Please read carefully as these terms and conditions, together
with information given in our relevant brochure or customised
itinerary and on our website, form the basis of your contract
with us.
References
to “us” and “we” in
these booking conditions refer to Landscapes Travel which
is the
trading name of Andrew Thompson.
1. Booking
To make
a booking you need to complete our booking form. The booking
form must be signed by the first
named person (“the
party leader”). The party leader accepts these booking
conditions on behalf of everyone named on the form and is responsible
for all payments due to us. The completed signed booking form
must be sent to us together with the appropriate deposit referred
to in clause 2 below. You may make a provisional booking by
telephone, fax or email which we will hold for an agreed period
(usually 7 days) pending receipt of your booking form and deposit.
The provisional booking will automatically expire if we do
not receive the booking form and deposit within the agreed
period.
If we accept your booking, we will send a confirmation invoice
to the party leader. When you receive the confirmation invoice,
please check all details carefully and inform us immediately
if anything is incorrect as it may not be possible to make
changes later. We will normally expect to confirm your booking
within 14 days of receiving the completed booking form and
deposit. If we are unable to accept your booking, we will of
course return your payment to you immediately.
2. Payment
All bookings made more than 56 days before the start of a
tour must be accompanied by the appropriate deposit. The deposit
is non refundable. The balance of the tour price must be paid
no less than 56 days before the start of the tour. The date
for final payment will be shown on the confirmation invoice.
No reminder will be sent. If for any reason we do not receive
the balance by the due date, we reserve the right to cancel
your booking and to levy cancellation charges equivalent to
25% of the cost of the tour.
Where bookings are made less than 56 days before the start
of the tour the whole price must be paid at the time of booking.
3. Your Contract
A contract between us comes into existence when we send our
confirmation invoice to the party leader. This contract and
all matters arising from it are governed by English law and
subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England
and Wales.
4. The Cost of Your Holiday
We reserve the right to increase or decrease the prices of
any unsold holidays at any time. If there are any changes to
the published prices, these will be confirmed at the time of
booking. Once the price of your chosen tour has been confirmed
at the time of booking then, subject to the correction of errors,
we will only increase or decrease the price of your tour if
transportation costs and/or dues, taxes or fees payable for
services, or exchange rates applied to the particular package
change. We will absorb increased costs up to a total amount
equivalent to 2% of the cost of your confirmed tour (excluding
insurance premiums and any amendment charges). Only if the
increased costs exceed the 2% will we ask you to pay the difference.
If any increase is greater than 10% of the cost of your tour
(excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges), you will
be entitled to either cancel your booking and receive a full
refund of all monies paid to us (except for any amendment charges)
plus compensation as in clause 9 below, or to accept the offer
of an alternative tour from us.
You have 14 days from the date of issue printed on the surcharge
invoice to tell us if you want to exercise your right to cancel.
If you do not tell us that you wish to cancel within this period
of time, we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to
cancel and will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid
with the balance of the cost of the tour or within 14 days
of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever
is the later.
5. Changes By You
If, after
our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to make
any changes to your booking we will
do our best to
accommodate you but we cannot guarantee that we will be able
to meet such requests. Any such changes may be subject to an
amendment charge of up to £30 per person to cover our
expenses together with any costs or charges incurred or imposed
by any of our suppliers.
6. Cancellation By You
If you or any member of your party needs to cancel a booking
once it has been confirmed, the party leader must immediately
advise us in writing. A notice of cancellation will only take
effect when it is received by us in writing. If we receive
your notice of cancellation 56 days or more before departure,
we will retain your deposit. If we receive your notice of cancellation
less than 56 days before departure, a cancellation charge will
be payable per person cancelling. The charge will depend on
the amount of time between us receiving your notice of cancellation
and the tour departure date. The charges we will make are as
follows:
56-43 days before departure: 25% of the tour price
42-29 days before departure: 50% of the tour price
28-15 days before departure: 75% of the tour price
Within 14 days of departure 100% of the tour price.
7. Transfer of Bookings
If you, or any member of your party, are prevented from travelling,
the person concerned may transfer their booking to someone
else provided the following conditions are met. We must receive
written notification of the transfer, including full details
of the original and substitute party member(s) not less than
14 days before the start of your tour. The transferee must
fulfil any conditions that apply to the booking. The transferor
and the transferee shall be jointly responsible for payment
of the balance due and for any additional costs to us or our
suppliers arising from such transfer.
