Contract for regular servicing of an asset. Sets out scope of services, intervals, response times, exclusions, prices, term and termination.
A maintenance contract (Wartungsvertrag) obliges a service company to service an asset at fixed intervals. It is a continuing obligation. Depending on how it is drafted, it is classed as a contract for work or a contract for services, often with elements of both. Its content decides whether it actually relieves the operator: scope of services, intervals, response times, exclusions, prices and how they adjust, term and termination. Whether the contract also includes inspections by competent persons or approved inspection bodies is not given by itself, and this question often goes unaddressed.
Legally, the contract does not change the operator's duties under the BetrSichV, it only regulates who carries them out. Servicing has to follow the manufacturer's information (§ 10 BetrSichV). Where a contract is based on the service company's template, German standard terms law applies even between businesses: provisions that unreasonably disadvantage the other party contrary to good faith are invalid, and so are provisions that are not clear and comprehensible (§ 307 BGB, applicable in business dealings through § 310(1) BGB). In addition, either side can terminate a continuing obligation for good cause without notice (§ 314 BGB), and for a breach of duty usually only after an unsuccessful cure period or a warning.
The cost drivers are mostly in the fine print: automatic renewal, a long initial term, a price adjustment clause, flat fees for travel and emergency service, exclusions for wear parts or operating errors, and limits on liability. Check what the flat fee actually covers and what is billed extra at an hourly rate. With several sites, compare the contracts by the same criteria, or you will not notice the same service being paid for at different prices. vi reads the scope of services, deadlines and price rules in the contract and compares them with the invoices.
What matters
- Check that all assets are listed in the contract with type and serial number.
- Clarify whether inspections and inspection fees are included, and note what is not.
- Watch the term, automatic renewal and notice period, and put the termination date in your calendar.
- Read the exclusions and the price adjustment clause closely.
- Specify which records must be delivered after every visit.
Suppose the contract for a refrigeration system lists two service visits a year but does not mention leak checks. The operator finds that such checks are required for his charge. He adds them, including the record of top-up quantities, as a separate item and notes the end of the initial term in his calendar.
In the original wording
“Provisions in standard terms and conditions are invalid if, contrary to the requirements of good faith, they unreasonably disadvantage the other party to the contract. An unreasonable disadvantage may also result from the provision not being clear and comprehensible.”
Unofficial translation
“Either party may terminate a continuing obligation for good cause without observing a notice period.”
Unofficial translation
Related regulations
In vi
- Service contracts: Scope, price and deadlines of every contract at a glance