Terms and Booking Conditions

INTRODUCTION

The following Booking Conditions together with the General Information contained in this 'brochure' form the basis of your contract with French Freedom Holidays Limited t/as French Freedom Holidays ("we", "us" and "our" in these booking conditions). Please read them carefully. References in these booking conditions to our brochure include our website. References to "arrangements" and "holiday" means your confirmed accommodation and/or any other service(s) you book through us ("service(s)") and to "start date" means the start date of your stay at your accommodation or of the service(s) in question, whichever first occurs for your booking.

1. YOUR HOLIDAY CONTRACT

Please see General Information for details on how to book. When you make a booking you guarantee that you have the authority to accept and do accept on behalf of you and all members of your party the terms of these booking conditions. Subject to availability and receipt of all applicable payments (see clause 2 below), we will confirm your accommodation and/or any requested service(s) by issuing a confirmation invoice. Please check this invoice carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if any information which appears on any confirmation or any other document appears to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later Except for "Late Bookings" (see below), a binding contract between us will exist as soon as we issue your confirmation invoice. We both agree that English law (and no other) will apply to your contract with us and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us. We both also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises between us must be dealt with under the ABTA Arbitration Scheme (if the Scheme is available for the claim in question and you wish to use it - see clause 8) or by the Courts of England and Wales only.

LATE BOOKINGS

Late bookings are defined as all bookings made within 10 weeks of the start date and must be made by telephone in order to ensure that your accommodation and any other services required are available. In the case of a late booking a contract will exist as soon as you have received verbal confirmation from us and advised us of your credit/ debit card details. If it is necessary for us to specially request services on your behalf for which a charge is payable you must provide a credit card authority in respect of such services before they can be requested. You will be liable to pay the costs of these services even if you decide not to proceed with the booking. If you have any special request, you must advise us at the time of booking. Although we will endeavour to honour reasonable requests which relate to your accommodation or, for services, to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant service provider, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part. Confirmation that a special request has been noted or passed on to the service provider or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request will be met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. For your own protection, you should obtain confirmation in writing that a special request will be complied with (where it is possible to give this) where it is important to you. If you or any member of your party has any medical condition or disability which may affect your stay or use of any services or has any special requirements as a result of any medical condition or disability (including any which affect the booking process), please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can assist you in considering the suitability of the arrangements and/or making the booking. In any event, you must give us full details in writing at the time of booking and whenever any change in the condition or disability occurs. You must also promptly advise us if any medical condition or disability which may affect your stay or use of any services develops after your booking has been confirmed. The information within this brochure is designed to be a general guide to the services offered. The implementation of specific resort services is at the discretion of the resort management. The resorts/parcs we feature are subject to local regulations and bylaws. Additionally they will have their own rules. When you occupy the accommodation you agree to abide by the rules of the individual parc/resort in which it is located. We expect all clients to have consideration for other people. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset or distress to any third party or damage to property, we or the service provider concerned are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the arrangements of the person(s) concerned. We and the service provider will have no further responsibility toward such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and neither we nor the service provider will pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination. When you book with us, you accept responsibility for any damage or loss caused by you or any member of your party.

2. YOUR HOLIDAY PRICE

When you make your booking you must pay a deposit of £150 per booking. The balance of the price of your arrangements must be paid at least 10 weeks before your start date. For bookings made within 10 weeks of the start date, the full cost of the arrangements must be paid at the time of the booking. On occasions, we may offer holidays at specially discounted rates. As a condition of such offers, full payment will be required at the time of booking. In the event of your cancelling such a holiday, you will be deemed to have paid a deposit of £250. If any monies due are not paid on time, we are entitled to assume that you wish to cancel your booking. In this case, we will be entitled to keep all deposits paid or due at that date. If we do not cancel straight away because you have promised to make payment, you must pay the cancellation charges shown in clause 4 depending on the date we reasonably treat your booking as cancelled.
Please note, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking. The price of your accommodation is fully guaranteed and will not be subject to any surcharges. The price of other services may be subject to surcharges in accordance with the service provider's terms. We will advise you as soon as possible if we are notified of a surcharge.
Please note: We reserve the right to increase/decrease and correct errors in advertised prices and other information and amend information in our brochure at any time before your arrangements are confirmed. We will advise you of any error or change of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at the time of booking. Brochure published May 2009. The information (including these booking conditions) and the prices in this brochure supersede all previous editions.

