Colchester Travel Ltd. Terms of Use.
These are the terms on which we will make a booking for your travel or holiday requirements, by completing your booking via our website or after looking at our website and then completing your booking via telephone, you are accepting these terms of business.
When making your booking we will arrange for you to enter into a contract with each of the principal(s), who provide your travel arrangements, who will be a tour operator, airline, accommodation supplier, cruise company, transfer company or other suppliers and will named on your receipt. For charter flights, scheduled flights, accommodation, packages, car hire, cruises, airport parking, resort transfers, and attraction tickets we act as agent for the principal, but we act as your agent when making a booking with most Low Cost/No Frills airlines.
Colchester Travel Ltd is a travel agent and not a tour operator. Colchester Travel Ltd operate a number of websites and trading names including: www.Airfares.co.uk and all bookings are subject to these Agency Terms of Use, regardless of whether they are booked through the call centre or on one of the company websites.
As an agent we accept no responsibility for the acts or omissions of the principal or for the services provided by the principal. The principal’s Terms & Conditions will apply to your booking and we advise you to read these conditions carefully as they do contain important information about your booking. Please ask us for copies of these if you do not have them.
Our Terms of Use are governed by English Law and the jurisdiction of the English Courts.
Flight bookings on this web site, other than those on No Frills Carriers (where you are contracted directly with the carrier) are ATOL protected by the Tour Operator or airline.
No Frills Flights
The service we provide for you in respect of the purchase of standalone no frills flight is different to the service we provide for the sale of other airline tickets. The following special terms apply to that service.
1. In the sale of a standalone no frills flight we will search the relevant airline database and then if you choose to buy will purchase the flights seat(s) on your behalf directly from the airline.
2. If you have a query once the no frills flight is confirmed please contact our customer services department who will approach the relevant airline on your behalf. We will in all cases use our best endeavours to ensure that all of your requests are complied with. However if the no frills airline impose any fees or charges on us to effect the required changes we reserve the right to pass on the charge to you as well the charges laid out below.
3. You will be subject to the terms and conditions of the relevant no frills cost flights which will be deemed to be incorporated into this contract.
Booking Details
The booking information that you provide to us will be passed on only to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements or other persons necessary for the provision of your travel arrangements. The information may therefore be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary and religious requirements. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies. If you are travelling to the United States, the US Customs and Border Protection will receive this information for the purposes of preventing and combating terrorism and other transnational serious crimes.
If you travel outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. 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 upon request.
Insurance
Most principals require you to take out travel insurance as a condition of booking with them. In any event, we strongly advise that you take out a policy of insurance in order to cover you and your party against the cost of cancellation by you; the cost of assistance (including repatriation) in the event of accident or illness; loss of baggage and money; and other expenses.
Alterations by your Flight Provider
Occasionally for a variety of operational reasons flight operators change flight times and for that reason it is important that you read all the documentation sent to you. We will try and notify you of any significant flights changes (more than 4 hours) as soon as the change is notified to us by the principle or no frills airline. You must reconfirm your inbound flight at least 48 hours prior to your departure from your resort on the number provided by your carrier or with the relevant overseas airport. We cannot be held responsible if you fail to do so.
Accommodation
Colchester Travel Ltd publishes information about accommodation and its facilities, availability and price and enables you to make a reservation directly with the accommodation provider. Colchester Travel Ltd act as an agent for each of the accommodation providers whose accommodation is featured on this website. Your contract is directly with the accommodation provider with whom you book your accommodation.
Alterations by your Accommodation Provider
Occasionally your accommodation provider may need to make a change and we will try and let you know any important changes before you book. If you have already completed your booking we will let you know as soon as we can if there is time prior to your departure. In the unlikely event that your accommodation provider has to make a major change or alteration to your booking we will offer you the option of accepting the change or cancelling the accommodation booking and receiving a full refund of all monies paid for the accommodation to us. We do not accept any responsibility for any expenses or costs incurred by you as a result of the change or cancellations that are due to unusual or unforeseen circumstances beyond our or the accommodation providers control. These can include but are not limited to, war or threat of war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity natural or man made disaster, fire, adverse weather conditions, government action of accommodation no longer being available.
Website Accuracy
We take all reasonable care to ensure that the information published about each hotel, villa or apartment is accurate. However certain facilities or amenities may be temporarily unavailable for operation reason. When this happens we will do our best to inform you as soon as possible. We accept no responsibility for errors or omissions within the descriptions. If you are unsure which hotel to book we would advise that you use an independent review site such as, though not limited to www.tripadvisor.com.
Star Ratings
These are used to indicate the over quality and standard of each hotel, apartment or villa. The ratings are supplied by the tour operator or accommodation provider and are based on certain criteria including the overall standard of the hotel, the quality of the furnishings, the quality of the available food and the range of facilities within the hotel / complex. We cannot check every one of these hotels every season, the ratings featured and the descriptions / facilities in our advertising / on our website are the suppliers own ratings and are closely based on the official tourist board ratings. It is worth noting that standards vary from country to country and what may be considered, for example, 5 Star in the UK, may differ from that in another country.
What Is Included In the Price
- RO Room Only No meals
- SC Self Catering No meals, but cooking facilities are provided
- BB Bed and Breakfast Continental breakfast
- HB Half Board Continental breakfast and dinner
- FB Full Board Continental breakfast, lunch and dinner
- AI All Inclusive Continental breakfast, lunch, dinner and local branded drinks and soft drinks*
‘*’ each hotel will vary what it offers as part of an ‘All Inclusive’ stay. Please refer to the description provided by the tour operator.
Accommodation Vouchers
Your accommodation voucher will be sent to you in most circumstances within 7 days of your booking being made, subject to payment being received. However if you have not received the voucher 5 days prior to your departure please contact our customer services department. It is a condition of booking that you take your accommodation voucher(s) with you as it will provide you with the address of your accommodation, and local office contact number for the accommodation provider. Colchester Travel Ltd accepts no responsibility for any circumstances arising from you not taking your voucher with you.
Car Hire
Colchester Travel Ltd publishes information about car types, availability and price and enables you to make a reservation directly with the car supplier. Colchester Travel Ltd acts as an agent for each of the car suppliers whose availability is shown on our website. Your contract is directly with the car hire supplier with whom you book your car is booked.
We are unable to guarantee a particular make, model or fuel type of car. The car shown at the time of booking and on your voucher is for guidance only and may be substituted for an alternative, similar or upgraded car (at no extra cost).
Drivers must usually be aged between 25 and 65 although this can vary from country to country. If you are unsure please check at the time of booking.
All drivers must produce a full valid driving licence when taking delivery of the hire car.
A credit card swipe will be taken as a deposit on collection of the hire car. Unless you can provide a credit card for this purpose you will be unable to collect you car. Colchester Travel Ltd accepts no responsibility in this eventuality.
Car Hire Vouchers
Your car hire voucher will be sent to you in most circumstances within 7 days of your booking being made, subject to payment being received. However if you have not received the voucher 5 days prior to your departure please contact our customer services department. It is a condition of booking that you take your car hire vouchers with you as it will provide you with the name and contact details of the local supplier. Colchester Travel Ltd accepts no responsibility for any circumstances arising from you not taking your voucher with you.
Travel Extras
Travel Extras include, but are not limited to, airport parking, airport hotels, airport lounges, UK or resort transfers, and attraction tickets. For all of these products Colchester Travel Ltd act as an agent for the service provider.
Vouchers / Attraction Tickets
Your voucher / attraction tickets will be sent to you in most circumstances within 7 days of your booking being made, subject to payment being received. However if you have not received the voucher / attraction ticket 5 days prior to your departure please contact our customer services department. It is a condition of booking that you take your vouchers / attraction tickets with you as it will provide you with the name and contact details of the local supplier. Colchester Travel Ltd accepts no responsibility for any circumstances arising from you not taking your voucher with you.
Complaints
Your booking is made directly with the supplier. Colchester Travel Ltd act as agent for the supplier featured on our website and our responsibility is to publish the information about the ‘Travel Extra’ as provided by the supplier, notify them about your reservation and communicate any special requests or changes. Colchester Travel Ltd accepts no responsibility for any aspect of your booking or travel arrangements. Any complaint or claim should be referred immediately to the local supplier who will be able to resolve your problem to your satisfaction there and then, failure to report the problem whilst in resort could affect any claim you have. If you are still dissatisfied in any way with the standard, you must write to the supplier in writing immediately on your return. Failure to do so may result in any claims or liability being accepted
Payments
When you use Colchester Travel Ltd or you book via our call centre to book your travel arrangements we will ask you to provide us with credit / debit card details in order to cover the cost of each of those arrangements. If there are problems with the credit / debit card that means we cannot collect the payment we will not allow you to complete the booking and will not collect any money. In the event that we have problems processing your card after the booking is made we will notify you to provide alternative payment details.
Please note that payments of balances due, must be received no later than 12 weeks prior to travel. Unless you contact our administration department prior to your balance due date, the card(s) you used at the time of booking will be automatically be debited for the amount due on that date – if you have used more than one card the balance will be split equally amongst the cards you originally used. If for whatever reason your payment is received after this time we reserve the right to charge an administration fee of £20.00 per person.
We levy a charge of 2.35% of the transaction value where payments are made by credit card (3.5% fro Amex) No charge is made for a debit card. If for any reason we do not receive payment on the due date, we shall notify the principles(s) and they will be entitled to cancel the booking with loss of all monies you had previously paid and any cancellation fees set out in the principal’s Terms and Conditions as well as any charges laid out below.
Cancellation and Amendments
Any cancellation or amendment request must be sent to us in writing and will not take effect until received by us. If you cancel or amend your booking the principal may charge the cancellation or amendment charge shown in their Terms and Conditions (which may be 100% of the cost of the travel arrangements) and in addition you must pay us the cancellation or amendment charge stated below.
Amendments
In addition to the charge applied by your tour operator or airline we will apply a charge of £50 per person if an amendment is made outside of 3 weeks (21+ days) prior to departure.
However, amendments within 3 weeks (21 days) will incur a minimum charge of £75 per person in addition to any charge levied by your tour operator or airline.
If any amendment is made within 1 week of departure (7 days) a charge of £100 per person will be applied in addition to any charges levied by your tour operator/airline.
Cancellations
If any cancellation is made within 12 weeks (84 days) the charge applied will be 100%.
If a cancellation is made outside of 12 weeks (84 days) prior to your departure we will charge £50 plus the Tour Operators / Airlines cancellation fee.
Please note that most scheduled airline tickets are non-changeable (you cannot change any detail of the ticket) and non-cancellable (you will not receive a refund of any money paid). Please ask for details before you make your booking as once the booking is confirmed relevant charges will apply.
If you have taken out holiday insurance and the reason you are cancelling is covered by that insurance, you should be able to obtain payment of these cancellation charges (after deducting any part of the claim which the insurance company insists you pay) from your insurance company. You must pay the cancellation charges first. Please make sure you get written confirmation of your cancellation from us - this proves we have received your cancellation and you will need it to make a claim on your insurance.
Delivery of Documents
All documents, where possible will be delivered to you via the email address provided at the time of booking. Where we are required to deliver a paper document, i.e. an airline ticket it will be sent to the address of the card holder / lead passenger via 1st Class post. Skybargains accept no responsibility for any item that is lost in transit, nor do we accept any costs resulting in the loss or delay of any item sent to you. If you wish to receive any documents via a more secure postal service i.e. Recorded Delivery, there will be a minimum £5 charge. Please advise our Customer Services Department as soon as you have confirmed your booking.
Additional Requests
If you have a special request for adjoining rooms, special diets, etc., please indicate at the time of booking and we will endeavour to pass these on. However, these requests cannot be guaranteed as they do not form part of the contract and any extra costs are payable locally. We cannot accept requests for rooms with a particular view unless the supplement for that view (e.g. lake view, south facing) has been paid and the room type confirmed on your invoice.
Passport/Visas/Health requirements
All requirements should be checked with the relevant Embassy of the destination country prior to making a confirmed booking. A valid 10-year passport is necessary for all travel arrangments. Some overseas countries have an immigration requirement that your passport is valid for a minimum period after you enter that country, typically 6 months. If your passport is in its final year of validity, we advise you confirm the requirements of the destination before making final travel plans. You should apply for a passport or to renew an expired passport at least four weeks before travelling.
The UK Passport Agency can provide further information at: www.ukpa.gov.uk
Passports for children and young people:
Children not already included on a valid British passport will need to hold their own passport if they are to travel abroad. Children who were included on a passport before 5 October 1998 may continue to travel with the passport holder until:
- The child reaches the age of 16;
- or* The passport on which the child is included expires;
- or * The passport on which the child is included is replaced or an amendment results in the issue of a new passport
We recommend all passengers travel on their own current/valid passport
Names on Booking (Tickets & other Documentation)
The name on the passport must match the name on the ticket, otherwise you may not be able to travel and insurance may be invalid. If, after booking, but before travelling, any member of your party changes their name, e.g. as a result of getting married, we must be notified immediately so that we can make the necessary changes to your documentation where possible, such notification must be made in writing and may incur a a charge from both the principle, no frills / low cost airline and ourselves.
Vaccinations
We recommend that you obtain from the Department of Health the D.O.H. leaflet "Protect Your Health Abroad". It is also advisable to check with your own doctor before departure as to which inoculations are necessary for specific areas.
Travel Advice
The Foreign & Commonwealth Office Travel Advice Unit may have issued information about your holiday destination. You are advised to check this information at the FCO website www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo.
Health facilities, hygiene and disease risks vary worldwide. You should take health advice about your specific needs as early as possible. Sources of information include the Department of Health's free leaflet "Health Advice For Travellers", your GP or a specialist clinic. Please note that you are strongly advised against scuba diving for 24hrs before travelling by air. For the most up-to-date essential information on your choice of destination and to ensure you make the most of your trip abroad, we recommend you visit the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) website at www.fco.gov/uk/knowbeforeyougo. The Department of Health's website provides a worldwide country-by-country disease and immunisation checklist.
Visas
You should contact your Embassy for information and advice on the visa requirements of the countries you propose to visit. Please note: Passport and visa regulations can change and you should therefore check with the relevant embassy well in advance of travel, even if you have travelled to this destination before. It is your responsibility to be in possession of a valid passport and, if appropriate, a visa. It can often take some time to obtain a visa, so you are advised to apply in plenty of time.
We accept no responsibility for customers who do not possess the correct documents.
Website Disclaimer
Information on our website is posted in good faith and is updated regularly. However, we cannot guarantee the completeness and accuracy of the information on it. Prices shown on the website are believed accurate but, in the event of any inaccuracy or discrepancy we will contact you at the earliest opportunity. We recommend you contact us if you are in any doubt or have any queries before acting on any information on our website.
Claims and Complaints
If you have a complaint about the services provided by a supplier you must contact them directly whilst away and you must tell the relevant supplier (e.g. hotel/tour operators representative etc ) or their agent immediately, as detailed above. Most problems can be solved on the spot but if after you return home you are still not satisfied you must write to the relevant supplier.
If you are unhappy about the service we have provided you must contact us at, Colchester Travel Ltd, 39 Crouch Street, Colchester, CO3 3EN within 28 days of your return. We do not accept any post travel correspondence in any other format or outside of this time period and we will not respond unless the letter is sent with all supporting paperwork (copies only) to the address shown above.
Whilst it is unlikely that you will have a complaint that cannot be settled amicably, If this is not the case any dispute arising out of, or in connection with the arrangements may (if you wish) 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 of the client in respect of costs. The scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5,000.00 per person or £15,000.00 per booking form or to claims which are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness or the consequences of such injury or illness, although it does include claims with an element of injury or illness up to £1,000 on that element. Written notice requesting Arbitration must be made within 9 months after the scheduled date of return from holiday.