8. Changes by us
It is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your
tour after you book, but we do plan the arrangements many months
in advance. Occasionally we may have to make changes and we
reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes
will be minor and we will advise you of them at the earliest
possible date. If we make a major change, such as a change
of accommodation to that of a lower classification, we will
inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time
before your departure. You will have the choice of accepting
the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative
travel arrangements from us if available (and where this is
of a different price you or we will pay the difference as appropriate)
or cancelling your booking and receiving a full refund of monies
paid. Where we make major changes, except where these major
changes arise due to reasons of force majeure (see clause 10
below), we will pay compensation per person as detailed here:
Major change
notified to you more than 56 days before departure: £ nil
Major change notified to you 55-14 days before departure: £20.00
Major change notified to you 13 – 0 days before departure: £30.00
9. Cancellation by us
We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your tour.
For example, if the minimum number of clients required for
a particular scheduled tour is not reached, we may have to
cancel it. You will be notified of cancellation at least 14
days before the departure date except for reasons of force
majeure (see clause 10 below) or failure by you to pay the
final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked tour
we will return to you all monies paid to us or where possible
offer an alternative tour of comparable or higher standard.
Except where cancellation arises due to reasons of force majeure
or cancellation by clients, we will pay compensation per person
as detailed below:
Cancellation notified to you more than 56 days before departure: £ nil
Cancellation notified to you 55-14 days before departure: £20.00
Cancellation notified to you 13–0 days before departure: £30.00
10. Force Majeure
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions,
we cannot accept any liability or pay any compensation if we
have to cancel or change your tour for reasons of force majeure.
In these booking conditions force majeure means any event which
we or our suppliers could not, even with all due care, forsee
or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot,
civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural
or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and similar
events outside our control.
The personal service offered by Landscapes Travel depends
upon the availability of Andrew Thompson, who leads all our
tours. .We cannot accept any liability or pay any compensation
if we have to cancel or change your tour if Andrew Thompson
becomes unavailable for reasons which we could not, even with
all due care, forsee or avoid, including (but not limited to)
illness, injury or death to himself or another family member.
11. Our Liability to you
Our obligations, and those of our suppliers providing any
service or facility included in your tour, are to take reasonable
skill and care to arrange for the provision of such services
and facilities and, where we or our supplier is actually providing
the service or facility, to provide them and to do so with
reasonable skill and care. You must show that reasonable skill
and care has not been used if you wish to make any claim. There
may be different standards for services and facilities in Britain
and the rest of Europe than in other parts of the world. The
services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed
to be provided with reasonable skill and care if they comply
with any local regulations which apply or, if there are no
applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when compared
to the local standards and customs.
For claims which do not involve death or personal injury,
we accept, and will only have, liability should we or our suppliers
fail to satisfy the obligations detailed above. If we have
liability we will pay you reasonable compensation (limited
to twice the value of your holiday) if your enjoyment of the
tour is adversely affected. Any sums received by you from suppliers
will be deducted from any sum paid to you as compensation by
us. We do not accept any liability for loss or damage to luggage
or personal possessions which remain solely the responsibility
of their owner(s) at all times as it is assumed that you have
taken out adequate insurance cover.
For claims which involve death or personal injury as a result
of an activity forming part of your holiday, we accept, and
will only have liability should we or our suppliers fail to
satisfy the obligations detailed above. If we have liability
we will pay you reasonable compensation.
We shall have no liability where the cause of the failure
to provide, or failure in, your holiday or any death or personal
injury you may suffer is not due to any fault on our part or
that of our servants, agents or suppliers, because it is either
attributable to you, or attributable to someone unconnected
with your holiday and is unforeseeable or unavoidable, or is
due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control,
the consequences of which could not have been avoided even
if all due care had been exercised, or an event which neither
we, nor our servants, agents or suppliers could have seen or
forestalled.
If any
international convention applies to or governs any of the
services or facilities included in your holiday arranged
or provided by us, or provided by any of our suppliers, and
you make a claim against us of any nature arising out of death,
injury, loss or damage suffered during or as a result of the
provision of those services or facilities, our liability to
pay you compensation and/or the amount (if any) of compensation
payable to you by us will be limited in accordance with and/or
in an identical manner to that provided for by the international
convention concerned (in each case including in respect of
the conditions of liability, the time for bringing any claim
and the type and amount of any damages that can be awarded).
International conventions which may apply include in respect
of rail travel, the Berne Convention 1961; in respect of carriage
by road, the Geneva Convention 1973; and, in respect of hotels,
the Paris Convention 1962. For the avoidance of doubt, this
means that we are to be regarded as having all benefit of any
limitations of compensation contained in any international
conventions applicable to your holiday.
If you
choose to issue court proceedings in respect of a claim against
us, you must do so within 2 years
of your return from
holiday or within 2 years of first discovering the matters
giving rise to the claim, if this is later. If you do not,
then our liability to you will be limited in all cases to a
sum of £100.
You must, if we are adjudged to have, or if we accept, liability
for a claim that you make, assign to us any rights that you
may have against any of our servants, agents or suppliers which
is in any way responsible for the failure of your tour or any
death or personal injury you may suffer. You must also cooperate
with us in any claim we choose to bring against any third party
which we, in our discretion, deem to be so responsible.
