OUR AGREEMENT WITH YOU / BOOKING CONDITIONS
We are a trading division of PolandTravel BV, Chamber of commerce number 57332517. Our Agreement with you sets out what you are legally entitled to expect from us when you buy a Package Holiday from us and will not apply to any course of dealings between us other than the Package Holiday booked. Because we sell a wide variety of Package Holidays you should read our terms and conditions carefully, before you book, to see how they affect your specific travel arrangements made by us.
1. Your Travel Booking
Whether you book alone or as a group, we will only deal with the lead booking name in all subsequent correspondence, including changes, amendments and cancellations. You must be 18 years old at the time of booking and possess the legal capacity and authority to book as the lead name and travel on holidays with us and take up the offers advertised by us if they are still available. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the personal details or any other information supplied in respect of yourself and any other person travelling on the booking and for passing on any information regarding the booking or any changes made in relation thereto, to all persons travelling on such booking, including but not limited to information on schedule changes or copies of booking confirmations.
In addition, if your holiday includes a flight, you are also responsible for (a) notifying us prior to the time of booking of any personal circumstances and needs pertaining to a person included in the booking including, without limitation, whether any such person is not self reliant or is a person with mobility – for example if you, or a member of your party, have difficulty in walking 500 meters; and (b) notifying us at any time from the time of booking until 48 hours prior to the flight’s departure by calling our call centre if any person travelling on the booking has ceased to be self reliant or a person with reduced mobility or if a person previously reported to be with reduced mobility or as not being self reliant does no longer fall into either category.
It is a condition of your booking with us that you and all other members of your party, including infants and children, are adequately insured on holiday. Any person who is under 18 years old must be accompanied by an adult on his or her journey. There may be other restrictions and conditions on some offers, but these are explained in the details of those offers. When you or (if you are booking through a travel agent) your travel agent ask for your booking to be confirmed, we will confirm the booking there and then, and set aside your chosen accommodation, holiday or transport for you. Next, we will send you or your travel agent a Confirmation Invoice within 14 days. We may not be able to confirm some of our ground arrangements straight away (e.g. bespoke accommodation, tours etc). In these instances we may issue a Confirmation Invoice. However, a contract for arrangements that have not been confirmed on that invoice will only be made when we have sent you written confirmation that those additional arrangements have been completed. If there is any change to any of the details discussed at the time of booking, before the Confirmation Invoice is issued, we will notify you promptly of any new or changed details, including a change to the total price (if any). If any detail on the Confirmation Invoice is not correct tell us or your travel agent immediately. If there is an obvious error on the Confirmation Invoice we reserve the right to correct it as soon as we become aware of it, but we will do this within 7 days of issuing the Confirmation Invoice or, if your departure is within 7 days, no later than 24 hours before you go. If any of these changes are not acceptable then you will be entitled to a full refund.
The contractual terms of Our Agreement apply between you and us because you have chosen a Package Holiday with us (hereafter, a “holiday”) which is a ‘package’ within the meaning of The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 and will enjoy the benefits conferred by it. We may transfer your booking to another company within our group, but this will have no effect on your holiday arrangements.
Air Passenger Duty, which is payable by all passengers departing from UK airports, is included in the price of your holiday. The price of your holiday will include the Air Passenger Duty for an economy seat. If you upgrade to a premium cabin this will be included in the upgrade cost.
2. The Price You Pay
All prices we advertise are accurate at the date published, but we reserve the right to change any of those prices from time to time. Prices include a cost for fuel that was estimated at the date of this publication.
We reserve the right to add a fuel supplement to holiday prices should this increase after the date of this publication. Prices can go up or down. We will be able to tell you or your travel agent the up-to-date price of your chosen travel arrangements and of any other services advertised by us before confirming your booking. We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after you have booked but no later than 30 days before the departure date stipulated and will forward an Amendment Invoice reflecting any changes made. After a Confirmation Invoice has been sent to you, any increase to your holiday price will be as the result of changes in our costs of supplying your holiday resulting from transportation charges, (fuel, airport charges, scheduled air fares and other transport charges which form part of our contract with the transport provider), currency fluctuations and government action. An administration charge and any relevant travel agent’s commission is included within these amounts.
