Booking Agreement
Our agreement with you
Our agreement with you is designed to protect your interests. It means
that you will always get a fair deal when you book with BillGoff.com
BOOKING YOUR HOLIDAY
1 - Financial Protection
If your travel arrangements include a flight leaving the UK, you are protected
by ATOL as we hold an ATOL Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority
(CAA). Our ATOL number is (ATOL 4656.) These arrangements ensure that, if
we become insolvent, you will be refunded any payments made for a holiday
booked with us if
you have not yet travelled. If you are overseas and we become insolvent,
the arrangements will ensure that you are returned home to the UK. For further
information visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. We are also members
of ABTA, www.abta.com, which further enhances your protection.
2 - Holiday Descriptions
We describe holiday arrangements we make in various brochures, leaflets
and sales flyers, and on the Internet. We have the right to change any of
these descriptions of services, facilities or prices at any time until we
confirm your booking. If there is any change, we will tell you before the
booking is confirmed.
3 - Bookings and Payments
Your contract is with The INTA Group Limited, trading as BillGoff, address:
75 King Street, South Shields, Tyne and Wear NE33 1DP. Company Registration:
3032644. Before booking you should read through and understand the terms
and conditions set out. We also recommend that you contact our reservations
department to check the most up-to-date information about the holiday that
you have chosen.
a) When you ask for your holiday booking to be confirmed, we will confirm
the booking there and then, and secure your holiday arrangements for you.
By doing this you are accepting the booking on the terms of this agreement.
b) At the time of confirming your holiday you will be asked to pay a deposit
of £100 for each person, (excluding infants under 2 years) along with
any insurance premiums you have requested, or the full amount if you have
booked within 9 weeks of travel. Certain airlines have special payment requirements
and we will tell you them when you book as your deposit may increase. A
higher deposit may be required if you booked additional holiday arrangements,
or where suppliers and airlines have imposed additional terms on us. When
you pay your holiday balance only (excluding £100 deposit) by credit
card, we reserve the right to levy a 2% handling charge for each payment
made by these means (no charge for banks direct debit cards).
c) We will send you the confirmation invoice. Unless you question the arrangements,
there will automatically be a binding contract between us seven days after
we issue the confirmation invoice. If you are due to travel within 9 weeks,
there will automatically be a binding contract on the day you book.
d) Our acceptance of your deposit or payment forms a contract between INTA
Group trading as Longshot and the party leader (first named passenger) acting
on behalf of all passengers in the party. These booking conditions apply.
e) You must pay the rest of the holiday costs no later than 9 weeks before
you are due to leave. If we do not receive the balance by the due date,
we can cancel your holiday and ask that you pay the appropriate cancellation
charges. We do not usually send reminders for money we are owed, or receipts
on payment.
f) If you have any special requests, please tell us when you book. We will
ask the relevant supplier to make arrangements for your special request.
You must, however, appreciate that there is no obligation to fulfil your
special request and the relevant supplier may not do so. If you want to
book seats in advance, we will regard this as a special request and if a
carrier confirms your request, it does not mean your request is guaranteed.
g) If there is any part of the holiday you want to book that is particularly
important to you, you must tell us when you book. If you do not, your legal
rights will be affected.
h) If you have any medical condition that may affect your ability to take
part in any holiday, you must tell us before you book or when the condition
arises if this is after you have booked. We may ask you to give us detailed
medical information and, depending on that information, we have the right
either not to accept your booking or to cancel your holiday without charging
you.
4 - Holiday Price
Please note the below are subject to change, please see clause 9.
a) The items included are clearly shown in the descriptions or the price
panels. The price for all travel includes all UK taxes, but you will have
to pay for anything else, including any amounts set by overseas authorities,
which you have to pay locally.
b) We fully guarantee the price on your holiday confirmation invoice. It
will not change unless you or we change your holiday arrangements.
c) Our holiday prices are based on known costs and the following exchange
rates: Euro 1.42, US dollar 1.9, South African rand 13.5, Cyprus pound 0.82.
5 - Insurance
We strongly recommend that you take out holiday insurance before you travel.
This should cover you if you have to cancel your holiday or for any emergencies
that may arise while you are away. Please remember that the protection that
policies offer may vary.
BEFORE YOU TRAVEL
6 - The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations
1992
(The Regulations)
a) The Regulations set various legal requirements for package holidays.
