TERMS & CONDITIONS
GENERAL CONDITIONS OF SALE FOR ECOMMERCE AND VIRTUAL SPACE SERVICES OF FORTIS SWITZERLAND
1. APPLICABILITY
The following conditions and any other related terms made available as provided herein (the “General Conditions of Sale”) shall apply to all sales of Fortis Products that you (the “Customer”) may order from Fortis Watches AG, John Harwood-Strasse 13, 2540 Grenchen, VAT number CHE-134.921.950 (“Fortis”) on the Internet via Fortis’ Website (or by phone), under the URL “www.fortis-swiss.com” (the “Website”).
These General Conditions of Sale apply solely to sales made online through the Website by individuals.
The General Conditions of Sale are applicable to any order placed through the Website. When you place an order and check the “I have read and I accept the General Conditions of Sale” box at the payment section of the Website, you indicate your acceptance of these General Conditions of Sale. If you refuse to accept these General Conditions of Sale, you will not be able to order any Fortis products from the Website.
When using the Website, you will be considered, by virtue of such use, to have agreed to be bound by these General Conditions of Sale, by our Website Terms of Use and by our Privacy Policy.
From time to time, Fortis may modify these General Conditions of Sale in its sole discretion. Please check our Website on a regular basis to be informed of any changes. If you do not agree to changes brought to the General Conditions of Sale, you should contact us and refrain from making any online order of Fortis products through the Website.
2. ORDERING FORTIS PRODUCTS
2.1. ELIGIBILITY TO PURCHASE OUR FORTIS PRODUCTS
Individuals ordering Fortis Products on the Website must (a) have reached the age of legal majority and (b) have legal capacity to enter into contracts. Only individuals are eligible to purchase Fortis Products on this Website. If you are under the age of majority or otherwise cannot lawfully enter into a contract, only your parent or guardian can place an order on your behalf and thus consent to these General Conditions of Sale. Any orders contrary to this provision will be null and void.
By placing an order on the Website, you confirm that you are purchasing the Fortis Products in good faith and will not purchase, deliver, sell or otherwise distribute Fortis Products for commercial purposes or for any commercial benefit. Fortis Products may be purchased for yourself or for the benefit of another individual to whom you are making a gift (“Gift Recipient”).
2.2. PRODUCT AVAILABILITY
Fortis reserves the right to modify the selection of Fortis Products proposed on the Website and may limit the quantity of Fortis products that a customer can order. All orders placed on the Website are subject to availability and acceptance by Fortis.
You will find information regarding Fortis Products that are currently available for sale on the dedicated “product” pages of the Website.
2.3. CREATING AN ACCOUNT OR USING THE GUEST CHECKOUT
In order to place an order on the Website, you may register and create a personal account available on the Fortis Website. You will be required to provide valid and accurate personal information, such as your family name, first name, home address, phone number, email address, and to confirm that you have reached the age of majority.
You can also place an order as a guest without creating an account. You can decide to create your Fortis account later, upon receiving your order confirmation. Such account will not include transactions made prior to the creation of the account though.
Once you have completed the registration of your account on the Website, you will receive an email with a one-time password in order to create a permanent account login and a new password. The personal information you submitted in registering for your online account will be provided to you in a subsequent email. You are responsible for ensuring that your account credentials, including your password are kept secret and secure. Fortis will not be held responsible or liable for the misappropriation or any misuse of your account resulting from a third party’s access to and use of your password and account login.
Our Privacy Policy will inform you on how we use your personal information. If you select the “Guest Checkout” option on the Website, no online account will be created, and we will only use your personal information for the purpose of processing your order.
You are responsible to inform us of any change in your personal information. Please login to your account and update such information directly on the Website or notify Fortis at the following e-mail address: info@fortis-swiss.com. Should Fortis reasonably suspect that a third party has breached a customer’s account or has misused a customer account credentials, Fortis shall immediately cancel and terminate such account and contact you by other means (e.g. via email or phone).