If the increase would be 2% or less of the holiday price shown on your Confirmation Invoice (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), we will absorb the changes in our costs described above and will only pass on any increase above that level
If the increase is more than 10% of the holiday price (calculated as above), then: –
1. You may cancel your holiday booking within 14 days of the Amendment Invoice date and receive a refund of all monies paid to us except any amendment charges; we will only consider an appropriate refund of insurance premium paid if you can show us that you are unable to transfer or reuse your policy; and
2. the increase will be considered a Major Change as described in section 4 below and, unless you choose to cancel under paragraph 1 above, you will be entitled to the alternatives set out in section 4 for those circumstances, but in either case you will receive compensation in accordance with section 4.
The price quoted on the last Amendment Invoice issued is guaranteed, unless you change your holiday booking. Any increases in our costs which occur after the last Amendment Invoice has been sent will be borne by us. Should you instruct your credit/debit card company to “charge back” any payment(s) properly due from you in respect of your booking, we will charge you a fee of £10 per incident and associated costs. We further reserve the right to cancel your booking and/or take legal action against you for all outstanding payment(s).
3. If We Cancel Your Booking
We aim to provide your holiday as booked. But if, for example, there are not enough people booked on your holiday or you do not pay the balance of the holiday price on time, we may cancel it. We reserve the right to cancel your holiday in any circumstances but if we cancel your holiday, except where this is because you have not paid, you can either have a refund or accept a replacement holiday from us of equivalent or similar standard and price, if we are able to offer you one. Should you choose this option the terms and conditions of your holiday will not change and these conditions will still apply to your booking. In either case, we will pay you compensation, using the scale shown (unless we cancel your holiday because you do not pay us the balance of the holiday price or because of one of the events listed in the ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’) and we will always refund the difference in price if the replacement holiday is of a lower standard and price. We will not cancel your holiday less than 2 weeks before you go, unless this is the result of one of the events in the ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’.
4. If We Change Your Booking Details
We hope that we will not have to make any change to your holiday but, because our holidays are planned many months in advance, we sometimes do need to make changes. We reserve the right to do this at any time. We will let you or your travel agent know about any important changes when you book. If you have already booked, we will let you know as soon as we can, if there is time before your departure. Flight timings shown by us are for guidance only and may change. Occasionally it may be necessary to change the aircraft type for your flight which may mean that some facilities such as in-flight entertainment or the advertised seat pitch may not be available. Where we are unable to provide a seat option that you have paid for we will refund the amount you have paid.
Major Changes To Your Holiday
Occasionally, we have to make major changes to the flight or accommodation making up your holiday with us.
Major changes to your holiday for which we will pay compensation unless the change is for reasons beyond our control (see ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’), using the scale shown, may include the following changes: a significant change of destination; a change in accommodation to that of a lower category, a change in the time of your departure or return flight by more than 12 hours, a change of UK departure airport (excluding changes between London airports, London, Ebbsfleet and Ashford stations and between Dover/Folkestone ports). A delay to your flight that we need to make within 24 hours before you are due to depart will not be considered a major change unless the delay is for more than 24 hours. These changes are only examples and there may be other significant changes which constitute major changes.
If we tell you about any of these changes after we have confirmed your holiday booking, you may either:
– accept the new arrangements offered by us; or
– accept a replacement holiday from us of equivalent or similar standard and price, at the date of the change, if we are able to offer you one. Should you choose this option the terms and conditions of your holiday will not change and these conditions still apply to your booking; or
– cancel your holiday with us and receive a full refund of all monies paid.
If The Change Is Not Acceptable To You
If any major change indicated above is not acceptable to you, you can cancel your holiday booking. In this case, we will refund all the money you have paid us and will pay you compensation, as shown above, depending on how many days before your holiday we tell you about this change unless the change is for reasons beyond our control (see ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’). This standard payment will not affect your statutory or other legal rights.
Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control
Events beyond our control include: war, threat of war, riots, civil disturbances, terrorist activity and its consequences, industrial disputes, natural and nuclear disasters, fire, epidemics, health risks and pandemics, unavoidable and unforeseeable technical problems with transport for reasons beyond our control or that of our suppliers; closed or congested airports or ports, hurricanes and other actual or potential severe weather conditions, and any other similar events.
In February 2005 a new Europe-wide law relating to denied boarding, delays and cancellation of flights came into force. This law granted rights to passengers including in certain circumstances the right to cancel their flight and receive reimbursement of the cost of the flight from their airline. Full details of these rights is publicised at EU airports and is also available from affected airlines. However, you should note that reimbursement of the cost of a flight that forms part of your holiday is the responsibility of your holiday airline and will not automatically entitle you to reimbursement of the cost of your holiday from us.
