Booking Conditions for Overseas HolidaysFrench Country Cottages and Irish Country Cottages are trading names of Holiday Cottages Group Limited. The following Booking Conditions together with the general information contained in our brochures and on our website form the basis of your agreement with Holiday Cottages Group Limited and any other parties which provide the services which make up your holiday. Please read them carefully as they set out the respective rights and obligations of all concerned. Nothing in these Booking Conditions affects your normal statutory rights. References to these Booking Conditions are to these Booking Conditions including the Property Rental Conditions (which means all information contained in any specific conditions or restrictions set out in the brochure description of your chosen property[ies] and the Holiday Information section of the brochure) both of which form the basis of your contract. Holiday Cottages Group Limited (the “Company”) arranges bookings of properties either (i) as agent for Vacation Rental Sarl, a company which in turn acts as an agent of the property supplier(s) concerned (“Property Supplier(s)”), or (ii) as an agent of the Property Supplier(s) concerned itself. Please note that Vacation Rental Sarl is not a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA). For details of how your travel arrangements are financially protected please see Section 20. In these Booking Conditions, “you” and “your” means the first named person on the booking (the “party leader”), and all other members of the holiday party as appropriate (including any persons who are later added to the booking). References to your “holiday” mean the property and/or travel and/or other services, as applicable, booked and paid for in the UK through the Company. The Company also acts as agent for transportation companies and other service providers mentioned in this brochure (“Service Provider(s)”). When you book a property either with the Company acting as agent for the Property Supplier concerned or as agent for Vacation Rental Sarl as set out above and/or arrange any travel or other services through the Company, you enter directly into a contract with the Property Supplier and/or the Service Provider(s) of the service(s) concerned (as applicable). You may book a package holiday through the Company. A “package holiday” is a combination of at least two out of (a) transport, (b) accommodation or (c) other tourist services (not related to any transport or accommodation and forming a significant part of the arrangements) where booked through the Company at the same time at an inclusive price, for which payment is made to the Company and which last at least 24 hours or include overnight accommodation. Where you book a package holiday through the Company and it has been confirmed, the Company will accept responsibility for it in accordance with these Booking Conditions as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. If you do not book a package holiday Sections 17, 20, 21 and 22 of these Booking Conditions will not apply to your booking. If you book a package holiday all sections of these Booking Conditions apart from Section 7 will apply to your booking. The Property Rental Conditions apply to all bookings. Where these Booking Conditions mention “the Company” without using words such as “on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider(s)” or “as agents for the Property Supplier/Service Provider(s)” this means Holiday Cottages Group Limited in its own right rather than as agent for the Property Supplier (whether acting as agent of the Property Supplier itself or as agent of Vacation Rental Sarl as set out above) and/or the Service Provider(s) concerned. 1. Your booking All bookings are subject to availability. The party leader must be at least 18 years at the time of booking. The party leader must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all other members of the holiday party. By making the booking, the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised and that all other party members agree that the booking is subject to these Booking Conditions. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to the Company. Please note that there may be different age restrictions on driving and car hire in some destinations. Subject to availability and receipt of all applicable payments by the Company the party leader will be issued with a written confirmation (see below) as soon as reasonably possible showing your booking details and the balance of your total holiday cost remaining due. Your binding contract comes into existence when the written confirmation is issued. For bookings made within 14 days of departure, a binding contract comes into existence when the Company gives verbal confirmation of your booking to you or your travel agent and you have made the appropriate payments to the Company or your travel agent. Receipt and banking of any deposit monies will not constitute acceptance of a booking. Please note we will provide you with your written confirmation either by post, electronically or by email. If you book with us online, we will acknowledge receipt of your booking and then provide your confirmation to you electronically or by email. If you book by post or telephone we will send your confirmation to you by post unless you advise us at the time of booking that you would prefer it to be provided electronically or by email. All references to “your written confirmation” therefore mean confirmations provided by post, electronically or by email as applicable. It is your responsibility to check your emails regularly and to advise of any change to your email address. The Company itself or on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider(s) (as applicable) has the right to refuse any booking prior to the issue of your written confirmation. If the Company does this, it will tell you in writing and promptly refund any money you have paid to the Company. In this case the Company, the Property Supplier and other Service Provider(s) (if any) shall have no liability towards you. As soon as your confirmation is received, you must check the details carefully. If anything is not correct you should tell the Company immediately. If you have any special requests you must advise the Company at the time of booking and clearly note it on your Booking Form or otherwise confirm it in writing. Although the Company will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the Property Supplier and/or the relevant Service Provider (as applicable), no guarantees can be given that any request will be met. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the Property Supplier/Service Provider(s) (as applicable), or the inclusion of the special request on your written confirmation or any other documentation, is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed to you all special requests are subject to availability. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of your contract. Conditional bookings cannot be accepted ie: any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings will be treated as standard bookings subject to the above provision on special requests. If you book through a travel agent your confirmation and all other documents will be sent to your travel agent. For flight inclusive package holidays booked through a travel agent, all monies you pay to one of our authorised travel agents for your holiday will be held on our behalf until they are paid to us or refunded to you. 2. Paying for your holiday When you book your holiday you should pay the amount then due (including any insurance premiums) by debit or credit card, or by sending a sterling cheque to the Company. The balance of your total holiday cost must be received by the Company no less than 8 weeks before the start of your holiday. However, if you book less than 8 weeks before the start of your holiday, full payment of your total holiday cost (including any insurance premiums) must be paid at the time of booking. For any holiday booked less than 2 weeks before departure your booking must be paid for by debit or credit card, or by bank transfer, at the time of booking. If any payment due in relation to your booking is not paid by the appropriate date, the Company on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider is entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In this case, the Company on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date. The Company normally sends out a reminder to you before your booking is cancelled. If the Company does not cancel straight away because you have promised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges shown in Section 9 depending on the date the Company on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider reasonably treats your booking as cancelled. If you pay by credit card the Company will make a charge of up to 2% for each payment made this way to recover the credit card company’s charges to the Company. If your payment is not honoured for any reason whatsoever, the Company is entitled to make an administration charge of £25. You may be required to make a payment of a security deposit in cash in local currency on arrival at your accommodation. The amount will be shown on your confirmation and further details are shown in our brochures and on our websites. 3. Prices
All prices quoted or otherwise advised to you include all charges, and, where applicable, Value Added Tax (at 17.5%) and Insurance Premium Tax (at 17.5%). The prices shown in our brochures and on our website were calculated on 16 May 2007 on the basis of then known costs and exchange rates of £1 to 1.4593 Euro, £1 to 1.9841 US Dollar and £1 to 7.2873 AED as shown in the Financial Times Guide to World Currencies on 16 May 2007. The prices of unsold arrangements may be increased or decreased and corrections made to errors in advertised prices at any time before your arrangements are confirmed. The price of your chosen arrangements will be confirmed at the time of booking. As changes and errors occasionally occur, you must check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) at the time of booking. If you have not purchased a package holiday from the Company, it reserves the right to pass on to you in full, after your booking has been confirmed, all costs and/or charges incurred or imposed by any Property Supplier and/or Service Provider connected with your arrangements. If you have purchased a package holiday from the Company, once the price of your chosen arrangements has been confirmed at the time of booking, then, subject to the correction of errors, the Company will only increase or decrease the price in the following circumstances. Price increases or decreases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge or refund. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will be payable, subject to the conditions set out in this Section, if the Company’s costs increase or decrease as a result of (as applicable) transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports increasing or decreasing or if the Company’s costs increase or decrease as a result of any changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday. Even in the above cases, only if the amount of the increase in the Company’s costs exceeds 2% of the total cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges) will the Company levy a surcharge. Where a surcharge is payable, there will be an amendment charge of £1 together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies you have paid to the Company (except for any amendment charges) or alternatively purchase another holiday from the Company as referred to in Section 5 headed “Cancellations or changes to your booking by the Company/Property Supplier/Service Provider(s)”. Although insurance (where purchased through us) does not form part of your contract with the Company or of any package, we will consider an appropriate refund of any insurance premiums you have paid to the Company if you can show you are unable to use/reuse or transfer your policy in the event of cancellation or purchase of an alternative holiday. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. A refund will only be payable if the decrease in the Company’s costs exceeds 2% as set out above. Where a refund is due, the Company will pay you the full amount of the decrease in its costs. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell the Company if you want to cancel your holiday or purchase another holiday. If you do not tell the Company that you wish to do so within this period of time, the Company is entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later. The Company promises not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday. No refunds will be made within this period either. 4. Low Initial Deposit Offers Occasionally, offers are made giving you the chance to book properties at either a lower than usual, or a nil, initial deposit. Details of any additional terms specific to the offer will be notified to you prior to or on making your booking and should be read in conjunction with these Booking Conditions. If you book a property at either a lower than usual, or a nil initial deposit, you also agree to pay the difference between the amount paid and the usual deposit, either at the time the balance of your total holiday cost is due, or at the time of cancellation if you cancel your booking. If you cancel you must also pay all other applicable cancellation charges. Please refer to Section 9 for details regarding cancellations. Insurance premiums must still be paid at the time of booking. 5. Cancellations or changes by the Company/Property Supplier/Service Provider(s) The Company, Property Suppliers and Service Providers do not expect to have to make any changes to your booking, but sometimes problems occur and bookings have to be changed or cancelled or errors in brochures or other details corrected. The Company, Property Supplier(s) and Service Provider(s) reserve the right to do so. If this does happen, the Company will contact the party leader (by telephone where reasonably possible in the case of a significant change or cancellation; minor changes will be notified by post) as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or change. The Company promises it will only cancel a confirmed booking of a holiday less than 8 weeks before departure where you have failed to comply with any requirement of these Booking Conditions entitling the Company to cancel (which includes failure to make all payments due in full and on time) or where the Company is forced to do so as a result of circumstances outside its control. The Company will not cancel after this date for any other reason. Significant changes include the following when made before departure - Please note – the options referred to above will not be available where any change made is a minor change. A minor change is a change which the Company/Property Supplier/Service Provider could not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed booking. If a significant change has to be made (and the change is not acceptable to you) or your booking has to be cancelled, the Company or the Company on behalf of the Property Supplier/Service Provider concerned (as applicable) will, if possible and as soon as reasonably practical, offer the party leader an alternative property (from the range advertised by the Company) of similar type and standard in a similar location for the same or similar time of year or, if other services have been changed or cancelled, alternative similar services (from the range advertised by the Company). As any alternative property is likely to be owned by a different Property Supplier to that of the original property booked, the advertised cost of the alternative property will be payable. This means you may be asked to pay any price difference if the alternative property is advertised at a higher price. However it is possible that you may be able to claim any price difference (if the alternative property is more expensive than the original one) from the Property Supplier of the original property. Obviously, if the alternative property is advertised at a lower price, you will receive a refund (if you have already paid the balance of your total holiday cost) of the price difference. The same applies to any other services affected. If you do not wish to accept a significant change or any alternative property/services (as applicable) offered, or if the Company cannot offer you a suitable alternative property/services (as applicable), you will receive a full refund of all monies paid to the Company. So as to keep any period of uncertainty to a minimum, the Company will, whenever reasonably possible, communicate with you by telephone in the case of a significant change or cancellation and you are required to do the same. The party leader should tell the Company as soon as reasonably practical whether you wish to accept any change or alternative property/services offered, or alternatively whether you want a refund, as soon as reasonably possible after the party leader is advised of the change, cancellation or proposed alternative property/services. In the unlikely event that the party leader fails to tell the Company that you wish to accept any change or alternative property/services within a reasonable period of time, the Company is entitled to assume you wish to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to the Company. Where your booking is significantly changed or cancelled you will also be offered compensation if and as appropriate. A minimum compensation of £20 per booking will usually be paid. However, compensation will not be payable where any change or cancellation results from “force majeure” (please see Section 8 below) or where you have refused without good reason to accept an alternative property you have been offered. Please note, no compensation is payable for minor changes or significant changes or cancellations more than 8 weeks before departure. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if the Company cancels as a result of your failure to comply with any of these Booking Conditions entitling us to cancel. The Company cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of any change or cancellation. Minor changes do not entitle you to take an alternative property or to cancel without paying the normal charges as set out in these Booking Conditions. Very rarely, the Company may be forced by “force majeure” (see Section 8) to change or terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, the Company regrets it will be unable to make any refunds (unless the Company obtains any refunds from the Property Suppliers or Service Providers), pay you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result. 