| In these Booking Conditions, 'you' and 'your' means all persons named on the booking form (including anyone who is added or substituted at a later date). 'We', 'us' and 'our' means The Hoseasons Group Limited of Spring Mill, Earby, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, BB94 0AA. cottages4you and Country Holidays are trading names of The Hoseasons Group Limited.
Before booking with us, please read these Booking Conditions carefully and all the other information relevant to your booking, including the Property Rental Conditions (which means all information contained in any specific conditions or restrictions set out in the brochure or website description of your chosen property[ies] and the Important Information section of the brochure or the website or otherwise advised to you.) In these Booking Conditions, unless the context otherwise requires, words in the singular shall include the plural and vice versa. If you book accommodation arrangements with us which include a ferry/Euro Tunnel crossing, then this will be classified as a package holiday booking. In these cases we will accept responsibility for it in accordance with these Booking Conditions as an “organiser” under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. Only bookings which include both accommodation and a ferry/Euro Tunnel crossing will be sold as a package. All other arrangements including transport and accommodation are sold separately at a non inclusive price, as agent on behalf of the various suppliers. Please also read Section B of these booking conditions if this applies to you. Clauses 7(ii), 10 and 19 of Section A do not apply to your booking. SECTION A1. Making your bookingAll bookings are subject to availability. The party leader must be at least 18 years at the time of booking. The party leader must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all other members of the booking party. By making the booking, the party leader confirms that he/she is so authorised and that all other party members agree that the booking is subject to these Booking Conditions. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us. Please note that there may be different age restrictions on driving and car hire in some destinations. All prices quoted or otherwise advised to you include all charges and any UK taxes or governmental levies that apply to your Occasionally, offers are made giving you the chance to book properties at either a lower than usual, or a nil, initial deposit. Details of any additional terms specific to the offer will be notified to you prior to or on making your booking and should be read in conjunction with these Booking Conditions. If you book a property at either a lower than usual, or a nil initial deposit, you also agree to pay the difference between the amount paid and the usual deposit, either at the time the balance of your booking is due, or at the time of cancellation if you cancel your booking. If you cancel you must also pay all other applicable cancellation charges. Please refer to Clause 7 for details regarding cancellations. Any insurance premiums must still be paid at the time of booking. We reserve the right to extend any Low Initial Deposit offer. We aim to ensure that the information provided by Owners and Service Providers is accurately conveyed in brochures and other promotional literature or material produced and circulated by us, or on our website. There may be small differences between the actual property/other services and its/their description, as we, Owners and Service Providers are always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable or subject to restriction. If this happens, we will tell the party leader as soon as reasonably practical after we become aware of the situation. Neither we nor Owners and Service Providers can accept responsibility for any changes or closures to local services or attractions mentioned in the brochure or on our website, by our advisers or advertised elsewhere. We make reasonable efforts to ensure that information supplied to you in relation to your property and its facilities and/or services as well as advertised travel and other services is accurate and complete as at the date given. We cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any property or its facilities and services, except where any such information has arisen out of our negligence. We are a Member of ABTA, membership number Y0662. As an ABTA member we are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We are also able to offer you an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection with this contract. Further information on the Code and arbitration can be found on ABTA’s website www.abta.com (i) Changes (ii) Full Cancellations (Not applicable to Ferry inclusive packages – see section B6) If you have to, or wish to, cancel your booking, the party leader must telephone us on the number shown on your booking confirmation as soon as possible. The party leader must also immediately confirm your cancellation in writing sent by recorded delivery to us at the address shown in the brochure or on the website. The day we receive your telephone notification of cancellation is the date on which your booking with the Owner is cancelled. FOR UK ARRANGEMENTS ONLY and depending on your reason for cancellation, you may receive a refund authorised by the Owner of all monies you have paid to us for your booking (excluding all booking fees and, where applicable, the premium for any personal travel insurance you have purchased from us, any amendment charges, and credit card charges you have already incurred. We will also retain a cancellation administration fee of £36 per week or per part week per booking.) Please note: The refund provisions referred to above only apply to bookings taken in the UK and if the cancellation applies to all members of your party. Under your contract with the Owner, in order to qualify for a refund in relation to your UK booking your reason for cancelling must be one of the following, must apply to a member of your party, and with the exception of pregnancy must have occurred after you booked your arrangements and must prevent you from taking your trip. Please note that you will not receive a refund for pregnancy where the party member is expected to give birth within 14 weeks of the arrival date home - Illness/Pregnancy (subject to medical evidence of unfitness to travel); Death; Redundancy (provided employment has been on a continuous basis with the same employer for at least 2 years); Jury or Witness service (in a Court of Law); Illness or Death of a close relative (a close relative is defined as one of the following - Spouse, Son or Daughter (in law), Parent (in law), Grandparent, Sister or Brother, Fiancé(e)); your home is rendered uninhabitable due to fire, storm, flood, subsidence or malicious damage; your presence is requested by the Police, following a burglary at your home or place of business, during the period of your trip or within the preceding 7 days; your unexpected posting by HM Forces or cancellation of leave by HM Police (unless the cost of the lost trip is recoverable from any other source); or compulsory quarantine. You may also receive a full refund if you are unable to reach your destination due to snow or flood conditions or as a result of being involved in an accident en route (NB: This only applies if you have made every effort to attempt to complete your journey. You will need to produce evidence from the Police, RAC or AA). Although a refund is available in these circumstances you may prefer to delay your arrival. In these cases a 25% refund is available for each 24 hour delay, up to a maximum of 72 hours = 75% (For short breaks, a fixed refund of 50% applies for all arrivals delayed for more than 24 hours). You will be asked to complete a Booking Cancellation form which may require signing by a Medical Practitioner or employer and in which we may request further information from a third party. The following reasons for cancellation do not qualify for a refund as set out above: suicide or attempted suicide, intentional self-injury, the effect of intoxicating liquor or drugs, or any other reason which is not specifically referred to. Where the reason for cancellation does not fall within one of the qualifications for a refund as set out above, e.g.: dis-inclination to travel, leave cancelled by employer (other than HM Forces or the Police) etc, and FOR ALL NON UK TRIPS a cancellation charge will be payable, levied by the Owner, based on the number of days before the arrival date at the property that the Company receives notification of your cancellation, as shown in the following table. This means that if you have paid the balance of your total accommodation cost and then have to, or wish to, cancel, you may receive a refund of part of such cost. However, if you have not paid your total accommodation cost including, where purchased, the premiums for any insurances, by the time of your cancellation, you may be required to make a further payment by way of cancellation charge. Cancellation charge table
If you live outside the UK and have made your booking through a local agent, the term “accommodation cost” in the above cancellation charges table means the amount paid by your local agent to us after deducting any booking fees, insurance premiums and any administration charge paid to us for making any change. For the avoidance of doubt, “accommodation cost” does not include any charges made by your local agent or other third parties for booking fees, flights, other travel services or any other amounts not paid to us. (iii) Curtailment of your stay (UK Only) The Owners and Service Providers do not expect to have to make any changes to your booking, but sometimes problems occur and bookings have to be changed or cancelled or errors in brochures or other details corrected. The Owner and Service Provider reserve the right to do so. If this does happen, we, on their behalf, will contact the party leader (by telephone where reasonably possible in the case of a significant change or cancellation; minor changes will be notified by post) as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or change. Except where otherwise expressly stated in these Booking Conditions, we regret that neither us nor the Owner/Service Provider can, either jointly or individually, accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of the obligations under your contract by us, Owner and/or Service Provider (as applicable) is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage or loss as a result of “force majeure”. In these Booking Conditions “force majeure” means an event beyond the reasonable control of the Owner, the Service Provider and/or us (as applicable) which we or the Owner/Service Provider in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid including, but not limited to strike, lock-out, labour dispute, act of God, war, riot, civil commotion, malicious damage, compliance with a law or governmental order, rule, regulation or direction, accident, breakdown of plant or machinery, insolvency or bankruptcy of an Owner or Service Provider, fire, flood, snow and storm, difficulty or increased cost in obtaining workers, goods or transport and other circumstances affecting the supply of goods or services. As we act only as agent for the Owner/Service Provider we cannot accept any liability for any act or omission on their part or of anyone representing, or employed by them. Further, we cannot accept any liability for any shortcomings or defects with or in any property as all properties are within the sole control of the Owners. Your contract with the Owner is subject to their terms and conditions, which may contain additional limitations to their liability. If you have any complaints regarding any services we provide (as opposed to any provided by the Owner/Service Provider), you must inform us immediately in writing and in any event within 7 days of the end of any arrangements booked through us. We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not so notified. Our maximum liability to you if we are found to be at fault in relation to any service we provide (as opposed to any service provided by the Owner/Service Provider for whom we are not responsible) is limited to the commission we have earned or are due to earn in relation to the booking in question, plus any unrecoverable expenses directly related to your booking which you incur as a result of that failure.. We do not exclude or limit any liability for death or personal injury which arises as a result of our negligence or that of our employees whilst acting in the course of their employment, or for our own criminal act. The services which make up your booking are provided by persons, firms, companies and other bodies which are wholly independent of us and for whom we act as agents. These Service Providers and Owners provide services in accordance with their own terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the Service Provider’s/Owner’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions (e.g.: Athens Convention for international travel by sea). The terms and conditions may be available from the suppliers upon request. These provisions do not apply to bookings which take place entirely in the UK where insurance is optional. However we strongly recommend that you take out adequate travel insurance to cover you for the duration of your booking. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability that may affect your booking please tell us before you confirm your booking and give us full details in writing as early as possible before you travel. If we or the Owner/Service Provider reasonably feel unable to properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned we reserve the right to decline or cancel the reservation. The Owner imposes the following conditions in relation to your stay at the property. You can arrive at your property at any time after 3.00pm (unless advised otherwise, for example on your confirmation) on the start date of your rental period and you must leave by 10.00am on the last day. If your arrival will be delayed beyond 8.00pm on the start date of your rental period, you must contact the person whose details are given on the location guide so that alternative arrangements can be made. If you fail to do so, you may not be able to gain access to the property. If you fail to arrive by 12 noon on the day after the start date of your rental period and you do not advise the person whose details are given on the location guide of your late arrival, we on behalf of the Owner may treat your booking as having been cancelled by you. No refund of any monies paid by you will be made in this situation. Please note that when specified bookings are subject to a non refundable Minor Accidental Damage Charge (levied by us on behalf of the Owner) more details of which are provided in our brochure and our website. The amount of the Minor Accidental Damage Charge will be confirmed to you at the time you book and will be set out in your confirmation invoice.
You will therefore be responsible to the Owner for (and may be charged for) all damage or breakages caused by you or your party to the property or its contents (together with the cost of any remedial action needed) which are not expressly covered by this Minor Accidental Damage Charge. If you have any special requests you must advise us at the time of booking and confirm them in writing. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the Owner and/or the relevant Service Provider (as applicable), no guarantees can be given that any request will be met. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the Owner/Service Provider (as applicable), or the inclusion of the special request on your written confirmation or any other documentation, is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of your contract. Conditional bookings cannot be accepted i.e.: any booking which is specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. We can assist in arranging car hire, flights and en route hotels. We act as agent on behalf of these transport/en route hotel suppliers. We cannot accept any responsibility for any problems arising out of any transport/en route hotel services. Any contract you enter into for transport/en route hotel services is with the supplier of the services concerned. Booking transport/en route hotel arrangements for you in addition to your accommodation does not mean however that we have sold you a 'package' or that we are an 'organiser' of packages as defined by the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. For ferry crossings, please see Section B of these conditions. Please note that we act as agents for the airlines concerned. A flight described as "direct" will not necessarily be non-stop. All departure/arrival times are provided by the airlines concerned and are estimates only. They may change due to air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, operational/maintenance requirements and the requirement for passengers to check in on time. We cannot be held liable if there is any change to a departure/ arrival time previously given to you or shown on your ticket. It is for this reason that all clients are required to reconfirm their flights, with the airline, 72 hours prior to departure. We are also unable to make any special arrangements for the client if the client is delayed; these matters are in the sole discretion of the airline concerned. When you receive your tickets and travel documents you should check them carefully as times may have changed since you made your booking. You should also check for any errors. The information on the ticket is deemed correct unless we are advised by you of any errors within 72 hours of receipt. You must check in at least two hours before the stated departure time. We will not be liable for any costs you have to pay if you fail to meet this deadline. Every effort has been made to ensure that you have an enjoyable and memorable stay. If, however, you have any cause for complaint then we, together with the Owner are anxious that remedial action is taken as soon as possible. Because the contract for your accommodation is between you and the owner, any queries or concerns should be addressed to them. It is essential that you contact the Owner or his/her representative immediately if any problem arises so that it can be speedily resolved. It is often extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) to resolve difficulties properly unless the Owner is promptly notified. Discussion of any criticisms with the Owner or his/her representative whilst you are in residence will usually enable shortcomings to be rectified straightaway. In particular, complaints of a transient nature (for example, regarding preparation or heating of the property) cannot possibly be investigated unless registered whilst you are in residence. If you cannot make contact with the Owner or his/her representative, or if you remain unhappy with their response, you should immediately telephone the Customer Care Line on the number shown on your confirmation. If, after this, you feel that the problem has not been resolved to your satisfaction, then the party leader must, within 30 days of returning from your holiday rental, put your complaint in writing to us. This will then be passed on to the Owner. Send your letter by recorded delivery to our office at Spring Mill, Earby, Barnoldswick, Lancashire, BB94 0AA, marked for the attention of the Customer Relations Department. This procedure is designed to ensure the speediest possible investigation and rectification of complaints. Please help us and the Owner to help you by following this procedure. If you fail to do so, this may affect your entitlement to claim compensation where this would or may otherwise have been appropriate. As we act only as an agent for the Owner, we cannot accept any liability for your property. Any assistance provided in resolving a complaint in relation to your booking is provided on a goodwill basis and in our capacity as agent only. It is agreed that any dispute, claim or other matter which may arise in relation to your booking will be governed by English Law and the parties agree to submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales. 21. Communicating with youFor the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, The Hoseasons Group Limited is the sole data controller of all personal data provided to us by customers and prospective customers. In order to process your booking we need to collect certain personal details from you, for example names and addresses of party members, credit/debit card or other payment details, special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect any party member’s arrangements and any dietary restrictions which may disclose religious beliefs. SECTION B: Ferry/Euro Tunnel inclusive bookings onlyThe following additional information applies to your booking.B1. Pricing All prices quoted or otherwise advised to you include all charges and any UK taxes or governmental levies that apply to your holiday at the time of booking. The prices shown in our brochures and on our website were calculated on the basis of then known costs and on an exchange rate of £1 to 1.21 Euro. The prices of unsold arrangements may be increased or decreased and corrections made to errors in advertised prices at any time before your arrangements are confirmed. The price of your chosen arrangements will be confirmed at the time of booking. As changes and errors occasionally occur, you must check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) at the time of booking. When the price of your chosen arrangements has been confirmed at the time of booking, then, subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase or decrease the price in the following circumstances. Price increases or decreases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge or refund. A surcharge or refund (as applicable) will be payable, subject to the conditions set out in this clause B1, if our costs increase or decrease as a result of (as applicable) transportation costs or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports increasing or decreasing or if our costs increase or decrease as a result of any changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday. You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel your holiday or purchase another holiday. If you do not tell us that you wish to do so within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later. We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of the start of your holiday. No refunds will be made within this period either. B2. Your financial security 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 this brochure and for your repatriation in the event of our insolvency. This security is provided by a bond held by ABTA. Please see Clause 6 for full details of our ABTA membership. Please note that any flight bookings we arrange on your behalf are made as agent for the supplier and do not form part of your Ferry/Euro Tunnel Package. Any such flights are not covered under this Financial Security Clause. B3. Cancellations or changes by us It is unlikely that we will have to make changes to your booking arrangements but occasionally, as we make the arrangements for your bookings many months ahead, we may have to make changes both before and after bookings have been confirmed and/or cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we reserve the right to do so at any time. Occasionally we have to make a "significant change" such as a change of property to that of a lower standard, changing the departure time by more than 12 hours or change of area. If a "significant change" or cancellation of your booking becomes necessary, we will inform you as soon as is reasonably possible before departure. All other changes are treated as "minor" in which case we shall have absolute discretion as to whether you are notified. If we have to make a significant change or cancel your booking, and provided that there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you three options:
c) Cancelling your booking (together with a refund of any sums paid).