5. What Happens To Holiday Complaints
We can usually sort out any complaints you may have. But if we cannot agree, you can use the Arbitration Scheme devised for the travel industry by ABTA and administered independently, providing the dispute fits within the rules of the scheme.
This is a simple way of sorting out complaints and there are limits on the costs you might have to pay. You do not have to appear in person, but can send documents to explain your complaint. Details and application forms are available from ABTA, 30 Park Street, London, SE1 9EQ.
YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION
When you buy an ATOL protected flight or flight inclusive holiday from us you will receive an ATOL Certificate. This lists what is financially protected, where you can get information on what this means for you and who to contact if things go wrong.
We, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL Certificate, will provide you with the services listed on the ATOL Certificate, or a suitable alternative. In some cases, where neither we nor the supplier are able to do so for reasons of insolvency, an alternative ATOL holder may provide you with the services you have bought or a suitable alternative, at no extra cost to you. You agree to accept that in those circumstances the alternative ATOL holder will perform those obligations and you agree to pay any money outstanding to be paid by you under your contract to that alternative ATOL holder. However, you also agree that in some cases it will not be possible to appoint an alternative ATOL holder, in which case you will be entitled to make a claim under the ATOL scheme, or your credit card issuer where applicable.
All money accepted from you by a travel agent acting as our agent is held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust at all times, but subject to the agent’s obligation to pay it to us for so long as we do not fail. If we do fail, any money held at that time by the agent, or subsequently accepted from you by the agent, is and continues to be held by that agent on behalf of and for the benefit of the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust without any obligation to pay that money to us.
The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked from us and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. We provide this security by way of an ATOL (number 2524) administered by the Civil Aviation Authority and a bond held by ABTA for packages that do not include flights.
6. Our Responsibility For Your Holiday
We will arrange for you to receive the services that make up the holiday that you choose and that we confirm. These services will be provided either directly by us or through independent suppliers contracted by us. We are responsible for making sure that each part of the holiday you book with us is provided to a reasonable standard and as was advertised by us (or as changed and accepted by you). If any part of your holiday is not provided as described, we will pay you compensation, if appropriate, unless this is due to reasons beyond our control (see ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’).
We have taken all reasonable care to make sure that all the services which make up your holiday advertised by us are provided by efficient and reputable businesses. These businesses should follow local standards. However, overseas safety standards are generally lower than in the UK, for example few hotels yet meet EC fire safety recommendations even in Europe.
7. Personal Injury
If you suffer injury, illness or death directly as a result of the services provided as part of your holiday we may make a payment to you. We will not make any payment if your injury, illness or death was caused by an event or circumstances which the person who caused it could not have predicted or avoided even if they had taken all necessary and due care. We will not make any payment if your illness, injury or death was your own fault. If we do make a payment, it will be similar to one you would receive under English law in an English court.
1. You must tell us and the supplier involved about your injury or illness while you are in the resort (see section 13). You should also write to us about your claim within three months of coming home from your holiday to allow us to investigate it properly and cooperate with us so as to enable us to carry out such investigation. Please include a letter about your injury or illness from your doctor if you can.
2. You should transfer to us any rights you have against the supplier or any other person.
3. You should cooperate fully with us if we or our insurers want to enforce those rights.
4. Any payments we make may be limited in accordance with international conventions.
We ask you to transfer your rights to us so that we can claim back from suppliers any payments we make to you, plus any legal or other costs. We will not make a profit from this. If we get back from the supplier more than we have paid you plus these costs, we will give the extra money to you.
If you or someone on your holiday booking is injured, falls ill or dies while taking part in an activity which is not part of the holiday, or you need to incur unpredictable extra expenses for which we are not liable because the event is beyond our control (see ‘Important Note – Events Beyond Our Control’) we will, where appropriate and subject to our discretion, try to help if we can. We may help everyone on your holiday booking up to a total cost to us of £5,000 as long as the following conditions are met:
1. You must ask us for help within three months of coming back from holiday.
2. You must make a claim under your insurance policy’s legal expenses or other appropriate section. You must show us proof that your insurance company has received your claim and, if you get back the cost of legal or other expenses, you must repay us any money we have spent in helping you.
8. Excursions
From time to time we may introduce you to reputable third party suppliers of excursions or other leisure services. If you choose to enter into a contract for the provision of excursions or other leisure services, your contract will be with that supplier directly and we act only in the capacity of an agent, and therefore would have no liability for the proper performance of that contract.
