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TRAVELLERS CHARTER
of the Bowen
Travel Group incorporating Bowens Coach Holidays, Nottingham
City Coaches, Yorks & Jeffs Coach Holidays, Applebys Coach
Holidays and Jeffs & Woottens.
The Travellers Charter sets out clearly and simply the responsibilities, which we have to you and which in turn you, have to us when a contract is made between us. Your contract is with Bowen Travel Ltd which incorporates Bowens Coach Holidays, Nottingham City Coaches, Yorks & Jeffs Coach Holidays, Applebys Coach Holidays and Jeffs & Woottens. Bowen Travel is a member of The Confederation of Passenger Transport (CPT) and subscribe to the Code of Conduct of that association. Bowen Travel Ltd Registered Office Chancery House 52 Sheep Street Northampton NN1 2LZ. Registered in England 1383986 Parties to the Contract In this charter the Company shall mean Bowen Travel Limited and the Passenger shall mean the persons being carried by Bowen Travel Limited or persons for whom the company makes any travel arrangements.
OUR COMMITMENT TO YOU
Financial Security
The Company is fully bonded with the Confederation of Passenger Transport UK Bonded Coach Holiday Scheme. You can therefore be totally confident that in the unlikely event of our becoming insolvent there is a fund of money to repay you or repatriate you. We reserve your holiday The completion and signing of the Booking Form and the payment of the deposit requested will indicate that an agreement to buy the holiday specified on that booking form has been requested. The Company will assume that the person signing the Booking Form has the authority to act on behalf of all the persons included on the Booking Form. Any person attempting to reserve a holiday should be aware of the binding nature of the contract conditions and should have read and understood them before signing the Booking Form. We confirm your booking The Company's acceptance of the booking shall be indicated by the issue of a Booking Confirmation normally within 7 days of the receipt by us of the Booking Form. This confirmation, which contains all the relevant details of the holiday reserved, will be sent either directly to the address of the first named passenger on the Booking Form or the passengers Booking Agent. It is the passenger's responsibility to ensure that the details included on the Booking Confirmation meet with their requirements in every respect and to notify the Company immediately if that is not the case. By the issue of its Booking Confirmation the Company confirms its intention, subject to there being sufficient numbers of bookings for an economical operation, to provide you with the holiday as booked in accordance with the itinerary published in the brochure. Special Requests If you have any special requests which are not included in the holiday price i.e. low floor or special diets etc., you MUST include this request on the Booking Form and ensure that it is noted on the Booking Confirmation when received. Your request will be passed on to the hotel(s) concerned, however we cannot guarantee that they will be able to comply. The Company will not therefore accept any booking, which is conditional upon a special request being satisfied. Requests made direct to hotels will not be considered. Price Promise Changes in transportation costs, including the cost of fuel, dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports, and exchange rates, mean that the price of your travel arrangements may change after you have booked. However there will be no change within 30 days of your departure. We will absorb and you will not be charged for any increase equivalent to 2% of the price of your travel arrangements, which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges. You will be charged for the amount over and above that, plus an administration charge of £1.00 per person together with an amount to cover agents commission. If this means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your travel arrangements, you will have the option of accepting a change to another holiday if we are able to offer one (if this is of equivalent or higher quality you will not have to pay more but if it is of lower quality you will be refunded the difference in price), or cancelling and receiving 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 you final invoice. We will consider an appropriate refund of insurance premiums paid if you can show that you are unable to transfer or re-use your policy. Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due to contractual and other protection in place. The price of your holiday was calculated on 31st March 2011 based on an exchange rate of 1.1783 euro's to one-pound sterling. If we change your holiday The arrangements for your holiday are usually made many months in advance and changes are sometimes unavoidable. Most of these changes are likely to be minor and our representatives and we will endeavour to keep you informed. However, where before departure we have to alter significantly an essential term in this contract such as price, (if price changes are allowed in the contract), resort, quality of main hotel (not including overnight hotels on touring holidays), or tour itinerary changes involving a destination being eliminated, we will notify you of the change as soon as possible. In such circumstances you will be given the following options. a) to accept the changes to the contract. b) to take a substitute holiday of equivalent or superior quality if we are able to offer you one. c) to take a substitute holiday of lower quality if we are able to offer you one and to recover from us the price difference between the substitute and original holidays. d) to have repaid to you as soon as possible all the monies paid by you under the contract. Whichever option you choose you will also be entitled to compensation on the following scale:
Claims for additional compensation to cover specific types of losses incurred as a result of the enforced change will only be considered where such losses were foreseeable by both parties when the contract was formed. Compensation will not be payable if we are forced to in any way change your holiday due to unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.
If we cancel your holiday
It is necessary in order to operate any holiday that a certain level of passenger numbers are achieved. If this number is not achieved before the balance due date the holiday may be cancelled and an alternative holiday offered at a discounted price. You will then have the choice of accepting this alternative or receiving a refund of all monies paid in respect of your booking. The Company guarantees that under no circumstances will the cost (including the discount) of any specific alternative holiday offered exceed that of the original holiday even though the alternative offered may be of superior quality. The Company undertakes not to cancel any holiday after the balance due date except (i) where you have not paid the full amount due, or (ii) as a result of unusual or unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even if all due care had been exercised.
