Terms of Business — Stena Line Hotel Breaks to Ireland (page 31) online holiday brochure

Terms of Business 1. YOUR HOLIDAY CONTRACT When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of your party the terms of these booking conditions. A contract will exist as soon as we issue our confirmation invoice. This contract is made on the terms of these booking conditions which are governed by English law and we both agree to submit to the jurisdiction of the English Courts at all times. If you had not seen these terms and conditions when you made your booking and you are not happy to proceed with the booking now that you have seen them, please return all documentation to us or to your travel agent, within 5 working days of receiving these booking conditions and at least 7 days before the departure date. Your booking will be cancelled and your monies will be returned in full. If the booking is made less than 7 days before the departure date you may cancel without charge and with a refund if you do so before commencing your outward journey and within 24 hours from receipt of these booking conditions. Please note that accommodation-only arrangements do not constitute package holidays, and in such cases we act as booking agents only, and your contract is with the accommodation provider. 6. IF WE CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY If we are aware of any change to the relevant details shown in our brochures or on our website, we will inform you when you request a booking. After you have booked, it is unlikely that we will have to make any changes to your travel and/or accommodation arrangements, but we do plan the arrangements many months in advance. Occasionally, we may have to make changes and we reserve the right to do so at any time. Most of these changes will be minor and we will advise you or your travel agent of them at the earliest possible date. We also reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your travel and/or accommodation arrangements. For example, if the minimum number of clients required for a particular travel and/or accommodation arrangement is not reached, we may have to cancel it. However, we will not cancel your travel and/or accommodation arrangements less than six weeks before your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure or failure by you to pay the final balance. If we are unable to provide the booked travel and/or accommodation arrangements, you can either have a refund of all monies paid or accept an offer of alternative arrangements of comparable standard from us, if available. If it is necessary to cancel your travel and/or accommodation arrangements, we will pay to you compensation as set out in this clause. Please note that carriers, such as the ferries used in our brochures or on our website, may be subject to change. Such a change is deemed to be a minor change. Other examples of minor changes include alteration of your outward/return journey by less than 12 hours (8 hours in the case of short breaks of up to 5 days duration), changes to craft type, change of accommodation to another of the same standard. If we make a major change to your holiday, we will inform you or your travel agent as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. You will have the choice of either accepting the change of arrangements, accepting an offer of alternative travel and/or accommodation arrangements of comparable standard from us if available, or cancelling your booked holiday and receiving a full refund of all monies paid. In all cases, except where the major change arises due to reasons of force majeure, we will pay compensation as detailed in the table in Section 8. Force majeure: This means a cause beyond our control. We will not pay compensation if we have to cancel or change your travel and/or accommodation arrangements in any way because of war, riot, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions or other unforeseen circumstances that may amount to force majeure. (c) (i) any unusual and unforeseeable circumstance beyond our control, the consequence of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised; or (ii) an event which we or any supplier of services, even with all due care, could not foresee or forestall. In any event, our liability shall be limited to a maximum of twice the cost of your holiday arrangements. (ii) We accept responsibility for death, injury or illness caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees or agents, our suppliers and sub-contractors, whilst acting within the scope of, or in the course of their employment in the provision of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements. Subject to 9(iii) below we will pay to you such damages as might have been awarded in such circumstances under English Law. (iii) In respect of travel by sea and rail, and the provision of accommodation, our liability will be limited in the manner provided by the relevant international convention. You can ask for particulars of these international conventions from our offices at Stena House, Station Approach, Holyhead, Anglesey, LL65 1DQ. (iv) In the event of any travel delays at points of departure which is the responsibility of Stena Line Holidays Limited please refer to the Terms of Business of Stena Line Limited. 2. YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION Stena Line Holidays Limited is a fully bonded member of ABTA, the Association of British Travel Agents Limited, with membership number 5465. ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTAs code of conduct. For further information about ABTA, the code of conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint, contact ABTA, 68-71 Newman Street, London W1T 3AH, Tel: 020 7637 2444 or www.abta.com. The above applies only to services supplied by Stena Line Holidays Limited and does not apply to services featured in this brochure that are supplied by Stena Line Limited or any other company. 3. YOUR HOLIDAY PRICE When you make your booking you must pay the appropriate deposit. The balance of the price of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements must be paid at least eight weeks before your departure date. If the deposit and/or balance is not paid in time, we may cancel your travel and/ or accommodation arrangements. If the balance is not paid in time we shall retain your deposit by way of cancellation charge. All monies you pay to the travel agent are held by him on our behalf at all times. Please note that we reserve the right to vary the prices shown in our brochures or on our website at any time before you book. You will be told of the current price before you book. Once you have booked, we will not increase your holiday price other than for changes in VAT or any other Government imposed levy. Even in this case, we will absorb an amount equal to 2% of the price of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements, which excludes any amendment charges. Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged. If this means that you have to pay more than 10% extra on the price of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements, you may cancel your travel and/or accommodation arrangements and receive full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. 