6. Brochure details The Company aims to ensure that the information provided by Property Suppliers and Service Providers is accurately conveyed in brochures and other promotional literature or material produced and circulated by the Company. There may be small differences between the actual property/other services and its/their description, as the Company, Property Suppliers and Service Providers are always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable or subject to restriction. If this happens, the Company will tell the party leader as soon as reasonably practical after the Company becomes aware of the situation. Property Suppliers, Service Providers and the Company cannot accept responsibility for any changes or closures to area amenities or attractions mentioned in the brochure, by the Company’s holiday advisers or advertised elsewhere. The Company makes reasonable efforts to ensure that information supplied to you in relation to your property and its facilities and/or services as well as advertised travel and other services is accurate and complete as at the date given. Except in the case of package holidays, the Company cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any property or its facilities and/or services or any advertised travel and other services, except where any such information has arisen out of the negligence of the Company. 7. Liability The Property Supplier shall have no liability for any death or personal injury unless this results from the negligence of the Property Supplier or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment). The Service Provider(s) shall have no liability for any death or personal injury unless it results from the negligence of the Service Provider(s) or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment). The Company shall have no liability for any death or personal injury unless it results from the negligence of it or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment). You must take all necessary steps to safeguard your personal property and any liability which you may incur to others during the course of your holiday. No liability is accepted by the Property Supplier, Service Provider(s) or the Company in respect of damage to, or loss of, such personal property except where, in the case of the Property Supplier, it results from the negligence of it or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment) or, in the case of the Service Provider(s), it results from the negligence of it or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment) or, in the case of the Company, it results from the negligence of it or its employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment). As the Company acts only as agent for the Service Provider(s) and the Property Supplier(s), the Company cannot accept any liability for any act(s) or omission(s) of the Property Supplier(s) or Service Provider(s) or anyone representing, or employed by, the Property Supplier(s) or Service Provider(s). Furthermore, the Company cannot accept any liability for any shortcomings or defects with or in any property as all properties are within the sole control of the Property Suppliers. Please also see Section 8 (force majeure) below. Nothing in this Section 7 or elsewhere in these Booking Conditions will exclude or limit any liability either the Property Supplier, the Service Provider(s) and the Company may have to you for (a) fraud or fraudulent misrepresentation nor (b) liability under Part I of the Consumer Protection Act 1987 PROVIDED ALWAYS that nothing in this Section 7 shall confer on you any right or remedy to which you would not otherwise be entitled by law. 8. Circumstances beyond the control of the Property Supplier/Service Providers/the Company (“Force Majeure”) Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, the Company/Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s) regret that they cannot, either jointly or individually, accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of the obligations under your contract by the Company, Property Supplier(s) and/or Service Provider(s) (as applicable) is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in Section 17(2)) as a result of “force majeure”. In these Booking Conditions “force majeure” means an event beyond the reasonable control of the Property Supplier, the Service Provider(s) and/or the Company (as applicable) which the Company or the Property Supplier/Service Provider in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid including, but not limited to strike, lock-out, labour dispute, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with a law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, fire, flood and storm, difficulty or increased cost in obtaining workers, goods or transport and other circumstances affecting the supply of goods or services. 9. If you change or cancel your booking (i) Changes Please note that most Service Providers do not permit name or other changes after tickets have been issued. (ii) Full Cancellations CANCELLATION CHARGES
