Terms and Conditions
1. General information about the provider and scope of application
These general terms and conditions of business (hereinafter: terms) govern the operation of the online store on the pijavka.si website, the rights and obligations of the user or buyer, and the business relationship between the provider and the buyer. The terms apply to all customers and visitors of the website.
The provider and operator of the online store is:
Name: Hirudo, Andrej Hladnik s.p.
Registered office: Dekani 225 b, 6271 Dekani, Slovenia
E-mail: [email protected]
Telephone: Andrej Hladnik +386 41 633 711
Website: pijavka.si
Registration number: 9821236000
VAT identification number: 88603440
By placing an order, the buyer confirms that they are familiar with these terms and that they agree with them. The terms are accessible at any time on the pijavka.si website, and the buyer can save or print them.
Slovenian law applies to the business relationship between the provider and the buyer, in particular the Consumer Protection Act (ZVPot-1), the Electronic Commerce Market Act (ZEPT), the Code of Obligations (OZ), and the applicable European Union regulations on consumer protection. The terms do not interfere with mandatory consumer protection regulations; if an individual provision of these terms is in conflict with such mandatory regulations, the relevant mandatory regulation applies to consumers in its place.
2. Offer and nature of the goods
The subject of the online store's offer is:
- live medicinal leeches (genus Hirudo), available in three sizes: small (up to 0.8 g), medium (0.8–1.5 g), and large (1.5–3 g);
- education or training in the field of hirudotherapy.
In addition to the above, the provider also performs leech therapies (hirudotherapy service).
Medicinal leeches are live animals and perishable goods. This nature of the goods affects the course of the order, delivery, handling of the shipment, and the right of withdrawal from the contract, which is regulated in more detail below in these terms. When handling live leeches, due care on the part of the buyer during collection and proper storage are required.
The provider makes every effort to provide up-to-date and accurate information about the goods and services. Images and descriptions are informative in nature; since these are live animals, the size, appearance, and weight of an individual specimen may vary within the stated categories.
3. Prices
All prices are stated in euros (EUR). For consumers, prices are stated with value added tax (VAT) included, where it is charged (gross prices).
Prices are valid at the moment the order is placed. The price published at the time of placing the order is valid and is not changed thereafter, except in the case of obvious errors of which the provider notifies the buyer in good time. In such a case, the provider is not obliged to deliver the goods to the buyer at the obviously incorrect price, but enables the buyer to withdraw from the order or confirm the correct price.
Wholesale (B2B) prices are available upon registration and are stated without VAT (net prices); VAT is charged in accordance with the applicable regulations. A B2B business relationship is established with companies by providing the company name and tax number. Special terms and prices may apply to legal entities and business buyers; wholesale terms are not intended for consumers.
Delivery costs are not included in the price of the goods. The type and amount of any delivery costs are shown to the buyer before placing the order, as described in the section on delivery.
4. Ordering process and conclusion of the contract
The buyer places an order via the website through the following technical steps:
- selecting the goods and adding products to the cart;
- reviewing the contents of the cart, where the buyer can change quantities or remove products;
- entering the required information (first name, last name, e-mail, telephone, delivery address; for legal entities, the company name and tax number) and selecting the method of delivery and payment;
- reviewing the order summary together with the total amount, including any delivery costs, before confirmation;
- placing the order by clicking the button that confirms the obligation to pay.
Before finally placing the order, the buyer can at any time recognize and correct errors in entering data by returning to the previous order steps and changing the contents of the cart or the entered data. By placing the order, the buyer confirms the accuracy of the entered data.
After the order is placed, the provider sends the buyer an order receipt confirmation by e-mail with payment instructions. This confirmation does not mean that the goods have already been dispatched; the order status upon placement is "awaiting payment".
The sales contract between the provider and the buyer is concluded at the moment the provider sends the buyer the order confirmation by e-mail. For live animals, the time or date of delivery is additionally coordinated for carrying out the delivery (see the section on delivery).