We will accept any travel arrangement you book with us in the UK before
your departure as being a package holiday. These conditions are designed
to reflect the Regulations.
b) The Regulations limit how much we can change or cancel your package
holiday and set out certain consequences if we do change or cancel your
package holiday. We also have to accept certain liability if something goes
wrong with your package holiday. In the conditions that deal with changes
or cancellations by us, and our liability if something goes wrong with your
package, we only cover the areas where the Regulations allow us to make
decisions that we feel are appropriate. You must read these conditions with
the Regulations, which you can get from any branch of the Stationery Office.
7 - If You Change Or Cancel Your Booking
a) If you need to change your holiday arrangements, you must let us know
as soon as possible either by phone or in writing. We will make an administration
charge of £25 for each person plus any further cost we have to pay
to make the alteration.
b) NOTE: Certain travel arrangements (e.g. domestic and internal flights,
low cost airlines) cannot be changed after the confirmation.
c) We will treat any changes made within 60 days of your departure as a
cancellation. Many low cost carriers will expect full payment. You will
then have to pay the charges as shown in the table below.
d) If you or any member of your party needs to cancel their holiday (or
part of it) once it has been confirmed, the person listed as the lead name
on the booking must write and let us know. When we receive notice, we will
then ask you to pay the cancellation charges, as shown in our cancellation
table, to cover our administrative costs. These costs include money we have
to pay suppliers and any money we lose as a result of the cancellation.
We cannot refund any insurance premiums you have paid. Once we have processed
the cancellation, you will receive a cancellation invoice. Please keep this
if you are making an insurance claim, as you may need it. The charges apply
to all parts of your holiday and are as follows:
Period
befor your
departure date |
Charge
for each
person |
| More than 60 days |
Deposit only |
| 59 to 29 days |
50% |
| 28 to 7 days |
80% |
| Within 7 days |
100% |
If you cancel you will have to pay a cancellation charge, in all periods,
that is equal to your deposit. Certain holidays have special cancellation
requirements and we will tell you them when you book.
We have the right to use any money that you have already paid to cover
the cancellation charges.
8 - If We Change Or Cancel Your Booking
a) If we cancel your holiday, or you cancel it because you won’t
accept a significant change that we make, you will not be entitled to any
compensation if:
· we have cancelled or changed your holiday because of the circumstances
under Regulation 13(3)(b);
· you have refused to accept a reasonable alternative; or
· we have cancelled or changed your holiday because:
i) you have not paid when we asked you to (see clause 3 b) above);
ii) the holiday is not suitable for you (see 3 i) above);
iii) your behaviour is not acceptable; or
iv) of competition consolidation (see 8 b) below).
b) People now often book their holidays at the last minute, which makes
it difficult for us to predict final tournament numbers. However, we will
do our best to let you know as soon as we can
if we have to cancel your tournament.
c) If we offer you another holiday, you will have to pay the difference
if it is more expensive but if it is cheaper, we will pay you the difference.
d) Any refund does not include your payment for insurance.
e) If we make any significant change to your holiday after you have already
left, you must accept any reasonable alternative and, if you do not, we
do not have to make other arrangements or refund or compensate you. We do
not have to compensate you if any change is caused by anything described
under Regulation 13 (3)(b) or Regulation 15 (2)(a) or (b) or (c).
f) A significant change is one which any reasonable person thinks would
materially affect your holiday.
9 - Circumstances Outside Of Our Control
We do not have to pay compensation or accept any liability if our performance
is affected by an event beyond our control, which our suppliers or we could
not expect or avoid even by being very careful. We include the following
as events beyond our control - war or threat of war, riots, terrorist activity,
industrial disputes, natural or nuclear disasters, fire, bad weather conditions,
technical problems due to transport, airports or ports being closed or full,
schedules being cancelled or changed by scheduled service airlines or any
other similar event.
The price of your holiday is subject to surcharges on the following items: exchange rate variations, government action, aircraft fuel, over flying charges, airport charges and increases in scheduled airfares. In the case of surcharges we will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the holiday price excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges. We will only surcharge amounts in excess of this 2% but where a surcharge is payable there will be an administration charge of 50p per person. If this means paying more than 10% of the holiday price, you will be entitled to cancel your holiday with a full refund of all money paid except for any premium paid to us for holiday insurance and amendment charges. Should you decide to cancel because of this you must do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on the invoice.
Any surcharges will be notified to you no later than 30 days prior to departure.