2.4. PROCESSING YOUR ORDERS
When selecting a Fortis Product on the Website, click on the “add to my basket” button to place this product in your shopping basket. You may continue shopping for other products and add them to your shopping basket (subject to availability and quantity limits) or proceed to “checkout” by clicking on this button.
You may also remove one or several Fortis Products you have selected by selecting “X” next to the chosen product in the shopping basket.
Please carefully review your orders on the payment page, click on “I have read and I accept the General Conditions of Sale” and finalize the order by clicking on “Purchase”.
You may be invited to provide additional personal information when placing an order on the Website or through the Virtual Space Service, such as shipping and/or billing address and payment details. You warrant that all personal information given to Fortis is true and accurate. Fortis or its third-party providers may collect additional information at this time for security and anti-fraud purposes.
Notwithstanding anything to the contrary provided for herein, Fortis reserves the right to refuse, cancel and terminate orders at any moment and at its sole discretion. This can occur if there is an ongoing dispute concerning payment of a prior order or if Fortis suspects a violation of these General Conditions of Sale.
2.5. ORDER VERIFICATION
You are responsible to verify and confirm all details on the payment page before placing your order through the Website, including without limitation the specific details of each order.
2.6. ORDER ACKNOWLEDGMENT
Fortis will send you an order acknowledgement by email, once you have placed your order on the Website, acknowledging the details of your order. This order acknowledgment contains an order number assigned by Fortis that you can use for future inquiries regarding your order. This order acknowledgement does not constitute acceptance of your order by Fortis, nor create a contract between you and us.
2.7. ORDER CONFIRMATION
Following completion by Fortis of its anti-fraud, security and related legal checks and subject to product availability, Fortis will prepare your selected Fortis Product(s) for shipment and send you by email a written order confirmation. The order confirmation constitutes the acceptance of your order by Fortis and forms a binding contract between Fortis and yourself.
2.8. ORDER SHIPMENT
Upon shipment of your order, Fortis will send you a notice by email that the Fortis Product(s) are being shipped and delivered to the address that you have indicated in your order. The invoice of your purchase will be attached to this notice.
3. PAYMENT
3.1. INFORMATION ABOUT PRICES, TAX AND DELIVERY COSTS
All Prices are shown either in CHF, EURO or USD depending on your personal location or the shipping address.
Prices in CHF and EURO are incl. VAT. Prices in USD are excl. VAT, customs and duties.
If there is no price next to the product you are probably in a country where we do not have the online shop available. In that case please follow the button to get redirected to one of our local online-partners or visit a local dealer if available. If none of these options is available, please contact us directly – we will find a solution.
Fortis reserves the right to change or adapt prices and shipping costs at any time without prior notice. The price of a product and shipping costs displayed on the Website will be confirmed by Fortis in the corresponding order confirmation.
Actual delivery costs and applicable taxes will be indicated on the payment page before you are invited to confirm and place your order.
Note that changes to applicable law related to the VAT and the sale taxes may occur between the date your order is placed and the date the product is shipped. We will contact you and ask that you reconfirm your purchase if the resulting change is an increase in the VAT or sales tax you are charged
Such costs and taxes will be indicated on your order confirmation email and on your invoice. Note that Fortis will not send the invoice and payment details to a Gift Recipient, if applicable, but to you.
All orders in CHF or EUR get shipped fully insured by a courier. Furthermore, we ship those orders with duties and taxes paid (DDP) so that there will be no further costs to you.
All orders in USD get shipped fully insured by a courier. We ship those orders without duties and taxes paid (DAP) so that there might be further costs to you.
3.2. PAYMENT METHODS
3.2.1 BANK TRANSFER/ CREDIT / DEBIT CARDS
Payment must be made before the shipment of the Fortis Products, either by bank transfer or by credit/ debit card, like Visa or Mastercard, Paypal, and other payment providing technologies. The available supported payments cards are shown to you at the check-out page.
