ms Greta Becker of Speicherstrasse 33, D-60327 Frankfurt am Main, Germany, incorporated in the Companies’ Register B under the number 85223 at Frankfurt County Court, is the operator of the online portal www.mycitysecret.com (hereinafter referred to as “MCS”) and the contractual partner for its users.

2. Basic Users and Registered Users (”Members”)

These Terms and Conditions of Use (T&Cs) make a distinction between basic users and registered users (”Members”).

Users of the online platform can search for companies free of charge without registering and also view ratings are deemed basic users.

Registered users (hereinafter referred to as “Members”) are all users that take advantage of the additional products and services from MCS and register to do so.

3. Scope of the General Terms and Conditions of Use

These Terms and Conditions of Use apply to the general use of the online platform www.mycitysecret.com and for using particular products and services. Certain products and services may be subject to additional terms and conditions; these are stated explicitly before the product or service is used.

These Terms and Conditions of Use shall apply exclusively. Any contradictory or alternative terms and conditions do not form part of this contract unless they have been expressly recognised by MCS in writing.

4. Establishment of the Usage Agreement

Users of this website hereby agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use when accessing and continually using MCS’ website.

Users that register on MCS and wish to become members are asked to agree to these Terms and Conditions of Use again as part of the registration process. By submitting the registration form, the user agrees to be bound by these Terms and Conditions of Use.

5. Products and Services for Members

Beyond the basic search function, Members are able to:

a) rate companies and their products and services that appear on the website;

b) make recommendations to other users;

c) actively participate in the MCS community;

d) apply for the free MYCITYSECRET loyalty card;

e) collect points in games;

f) take part in online competitions;

g) subscribe to the newsletter;

h) receive vouchers through the Internet site which can be redeemed at all MCS partner companies.

6. Registration

Using the online platform for anything other than the basic search function requires registration and the creation of a free Member’s account. The following details are required for this: title, first name, surname, gender, date of birth and email address. Additionally, Members must create a password at the time of registration, which they are obliged to keep secret from third parties.

After successfully registering, members can create an online profile so as, amongst other things, to give ratings, invite friends, make comments and get to know new people.

Registered Members must be over eighteen (18) years of age and capable of concluding the contract. Registered Members may use the online platform free of charge.

A member may only register once on MCS. Members confirm at the time of registration that they do not, and have never, held an account with MCS. It is not permitted to create multiple accounts with different usernames. Members must ensure that the details they give at the time of registration are true and accurate.

Members must not infringe the rights of third parties with their registration. Personal information or other details of third parties, such as names or email addresses, for example, may not be used without consent.

It is not permitted to use an alias, pseudonym or other fantasy name. Registering an account using inaccurate or extraneous information is also forbidden. A so-called “Nickname” may be used for the public user profile. Users must keep their registered details up to date during the time they hold their MCS membership.

A member may alter or remove registered information from his or her user account, provided that this does not contravene the aforementioned registration requirements.

MCS will immediately confirm receipt of the data submitted, by sending an email to the address entered during the registration process. Registration is only complete after the Member has clicked on the confirmation link sent through to him or her by email. After registration has been successful, the Member can login to the Members’ area using the username and password he or she has created. If the registration process is not completed, MCS will delete the account and all the details submitted.

It is only possible to identify a person on the Internet to a limited extent. For this reason, MCS cannot rule out that false contact details may have been provided. Therefore, MCS makes no guarantees as to the identity of the user; therefore each member must satisfy himself or herself of another Member’s identity.

A Member may not transfer his or her membership to a third party.

There is no entitlement to registration. MCS reserves the right to reject the registration or participation of an individual on objective grounds. If this occurs, MCS will immediately delete the registration details provided by the Member during registration and inform the Member of this fortwith.

7. Recommendations, Forum Contributions and Secrets

Members have the opportunity to rate companies that appear on the website of MCS, make recommendations and forum contributions, or share secrets.

MCS has the right, but is not obliged, to publish these contributions. Members do not have any entitlement to expect other content to be placed, or to remain, on the online platform.

8. Ratings

If Members wish to make their own ratings, these must be factual, constructive and fair with regard to the company in question.

So as to make all ratings comparable and transparent, every company and its products/services are rated using the same scoring procedure, which is based on a combination of grades and comments. The following rules apply to Member ratings:

Ratings must be true and be directly relevant to the company in question and its products/services.

Ratings should be positive or negative.

Ratings should describe the products and services and their quality as precisely as possible.

Ratings should contain a positive or negative recommendation for other MCS users.

Ratings and descriptions may not be submitted by the company in question or its employees.

Ratings may not be used implicitly or explicitly as a means of advertising;

to this end, ratings may not contain URLs, email addresses or telephone numbers.

