Booking Conditions
1. Contract
BestAtTravel, whose registered office is at 9-12 Berners Mews, London W1t 3AP. These
Booking conditions govern all bookings with BestAtTravel.co.uk. They vary depending
on whether you book a "package" or "other holiday arrangements".
A "package" is a combination of at least two of the following:- (a) transport
(b) accommodation (c) another tourist service which forms a significant part of
your booking, providing those two or more components are sold to you at the same
time at an inclusive price with full payment being made to the Company. Anything
else (e.g. air tickets only, air tickets and accommodation booked at different times
or a cruise only) constitutes "other holiday arrangements", which the
Company makes as a booking agent, your contract being with the supplier(s) (e.g.
the airline or hotel supplier) concerned. Any booking made or order placed by you,
whether through the Company's website or otherwise, shall be deemed an offer by
you to purchase the relevant package or other holiday arrangement subject to these
booking conditions. No contract between you and the Company shall come into existence
until the Company accepts full payment and issues a confirmation invoice. All contracts
with the Company and all matters arising from them are subject to English law and
to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales. The person who
makes the booking accepts these conditions on behalf of all members of the party
and is responsible for all payment due from the party. Booking services with the
company are currently only available to persons who are at least 18 years old. By
submitting a booking you warrant and confirm to us that you comply with those arrangements.
2. Payments
Full payment for all products including promotional and offer fares based on foreign
currency is required at the time of booking regardless of the product arrangements
being confirmed. In the event that the Company is unable to obtain confirmation
and cannot offer an alternative, a refund will be issued. The Company will not accept
responsibility for cash sent through the post. The company reserves the right to
pass on any charges relating to returned cheques and credit card charge backs. Taxes
do fluctuate in line with exchange rates and will be recalculated on the day final
balance payments are collected. You will be advised if additional monies are due.
Payment by credit/debit card Payment can be made by Switch/Delta Cards and all major
Credit Cards. The Company reserves the right to charge you in addition for any handling
fees incurred by us in relation to bookings made by credit or charge card. You will
be notified of the relevant charges prior to issue of a confirmation invoice. If
your travel documents are being paid for with a third party credit/debit card we
will require written authorisation to be provided by the card holder. We would also
like to draw your attention to the purchase of products by credit or debit cards
where payment does not take place in person. In accordance with mail order regulations,
all documents will be posted to the billing address of the credit/debit card holder
and not the address of the passenger (unless they are one and the same). We strongly
recommend that all documents be sent to you by Registered Post or Courier Service
to your home, office or departure airport for an additional fee. Documents can be
mailed by First Class post, but the Company will not accept responsibility for documents
mislaid or lost by the Royal Mail. Cheques should be made payable to BestAtTravel.
3. Alteration & Cancellation by you
(a) Alteration: Any alterations will be treated as a cancellation and rebooking
and the cancellation charges set out in paragraph (b) below will be payable. (b)
Cancellation: You or any member of your party may cancel your booking at any time
providing that the cancellation is made by the person making the booking and is
communicated to us in writing. The following scale shows the minimum charges that
will be applied, based on the day the written cancellation is received and whether
documents have been issued. In certain cases cancellation charges, if incurred involuntarily,
will be covered by insurance taken out at the time of booking. This is strongly
recommended.
CANCELLATION FEES
More than 56 days prior to departure: Loss of Deposit
55 - 30 days prior to departure: 50%
29 - 14 days days prior to departure: 75%
13 - 0 days days prior to departure: 100%
IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES A 100% CANCELLATION FEE WILL APPLY AT TIME OF BOOKING AND
THIS WILL BE STATED ON YOUR CONFIRMATION INVOICE.
Hotel only : alteration & cancellation by you
(a) Alteration: Any alterations will be treated as a cancellation and rebooking
and the cancellation charges set out in paragraph (b) below will be payable. (b)
Cancellation: You or any member of your party may cancel your booking at any time
providing that the cancellation is made by the person making the booking and is
communicated to us in writing. The following scale shows the minimum charges that
will be applied, based on the day the written cancellation is received and whether
documents have been issued. In certain cases cancellation charges, if incurred involuntarily,
will be covered by insurance taken out at the time of booking. This is strongly
recommended.
