Standard Terms and Conditions for ordering, activating and using Kaufland Gift Cards

1. General information about Kaufland gift cards

The provisions set forth in these Standard Terms and Conditions governing Kaufland Gift Cards (hereinafter „Terms and Conditions“) apply to Kaufland gift cards issued by Kaufland Dienstleistung GmbH & Co. KG (hereinafter the „Retailer“), Rötelstraße 35, 74172 Neckarsulm, Germany (hereinafter the „Card“). The Card is a non-personalized card which is loaded with credit once only. The Card cannot be re-loaded with credit.

1.1. The purchase and/or use of the Card is governed by these Terms and Conditions, which constitute a contract between the Retailer and the cardholder (hereinafter „Cardholder“). The contract language is German. By purchasing and/or using the Card, the Cardholder agrees to the application of these Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions may be viewed at any time at all Kaufland stores, and will also be made available free of charge by the Retailer on its current website giftcard.kaufland.com (hereinafter the „Retailer's Website“) via the „Terms and Conditions“ link. The Cardholder may request a copy of the Terms and Conditions at any time prior to purchasing a Card, or may download the Terms and Conditions at any time from the Retailer's Website.

1.2. The Card is solely intended as a method of making the payments described in these Terms and Conditions. In these Terms and Conditions, the terms „You“ or „Your“ refer to the Cardholder. The terms „We“, „Us“ or „Our“ refer to the Retailer, including its agents, employees and subcontractors.

2. Purchase and activation of the Card

The Cards may be ordered through the online shop at giftcard.kaufland.com or purchased at Kaufland Stores throughout Germany („Kaufland Stores“).

2.1. Only customers who are 18 years of age or older at the time of ordering/purchasing are eligible to buy Cards.

2.2. If You order the Card through the online shop, You will receive the Card by mail (physical card) or as an electronic document (PDF file). Please note that You cannot use a Card until it has been activated. At the latest, the Card will be automatically activated 3 months after it is mailed (see clause 6).

You can activate the Card by logging in to the online shop at giftcard.kaufland.com and following the prompts. Once you log in to your account, you can view the electronic Card(s) you have ordered and activate, download or print them out. You must activate the Card(s) to redeem them. When ordering physical Kaufland Gift Cards: Once we receive payment, we will mail you the Kaufland Gift Cards to the address you provided. You will generally receive the Gift Cards within 3–5 business days. For security reasons, we will not mail you activated physical Gift Cards. In case of loss of a Card activated prematurely by the customer, the Retailer shall not be obliged to replace the Card.

2.3. If You purchase the Card at a Kaufland Store, it will be activated automatically upon payment at the checkout.

3. Use of the Card

3.1. The Kaufland gift card is redeemable in all Kaufland stores in Germany. The gift card is not redeemable in the Kaufland online shop (www.kaufland.de) because products of third party providers (Marketplace) are offered there in addition to Kaufland's own products. It may not be redeemed at gas stations operated by Kaufland. The balance may not be paid out in cash.

The gift cards offered by Kaufland entitle holders solely to purchase goods and services and also meet the criteria of section 2 (1) no. 10 of the German Payment Services Supervision Act (Zahlungsdiensteaufsichtsgesetz – ZAG). Therefore, this constitutes a benefit in kind under section 8 (1) sentence 3 of the German Income Tax Act (Einkommenssteuergesetz – EStG) in conjunction with the German Federal Ministry of Finance (Bundesministerium der Finanzen – BMF) letter dated March 15, 2022 ("Distinction between cash benefits and benefits in kind" (Abgrenzung zwischen Geldleistung und Sachbezug) (margin no. 9, specifically margin no. 10 d)).

In its letter dated March 15, 2022, margin no. 27, the BMF expressly reserves the right to make an assessment that differs from the classification under supervisory law. As such, only the tax authorities can make a legally binding assessment. In case of doubt, a tax advisor should be contacted or the individual facts clarified with the tax office responsible for the permanent establishment in the context of a request for information (Anrufungsauskunft) under section 42e EStG.

3.2. The credit loaded on the Card does not bear interest.

3.3. Any resale or other disposal of the Cards for consideration is prohibited.

3.4. In principle, the Card may be used to make payments in all domestic Kaufland Stores. In certain situations it may not be possible to use the Card to make payment, e.g., for technical reasons. Such cases shall not give rise to any claim for damages.

3.5. You may check the credit balance of Your Card by following the link on the website giftcard.kaufland.com and entering the barcode number (hereinafter „Balance Request“). Balance Requests can also be made at the checkout. As use of the Card is anonymous, We are unable to provide You with any further information about individual payment transactions.

