Group Travel Terms & Conditions of Travel
Why should I read this page?
Because it is very important.
Our trading Charter forms a key part of our agreement with you and
forms the basis of a legally binding contract between you, as the Group
Organiser, anyone else in your third party and us. When you make this
booking, as the organiser you undertake that you have the authority to
accept and do accept, on behalf of your party the terms and conditions
which are governed by English law, and the non-exclusive jurisdiction of
the English courts.
These contract terms and financial guarantees will not apply to any
holiday involving any type of flight, instead you will be supplied with the
full booking conditions of the ATOL holder arranging your holiday.
Your booking agent will have a copy of these conditions or alternatively,
you can request one prior to booking your holiday from Gardiners NMC Ltd,
18 Coopies Haugh, Coopies Lane Ind Est, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 6JN.
How and when do I make this contract with you?
We welcome you making contact with us in a number of ways.
You can write to us or phone us. Whichever way you contact us, the
contract is made when your booking is entered on to our reservation
system and we issue a confirmation of booking.
We will send you the confirmation of your booking within seven working
days of receipt of your deposit.. Please check this confirmation very
carefully to ensure all the information is correct and tell us immediately of
any errors.
How is my holiday financially protected?
We subscribe to the code of conduct of the bonded coach Holidays
group (BCHG) of the confederation of passenger Transport UK.
BCHG requires a bond to be taken out to provide protection for your
financial reasons, carry out their obligations to their passengers.
BCHG Consumer Guarantee:
The bonded Coach Holiday Group guarantees to bona fide customers
that, in the event of failure of a bona fide member, it will:
- Wherever possible, arrange for a holiday or tour to be completed
- Where failure occurs after a holiday has begun, arrange for
customers to be returned by an appropriate means of transport to
their UK area of departure
- If the holiday or tour cannot be completed as planned.
The reimbursement of payments made by the customer to the
BCHG Member
When do I need to pay for my holiday
and how much?
At the time of booking you will need to pay a non refundable £200.00
deposit. The balance must be paid in full 6 weeks prior to departure
unless otherwise agreed. If you book within 6 weeks of departure, you
will need to pay the total holiday cost at the time of booking.
If you do not pay the outstanding balance for your holiday on, or before,
the date when it is due, we may cancel your booking for your holiday and
you will be required to pay any cancellation charges incurred.
Can you change the price of a holiday after you
have issued the booking confirmation?
Yes we can, but only in very limited circumstances.
The price of your holiday may be varied due to changes in:
- Transportation costs such as fuel and/or fuel tax, ferry operator fares
and tolls, embarkation or disembarkation fees at terminals
- Exchange rates applied to the particular holiday booked
- Dues and taxes including charges in VAT or any other government
imposed changes. In case of any small variation, an amount equivalent
to 2% of the price of your holiday, which excludes insurance premiums
and any amendment charges, will be absorbed or retained, for larger
variations, this 2% will still be absorbed for increases, but not retained
from refunds. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more
than 10% of the price of your holiday, you may cancel it and receive a
full refund of all monies paid, except for any amendment charges, should
you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do
so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice.
Please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local
currency and some apparent charges have no impact on the price of
your holiday due to contractual and other protection in place. In addition
to sterling we use the euro in calculating our holiday prices. The
exchange rate used is:
£1 sterling equals €1.15
Can I change my holiday arrangements?
After we have issued our booking confirmation we will do our best to
accommodate any changes you may want to make, but we cannot
guarantee to do so.
Any changes must be notified to us as soon as possible by the Group
Organiser. If we are able to make the changes any additional charge for
the facilities requested are incurred by the Group Organiser. Any
significant alteration after the balance due date will be treated as a
cancellation of the original booking and may be subject to the
cancellation charges detailed below. A significant alteration would
include a change of departure date, destination / hotel, or number of
people travelling.
Can I change my holiday arrangements?
After we have issued our booking confirmation we will do our best to
accommodate any changes you may want to make, but we cannot
guarantee to do so.
Any changes must be notified to us as soon as possible by the Group
Organiser. If we are able to make the changes any additional charge for
the facilities requested are incurred by the Group Organiser. Any
significant alteration after the balance due date will be treated as a
cancellation of the original booking and may be subject to the
cancellation charges detailed below. A significant alteration would
include a change of departure date, destination / hotel, or number of
people travelling.