The terms and conditions in this “Our Agreement With You” will not apply to any contract for the provision of excursions or other leisure services.
YOUR AGREEMENT WITH US
9. Your Contract
By asking us or your travel agent to confirm your booking, you are accepting on behalf of all persons travelling on this booking that the terms of this Agreement and the conditions of any terms and conditions of carriage constitute the entire agreement between us with regard to your booking and your travel arrangements. You also consent to our processing personal information about you and other members of your party. Where the context permits, reference to “you” and “your” will include you and all persons travelling on this booking. Your contract with us shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the law of England and Wales. You agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales over any claim or matter arising under or in connection with your contract with us. You may however choose to submit to the law and jurisdiction of Scotland and Northern Ireland if you are resident in either of these jurisdictions but not to any other law and/or jurisdiction.
It is a condition of booking that you and all members of your party provide certain information that may be sent to governmental authorities and border control and security agencies for the purpose of security and counter terrorism. This is known as Advanced Passenger Information, sometimes known as APIS. The information you must provide will include, but not be limited to, full name – as shown in your passport or travel document, gender, date of birth, travel document type, number, country of issue and expiry date, and for travel to the United States, your country of residence and the address for your first night’s stay.
10. Paying For Your Travel Arrangements
You will be required to pay a deposit to us for each person when you book unless this is within 12 weeks of departure when the full amount for the booking is payable. The deposit amount will be specified by us or your travel agent when your booking is made. If it is not specified then it will be the amount that we ask you to pay when you book, even if this is 100% of the holiday price. If you pay less than the deposit under a low deposit booking scheme, then this is only part of the deposit referred to in this paragraph. The remaining deposit will be due on cancellation or date specified at time of booking or on your confirmation invoice Please note your booking deposit may be increased or there may be a charge payable for some accommodation, holidays or flight bookings where it is necessary to secure specific facilities with full payment at the time of booking e.g. weddings, coach touring and specific types of airline tickets. Once confirmed, the booking deposit, additional charges paid and insurance premiums will not be refunded in the event of cancellation except in the circumstances specified in Sections 2, 3 or 4 or as otherwise required by law.
This is your only commitment until 12 weeks before you go. You must pay the amount on the last Invoice issued by us, at least 12 weeks before you go on holiday. If you don’t, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled and to charge you a cancellation charge up to 100% of the total on that last Invoice, in accordance with the scale in section 12.
If you pay money for your booking to a travel agent appointed by us, they will hold that money as our agent from the time they receive it until they pay the money to us. Telephone bookings may incur an additional charge, check at time of booking.
If your payment is made by credit card a fee will apply, please check fee at time of booking. We do not accept personal cheques, only building society and bankers’ drafts will be accepted.
11. If You Change Your Booking
1. You must ensure all names and details are entered correctly at the time of booking. You will receive an invoice once your booking is confirmed and must contact us straight away if there is something that you need to correct, or if you don’t receive an invoice within 7 days of confirming your booking.
Amendments to correct passenger name misspellings will be free of charge within 4 days of booking.
2. Please bear in mind that certain airlines and other transport providers treat changes as a cancellation and charge accordingly, up to 100% of the cost for that part of the arrangement. Where applicable these charges will be passed on to you.
3. When changing your holiday details, the price of your new travel arrangements will be based on the price that applies on the day you make the change. These prices may not be the same as when you first made your booking.
Some accommodation is priced according to the number of people staying there. If your party size changes, we’ll recalculate your booking cost based on the new number of people going. If fewer people share the accommodation, then the cost per person may go up. This extra cost isn’t a cancellation charge, and it isn’t normally covered by insurance.
4. Some arrangements cannot be removed once they have been added to your booking. These include: transfers, flight options, children’s activities, accommodation options such as room/board upgrades and late checkout rooms. Certain extras, such as excursions, theme park tickets and airport extras may be non-refundable. We will make this clear when you book those arrangements, please check with us if you are unsure at the time of booking.
A £50 per booking charge will be applied if you cancel car hire insurance more than 14 days after the initial holiday booking.
12. If You Cancel Your Booking
If you want to cancel your booking, or part of it, you must contact us as soon as possible. If you have made your booking through a Travel Agency, your agent must advise us of your request to cancel. Once your booking has been cancelled you can expect to receive a cancellation invoice within 14 days. If you don’t please contact us.
