IMPORTANT: These booking conditions set out the terms of your contract with Zest Tours Limited. They describe your obligations to the company and the obligations of the company to you. Your contract is with Zest Tours Limited Registered office: 19 Cypress Road, Tewkesbury, Glos, GL20 7RB. Company registration number 6974655
PLEASE NOTE: Travel insurance to cover your whole party is compulsory for all bookings made with Zest Tours Ltd and it is a condition of us accepting your booking that you have made adequate insurance provision to cover your party.
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 the jurisdiction of the English Courts. Please note that if any part of these booking conditions is found to be invalid or unenforceable, then the remainder of these booking conditions will not be affected but will remain valid and enforceable.
2. MAKING A BOOKING.
To make a booking you will indicate acceptance of these terms and conditions on behalf of all your party together with payment as requested for your trip. The person completing the booking (whether by signing our booking form or agreeing to our terms & conditions online) will be treated as doing so on behalf of, and with the consent of, all the persons for whom the booking is made and is responsible for ensuring due payment of all monies (including cancellation or amendment charges) in respect of this booking. All travel documentation and other information regarding the holiday will be sent to this person. All payments are non-refundable, where possible payments will be transferred to a replacement if a member of your party is unable to travel.
3. PAYMENT.
Full payment is required at the time of booking. You may pay by cheque, online or by a credit/debit card recognised by Zest Tours Ltd. Creditcard fees – 2.0%, Debit cards fees – no charge. For group bookings a deposit payment plus insurance premium will be required at time of booking.
4. ON RECEIPT OF YOUR PAYMENT.
You will receive a confirmation and invoice (FINAL) detailing the travel services you have booked and would ask you to check this very carefully and advise us immediately if any discrepancies are found. A contract exists between us from the date shown on your confirmation invoice. If you decide to cancel the booking upon receipt of our invoice you will need to consult clause 7 of these Terms.
5. YOUR FINANCIAL PROTECTION.
In accordance with 'The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992' all passengers booking with Zest Tours Ltd are fully protected for the initial deposit and subsequently the balance of all monies paid to us, including repatriation if required, arising from cancellation or curtailment of your travel arrangements due to the insolvency of Zest Tours Ltd. There is no requirement for Financial Protection of day trips, and none is provided. This insurance is valid only for packages booked that DO NOT include flights. Consumer aware: Your booking is insured by IPP Ltd and its panel of insurers. This insurance is only valid for passengers who book and pay directly with/to Zest Tours Ltd. If you have booked and/or paid direct to a Travel Agent for a holiday with Zest Tours Ltd please request proof of how the booking is secured. For further information please go to www.ipplondon.co.uk This insurance has been arranged by International Passenger Protection Limited and underwritten by Insurers who are members of the Association of British Insurers and Lloyds Syndicates.
Claims Procedure: Download Claims Form from www.ipplondond.co.uk Any occurrence which may give rise to a claim should be advised within 14 days to: IPP Limited, Claims Office, IPP House, 22-26 Station Road, West Wickham, Kent, BR4 0PR. Tel: 0208 776 3752 Fax: 0208 776 3751
In order to deal promptly with any claim hereunder it is essential that you retain all bills, receipts and other documents relating to your travel arrangements. Claims forms must be submitted within six months' of date of insolvency. Claims made after this date will not be considered or paid.
6. IF YOU CHANGE YOUR BOOKING.
Changes can be made up to 10 weeks prior to your departure for a charge of £30 per booking, subject to availability and any extra costs incurred. If you want to make any changes within 10 weeks of your departure date these may be treated as a cancellation of the original booking, and cancellation charges as detailed in clause 7 of these Terms may be imposed.
7. CANCELLING YOUR HOLIDAY.
A cancellation must be made in writing by the person who completed/signed the booking form. The cancellation will take effect from the day the written cancellation is received by the company. All payments up until that date, (deposit, interim and final balance) once made are non-refundable upon receipt.
