Terms and conditions
Our Fair Trading Agreement sets out clearly and simply the responsibilities which we at 1st Class Holidays have to you, and which you in turn have to us, when a contract is made between us. When signing the booking form for your holiday you will sign on behalf of yourself and others named in your party that you have read, understood and accepted this Fair Trading Agreement and the holiday information provided on this site and in our brochures. Your obligation is to pay the price of the holiday and recognise your liabilities if you wish to alter the holiday or have to make a cancellation. On our part we have the obligation to provide you with the holiday you have booked. Our specification of that holiday and our terms are clearly stated in each of our brochures which can be found on this website. Your contract is entered into with 1st Class Holidays ltd fully bonded with the Civil Aviation Authority. This Fair Trading agreement applies to all holidays sold from this site.
Your Contract With Us
1. YOU PAY A DEPOSIT
When you make your booking you must complete a booking form accepting on behalf of all your party the terms of this Fair Trading Agreement, and pay a minimum deposit of £400 per person* All moneys paid to your Travel Agent are held by them on your behalf until we issue our confirmation invoice. Thereafter the Travel Agent holds the moneys on our behalf.(*Higher deposits may be required on certain tours & cruises - you will be advised at the time of booking)
2. HOLIDAY INSURANCE
It is a condition of your contract with us that you should take out insurance to cover you in the event of illness, personal injury or death during the course of your holiday and for cancellation. Please provide the name and contact number of your insurance company (and policy number if applicable) on your booking form.
3. YOU PAY THE BALANCE
The balance of your holiday cost must be paid at least 90 days prior to your departure via the office at which you made your booking. If you make your booking within 90 days of departure you must pay the full cost at the time of booking. If the balance is not paid in full and on time we reserve the right to treat the holiday as cancelled by you, retain your deposit and apply cancellation charges set out in paragraph (5) below. Please note that late balance payment may delay receipt of your travel documents.
4. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR BOOKING
If, after your confirmation has been issued you wish to change your holiday booking we will do our best to help, provided written notification is received at our offices from the person who signed the Booking Form or their Travel Agent, not later than the date on which the balance of the original holiday cost was due for payment. This must be accompanied by a payment of £50 per person to cover administration costs. Any alteration requested after this date will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 5 below will be applied except where the change requested is to substitute a party member where that person is prevented from taking their holiday. In this situation, this person may transfer their booking to someone else on payment of £50 per person together with all costs incurred by us as a result of the transfer providing we are notified not less than 90 days prior to the start of your holiday. Any request for substitution received less than 90 days before departure will be treated as a cancellation as above with any new arrangements being treated as a fresh booking.
Note: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. Flight Tickets, cruises, wildlife packages etc) 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 arrangements.
5. IF YOU CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
You or any member of your party, may cancel your holiday at any time provided that the cancellation is made by the person signing the Booking Form and is communicated to us in writing via the office at which you made your booking. As we incur costs from the date we confirm your booking we will retain your deposit and in addition apply cancellation charges up to the maximum amount shown below. The amount of cancellation charge shown is a percentage of the total holiday price excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are non refundable in any event. These charges are calculated from the date we or your Travel Agent receive your written notification.
More than 90 days - Deposit only*
89-31 days- 50%
30-15 days - 75%
14 days or less - 100%
Please Note: You may be able to reclaim these charges if the reason for cancellation is covered under the terms of your holiday insurance policy.
*Certain arrangements on this site have different cancellation terms than those stated above. These are either noted on the relevant page or will be advised on your confirmation invoice.
6. IF YOU HAVE A COMPLAINT
If you have a complaint during your holiday you must inform the supplier of the service(s) in question immediately who will do his/her best to help you straight away. If the matter cannot be put right on the spot you must notify us in writing within 28 days of the completion of your holiday and this must be to 1st Class Holidays at the address shown on the Booking Form. You must quote your booking reference number, holiday number and departure date. We regret we cannot accept liability in respect of any complaint or claims which are not notified to us in accordance with this clause.
7. OTHER ITEMS
(a) You are responsible for ensuring that you are at the correct departure point at the correct time and we cannot be liable for any loss or expense suffered if you are not.
(b) We reserve the right to refuse a booking or terminate a clients holiday in the event of unreasonable conduct which in the opinion of ourselves or some other person in authority does or is likely to cause damage, distress, danger or annoyance to other clients, employees, property or to any third party. In the event of such termination our responsibility for you and your holiday immediately ceases. Full cancellation charges will apply and we will be under no obligation to make any refund, pay any compensation or meet any expenses or losses you incur as a result.
(c) PASSPORTS & VISAS - It is the responsibility of the travelling passenger to ensure that they are in the possession of the correct travel documents.