When you make your booking you take on the responsibility of paying for the entire duration of occupation of the property in full. So, to protect you (and the Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s)) against unforeseen circumstances causing you to cancel, insurance providing protection against cancellation is obligatory. If you do not take the Company’s recommended Personal Travel Insurance, you must take out your own Personal Travel insurance and provide the Company with the written details of your insurer and policy number. If you live overseas and have booked your holiday through a local agent, the term “cost” in the above cancellation charges table means the amount paid by your local agent to the Company after deducting any insurance premiums and any administration charge paid to the Company for making any change. For the avoidance of doubt, “cost” does not include any charges made by your local agent or other third parties for booking fees, flights, other travel services or any other amounts not paid to the Company. (iii) Partial Cancellations Please note that in the event of full or partial cancellation it is a requirement that all travel tickets and/or vouchers (eg: for ferries or for flights) are returned to us. 10. Your Property You can arrive at your property at any time after 3.00pm (unless advised otherwise, for example on your confirmation) on the start date of your holiday rental and you must leave by 10.00am on the last day. If your arrival will be delayed beyond 8.00pm on the start date of your holiday rental, you must contact the person whose details are given on the location guide so that alternative arrangements can be made. If you fail to do so, you may not be able to gain access to the property. If you fail to arrive by 12 noon on the day after the start date of your holiday rental and you do not advise the person whose details are given on the location guide of your late arrival, your booking may be treated as having been cancelled by you. No refund of any monies paid by you will be made in this situation. Some Property Suppliers may require you to pay a security deposit on arrival. If this applies to your chosen property you will be advised of the amount at the time of booking. The security deposit will be refunded by the Property Supplier at the end of your holiday rental (less any costs for breakages, damage etc if applicable). You and all members of your party agree both to keep the property clean and tidy and to leave the property in a similar condition as you found it upon your arrival. You and all members of your party further agree not to use the property for any commercial purpose, including without limitation assigning or subletting it or otherwise allowing anyone to occupy it who has not previously been accepted by the Company on behalf of the Property Supplier. You are responsible to the Property Supplier for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property - along with any additional costs that may result - which are caused by you and/or any members of your party, and the Property Supplier can require payment from you to cover any such costs. The Property Supplier is entitled at his/her sole and absolute discretion to refuse to hand over to you, or to repossess, the property (which includes the fixtures, fittings, furnishings and decorations) if the Property Supplier reasonably believes that any damage is likely to be caused, has been caused or is being caused by you or any members or your party. These circumstances will be treated as a cancellation by you. You also must not allow more people than the brochure states to occupy the property, neither can you significantly change the composition of your party during your occupation of the property, nor can you take your pet into the property unless this has been arranged in advance and is shown on your confirmation. If you do any of these things, the Property Supplier can refuse to hand over the property to you, or can repossess it. If the Property Supplier does so, this will be treated as a cancellation by you. In these situations no refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and neither the Property Supplier nor the Company will have any liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as the cost of securing an alternative property/ accommodation or the payment of any compensation to you). The Property Supplier or the Company will also not be obliged to find any alternative accommodation for you. If you take a pet with you, it is not allowed on beds or furniture, or in any communal facilities, such as swimming pools or shops. Pets should not be left unattended in the property, and dogs should be kept on a lead within the boundaries of a property including the garden. Registered guide and support dogs belonging to those with visual and hearing impairments are allowed in all properties featured in this brochure even where the property description states that pets are not allowed. Customers with allergies should be aware that we cannot guarantee that a registered guide and/or support dog has not stayed in their chosen property nor can we accept any liability for any suffering which may occur as a result of such animals having been present. You should also refer to the information regarding taking pets on holiday included in our brochure or on our website. You must allow the Property Supplier and any representative of the Property Supplier (including workmen) access to the property at any reasonable time during your occupation of the property (except in cases of emergency or where a problem needs remedying quickly and you cannot be contacted in time - in these situations the Property Supplier is entitled to enter the property at any time without giving you prior notice). 11. Complaints In the unlikely event that you have any reason to complain or experience any problems with your holiday whilst away, you must immediately inform our representative (if any) and the Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s) in question. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to our representative (if any) and the Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s) as soon as possible. Until we know about a problem or complaint, we cannot begin to resolve it. Most problems can be dealt with quickly. If your complaint cannot be resolved locally please contact our Earby office immediately. If you remain dissatisfied, however, the party leader must write to us within 30 days of your return to the UK giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint. Send your letter by recorded delivery to the Company’s Office at Spring Mill, Earby, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, BB94 0AA, marked for the attention of the Customer Relations Department. If you fail to follow this simple complaints procedure your right to claim any compensation you may otherwise have been entitled to may be affected or even lost as a result. 