The contract is concluded in the Slovenian language. The provider stores data about the order and the concluded contract in its information system in accordance with the applicable legislation; the buyer accesses the data about their orders via the e-mail received or the user account, if they have one.
The buyer is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the entered data. The provider is not liable for delays or errors in delivery resulting from incorrectly or incompletely stated data.
5. Payment
Payment is currently made by pro forma invoice or by bank transfer. After the order is placed, the provider sends the order confirmation and payment instructions (UPN or IBAN) by e-mail. The provider sends payment instructions with the appropriate reference number for each individual order.
Upon placement, the order is in the status "awaiting payment". The goods are prepared and dispatched only after payment has been received in the provider's bank account.
Card payment, payment via Apple Pay or Google Pay services, and cash on delivery are planned options that are currently not active. Until they are activated, payment by these methods is not possible.
The provider issues an invoice for the completed sale in accordance with the applicable legislation.
6. Delivery
Since the subject of delivery is live animals, the delivery is specially adapted to their nature.
6.1 Coordination of the delivery time
For live animals, the desired delivery date is mandatory. The provider coordinates the time or date of delivery with the buyer, as a rule by telephone, in order to ensure timely collection of the shipment and proper handling of the live animals.
6.2 Delivery services and costs
Delivery is carried out via Pošta Slovenije or a courier service. The type and amount of delivery costs are clearly shown to the buyer in the order summary before it is placed and before the payment obligation arises, so that before confirming the order the buyer knows the final amount, which includes the price of the goods and any delivery costs. The amount of the delivery costs depends on the selected delivery method.
6.3 Live delivery guarantee
The provider provides a live delivery guarantee: if the leeches are not alive upon collection, it replaces them free of charge. The conditions for exercising this are described in section 8.
6.4 Weather hold
In extreme temperatures, the provider holds the shipment until safe conditions for transporting live animals occur. During this time, the animal remains in the provider's care. The weather hold is intended to protect the animals' welfare and may affect the delivery date; the provider notifies the buyer of the hold and the new anticipated time.
7. Right of withdrawal from the contract
7.1 Live leeches – exception to the right of withdrawal
For live medicinal leeches, the consumer's right to a 14-day withdrawal from the contract does NOT apply. Leeches are live animals or perishable goods that cannot be returned for health and hygiene reasons.
This is a statutory exception to the right of withdrawal under ZVPot-1, which transposes Directive 2011/83/EU into the Slovenian legal order. The exceptions for which the consumer has no right of withdrawal include in particular perishable goods or goods with a short shelf life, and sealed goods that are not suitable for return for reasons of health protection or hygiene, if they have been unsealed after delivery. Live leeches meet these statutory conditions, so a return is not possible.
The consumer is expressly informed before placing the order that they have no right of withdrawal from the contract for the purchase of live leeches and also confirms this when placing the order. By confirming the order, the consumer declares that they are familiar with this limitation.
7.2 Education – service or digital content
Education or training constitutes a service or digital content. If the service is fully performed, or the supply of digital content begins, with the consumer's express prior consent and with their confirmation that they thereby lose the right of withdrawal, the right of withdrawal lapses.
Otherwise, in the case of education the consumer may withdraw from the contract within 14 days, without stating a reason, in accordance with ZVPot-1. The withdrawal is communicated by e-mail to [email protected]. The provider returns the payments received to the consumer in accordance with the law; if the consumer expressly requested that the performance of the service begin before the expiry of the withdrawal period, they pay a proportionate part of the price for the service performed up to the withdrawal.
8. Live delivery guarantee, complaints, and material defect
8.1 Exercising the live delivery guarantee
The live delivery guarantee is a voluntary contractual (commercial) guarantee that the provider offers in addition to the consumer's statutory rights. If the leeches are not alive upon collection, the provider replaces them free of charge. To exercise this guarantee, the buyer must report the problem within 24 hours of collecting the shipment, namely with a photograph or video of the shipment being opened. Timely reporting with photographic or video evidence is a condition for exercising the live delivery guarantee.
