Booking Conditions

1. General
These booking conditions will form part of your holiday contract with us, Travel à la carte - please read them carefully.
The person who signs our booking form accepts these booking conditions on behalf of all members of his/her party and also accepts full responsibility for all payments due to us in relation to the holiday booked.
Your contract with us is made subject to English law and to the jurisdiction of the English courts.

2. Making a Booking
To book, please telephone us or complete the Availability Request Form to check availability and then send us a completed, signed booking form, together with the required deposit (normally 25% of the total holiday cost). Booking requests made less than eight weeks before departure should be accompanied by the full holiday price.
Once we have received your booking form and deposit/full payment, we will issue a confirmation invoice and it is at this stage that the contract between us is made. If we are unable to accept your booking we shall return your deposit within 28 days. Please check our confirmation invoice carefully to ensure it reflects all the details you have requested.
The balance of the holiday price is due eight weeks prior to the start date of your holiday - if it is not received when due, we will regard your booking as cancelled and you will be liable for the cancellation charges shown in paragraph 5 below. If you book through a travel agent, any monies you pay him will be held on our behalf until such time as he pays them across to us.
Payment of your deposit or balance by credit card will incur a 2% service charge (3% for AMEX). 

3. Your Holiday Price
The prices on this website are calculated on exchange rates as published in the Financial Times on Saturday November 10th 2007 (£1 = Euro 1.427).
We reserve the right to change prices before you book, in which case you will advised before your booking is accepted.
After your confirmation invoice has been issued, we will not change the holiday price except to reflect government action, unfavourable changes in exchange rates, an increase in transportation costs (including the cost of fuel) taxes or dues payable for services. In the case of a small change, an amount equivalent to 2%, of the price of your holiday excluding any amendment charges will be absorbed or retained. For larger changes this 2% will be absorbed for increases but not retained from refunds. In either case there will be an administration charge of £1 per person together with an amount to cover agent's commission (if applicable). If this means paying a surcharge which exceeds 10% of the original holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday and receive a full refund of all monies paid except for amendment charges. If you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice. Whether you cancel or not you will still be entitled, on the terms set out in paragraph 6, to accept an offer of an alternative holiday from us if we are able to do so and compensation as set out below. Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your holiday due to contractual and other protection in place.

4. Alterations by You
If you wish to alter your booking we will try to make the alteration requested, subject to a charge of £30 for each alteration made, plus such additional charges as our suppliers may levy.
Requests for alterations received less than 56 days before departure will be treated as a cancellation and re-booking, giving rise to the cancellation charges shown in paragraph 5 below.
If you wish to increase the number of people included in your holiday booking before departure, you must tell us, and the price of the holiday will be adjusted accordingly. If there is a decrease in numbers, the remaining party members will remain responsible for the total holiday price.
If you are prevented from proceeding with your booking by a death, serious illness, jury service or redundancy, you may transfer your booking to someone else subject to paying our administrative expenses of £25 per name change, plus such additional charges as our suppliers may levy (please note, some airlines charge a 100% cancellation fee in such circumstances). All outstanding sums due for the booking must be received before a name change can be effected.

5. Cancellation by You
If you wish to cancel your holiday entirely you must do so in writing, signed by the person who signed the booking form.
The following cancellation charges will be payable, dependent on the date your written cancellation is received:-

6. Alterations and Cancellations by Us
Although changes in the holiday are unlikely, it is possible that we may have to change your holiday before you depart. If the change is 'major' (i.e. a change of resort or a change to a lower standard of accommodation), we will do our best to inform you as soon as practicable and will offer you the choice of a comparable alternative holiday or a full refund of all monies paid (excluding insurance premiums and amendment fees). In addition, unless the change is caused by 'force majeure' (defined below), we will pay you compensation on the following scale:-

Any other change will be considered 'minor'. We are not obliged to inform you of minor changes before you depart (although we will try to do so), nor are we obliged to offer you an alternative holiday, a refund or compensation.
'Force majeure' means war, threat of war, civil strife, strike, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, bad weather, fire, level of water, terrorist activity, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes of schedule or operational decisions of transport providers, closure of ports or airports or similar circumstances beyond our control.
Although it is unlikely we would ever have to do so, we reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your holiday, in which case we will offer you an alternative holiday of comparable standard or a refund of all monies paid plus, unless the cancellation has been caused by force majeure, compensation on the scale set out above.
We guarantee that we will not cancel your holiday less than eight weeks before departure except in circumstances of force majeure or because you have failed to pay the final balance when due.