Scale of cancellation Charges
Period before departure within Amount of cancellation charge as a
which written cancellation of percentage of holiday cost holiday is
received
| Prior to 42 days |
Deposit only |
| 28 to 42 days |
40% of holiday cost or deposit
(whichever is greater) |
| 14 to 27 days |
60% of holiday cost |
| 7 to 13 days |
70% of holiday cost |
| 6 to 0 days |
100% of holiday cost |
| Departure day or later(including voluntary termination)
whilst on holiday |
Total holiday cost |
What is the extent of your liability?
We accept responsibility if the failures in your holiday arrangements or
any death or personal injury caused is due to any fault of ours or of our
agents or suppliers whilst acting in the course of their employment. We
do not accept responsibility if the failure, death or personal injury is not
caused by any fault of ours or our agents or suppliers or is caused by
you or someone not connected with your holiday arrangements or if
failure death or personal injury is due to unusual or unforeseen
circumstances which even with all due care, we or our agents or
suppliers could not have anticipated or avoided. For claims, which do not
involve personal injury, illness or death the most we will have to pay if we
are liable to you is (twice) the price the person affected paid for their
holiday (not including insurance premiums and amendment charges).
We will only have to pay this maximum amount if everything has gone
wrong and you will have received no benefit from your holiday. If you or
any member of your party is killed, injured or becomes ill as a result of
transport by ship, train, or coach any liability which we may have to pay
compensation is limited in line with the Athens convention (applies to
transport by ship) the Berne convention (applies to transport by rail) and
the Geneva convention (applies to transport by road). You can get
copies of the relevant convention from us if you ask. You should also
note that these conventions might limit or remove the carriers liability to
you and the amount which the carrier has to pay you. If we make any
payment to you or any member of your party for death, personal injury or
illness you will be asked to assign to us or
insurers the rights you may have to take against the person or
organization responsible for causing the death, personal injury or illness.
Our suppliers (for such things as accommodation, or transport providers)
have their own booking conditions or conditions of carriage and these
conditions are binding between you and the supplier. Some of these
conditions may limit or remove the relevant transport providers or other
supplier’s liability to you. You can get copies of such conditions from our
offices or the offices of the relevant supplier.
What do I need to do if I have to complain?
If you have a complaint during your holiday you should tell the
Driver / representative or supplier at the earliest opportunity so that they
can do their utmost to resolve the problem immediately. If they are
unable to resolve the problem to your satisfaction you should complete a
holiday report form which is available from the driver/representative. You
will be given a copy of this report, which you should keep. If on your
return from holiday you remain dissatisfied, you should write within 28
days to:
The Managing Director, Gardiners NMC Ltd, 18 Coopies Haugh, Coopies Lane,
Industrial Estate, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 6JN.
In your letter you will need to quote your booking reference number,
departure date and the date you completed the holiday report form. If
you do not tell us at the earliest opportunity about a problem giving rise
to your complaint we cannot take steps to investigate and rectify it. In
deciding how to respond to your complaint we will take into account the
date you first drew the problem to the attention of our driver /
representative or supplier.
If I do not agree with your decision can I request
arbitration?
Yes you can.
If we cannot resolve your complaint amicably, you may request that the
dispute is referred to an independent arbitration scheme established by
the confederation of passenger transport UK (CPT). Full details of this
scheme will be provided on request or you can obtain a copy from CPT.
This arbitration scheme provides a simple and inexpensive method of
arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on the customer in
respect of costs. This scheme does not apply to claims for an amount
greater than £1500 per person. There is also a limit of £7500 per
booking. Normally there is a time limit of 9 months from the date of return
from your holiday within which to request arbitration but in exceptional
circumstances the scheme can be used beyond this date. This scheme
does not apply to claims that arise mainly in respect of physical injury or
illness or the consequences of any illness or injury.
Coaches and Coach seating
Coaches used on our work are modern touring coaches and come with
Reclining seats, toilet, forced air or air conditioning and pa systems, on
occasion if bookings do not reach the required numbers instead of
cancelling a tour we reserve the right to use smaller coaches to carry out
our work, should this be the case some of the onboard facilities may
vary.
Health and Safety on holiday
In some foreign countries, standards of infrastructure, safety and
hygiene may be lower than those to which we are accustomed in the UK.
You should therefore exercise greater care for your own protection.
