Carefree Booking Conditions
These booking conditions apply to all bookings for accommodation, which you make with us, so you should read them carefully.
1. Legal Identity - CAREFREE is the trading name of RADIANT TRAVEL SERVICES (The Company), registered in England number 01244608 at 10, The Wharf, Bridge Street, Birmingham B1 2JS. These booking conditions and the general information set out further below form the basis of your contract with the Company. This contract shall be governed in all respects by English law and shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the English Courts.
2. Booking Confirmation - No contract shall exist between the Company and you until you receive a confirmation invoice, issued by the Company and we receive full payment for the total value of the booking. The party leader must be at least 18 years of age, as some hoteliers will not accept reservations where all members of the party are below this age.
3. Prices - We reserve the right to change prices from time to time, and to correct any errors in our prices. Prices are shown on our website and can go up or down. We guarantee that the price quoted on your booking confirmation will not change unless you make an amendment to the booking details.
4. Payment Terms - Full payment is required at the time of booking and if payment is not received, the Company has the right to cancel your booking.
5. Amendment By You - Any change by you prior to 42 days, which necessitates a new invoice being raised, will incur an amendment fee of £10. Changes within 42 days of departure may incur cancellation charges.
6. Cancellation By You - If you cancel your booking or part of it, you will be liable to pay the following cancellation fees, which are based upon the number of days before departure that Carefree receives your notification of cancellation: more than 7 days - 25% or £50 per person, whichever is the greater; within 7 days - 100%.
7. Alterations By Carefree - In the unlikely event that we have to alter or amend any of your arrangements, you will be offered a refund on the following scale: more than 56 days - nil, less than 56 days - 10% of the cost of the accommodation. If we have to cancel your arrangements, we will refund to you the price you have paid for your accommodation, plus the compensation set out in this scale.
8. Our Responsibility and Liability To You – (1) We promise to use reasonable skill and care in selecting the suppliers who will supply the accommodation you book with us. Providing we have done so we will have no responsibility for the provision of the actual accommodation itself or for the acts or omissions of the supplier(s) concerned or any of its employees, agents, suppliers or subcontractors. Please note it is your responsibility to show that all reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us.
(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: -
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or
'force majeure' as defined in clause 9 below.
Please note: subclauses 8(3)-(8) are all subject to subclause 8(1) above.
(3) Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. In addition, regardless of any wording used by us on our website, or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.
(4) The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly arranged or provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK.
(5) As set out in these booking conditions we limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any claims you may make against us.
For all claims which do not involve death or personal injury or luggage, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your claim under this clause. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday.
(7) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description (1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or (2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.
(8)You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or complaint as set out in clause 11 below. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier or whoever else is responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.
9. Behaviour – When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or loss must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal costs) as a result of your actions.
We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the stay of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation concerned. We will have no further responsibility toward such person(s). No refunds will be made and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.
10. Force Majeure - We regret that the Company cannot accept responsibility or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performances 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 the Company or the supplier of the service in question could not, even with all the due care, foresee or avoid such as war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, natural or nuclear disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, governmental action and all similar events beyond the Company's control.
11. Complaints - If you have a problem during your holiday, please inform the hotelier immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please follow this up within 28 days of your return home by writing to our Customer Services Department at 10, The Wharf, Bridge Street, Birmingham B1 2JS, giving your booking reference and all other relevant information. Please keep your letter concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you.
It is strongly recommended that you communicate any complaint to the supplier of the services in question without delay and complete a report form whilst in resort.
Disputes arising out of, or in connection with, this contract, which cannot be amicably settled, may (if the customer so wishes) be referred to arbitration under a Special Scheme, which, though devised by arrangement with the Association of British Travel Agents, is administered quite 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 £15,000 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 the Scheme may still be available if the company agrees, but the ABTA Code of Conduct does not require such agreement.
We cannot be held responsible for unforeseen construction work in the vicinity of the rental property that is totally beyond control of the property owner. Although the company is very sympathetic under these circumstances and will assist as much as possible, we have no power to stop construction work and, as such, cannot be held liable.
If you fail to follow this simple procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under this contract.
12. Insurance - We consider adequate travel insurance (which covers at the least the cost of cancellation, and the cost of assistance, including repatriation in the event of accident or illness) to be essential. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. We do not check insurance policies.
13. Accuracy of information on our website - To the best of our knowledge the information on our website is correct. However there may be occasions when the accommodation details or descriptions change. The Company is unable to accept liability for any inaccuracy.
14. Passports, Visas and Health Requirements - Unless you tell us otherwise, we are entitled to assume that all members of your party are British citizens who hold or will hold full British passports valid for the entire duration of the arrangements you chose to purchase. Information on visa, passport and health requirements, where given and applicable, is so given on this basis. Requirements may change and you are therefore strongly recommended to check the up to date position with the supplier of the arrangements, Passport Office, appropriate embassy or consulate or your doctor as applicable in good time before departure.