OUR AGREEMENT WITH YOU
1. THE CONTRACT AND CONFIRMATION The terms and conditions set out in this section together with your holiday confirmation comprises of your agreement with Potters Holidays Ltd, hereafter referred to as Potters Holidays. Any monies paid to us or one of our authorised agents under these booking conditions are protected by our Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL 6851). Monies paid to Group Leaders remain yours until the time it is paid to Potters Holidays and you should satisfy yourself that it is secure.
We will accept your booking when you or your agent asks for your holiday to be confirmed and you accept the price quoted. We reserve the right to refuse reservations from holidaymakers who we believe may have an infectious or contagious medical condition, where the lead name is under eighteen years of age, travelling in large single sex party or where we have reason to believe they may be disruptive or impair the comfort or enjoyment of other Guests. When you make your reservation by telephone you will be required to confirm your booking and by doing so you will be entering into a contract with Potters Holidays and these Terms and Conditions will apply.
We will send you a written confirmation, which you should check thoroughly along with any other documentation, and inform us immediately of any errors, as earlier the errors are detected the greater the chance of correction. If you do not receive your confirmation within 14 days of making your reservation do contact us. If at anytime a confirmation invoice has an obviously incorrect price, which is different from that quoted at the time of booking, we will issue a new confirmation and will not be bound by the price on the incorrect confirmation.
If you request additional accommodation or service (in particular within eight weeks of departure) this constitutes a commitment to proceed with that booking once your request is confirmed and therefore such monies are non refundable unless your request cannot be fulfilled. For bookings made within 28 days of Departure or where Potters Holidays has to make or guarantee payment to a supplier, payment of the holiday must be paid in full by Debit or Credit Card. Cash and Cheques made payable to Potters Holidays Ltd are accepted for other payments.
Due to credit card transaction charges, where you choose to pay by credit card a charge of 1.5% will be made in respect of each payment made. There is no charge for debit cards.
2. HOLIDAY PRICE We reserve the right to increase or decrease our prices at any time, though the price quoted at the time of booking will not be increased unless you amend the booking in any way after it is made. The quoted price for your holiday includes all currency surcharges, local taxes (excluding taxes relating to car hire), UK and overseas service charges and all current airport taxes. It may be necessary on certain dates to purchase extra accommodation or transport to meet our capacity requirements; this may mean an increase in costs being passed to you as we cannot always negotiate the same favourable seasonal rates, however you will be quoted a firm price before you confirm your booking.
We reserve the right to pass on any increases that are due to governmental action e.g. changes to taxes or security charges and due to currency fluctuations. We will not pass on any extra charges that are in total under 2% of the basic holiday price and any amount arising within 30 days of departure. The prices quoted in this brochure are based on the rate of exchange of 1.344 Euros to the £ as at 11 February 2008 (FT.com). A minimum charge of £5 plus any charges we incur will be made for all tickets collected at the airport on late bookings.
3. CANCELLATIONS AND ALTERATIONS BY US Due to the nature of travel arrangements and the fact that we plan holiday programmes many months in advance, it is sometimes necessary to make changes to the holidays described in the brochure. Therefore, we do reserve the right to change travel arrangements after we have entered into the contract with you. Although your confirmation and subsequent invoices will show the latest route timings these will not be confirmed until despatch of tickets and may change after this due to circumstances beyond our control. Usually only minor changes are made to arrangements such as changes of departure time by less than 12 hours, routings, aircraft type. However, if major changes are made (which may include the changes shown in the next paragraph) we will advise you as soon as we are in a position to do so and you have the options available to you as described below.
Major Changes - change of UK departure airports by more than 100 miles, seaports, stations (but not changes between London stations), change of destination airport if more than 40 extra miles from the Resort, resort time of departure by more than 12 hours, accommodation of a lower official classification and total cancellation of holiday.
If we alter your booking in any way which amounts to one of these Major Changes, or if we cancel the original holiday you can select:
(a) accept the new holiday arrangements offered by us, or
(b) accept a replacement holiday from us of equivalent standard and price, if one is available (together with a refund of the price difference if the new holiday is a lower price); or
(c) cancel your holiday with us altogether and receive a full refund of all monies paid.
You must notify us of your choice within 7 days of our offer of the alternative holiday arrangements. Whichever option you choose we will always pay compensation using the scale shown in the table below, unless the change is for reasons beyond our control, see below. This standard payment will not affect your statutory or other legal rights. Compensation per person is based on the days before scheduled departure that the booking cancellation or major change is notified to you or your agent.