Further information can be obtained from your GP who can provide you
with the leaflets on health advice for travellers published by the
department of health. Some people may be at risk from discomfort or
deep vein thrombosis (DVT) if they remain immobile on a journey for a
long period of time. If you are planning to undertake a bus or coach
journey of more than 3 hours you should consult your doctor if you have
ever had DVT, pulmonary embolism, a family history of clotting
conditions, cancer or treatment for cancer, stroke heart or lung disease
or if you have had major surgery in the past 3 months.
We reserve the right to refuse any booking in the absence of a doctor’s
certificate confirming that you are fit to travel.
During the journey we will provide comfort stops as frequently as
possible. During these stops you are encouraged to get off the coach
and walk around. Exercise reduces any discomfort, which may be
caused by periods of immobility. During any journey you should drink
alcohol only in moderation as it leads to dehydration.
Passenger Behaviour
We want all our customers to have an enjoyable holiday, but you must
remember that you are responsible for your behaviour and the effect it
may have on others. If you or any member of your party is abusive or
disruptive or behaves in a way which in our reasonable opinion, could
cause damage or injury to others or affect their enjoyment of their
holiday or which could damage property, we have the right after
reasonable consideration to terminate your contract with us.
If this happens we will have no further obligations or liability to you. The
coach driver/representative, ships captain or authorised official of other
means of transport is entitled to refuse you boarding if in their
reasonable option you are unacceptably under the influence of drink or
drugs or you are being violent or disruptive. If you are refused boarding
on the outward journey we will regard it as a cancellation by you and we
will apply cancellation charges according to the scale. If the refusal is on
the return journey we have the right to terminate the contract and will
have no further obligations or liability to you.
No Smoking Policy
We operate a strict no smoking policy on all our coaches, however we do
make frequent comfort stops. The no smoking policy of other carriers
and suppliers will vary and will be supplied on request if you contact us.
Pets
We do not allow pets to taken on our holidays.
Registered assistance dogs will normally be accommodated on UK
holidays but not on overseas holidays.
Pick up point, itineraries, travel documents
and passports
You are responsible for ensuring that you are at your chosen departure
point at the correct time, with the correct documents, we cannot be held
liable for any loss or expense suffered by you or your party because of
an incorrect passport or late arrival at the departure point. If you are a
British citizen travelling outside the United Kingdom you must have a full
UK passport valid for a minimum of three months after your scheduled
date of return. Non UK citizens must seek passport and visa advice from
the consulates of the countries you plan to visit prior to making a booking
for one of our holidays. The name on the passport must match the name
on the ticket. If someone in your party changes name after the booking is
made you must tell us immediately so that we can issue the ticket in the
new name.
Approximately 2 weeks prior to departure we will send you all the
necessary labels so that you receive them in good time for your holiday.
Certain travel documents may have to be retained by us and your
driver/courier will then issue them to you at the relevant time. If you lose
a travel document after it has been issued to you we will require you to
meet the direct cost charged by the carrier/supplier for the issue of
duplicate or replacement.
NMC Tours and Gardiners Travel reserves the right to modify itineraries
to conform to requests from the competent authorities in the United
Kingdom and any other sovereign state through which the tour will
operate.
Refunds will not be made for any excursion not taken. Optional
excursions may be booked and paid for in resort but these will not form
part of the package booked with us.
Administration fees to buildings, grounds etc are not included in the price
of the holiday unless otherwise stated on the relevant brochure page.
What happens if I am delayed?
Your travel insurance may cover you for some delays. In addition, where
you are delayed for more than six hours in any one day we will seek to
minimise any discomfort and where possible arrange for refreshments
and meals.
Do I need to take out travel insurance?
We can offer comprehensive travel insurance cover provided by Towergate, Chapman & Stevens, all of our staff are ITC compliance trained. We suggest all of our customers take out travel insurance to cover medical and repatriation costs, personal injury loss of baggage and cancellation charges. It is not compulsory in law to have insurance for our tours inside or outside the UK and therefore you do not need to take out travel insurance, but we suggest you should have insurance which is at least as good as or better than the insurance we offer. If you do not have adequate insurance and require our assistance whilst on holiday we reserve the right to reclaim from you any medical, repatriation or other expenses which we may incur on your behalf which would otherwise have been met by insurers.
Insurance Information and Prices
A Special Holiday Travel Insurance Scheme is available for all
passengers travelling on our holidays which is arranged with ETI –
International Travel Protection (the UK branch of Europäische
Reiseverscherung AG) who are Licensed by the Bundesanstalt für
Finanzdienstleistungsaufsicht (BAFIN – www.bafin.de) and approved by
the Financial Services Authority (FSA – www.fsa.gov.uk) to undertake
insurance business in the UK.