For Website orders, you will need to enter your payment details in or into the appropriate form. Payment information will be processed by a third-party processing entity. Fortis and its third-party processing entities undertake to employ all reasonable measures to process, store and maintain your information in compliance with applicable law as further provided in Fortis’ Privacy Policy.
All credit/debit card holders are subject to verification, validation checks and authorization by the card issuer. If the issuer of your payment card refuses to authorize payment to Fortis, you need to contact your card issuer directly to resolve the issue. Fortis will not be liable for delay or non-delivery.
You also expressly authorize Fortis to perform a credit card check to transmit or to obtain information (including any updated information) about you to or from third parties for the purpose of processing your credit card transaction, including but not limited to your credit-card number, to authenticate your identity, to validate your credit card, to obtain an initial credit card authorization and to authorize individual purchase transactions.
The full amount of the Purchase Price will be reserved on your credit card until your order is shipped to the shipping address you have provided to Fortis, at which time you will be sent an order confirmation email and your credit card will be charged the full Purchase Price.
Fortis takes precautions, such as administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information against loss, theft, and misuse, as well as against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Where personal information is collected on webpages, Fortis uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption. Note however that transmitting information over the Internet is not completely secure. Although Fortis will exercise reasonable care and implement safeguards to protect your personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of the data you transmit to the Website. Any transmission is at your own risk and Fortis cannot be held liable. Read our Privacy Policy to learn more about how we use and protect your information.
3.2.2 ADDITIONAL ONLINE PAYMENT METHODS
You may also have the option to pay by using additional payment methods like Paypal, Klarna, Sofort or Google-Pay, Apple-Pay, Twint or other under the conditions specified by each payment system. The available supported payments methods are shown to you at the check-out page.
3.2.3 FINANCING THROUGH BOB FINANCE, BRANCH OF VALORA SCHWEIZ AG – A THIRD PARTY FINANCE COMPANY INDEPENDENT OF FORTIS
Fortis is pleased to offer “qualifying” Customers the option to pay for watch purchase(s) through a deferred payment option that will allow the purchase price of a watch to be paid in installments.
This option is offered through Bob Finance, branch of Valora Schweiz AG which is a third-party finance company independent of Fortis. Hence, Fortis does not know and has no access to information that a Customer may share with Bob Finance, branch of Valora Schweiz AG in exploring a financing option.
Customers interested in exploring financing options for watch purchases may visit Bob Finance, branch of Valora Schweiz AG website (https://bob.ch/) to learn about the requirements and the specific terms that may apply to qualified customers, based on a credit review that will be performed by Bob Finance, branch of Valora Schweiz AG.
When choosing the third-party financing option on the check-out page, you will be redirected to BOB Finance website.
4. COURTESY OF FORTIS – COMPLIMENTARY SERVICES
Fortis is also offering to its customers the following Complimentary Services free of charge. The following services can be selected during the checkout process:
– Adjustment of the bracelet is available on certain watch models. When this option is available, indicate the size of your wrist in centimeters on our website
– Delivery without a Fortis box
5. SHIPPING AND DELIVERY
5.1. DELIVERY TIMES
Unless stated otherwise, the delivery time for a standard delivery is 2 to 3 working days after the issuing of the email with the order confirmation, but please note that these times are purely indicative. Fortis will endeavor its best efforts to process your order as soon as possible.
All orders made through www.fortis-swiss.com are limited to the territories listed with a currency indication in the website menu. You, as the Customer, must provide to Fortis a delivery address accordingly during the checkout process. We do ship within Switzerland, Europe and outside of Europe. All orders are delivered directly from Grenchen, Switzerland. Deliveries within Switzerland and Liechtenstein are free of charge.
The responsibility for the Fortis Products passes to the Customer when the carrier delivers the package or when the carrier hands the package over to the recipient. In order to guarantee high quality standards and fast delivery, we partner with the Swiss Post AG for deliveries in Switzerland. Outside Switzerland we use FedEx as delivering partner.