CANCELLATION FEES
More than 56 days prior to departure: loss of 1 night's accommodation
55 - 30 days prior to departure: 50%
29 - 14 days prior to departure: 75%
13 - 0 days prior to departure: 100%
If you wish to cancel your hotel room, please contact our customer services by telephone
on 0870 709 3005. We also accept email cancellations for hotel only bookings on
cancellations@bestattravel.co.uk. Please include your booking reference number,
registered email address and details of your cancellation. In the event of cancellation
for whatever reason you shall be liable to pay an administration fee of £20.
This could be in addition to any cancellation charge any hotel may impose.
IN SOME CIRCUMSTANCES A 100% CANCELLATION FEE WILL APPLY AT TIME OF BOOKING AND
THIS WILL BE STATED ON YOUR CONFIRMATION INVOICE.
Holiday arrangements excluding Packages
(i) Air Ticket Refunds Many air tickets have no refund value whatsoever. Unless
your confirmation invoice informs you otherwise this will apply to your ticket(s).
If you need a ticket that will allow for a refund or an en-route amendment you must
contact the Company in advance of making your payment. Air tickets, that do have
a refund value, that are returned to the Company are subject to a minimum cancellation
charge of £100 per ticket, irrespective of the number of tickets returned.
Tickets are presented to the respective airline or consolidator for assessment.
Refunds by airlines or consolidators for part-used/return halves of tickets are
always less than pro-rata and in some cases there may be no refund value whatsoever.
Refunds will not be paid to you until they have been received by the Company from
the relevant airline or consolidator. This usually takes 8-12 weeks but in some
cases (e.g. lost tickets) may take considerably longer. Tickets returned more than
one year from the date of issue are classed as expired by the airline and generally
have no refund value at all. If tickets are lost or stolen, certain airlines will
not issue duplicates. New tickets may then have to be purchased locally, at the
local fare. Even if replacement tickets are purchased, certain airlines will not
issue refunds for lost/stolen tickets. A delay of up to 18 months is possible before
authority from the airline to make any refund is received. The company applies a
further £35 per ticket administration fee over and above cancellation charges
in such cases. Please ensure that any tickets returned to the company are sent by
registered post. (ii) Other Period before departure* Amount of Cancellation (subject
to documents charge shown as percentage being issued) of the holiday price Between
4 and 8 weeks 50% Between 2 and 4 weeks 75% Less than 2 weeks 100% Failure to arrive
at point of departure 100% You will be notified on your confirmation invoice if
different cancellation charges apply. Packages: Period before departure* Amount
of Cancellation (subject to documents charge shown as percentage being issued) of
the holiday price Between 4 and 8 weeks 50% Less than 4 weeks 100% Failure to arrive
at point of departure 100% *Note: All airline tickets are payable in full on booking.
Most airline tickets are non-refundable regardless of the date OR reason for cancellation.
In all cases, unused car rental portions or vouchers are non-refundable. If for
any reason you are unable to present your car hire voucher to the respective supplier
and are billed locally for the charges, the Company will reimburse the price you
paid for such voucher but not the charges paid locally. 4. Alterations by the Company
Although the Company makes every effort to ensure that published descriptions are
correct, it does not own or operate airlines and other suppliers and cannot control
or prevent changes. The Company therefore reserves the right to change the description
of any flight and/or ground service before you book, in which case you will be told
before a confirmation invoice is issued. (a) Holiday arrangements excluding Packages:
Alterations to bookings of this kind are infrequent. Although under no obligation
to do so, the Company will endeavour to notify all changes before departure if it
is practicable to do so. (Please see section 13 Flights.) No compensation is payable
by the Company in such cases. Should a schedule change occur to your itinerary after
full balance/ticket issue, on either the outbound, or return flights the relevant
suppliers decision will be final and BestAtTravel.co.uk amendment charges may apply.
(b) " Packages": Occasionally due to reasons beyond the Company's control,
it may be necessary to amend the flights and/or other services which make up a package
booking after it has been confirmed. Such changes are considered to be either "major"
or "minor". A major change is one made before departure that involves
a change of UK departure airport (save between Heathrow and Gatwick), a difference
of more than 12 hours in departure from the UK, change in your resort area overseas,
or a change of accommodation to a lower classification than that booked. A minor
change is any other change. Whilst the Company has the right to make a minor change
at any time without notification, major changes will be advised as soon as is practicable
offering you the choice of (a) accepting the amendment as notified (b) purchasing
another arrangement from the Company with the price difference payable/refundable
as appropriate (c) cancelling the arrangement(s). If you choose (c) all monies paid
to the Company for the package will be refunded. In addition, you will receive the
compensation listed below, except in cases of "force majeure" or "low
bookings", as defined in Clause 6 below. You must inform the Company of your
decision as soon as possible after receiving notification (and in any event within
7 days). Period before scheduled departure within which a major change is notified.