Should you wish to take advantage of our Holiday Travel Insurance
please include the appropriate premium when booking your holiday.
Demands and Needs
This insurance policy will suit the Demands and Needs of an individual
or group(where applicable) who have no excluded pre-existing medical
conditions, are travelling in countries included within the policy terms
and who wish to insure themselves against unforeseen events detailed
in the cover section below. Subject to the terms, conditions and
maximum specified claim limits.
Important
We will not provide you with advice about the suitability of this product
for your individual needs but will be happy to provide you with factual
information. We summarise below the details of the insurance cover
provided which also includes SPECIALTY ASSISTANCE LTD – 24-hour
emergency service. The following is a brief summary of the cover
available. Full details of Cover, Policy Warranties and Exclusions will be
forwarded with your confirmation of booking. In any event you may ask
for a specimen copy of the Policy Wording before booking should you
wish to examine this in advance.
Cover and Sum Insured up to;
Cancellation £3,500, Missed Departure/Travel Delay £600/£60, Personal
Accident £15,000, Medical and other Expenses including Curtailment
£2,000,000, Additional Travelling Expenses – United Kingdom £1,500,
Medical Inconvenience Benefit £450 (£15 per 24 hours), Personal Property/Loss of Passport £1,500/£200, Personal Liability £2,000,000,
Delayed Baggage £100, Legal Expenses £10,000, 14 day Refund
Insurance Premium.
Policy Excess
Cancellation, Curtailment, Holiday Abandonment and Loss of Deposit for
holidays up to and including 3 days NIL. For holidays over 3 days Loss
of Deposit excess £15.00 each and every loss. For holidays over 3 days
excess £50.00 each and every loss for Cancellation, Curtailment and
Holiday Abandonment. Medical and Other Expenses, Additional
Travelling Expenses – United Kingdom, Personal Property and Money
excess £30.00 each and every incident per Insured Person.
Excess Waiver Option
The excesses above can be reduced to Zero if you decide to take out the
excess waiver option. This is available at an additional premium but can
only be purchased at the time of booking. Please make sure you advise
us that this option is required.
IMPORTANT – HEALTH CONDITIONS APPLYING TO ALL TRAVEL
DESTINATIONS
If you are travelling in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
and can answer NO to questions 1-3 and YES to 4 immediately
below, it will not be necessary for you to complete a Self Declaring
Medical Form. The Standard Policy Terms, Conditions and
Exclusions shall apply. Applying to all areas
It is a condition that at the time of taking out this policy and between that
time and your departure you must comply with each of the following:
1) You are not aware of any reason why the trip should be cancelled or
cut short
2) You are not travelling:
a) against the advice of a medical practitioner
b) for the purpose of obtaining medical treatment, or
c) if you have been given a terminal prognosis
3) You are not receiving or awaiting treatment for an illness or injury as a
hospital day case or in-patient, as any claim arising from this injury or
treatment will not be covered.
4) If you are on medication at the time of travel your medical condition is
stable and well controlled.
In addition if you are travelling outside England, Scotland, Wales
and Northern Ireland, the following additional conditions will apply:
You must notify the Issuer of this policy immediately of any of the
conditions listed below arising between the date the policy is issued and
the time of departure of the trip. We must be informed of any fact, which
is likely to influence us in the acceptance, assessment or continuance of
this insurance. Failure to do so may invalidate this insurance, leaving
you with no right to make a claim.
1) If you have received medical treatment as a hospital day case, inpatient
or out-patient during the six months prior to the booking of the
trip, you must obtain from a medical practitioner at your cost confirmation
that you will be fit enough to take the trip.
2) if you are undergoing medical treatment as a hospital out-patient at
the date the final balance of the trip is due to be paid, you obtain a
certificate of fitness confirming your ability to travel mist at your cost.
The Policy contains the following General Exclusions:
YOU ARE NOT COVERED for anything caused directly or indirectly by
you suffering from stress, anxiety or depression unless it has been
investigated and diagnosed as such by a Consultant specialising in the
relevant field, who must confirm in writing at your cost that you are, fit
enough to take this trip.
Please note our Holiday Travel Insurance Scheme is only available to United
Kingdom Residents.