5.2. RECEPTION AND VERIFICATION OF THE FORTIS PRODUCTS
Fortis will use reasonable efforts to insure each purchased Fortis Product during the time it is in transit until it is delivered to you. We require the collection of an adult’s signature to confirm your receipt of each Fortis Product delivered, at which point responsibility for the purchased Fortis Products passes to you. If you have specified a recipient of the Fortis Product who is not you for delivery purposes (for example when you ordered the Fortis Product as a gift) then you understand and accept that evidence of a signature by such recipient (or at that delivery address) is evidence of delivery and fulfillment of the sale contract by Fortis and transfer of responsibility to the recipient in the same way as if the Fortis Product had been delivered to you directly.
You are required to verify the quantity and condition of the Fortis Products on delivery. Please inform the carrier immediately when receiving your order in case of apparent breakage or visible defects or damages to the package or to the Fortis Product. Please also notify Fortis Service immediately at the following address: info@fortis-swiss.com
6. RIGHT TO CANCEL THE CONTRACT / WITHDRAWAL RIGHT
You have the right to cancel the contract created by our written order confirmation without giving any reason fourteen (14) days from the day on which you acquire, or someone you nominate (other than the carrier) acquires, physical possession of the Fortis Products in your order.
To cancel the contract and return your Fortis Product(s), you must contact our Service and follow the instructions that will be given to you, or send us an unequivocal statement such as an e-mail to webshop@fortis-swiss.com or to the following address:
Fortis Watches AG
John Harwood-Strasse 13
2540 Grenchen
Switzerland
7. RETURNS
A Customer or Gift Recipient may return Fortis products in accordance with Fortis’ return rules. Returns that do not respect the conditions and timeframes set forth in clauses 7.1 to 7.4 may be refused by Fortis and will be sent back to the Customer or Gift Recipient, as the case may be, to the respective shipping address of the intial product order.
7.1. TIMEFRAME TO RETURN Fortis PRODUCTS
The Customer or Gift Recipient is allowed to return Fortis Products purchased on the Website following the purchase order subject to the further conditions set forth in clauses 7.1 to 7.4.
7.2. PROCESS TO RETURN Fortis PRODUCTS
Only Fortis Products that have been purchased on the Website may be returned to Fortis – and exclusively to the address indicated below, following these procedures.
If a Customer or Gift Recipient wishes to return a product to Fortis, then such person must comply with the following steps:
To return an item please send an email to webshop@fortis-swiss.com and highlighting the order you wish to return. A Customer Service representative will then contact you as soon as possible to provide you with the necessary return information.
In addition, all products must be returned with the original receipt, in an unused state and in brand-new condition, with all original shipping and product packaging, protective materials, and tags in place. Fortis will not accept any return if the product shows signs of wear or has been used or altered from its original condition in any way.
Upon receiving a return, Fortis will verify that the returned Fortis Product satisfies the conditions of the return rules. Fortis will apply a strict Quality Control. If the Products do not meet Quality Control standards, Fortis will refuse the return, and the Fortis Products will be sent back to the Customer or the Gift Recipient, as applicable. If the returned Fortis Product satisfies the Quality Control, Fortis will proceed with the applicable refund.
If everything is in order, we transfer the paid amount back (if taxes were excluded, we cannot pay back the taxes to you. Please contact your importer)
Possibly incurred and by you paid shipping costs are not refundable.
If the return shipment is not complete or has defects, we will contact you again.
Only a customer will be entitled to receive a refund. In no event will a Gift Recipient be eligible to receive a refund. Fortis will use reasonable efforts to credit the refund to the Customer’s credit card or Paypal/SOFORT account, no later than fourteen (14) days after receipt of the returned item by Fortis Customer Service Center.
7.3. EXCEPTIONS TO THE RETURN OF A PRODUCT
Fortis Products that have been customized or engraved cannot be returned to Fortis for refund.
Watch bracelets that have been adjusted at the Customer’s request must be returned with the exact same number of links as in the original delivery package.