3. CHANGING YOUR BOOKING

If after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you wish to change your booking in any way, for example your chosen start date or accommodation, we will use all reasonable endeavours to make these changes but it may not always be possible. Any request for changes must be made by the person who made the booking. You will be asked to pay an administration charge of £30 (or if your travel pack has already been sent or the request is made after the start date, £50), plus any costs we incur or the service provider(s) concerned incurs or imposes in making the alteration. We must receive payment for amendments at the time they are requested by credit/debit card or cheque. If we/the service provider(s) concerned are unable to accommodate the amendment your payment will be returned. Changes may result in the recalculation of the price of your booking where, for example, the basis on which the price of the original booking was calculated has changed. Note: Some travel arrangements cannot be changed after a reservation has been made and any alteration request will incur a 100% cancellation cost.
ALL TICKETS AND VOUCHERS ARE ONLY VALID FOR THE SERVICES, DATES AND TIMINGS INDICATED.

4. CANCELLING YOUR ARRANGEMENTS

If you have to cancel your arrangements (or any of them) for any reason you MUST ring our office and obtain a cancellation reference number as evidence of cancellation. If you fail to follow this procedure and do not obtain a cancellation reference number we will consider the booking to still be active and as such you will be liable to pay the outstanding balance. You or any member of your party may cancel at any time. Since we incur costs in cancelling your confirmed arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable charges. The cancellation charges are shown below. Where the charges are shown as a percentage this is calculated on the basis of the total cost of the arrangements. The charges applicable to other services are available on request. Note: No refunds are made of amendment charges. If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned.

Please note; on occasions, we may offer holidays at specially discounted rates. As a condition of such offers, full payment will be required at the time of booking. In the event of your cancelling such a holiday, you will be deemed to have paid a deposit of £250 which will be lost in the event of cancellation notified more than 70 days before the start date. 100% of the holiday price will be payable for cancellations of such bookings notified 70 days or less before the start date.

5. IF WE CHANGE OR CANCEL YOUR CONFIRMED ARRANGEMENTS

Occasionally, we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. Most changes are minor, for example, if we have to change your accommodation to another of the same type and standard. We will advise you at the earliest possible date and in such cases, no compensation will be due. We also reserve the right in some circumstances to cancel your accommodation booking, for example, due to reasons of force majeure (see clause 6 below) or failure by you to pay the final balance. Occasionally, we have to make a "significant change" to confirmed arrangements such as a change of resort area (as defined in the brochure) for the whole or a major part of the time you are away, if we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will tell you as soon as possible. If there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of the following options:-
(a) (for significant changes) accepting the changed arrangements or
(b) purchasing alternative arrangements from us, of a similar standard to those originally booked if available (if it is more expensive you will have to pay the difference but if it is cheaper we will refund the difference to you) or
(c) cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel we will, where compensation is due, pay you the compensation payments set out in the table below depending on the circumstances and when the significant change or cancellation is notified to you subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable and no liability beyond offering the above mentioned choices can be accepted where we are forced to make a change or cancel as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which we could not have avoided even with all due care. No compensation will be payable and the above options will not be available if we cancel as a result of your failure to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us to cancel (such as paying on time) or where a change is a minor one.

** Children's clubs Our activity/children's club couriers are difficult to replace at short notice. Should illness or unforeseen circumstances occur, we will always endeavour to offer the service as advertised but we cannot always guarantee the continuity of the service. The activities tend to be group based and as such require a minimum number of participants to enable it to function but if the minimum number are not present the sessions may be cancelled. For safety reasons it is necessary to limit to a maximum the number of participants and on occasions when demand is high we may have to enforce a first come first served arrangement. We will always endeavour to share the availability between all those wishing to attend. Clients will be required to sign parental consent forms before the participation of their children in the Koala Club activities is allowed.

6. FORCE MAJEURE

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance or prompt performance of our obligations under our contract with you is prevented or affected by or you otherwise suffer any damage, loss or expense of any nature as a result of "force majeure". In these booking conditions, "force majeure" means any event which we or the service provider(s) in question could not, even with all due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include actual or threatened war, riot, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

7. COMPLAINTS

If you have a problem during your stay, please inform the campsite management and our representative (where available) and/or the relevant service provider as soon as possible so that the problem can be resolved. If after speaking with the campsite management and our representative (where available), you still have difficulties, please call us on 01724 282 303, so that we can take the matter up on your behalf. If you intend to complain to our office on your return to the UK you must obtain a complaint reference form from our representative detailing your complaint and any action offered or undertaken by our representative or the campsite management. It is essential that you communicate any complaint to the campsite management and our representative (where available) and/or the service provider in question, as applicable, without delay. In any case, you must write to us within 28 days of the end of your arrangements. If you fail to follow this procedure we will have been deprived of the opportunity to investigate and rectify your complaint whilst you were in resort and this may affect your rights under your contract.