More than 56 days nil;
within 56 - 29 days £40;
within 42 - 29 days £60;
within 28 - 15 days £80;
within 15 - 0 days £100
(3A) Please note - Compensation payments or refunds will not be made where the changes are caused by situations under the heading force majeure, such as war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural disasters, epidemics, health risks, fire, technical problems to transport, closure or congestion of airports, stations or ports, cancellations or changes of schedules by carriers ceasing to operate due to adverse weather conditions or other reasons and similar events outside our control or where we cancel because you have failed to pay the balance of your holiday cost.
Compensation will not be paid to adults or children travelling on a free place, and will be paid on a pro-rata basis of the adult rate where children have received a reduced rate or where group or similar reductions have been applied. These payments do not apply to ‘special offer’ holidays not featured in the brochures. Holidays or local excursions are dependent on minimum numbers. In case of insufficient demand for a particular holiday we reserve the right to consolidate or cancel the holiday, though if we do so within 28 days of departure it will be treated as a major change. We will endeavour to offer the same tour on a different date, or an alternative holiday of a similar standard, or a refund of all monies paid. We reserve the right to vary holiday itineraries, programmes and to provide alternative hotels of a similar standard. If there are insufficient numbers to justify coach provision a minibus may be provided.
4. CHANGES TO YOUR HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS IN RESORT On rare occasions the accommodation we have reserved for you may not be available on your arrival due to circumstances beyond our control and we may not have been notified in time to advise you before your departure. If this occurs we will endeavour to provide accommodation of equivalent standard in the same resort area. If we are unable to do so and the only available accommodation is of a lower standard we will refund the difference in price together with a compensation payment of £50 per person if not due to (3A) above.
If during your holiday it is necessary for us to make any amendments to your return transport we will make the best suitable alternative arrangements and advise you as soon as we are in a position to do so. If this involves a change of UK arrival airport we will make onward arrangements to transport you to your original place of departure and pay compensation of up to £30 per person if the distance is greater than 100 miles.
5. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU We accept responsibility for the acts and omissions of our employees, sub-contractors and local agents whilst acting in the course of their duties to us. Although we do not control the day to day operation of our suppliers, we accept responsibility if it is proved that facilities or services which form part of the holiday which we contract to provide are deficient. However, please bear in mind that in some countries local standards will not be the same as in the UK and it is not always within our control to impose our own standards. We cannot be held liable or accept responsibility for death, bodily injury or illness caused on holiday unless it is proved that it is due to the negligence of our employees, agents, suppliers or sub-contractors acting in the course of their duties to us and the incident is brought to our attention in resort and within three months of your return from holiday.
When you travel by air or by sea, your journey may be subject to certain International Conventions such as the Warsaw Convention, Montreal Convention or Athens Convention and those Conventions often limit liability and damages. You agree that the transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey and may also limit liability and damages. When arranging this transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these International Conventions and those ‘Conditions of Carriage’. You acknowledge that all of these terms and conditions form part of your contract with us as well as with the transport company. As we arrange transportation with many different companies we cannot include all of those terms and conditions but you can ask Potters or the agent booking your holiday to provide you with a copy of any of the conditions applicable to your journey.
In the event you suffer an accident, injury or illness whilst on holiday which is not connected with arrangements made by us we will, in our discretion, offer help, guidance or any assistance which we consider appropriate provided you tell us and the supplier involved about your illness or injury whilst you are in the resort and write to us within three months of your return. This will be limited to £5,000 per booking with any payments being made at our discretion. In the event of there being either a successful claim for costs against a third party or a suitable insurance policy in force, any expenditure made by Potters Holidays will be recoverable from you. If due to adverse weather conditions or other circumstances beyond our control, pre-booked excursions or tours are not available during your holiday; our liability is limited to a refund of monies paid for such services.
If, in the opinion of any person in authority such as an aircraft captain, accommodation owner or manager or senior Potters Holidays employee or senior representative, you appear to be unfit to travel or because of anti-social behaviour are likely to cause a disturbance to other passengers or damage to property, we may terminate your holiday arrangements with us. We will not be liable to make alternative arrangements for other accommodation or repatriation nor will we cover any costs which you may incur or make any refunds.
6. YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION
When you buy an ATOL protected holiday from Potters Holidays Limited you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air Travel Organiser's Licence number 6851. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information visit the ATOl website at
www.atol.org.uk
7. RESOLVING COMPLAINTS It is always our aim to settle any complaints amicably. You must raise any complaint at the earliest possible time to allow us the chance to solve the issue in full or in part. However if you are still not satisfied and wish to make a formal complaint after your holiday please see Section 14.
YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US
8. BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAY AND UNDERSTANDING THE CONTRACT When you or your agent confirms your reservation the deposit of £100 per person becomes due, and is payable even if you decide not to proceed with the reservation. In some instances Potters Holidays may have to commit to non-refundable air tickets and/or other supplies or pay in full to secure a favourable rate and in such cases we will require all or part of the payment at the time of booking. You should supply details of Travel Insurance or accept Potters Holidays Insurance when you make your reservation and pay the non-refundable Insurance Premium for everyone without alterative cover in your party. If you do not have your policy in place you will be given 14 days to arrange this unless the booking is made within 28 days of departure.