Members must ensure that they do not libel others and/or promulgate untrue statements. If MCS becomes aware of such occurrences, it is entitled to delete the content, block that Member’s access or remove his or her account.

9. Rating and Weighting Guidelines from MCS

All companies will be displayed based on the relevant search criteria and key words, as well as by type of business/category. The order in which the companies appear is determined by their individual ratings. Companies with the highest ratings are shown at the top of the list. MCS’ rating and weighting guidelines are transparent and can be viewed at any time on MCS’ website. The overall rating as an average of all the individual ratings and the up-to-dateness of the rating are key. For positioning purposes, MCS has the right to weight those ratings more favourably which are made by members who provide a number of ratings regularly, as well as those ratings  routinely deemed helpful.

10. Technical and Other Standards

Members may not publish multiple versions with the same content or submit blank entries.

If a Member wishes to place certain content on the site which already exists as a separate computer file (e.g. a proprietary digital photograph or video, etc.) he or she must ensure that this file is saved in a suitable format (e.g. mpeg, jpeg), otherwise the upload may not be successful. MCS reserves the right to use other service providers to host files.

11. MYCITYSECRET Card

The MYCITYSECRET card is a loyalty card for all the MCS partner companies which appear on the online portal. Members can apply free of charge for the card via the website (www.mycitysecret.com).

So as to ensure that transactions are processed smoothly, each Member receives a card with an individual card number. Upon receipt of the card, the Member should sign the back of it. Cards may not be transferred to other people and may only be used by the card holder.

The MCS customer card entitles the Member to take advantage of the benefits specified by the MCS partner business. These benefits (e.g. discounts or bonuses) usually apply to particular products or services, or for a particular period. Details of the exact nature of the offer  are published by each partner company on MCS’ website; only the information appearing on www.mycitysecret.com is deemed valid. The same applies to any alteration or addition to the goods or services involved.

The MCS card must be presented to the MCS partner before making a purchase or placing an order. Members are only entitled to benefits on production of an MCS card.

Provided that the exact details of the offer do not say anything to the contrary, the MCS card entitles the holder to enjoy the offer or benefits provided by each MCS partner for the duration of the offer without any restrictions.

Benefits may be limited to certain products or product groups (e.g. they may exclude already reduced items). MCS partner companies provide more information about this on www.mycitysecret.com

Benefits may only be granted by the relevant partner company. Users may not claim against MCS, which merely acts as a broker for the offers of partner companies. MCS accepts no liability for offers not honoured by the partner company.

Partner companies have undertaken to provide the discounts and services as agreed with MCS in respect of the MCS card.
If a company refuses to accept the MCS card or denies the card holder a particular service, then the card holder should assert his or her claim with the company concerned directly.

There is no entitlement for MCS to fulfil this offer; claims for damages are hereby excluded.

The loyalty card remains the property of MCS. MCS retains all rights in respect of the loyalty card. No part of the card may be stored in an electronic retrieval system, transmitted or reproduced in any form (as a microfilm, photocopied, scanned or by any other means).

12. Points Collection Game

The points system introduced by MCS is a game for Members which aims to promote activity on MCS and communication between Members.

Certain actions performed by the Member (e.g. giving ratings, entering locations, inviting friends) earn MCS points, which are determined by MCS. An exhaustive points list, which explains the activities that earn points and how many can be earned from each activity, is available on the online portal www.mycitysecret.com; there is also a detailed explanation of and instructions for the game on this portal.

MCS reserves the right to alter the rules governing the points system at any time and without prior notice or agreement. Users are made explicitly aware that they haveno legal entitlement to be awarded points, even if the relevant activities have been carried out.

Falsified entries or ones which seek purely to acquire points rather than to make a sensible, qualitative contribution, will be deleted and no points will be awarded for these. The same conditions apply to points acquired through any other means of abuse.

In the case of abuse, MCS reserves the right to deduct points, block access or even delete a user’s account.

13. Rules for Participating in Competitions on MCS

MCS may periodically run competitions for Members. Participation in these competitions is free and no purchase is necessary.

Entries for online competitions can only be accepted via the MCS platform.

Competitions will be run by MCS in cooperation with selected partners (”Cooperation Partners”).

Prizes for the competitions are usually supplied by the respective Cooperation Partner (”Prize Sponsor”). MCS represents the Cooperation Partner while the competition is being run and pledges the prizes donated by them in their name. MCS is not hereby bound to provide a service, unless MCS itself is the Prize Sponsor.

Only those of legal age may participate.

Participants are responsible for ensuring that their email address and/or postal address is correct. The steps required to take part in a competition must be carried out within the time frame specified in the competition description. The electronically time-stamped receipt of registration for the competition on MCS serves to verify that entries were made before the closing date. All personal details must be correct to participate in the competition. If this is not the case, the participant concerned will be excluded from the competition.