YOUR HOLIDAY
10 - Complaints
a) Many problems can be put right straight away but this can only happen
if you tell us and our suppliers as soon as they happen. If you have a problem
or you are not satisfied in any way with any aspect of your holiday, you
must complain immediately. In particular, you must speak to our tour manager,
local representative or local agent (whichever is appropriate) and the hotel,
transport or hire company (whichever is appropriate) as soon as possible.
You must confirm your complaint in writing, within 24 hours of the problem,
to the people above. If they are not available or you are not satisfied
with their response, you must contact our 24 hour UK Help Number on 0191
427 5003 straight away. If you do not follow the above procedure, and we
can prove that if you had told us or our suppliers about your problem we
would have been able to find a reasonable solution, the amount of compensation
that you would have been entitled to will be reduced or you may not receive
any at all, depending on the circumstances.
b) If you think that, by law, we have to pay you any compensation, you
must write to us and ask for compensation within 40 days of your return
from your holiday. If you don’t do this, you no longer have any right
to claim compensation.
c) Disputes arising out of, or in conjunction with this contract which
cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration, if the customer
so wishes, under a special scheme arranged by the Association of British
Travel Agents, 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 that are
solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The
Scheme can however, deal with compensation claims that 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 Settlement of Claim must be received by the Chartered
Institute of Arbitrators within nine months of the date of the return from
holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the Scheme may still
be available if we agree, but the ABTA Code does not require such agreement.
11 - Our Liability And Help
a) If you do suffer personal injury, illness or death, we will pay you
a reasonable amount of compensation that will take into account the cost
of the holiday and how much your enjoyment of the holiday was affected.
We will take from your compensation any money you receive from suppliers,
such as airlines under the Denied Boarding Regulations (in this case, the
money paid by the airline will be the full amount of compensation that you
are entitled to for all matters that were caused by the airline’s
actions). The most compensation we will pay you is the cost of your holiday,
a refund of any direct expenses and £50 each day for each person.
We will use this maximum amount to work out the appropriate amount that
is due to you as a result of your particular complaint.
b) If you do suffer personal injury, illness or you die, the amount of
compensation we will pay you or your representative is limited in line with
any international conventions that apply to the services that caused your
injury, illness or death. International conventions which set limits of
compensation include the Warsaw Convention 1929 (including as amended by
the Hague Protocol 1955), the Berne Convention 1961, the Paris Convention
1962, the Geneva Convention 1973 and the Athens Convention 1974. You can
get copies of these conventions if you ask us but please allow 28 days.
c) If you die or suffer an injury or illness during your holiday because
of an activity that is not part of the arrangements you have booked with
us, we may help you if you or your representative want to make a claim against
someone, as long as you ask us within 90 days. We will give you advice,
guidance and up to £5,000 for each booking towards your legal costs.
You will pay us back out of any settlement or insurance payment you get.
d) You must help us to get any money from anyone else that will compensate
us for any money we pay you. In particular, you must give us any rights
you may have against any other person who has caused us to pay you compensation.
12 - Conditions Of Carriage
Any form of transport depends on the conditions of carriage of that carrier.
These conditions of carriage may limit or exclude the carrier’s liability
to you under international law, such as the Warsaw Convention.
13 - Excursions And Optional Tours
a) Excursions and optional tours include any sightseeing trips or other
tours that you book and pay for through us, our tour manager or overseas
representatives while you are actually on holiday.
b) Excursions and optional tours are not package holidays and are not covered
by the Regulations.
c) Unless you suffer personal injury or die because of our negligence,
we do not accept any liability for any loss or damage you may suffer from
any excursion or optional tour.
d) We are not responsible for any arrangements that you make while you
are actually on holiday and that you do not make through us.
14 - Data Protection
Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal
booking information held by us. This information will be passed on to the
relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements.
The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs
or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Certain information
may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies. If you travel
outside of the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not
be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will only pass
your information on to persons responsible for your travel arrangements.
This applies to any sensitive information that you give 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
will be unable to provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent
to this information being passed on to the relevant persons. Full details
of our data protection policy are available on request.
15 - Law
Your contract with us, and any matters arising from it, will be governed
by English law. Any dispute will be dealt with in the courts of any part
of the UK in which you live. If you live outside the UK it will be dealt
with in the English courts.