Please note that there may be a supplementary deposit or charge payable on some holidays where it is necessary to secure specific facilities with full payment at the time of booking, which are non-refundable in the event of cancellation, such as special premium air seats or theatre tickets. Once you or your agent has confirmed your reservation the deposit will not be refunded except in circumstances set out below. No refund of the insurance premium will be made if you cancel the insurance cover at anytime. Please note that we consider travel insurance, offering at least the same or better cover than ourselves, to be essential. We will not take responsibility for any claims or expenses which we are not legally required to take responsibility for and therefore clients should ensure that they have adequate travel insurance. Our insurance must be effected at the time of booking as it cannot be added subsequently.
9. PAYING FOR YOUR HOLIDAY You must make payment of the balance shown on the final invoice sent to you to us or your agent at least 8 weeks before your scheduled departure or if your booking is made within this period you will have to pay the full amount immediately. If you do not pay in full by the date shown on the final invoice we reserve the right to cancel your booking and apply our cancellation charges as set out in the table in Section 12 below. Reminders are not sent so please keep your confirmation safe.
10. MAKING AMENDMENTS TO YOUR BOOKING If you wish to make any changes at all to your holiday booking, including name changes, but outside the cancellation period outlined we will do our best to help. However, we may not always be able to meet your request and have no obligation to do so. All changes must be made by the person who made the original booking as they have entered into the contract with Potters Holidays. Where it is possible to meet your request, the total holiday cost will be recalculated in accordance with any new arrangements taking into account under occupancy supplements, flight supplements, any applicable cancellation fees or other extra charges payable and a new confirmation invoice issued. We will charge you an amendment fee of £25 per person, however for minor changes that do not require us to make changes with our supplier(s) this fee can be reduced to £10.
If you wish to add any extra persons or services onto the booking, including car hire, pre-bookable excursions or other offers featured in the brochure and we are able to confirm such change, no amendment fee will be levied. However, such changes may not always be accepted within 14 days prior to the date of departure, unless confirmed at the time of a late booking. Flights with scheduled airlines are based on Advance Purchase fares and rules that often do not allow cancellations or changes once confirmed and have restrictions on minor changes including names, initials, etc., even before tickets are issued. Therefore, should you request a name change due to incorrect details given by you we will be forced to pass on any airline administration costs. If a name change is requested on charter flights once tickets have been issued a fee of £25 will be made plus any charges from the issuer. Should you lose your tickets, you will have to purchase new tickets. Scheduled airlines normally charge the full ticket price and Charter Airlines normally charge for the reissue of charter tickets and an additional fee if tickets are collected at the airport.
11. TRANSFERRING YOUR BOOKING If you are prevented from travelling, you may transfer your booking to another person or group, as long as you give us at least 21 days notice and the arrangements remain exactly the same as the original booking. You must also agree to pay any charges we may incur or levy to make this change. The person you transfer your booking to must comply with all the terms of the existing booking and you will remain responsible for the payment of the balance of the holiday price should that person fail to pay it. If you wish to transfer your booking to another Potters Holiday thereby changing the arrangements completely this will be treated as a cancellation with loss of deposit and, if applicable, cancellation charges as detailed in Section 12 below and it will be necessary to re-book another holiday.
12. CANCELLING YOUR BOOKING If you cancel your holiday the lead name on the booking or your agent must advise us in writing, by post or facsimile immediately. E-mails can be accepted if the lead name has previously registered their e-mail address with us. If you cancel you will be liable to pay the cancellation charges set out in the table below. Cancellation periods are calculated on the date of your cancellation being received by us. The term “total holiday cost” in the table means the total cost for items and for all persons included on the booking and shown on our invoice. Period before your departure date cancellation notification is received and the percentage of total holiday cost, retained. 56 days or more Deposit and Insurance; 55 - 29 days 50% (or Deposit and Insurance if higher); 28 - 0 or day of departure 100%.
Where non-refundable scheduled air services have been booked you will be liable for full payment of such fares. Where accommodation, not featured in our brochure has been booked for you on a tailor made basis, the cancellation charges may exceed the normal cancellation charges and you will be liable for any additional cancellation charge. Due to the individual nature of those arrangements the exact amount cannot be specified in advance. If one member of the party wishes to cancel this may mean that the accommodation booked will be under-occupied and result in the remainder having to pay any applicable supplements to retain the booking i.e. changing a twin room to a single room.