Employees of MCS GmbH, the Cooperation Partners involved, as well as their employees and family members may not take part. People using any unauthorised means to gain an advantage or manipulate the system in any other way are also excluded from participating. In certain instances, competition winners may be disqualified and prizes reclaimed.

Winners will be informed in writing by MCS and their username published in the newsletter and on www.mycitysecret.com and/or the Cooperation Partner’s website. Winners agreeto this method of publication. MCS is entitled to provide the Cooperation Partner with the winner’s details so that the prize delivery can take place.If MCS only has the winner’s email address, he or she shall be informed by email. If no reply is received within two (2) weeks from the date notification is sent, the win expires and a new winner shall be drawn.

Objects used in the competition are for illustrative purposes only and may vary from the actual prizes. There may be differences in model, colour, etc. The Prize Sponsor may also substitute the prize for a similar object.

Complaints regarding the way a competition has been run must be made in writing to MCS within fourteen (14) days from the date the reason for the complaint arose. Complaints made by telephone or after this period will not be dealt with.

MCS reserves the right to terminate or cancel a competition at any time without prior notice or reason.

The data protection provisions set forth in the data protection agreement apply to participation in competitions on the platform.

MCS accepts no liability for any material defects and/or defects of title which may occur with the prizes sponsored by the Cooperation Partner.

There is no recourse to a court of law.

14. Newsletter; Receiving Emails

Members have the opportunity to subscribe to the newsletter from the menu. This newsletter will be sent regularly to the Member by email if he or she checks the appropriate option. The Member can unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time by removing this check mark and pressing the “Save Changes” button.

Additionally, Members can make changes in their “My Profile” section to ensure that they only receive information for particular areas of interest.

Members can unsubscribe from these messages at any time by clicking on the appropriate unsubscribe link in the message.

15. Gift Vouchers

The MCS gift voucher is a gift card that can be used at all MCS partner companies. Members can purchase vouchers for the following amounts: €25, €50 and €100. There is a dedicated order form to do so available on www.mycitysecret.com

Additional terms and conditions apply to the purchase of a gift voucher; these can be viewed atwww.mycitysecret.com/voucher/termsandconditionsand will be shown to the Member before he or she places an order.

16. Transfer of Rights

By making a contribution in a forum or on an alternative opinion page, or by placing other content on the Internet, a Member transfers, unconditionally and without any form of remuneration, all usage rights throughout the universe in perpetuity to MCS with the degree required to operate the online platform.

The Member also transfers to MCS the right to edit the content so as to improve its presentation on the website. This work may, for example, include editing the text, cropping uploaded images or reducing image sizes to create thumbnails. MCS may also include user-generated content in its own edited content and/or email newsletters and/or printed media (e.g. newspapers, advertising brochures, flyers, etc.) and/or the “Top 5″ or “Latest 5″ lists, or similar.

Furthermore, MCS has the right to grant general access to the content through other ways and means. In particular, MCS has the right to reproduce, publicise and render content at the highest quality possible on a variety of devices and various networks (public and private), and this includes the right to transfer the content to fixed or mobile devices of other users via UMTS or an XML interface, or as podcast or RSS feed.

MCS is permitted, in consultation with the Member, to assign tags (i.e. particular keywords) to Members and their content to help users when searching for other Members and content. Members are also permitted, in consultation with MCS, to use tags.

Members also agree to transfer the aforementioned rights to MCS even after the termination of this usage agreement.

MCS may transfer the aforementioned rights to possible Cooperation Partners to the same degree.

MCS is entitled, but not obliged, to observe the transferred rights, particularly those relating to the editing of content or the reproduction and/or distribution of the content as a physical work.

17. Observance of Third Party Rights when Placing Content

Members may only place content (opinions, text, photographs, graphics, etc.) they have created themselves or to which they already hold the rights. In particular, it is prohibited to place external brand names, texts, photographs, logos or drawings on the online platform without the permission of the rights holder.

Members assure MCS that they are entitled to transfer the rights to the content they place on the portal to the extent set forth above. They also confirm that they will not place content which is protected by third party copyright or other intellectual property rights, or that is illegal for other reasons.

Members are responsible for the content they place. MCS does not adopt third party content as its own. If MCS becomes aware that there is content saved on www.mycitysecret.com that infringes third party copyright or trademark rights, then MCS will immediately investigate the situation and remove the illegal content.

MCS reserves the right to make spot checks of Member content, to filter, block and, if necessary, to delete it without any justification.