To cover the cost of processing your cancellation, and to compensate us for the risk that we may not be able to resell your travel arrangements, we’ll make a cancellation charge on the scale shown below. You are responsible for paying this charge.
Guide To Our Cancellation Charges
These charges are based on how many days before your booked departure we receive your cancellation notice, and are a percentage of the total cost of your booking, not including your insurance premium. If you want to cancel one or more passengers on the booking you’ll have to pay a proportion of the applicable cancellation charge for those passengers.
Period Before Departure When Notice Of Cancellation Is Received
Percentage Of Total Booking Price
40 days or more
Loss of deposit
40 – 22 days
70%
21 – 15 days
90%
14 – 0 days
100%
Your deposit is non-refundable, even if the cancellation charge calculated is lower than the deposit amount paid. Where extra facilities or transport options, see Sections 10 and 11.4, are non-refundable, in part or in full, the cost of these will be added to the cancellation charge you have to pay.
If you booked using a Low Deposit Offer, the full deposit amount stated on your confirmation invoice will need to be paid upon cancellation.
The cancellation charge may be higher for certain travel arrangements, such as coach tours or scheduled airfares. Please ask for details of cancellation charges when you book and check your insurance policy to see if you’d be covered for the cost of any cancellation charges.
13. If You Have A Complaint
If you have a complaint about your arrangements whilst away, you must immediately notify the supplier of the service in question locally. If they are unable to resolve the problem immediately, and a member of our staff is not available, you should contact us straight away by phone/fax/email and we will endeavour to assist. Please write your holiday reference number on your letter, and include your daytime and evening telephone numbers. If you do not give us the opportunity to resolve any problem locally by reporting it to the supplier, or calling and informing us, then we may not be able to deal positively with any complaint on your return.
14. Conduct While Travelling
We reserve the right to refuse to accept you as a customer or continue dealing with you if we, or another person in authority, believe your behaviour is disruptive, causes unnecessary inconvenience, is threatening or abusive, you damage property, you upset, annoy, disturb, or put any other traveller or our staff or agents in the UK or resort in any risk or danger, on the telephone, in writing or in person.
If the Captain of your flight or cruise ship or any of our resort staff or agents believes that you could be disruptive or that you are suffering from a contagious disease, they can also refuse to let you proceed with your travel arrangements, restrict your movements on board, disembark you from a ship or aircraft, or remove you from your accommodation or excursion.
If you are disruptive and prevented from boarding your outbound flight in the UK, we will treat your booking as cancelled by you from that moment, and you will have to pay full cancellation charges (see section 12). If this occurs overseas then you will become responsible for your own return home and any other members of your group who cannot or will not travel without you. We will not be liable for any refund, or compensation or any costs or expenses you incur.
If you are refused carriage because of your behaviour, or you are under the influence of alcohol or drugs, your airline may pass on your details and date of the refusal of carriage to other airlines for their information. This in turn may make it difficult for you to book other airline tickets. In any of these circumstances no refunds or compensation will be paid to you and we may make a claim against you for any damages, costs and expenses (including legal expenses) incurred as a result of your behaviour including but not limited to (i) repairing or replacing property lost, damage or destroyed by you, (ii) compensating any passenger, crew, staff or agent affected by your actions and (iii) diverting the aircraft for the purpose of removing you from the aircraft. Criminal proceedings may also be instigated.
For the purposes of this section reference to “you” or “your” includes any other person in your party.
15. Your Accommodation
Any accommodation we arrange for you must only be used by those people named on your Confirmation Invoice (or on latest Amendment Invoice issued). You are not allowed to share the accommodation or let anyone else stay there. You are responsible for the cost of any damage caused to your accommodation or its contents during your stay,. These charges must be met by you and may have to be paid locally.
16. The Conditions Of Your Ticket
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. You agree that the transport company’s own ‘Conditions of Carriage’ will apply to you on that journey. 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. You can ask us or the travel agent booking your holiday to provide you with a copy of any of the conditions applicable to your journey. The airline’s terms and conditions are available on request. We will tell you the identity of the air carrier when you book with us and if it is not known at that time or subsequently changes we will inform you as soon as possible and no later than at check-in for your flight.
17. Contacting You
If you book via our website or have opted in other circumstances for us to contact you via email, we will communicate with you using the email address you have provided. For example, to provide your e-confirmation, e-ticket, e-cancellation, etc. We will assume that your email address is correct and that you understand the risks associated with using this form of communication. Please note that you may still have to contact us via our call centre or in writing as required in our terms and conditions.