T&Cs
WITH WHOM AM I BOOKING?
Your contract is with UK Premier Leisure Ltd trading as activ4; Registered in England No. 04597011 Head Office 16 Longbow Professional Centre, Shrewsbury, Shropshire, SY1 3GZ. When making your holiday arrangements, we do so as agents for relevant transport providers with whom you will have a contract. We reserve the right to substitute the carrier if necessary. However once your holiday has been confirmed we will accept responsibility for it in accordance with these booking terms and conditions as an organiser under the Package Travel Regulations 1992. All party members must ensure that they read and understand all details published in our brochure or on our website relating to their holiday prior to sending any booking details to us Party Leaders are responsible for passing on any additional information and/or details of correspondence with us to other members of the party. In these Booking Conditions the term “Holiday” means tour, course, day trip or other inclusive arrangement. “You” and “Your” are references to all persons named on the booking including anyone who is added or substituted at a later stage.
YOUR FINANCIAL SECURITY
We have an Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL 6175) issued by the Civil Aviation Authority. This means our air holidays are ATOL protected. In the unlikely event of our insolvency the CAA will ensure that you are not left stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advanced booking. Please note that the ATOL protection scheme only applies to the arrangements which include flights arranged by us where the person booking is present in the UK when the booking is made or the first leg of any flight that we arrange for you commences in the UK. We are also members of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA W9487).
The Association of Bonded Travel Organisers Trust Limited (ABTOT) provides financial protection under The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 for Activ4 School Tours (membership number 5518), and in the event of their insolvency, protection is provided for:
- Non-flight packages
ABTOT cover provides for a refund in the event you have not yet travelled or repatriation if transportation was included in your package. Please note that bookings made outside the UK are only protected by ABTOT when purchased directly with Activ4 School Tours.
In the unlikely event that you require assistance whilst abroad due to our financial failure, please call our 24/7 helpline on 01702 811397 and advise you are a customer of an ABTOT protected travel company.
You can access The Package Travel and Linked Travel Arrangements Regulations 2018 here: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2018/634/contents/made
You can find out more about ABTOT here: https://www.abtot.com/
WHAT DO I GET FOR MY MONEY?
The individual quote form from which you are booking clearly states all that is included and what additional costs are your responsibility. At any stage should you require further clarification of what you are receiving for your money please ask. No additions, deletions, changes or promises may be made relating to this agreement save in writing by a Director of the Company.
HOW DO YOU BOOK & PAY FOR YOUR TOUR?
You must first decide which tour you wish to take. You then complete the appropriate booking form and send it to us together with the required initial deposit. Two further deposits will be required, one after 30 days following the booking confirmation and one after 60 days. Please note that when you return your deposit in order to confirm your booking then you will be agreeing to be bound by these terms and conditions. Each amount paid will be credited to your account. When you book travel arrangements with us, our contract with you takes effect when you receive our written confirmation invoice. This invoice will be sent to the Party Leader. Please check this invoice carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later. We regret that it may harm your rights if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in any document within ten days of our sending it out. Once the contract is made, we are responsible to provide you with the tour you have requested and you are responsible to pay for it in full by the specified date. UK Premier Leisure Ltd reserves the right to charge interest and an administration fee on late payments. Interest will be calculated according to relevant bank interest rates on the date at which the payment falls due. Any monies held by a party leader in respect of a UK Premier Leisure Ltd tour are held by the party leader on behalf of the party members until such time as we have dispatched written confirmation of your booking. Thereafter any money held by the party leader is held on our behalf. In cases of continued late payment UK Premier Leisure reserves the right to cancel the tour. With parties of two or more people, the person who makes the booking by signing the booking form, or otherwise contracting with us, accepts responsibility for making all payments to us for all members of the party and for the proper conduct of himself/herself and the party on tour. If the booking is made within 10 weeks of departure, full payment must be made at the time of booking. Otherwise, the balance is due no later than 70 days (10 weeks) prior to departure. If the balance is not received by the due date, we reserve the right at our discretion and at any subsequent time before departure to cancel the tour, retain the deposits paid and charge cancellation charges in accordance with the charges set out in Table A of these terms and conditions. There will be a £20 per person administration charge if payment is not received by the due date.
CAN THE COST OF MY TOUR BE INCREASED?