The buyer reports the problem by e-mail to [email protected] or to the provider's contact telephone.
The stated 24-hour period and the condition of submitting a photograph or video apply exclusively to this commercial live delivery guarantee and do not curtail the consumer's statutory warranty rights arising from a material defect, described in point 8.2.
8.2 Complaints and material defect
Regardless of the guarantee under point 8.1, the consumer is entitled to statutory warranty claims for a material defect in accordance with ZVPot-1, which these terms do not limit. A material defect exists when the goods do not have the properties necessary for their ordinary use, or the properties that were expressly or tacitly agreed or prescribed, taking into account the nature of live animals.
The consumer must notify the provider of a material defect in accordance with the statutory time limits; the time limit for notification and the duration of the provider's liability for material defects are determined by ZVPot-1 and are independent of the time limit for exercising the commercial guarantee under point 8.1. When exercising a claim arising from a material defect, the consumer describes the defect in more detail and enables the provider to inspect the goods or shipment.
Given the nature of the goods (live animals, perishable goods), we recommend that the buyer report the defect, or the fact that the leeches are not alive, immediately, as this facilitates determining the condition at collection; this recommendation does not interfere with the statutory time limits from the previous paragraph.
The buyer addresses complaints and warranty claims to the e-mail [email protected]. The provider responds to the buyer within a reasonable time in accordance with consumer protection legislation.
9. Protection of personal data
The controller of personal data is Hirudo, Andrej Hladnik s.p. (contact details are provided in section 1). The provider processes personal data in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR) and the applicable Slovenian legislation (ZVOP-2).
Buyers' personal data are processed for the execution of the order and the contract, the fulfilment of legal obligations (e.g. issuing invoices), the management of the user account, and, on the basis of consent, for notifications or marketing. The provider does not sell the data.
An individual has the right to access, rectification, erasure, restriction of processing, portability, objection, and withdrawal of consent. These rights are exercised by e-mail to [email protected]. An individual may lodge a complaint with the Information Commissioner of the Republic of Slovenia.
When using the artificial intelligence assistant on the website, data may be transferred to an external artificial intelligence provider outside the European Union (USA); such a transfer is based on appropriate safeguards (standard contractual clauses or the EU-US Data Privacy Framework).
A detailed description of the categories of data, the purposes and legal bases of processing, the recipients and processors, retention, international transfers, cookies, and the rights of the individual is set out in a separate Privacy Policy, published on the pijavka.si website.
10. Dispute resolution
The provider strives to resolve any disputes amicably. Slovenian law applies to the resolution of disputes, and the court with subject-matter and territorial jurisdiction in the Republic of Slovenia is competent. In disputes with consumers, the jurisdiction of the court is determined in accordance with the mandatory regulations that protect the consumer; the terms cannot exclude or limit these to the detriment of the consumer, and therefore the jurisdiction guaranteed to consumers by the mandatory regulations of European Union law and Slovenian law applies to them.
The mandatory regulations of ZVPot-1 and the GDPR or ZVOP-2, which these terms cannot exclude or limit, apply to consumers.
In accordance with the applicable legislation (ZIsRPS), the provider does not recognize any provider of out-of-court consumer dispute resolution (IRPS) as competent to resolve a consumer dispute. The consumer may also attempt to resolve the dispute through other available avenues of out-of-court dispute resolution; any participation in such a procedure is voluntary for the provider.
11. Validity and changes to the terms
The provider may change and supplement these terms and the related policies. The version of the terms published at the time the order is placed applies to an individual order.
Changes to the terms take effect upon publication on the pijavka.si website. We recommend that buyers familiarize themselves with the valid version of the terms before each order.
Date of last update: 21. 6. 2026.