3.6. If You believe Your Card is faulty, please let Us know without undue delay, either by calling Us at 0800 1528352 or sending Us an e-mail to kundenmanagement@kaufland.de. If the fault cannot be resolved, We will issue You with a new Card upon the return of the faulty Card. The new Card will be preloaded with the same credit balance as the old Card.

3.7. We may decline a transaction sought to be paid for with the Card in Kaufland Stores in the following circumstances:

3.7.1. If there are reasonable grounds for suspecting that execution of the transaction would constitute a criminal offense or be prohibited under anti-money laundering laws;

3.7.2. If the Card is blocked;

3.7.3. If the Card has insufficient credit.

3.7.4. In the event that the transaction is declined, You will be promptly notified that payment was unsuccessful during the payment process.

4. Fees

No fees apply to Card payments or credit balance checks.

5. Return

5.1. Except in the cases prescribed by law, activated Cards may not be returned.

5.2. It is not possible to have the remaining credit paid out in cash.

6. Validity

The Card is valid for three years from the date of activation. The validity period commences at the end of the month in which the Card is activated. Physical cards ordered through the online shop are activated in accordance with clause 2.1 by the customer logging in and following the prompts, but are automatically activated no later than 3 months after they are mailed.

7. Irreversible nature of payment transactions

7.1. Please note that once You have used a Card to make payment, We are no longer able to stop the relevant transaction and payment. Payment transactions authorized using the Card cannot be reversed.

7.2. Card transactions are anonymous; therefore, We are unable to provide details of the person who authorized the payment transaction in each case. Except where clause 8.3 of these Terms and Conditions applies, We therefore do not accept liability for the loss, theft, misuse or other unauthorized use of the Card.

8. Your duties of care, Card security

8.1. You are required to keep the Card safe and protect it from access by unauthorized third parties.

8.2. Treat Your Card as if it were cash. The Retailer has no obligation to replace Your Card if it is lost, stolen or misused.

8.3. If You report the loss or theft of Your card (by providing proof of purchase and the Card number) to Us in a timely manner (in other words prior to any unauthorized Cardholder using the lost or stolen Card) so the Card can be blocked before being used, We will block the lost or stolen Card and provide a new Card loaded with the amount of credit remaining on the blocked or lost Card. You must provide evidence of the loss/theft of the Card in the form of a report of loss or theft before We issue a new Card. We shall not be liable for the loss of the credit on Your Card for as long as and to the extent that You do not notify Us of the loss or theft in accordance with this paragraph and We are unable to verify the loss or theft.

9. Complaints

If You are in any way unhappy with Your Card or with the nature and way in which We organize Our service, You may contact Our Customer Service Team by calling 0800 1528352 or by sending an e-mail to kundenmanagement@kaufland.de.

10. General liability of the Retailer

10.1. We and all of Our representatives, employees, and agents shall only be liable for loss or damage caused by intentional or grossly negligent acts or omissions.

This does not include liability:

In such cases, Our liability shall be unlimited for any loss or damage intentionally or negligently caused by Us. If We negligently breach material contractual obligations, Our liability shall be limited to reasonably foreseeable loss or damage. Material contractual obligations are those that are pivotal to the performance of the contract and which You may reasonably expect to be fulfilled.

10.2. We do not accept liability for loss or damage resulting from force majeure, riots, war, natural disasters or other events outside Our control.

10.3. You must report loss or damage to Us without undue delay. We may ask You to provide information about the loss or damage that is or may be relevant in light of the above provisions on liability in order to make sure that We have the necessary information as early as possible so as to be able to take action to mitigate the loss.

11. Data protection

The personal data collected if You exercise Your right to return the Card is electronically processed and stored by the Retailer for this purpose alone. Please see Our privacy policy for further details.

12. Governing law

12.1. The contract between You and Us and these Terms and Conditions are governed by German law. However, if the law of the country in which You have Your habitual abode prescribes mandatory consumer rights that apply to You and which are more favorable than those under German law, the more favorable rights will continue to apply to You.

12.2. If You are a person or entity transacting in a commercial or professional capacity („Commercial Operator“) (Unternehmer) within the meaning of section 14 of the German Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch – BGB), the courts of Heilbronn shall have jurisdiction to hear all disputes arising in connection with these Terms and Conditions.

12.3. Should any provision of these Terms and Conditions be or become invalid, either in whole or in part, this shall not affect the validity or enforceability of the other provisions hereof.

12.4. To communicate with Us, please contact Our hotline at 0800 1528352 or send Us an e-mail to kundenmanagement@kaufland.de.