Once the price of your chosen booking has been confirmed at the time of booking, then subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase the price in the following circumstances: increases in transportation costs e.g. fuel. Aircraft insurance tax, scheduled air fares and any other airline surcharges which are part of the contract between airlines (and their agents) and the tour operator/organiser, Government actions such increases in VAT or any other Government imposed increases, adverse fluctuations in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holidays which result in our costs increasing. Price increases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge. Even in the stated cases we will absorb increased costs up to a total equivalent of 2% of the cost of your confirmed holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges). Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged. If this means paying more than 10% of the tour price (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), then you will be entitled to cancel your tour with a full refund of monies paid to us except for insurance premiums and amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within fourteen days from the issue date on the invoice. If you do not tell us that you wish to cancel within this period we are entitled to assume that you do not wish to cancel and will pay the surcharge. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, 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 Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within fourteen days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is later. If payment is made by cheque then you should allow five working days for clearance from the time we receive it. Payment may also be made by cash or bank transfer. Passenger Protection Levy: In the event that a passenger protection levy is introduced it will be shown as a separate item on your invoice and will be subject to surcharges. Tour prices on all quotations are based on the costs of transport, accommodation etc on the date stated on the quotation.
DESCRIPTION
The descriptions of our suppliers’ facilities are those provided to us by them and/or by their/our agents. It may happen that in the fullness of time, these facilities may have altered. Our responsibility is clearly covered under the paragraph “Our Responsibility to You”.
BEHAVIOUR / INDEMNITY
When you book with us, the party leader accepts responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and other party’s legal cost) as a result of your actions. In signing the booking form the party leader also accepts responsibility for the good conduct of all participants during the tour and warrants that at least one responsible adult will be on active duty at all times. We reserve the right in our absolute discretion to terminate without notice the travel arrangements of any customer whose behaviour is such that it is likely in our opinion or in the opinion of the airline pilot, bus driver, hotelier or accommodation owner or manager or any other person in authority to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to other customers, employees or to any other third party. You understand that we shall be under no liability to pay any refund or compensation to or costs incurred by, any person whose behaviour is thus unacceptable. Furthermore you agree to indemnify us fully against any claim (including legal costs) made against us by or on behalf of the owners of such accommodation or the operator of such flight or other means of transportation, on behalf of the owners of such accommodation or the operator of such flight or other means of transportation. The party leader is responsible for completion of passport formalities and any other personal arrangements which may be necessary such as visa, currency and medical requirements. The party leader is also responsible for ensuring that the group reaches the starting point of the tour at the allocated time. For groups travelling by air it is the responsibility of the group leader to ensure that names are exactly as they appear on the passport with no abbreviations.
WHAT IF YOU CHANGE OR CANCEL A BOOKING?
You may add extra members to your booking at any time, subject to availability, payment of the applicable holiday price and discretionary amendment fee below. If you wish to change your booking you must notify any changes to us in writing and we will do our best to comply. We cannot guarantee that such changes will be possible and we reserve the right to charge an amendment fee of up to £30 per person together with any extra costs incurred by ourselves and any extra costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. Certain travel arrangements (e.g flight/rail tickets) may not be changeable after a reservation has been made and any alteration request could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangement. We require the names of all members of your group at the time of booking confirmation. It is the Party Leader’s responsibility to ensure that ALL names given are in full and exactly as shown on the individual’s passport. We do not accept any responsibility for incorrect/abbreviated names submitted and any subsequent amendments will be dealt with as a name change. Air Tours: We reserve the right to use and/or substitute charter for scheduled and low cost carriers such as Easyjet, Ryanair etc. In these cases once the airline has received and processed the names, any subsequent amendments or name changes will carry a minimum charge of £100 plus the insurance premium. Most airlines do not allow name changes after tickets have been issued or in some cases (e.g. Easyjet, Ryanair or Jet2 etc) once names have been received. In these instances the charge is usually the full cost of the flight. Coach Tours: Names are required at the time of booking confirmation. Any name change alterations made by you within 4 weeks of departure will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and will be subject to the cancellation charges set out in Table A and payment of the full cost of the new booking. If you cancel a passenger on your booking: You may replace any cancelled member. We reserve the right to charge an amendment fee up to £30 together with any extra costs incurred by ourselves and any extra costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in Table A below will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. You must notify all cancellations and substitutions to us in writing. Charges apply from the date written notification is received at our offices. The cancellation charge is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling, excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges. These are not refundable. Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges (less any applicable excess) under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned. We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us. If there is/are any outstanding cancellation charge(s) remaining, you must pay this to us.
WHAT IF WE MAKE CHANGES?
