Last updated: May 2026
These General Terms and Conditions (GTC) govern the use of the online directory Handwerk.direkt., accessible at hwdirekt.de, operated by Wrdiland UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Berliner Str. 35, 03046 Cottbus, Germany (hereinafter: "Provider"). The GTC apply to entrepreneurs within the meaning of § 14 BGB — in particular craft businesses creating or claiming a listing — as well as to consumers using the directory to search for tradespeople. Deviating or supplementary terms of the user shall not form part of the contract unless the Provider has expressly agreed to them in writing.
Handwerk.direkt. provides an online directory for craft businesses in Germany. The Provider enables users to find craft businesses by location, trade, and other criteria. The directory serves exclusively to present and improve the discoverability of craft businesses; no job placement, brokering of contracts, or services agreements of any kind are facilitated. The Provider makes no representations as to the quality, reliability, professional suitability, or trustworthiness of listed businesses. All information contained in a listing — including any indication of registration in the craft chamber roll (Handwerksrolle) or possession of a master craftsman title (Meistertitel) — is based solely on self-disclosure by the respective business; the Provider does not independently verify professional licensing, qualification, or registration status. The accuracy, completeness, and currency of listing information, as well as compliance with applicable professional regulations, are the sole responsibility of the respective businesses. The Provider reserves the right to modify, expand, restrict, or discontinue the offering at any time; the user has no claim to the maintenance of any particular service.
Use of the directory as a visitor is possible without registration. Certain features — in particular creating or claiming a business listing and booking paid services — require the creation of a user account. Registration is completed by providing a valid e-mail address, choosing a password, and confirming the e-mail address via an activation link. Users are obliged to provide only truthful and complete information at registration and to keep it up to date. Sharing login credentials with third parties is prohibited. Only one account may be created per business. The Provider is entitled to suspend or delete user accounts without giving reasons, in particular where there is reasonable suspicion of misuse or breach of these GTC.
Handwerk.direkt. offers three listing tiers: Basic (free of charge), Plus (paid), and Premium (paid). The scope of services for each tier and the applicable prices (incl. statutory VAT where applicable) are available on the website hwdirekt.de. A contract for paid services is concluded when the user selects the desired tier and completes the booking process on the platform. Paid subscriptions are billed on a monthly basis and renew automatically unless cancelled before the end of the current billing period. Billing and payment processing is handled by the payment service provider Stripe, Inc. In the event of payment default, the Provider is entitled to restrict access to paid features until all outstanding amounts have been settled in full. The Provider reserves the right to adjust prices with four weeks' prior notice; where a price change constitutes a material deterioration in value for the user, the user is entitled to extraordinary termination.
Business owners have the option to claim an existing listing on the platform (known as a "claim"). Verification is carried out by confirming a business-owned e-mail address, to which a confirmation link is sent. The Provider may, in individual cases, request additional proof of ownership. Upon a successful claim, the verified user obtains the right to edit the listing, upload content, and book paid services. The fraudulent claiming of listings that do not belong to the user is prohibited and may result in the immediate suspension of the account and extraordinary termination of the contractual relationship.
For content uploaded by the user to the platform (e.g. photos, company logo, descriptive texts; hereinafter: "Content"), the user hereby grants the Provider a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide, and time-unlimited right to reproduce, distribute, edit, and make publicly available such Content for the operation and further development of the platform. The user confirms that they hold all necessary rights to the uploaded Content, that it is free of conflicting third-party rights, and that it does not violate applicable law. For persons depicted in photographs, a valid consent must be in place. The user indemnifies the Provider against all third-party claims arising from a breach of these obligations. Upon termination of the contractual relationship, the Provider is entitled but not obliged to delete uploaded Content.
The Provider is liable without limitation in accordance with statutory provisions for damages arising from injury to life, limb, or health, in cases of fraud, wilful misconduct, or gross negligence, to the extent of any guarantee assumed, and under the provisions of the German Product Liability Act. For slightly negligent damage to property or financial losses, the Provider is only liable for breach of a material contractual obligation (cardinal obligation), the fulfilment of which is essential to the proper performance of the contract and on which the user is entitled to regularly rely; in such cases, liability is limited to the foreseeable, contract-typical damage at the time of conclusion of the contract. All further liability of the Provider is excluded. In particular, the Provider accepts no liability for the accuracy, completeness, or currency of listing information submitted by users, for the quality or reliability of listed businesses, or for the availability of the platform. These limitations of liability also apply to the personal liability of the Provider's employees, representatives, and officers.
The protection of personal data is of paramount importance to the Provider. Information on which personal data is collected, the purposes for which it is processed, and the rights of data subjects is set out in the Privacy Policy available at hwdirekt.de/datenschutz. Personal data is processed exclusively on the basis of applicable data protection law, in particular the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the German Federal Data Protection Act (BDSG).
The European Commission provides a platform for online dispute resolution (ODR), accessible at: https://ec.europa.eu/consumers/odr. The Provider is neither willing nor obliged to participate in dispute resolution proceedings before a consumer arbitration board. For questions, concerns, or complaints, the Provider can be contacted at info@hwdirekt.de.
The law of the Federal Republic of Germany applies, to the exclusion of the UN Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG). The exclusive place of jurisdiction for all disputes arising from or in connection with these GTC shall be Cottbus, provided the user is a merchant, a legal entity under public law, or a special fund under public law; otherwise the statutory place of jurisdiction applies. The Provider reserves the right to amend these GTC at any time with effect for the future. Users will be informed of material amendments by e-mail to the address on file; if the user does not object to the amendment within six weeks of receiving the notification, the amendment shall be deemed approved. The notification will expressly draw attention to the right to object and the legal consequences of failing to object in time. Should any individual provision of these GTC be or become wholly or partially invalid or unenforceable, this shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions; the invalid provision shall be replaced by the legally permissible rule that comes closest to the economic purpose of the invalid provision.