TRAVEL TIPS
CHOOSING YOUR HOLIDAY
We have chosen the products that we offer you very carefully and they all
meet our standards. However, please read the descriptions carefully - an
‘informal’ hotel is likely to be just that. And, a hotel with
a ‘family atmosphere’ will probably mean that it will not be
easy to enjoy a relaxing time around the pool.
Most all-inclusive hotels offer tremendous facilities and you should expect
plenty of activities to be organised. You do not have to take part, but
we often encourage you to do so. Our reservations staff are trained to help
you make the right choice, so please ask. Never forget that travel is just
like anything else you buy - price and value for money are closely related.
However, paying the same price in different places does not guarantee that
you will get the same quality.
PASSPORT, VISA AND HEALTH
You will need a standard 10-year passport for all travel. This must be
valid for at least six months beyond your planned travel date. You may also
need a visa to travel. As this is not our responsibility, you should check
this information before you book. You will find specific information on
passport, visa and health requirements in most of our brochures. However,
you must not rely on this because it is very general. All health information
is based on the Department of Health leaflet T6 ‘Health Advice for
Travellers’ that was issued in February 2001. You should also ask
your doctor about any vaccinations you may need and for medical advice.
FOREIGN OFFICE TRAVEL ADVICE
We are working with Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) to do all that
we can to help British travellers stay safe overseas. Before you go overseas,
check out the FCO website at www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo. It is packed
with essential travel advice and tips, and up-to-date information on specific
countries. Or, you can ring the FCO on 0207 008 0232 and 0207 008 0233.
DISABLED CLIENTS AND MEDICAL PROBLEMS
We do not specialise in travel for the disabled and, unfortunately, most
hotels and airlines are not well equipped for disabled holidaymakers. As
a result of this, please let us know if you suffer from a serious medical
condition or physical disability before you book. We cannot give you help
with walking, eating or other personal needs. If you need help, you must
take someone with you who can take care of your needs. However, we will
ask you to fill in a questionnaire so we can check if we can meet your needs.
CHILDREN
Airline definitions of a child in terms of age are standard - an ‘infant’
is under two and a ‘child’ is between two and eleven on the
date of travel. A ‘child’ must take up a seat on an aircraft.
An ‘infant’ does not need to take up a seat on an aircraft and
can sit on your lap for the whole of the flight.
Please let us know at the time of booking if you need a cot or car seat.
You may have to pay a charge locally. You should check that the cot or car
seat is to your satisfaction. If not, you must let your representative or
hotel know immediately.
MAPS AND PHOTOGRAPHS
The maps shown are for general information only, and may not accurately
show the actual route of your tour or the exact location of places marked
on the maps. Photographs show places in the regions, but you may not actually
see them on the holiday or tour. We use pictures to create a feeling of
the area and they may not necessarily represent the types of vehicles and
so on that are found in that part of the world. Rooms shown in the photographs
are not necessarily the hotel’s standard rooms.
BROCHURE ACCURACY
All due care and diligence has been exercised in the production of this
brochure. Information concerning resorts, hotels and their facilities has
been compiled as accurately as possible and has been checked at the time
of going to press. However, information can change. If we are told of any
significant changes, we will advise you when you book or, if a booking has
already been made, notify you before your departure if possible.
FLIGHTS
If you want to sit in a particular seat, we strongly recommend that you
check in early, 2-3 hours before departure. We cannot guarantee that you
will sit where you want to because the airline allocates the seats.
If we know about any flight changes, we will do our best to let you know
before you travel. However, when you receive your tickets you should check
all your flight information. We regret any flight delays and as they are
out of our control we cannot be held responsible, but our selected airlines
will give you appropriate meals depending on the length of the delay. We
won’t actually provide these ourselves.
Some airlines allow us to pre-book your club carriage, but payment is to
be made by you on check in.
BAGGAGE AND GOLF CLUBS
We cannot guarantee the free carriage of golf bags outside the individual
airline’s baggage allowance. Some airlines will require a pre-payment
for golf bags and we will inform you of the charge at the time of booking.
Airlines not requiring pre-payment will allow the carriage of clubs if they
are within the stated baggage allowance, and any excess weight will be charged
at check-in. Airlines cannot guarantee the carriage of golf bags and if
the departing plane has loading excess, golf bags will be carried on the
next available plane.
ACCOMMODATION
Twin room - this is a room with two single beds, or some hotels may offer
one double bed (in America, a twin room may include two double or queen
beds). We will always endeavour to allocate two single beds for same sex
couples sharing a room.
Single room - despite the supplement that single travellers have to pay,
you may find that single accommodation is not always as good as twin rooms.
‘No single supplement’ offers will be subject to single room
availability and may not be available for groups.
Three or more people sharing - the hotel may be able to put more than two
adults in a twin room. However, the extra beds will generally be a sofa
roll-away bed and can make a room feel crowded.
Room categories - the room categories named are usually those shown on
our hotel contract and they may be different from those used by the hotel
reservations. However, our staff regularly visit all of the featured hotels
and the information in our descriptions is based on these visits. We also
try to gain approval from our suppliers on the descriptions featured in
the brochures.
Views - rooms described as having a sea or pool view may not have full
sea or pool views because often trees, plants or buildings may be partially
blocking the view.
Dress code - although most hotels do not have strict dress codes, a few
hotels may require guests to follow house rules. Usually this means no swimsuits
in the dining areas or interior bars. Our staff may be able to give you
a guide to the hotel dress code but we cannot guarantee that the hotel will
enforce their rules on all guests.
Hotel brochures - we have no control over hotel brochures and are not responsible
for their contents. They are designed to show the hotel in the best light
and can be misleading.
Parking - if we know about any hotel parking charges, we will show them
in the brochure description.
Check-in - hotel rooms are not generally available until around 3pm on
the day you check in. This may mean that you will not be able to check into
your room on arrival. Many hotels will allow you to leave your luggage in
a safe room until your room is ready. When you register, many hotels will
ask you for an imprint of your credit card to cover any extras. If you do
not have a credit card you may be asked for a large cash deposit.
Checkout - many flights leave late in the evening and the checkout time
for most hotels is between 11am and 12 noon. On the day of departure you
may be asked to leave your room no later than 12 noon. If you wish to stay
in the room after 12 noon we can arrange a day room for you at an extra
cost.
MEALS
Half board generally means continental or buffet breakfast and table d’
hote set menu dinner with a limited number of dishes. All-inclusive is specifically
defined under the hotel description. If only breakfast is included it will
be either continental or buffet (unless the description says otherwise).
UNUSED SERVICES
We do not give refunds if you pre-book services but do not use them. When
you book half-board, this will generally start with dinner on the night
of arrival. If your flight arrives too late for dinner the hotel will not
offer a refund - instead you must arrange to take another meal during your
stay.
UNEXPECTED EXTRAS
Our descriptions describe the facilities available at each hotel, such
as tennis courts, water sports, equipment hire and gym. There may be a local
charge for these items. If there is and we know about it we will tell you.
These and your personal items, such as drinks, will be added to your hotel
bill or you may have to pay for them before or after use. Telephone calls
can be very expensive in hotels and we advise you to check the costs before
making a call.
BUILDING WORK
Many resorts are continuing to develop the local economies and tourist
industry as well as making improvements to existing resorts. This means
that in some resorts there may be building work and renovation programmes
in place. We cannot predict when building work is likely to happen but when
we know we will tell you.
NOISE
Some resorts are within built-up areas so it will not be unusual to hear
traffic noise. You may also hear aircraft noise if you are near or within
the surrounding approach to an airport.
WEATHER
All weather information is only a guide and even though the Meteorological
Office has checked it, we cannot guarantee the weather at the time of your
holiday. The weather may, for example, prevent the hotel from offering the
sports that we feature in the brochure. The hotel does not have to arrange
the sports elsewhere.
HEALTH, SAFETY AND SECURITY ABROAD
The safety standards and regulations that apply overseas are those of the
country you visit. Often they do not reach the same levels as in the UK.
Because of this, general standards of safety, hygiene, fire precautions
and so on can often be very different from the standards that we expect
in the UK. The authorities in the country concerned may not have enough
power or resources to monitor and enforce standards. As a result, please
be careful when you are in unfamiliar buildings or surroundings. Do not
let non-swimmers or children jump into a swimming pool without first checking
the depth and how to get out. Please get to know your escape route in case
of fire. We take the safety of our customers very seriously.
HANDLING FEE
If you lengthen your holiday, making your own private arrangements, you
will be charged a fee of £10 for each person.
LATE BOOKING FEE
We will be happy to make all your holiday arrangements at short notice.
However, on late bookings that are made within seven days of departure,
depending on the time available, we will either arrange to send your travel
documents directly to your home or arrange for them to be available at your
departure point. There will be a charge of £15 for each booking for
whichever of these services you choose.