8. ARBITRATION

Disputes arising out of, or in connection with your contract with us which cannot be amicably settled may be referred to arbitration if you so wish under a special scheme arranged by ABTA 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) or from ABTA (for further contact details see clause 12). This scheme does not apply to claims for an amount greater than £5000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims which are solely in respect of physical injury or illness or their consequences. The scheme can however deal with compensation claims which include an element of minor injury or illness subject to a limit of £1000 on the amount the arbitrator can award per person in respect of this element. The application for arbitration and statement of claim must be received by the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators within 9 months of the date of return from the holiday. Outside this time limit arbitration under the scheme may still be available if we agree, although the ABTA Code does not require such agreement

9. OUR LIABILITY TO YOU

(1) We promise to make sure that the arrangements we have agreed to make, perform or provide as applicable as part of our contract with you are made, performed or provided with reasonable skill and care. This means that, subject to these booking conditions, we will accept responsibility if, for example, you suffer death or personal injury or your contracted arrangements are not provided as promised or prove deficient as a result of the failure of ourselves, our employees, agents or suppliers to use reasonable skill and care in making, performing or providing, as applicable, your contracted accommodation arrangements.

Please note, it is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not been used if you wish to make a claim against us. In addition, we will only be responsible for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do if they were at the time acting within the course of their employment (for employees) or carrying out work we had asked them to do (for agents and suppliers).
(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following: - the act(s) and/or omission(s) of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or the act(s) and/or omission(s) of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or 'force majeure' as defined in clause 6 above.
(3) Please note, we cannot accept responsibility for any services which do not form part of our contract. This includes, for example, any additional services or facilities which your resort/parc management or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services or facilities are not advertised by us and we have not agreed to arrange them as part of our contract and any excursion you purchase in resort. Please also see clause 10 "Excursions, activities and general area information". In addition, regardless of any wording used by us in our brochure, in any advertising material or elsewhere, we only promise to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any greater or different liability to you.
(4) The promises we make to you about the arrangements we have agreed to provide or make as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular arrangements which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with the local laws and regulations applicable to those arrangements at the time, the arrangements will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the arrangements did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those arrangements been provided in the UK. The exception to this is where the claim or complaint concerns the absence of a safety feature which might lead a reasonable holiday maker to refuse to take the arrangements in question.

Please note: The safety standards and regulations overseas are those of the country in question, and may not necessarily be the same as equivalent standard in the UK. These are often different from, and set standards lower than those to which we are used to in the UK. The responsibility for monitoring, enforcement and compliance with local and national laws and regulations is carried out by the appropriate authorities in the country concerned. Liability insurance requirements vary considerably from country to country, as does the responsibility placed on organisations by law. We would therefore advise you to take all reasonable precautions to protect yourself and your family whilst abroad.
(5) For all claims which do not involve death or personal injury, if we are found liable to you on any basis the maximum amount we will have to pay you is twice the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on behalf of the person(s) affected in total for the arrangements in question unless a lower limitation applies to your claim. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your arrangements.
(6) Where any claim or part of a claim (including those involving death or personal injury) concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (including the process of getting on and/or off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum amount of compensation we will have to pay you will be limited. The most we will have to pay you for that claim or that part of a claim if we are found liable to you on any basis is the most the carrier or hotelier concerned would have to pay under the international convention or regulation which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EC Regulation on Air Carrier Liability No 889/2002 for national and international travel by air, the Athens Convention for international travel by sea, the Berne Convention for international travel by rail).

Please note: where a carrier or hotelier would not be obliged to make any payment to you under the applicable international convention or regulation in respect of a claim or part of a claim, we similarly are not obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are entitled to receive from the carrier or hotelier for the complaint or claim in question. Copies of the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from our offices at French Freedom Holidays. 44 Newdown Road, Southpark, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, DN17 2TX.
(7) Please note, we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sum(s) of any description
(1) which on the basis of the information given to us by you concerning your booking prior to our accepting it, we could not have foreseen you would suffer or incur if we breached our contract with you or
(2) which did not result from any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible for them, our suppliers. Additionally we cannot accept liability for any business losses.

10. EXCURSIONS, ACTIVITIES AND GENERAL AREA INFORMATION

We may provide you with information (before departure and/or when you are in resort) about activities and excursions which are available in the area you are visiting. We have no involvement in any such activities or excursions which are neither run, supervised nor controlled in any way by us. They are provided by local operators or other third parties who are entirely independent of us. They do not form any part of your contract with us even where we suggest particular operators/other third parties and/or assist you in booking such activities or excursions in any way. We cannot accept any liability on any basis in relation to such activities or excursions and the acceptance of liability contained in clause 9 of our booking conditions will not apply to them. We do not however exclude liability for the negligence of ourselves or our employees resulting in your death or personal injury. We cannot guarantee accuracy at all times of information given in relation to such activities or excursions or about the area you are visiting generally or that any particular excursion or activity which does not form part of our contract will take place as these services are not under our control. If you feel that any of the activities or excursions referred to in our brochure and in our other advertising material which are not part of our contract are vital to the enjoyment of your stay, write to us immediately and we will tell you the latest known situation. If we become aware of any material alterations to area information and/or such outside activities or excursions which can reasonably be expected to affect your decision to book with us, we will pass on this information at the time of booking.