We start planning the holidays we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in our published information both before and after bookings have been confirmed, and we may have to cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. Most changes are minor such as changes to the overseas airport, airline, aircraft, ferries or coaches used, changes to departure times of less than 12 hours or the withdrawal of certain facilities. Occasionally, we have to make a significant change which include a change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the whole or a major part of the time you are away; a change of resort for the whole or a major part of the time you are away; a change of outward departure time or overall length of time you are away of 12 or more hours; and a change of UK departure point (except as between Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted or Luton and instances where we offer connecting transportation). All other changes are minor. If we have to make a significant change or we have to cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible, and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-
Accepting the changed arrangements or
Purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) or
Cancelling, in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us. It has been experienced during our years in business that changes are forced on us by unforeseen circumstances which are completely beyond our control and which could not have been avoided by the exercise of due care. We will ensure that any consequent modifications to your tour are kept to an absolute minimum. In the case of Tours involving the playing of fixtures, should we be forced to change aspects of your tour due to the non availability of suitable fixtures or venues, or for example the revision of hosts’ domestic arrangements which may entail alterations, we reserve the right to make such changes as we deem necessary. You will not be entitled to compensation.
WITHDRAWAL OF FACILITIES
We would draw your attention to the following circumstances which fall outside our direct control and where we are not prepared to accept liability. Note that some amenities (e.g. hotel lifts, swimming pools, etc.) require servicing and cleaning and may therefore not be available at all times. Some services are also affected by weather conditions (eg availability of outdoor swimming pools etc.) and their availability is at the discretion of the provider of the service. Entertainment (particularly live entertainment) provided in hotels is frequently subject to demand and its nature and frequency may be varied if there is a lack of demand or insufficient numbers
FORCE MAJEURE
We regret that we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by; or you otherwise suffer any loss or damage as a result of ‘Force Majeure’. In the case of these Booking Terms and Conditions, force majeure means any event which we or the supplier of the service or services in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.
CHANGES TO YOUR ITINERARY
Whilst we take care to ensure that all timings on our itineraries are accurate, we cannot guarantee them as they are subject to local weather and traffic conditions which can cause delays. The flight timings given on booking are for general guidance only and are subject to change. The latest timings will be shown on your confirmation invoice. However, the actual flight times will be those shown on your tickets which will be dispatched 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. It is possible that flight times may be changed even after tickets have been dispatched – we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. We are not always in a position to confirm the airline, aircraft type and airport of destination which will be used in connection with any flight included in your holiday. When this information is provided at the time of booking or subsequently, it is subject to change. Any such change will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges
SAFETY STANDARDS
Please note: The requirements and standards of the country in which services are provided apply and not those of the UK. These requirements and standards will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower
SPECIAL REQUESTS
Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot promise that any requests will be complied with unless we have specifically confirmed this in writing. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of the special request on any documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. All special requests are subject to availability and confirmation in writing by us. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect the holiday arrangements of that person, please tell us before you confirm your booking so we can advise as to the suitability of the chosen holiday. In any case, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must reserve the right to decline/cancel their reservation.
OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU
We will have taken all reasonable steps to ensure that proper arrangements have been made for your tour; that the suppliers of the various services which will be provided to you as part of the inclusive tour are efficient, safe and reputable businesses and that they comply with the local, and national laws and regulations of the country in which they provide those services. We accept full liability for the proper performance of our obligations under our agreement with you for the provision of your tour. We accept responsibility for the proven negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees and agents and our suppliers and sub-contractors, servants and/or agents whilst acting within the scope of/or in the course of their employment in respect of claims arising as a result of death, bodily injury or illness to you or any member of your party. Further, we will 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 or carrying out work we had asked them to do. It is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense, cost or other claim of any description whatsoever which results from: –
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or ‘force majeure’ as defined.
In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your holiday or suffer any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your holiday or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our contract or other fault of ourselves or, where we were responsible for them, our suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have suffered relate to any business. Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange them. Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is limited to the excess amount payable under the insurance policy we offer per person affected. You are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the time of booking. For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, the maximum amount we will have to pay you if we are found liable to you on any basis 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 the our responsibility to you clause. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. 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 in practice. The fact that services or facilities fail to comply with local or UK guidance or advice shall not of itself mean that the services or facilities in question have not been provided with reasonable skill and care. 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 air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we 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 for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation on Air Carrier Liability for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). 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, we will not be obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on request. In any circumstances in which the carrier is liable to you by virtue of the Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier. When making any payment, we are 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. You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier 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 us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred. Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned. This clause is intended to set out our obligations to you as an organiser under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. We will not accept any further or different liability than these Regulations impose. In addition, regardless of any contrary representations made by us, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any further or different liability to you
COMPLAINTS PROCEDURE
If you have a complaint whilst on tour, you should immediately register this complaint with the appropriate local agent/supplier and confirm it in writing to that supplier with a copy sent to us. They will do their best to resolve the problem to your satisfaction on the spot. On your return to the UK, if you wish to pursue your complaint, we will require full details of your complaint in writing together with a copy of any reports written to suppliers. This must be sent to our Head Office in Shrewsbury within 28 days of your return. The sooner you contact us, the quicker we can action your complaint.