12. Law The contract(s) between you and the Property Supplier(s) is governed by or construed in accordance with the law of the country where the property is situated. The contract between you and the Service Provider(s) and/or, where and if applicable, the Company and any matter arising from or in connection with it/them shall be governed by or construed in accordance with English law only and no other. It is agreed that any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise between you, any Property Supplier, Service Provider(s) and/or the Company will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland in which case proceedings may be brought in the Courts of Scotland or Northern Ireland respectively. 13. Disabilities and medical problems If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability that may affect your holiday please tell the Company before you confirm your booking and give the Company full details in writing at the time of booking. If the Company/Property Supplier/Service Provider (as applicable) reasonably feel(s) unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned the Company reserves the right to decline/cancel the reservation. The passport, visa and health requirements applicable at the time of printing to British citizens for the holidays that the Company offers are shown in our brochures, with up to date information provided through links from our website. A full British passport presently takes approximately 4 weeks to obtain. If you are 16 years or over and have not yet got a passport our recommendation is that you should apply for one at least six weeks before your holiday. The UK Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and from October 2006 will ask you to attend an interview in order to do this. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. Information on the European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) is available at www.dh.gov.uk or from your local Department of Health office. You can apply for an EHIC online at www.dh.gov.uk or by phone on 0845 606 2030 or by post from EHIC Applications, PO Box 1115, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, NE99 1SW. It is your responsibility to ensure that you and all members of your party are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. The Company and any Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s) connected with your holiday regrets it cannot accept any liability if you or any members of your party are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to the failure on the part of the person(s) concerned to carry correct documentation. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non-British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to or through which you are intending to travel. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on the Company or any Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s), you will be responsible for reimbursing the Company/Property Supplier(s)/Service Provider(s) accordingly. 15. Communicating with you For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, Holiday Cottages Group Limited is the sole data controller of all personal data provided to the Company by customers and prospective customers. In order to process your booking the Company needs to collect certain personal details from you, for example names and addresses of party members, credit/debit card or other payment details, special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect any party member’s holiday arrangements and any dietary restrictions which may disclose religious beliefs. If the Company needs any other personal details, it will tell you before it obtains them from you. The Company needs to pass on your personal details to the companies and organisations who need to know them so that your holiday rental and any travel-related services (if any) can be provided (for example the Property Supplier(s), Service Provider(s)), other suppliers, your credit/debit card company or bank, the insurance company if you purchase the Company’s recommended personal travel insurance policy(ies) or for verification of details relating to your holiday rental and any travel-related services booked. Such individuals, companies and organisations may be outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein. Data protection legislation in those countries may differ from that in the UK. The Company also needs to process and store your personal details for their own administration, market analyses and operational reviews. The Company would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes (for example, sending you brochures, emails or details of promotions and offers which the Company feels may be of interest to you). All details you give to the Company at any time will be kept, but only names, contact details and any booking preferences will be used for marketing purposes unless you are informed otherwise when you provide the information. The Company may disclose customers’ names, contact details and booking preferences to any other trading division of the Company, to the Company’s parent company, Wyndham Worldwide, or to any company within the Wyndham Worldwide group of companies, such as RCI Global Vacation Network, International Life Leisure Ltd, etc, or any subsidiaries of such companies who offer goods or services which the Company feels may be of interest to you. Occasionally, the Company may sell or provide customers’ names, contact details and any booking preferences to other individuals, companies and organisations authorised by the Company who offer goods or services which the Company feels may be of interest to you. The companies, organisations and third parties to whom the Company discloses customer details may contact any members of your party by post, e-mail, telephone, including automated dialling equipment, fax, and/or pre-recorded messages for the purposes set out in this Section. If you do not wish to receive any or all of the communications set out in this Section, then please let the Company know as soon as possible by telephone, letter, e-mail or fax. The Company is entitled to assume that you do not object to being communicated with unless you have indicated otherwise either at the time you gave your details to the Company or subsequently. Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act 1998, the Company will only deal with the personal details you give to it as set out above unless you agree otherwise. You are generally entitled to ask the Company (by letter, fax or e-mail) if and how it is processing your personal details. The Company is entitled to charge a fee in responding to such a request. The Company promises to respond to your request within 40 days of receiving this in writing and payment of the appropriate fee (if required by the Company). In certain limited circumstances the Company is entitled to refuse your request. The Company may also record or monitor telephone calls to and from the Company without notification for staff or training purposes. 16. Conditions of Service Providers and Property Suppliers Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by persons, firms, companies and other bodies which are wholly independent of the Company and for whom the Company acts as agents. These Service Providers and Property Suppliers provide services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the Service Provider’s/Property Supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions (eg: Athens Convention for international travel by sea). Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from the Company or Service Provider/Property Supplier concerned. 17. The Company’s liability to you (1) The property, accommodation, transport and other services the Company arranges on your behalf belong to and are managed by persons, firms, companies and other bodies who are entirely independent of the Company. The Company acts as agent for Vacation Rental Sarl (who in turn acts as agent for the Property Suppliers), and as agents for the Service Providers. However, if you book a package holiday, once your holiday is confirmed and subject to these Booking Conditions, the Company will accept responsibility for your holiday as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. The Company promises to make sure that the holiday arrangements it has agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of its contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these Booking Conditions, the Company will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted holiday arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of the Company and its employees, its agents or suppliers, to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted holiday arrangements. Please note it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against the Company. In addition, the Company will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers). (2) The Company will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following - ‑ the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party; or (3) Please note that the Company cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of your contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your Property Supplier/other Service Provider agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in the Company’s brochures or website and it has not agreed to arrange them. In addition, regardless of any wording used by the Company on the Company’s website, in any of its brochures or elsewhere, the Company only promises to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and it does not have any greater or different liability to you. (4) The promises the Company makes to you about the services it has agreed to provide or arrange as part of your contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question. (5) As set out in these Booking Conditions the Company limits the maximum amount it may have to pay you for any claims you may make against it. Except where loss of and/or damage to luggage or personal possessions is concerned, for all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if the Company is found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount the Company will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under Section 17(6) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. (6) Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any sea, air, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation the Company will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotel keeper concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example: the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability number 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). Please note: where a carrier or hotel would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable International Convention or Regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, the Company similarly is not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, the Company is entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable International Conventions and Regulations are available from the transport provider or hotelier on request. (7) Please note that the Company cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (i) which on the basis of the information given to it by you concerning your booking prior to the Company accepting it, it could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if it breached your contract or (ii) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by the Company or its employees or where it was responsible for them, its suppliers. Additionally the Company cannot accept liability for any business losses. (8) You must provide the Company and its insurers with all assistance it may reasonably require. If asked to do so, you must transfer to the Company or its insurers any rights you have against the Property Supplier(s)/other Service Provider(s) or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with the Company and its insurers if the Company or its insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred. 18. Holiday insurance The Company considers adequate travel insurance to be essential. Details of the recommended Personal Travel Insurance policy (which includes cancellation and curtailment