Compensation per person:
Over 56 days: NIL 56-29 days GBP20.00
28-15 days GBP30.00 14 days GBP40.00
Note: In all cases the Company's liability is limited to the rates of compensation
listed above. No further claims will be accepted for costs or additional expenses
incurred as a result.
5. Cancellation by the Company
(a) Holiday arrangements excluding Packages: In the unlikely event that a booking
has to be cancelled a full and prompt refund will be made of all monies paid to
the Company less any insurance premiums and amendment fees. No compensation is payable.
(b) Packages: The Company reserves the right to withdraw or cancel the service on
offer. If the booking is cancelled before departure for any reason other than non-payment
by you then you will be offered the choice of purchasing another arrangement from
the Company, with the price difference payable/refundable as appropriate, or of
receiving a full refund of all monies paid to the Company (except insurance premium
and any amendment fees). In addition, unless the cancellation has been caused by
"force majeure" or "low bookings" (defined in Clause 6 below)
compensation will be paid on the scale set out in Clause 4 above. The Company will
never cancel a package within 30 days of departure except for reasons of "force
majeure" (see Clause 6).
6. Force Majeure/Low Bookings
(a) "Force Majeure": includes war, threat of war, riot, civil disobedience
or strife, industrial dispute, terrorist activity, natural or industrial disaster,
fire, adverse weather conditions, level of water in rivers, technical or maintenance
problems with transfer, unforeseen operational decisions of air carriers such as
changes of schedule, or any unforeseeable or unavoidable event beyond the Company's
control. (b) "Low Bookings": is where the number of persons who have booked
a particular arrangement is less than the minimum required to make it viable.
7. Pricing Policy
All fares and other information displayed on our website are subject to availability.
Once a confirmation invoice has been issued the price shown on that invoice may
only vary as outlined below or if you amend your booking (see Clause 3). (a) Holiday
arrangements excluding Packages: While every effort is made to avoid surcharges,
the right is reserved to pass on any cost increase levied by the suppliers. No surcharge
will ever be levied for air tickets after we have received full payment in cleared
funds and tickets have been issued. (b) " Packages": Prices may only be
changed to reflect government action, increase in transportation costs (e.g. airfares
and cost of fuel), changes in dues and taxes (including VAT) or fees payable for
services (e.g. landing taxes or embarkation/disembarkation fees at ports and airports)
or to reflect fluctuations in exchange rates. In all cases the Company will absorb
an amount equivalent to 2% of the invoice price (excluding insurance premiums and
amendment charges). Only amounts in excess of the 2% will be passed to you and should
this figure exceed 10% of the invoice price due to the Company (excluding insurance
premiums and amendment charges) you will be entitled to cancel the booking and receive
a full refund of all monies paid (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges).
If you decide to cancel in these circumstances you must do so within 14 days of
the issue date on the surcharge invoice. The Company will not impose any surcharge
within 14 days of departure.
8. Dispatch of Travel Documents/e-tickets
Where paper tickets are required: Travel documents are usually ready for dispatch
to you at least two weeks before departure, but cannot be released until we have
received full payment (in cleared funds) from you from you for your package holiday
or other holiday arrangement. We strongly recommend that all documents are dispatched
to you by registered post or courier service, to your home or office for an additional
fee. For bookings made where the departure date is within two weeks of booking,
we may reccommend a ticket on departure at additional cost to yourself. Please note:
if you do not have an e-ticket and documents are sent by registered post to your
home or place of work, a signature will be required by the post office at the time
of delivery. It is the passengers responsibility to ensure that a signature can
be obtained on delivery. If you are not travelling on an e-ticket your documentation
should be delivered a minimum of 7 days prior to departure, should you not receive
your documents, please call for assistance. Documents for online bookings will only
be dispatched by courier or registered post. They will not be dispatched by first
class post. If you do not want us to arrange to send your tickets by registered
post or courier service, we shall post your travel documents by first class post
to the billing address of the credit/debit cardholder who made the booking, (and
not the address on the passenger), unless they are one and the same. We do not accept
resonsibility for documents mislaid or lost by they Royal Mail. If your documents
become lost or stolen, it will be necessary for you to complete an indemnity form
and send it to us so that we can pas it to the airline or supplier concerned. The
terms and conditions of the relevant airline and/or supplier shall govern the re-issue
or lost or stolen tickets. Some airlines or suppliers are prepared to issue replacement
tickets immediately, (but may impost a fee for this), others may require full payment
again before they will issue re-placement tickets, (they will then usually refund
the amount paid for the original travel documents at at later date, which for some
airlines can be up to 12months). You shall be responsible for paying any fees (including
our administration fee), losses and/or expenses incurred in respect of the re-issue
of lost or stolen tickets.