11. PASSPORT AND VISA REQUIREMENTS

British Citizens require a full British passport to visit France. A full British passport presently takes approximately 2 to 6 weeks to obtain. If you or any member of your party is 16 or over and hasn't yet got a passport, our recommendation is that you should apply for one at least 6 weeks before your holiday. The UK Passport Service has to confirm your identity before issuing your first passport and will ask you to attend an interview in order to do this. Currently British Citizens do not require a visa to visit France. If you or any member of your party is not a British citizen or holds a non British passport, you must check passport and visa requirements with the French Embassy.. It is the responsibility of the person who makes the booking to ensure that all persons travelling on the booking are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents. All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry all required documentation. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office publishes regularly updated travel information on its website www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo which you are recommended to consult before booking and in good time before departure.

12. ABTA MEMBERSHIP AND FINANCIAL PROTECTION

We are a member of ABTA (ABTA number W1659). ABTA and ABTA members help holidaymakers to get the most from their travel and assist them when things do not go according to plan. We are obliged to maintain a high standard of service to you by ABTA's Code of Conduct. For further information about ABTA, the Code of Conduct and the arbitration scheme available to you if you have a complaint (see clause 8), contact ABTA, 30 Park Street, London SE1 9EQ tel 020 3117 0500 or www.abta.com The monies you pay us for any arrangements which do not include a flight booked with us at the same time as the rest of your arrangements are protected by a bond held by ABTA. This means that in the unlikely event of your arrangements not being provided as a result of our insolvency, ABTA will ensure you are not left stranded abroad (if your arrangements include return ferry or eurotunnel crossings) and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. We also hold an Air Travel Organiser's Licence issued by the Civil Aviation Authority (ATOL number 6670). When you buy an ATOL protected air holiday package / flight from us, you will receive a Confirmation Invoice from us confirming your arrangements and your protection under our ATOL. 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 us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be protected by the ATOL Scheme. The ATOL Scheme will only protect your booking if you book a flight and accommodation with us at the same time as part of the same booking or book just a flight. If you book just a flight, the ATOL Scheme will not protect any accommodation booking you have already made or which you later make. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply to your booking if you are unsure.

13. FLIGHTS

In accordance with EU Directive (EC) No 2111/2005 Article 9, we are required to bring to your attention the existence of a "Community list" which contains details of air carriers who are subject to an operating ban within the EU. The Community list is available for inspection via this link In accordance with EU Regulations we are required to advise you of the actual carrier(s) (or, if the actual carrier(s) is not known, the likely carrier(s)) that will operate your flight(s) at the time of booking. Where we are only able to inform you of the likely carrier(s) at the time of booking, we shall inform you of the identity of the actual carrier(s) as soon as we become aware of this. Any change to the operating carrier(s) after your booking has been confirmed will be notified to you as soon as possible. If the carrier with whom you have a confirmed reservation becomes subject to an operating ban as above we/the airline will endeavour to offer you an alternative suitable flight or if this is not possible we will arrange for the airline to provide you with a full refund of the cost of your flight. We are not always in a position at the time of booking to confirm the flight timings which will be used in connection with your flight. The flight timings detailed on your confirmation invoice are for guidance only and are subject to alteration and confirmation. Flight timings are outside our control. They are set by airlines and are subject to various factors including air traffic control restrictions, weather conditions, potential technical problems and the ability of passengers to check in on time. Specific instructions relating to departure and travel arrangements will be sent to you approximately 2 weeks before departure. You must check all details of your flights very carefully immediately on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times may be changed at any time - we will contact you as soon as possible if this occurs. Any change in the identity of the carrier or flight timings will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying the normal charges except where specified in these conditions.

14. INSURANCE

We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential. We are an authorised representative of Travel and General Limited. Details of the travel insurance policies they offer are shown on our website. If you decide not to purchase any of the Travel and General insurance policies, you must give details in writing of your alternative policy (insurer and policy number) at the time of booking. If you fail to do so, we are entitled to refuse your booking. Insurance premiums must be paid as soon as possible as cover will not be effective until all applicable premiums have been paid in full. Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is suitable and adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative insurance policies.

Please note. The information contained in our brochure and in our other advertising material is believed correct to the best of our knowledge at the time of printing or publication. However, errors may occasionally occur and information may subsequently change. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.