When you make your booking the Party Leader must complete and sign a Booking
Form, indicating that all members of your party have read, understood and accepted
the terms of this Fair Trading Agreement and the tour information provided in this
brochure. A first deposit (see below) (or full payment if booking within ten weeks of
departure) must also be paid at the time of booking. A full Passenger Names List is
also required at the time of booking for submission to the Insurance Company and
airline (for airline tours).
You must then pay deposits in accordance with the following timetable.
First deposits: payable at the time of booking.
A Final Numbers Form for final details of your group will be sent out with your STS
Information Pack. You must return this to us so that it reaches us no later than 16
weeks prior to your departure date. If the party size falls below the agreed number of
persons you may still keep your booking subject to the payment of any applicable
supplements. Please see clause 6.
Coach Tours: Following receipt of final numbers forms 16 weeks before departure,
any notification of a name change must be accompanied by a payment of £7 to
cover the new Insurance premium. Any name change alterations made by you within
4 weeks of departure will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and will
be subject to cancellation charges set out in section 6.
Air Tours European and Worldwide: We will request name details at the time of
securing your flight seats. This is often at an early stage of the booking. Once the
airline have received and processed the names, any subsequent amendments or
name changes will carry a minimum charge of £100 plus the insurance premium of
£25. This charge will be passed to the group and must be paid for prior to the issue
of the amended tickets. Most airlines do not allow name changes after tickets have
been issued or in the case of some carriers (Easyjet or Ryanair etc;) once names have
been received. In this instance the charge is usually the full cost of the flight. Any
name change alterations made by you within 4 weeks of departure will be treated as
a cancellation of the original booking and will be subject to cancellation charges set
out in section 6.
If your invoice settlement is overdue at the time of requesting a name change this
must be paid in full before the change can be made.
For all name changes, where a change can be made, all costs and charges incurred
by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result together with the
applicable amendment fee as stated above must be paid before the transfer can be
effected.
If, after our confirmation has been issued, you wish to change your tour or your
departure date, we will do our utmost to make the changes, provided that
notification is received at our offices from the Party Leader at least 12 weeks before
departure. We cannot guarantee however that such changes can be made.
Where they can, an amendment fee of £20 per person per amendment is payable to
cover our administration costs. For all changes, all other costs and charges incurred
by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result must also be
paid before the change can be effected.
Any alteration by you (other than name changes – see Section 4 above) within 12
weeks of departure will be treated as a cancellation of the original booking and will
be subject to the cancellation charges set out below.
You, or any member of your party, may cancel your booking at any time provided
that cancellation is made by the person signing the Booking Form, and is
communicated to us in writing at Head Office. A cancellation is effective only when
received by us in writing from the party leader. As we incur costs from the time your
booking is confirmed the cancellation charges up to the maximum amounts shown
below will be payable. Where the cancellation charge is shown as a percentage, this
is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling
excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges. Insurance premiums and
amendment charges are not refundable.
Where any cancellation reduces the number of full paying party members below the
number on which the price, number of free places and/ or any concessions agreed
for your booking were based, we will recalculate these items and re-invoice you
accordingly. If any member of your party is prevented from travelling, that person
may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you), please see Section 4
regarding Name Changes for terms and conditions.
If you have a complaint about any service provided by us, this must be reported
immediately to both our local representative (if available), or to our UK head office,
and also the supplier(s) of the service in question, so that action can be taken to
resolve the matter. If the matter cannot be put right on the spot, you must follow it
up by writing to us within 28 days of the date on which the tour ended. We normally
expect to agree an amicable settlement of the few complaints received. If you do
not follow this simple complaints procedure your right to claim the compensation you
may otherwise have been entitled to may be affected or even lost as a result. We
undertake to acknowledge receipt of your letter within 14 days and within 28 days to
send you a full reply or an explanation for the delay. In any event we undertake to
send you a full reply within 56 days.
This brochure is issued subject to applicable Acts of Parliament and Government
Regulations and the company reserves the right to modify itineraries to conform with
requests from competent authorities in the United Kingdom and any other sovereign
state through which the tour runs.
Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent
suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms
and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the
supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International
Conventions (see clause 6(4) of Our Promise to You). Copies of the relevant parts of
these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier
concerned.
When you book with us, the Party Leader accepts responsibility for any damage or
loss caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage
or loss must be paid direct at the time to the accommodation owner or manager or
other supplier. If you fail to do so, you will be responsible for meeting any claims
subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party’s full legal
costs) as a result of your actions.
In signing the Booking Form the Party Leader also accepts responsibility for the good
conduct of all participants during the tour and warrants that at least one responsible
adult will be on active duty at all times to ensure that all participants behave well.
Furthermore, it is the Party Leader's responsibility specifically to ensure that:
All British Citizens require a full British passport to travel. 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 Embassy or Consulate of the country(ies) to
or through which you are intending to travel. Where visas are required for British
Citizens for destinations featured in this brochure, information is given on the relevant
brochure page. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date
position in good time before departure.
A collective passport can be used for the majority of European countries. An
application form can be obtained from the Passport Office or on-line at
www.passport.gov.uk. The cost of the collective passport is not included in the
tour price.
We cannot accept responsibility for any cost or fines incurred due to non-compliance with the above nor can we accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any transport or into any country due to failure on your part to carry correct documentation.
For all passport information including the present issue time for a collective passport, contact the UKPS National Advice Line: 0870 521 0410 or on-line at www.passport.gov.uk.
Before confirming your booking you must advise us, in writing, of any medical
condition which may effect your holiday. If we consider that we are unable to
accommodate for the particular needs of the person concerned we reserve the right
to decline the booking or cancel if details are not given at the time of booking.
We recommend that all party members should read the Department of Health leaflet
T7.1 (Health Advice for Travellers) and DHSS leaflet SA40/41 and consult their doctor
regarding any medical requirements in the country to be visited. For European
holidays each group member should obtain a European Health Insurance Card (EHIC).
Health facilities, hygiene and disease risk vary worldwide. You should take health
advice about your specific needs as early as possible and ensure that vaccinations or
preventative measures such as malaria tablets are taken early enough (which may be
a month or more prior to departure) to be fully effective by the date of travel.
Sources of information include www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk. Before travelling we strongly
advise you to consult your own medical practitioner who will be in the best position
to take into account any relevant personal factors or newly reported epidemics. If you
are prone to illness please ensure that you carry enough medication as some
medicines may not be available locally. Stomach upsets can be common on any
holiday but, in particular, on long-haul holidays. This is often due to the change in
climatic conditions and diet.
- We reserve your tour
After we have provisionally confirmed that we have available space on the tour of
your choice, a written confirmation will be forwarded to you normally within 2 weeks
of receipt of your signed Booking Form and all appropriate payments (see clause 1 of
Your Contract with Us). This confirmation will be sent to the party leader. Please
check this confirmation carefully as soon as you receive it. Contact us immediately if
any information which appears on the confirmation or any other document appears
to be incorrect or incomplete as it may not be possible to make changes later.
We regret we cannot accept any liability if we are not notified of any inaccuracies in
any document within ten days of our sending it out (five days for tickets). We will do
our best to rectify any mistake notified to us outside these time limits but you must
meet any costs involved in doing so.
The only exception to this requirement to meet costs is where the mistake in
question was made by us and there is good reason why you did not tell us about it
within these time limits.
A binding contract between us comes into existence when we despatch our
confirmation to the party leader. This contract and all matters arising out of it are
governed by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter
which arises out of or in connection with this contract or your holiday will be dealt
with under the ABTA Arbitration Scheme (see clause 5 of "Our Promise to You") or by
the Courts of England and Wales only.
- Our Prices
2.1 Our tour prices are valid for students under 18 years on the day of departure
(unless stated otherwise). If you have a party of students over 18 years please request
a quotation. The prices printed in this brochure are to the best of our knowledge
valid at the time of publication however we reserve the right to make changes to and
correct errors in advertised prices at any time before your holiday is confirmed. We
will advise you of any error of which we are aware and of the then applicable price at
the time of booking.
2.1 On European Tours additional adults in excess of free place ratio pay the student
price plus a supplement of £7 per night and a twin room supplement per person per
night (this varies according to accommodation). Supplements also apply on
Worldwide tours - contact us for details. Adults receive the same services as the
students. If the adult number exceeds 20% of the group size the tour cost will
automatically increase.
2.3 We reserve the right to increase or decrease the prices of holidays at any time.
You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking.
2.4 Infants Air Tour charges: Children under the age of 2 on the date of return travel
are charged a fare - price available on application.
2.5 Infants insurance charges: Coach tours: £7 per infant. Air tours: £25 per infant.
Once the price of your chosen tour has been confirmed at the time of booking then,
subject to the correction of errors, we will only increase the price in the following
circumstances: increases in transportation costs e.g. fuel, aircraft insurance tax,
scheduled air fares and any other airline surcharges which are part of the contract
between airlines (and their agents) and the tour operator/organiser, Government
action such as increases in VAT or any other Government imposed increases, adverse
fluctuations in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your
holidays which result in our costs increasing. Price increases after booking will be
passed on by way of a surcharge.
Even in these stated cases, we will absorb increased costs up to a total amount
equivalent to 2% of the cost of your confirmed holiday (excluding insurance
premiums and any amendment charges). Only amounts in excess of this 2% will be
surcharged.
If this means paying more than 10% of the tour price (excluding insurance premiums
and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your tour with a full
refund of monies paid to us except for insurance premiums and amendment charges.
Should you decide to cancel because of this, you must exercise your right to do so
within fourteen days from the issue date printed on the invoice. If you do not tell us
that you wish to cancel within this period of time, we are entitled to assume that you
do not wish to cancel and will pay the surcharge. Any surcharge must be paid with
the balance of the cost of the holiday or within 14 days of the issue date printed on
the surcharge invoice, whichever is the later.
2.6 If payment is made by cheque you should allow 5 working days for clearance
from the time we receive it. Payment may also be made by cash or bank transfer.
2.7 Tour prices are based on the costs of transport, accommodation etc. on the 4th
September 2008, the rates were as follows: Euro 1.2267 and US$ 1.7832.
2.8 Should the price of your holiday go down due to the changes mentioned above,
by more than 2% of your holiday cost, then any refund due will be paid to you.
However, please note that travel arrangements are not always purchased in local
currency and some apparent changes have no impact on the price of your travel due
to contractual and other protection in place.
- If we change your booking
We start planning the tours we offer many months in advance. Occasionally, we have
to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details both before and
after bookings have been confirmed. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes
and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. However, we promise we will
only cancel your confirmed booking 10 weeks or less before departure where you
have failed to comply with any requirement of these booking conditions entitling us
to cancel (such as paying on time) or where we are forced to do so as a result of
"force majeure" as defined in clause 4 below. We will not cancel after this date for
any other reason.
Most changes are minor. Occasionally, we have to make a "significant change".
Significant changes means the following changes when made before departure; a
change of accommodation to that of a lower official classification or standard for the
whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of accommodation area for
the whole or a major part of the time you are away, a change of outward departure
time or overall length of time you are away of 24 or more hours, a change of UK
departure airport to one that is more inconvenient to you and in the case of tours, a
significant change of itinerary missing out one or more major destination substantially
or altogether. This does not apply to single overnight hotels or part-touring tours.
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:-
- (for significant changes) Accepting the changed arrangements or
- Purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available or
- Cancelling or accepting the cancellation in which case you will receive a full and
quick refund of all monies you have paid to us.
Please note, the above options are not available where any change made is a minor one.
If we have to make a significant change or cancel, we will pay you the compensation
set out below 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).
|
Period before departure within which
a 'significant change' is notified to you |
Compensation per
paying person |
|
| More than 70 days | Nil |
| 35-70 | £8 |
| 15 - 34 | £12 |
| 14 days or less | £15 |
|
In all cases, our liability for significant changes and cancellations is limited to offering
you the above mentioned options and, where applicable, compensation payments.
We regret we cannot pay any expenses, costs or losses incurred by you as a result of
any change or cancellation. No compensation is payable for minor changes.
Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" (see clause 4 below) to change or
terminate your holiday after departure but before the scheduled end of your time
away. This is extremely unlikely but if this situation does occur, we regret we will be
unable to make any refunds (unless we obtain any refunds from our suppliers), pay
you any compensation or meet any costs or expenses you incur as a result.
- 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 contractual obligations is prevented or affected by or you
otherwise suffer any damage or loss (as more fully described in clause 6(1) below) as
a result of "force majeure". In these Booking Conditions, "force majeure" means any
event which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not, even with all
due care, foresee or avoid. Such events may include war or threat of war, riot, civil
strife, actual or threatened terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear
disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.
- What happens to complaints
We are a member of ABTA, membership number W0798. We are obliged to maintain
a high standard of service to you by ABTA’s Code of Conduct. We can also offer you
an arbitration scheme for the resolution of disputes arising out of, or in connection
with this contract. Further information on the Code and arbitration can be found at
http://www.abta.com/heretohelp.shtml
The arbitration scheme is arranged by ABTA and administered independently by the
Chartered Institute of Arbitrators. It provides for a simple and inexpensive method of
arbitration on documents alone with restricted liability on you in respect of costs. Full
details will be provided on request or can be obtained from the ABTA website.
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
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 £1,000 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 nine months of the date of return from the
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.
For injury and illness claims, you may like to use the ABTA / Chartered Institute of
Arbitrators Mediation Procedure. This is a voluntary scheme and requires us to agree
for mediation to go ahead. The aim is to help you resolve your dispute in a quick and
cost effective way. Details on request or from www.abta.com.
- Liability of STS
(1) We promise that your holiday arrangements will be made, performed or provided
with reasonable skill and care. This means that 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 your arrangements. Further, we will 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 or carrying out work we had asked
them to do. It is your responsibility to show that reasonable skill and care has not
been used if you wish to make a claim against us.
(2) We will not be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss, damage, expense,
cost or other claim of any description whatsoever which results from: -
- 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 4 above.
In addition, we will not be responsible where you do not enjoy your holiday or suffer
any problems because of a reason you did not tell us about when you booked your
holiday or where any problems you suffer did not result from any breach of our
contract or other fault of ourselves or, where we were responsible for them, our
suppliers or agents or where any losses, expenses, costs or other sum you have
suffered relate to any business.
(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 hotel or any other supplier agrees to provide for you where the services
or facilities are not advertised in our brochure and we have not agreed to arrange
them.
(4) Where we are found liable for loss of and/or damage to any luggage or personal
possessions (including money), the maximum amount we will have to pay you is
limited to the excess amount payable under the insurance policy we offer per
person affected. You are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the
time of booking. Please also see clause 6(7) below.
(5) For all other claims which do not involve death or personal injury, the maximum
amount we will have to pay you if we are found liable to you on any basis is twice
the price (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) paid by or on
behalf of the person(s) affected in total unless a lower limitation applies to your
claim under clause 6(7) below. This maximum amount will only be payable where
everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your
holiday.
(6) The services and facilities included in your holiday will be deemed to be provided
with reasonable skill and care if they comply with any local regulations which apply,
or, if there are no applicable local regulations, if they are reasonable when
compared to the local standards in practice. The fact that services or facilities fail
to comply with local or UK guidance or advice shall not of itself mean that the
services or facilities in question have not been provided with reasonable skill and care.
(7) 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
hotel keeper 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 for international travel by air and/or
for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation
on Air Carrier Liability for national and international travel by air, the Athens
convention for international travel by sea). Where a carrier or hotel 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 will not be
obliged to make a payment to you for that claim or part of the claim. Copies of
the applicable international conventions and regulations are available from us on
request. In any circumstances in which the carrier is liable to you by virtue of the
Denied Boarding Regulation 2004, any liability we may have to you under our
contract with you, arising out of the same facts, is limited to the remedies provided
under the Regulation as if (for this purpose only) we were a carrier. When making any payment, we are entitled to deduct any money which you have received or are
entitled to receive from the transport provider or hotelier for the complaint or
claim in question.
(8) You must provide ourselves and our insurers with all assistance we may reasonably
require. You must also tell us and the supplier concerned about your claim or
complaint as set out in clause 7 above. If asked to do so, you must transfer to us
or our insurers any rights you have against the supplier or whoever else is
responsible for your claim or complaint (if the person concerned is under 18, their
parent or guardian must do so). You must also agree to cooperate fully with us and
our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.
(9) Many of the services which make up your holiday are provided by independent
suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own
terms and conditions. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude
the supplier's liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International
Conventions (see clause 6(7)). Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and
conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.
(10) This clause 6 is intended to set out our obligations to you as an organiser under
the Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992. We
will not accept any further or different liability than these Regulations impose. In
addition, regardless of any contrary representations made by us, we only promise
to use reasonable skill and care as set out above and we do not have any further
or different liability to you.
(11) In accordance with the terms of the STS insurance policy all members of the
group have medical expenses cover, a medical emergency service and legal
expenses cover. If any costs incurred by STS are for insured risks STS would be
entitled to recover costs from the group member concerned.
- Legal Assistance
If you or any member of your party suffers illness, injury or death, through
misadventure, as a result of an activity which does not form part of your contracted
holiday arrangements, we will provide you with all reasonable assistance. This
assistance may include our making a contribution towards your initial legal costs in
taking action against the person(s) responsible providing you request this within 90
days of the incident in question. All assistance (financial or otherwise) is subject to our
reasonable discretion and a maximum total cost to ourselves of £5,000 per booking
form. If you are entitled to have any costs and expenses arising from such an incident
met by or from any insurance policy or if you obtain a costs order against anyone in
relation to the incident, you must repay to us the costs and expenses we spent in
assisting you.
- Withdrawal of Facilities
We would draw your attention to the following circumstances which fall outside our
direct control and where we are not prepared to accept liability. Note that some
amenities (e.g. hotel lifts, swimming pools, etc.) require servicing and cleaning and
may therefore not be available at all times. Some services are also affected by
weather conditions (e.g. availability of outdoor swimming pools, etc.) and their
availability is at the discretion of the provider of the service. Entertainment
(particularly live entertainment) provided by hotels is frequently subject to demand
and its nature and frequency may be varied if there is a lack of demand or insufficient
numbers in the hotel.
- Insurance Policy
We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential. It is a condition of booking
that you purchase insurance cover if this is not already included in the price of your
holiday. Medical treatment overseas and the cost of repatriation in the event of an
emergency can be very expensive. Details of the policy we offer are shown below.
Where we are providing insurance you will receive details of the cover on
confirmation of your booking. If you require extra cover please enquire. Please read
your policy details carefully. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover
you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative
insurance policies.
STS have arranged an inclusive holiday insurance scheme which is underwritten by
Union Reiseversicherung AG on behalf of a consortium of UK Insurers. Our
comprehensive insurance cover is included in the featured price of all STS School
Tours for each party member. The following is a summary of the cover provided, full
details will be sent to you with your booking information.
Our policy includes an emergency assistance service provided by Fogg Assistance,
Tel: +44 (0)845 658 9899
Fax: +44 (0)207 407 9206
Important Note: Claims are excluded where the Insured is aware of any medical
conditions or set of circumstances which could reasonably have been expected to
give rise to a claim. Please refer to the Certificate of Insurance for the full terms and
conditions, a full copy is available on request.
For queries, please contact our Brokers: PJ Hayman & Company Limited,
Stansted House, Rowlands Castle, Hampshire PO9 6DX.
Tel: 023 9241 9050 Fax: 023 9241 9019
Important Note: Your travel insurers have to bring to your attention some of the important
features of your travel insurance policy: See Summary of Policy Cover, right.
Insurance Policy: this contains full details of the cover provided plus the conditions
and exclusions which apply to it.
Insurance Policy: this contains full details of the cover provided plus the conditions and exclusions which apply to it.
- Conditions, Exclusions and Warranties: there are conditions and exclusions which
apply to individual sections and general conditions, exclusions and warranties
which apply to the whole certificate.
- Fraudulent Claims: the making of a fraudulent claim is a criminal offence.
- Medical Expenses: please note this section does not provide private health care
unless specifically approved by the emergency service.
- Health: the certificate contains conditions relating to the health of the people
travelling and others upon whose well being the trip may depend. It may be that
you are required to disclose the condition of such people prior to cover being
issued and you must be aware that failure to disclose such matters will prejudice
your position.
- Property Claims: these are settled on an indemnity basis - not on a 'new for old' or
replacement cost basis, unless otherwise stated in your certificate.
- Policy Limits: most sections of the certificate have limits on the amount the insurer
will pay under that section. Some sections also include inner limits, e.g. for one
item, or for valuables in total.
- Policy Excesses: claims under most sections of the certificate will be subject to an
excess. Where there is an excess, you will be responsible for paying the first part of
a claim (cancellation, Baggage, Money, Medical - £40 per claim).
- Reasonable Care: you are required to take all reasonable care to protect yourself
and your property and to act as though you are not insured.
- Complaints: the insurance certificate includes a Complaint Procedure which tells
you what steps you can take if you wish to make a complaint.
- 'Cooling Off' Period: your certificate may contain a 'cooling off' period which allows
you to return the policy and obtain a full refund if you have a justifiable reason to
dissatisfied with the cover provided.
- Hazardous Holiday Activities: the policy may not cover you when you take part in
certain hazardous activities, e.g. scuba diving. if you want cover for such activities
you may need to arrange a specialist certificate.
UK Law allows the parties to choose the law applicable to the contract. The contract
will be subject to English Law unless otherwise agreed.
PLEASE ENSURE THAT YOU STUDY YOUR STS INSURANCE CERTIFICATE CAREFULLY
AND NOTE ALL CLAUSES. TAKE A COPY OF YOUR POLICY WITH YOU ON HOLIDAY.
- Special Requests/Conditions of Booking
Special requests must be clearly detailed on your booking form. Whilst we will make
every effort to fulfil these requests we regret we cannot guarantee they will be met
unless we have specifically confirmed this. For your own protection, you should
obtain confirmation in writing from us that your request will be complied with (where
it is possible for us to give this) if your request is important to you. Confirmation that
a special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier 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.
We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any booking which is
specified to be conditional on the fulfilment of a particular request. All such bookings
will be treated as "standard" bookings subject to the above provisions on special
requests.
If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may
affect your holiday, please tell us before you confirm your booking so that we can
advise as to the suitability of the chosen arrangements. In any event, you must give
us full details in writing at the time of booking. If we reasonably feel unable to
properly accommodate the particular needs of the person concerned, we must
reserve the right to decline their reservation or, if full details are not given at the time
of booking, cancel when we become aware of these details.
- Accommodation
In certain resorts where we feature more than one hotel or centre groups will be
allocated to a specific accommodation on receipt of final numbers forms. Please advise us of your preferred accommodation on your booking form. Please note that
some properties may not be available on all advertised dates and are booked on
request by us. We occasionally use accommodation in specific resorts which is not
featured in our brochure. In such cases the accommodation will be of a comparable
standard to that featured. We cannot guarantee the provision of towels and soap in
all of our hotels/centres and group members should provide their own. The general
numbers of students allocated to each room is indicated in our brochure description.