7. Our Responsibility for your Holiday
We accept responsibility for any loss you may suffer if any part of the holiday you book with us is not as described and not of a reasonable standard. We also accept responsibility if you suffer death or personal injury as a direct result of the holiday failing to be as described and of a reasonable standard. However, these acceptances of responsibility do not apply if there has been no fault on our part, nor on the part of our suppliers, and the deficiency, loss, death or personal injury suffered is attributable to your own acts or omissions, to the acts or omissions of a third party not involved in providing the services which make up your holiday, or to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances whose consequences could not have been avoided or anticipated even exercising all due care. They are also conditional upon you assigning to us any rights you may have against any other person whose acts or omissions have given rise to our liability.
Our liability to compensate you, and the amount of such compensation, is subject to the following limitations. First, in the case of damage other than death, illness or personal injury, compensation is restricted to a reasonable amount having regard to such factors as, e.g., the price of your holiday and the extent to which your enjoyment of it can be said to have been affected. Second, in all cases, liability and compensation are limited in accordance with the provisions of all international conventions which concern transportation and accommodation, particularly the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended), the Athens Convention 1974 and the Paris Convention 1962. Copies of these conventions are available on request - please allow 28 days.

8. Personal Injury Unconnected with Us
If any member of your party suffers death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of an activity which does not form part of the holiday booked with us we shall, at our discretion, offer advice, guidance and assistance to help you in resolving any claim you may have against a third party, provided such advice and assistance is requested within 90 days of the occurrence.
Where legal action is contemplated, our authority must be obtained prior to issuing proceedings and will be subject to you undertaking to assign to us any costs you may recover or any benefits you may receive under an insurance policy. Our costs in respect of such advice, guidance and assistance will be limited to £5,000 per party. 

9. Complaints
If you have a complaint, you must inform our agent or representative in resort immediately so that we have an opportunity to remedy the problem as soon as reasonably possible. In the unlikely event that a problem cannot be resolved in resort, you must notify us of full details in writing upon your return from holiday. If you fail to take these simple steps, our ability to resolve the problem and/or investigate it fully will have been reduced. As a result, you will lose any entitlement you may have had to claim compensation or, at the very least, the amount of the compensation to which you may be entitled will be substantially reduced.
Disputes arising out of, or in connection with, this contract which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration, if the customer so wishes, under a special Scheme arranged by ABTA, 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 the customer 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. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it 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 the 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.  

10. Transport and Accommodation
Please note that, as between you and any supplier of services (e.g. an airline, boat operator, car rental company or villa owner) the standard terms and conditions of that supplier will apply.
Copies of these conditions, some of which exclude or limit liability, are available on request - please allow 28 days. The timings of all transport, including those shown on any tickets or vouchers, are estimates only and cannot be guaranteed. They are subject to, inter alia, weather conditions, the need for maintenance, the decisions of air traffic controllers and other regulators and the ability of passengers to check in on time. We cannot be held liable for any delays which may arise. Any arrangements made for you in the event of a delay will be in the sole discretion of the airline, boat operator or other carrier involved. We, the tour operator, will not be liable for providing you with any refreshment and/or accommodation in the event of a delay.

11. Website Descriptions
We take all reasonable steps to ensure that the website descriptions are accurate. However, facilities and services can change, and we reserve the right to change any description or price before you book. Our descriptions are accurate according to our own evaluation. Our photographs are intended to give an overall impression of resorts and accommodation. The company is not liable for items of furniture appearing in photographs which have been removed or changed since those photographs were taken.
Please note that some services and facilities at the resorts featured on this website only operate in high season. At certain times of year tavernas and shops may be closed and buses may not be running to a full timetable. Such matters are not within our control and we can accept no liability in respect of them. This web page was published in December 2007 and is valid for departures between 01/04/08 and 31/10/08.

12. Special Requests
Special requests should be made at the time of booking. They will be passed on to our suppliers, but should never be regarded as guaranteed.

13. Your Responsibility
You must ensure that you comply with all applicable passport (and, if applicable, visa) requirements and that you take all necessary documents with you on holiday, including your tickets, driving licence etc. You should also ensure that you do not behave in a way which may cause loss, distress or offence to any other person or damage to any property. If you fail to discharge these responsibilities we will not be liable to you in any way and you will be responsible for any additional costs or expenses whatsoever that you or we may incur.

14. Financial Peace of Mind
We are bonded with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), membership number V2429. You can therefore rest assured that you would be refunded and/or repatriated in the unlikely event of our insolvency.
Travel à la carte Limited's registered number is 1516344 and their registered office is at: The Accounting Centre, 36 Queens Road, Newbury, Berkshire RG14 7NE.
 

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Travel à la carte
No. 4A, 36 Queens Road,
Newbury, RG14 7NE.
Telephone: 01635 33800   Fax: 01635 33803
E-mail: info@travelalacarte.co.uk