The above sets out the maximum extent of our liability under this clause and we regret we cannot meet any expenses or losses you may incur as a result of inconvenience suffered. Please note: where accommodation with a higher price than the original accommodation is offered by us and accepted by you, the difference in price will be deducted from any compensation payable. B4. Our liability to youWe will accept responsibility for your holiday as an "organiser" under the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 as set out below. Subject to the other provisions of this clause B.4, we accept responsibility for ensuring that your travel arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described by us. If, after departure, any part of your travel arrangements are not provided as promised, due to the fault of our employees, agents or suppliers, we will pay you appropriate compensation, if this has affected the enjoyment of your travel arrangements. However, our liability in all cases shall be limited to a maximum of twice the value of the element not supplied excluding flights. The level of such compensation will take into account all relevant factors including the invoice price of the tour, any steps it was reasonable for the client to take to minimise the inconvenience/damage suffered and the extent to which the deficiency or improper performance can have affected the client's enjoyment of the package. Please note that we will not be liable for any injury, illness, or death or consequent losses suffered by you or any member of your party, unless you are able to prove that such injury or illness was caused by lack of reasonable care and skill on the part of ourselves or our suppliers in the performance of our obligations under our contract with you. It is a condition of the payment of compensation that you notify us of any complaint or claim strictly in accordance with clause B7 and, further, assign to us any rights that you may have against any third party in connection with your claim. You must co-operate with us and our insurers in this regard. If you suffer a personal injury, death or serious difficulties as the result of an activity which does not form part of the package you booked with us - including for example any additional services or facilities provided to you by a hotel or any other supplier which was not included as part of the original contract between us – we will not be liable to pay you any compensation but will offer you such advice and guidance as is reasonable in all the circumstances provided we are advised of the incident within 90 days of the occurrence. We will not be responsible where you do not enjoy the holiday or suffer any other problems because of a reason which you did not make us aware of when the holiday was booked. In all claims of whatever nature we will not be liable where the alleged loss or damage results from any of the following:
Important notice in respect of limits on liability. In respect of international travel by air, sea and rail, the extent of our liability will in all cases be limited as if we were carriers under the appropriate Conventions, which include The Montreal Convention (international travel by air); The Athens Convention (with respect to sea travel); The Berne/Cotif Convention (with respect to rail travel) and The Paris Convention (with respect to accommodation arrangements). You can ask for copies of these Conventions from our offices, please contact us. In addition, you agree that the operating carrier or transport company's own 'Conditions of Carriage' will apply to you on that journey. When arranging 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 the terms and conditions contained in those 'Conditions of Carriage' form part of your contract with us, as well as with the transport company and that those 'Conditions of Carriage' shall be deemed to be included by reference into this contract. The promises we give to you regarding the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of the contract, and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred, shall be used as the basis for ascertaining whether or not the services in question have been properly provided. If the services in question which caused the claim or complaint complied with the local laws and regulations applicable to those services at that time, the services shall be treated as having been properly provided. Such shall be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied if those services had been provided in the UK. 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 and your party is £25 per person in total. We strongly recommend that you and your party take out adequate travel insurance for your particular needs whilst on holiday and for the purpose of these Booking Conditions you and your party are assumed to have done so. B5. Passports and visa information for package bookingIt is your responsibility to ensure that you and all members of your party are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We and any Owner/Service Provider connected with your holiday regrets it cannot accept any liability if you or any members of your party are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to the failure on the part of the person concerned to carry or supply correct documentation. The following information is for guidance only and you must check the relevant websites to check the up to date advice before you travel. B6. If you change or cancel your booking Full Cancellations If you have to, or wish to, cancel your booking, the party leader must telephone we on the number shown on your booking confirmation as soon as possible. The party leader must also immediately confirm your cancellation in writing sent by recorded delivery to us at the address shown in the brochure or on the website. The day we receive your telephone notification of cancellation is the date on which your booking is cancelled. If you cancel, a cancellation charge will be levied by the Owner and/or other Service Provider, as shown in the following table. For the purpose of the table below, Total Cost means the total cost of the booking, including any extra items. Any insurance premiums, booking fees, credit card charges and administration fees for making any changes will still be payable in full by you. Please note that such insurance premiums, booking fees, credit card charges and administration fees are not refundable in the event of your cancellation. Cancellation charge table
Please note that other Service Providers may impose higher cancellation charges. Cancellation of flights for example will incur a 100% cancellation fee imposed by the airline, which is payable by you. Please also see Clause 12, insurance. B7. Complaints If a problem occurs whilst you are abroad, you must inform the relevant supplier (e.g. hotel, car rental company, airline) immediately so that the matter can be put right. If the supplier cannot resolve the problem to your satisfaction at the time, you must also contact us immediately by telephoning our offices, so that we are given the opportunity to help. In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved at the time, you must write to us within 28 days of return to the UK quoting the original booking reference and giving all relevant information. PLEASE NOTE: - Failure to take these steps will hinder our ability to resolve the problem and/or investigate it fully and in consequence, your rights under the contract may be affected. We regret we cannot accept liability for any claims which are not notified to ourselves and/or our suppliers strictly in accordance with this clause. Prices and booking conditions may be updated, changed or varied subsequently.
The Hoseasons Group Limited |