8. IF WE CHANGE YOUR HOLIDAY BEFORE YOUR DEPARTURE.
We plan the arrangements for our tours many months in advance and occasionally we may have to make changes to confirmed arrangements. We are using the services of independent suppliers such as airlines, hotels and ground agents over whom we have no direct control. We reserve the right to make changes at any time and should the change significantly alter the nature of the tour you have booked (major change), and the revised arrangements are not acceptable to you, we will refund all monies paid, less insurance premium charges. In all cases, except where the major change arises due to FORCE MAJEURE we will offer an alternative or appropriate compensation or refund. An example of a MAJOR CHANGE would be a delayed departure of more than 12 hours. A MINOR change would be a change of airline, change of accommodation to another of the same standard, delay of less than 12 hours.
FORCE MAJEURE means any event which we could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Force Majeure covers events such as, but not limited to, technical or maintenance problems with transport, changes imposed by rescheduling or cancellation of flights by an airline or main charterer, the alteration of the airline or aircraft type war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, natural disaster, industrial dispute, disease, industrial or nuclear disaster, bad weather, fire, cancellation of sporting fixtures or a featured tournament and all similar events beyond our control. In the case of Force Majeure we will not accept liability & reserve the right to cancel or change bookings as necessary.
9. IF WE CANCEL YOUR BOOKING.
We reserve the right in any circumstances to cancel your holiday for any reason. For example, sales of a particular holiday may not reach a level that would be economical for us to operate a tour. In this event we will return to you all monies you have paid, or offer you an alternative holiday of comparable standard, although if the alternative offered is at additional cost, the difference will be payable by you. However we will not cancel your holiday within 56 days of departure unless it is for reasons of Force Majeure.
10. HOLIDAY PRICE and SURCHARGES.
External forces can affect the price of your holiday and as such we will reconfirm all prices at the time of booking. Once you have paid your deposit we guarantee not to increase the cost of your holiday except in the following circumstances where surcharges may apply; currency fluctuation, government action, airport charges (including fuel) and increases in scheduled airfares. In the event of a surcharge being levied, a surcharge invoice will be sent out detailing the charges due. In such cases, we will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price at the time of booking, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges referred to in clause 6 of these Terms. Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be surcharged, but where a surcharge is more than 10% of the holiday price you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a refund of all monies paid, less any premium paid to us for insurance premiums and modification charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must do so in writing within 14 days of the date printed on the surcharge invoice. All holiday prices are quoted in pounds sterling using commercial rates of exchange.
11. INSURANCE.
As a condition of booking you are required to take out adequate travel insurance for yourself and those for whom you are booking. If you have adequate travel insurance in place we require you to complete and sign our insurance indemnity form confirming that you have your own insurance policy. If you do not have your own travel insurance in place we will ask our preferred insurance company to contact you and offer you a policy.
12. BEHAVIOUR.
If, in the opinion of our company representative/escort/tour manager, your behaviour or the behaviour of anyone in your touring party is such that it is likely to cause distress, damage, danger or annoyance to our customers, employees, property or to any third party, we reserve the right to terminate all arrangements immediately without refund.
13. FLIGHTS.
The flight timings given when you make a flight booking are subject to alteration by the various foreign and UK airport scheduling committees for operational reasons. Although we are not licensed to sell you flights, any change in timings may have an impact on your Zest tour package if they alter significantly. Please check your flight timings when you receive your final documents from your flight supplier two weeks prior to departure as they will show the final timings for your flights & advise us immediately should they have an effect on any elements booked as part of your Zest package. We will do all possible to accommodate any changes but where a change in flight timings does have a significant impact on our tour arrangements we reserve the right to pass on any extra charges to you.
14. DEALING WITH COMPLAINTS.
In the unlikely event of there being something not to your liking whilst you are on holiday, please inform the relevant supplier (e.g. your hotelier) and our representative/UK office immediately who will try to resolve the problem out there and then. Unless there is a valid reason why your complaint is not reported in this manner, we will not consider ourselves liable in respect of those complaints. If the problem cannot be resolved in resort, you must send us a written complaint to reach us within 28 days of the end of your holiday in order that we can investigate fully. We will not accept liability for any claims received outside this period. We certainly hope that we can settle any holiday complaints amicably; however should this prove not to be the case you may refer any dispute relating to this contract to an arbitrator appointed by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. The scheme provides for a simple and inexpensive method of arbitration, on documents alone, with restricted liability of the client in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £1500 per person or £7500 per booking form, or to claims that are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness, or the consequences of such injury or illness. An application for arbitration must be made within nine months of the date of return from the holiday.