7.4. Fortis PRODUCT WITH A DEFECT
Fortis exercises extreme care to ensure that each Fortis Product strictly complies with our strict quality criteria and that it has passed all technical and aesthetic controls.
Should you receive a Fortis Product which seems to be damaged, please return it to Fortis in accordance with our return rules. Items that are damaged as a result of wear are not considered to be defective.
If your Fortis Product is determined to be defective by Fortis, Fortis will propose you (or the Gift Recipient) the following options:
– We send you the same Fortis Product in the exact same size, subject to availability, or
– We replace the Fortis Product with another Fortis Product of equivalent or higher value, in which case the initial price will be deducted and you will be required to pay only the difference.
8. REPAIRS BY FORTIS
Any manufacturing defect is covered by an international warranty, as specified on our Website. You are invited to contact the Fortis Service for any inquiries concerning repairs or refer to the section “Repair Request” of our Website. Please contact us by emailing sav@fortis-swiss.com
9. ACCURACY OF PRICING AND PRODUCT DESCRIPTIONS
While Fortis endeavors to verify the correctness of any information it places on its Website, in advertisement or catalog, but makes no warranties, whether express or implied, in relation to the accuracy, reliability and completeness of such information.
Fortis only confirms the price of a Fortis Product with the issuance of an order confirmation, indicating the existence of a binding sales contract. If a Fortis Product’s correct price is higher than the price posted on our Website, Fortis will either contact you for instructions before shipping the order or cancel the order and notify you of such cancellation.
Information on the Website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without any representation or endorsement made, and Fortis makes no warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, in relation to such information, or any transaction that may be conducted on the Website including, but not limited to, the implied warranties of merchantability, satisfactory quality, fitness for a particular purpose, reasonable care and skill, or non-infringement, in no event will Fortis be liable for damages other than actual direct damages proven in court of law.
Fortis will make every effort to ensure that the Fortis Product descriptions, photographs or graphical representations displayed on the Website or in a catalog are as accurate as possible. Nevertheless, Fortis does not warrant that such materials or other content is error-free, whether as a result of inaccuracy, omission, desuetude or otherwise. The Customer’s sole remedy in the event of any such error is to return the product as set forth in the return conditions stated above.
10. GENERAL PROVISIONS
In the event that certain provisions of these General Conditions are declared void or partially invalid, the other clauses shall remain unaltered in their force and effect. The invalid provisions are replaced by the applicable legal provisions of Swiss law including that which is not provided for in these General Conditions of Sale.
These General of Sale constitute the entire agreement between you and us in relation to the order of products or services and replace and extinguish all prior agreements or undertakings of any nature made by the parties, whether oral or written, in relation to such subject matter.
Without limiting the scope of these General Conditions of Sale, no request whatsoever concerning delivered products, the non-delivery of products or any other request may exceed the amount of the purchase price of the products which led to a claim for damages. In no event shall Fortis be held liable for indirect, incidental or consequential damages of any kind arising in connection with its products, their use, their sale or this Website.
The waiver by us of a breach of any provision of these General Conditions of Sale will not operate and/or be interpreted as a waiver of any other or subsequent breach.
This contract is between us and you. No other person shall have any rights to enforce any of its terms. However, if you purchase a product as a gift, the recipient of your gift will have the benefit of the applicable international warranty.
11. APPLICABLE LAW AND JURISDICTION
These General Conditions of Sale shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Switzerland without reference to conflict of laws provisions. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or in relation to the General Conditions of Sale, including the validity, invalidity, breach, or termination of the General Conditions of Sale, shall be arbitrated in accordance with the General Conditions of Sale.
You may bring proceedings against us either in the courts of Solothurn, Switzerland.
Without any restriction to bring proceedings before a court, you and Fortis Watches AG will first make reasonable efforts for a period of thirty (30) days to resolve amicably any dispute or failure to agree that may arise out of or relate to the Fortis Product, the General Conditions of Sale or any breach thereof.
Fortis Watches AG – September 2023