YOUR COMMITMENT TO US
Signing
the booking form and paying the deposit
By completing and signing a Booking Form and paying the appropriate deposit per person of £45 for UK & Irish tours, £55 for continental tours and £125 for Channel Island tours you are binding all persons included on that form to the terms of this Travellers Charter. All monies paid by you to a Travel Agent are held by him on your behalf until such time as we issue our Booking Confirmation; thereafter the Travel Agent holds the money on our behalf. Paying the balance of the holiday The date of payment of the holiday balance will be clearly stated on the Booking Form and on your Booking Confirmation. Any booking received after the balance due date will require payment in full at the time of booking. If the balance is not paid by the due date we reserve the right to cancel the holiday and levy cancellation charges on the same scale as stated in the "If you cancel your holiday" section of this Charter. In such circumstances the decision to cancel will not be taken less than 14 days before departure thereby limiting charges to a maximum of 45% of the total holiday value. Any Travel Agent requesting payment of the balance earlier than the balance due date shown on your Booking Confirmation will hold that money as your agent until such time as payment is deemed due per the contract. If you cancel your booking You or any member of your party may cancel your holiday at any time provided that the information is conveyed in writing to the Company by the party signing the Booking Form. Any such cancellation will incur cancellation charges on the following scale.
Alternatively you have the right to transfer the booking to another person provided that they satisfy all the conditions applicable to the package and that you give the Company at least seven days notice of your intention to do so. Both you and the person to whom you transfer the booking will be responsible for payment of any outstanding monies and in addition there will be an administration fee of £25 for each person substituted. NB: Special cancellation terms apply to tours to the Isles of Scilly. If you change your booking Minor changes prior to the balance due date such as additional requests, joining point amendments etc. necessitating the issue of a new Booking Confirmation will be allowed subject to the payment of £10 per person amendment fee. After the balance due date whilst we will attempt to accommodate minor changes on the same basis, no guarantee can be given. For major changes such as transfer to a different holiday or departure date after the balance due date we reserve the right to treat such changes as cancellations and levy the cancellation charges as set out in the "If you cancel your holiday" section of the contract. If you wish to complain In the unlikely event that you or any member of your party has cause for complaint about any aspect of your holiday, it is essential that our driver/courier or representative is informed immediately and given the opportunity of resolving the problem. If this is not possible you must complete a "Holiday Report Form" available from your driver/courier or representative with full details of your complaint. You will be given a copy of this report and a reference number which should be quoted in any correspondence regarding the complaint which must be sent within 28 days of your return from holiday to the Public Relations Officer, 104 Mariner, Tamworth, Staffs B79 7UL. The Company will attempt to settle any complaint amicably, if this is not possible then you may, if you wish, have the matter referred to arbitration under a special scheme which though devised by arrangements 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. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person or £25000 per booking, neither does it apply in respect of claims that are solely or mainly regarding physical injury or illness or the consequence of such injury and illness. Conditions of carriage Air and sea carriers have their own conditions of carriage and when you travel with them as part of your holiday you will also have a contract with them based upon those conditions, which may permit them to limit their liability to you under national law or international convention. Copies of these conditions are available from the Company upon request. Travel documents etc. You are responsible for ensuring that all your travel documents are valid for the relevant journey, e.g. passports, visas etc. Where the journey is through a country with rules concerning minimum or maximum amounts of foreign currency carried in our out of the country, you must comply with such rules. General, visa, passport & health information You should ensure that you allow sufficient time (currently 8 weeks from posting correctly completed application form) to apply for a passport. a) UK citizens travelling on holiday abroad must have a passport, valid for at least six months after the date of return, before they leave the UK. At present, visas are not required by holders of British Passports to any of the destination countries offered in this brochure. b) Non-EC citizens: Holders of non-EC passports may well be subject to varying visa requirements for certain countries visited on our holidays, and they should check with their Travel Agent or with the appropriate embassies or consulates to ascertain any visa requirements and the likely time needed to obtain them. We cannot accept responsibility for a customer who is in difficulties because they do not have the correct travel documents with them. We strongly advise all customers to keep their passports securely on their person or locked in a hotel security safe throughout their holiday with us. c) European Health Insurance Card (EHIC): Passengers travelling to the continent should carry an EHIC card which entitles you to free or reduced cost emergency state medical treatment within the EC. To apply, please pick up an application pack from the Post Office, apply on line at www.dh.gov.uk or telephone EHIC applications on 0845 606 2030. d) At present there are no special health requirements, such as inoculations, for any of the European countries featured, for UK citizens. As health recommendations vary from time to time you should seek medical advice prior to departure on a European holiday Travel delay If you are delayed on a coach tour for more than six hours in any one day we will do our best to reduce your discomfort by providing you with appropriate refreshments and meals where that is possible. Where you are delayed at the airport on either the outbound or inbound legs of the journey it is the responsibility of the airline to provide you with appropriate refreshments and meals. Note that your insurance policy also covers you in some circumstances in the event of delay in air travel.
OUR
RESPONSIBILITY TO YOU
We accept responsibility for
ensuring that all component parts of your holiday as
described in this brochure are supplied to you to a
reasonable standard and this includes Optional
Excursions purchased through our employees or
agents. If any such part is not provided in the
advertised manner, we will pay you reasonable
compensation unless the non-provision was due to
circumstances which we could not predict and which
were beyond our control such as mechanical failures,
adverse weather, road or traffic conditions. Data
Protection Statement
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Credit/Debit Card payments Payments made by Credit Card will incur a 2.5% surcharge. Debit Card payments are processed free of charge. Problem
Solving Menus
Entertainment
Lost Property
Other Terms The Bowen Travel Group reserve the unconditional right to refuse a booking or terminate a client’s holiday in the event of unreasonable conduct which in the Bowen Travel Group’s opinion is likely to cause damage, distress, danger or annoyance to other clients, employees, property, or to any third party. If you are prevented from travelling or continuing your holiday by such termination, the Bowen Travel Group’s responsibility for your holiday thereupon ceases. Full cancellation charges will apply, and the Bowen Travel Group will be under no obligation for any refund, compensation or loss which you may incur. Seat Belts |
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