(d) HEALTH - Regulations are subject to change and passengers are reminded that they are responsible for complying with entry and health requirements of all countries they intend to visit. A Department of Health leaflet (Ref - T3) A Travellers Guide to Health is available on request or may be obtained free from your Doctor, Travel Agent or by phoning Freephone 0800 555777. The relevant requirements for British Citizens at the time of going to print are set out elsewhere in this brochure. Non British Citizens must check with the appropriate Embassy or Consulate for the country they intend to stay in or pass through. The regulations may of course change and all clients must check the up to date position in good time before departure.
(e) UNUSED SERVICES - No refunds are allowed for services provided in your package which are not used. Therefore should you cancel, amend or miss any part of your tour, we will not be responsible for any refund.
Our Promise To You
1. WE RESERVE YOUR HOLIDAY
A binding contract between us comes into existence when your travel agent confirms your booking over the telephone or we despatch our confirmation invoice. The terms of this Fair Trading Agreement form the basis of this contract which will be governed by English law and is subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the Courts of England and Wales.
2. YOUR HOLIDAY PRICE
Holiday prices include all coach travel, accommodation and meals as specified in the holiday description and VAT and GST* where applicable. A goods and service tax (GST*) is levied on hotel and other elements of your holiday package. Similar to British VAT a proportion of this tax is refundable to overseas visitors. Rather than impose on you the responsibility for reclaiming any rebate due we have already deducted this amount in calculating the holiday prices shown in this brochure.
When signing the booking form you waive your personal right to claim a GST* rebate applicable to your holiday package and assign such entitlement to us as the tour operator. This will then enable us to reclaim the tax paid by us on your behalf and no further refunds will be due to you. Reservations can only be accepted on this express understanding. Unless specifically indicated in holiday itinerary or description contained in this brochure, entrance fees, guide fees, city sightseeing tours and optional excursions are not included in the holiday cost. We do however reserve the right to increase or decrease brochure prices of any item. As soon as you have confirmed your booking and paid in full, and the booking form has been received at our office, then the price of your holiday is guaranteed against currency surcharges. Prices are, however, subject to surcharges resulting from Government action (including the imposition of any new charges, taxes, or levies, or changes to existing charges, taxes, or levies by Government or Government agencies in the U.K. or abroad); changes to fuel costs; increases in scheduled air fares; and changes to port or airport taxes. Any surcharges will be calculated by adding to the increased cost per person, an administrative fee of 50p, together with an amount to cover Travel Agents commission. In the case of an increase in the rate of Value Added Tax, the expansion of its scope, or the introduction of any new consumer taxes or levies, we reserve the right to pass on the full cost of such change. In all other cases only amounts in excess of 2% of the basic holiday price will be surcharged. If this means you paying more than an additional 10% of the basic holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all monies paid, less any premium paid for holiday 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 printed on the Surcharge Invoice. We will not surcharge your holiday price within 30 days of your holiday departure date.
3. IF WE CHANGE YOUR HOLIDAY
The arrangements for holidays in this brochure are made many months in advance. Accordingly we must reserve the right to make changes to brochure and holiday details both before and after your booking has been confirmed. Most of these changes will, however, be minor. Where they are significant we will notify you or your Travel Agent as soon as is reasonably possible before your departure. A significant change is one made before departure which involves changing your departure time by more than 12 hours, your departure point (except as between Gatwick and Heathrow and vice versa) to one which is more inconvenient for you, your resort area, reducing the quality of your main hotel or a change of tour itinerary which involves a destination being completely eliminated from the revised itinerary. Please note, a change of or reduction in quality of one or more single overnight hotels on touring and part touring holidays will not be a significant change. Further , all other changes will be minor ones. In the event of a significant change we will offer you the choice of:
(a) continuing with the holiday as amended or
(b) purchasing an alternative holiday of comparable standard if available (and paying or receiving a refund in respect of any price difference); or
(c) cancelling your booking and receiving a full refund of all moneys paid to us.
In the event of a significant change, we will in addition pay you compensation in accordance with and limited to the compensation table set out below except where we are forced to make the change as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care which include but are not limited to those mounting to 'force majeure' as described in this Agreement. No compensation is payable for minor changes and we regret we cannot meet any costs or expenses you may incur as a result.
Before Departure Date Compensation per person
Over 90 days - Nil
89-29 days - £10
28-15 days - £15
7-0 days - £25
4. IF WE CANCEL YOUR HOLIDAY
In certain circumstances we may have to cancel your holiday. We will not however, cancel your holiday after the date the balance of your holiday price falls due except where you have failed to make payment in full and on time or where we are forced to do so as a result of circumstances outside our control including those amounting to force majeure as described below. If this should occur (other than due to your default in payment) we will offer you a suitable alternative, if available (with you paying or receiving a refund in respect of any price difference) or a prompt and full refund of all monies you have paid. In accordance with and limited to "in clause 3 if we change your holiday" the scale shown, we will pay you compensation except where we are forced to cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care which include but are not limited to those amounting to force majeure as mentioned below or where an insufficient number of people have booked your chosen holiday - in this case you will be notified not less than 8 weeks before your scheduled departure date.Very rarely, we may be forced to curtail your holiday after departure where circumstances amounting to force majeure as described below arise. In this very unusual situation, we regret we cannot make any refunds or pay any compensation or be responsible for any costs or expenses incurred by you as a result.