If you cancel your holiday on the day of departure due to circumstances including those beyond your control, compensation or refunds will not be payable by ourselves and any such claims should be forwarded to your insurers. Should you decide to curtail your holiday arrangements, for whatever reason, no refunds will be payable for any unused nights of accommodation. Subject to the other terms of these booking conditions, no refunds will be made in respect of any accommodation or other services which are not used for whatever reason.
13. WHILST ON HOLIDAY If you wish to make any changes to the booked arrangements whilst on holiday, for example, upgrading your accommodation, changing resort or extending or reducing your holiday duration, all such requests will be subject to availability and receipt of payment of any extra costs, including cancellation charges. As this alters the basis of your booking contract it is essential such changes are arranged through us in writing, either with our local representative/agent, area office or, if this is not possible, our head office in the UK.
The accommodation booked is only available for use by those persons included on the booking unless otherwise agreed by us in writing. You are responsible for any damage caused to your holiday accommodation, except by persons not known to you or us and unconnected with the contract between us, during your stay and any charges levied by the owner/hotel manager in this respect must be met by you and paid locally. Please remember you are a guest at your holiday accommodation and the owner/hotel manger may remove anyone whose behaviour is disruptive or affects the enjoyment of other guests, see ‘Our Obligations’ above.
14. ANY PROBLEMS If your holiday includes the services of a Potters Holidays representative or representative company you must raise all complaints with them at the earliest possible time, to give them the opportunity to rectify the problem at the earliest possible time. If they are unable to rectify the complaint to your satisfaction you should then write to us within 28 days of your return quoting your booking reference number to allow us to investigate it properly. Upon receipt of your letter we will acknowledge it, investigate the points raised and reply within 28 days or, if this is not possible, send you an interim letter advising of our progress.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
15. TRAVEL ARRANGEMENTS All air travel arrangements included in your holiday operate under our ATOL licence 6851 issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. All land and air travel arrangements, airlines, aircraft types, timings, routings and arrival airports are provisional until confirmed with your tickets and may change after this due to circumstances beyond our control. We reserve the right to substitute airlines/aircraft and make any necessary alteration to your travel arrangements, including method of carriage, in a force majeure situation to enable us to fulfil our obligation to transport you to and from the resort or your UK departure airport.
When you travel by air, land or on water, the relevant carrier’s ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to your journey, some of which may limit liability see ‘Our liability to you Section 5'. Pregnant women are usually eligible to fly up to 28 weeks of the pregnancy on the date of return travel but as this may vary, please check beforehand with your doctor, your holiday insurer and the relevant airline. Operational decisions may be taken by carriers and/or airports, port authorities and other competent authorities, resulting in delays, diversions or re-scheduling.
When such situations occur, this is not within our control and we cannot accept liability for them. You must strictly comply with the baggage allowance restrictions specified by airlines to avoid incurring excess baggage charges or luggage being off-loaded from the aircraft. Personal property from the point of arrival to transfer vehicle and from transfer vehicle to accommodation, and return, remains the responsibility of the owner to ensure it is loaded/off loaded from the transfer vehicle. Please note porterage is not included, unless indicated otherwise.
16. FLIGHT DELAYS In the event of a flight delay over 3 hours, in conjunction with the charter airline, we will endeavour to provide light refreshments and over 6 hours a main meal, though naturally this will be entirely dependent upon local circumstances. In the event of an extended delay we will assist those that wish to make arrangements for overnight accommodation, though this cannot be guaranteed due to local circumstances, however you will be responsible for the cost which will have to be paid locally, although you might be able to make a claim on your travel insurance. Please note we may not always be made aware of delays on some scheduled or internal flights where welfare arrangements will be made by the airlines. Airlines do not normally offer compensation for inconvenience or loss of holiday time caused by flight delays. Similarly, it is not possible to obtain refunds for any unused accommodation or facilities in the event of an extended delay.
17. SPECIAL REQUESTS We will always pass on any special requests and try to meet them but cannot guarantee to do so.
18. ADMINISTRATION CHARGE We reserve the right to levy an administration charge in certain circumstances to cover any additional costs incurred by us, such as contacting suppliers to check availability or special requests, returning lost property, special ticket despatch, extra administration relating to late bookings within 7 days of departure etc. This charge is £25 per booking, but may be higher to cover special ticket despatch costs. This charge does not relate to any amendments made to your booking as outlined under Your Obligations.
19. JURISDICTION This contract is governed by the law of England and Wales and the jurisdiction of the English and Welsh Courts. No employee or representative of this company has the authority orally to vary these terms and conditions or the information within this brochure, or company literature with customers.
20. CONDITIONS AND PRICES
These terms and conditions are valid from 11 February 2008. Any Prices quoted are correct at time of going to press but may vary and our current selling prices will be shown on our reservations system and advised at the point of enquiry on telephone bookings. Any further brochure or website updates will supersede these conditions and prices as well as any information contained in the resort pages.
ISSUED 11 FEBRUARY 2008