10. YOUR LIABILITY TO US Our relationship with you is based on the terms of this contract and on our obligation to provide the contracted services to you with reasonable care and skill. You have a contractual responsibility to act in a reasonable way whilst on holiday with us. Any behaviour by you which is, in the reasonable opinion of the site owner or manager or any other person in authority, disruptive or likely to adversely affect the enjoyment of other holidaymakers, will be a breach of the contract and our obligation to provide any contracted services to you will end. 11. PERSONAL INJURY UNCONNECTED WITH YOUR BOOKED PACKAGE HOLIDAY ARRANGEMENTS If you, or any member of your party, suffer death, illness or injury arising out of an activity which does not form part of your package holiday arrangements or an excursion arranged through us, we may, at our discretion, offer advice, guidance and assistance. Where legal action is contemplated and you want our assistance, you must obtain our written consent prior to commencement of proceedings. Our consent will be given subject to your undertaking to reimburse our costs out of any sums you recover. We limit the cost of our assistance to you or any member of your party to �5,000. 7. IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please let us know immediately, and follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to Customer Care, Stena Line, Burns House, 32 Harbour Street, Stranraer DG9 7BR giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point, and if possible include a daytime telephone number where we may contact you. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. If you fail to follow this simple procedure we shall have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were on holiday and this may affect your rights under this contract. Period before departure within which notice of cancellation or major changes notified to you or your agent. More than 8 weeks 21-56 days 14-20 days 13 days or less Amount you will receive from us for each paying adult or child included in the booking. 12. CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE The Contractual terms of the companies that provide the transportation for your travel arrangements will apply to this contract. These may contain terms which affect your rights to compensation. You may ask for copies of the relevant conditions of carriage from our offices. The information in the brochures we issue or on our website are our responsibility, as your tour operator. They are not issued on behalf of, and do not commit the carriers mentioned therein or any carrier whose services are used in the course of your travel arrangements. 13. DATA PROTECTION In order to process your booking and to ensure that your holiday arrangements run smoothly and to meet your requirements, we need to use the personal information you provide (such as name, address, any special needs/dietary requirements, etc). We take full responsibility for ensuring that proper security measures are in place to protect your information. We must pass the information on to the relevant suppliers of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements such as transport companies, hotels etc. This includes any sensitive information that you give us, such as details of any disabilities or dietary/religious requirements. If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, we cannot provide your booking. In making a booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons. The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs/ immigration if required by them, or as required by law. We will not, however, pass any information on to any person not responsible for part of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements. We will hold your information, where collected by us, and may use it to inform you of offers in the future or to send you brochures. If you do not wish to receive such approaches in the future, please let us know so that we can avoid sending you unwanted material. 4. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR BOOKING BEFORE DEPARTURE: If, after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your travel and/or accommodation arrangements in any way, we will do our utmost to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes must be in writing from the person who made the booking or your travel agent. You will be required to pay an administration charge of �15 per paying passenger plus any additional costs that arise as a result of the change. You should be aware that these costs may increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made, and so you should contact us as early as possible. A change of departure date (or route) or accommodation requested by you will be treated as a cancellation of booking and as such will incur cancellation charges as shown in clause 5. Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Apex Tickets) cannot be changed after a reservation has been made and any such alteration request will incur a 100% cancellation charge. After departure: If you do not use any part of the services covered by your booking, e.g. hotel accommodation, you will not be entitled to reimbursement. Vouchers are valid only for the specified date(s) unless otherwise expressly stated. Accommodation is to be occupied only by the persons included in the booking. You may, on giving us reasonable notice and payment of the appropriate amendment charge, transfer a package holiday booking to any appropriate person provided that no other change is made to the booking. nil �10 �20 �30 5. IF YOU CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY You, or any member of your party, may cancel your travel and/or accommodation arrangements at any time. Written notification from the person who made the booking, or your travel agent on your behalf, must be received at our offices. Since we incur costs in cancelling your travel/ and or accommodation arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown. Cancellation will be effected on the date that we receive written notification. Percentage of holiday price Notice to us before departure date Package holidays Accommodation only bookings 20% 30% 50% 75% 100% Groups of 30 adults or more 50% 50% 50% 80% 100% 8. WHAT HAPPENS TO COMPLAINTS We will seek to deal with any complaint to your reasonable satisfaction. However, disputes arising out of, or in connection with, this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration, if you so wish, under a special Scheme arranged by the Association of British Travel Agents, and administered independently by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of Arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. Full details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website (www.abta.com). The Scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than �5,000 per person or �20,000 per booking. Also it does not apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The Scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of �1,000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and Statement of Claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of return from holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement. 9. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU (i) We accept responsibility for ensuring that your package holiday arrangements, which you book with us, are supplied as described in our brochures or on our website. We will endeavour to meet any special requests which you may make to us, but we will only be bound to comply with special requests to the extent that we have specifically agreed to do so in writing. If any part of your travel and/or accommodation arrangements is not provided as promised, we will pay you appropriate compensation if this has affected the enjoyment of your holiday, unless the failure to perform or improper performance of any contractual obligation is caused by:- More than 56 days 29-56 days 15-28 days 1-14 days On or after departure (a) your own fault or the fault of anybody else included in your booking; or (b) a third party unconnected with the provision of any service contracted for and the failure is unforeseeable or unavoidable; or 31 is the property of Stena Line Scandinavia AB, Gothenburg. Published January 2007. All rights reserved. Unauthorised reproduction of the information in this brochure is prohibited.