We are an Appointed Representative of ITC Compliance Limited who are
authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
Insurance Selling Price
Period UK Europe
Insurance Prices - All Prices Include Premium Tax |
Duration |
UK |
Europe inc. Isle of Man & Jersey |
2 Day |
£19.00 |
£13.00 |
3 Day |
£22.00 |
£16.00 |
4 Day |
£28.00 |
£18.00 |
5 Day |
£29.00 |
£21.00 |
6 Day |
£32.00 |
£22.00 |
7 Day |
£33.00 |
£23.00 |
8 Day |
£34.00 |
£24.00 |
9 Day |
£35.00 |
£25.00 |
10 Day |
£36.00 |
£26.00 |
12-17 Day |
£44.00 |
£31.00 |
Gardiners NMC Ltd trading as Gardiners NMC is an appointed representative of ITC Compliance Ltd which is authorised & regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (Firm reference 313486)
What assistance will you give me if things go wrong when it is not your fault?
If you or any members of your party suffer death, illness or injury whilst overseas arising out of an activity which does not form part of your package, travel arrangements or an excursion arranged through us in
the UK, we shall at our discretion, offer advice, guidance and assistance.
Where legal action is contemplated and you require our assistance, you
must obtain our written consent prior to commencement of proceedings.
Our consent will be given subject to you undertaking to assign any costs
benefit received under any relevant insurance policy to ourselves. We
limit the cost of our assistance to you and any member of your party to
£5000 per party.
Special Needs
Unfortunately, many hotels overseas do not provide adequate facilities
for guests with mobility problems or who suffer from other disabilities, if
you are planning a holiday overseas or in the UK please notify us before
you book if you or any member of your party has special needs or suffers
from any disability. We are keen to plan arrangements for your holiday
so that special needs and requests can be accommodated as far as
possible, however we can never guarantee any special need request
dependant on a third party unless confirmed by the third party in writing.
Special Requests
If you have a special request, we will do our best to help but save as set
out below, we cannot guarantee that it will be fulfilled. Please inform us
of your request when you make your booking and ensure that you
provide as much detail as possible. If fulfilment of your request is vital to
your holiday it must be specifically agreed with us before or at the time
when you make your booking. We will comply with any special request
that has been specifically agreed. General confirmation that a special
request has been noted or passed to our tour supplier is not confirmation
that your request will be met. If you’re special request relates to a special
diet we will contact hotel or hotels on your holiday, but please note that
some hotels may not have the facilities to cope with special diets and we
cannot be held liable to their failure to do so unless we have specifically
confirmed to you that a special diet will be catered for.
Scooters & Wheelchairs
For passengers with mobility problems we are happy to carry fold away
walking aids and wheelchairs. We can only carry lightweight 3 wheeler
electric mobility scooters, this is subject to availability, space and at the
management’s discretion. The scooter must be demountable and due to
health & safety concerns the owner / travelling companion must be able
to load and unload the scooter from the coach without assistance from
the driver. As an alternative you may be able to hire a scooter in resort.
Single Occupancy
Single occupancy of rooms when available may be subject to a
supplementary charge which will be stated at the time of booking.
Driver/Crew Gratuities
We do not include gratuities in the price of your holiday, should you feel
that you have had a level of service that deserves rewarding please feel
free to do this in person with your driver or crew member.
Data Protection Act
In order to process your booking and to ensure that your travel
arrangements run smoothly and meet your requirements we and your
travel agent, need to use the information you provide such as name
address any special needs/dietary requirements etc. We take full
responsibility for ensuring that proper measures are in place to protect
your information. We must pass the information onto the relevant
suppliers on your travel arrangements such as hotels, transport
companies etc. The Information may also be supplied to security or
credit checking companies, public authorities such as customs /
immigration if required by them or as required by law. Additionally, where
your holiday is outside the European Economic area (EEA), controls on
the data protection in your destination may not be strong as the legal
requirements in this country. We will not pass information on to any
person who is not responsible for part of your travel arrangements.
This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as
details of any disabilities or dietary/religious requirements. If we cannot
pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not,
we cannot provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to
this information being passed on to the relevant persons. You are
entitled to a copy of your information held by us. If you would like to see
this, please contact us. We retain your full contact details and other
information in secure files and electronic storage facilities. We may use
this information to contact you by email, telephone or electronic means.
Booking Acceptance
When booking a holiday with ourselves you are accepting all of the
aforementioned terms and conditions.
Publication Date and Details
July 2014
E & OE: Prices are correct at time of going to press.