Other than as set out above, and as is detailed elsewhere
in these booking conditions, we shall have no legal liability
whatsoever to you for any loss, damage, personal injury or
death which you suffer arising directly or indirectly from
any aspect of your tour.
12. Conditions of suppliers
Some services
which make up your tour are provided by independent suppliers.
These suppliers provide these services
in accordance
with their own terms and conditions. Some of these conditions
may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you
and they are often also subject to international conventions.
13. Claims against third parties
If you, or any member of your party, suffer death, illness,
or injury arising out of an activity which does not form part
of your package travel arrangements, we shall at our discretion,
offer advice, guidance and assistance to help you in resolving
any claim you may have against a third party, provided we are
advised of the incident within 90 days of its occurrence.
14. Independent Arrangements/Excursions
Any arrangements you make independently which do not form
part of the tour are entirely at your own risk.
15. Complaints
Our priority is to provide you with an enjoyable tour. If,
however, you have a complaint during a tour you must inform
both your group leader and the relevant supplier of the service
immediately. If you feel that the problem has not been satisfactorily
dealt with, you should notify us in writing within 30 days
of the end of your tour giving all relevant information. Failure
on your part to notify us and our agents does not give us the
opportunity to take appropriate action to put things right,
and may seriously affect your legal rights. It is unlikely
that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicably
between us.
16.
Health and fitness
Our
scheduled and suggested tours and breaks involve active
sightseeing in which walking is an essential element, for
example to
access
and
explore
historical
sites or because many town and city centres are not accessible
by vehicle. The amount of walking varies from tour to tour.
There may be
some walking
on uneven
ground and short, steep climbs including steps. Participants
on all our scheduled and suggested tours and breaks must be
in good health and able to manage everyday walking and climbing
stairs
without
difficulty.
Participants on our walking and hiking tours must be able
to fulfil the physical demands of the particular tour without
assistance from the tour leader or any other party member.
Please
consult us if you have any doubts about your ability to cope
with a particular tour. Under no circumstances
should
you travel if your doctor has or would advise against it. We
reserve the right to refuse to carry anyone who has
failed to notify us of any disability
or illness which leads them to require assistance.
17. Luggage
The amount of luggage you may bring is strictly limited to
one suitcase not exceeding 23kg in weight per person and one
item of hand luggage per person. We reserve the right to refuse
to carry or load any oversized luggage.
18. Special Requests and medical problems
If you have any special request, you must advise us at the
time of booking and clearly note it on your booking form. We
will advise the relevant supplier of any reasonable requests,
but regret that we cannot guarantee they will be met.
19. Client Behaviour
By agreeing to these terms and conditions, you agree to accept
our authority and decisions, and the authority and decisions
of our employees, group leaders, agents and suppliers, while
on tour. If any client behaves in a way which, in our opinion
or in the opinion of any person in authority, is likely to
cause offence, danger, damage or distress to others, we reserve
the right to exclude that client from the tour with immediate
effect. In this event, full cancellation will apply without
compensation or refund and we shall be under no liability for
any costs incurred by such a client.
20. Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend that you purchase an appropriate travel
insurance policy to cover all eventualities relating to your
tour, such as medical treatment, repatriation, damage and loss
to property and cancellation charges. For your own protection
your insurance policy should be valid from the time you book
your tour with us. When you make your balancing payment to
us, you should send us the relevant insurance details including
name, address policy number, emergency telephone number(s).
21. Passports and Visas
You are responsible for arranging transport to and from the
UK and for ensuring that you meet all passport and visa requirements
for travelling to and within the United Kingdom and Channel
Islands. Information can be obtained from national passport
agencies and embassies and consulates of the UK and any other
countries through which you intend to travel. We are unable
to make refunds if you are unable to travel because your visa
or passport is invalid or if you are refused entry into the
UK.
22.
Brochure and Website Accuracy
We make every effort to ensure that our website and brochures
are accurate. Regrettably, however, errors do occasionally
occur and we reserve the right to correct them as soon as they
come to our attention. If we do alter prices, services or other
particulars before we enter into a contract with you, we will
notify you of such changes before such a contract is agreed.
23. Data Protection
We will only pass on personal information, such as your name,
address, special needs and dietary requirements, to our suppliers
in furtherance of the arrangements for your tour. We will hold
your information and may use it to inform you of offers in
the future or to send you brochures. However, we will not pass
on your data to anyone else for marketing purposes. We can
supply a copy of your information held by us; we may make a
small charge for providing this.
24. Financial security
In order
to comply with the consumer protection requirements of the
EU Package Travel Regulation 1992, we
operate a trust
account (held with Lloyds Bank plc) in which clients’ payments
are held until they have completed or cancelled their tour.
This guarantees that in the very unlikely event of insolvency,
your money would be refunded in full.