e-tickets: Please note, effective from 1 April 2004 it is mandatory for customers
to have an e-ticket on all routes where e-ticket is available. Customers do not
have the option to select a paper ticket prior to travel or for a paper ticket to
be made available at the airport from this date, where the route is an e-ticket
route and an e-ticket is applicable.
e-ticket is the paperless electronic ticket, it's paperless because when you book
it the details are safely stored in the airline booking system so there is no need
to send you a paper ticket. This makes it easy to change your booking. With e-ticket
you can make alterations up to 30 minutes before minimum check-in time, subjec to
the normal fare restrictions.
An email itinerary receipt will be sent to the credit card holder. It is their responsibility
to pass this onto the customer travelling, as it is required at check-in, along
with an acceptable form of identification, they can check-in at the conventional
check-in desks at the airport.
Acceptable forms of identification are:
-uk driving licence
e-ticket access card
passport/national ID card
company works card/ID
It is advisable to carry the credit card you used to pay for your ticket with you
as a form of identification at check in.
9. Responsibilities of the Company
(a) Holiday arrangements excluding Packages: In consideration of the fact that the
Company acts only as a booking agent, the Company has no liability whatsoever for
any aspect of the arrangements and, in particular, has no liability for any loss,
personal injury or death however incurred. (b) " Packages": If any part
of the package you book with the Company is not as described and does not reach
a reasonable standard, or if you suffer personal injury, illness or death as a result
of any improper performance by the Company of the obligations it owes to you under
this contract, the Company will pay you reasonable compensation taking into account
all relevant factors including the invoice price of your package, any steps it was
reasonable for you to take to minimise the inconvenience/damage suffered and the
extent to which the deficiency or improper performance can have affected your enjoyment
of the package. However, this acceptance of liabilities is subject to the following
three qualifications :-( i) The Company will not be liable to pay you any compensation
if the deficiency, personal injury, illness or death concerned does not result from
any fault on the part of the Company or its suppliers, but is caused by your own
acts and/or omissions, by the acts and/or omissions of a third party (excluding
one of the Company's suppliers) or by circumstances which neither the Company nor
its suppliers could have anticipated or avoided even exercising all due care. (ii)
The Company's liability to compensate you and the amount of compensation payable
by the Company is limited in accordance with certain international conventions,
the Warsaw Convention as amended the Hague Protocol 1955, the Berne Convention 1962,
the Athens Convention 1974 and the Paris Convention 1962. Copies of these conventions
are available from the Company upon written request but 28 days should be allowed
for delivery. (iii) It is a condition of the payment of compensation to you pursuant
to Clause 8 that you notify the Company of any complaint or claim strictly in accordance
with Clause 9 below and, further, assign to the Company any rights you may have
against any third party in connection with your claim. You must co-operate with
the Company and the Company's 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 have booked with the Company, the Company will not
be liable to pay you any compensation but will offer you such advice and guidance
as is reasonable in all the circumstances and, where appropriate and at the Company's
discretion, financial assistance up to a limit of £5,000 per confirmation
invoice (not per member of your party). Any such financial assistance is for the
sole purpose of taking legal proceedings against a third party responsible for your
injury, death or other loss. Assistance must be requested within 90 days of the
incident concerned and is repayable to the Company from any monies received from
a third party or under any insurance policy. Nothing in these conditions shall be
deemed to exclude or restrict the Company's liability for death or personal injury
caused by its negligence.