insurance for overseas holidays) are shown in our brochures and on our website. If you decide not to purchase this insurance, you must take out alternative Personal Travel Insurance that provides equivalent or better cover to the policy the Company offers. You must also give details of your alternative policy (insurer and policy number) in writing. If you fail to do so the Company will add the appropriate premiums for the Personal Travel Insurance the Company recommends to your holiday confirmation. You are strongly advised to take out insurance which will cover any damage which may occur to property which belongs to other people and which may get damaged. If booking more than 8 weeks before departure, your deposit payment will be deemed to include the applicable premiums for the Personal Travel Insurance the Company recommends for all persons named on the booking unless you give the required details of your alternative acceptable insurance in writing at the time of booking. For bookings made within 8 weeks of departure the premiums must be paid with the full holiday payment as cover will not be effective until the Company receives all applicable premiums in full. The Company reserves the right to refuse or cancel a booking if you do not have personal travel insurance cover that matches or exceeds that offered by the insurance the Company offers. The Company will treat any cancellation for this reason as a cancellation by you and the cancellation charges set out in Section 9(ii) above will be payable. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. The Company does not check alternative insurance policies. 19. Standards Please note that it is local national regulations and standards which apply to any services provided abroad and not those of the UK. The monitoring, enforcement and compliance with such regulations and standards is the responsibility of the local national authorities and the supplier of the services concerned. Liability insurance requirements vary considerably from country to country, as does the responsibility placed on organisations by law. The Company would advise therefore that you take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself and your family whilst on holiday. In certain respects, local national safety standards may be lower than those of the UK. 20. Financial security All non flight inclusive package holidays advertised in this brochure are financially protected through the Company’s membership of the Federation of Tour Operators (FTO). For all such holidays this means the FTO will arrange for any monies you have paid to the Company for an advance booking to be refunded or for you to be repatriated if already abroad (where the arrangements you have booked with us include transport to and from the UK) in the event of your confirmed holiday arrangements not being provided due to the Company’s insolvency. The Company also holds an Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL no 5169) issued by the CAA. This means that the air inclusive holidays in this brochure are ATOL protected and are protected in the same way as the non flight inclusive package holidays. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. 21. Delay As the Company acts as agent only, it cannot accept any liability in the event of a delay at your homeward or outward point of departure. Any Service Provider concerned may however provide refreshments etc at their own discretion. For package holidays the Company cannot accept liability for any delay which is due to any of the reasons set out in Section 8 of our Booking Conditions headed “The Company’s Liability to You” (which includes the behaviour of any passenger(s) who, for example, fails to board on time). In addition for package holidays, the Company will not be liable for any delay unless it has a significant effect on your holiday arrangements. In the event of a delay of more than twelve hours at your outward or return departure point the Company will endeavour to provide as much information and assistance as reasonably practical in the circumstances. 22. Transport Information In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No 2111/2005 Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a “Community List” which contains details of air carriers that are subject to an operating ban with the EU Community. The Community List is available for inspection at http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm. In accordance with EU Regulations we are required to advise you of the actual carrier(s) (or, if the actual carrier(s) is not known, the likely carrier(s)) that will operate your flight(s) at the time of booking. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. Any change to the operating carrier(s) after your booking has been confirmed will be notified to you as soon as possible. We are not always in a position at the time of booking to confirm the aircraft type and flight timings which will be used in connection with your flight. The flight timings and types of aircraft shown in our brochures and on our website and detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. The latest timings will be shown on your tickets which will be despatched to you approximately two weeks before departure. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. Any change in the identity of the carrier, flight timings, and/or aircraft type will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges except where specified in these Booking Conditions. If the carrier with whom you have a confirmed reservation becomes subject to an operating ban as above as a result of which we/the carrier are unable to offer you a suitable alternative the provisions of Section 5 (Changes and cancellation by us) will apply. Please note that in order to qualify as an "infant" on a flight, a child must be under 2 years of age on the date of the return flight, not the outward flight. 23. These Booking Conditions These Booking Conditions were updated in February 2007 and the prices and Booking Conditions supersede all previous editions. Prices and Booking Conditions may be superseded by subsequent editions. Holiday Cottages Group Limited |