Bunks beds are sometimes used and some French and Belgian hotels also use
double beds to accommodate school groups. In Austria twin beds are used with 2
single mattresses on a twin frame. Separate bed linen is used.
The board basis provided by each hotel/centre is detailed on the hotel description in
the STS brochure. Lunch where provided is usually packed lunch and supplements
may apply for the provision of hot lunches.
Some Youth Centres require students to assist with room cleaning, stripping of beds
and clearing tables at meal times.
Usually rooms will not be available until the afternoon on the day of arrival and
groups will be required to vacate their rooms by 10.00 hours on the day of departure.
• Single rooms: Single rooms: Single rooms for accompanying adults are strictly subject to availability and always carry a supplement.
- Method of Travel
Flights: The flight timing given on booking and detailed on your confirmation invoice
are for general guidance only and are subject to change. The latest timing will be
shown on your tickets which will be dispatched to you approximately two weeks
before departure. You must accordingly check your tickets very carefully immediately
on receipt to ensure you have the correct flight times. It is possible that flight times
may be changed even after tickets have been dispatched - we will contact you as
soon as possible if this occurs.
We are not always in a position to confirm the airline, aircraft type and airport of
destination which will be used in connection with any flight included in your holiday.
When this information is provided at the time of booking or subsequently, it is
subject to change. Any such change will not entitle you to cancel or change to other
arrangements without paying our normal charges.
Coaches: The Company reserves the right to utilise any empty coach seats for our clients or staff.
Ferries: The standard channel crossings for each tour are detailed on the relevant
brochure page. Whilst we will make every effort to secure the ferry route of your
choice this cannot be guaranteed.
- Damage Deposits
An increasing number of hotels/centres require a damage deposit. This is payable in
resort on arrival and is refunded provided no damage is incurred. We will advise this
at the time of booking or as soon as this is made known to STS.
- Safety Standards
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.
- Delay
We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of delay at
your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however
provide refreshments etc.
- Advertised Prices and Brochure Accuracy
Please note, the information and prices shown in this brochure may have changed by
the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the
accuracy of the brochure and prices at the time of printing, regrettably errors do
occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen
holiday (including the price) with us at the time of booking.
This brochure is our sole responsibility. It is not issued on behalf of and does not
commit any independent organisation/carriers whose services are featured in it.
- Financial Security
The Package Travel, Package Holidays and Package Tours Regulations 1992 require
us to provide security for the monies that you pay for the package holidays booked
from this brochure r website as applicable and for your repatriation in the event of
our insolvency. We provide this security by way of a bond held by the Civil Aviation
Authority under ATOL number 5259. In respect of all arrangements including flights
you will receive a Confirmation invoice from us (or via our authorised agent through
which you booked) confirming your arrangements and your protection under our Air
Travel Organiser’s Licence. This means that in respect of all arrangements including
flights, in the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not
left stranded abroad or will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an
advance booking. Please note, the ATOL protection scheme only applies to
arrangements which include flights arranged by us where the person who pays for
the booking is present in the UK when the booking is made or the first leg of any
flight we arrange for you commences in the UK. In this case, if already abroad, you
will be returned to the point where your contracted arrangements with us
commenced.
For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk. The price of our
flight inclusive arrangements includes the amount of £1 per person as part of the
ATOL Protection Contribution (APC) we pay to the CAA. This charge is included in
our advertised prices. Not all holiday or travel services offered and sold by us will be
protected by the ATOL Scheme. Please ask us to confirm what protection may apply
to your booking. We are also a member of the Association of British Travel Agents
(ABTA number W0798). If your holiday does not include flights, ABTA will financially
protect your holiday in the same way. If you book arrangements other than a package
holiday from this brochure, the financial protection referred to above does not apply.
We also hold IATA license no 9126760.
- Publication date
This Fair Trading Agreement has been produced in conjunction with our 2009
programme and is valid until 31st December 2009 unless previously withdrawn or
superseded.