10. Complaints
If a problem occurs, whilst you are abroad, you must inform the relevant supplier
(e.g. hotel, tour operator, 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 the Company's Customer Service Department immediately
by telephoning +44 (0)870 709 3002 or fax +44 (0)870 709 3088, so that the Company
is given the opportunity to help. In the event that a complaint cannot be resolved
at the time, you must write within 28 days of your return to the Company's customer
relations manager quoting your original booking reference and giving all relevant
information. Failure to take these steps will hinder the Company's ability to resolve
the problem and/or investigate it fully and in consequence, any right to compensation
you may have will be extinguished or, at the very least, substantially reduced.
For more information, see the ABTA website.
11. Passports, Visas and Health Requirements
Some information about passport, visa and health requirements may be shown on your
confirmation invoice. Clients not holding passports marked "British Citizen"
must check applicable requirements with their Embassy, Consulate or the British
Foreign Office. Please ensure that you are aware of all passport and visa requirements
and that you allow adequate time to obtain them. Please note that many countries
require that your passport is valid for six months beyond the period of your stay.
Requirements can change and it is your responsibility to ensure that you comply
with applicable passport, visa and health requirements and take all necessary documents
with you to gain access to any country or region to which you make travel arrangements.
If you fail to do so, you will be solely responsible for any cost, loss or damage
which you or the Company incurs as a result of your failure. For regular updates
on visa requirements or any conflicts in particular regions, see the Foreign Commonwealth
Office website. All children must have their own passports, especially when travelling
to the US.
12. Behaviour
It is your responsibility to ensure that you and the members of your party do not
behave in a way which causes offence or danger to others or which risks damage to
property belonging to others. In such circumstances all suppliers (e.g. hotel managers,
airline pilots) and the Company have the right to terminate arrangements made on
your behalf, in which case the Company's responsibility to you ceases immediately
and there can be no refunds, no payment of compensation and no reimbursement of
any cost or expenses you may incur as a result. Further, you will be liable to reimburse
the Company for any expenses whatsoever it incurs as a result of your behaviour.
13. Suppliers' Conditions
Please note that, as between you and any of the suppliers whose services form part
of your booking, the suppliers' standard terms and conditions will apply. This is
particularly important in the case of "other holiday arrangements" where
the company acts only as a booking agent between you and the relevant suppliers.
The suppliers' standard conditions may limit or exclude liability, often in accordance
with international conventions. Copies of these conditions may be requested in writing,
but up to 28 days must be allowed for delivery.
14. Flights
Please note that 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. The Company is not 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. The Company is also unable to make any special arrangements
for you if you are delayed; these matters are in the sole discretion of the airline
concerned. Your ticket is your document of travel and the information on the ticket
is deemed correct unless the Company is advised by you within 72 hours of receipt.
15. Special Requests
If you have any special requests, these will be passed on to the relevant supplier
but cannot be guaranteed by the Company.
16. Telephone Calls
We would like to advise our clients that the Company randomly records telephone
calls. This ensures that customer service is constantly improved.
17. Financial Security
To ensure that you would be refunded and/or repatriated in the unlikely event of
the Company's insolvency the Company is licensed and bonded. It is licensed by the
Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL No: 3337). 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. Note however that if a valid scheduled ticket
is despatched by the end of the working day following day of booking then this would
constitute a "ticket provider" sale and therefore not be covered by our
ATOL.
18. Departure Taxes
It is not always possible to include all departure taxes on your ticket - in some
cases departure taxes must be paid locally and these are payable to the Government
of the country departed and are non-refundable.
19. Pre Travel Advice
The Foreign and Commonwealth Travel Advice Unit may have issued information about
your holiday destination. You are advised to check this information on BBC (Ceefax)
page 470 or on the Internet under the address www.fco.gov.uk. Alternatively, you
can contact the ABTA information Department on 0906820520 (calls charged at 50p/minute).
20. Special Events
In certain instances where special events are taking place, for example the Olympic
Games, our normal booking conditions may be subject to change. In this instance
you will be advised of the revised booking conditions applicable over the special
event period.
21. Travel Insurance
We strongly recommend that you take out travel insurance for your whole journey.
22. Overview
The contract constituted by the Company's acceptance of your booking subject to
these Conditions shall constitute the entire agreement between you and the Company
in relation to the relevant booking, shall exclude all other terms and conditions
(except for the relevant suppliers' conditions and any application international
conventions) and shall supersede all prior or contemporaneous communication or information
provided.