Booking conditions

Booking Conditions – All bookings are made and accepted in accordance with the terms set out in these conditions.

1. Booking Confirmation

Once you have chosen your holiday, please complete the booking form and send it to us together with a deposit of £250 per group member. Your booking is accepted by us when we issue and send you a confirmation invoice. If a booking cannot be confirmed, the deposit will of course
be returned.

2. Balance of Payment

The balance of your invoice is due to be paid 10 weeks prior to the start of your holiday. If you book your holiday less than 10 weeks before your proposed departure date, the full price of your holiday (including any insurance premiums) must be paid at the time of booking. Failure to pay the balance by the specified time will result in the cancellation of your holiday and we will then impose the relevant cancellation charge as set out below.

3. If you wish to alter your booking

Subject to availability, and an administration fee of £25 per person, you may change your holiday arrangements after the issue of a confirmation invoice. If you wish to make a change to your holiday, we will do our best to accommodate you, but any change will be subject to availability and subject to you covering any associated costs of the amendment imposed by our suppliers. We treat as a cancellation and rebooking any transfer to another holiday within 8 weeks of departure.

4. If you wish to cancel your booking

Should you wish to cancel your holiday, you may do so by writing to us, but no cancellation will be effective until such written notice is received by us. If you cancel, you will be liable to pay the following cancellation charges:

Period before departure date in which cancellation is made	Charge
More than 56 days	Deposit
More than 42 days	45% of holiday price
15-41 days inclusive	60% of holiday price
14 days or less	100% of holiday price

5. If we alter or cancel your holiday plans

(i) We reserve the right to make changes to your holiday arrangements after we have confirmed your booking and if we do so, we will use our best endeavours to inform you before departure and make suitable alternative arrangements.
(ii) Any change we make to your holiday will be either major or minor. A major change is a change to your flight departure time of more than 12 hours, a change of departure airport (except between Gatwick and Heathrow) or a change to a lower category of accommodation. Any other change is a minor change. If there is a minor change, we will do our best to notify you of this, but we are not under any obligation to do so or to pay you compensation. If there is a major change, we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible. You will then have the choice of accepting the change, taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price, we will refund the difference, but where it is of a higher price, you will be expected to pay the difference), or withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid. In addition, in appropriate cases, (on the assumption that the full balance has been paid) we will pay you compensation which is reasonable given the circumstances in question. Compensation will not be considered appropriate, for example, in cases where a major change has to be made as a result of force majeure (as defined below).
(iii) If we have to cancel your holiday before the date of departure, you will have the choice of taking an alternative holiday (and where this is of a lower price we will refund the difference, but where this is of a higher price, you will be expected to pay the difference) or withdrawing from the contract and accepting a full refund of all monies paid. In addition, in appropriate cases, (on the assumption that the full balance has been paid) and where such cancellation is not due to underbooking or force majeure (as defined below), we will pay you compensation which is reasonable given the circumstances in question. Where such cancellation is due to underbooking, we will inform you within 56 days of the departure date.
(iv) Underbooking is the situation in which the minimum number of bookings required to run a holiday programme is not met. Force majeure is unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which neither we nor our suppliers could avoid, examples of which are war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disaster, fire or adverse weather conditions, level of water in rivers or other similar events beyond our control.

6. Surcharges

We will not impose any surcharges on the price of tour arrangements less than 30 days before departure. In addition, if surcharges become necessary before that time, we will absorb an amount up to the first 2% (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges) of any surcharges that apply. Surcharges may be imposed to cover increases in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports, or the exchange rates applied to the particular package. If this means paying more than 10% of the holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid to us except for any premium paid for insurance and amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days of the date of our invoice.