15. OUR RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU.
We will accept liability for matters that arise as a direct result of our negligence and/or breach of our contractual duty to exercise care in making arrangements for you, including any acts/or omissions by our employees. However we will not be liable where any failure in the performance of the contract is :
1. Attributable to you or a member of your party
2. Attributable to a third party unconnected with the provision of the services to you, and is unforeseeable and unavoidable
3. Attributable to an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have foreseen or forestalled even with all due care.
Any compensation payable by us shall be limited in accordance with the lowest limit allowed under applicable International Conventions governing the services; such as the Warsaw Convention 1929 (as amended) and the Montreal Convention 1999 which cover travel by air and the Athens Convention 1974 which covers transport by boat. Transport operators have their own conditions of carriage and when arranging this transportation for you, we rely on the terms and conditions contained within these international conventions and those conditions of carriage. You acknowledge that all of these terms and conditions form part of your contract with us as well as with the transport company. These provisions and conditions may limit or exclude liability for death or personal injury, or loss or damage to luggage, and may make special provision for valuables. A copy of the International Convention or the conditions of carriage applicable to your holiday can be supplied upon request.
Under EU law (Regulation 261/2004) you have rights in some circumstances to refunds and/or compensation from your airline in cases of denied boarding, cancellation or delay to flights. Full details of these rights will be publicised at EU airports and will also be available from airlines. However reimbursement in such cases will not automatically entitle you to a refund of your holiday cost from us. Your right to a refund and/or compensation from us is set out in clause 8. If any payments to you are due from us, any payment made to you by the airline will be deducted from this amount. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council on 020 7240 6061 www.auc.org.uk
Health and Safety standards applicable to the elements of the holiday booked with us should meet the local regulations of your destination, however please note that these may not be the same as in the UK and may vary from destination to destination.
All tours descriptions are advised by us in good faith and every care is taken to ensure their accuracy. However, since we include so much detail and since the tours are prepared up to 12 months in advance, there may be occasions when an advertised facility or entertainment is not available during your own particular tour. Certain facilities e.g. swimming pools, require maintenance and sometimes have to be temporarily withdrawn from use for such work to be done. Outdoor activities, beach services and water sports for example may not operate for reasons such as unstable weather conditions or lack of support, or golf courses, bowling greens etc may be closed for maintenance or private competitions. Similarly there may be occasions, especially during the low season, where certain advertised schedules, entertainment or amenities are changed, cancelled or curtailed. Further, the operation of certain amenities and facilities may be subject to local licensing laws or religious holiday. Government or local authority restrictions may also dictate that a hotel or apartment limits certain facilities e.g. air-conditioning or water supply, in the cause of conservation. Should any of these examples occur (or any other incidents of a similar nature), Zest Tours Limited will not be liable for any loss or damages occurring as a result.
16. PASSPORT, VISA AND IMMIGRATION REQUIREMENTS.
Your specific passport and visa requirements, and other immigration requirements are your responsibility and you should confirm these with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates. We do not accept any responsibility if you cannot travel because you have not complied with any passport, visa or immigration requirements.
17. VACCINATIONS.
It is your responsibility to check with your doctor if any vaccinations are required to travel to your destination. Please note that the cost of any immunisation treatment is not included in the cost of your holiday. The person signing the booking form is responsible for passing on any health requirements to his/her party at the time of booking.
18. DATA PROTECTION.
In order to book your tour we are required to pass on certain information such as your name, passport details, address, dietary requirements to suppliers of your travel arrangements such as hotels, airlines and transport companies. We apply appropriate security measures to protect your data, however if you are travelling to a country outside the European Economic Area controls on your data protection may not be as strict. We will only pass sensitive data to people responsible for your travel arrangements. When you make this booking you consent to this information being passed to the relevant people. We can supply a copy of the information held by us if you require.