We regret we cannot accept responsibility or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by reason of circumstances amounting to 'force majeure'. Circumstances amounting to 'force majeure' include any event which we or the supplier of the services in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid such as war or threat of war, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial action, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, closure of airports or ports, governmental action and all similar events beyond our control.
5. WHAT HAPPENS TO COMPLAINTS
We can normally agree an amicable settlement of the few complaints we receive. However, if we cannot agree, you are entitled to ask for arbitration under a special ABTA scheme devised for the travel industry and administered by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on yourself in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person or £25000 per booking form or to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness. Details of the scheme can be found on the abta website - www.abta.com
6. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU
(a) We accept responsibility for the acts and/or omissions of our employees, agents, sub-contractors and suppliers providing they were at the time acting within the course of their employment and for ensuring that we provide the services as described within this brochure and to a reasonable standard. This acceptance of liability does not however apply where you suffer death, bodily injury or illness (dealt with separately below) or where circumstances amounting to force majeure occur as described in clause 4 above. In all cases except where personal injury, illness or death results, our liability is however limited to twice the holiday price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) of the person(s) affected in total. Further, so far as air, sea, rail and road carriers and providers of accommodation are concerned our liability is limited as if we were carriers/providers of accommodation within the appropriate international conventions.
(b) Where appropriate and subject to our reasonable discretion, we will afford general assistance to clients who through misadventure, suffer illness, personal injury or death whilst travelling overseas on a 1st Class Holiday arising out of an activity which does not form part of the holiday arrangements nor part of an excursion offered through the Company and which is the responsibility of the third party. Where legal action is undertaken by the client against such a third party, with the prior agreement of 1st Class Holidays initial legal costs associated therewith shall be met by us, always providing clients request such assistance within 90 days from the date of misadventure. The aggregate cost of such general assistance and initial legal costs shall not exceed £5,000 per booking form, cost to ourselves. Furthermore, in the event of there being a successful claim for costs against a third party or there being suitable insurance policy/policies in force, such costs actually incurred by us shall be recoverable from the client.
(c) We accept responsibility should you or any member of your party suffer death, personal injury or illness as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of any part of our contract with you by any of our employees, agents, suppliers or sub contractors providing they were at the time acting within the course of their employment except where the failure to perform or improper performance was due to your own acts and/or omissions or those of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the services in question could not have foreseen or forestalled even with all due care. In addition please note that in the case of air, sea, road and rail carriers and providers of accommodation, our liabilities are limited as if we were carriers/providers of accommodation within the appropriate international conventions. It is however a condition of this acceptance of liability that you will assign to ourselves or our insurers any rights you may have to pursue any third party. You must also give ourselves and our insurers your full co-operation.
(d) Whilst we will always endeavour to perform all parts of our agreement fully, we cannot accept responsibility, or offer compensation in respect of, circumstances where performance of the agreement is prevented or affected by circumstances or events which are reasonably beyond our control, including those amounting to force majeure as described in clause 4. In the event of delays we will try to minimise the inconvenience to you so far as is possible, practical and appropriate in the circumstances prevailing at the time.
(e) Please remember that some amenities (e.g.. lifts, swimming pools, etc.) require servicing or cleaning and we cannot therefore guarantee that they are always available. Some services may also be affected by weather conditions and their availability is entirely at the discretion of the provider of the service. Entertainment provided by the hotels is frequently subject to demand and its nature and/or frequency may be varied if there is a lack of demand or insufficient numbers staying in the hotel.
7. STATUTORY AUTHORITIES
This brochure is issued subject to applicable Acts of Parliament and Government Regulations and the Company reserves the right to modify the itineraries to conform with requests form competent authorities in the United Kingdom and any other sovereign state through which the tour runs.
8. CONDITIONS OF CARRIAGE
When you travel in any form of transport, the conditions of carriage of the particular carrier will apply. These conditions may limit or exclude the carriers liability to you, often in accordance with International Conventions. Your contract made under the terms of this Fair Trading Agreement is subject to English law and jurisdiction. Once you have checked in for your flight your welfare is the responsibility of the carrier by air and the Company is not responsible for the provision of any refreshment, meals or overnight accommodation in respect of flight delays. However, in the majority of cases the airline will arrange extra meals etc. in the event of a delay.
9. ATOL CONSUMER PROTECTION
The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 5421. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk