Untitled Document
BOOKING CONDITIONS
In these conditions the expressions “Unicorn Trails”, “we”
and “us” mean Unicorn Trails Limited, registered in England with company
number 3805366 and registered office 17 The Acorn Centre, Chestnut Avenue, Biggleswade,
Bedfordshire, SG18 0RA. You are requested to read these booking conditions carefully.
Making a booking
1. To make a booking you (or your parent or guardian if you are under 18) must
complete, sign and complete a booking form to us with a deposit equal to 20% of
the holiday price or any other amount advised to you by Unicorn Trails. If you
are booking within 8 weeks of the start date of your holiday, the full holiday
price must accompany our booking form. If more than one person is named on the
booking form the first named person confirms that he/she and all persons named
on the booking form are fully aware of and accept the booking conditions. The
first named person will be responsible for all payments due in respect of arrangements
purchased.
2. When we receive a completed booking form and your deposit (or if appropriate,
the full holiday price) we will issue and send you a confirmation invoice. Your
contract with Unicorn Trails comes into existence when such a confirmation invoice
is issued. Please check this invoice carefully as soon as you receive it and raise
any queries you have immediately. No responsibility will be accepted by us if
you do not inform us of any inaccuracies in any document within 10 days of the
issue, 5 days for tickets.
3. The balance of the price for your holiday is due 8 weeks before the holiday
start date and must be received by us not later than that date. If we do not receive
the full price by that date we reserve the right to treat the arrangements as
cancelled by you and to apply the cancellation charges set out in paragraph 7a)
below.
4. If you have any special diet or other requests please indicate these on the
booking form. We will try to make suitable arrangements but cannot guarantee to
be able to do so.
Alteration / Cancellation / Curtailment.
By You:
5. Should you wish to make any changes to your holiday once it has been confirmed,
the person who signed the relevant booking form must notify us. We will do our
best to make the changes requested although we cannot guarantee being able to
do so. If we are able to make the changes we will do so, subject to payment
of any increased holiday costs and to any cancellation or amendment charges
imposed by our suppliers. We also reserve the right to charge a reasonable administration
fee to cover our administrative costs. Where the requested change is to the
date of your booking or to alter your booking to another ride, our ride operators
are entitled to impose a cancellation charge equal to the amount that would
be payable under paragraph 7a) if the booking had been cancelled by you at the
date of the alteration request.
6. If after your booking has been confirmed you are unable to proceed with your
holiday you may transfer you booking to another person introduced by you who
fulfills any conditions of the holiday booked (including riding ability). You
will not, however be able to do so if there is a waiting list for places in
which case the available place must be offered to the next person on that list.
To be entitled to make this transfer, you must notify us in writing that you
are unable to proceed and the name of the proposed transferee not less than
14 days before the holiday departure date. You will be required to pay all costs
and any charges incurred by us in making the transfer or imposed by suppliers
of your holiday components as a result. You must also ensure that the transferee
completes and signs a new booking form and delivers it to us before the holiday
start date. Some travel arrangements, such as flight bookings at certain fares,
cannot be altered or transferred and any alteration or transfer will incur a
100% cancellation charge.
7.
a. You may cancel your booking with us at any time before the start date of
your holiday providing the person who signed the relevant booking form notifies
us in writing. The date of cancellation will be the date written notice is actually
received by us so you are recommended to use recorded delivery. As we incur
costs from the time we make your booking and because ride departures are often
confirmed and other bookings taken for the same group on the basis that there
are a certain number of participants and we may not be able to resell your place,
the following charges will be payable to Unicorn Trails by the person making
the cancellation. Charges are expressed as a percentage of the total holiday
price excluding any amendment charges and insurance premiums (which are non-refundable)
and depend on the date cancellation is received by us: up to 56 day charge equals
deposit; 42-56 days charge equals 50%, less than 42 days charge equals 100%.
Where we have sold you air tickets we will try to recoup, and will pay onto
you, whatever we can in respect of cancelled air travel subject to a reasonable
administration charge for our efforts. Cancellation charges for flights can
be up to 100% at any time however depending on the airline and type of fare
booked.
b. If, having started your holiday arrangements with us you decide not to use
any of the services to be provided to you by us, you will not be entitled to
any refund or compensation for the unused service.
By Unicorn Trails:
8. The information and particulars included in the Unicorn Trails Limited brochure,
web site and in any information sheet or itinerary prepared by us has been carefully
checked and great care is taken to ensure that such information and particulars
are accurate at the time of publication. However itineraries are often planned
far in advance and changes and errors can occur. Whilst we will always try to
avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to make cancellations
and any changes to any published details at any time. If you contact us about
a proposed booking and changes have been made to the published information,
we will endeavor to inform you of all such changes before your booking is confirmed.
Once your booking has been confirmed we will try to ensure your trip is run
as booked but in very rare circumstances it may be necessary to make changes
after confirmation and we must reserve the right to do so. Any necessary changes
will usually be minor but very occasionally it may be necessary to make a 'significant
change'. A significant change is one made before departure that materially affects
your confirmed holiday (on the basis of the information you have given us at
the time of booking). Such changes include the following: i) a change in the
dates of your holiday (where we have sold you air tickets for an international
flight, this is a change in your flight departure or return time by more than
12 hours), ii) where we have arranged your flight, a change of departure airports
(except as between airports serving the same city) to one which is more inconvenient
for you, iii) a change to a materially lower standard of accommodation for the
whole or a significant proportion of the trip, or iv) a change to the whole
or a significant proportion of your riding program such that the programme is
materially different from that booked. Where such a significant change is necessary
we will notify you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before your
departure we will offer you the choice of the following options: i) accept the
change; or ii) if we are able to offer you one, book a substitute trip provided
that if the substitute trip is more expensive than the original, you pay the
difference in cost; if the substitute trip is less expensive the difference
will be refunded to you; or iii) cancel and (subject to paragraphs 12, 13, and
14 which apply where the change is necessary because of force majeure or low
bookings) receive a full refund other than insurance premiums or administration
charges paid. If you chose to cancel and receive a refund in these circumstances,
we will in addition pay you compensation as set out in paragraph 9. Our liability
to you if significant changes are necessary is limited to offering you these
choices and to the compensation as set out in paragraph 9 if appropriate. Where
it is necessary to make a minor change to your arrangements (i.e. any change
that is not a ‘significant’ change as described above) we will do
our best to notify you but we are not obliged to do so and you are not entitled
to any refund or compensation as a result of any such minor change.
9. If for some very unusual reason (other than any fault of yours, including
non-payment by you of any money due) or as a result of ‘force majuere’
as defined in paragraph 12 (paragraph 13 then applies) or low bookings (paragraph
14 then applies), we are obliged to cancel your holiday, we will offer you a
substitute holidays if one is available. If you book a substitute which is less
expensive than the original, we will refund you the difference in price. If
the substitute is more expensive, you must pay the difference. If you do not
wish to book a substitute or we cannot offer you one, we will give you a full
refund (other than of insurance premiums / amendment charges paid). In addition
you will be entitled to cancellation compensation as follows: 56 days before
commencement nil; 42 to 56 days before commencement £10; less than 42
days before commencement £30.
10. Your booking is accepted by us on the understanding that you realize that
the infrastructure and standards relating to travel, accommodation and safety
in the place to which you are traveling may be lower than the UK. Both we and
our local operators will do our best to make sure arrangements, including travel
services, transport and connections run smoothly but this may not always be
possible due to flight cancellation, weather, mechanical breakdown or other
unforeseen circumstances and there will be no refund or compensation for any
unused services.
Delay
11. We are unfortunately unable to make special arrangements for you in the
event of delays or cancellations at your outward or homeward point of departure
or on your outward or homeward journey (or, where you are making your own travel
arrangements, in the event of delays or changes to any of these arrangements)
or to refund or compensate you in the event of any such delays. Your airline
or carrier may however be able to help you.
Force Majeure
12. In the terms of a contract with us "force majeure" means unusual
or unforeseeable circumstances beyond the control of Unicorn Trails and its
suppliers and the consequences of which neither Unicorn Trails nor its suppliers,
even with all due care, could foresee or forestall. It includes but is not limited
to riot, civil unrest, war, terrorist activity and the threat of any of the
foregoing, industrial dispute, natural disaster, extreme adverse weather conditions,
fire and similar events outside our control. It also includes any other event
or circumstance which the Foreign Office in London considers hazardous or threatening
to tourists and as a result of which it is advising against non-essential travel
to the country concerned.
13. On extremely rare occasions, circumstances or events which amount to ‘force
majeure’ may affect the area to which you plan to travel. As a result
Unicorn Trails and its suppliers may be unable to perform or complete the arrangements
booked and may be obliged to change, cancel or curtail such arrangements at
short notice. In these very unusual circumstances we will do our utmost to make
suitable alternative arrangements for you but we will not be liable for a failure
to do so, nor for any failure to provide the arrangements as originally booked.
We regret we are unable to compensate you for any losses or expenses that you
may incur as a result of changes or cancellations due to ‘force majeure’.
We will only refund you payments for arrangements that are cancelled or curtailed
as a result of ‘force majeure’ if and to the extent that we obtain
refunds from our suppliers in respect of the same arrangements which we will
endeavor to do. Where we are able to make acceptable alternative arrangements
for you, the cost of these shall be deducted from any such refunds we obtain
and you will pay any additional costs. If circumstances which amount to ‘force
majeure’ exist before you commence your holiday but you are still able
and wish to travel to your holiday destination and begin/continue with the arrangements
as booked or altered in some way, we may require you to sign an acknowledgement
accepting any risks involved before you start or continue with the arrangements.
Low Bookings
14. Occasionally prices quoted for holiday arrangements assume a minimum number
of participants. If this is the case we will notify you before your booking
is confirmed. If the minimum number is not reached by the eight weeks before
the commencement of the holiday, we reserve the right to; a) cancel the departure
or; b) postpone the due date for payment of the balance until four weeks before
the start date or; c) with your agreement, continue with the arrangements for
fewer participants at the necessary supplement payable by you. If we cancel
as in option a) we will notify you in writing and will refund in full any deposit
or other payment made to us by you for the arrangements (other than insurance
premiums or amendment charges paid). If we postpone the payment date as in option
b) we will notify you and then, before the new payment date, we will in writing
either confirm the departure or notify you that the trip is cancelled. In the
latter case we will also give you a full and prompt refund of any deposit or
other payments made by you to us for the arrangements (other than insurance
premiums or amendment charges paid). Cancellations for low bookings will not
be made less than four weeks before the start date.
Financial Security
15. The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since
we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation
Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 6431. In the unlikely event of our insolvency,
the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund
any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information,
visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. In addition in compliance with the
UK Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 an insurance
policy has been arranged with Travel & General Insurance Company plc to
protect customers’ prepayments paid in respect of the ground handling
aspects of packages where the customer is responsible for arranging travel to
the destination, offered in this brochure (subject to the terms of the insurance
policy), for: a refund of such prepayments if customers have not yet traveled;
or making arrangements to enable the holiday to continue if customers have already
travelled in the unlikely event of our financial failure.
Prices
16. Unicorn Trails reserves the right to increase or decrease the prices of
unsold holidays at any time. You will be given the correct current price for
your chosen arrangements at the time of booking. External factors beyond our
control may affect the holiday costs e.g increases in transportation costs (including
the cost of fuel), taxes (eg VAT) or other fees chargeable for services such
as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports,
exchange rate fluctuations. Unicorn Trails reserves the right to increase the
price of the holiday to take into account such changes. Such price increases
after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge. Even in this case we
will absorb an amount equivalent to 2% of the total price excluding any amendment
charges. Only amounts of more than 2% will be surcharged. If this means paying
a surcharge of more than 10% of the original price, you will be entitled to
cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to us except
for amendment charges providing you notify us within 14 days of the surcharge
invoice. Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your
right to do within 14 days of the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice.
Any surcharge is payable with the balance of your holiday or by the date specified
on the surcharge, invoice whichever is the later. No surcharges will be levied
less than 30 days before departure. We regret that no refunds can be made in
the event of favorable exchange rate fluctuations or any decreases in costs.
Prices in this brochure are calculated using currency exchange rates in the
Financial Times at November 2007.
Liability
17. Subject to paragraph 18 below, we accept liability for ensuring that our
contract with you is properly performed and that the services we have agreed
to provide under it are provided to a reasonable standard. We are not responsible
however for any services which do not form part of our contract with you, for
example additional services or facilities you purchase from your hotel or other
supplier, which we have not agreed to provide. Additionally we cannot accept
liability for any business losses. The laws and standards of the country concerned
will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had
been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply
with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services
been provided in the UK, except where the absence of a safety feature might
lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the holiday in question.
18. We will not be liable for any loss, damage expense or inconvenience suffered
or incurred (including death or personal injury) which is attributable to i)
your own act or omission or that of one of your party, or ii) an act of omission
of a third party not connected with the provision of the services or arrangements
and which was unforeseeable or unavoidable, or iii) force majeure. Unicorn Trails’
liability is also conditional on your providing ourselves and our insurers with
all assistance we may reasonably require and letting us and the supplier know
of the complaint as set out in paragraph 25 below. If asked to do so you must
assign Unicorn Trails or its insurers any rights you may have against the person
whose act or omission gave rise to the liability and agree to cooperate fully
with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which
are transferred. In addition we limit our liability as follows: i) liability
other than for death or personal injury is limited to such amount as is reasonable
taking into account the cost of the arrangements booked with us and the extent
to which your enjoyment of them has been affected but (without prejudice to
that) will not exceed the cost of the arrangements booked for the person affected
(excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges); ii) liability for loss/damage
of baggage and personal possessions is limited to £25 per person as you
are expected to have taken out adequate insurance; iii) liability for death,
personal injury or any other loss suffered in the course of any of the services
provided under our contract with you (including any air, rail, road or sea travel
(and the getting on and off such transport) or from a stay in a hotel or similar
accommodation) is limited in accordance with the provisions of all relevant
international conventions relating to the provision of such services as if Unicorn
Trails was a supplier of the service in question.
Safety and Behaviour around Horses
19. Whilst riding or in the vicinity of horses in the care of the operator or
guide of your trip you must comply with the instructions of that person. It
is a condition of your booking that you accept that the aforementioned guide
or operator is entitled to require you to dismount or to refuse to allow you
to ride if for any reason, including your inability, behaviour or health, they
consider that you may endanger the safety or welfare of any person or the horses.
If so required you have no claim and will not be entitled to any compensation
or refund.
20. The guide, tour leader or person in authority on your trip may also alter
or terminate your participation in that trip immediately if he or she considers
it reasonably necessary for the health or safety of any other person. If your
participation is so altered terminated you will have no claim and not will not
be entitled to any compensation or refund.
21. You are strongly advised for your own safety to wear a hard hat whilst in
the vicinity of horses. Children under 18 will be required to wear a hard hat.
You acknowledge that there are risks involved in horse riding and dealing with
horses and understand that horses, as independent creatures, can be unpredictable
or act unexpectedly. You also acknowledge that many of the trips we arrange
include riding and other activities in areas that are remote and/or areas where
there is potentially dangerous game, difficult terrain or other conditions that
can be hazardous. Safety services and back up infrastructure may also be more
limited than usual. By booking to take part in one of these trips, you confirm
you understand and fully accept these risks. You understand that you may also
be required to sign a separate acknowledgement and acceptance of personal liability
by the local supplier before being allowed to ride or take part in a trip, and
if you are not allowed to ride or take part because you refuse to sign, or to
wear a hard hat if required, you will have no claim against Unicorn Trails or
the supplier and will not be entitled to any refund or compensation.
Information you supply
22. Your booking is accepted by us on the basis of information given by you
on your booking form including details of your riding ability and your weight.
Where these details are inaccurate, Unicorn Trails and its suppliers reserve
the right to change your ride itinerary or booking or ask you not to ride and
in these circumstances you will have no claim against Unicorn Trails and will
not be entitled to any refund or compensation.
Insurance
23. It is a condition of your booking with Unicorn Trails Limited that you take
out a suitable travel insurance covering you for all medical expenses, injury,
death and liability as well as cancellation and curtailment, baggage and personal
effects for the entire duration of your trip at the time of booking. We strongly
recommend our own insurance policy which specifically covers the type of holidays
we offer. If you arrange your own travel insurance you must make sure there
are no exclusion clauses limiting protection for the type of activities included
in your holiday. Although insurance is your sole responsibility we may require
evidence of suitable cover before accepting your booking.
Travel Documents
24. General information regarding passport requirements, visa and health formalities
will be sent to you on confirmation of booking. However such matters are subject
to change and you must check current requirements before departure. It is your
responsibility to ensure that you have all the necessary documentation for your
holiday and Unicorn Trails Limited will nor be held responsible for your not
complying with requirements current at the time of your departure or any losses
or costs incurred from such omission on your part
If you have a problem
25. If you have a complaint or grievance whilst on holiday you must immediately
inform the guide or operator of your trip so that he/she can try to put it right.
If the matter cannot be resolved locally and you wish to make a complaint, you
should telephone or fax Unicorn Trails Limited (we will accept reverse charge
calls) immediately. If you are still not satisfied you must notify us in writing,
giving full details of the complaint, such that it reaches us not later than
28 days after the last day of your holiday. If you fail to do any of these things
we cannot accept responsibility, having been unable to put it right immediately
or investigate it at the appropriate time.
Safety Standards
26. Please note, it is the requirements and standards of the country in which
any services which make up your holiday are provided, which apply to those services
and not those of the UK. As a general rule, these requirements and standards
will not be the same as the UK and may sometimes be lower.
Data Protection
27. Information you supply to us in connection with your booking is passed on
by us to our suppliers in order to ensure that appropriate arrangements are
made for your holiday. It may also be passed on by us to security or credit
checking agencies, government or public bodies such as immigration or customs
if required by them or by law. Where your booking is for a holiday outside the
European Economic Area (EEA) information supplied by you may be passed on to
the relevant suppliers who are outside the EEA and in making your booking you
consent to this. Unless you request us not to we will hold your information
and may use it to send you future brochures and offers. We value your privacy
and will not pass your details onto third parties not connected with your booking
without your agreement. You are entitled to a copy of your information held
by us. If you would like to see this please contact us. We may make a small
charge for providing this to you.
General
28. Your contract with Unicorn Trails and matters arising from it are governed
by English law and both parties submit irrevocably to the jurisdiction of the
English Courts.
29. You agree that any photographs or film taken during a holiday arranged through
us may be used in any publication or for promotional purposes.