10. Observance of Other Rights and Legislation

Members may only place content (opinions, ratings, comments, etc.) which does not infringe the personal rights of third parties (i.e. other users, companies, third parties) or impinge legal regulations. In particular, it is forbidden to use content that is untrue, offensive, pornographic, libellous – irrespective of whether this refers to other users, companies or other third parties – or that contravenes laws for the protection of children and young persons.

Members are responsible for the content they place. MCS does not adopt third party opinions and comments as its own. If MCS becomes aware that there is inappropriate content saved on its pages, then MCS will immediately investigate the situation and remove the illegal content.

MCS reserves the right to check, filter, block and, if necessary, delete Member content without justification.

18. Exemption of Liability by a Member

The Member indemnifies MCS against all claims which may be levied by a third party against MCS because of an infringement of that party’s rights or due to other statutory violations resulting from content placed by the Member.

If MCS is approached by another Member, company or third party because of illegal contributions, comments, ratings and/or user-generated content, then the Member indemnifies MCS against all liability and costs. In both cases, the Member assumes the costs for MCS’ legal defence, including all costs and fees.

19. Copyright and Trademark Rights

The content on this website is protected by law. It is strictly prohibited to transmit, process, distribute, publish, download or reproduce any protected content on this website, unless this is used as part of the intended use of this website or is explicitly agreed to in writing by MCS or stated in these Terms and Conditions of Use.

20. Availability of the Site

MCS’ site, and the pages and the offers on that site are normally available without interruption. No guarantee is made, however, that the website and its contents will be permanently available; the user has no entitlement to this effect.

21. Links

The pages on www.mycitysecret.com may contain various links to third party sites. MCS does not adopt the content of linked pages as its own and accepts no responsibility for the content of these linked sites. If MCS becomes aware that inappropriate content is saved on the linked pages, then MCS will assess the situation and remove the link immediately.

22. MCS’ Liability; Limitation of Liability

MCS is liable according to statutory provisions with the following limitations:

MCS accepts no liability for Members’ claims arising from the loss of data, provided that these losses could have been avoided had the Member regularly and thoroughly backed up all the relevant data.

MCS is not liable for contractually untypical or unforeseeable damages. This does not apply to damages to life, limb or health, those resulting from willful or gross negligence, a missing guaranteed characteristic or from the culpable infringement of an essential contractual obligation, which is imperative for the proper fulfilment of the contract and which a Contractual Partner has the right to rely on in normal circumstances (”Cardinal Duty”). This does not affect the liabilities detailed in the Product Liability Act (Produkthaftungsgesetz).

23. Alterations to the General Terms and Conditions of Use and Rules of Participation

MCS reserves the right to amend or add to these conditions giving appropriate notice.

MCS also reserves the right to remove or cease providing individual offers whilst ensuring that suitable notice is given and that the Member’s interests, to which he or she is entitled, are maintained.

The new General Terms and Conditions of Use or the Rules of Participation only apply when: (1) MCS has made the Member aware of the changes by email or at the login stage; and (2) the Member has not raised any objections within one (1) month of being informed of the changes. MCS will explicitly inform Members of this order when it notifies them of the changes. If the Member does not accept the new conditions, this will result in the usage agreement being cancelled from the Member’s side.

24. Termination of the Usage Agreement

Registered Members may terminate this usage agreement at any time with one (1) week’s notice by sending a written statement of intent (e.g. email, fax, letter) to MCS. MCS may terminate the usage agreement by giving four (4) weeks’ written notice from the end of the month.

This does not affect the right to termination ‘for cause’. Solid grounds for termination can be said to apply if the user infringes the rights of a third party or violates the guidelines on ratings.

Members are required to return their loyalty card to MCS if they decide to terminate this agreement. Terminating this agreement does not affect a Member’s right to use a voucher acquired through MCS, unless the reason for the termination is due to misuse of the voucher.

As a more lenient measure, MCS may temporarily suspend a Member’s account if he or she goes against these General Terms and Conditions of Use, so as to urge the Member to observe his or her obligations.

If access is blocked or in the case of MCS terminating an account ‘for cause’, the Member in question may not re-register on MCS or create a new account unless he or she receives express permission to do so from MCS.

MCS is entitled, but not obliged, to delete the account of the registered Member, including all the content placed on MCS, when the termination takes effect. The data protection agreement applies to the storage of personal details.

25. Concluding Provisions

The sole place of jurisdiction for any legal disputes resulting from this contract is Frankfurt am Main, Germany, provided that the Member is a merchant or does not have a general place of jurisdiction in their home country; this also applies in cases where the Member changes his or her place of residence to somewhere outside Germany after the contract has been concluded or at a time after legal proceedings have commenced.

If an individual provision of these General Terms and Conditions of Use is ineffective or become so, the other provisions remain in effect. A provision shall apply in place of the ineffective one that comes closest to the sense and nature of the ineffective provision.