7. Silver Fern’s liability to the Client

(i) We accept liability under Regulation 15(1) of the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations (“the Regulations”) subject to the defences in Regulation 15(2) of the Regulations, set out at sub-paragraph (ii) below, the limitations set out in sub-paragraphs (iii) to (v) below, and the condition precedent set out in sub-paragraph (vi) below.
(ii) When you suffer any loss, damage, personal injury or death as a result of our failure to perform or improper performance of the holiday contract we shall be liable to pay you compensation, except where the cause of the failure is not our fault or that of our servants, agents or suppliers, and is your own fault, or the actions of someone unconnected with your holiday arrangements, or due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances or events which neither we, nor our servants, agents or suppliers could have reasonably anticipated or reasonably avoided even with the exercise of due care.
(iii) We are permitted to limit the amount of compensation we will pay you in the event of a claim. Where any claim arises out of loss or damage suffered during the course of rail travel, sea travel, road travel or hotel accommodation, the amount of compensation you will receive will be limited in accordance with the provisions of any relevant International Conventions, namely the Berne Convention 1961, the Athens Convention 1974, the Geneva Convention 1973 and the Paris Convention 1962. Copies of these Conventions are available for inspection at our offices.
(iv) Under Regulation 15(4), we are entitled to limit the amount of compensation we will pay you in the event of a claim, where that claim concerns non-personal injury. It is impossible to assess in advance the exact sums which may be payable to you. We will do our best to assess the appropriate sums due to you in the circumstances of your particular complaint.
(v) Any sums received by you from suppliers such as from airlines due to the Denied Boarding Regulations 1992 (in this case sums paid by the airline constitute the full amount of your entitlement to compensation for all matters flowing from the airline’s actions) will be deducted from any sum paid to you as compensation by us. Further, if we pay you any compensation, you shall, if required by us in writing, assign to us any rights of action that you may have against any third party who was in any way responsible for the failure to perform or improper performance of the holiday contract.
(vi) It is a condition precedent of such acceptance of liability that you follow the procedures for the notification of complaints set out below in clause 8.
(vii) Other than as set out above, and as is detailed elsewhere in these booking conditions, we shall have no legal liability to you in respect of personal injury or death (unless caused by our negligence), or in respect of any other damage which you suffer arising directly or indirectly from any aspect of holiday arrangements booked with us.

8. Complaints

If you have a complaint during your holiday, you must notify our host or local representative immediately and they will do their best to resolve the problem. Should it not be possible to resolve your complaint on the spot and you wish to write to us after your holiday, this must be done no later than 28 days after your return. Full details should be provided and an investigation will then be made. We aim to settle all complaints amicably.

9. Excursions

Our representatives may, at your request, make arrangements for excursions locally on your behalf. However, please note that if they do, the contract for the provision of the excursion will be between you and the supplier of the excursion and not between you and us. Therefore, when you purchase an excursion locally, your contract is with the local company and we have no liability whatsoever for anything which may go wrong on the excursion.

10. Special Requests

If you have any special requests, you should inform us of such requests at the time of booking. We will advise the relevant supplier of your requirements but we cannot guarantee that such requests will be met. Furthermore, we have no liability to you if such requests are not met.

11. Suppliers’ Conditions

Airlines and other transport and accommodation providers have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage and you will be bound by these as far as the relevant supplier is concerned. Some of these conditions may limit or exclude liability on the part of the relevant supplier. Where relevant, copies of such conditions may be available for inspection at our offices, or at the offices of the relevant supplier.

12. Transport Delays

There is no guarantee that flights or other transportation will depart at the time specified, and we do not have any liability to you for any delay which may arise. Where such delay does arise, the relevant airline or other transport provider may provide refreshments and take any further appropriate action, but we will not have any responsibility to do so.

13. Baggage and personal effects

All baggage and personal effects are, at all times at your risk. We will not be responsible for any loss, damage or accident to any luggage or personal property.

14. Images

You accept any images of you taken whilst on any of our holidays may be used by us for marketing in any format current or yet to be invented.

15. Insurance

You must be suitably insured either through us or with another insurer offering at least equivalent cover before we accept your booking. We can arrange insurance for you, endeavouring to get the best policy to suit your individual needs. Please contact us for further information.

16. 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).

If we, or the suppliers identified on your ATOL certificate, are unable to provide the services listed (or a suitable alternative, through an alternative ATOL holder or otherwise) for reasons of insolvency, the Trustees of the Air Travel Trust may make a payment to (or confer a benefit on) you under the ATOL scheme. You agree that in return for such a payment or benefit you assign absolutely to those Trustees any claims which you have or may have arising out of or relating to the non-provision of the services, including any claim against us, the travel agent (or your credit card issuer where applicable). You also agree that any such claims may be re-assigned to another body, if that other body has paid sums you have claimed under the ATOL scheme.

17. Law and Jurisdiction

Your contract with us and any matters arising from it shall be subject to English law and to the jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.

18. Data Protection

In order to process your booking and ensure that your travel arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements, we need to use the information you provide, such as name, address, passport details, any special needs / dietary requirements etc. We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. However, we must pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your arrangements, such as airlines, hotels, transport companies etc. The information may also be provided to public authorities by our suppliers, for customs / immigration purposes or as required by law. Where such information is required, if we do not receive this in time, your booking may have to be cancelled or an administration fee may be levied by the supplier and we reserve the right to pass this cost on to you. Additionally where your holiday is outside the European Economic Area (EEA), controls on Data Protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will not, however, pass any information on to any person not responsible for part of your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give us such as details of disabilities, or dietary / religious requirements. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we cannot process your booking. In making your booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.