a. Packages and other bookings where Bridge & Wickers is the principal to the contract

It is unlikely we will have to make any changes to your booking but we do plan some arrangements many months in advance and we therefore reserve the right to make alterations to and correct errors in brochure or on the internet and other details both before and after bookings have been confirmed. Most changes will be minor ones. Occasionally, it may be necessary to make a significant change. A significant change is one made before departure which materially affects (on the basis of the information you have given us at the time of booking) the confirmed arrangements we have agreed to provide or arrange. Such changes will usually include a change of your departure or return by more than 12 hours, of your departure airport (except as between London Airports) to one that is more inconvenient to you, a change of accommodation to that of a lower category or standard for the whole or a significant proportion of your holiday, a change of accommodation area for the whole of significant proportion of your holiday, withdrawal of the only or all swimming pool(s) at your accommodation of an extended period and in the case of tours, a significant change of itinerary. Minor changes include a change of your departure or return time by 12 hours or less, or your departure airport between Gatwick and Heathrow or the other London Airports (and vice versa), a change of accommodation to other accommodations of the same standard or category in the same area that you have booked or a change of accommodation to that of the same standard or category for any period during your holiday. If it is necessary to make a significant change before departure, we will advise you as soon as practicable. If there is time before departure we will then offer you the choice of:

1. accepting the changed arrangements as notified to you or
2. purchasing alternative arrangements, of a comparable standard if available (if the alternative arrangements are less expensive than the original one, we will refund the difference, if they are more expensive, you will have to pay the difference) or
3. cancelling your arrangements and receiving a full and prompt refund of all monies paid to us.

If it is necessary to notify you of a significant change 10 weeks or less before departure, we will in addition pay you compensation as set out below subject to the following exception. Compensation will not be payable where a change is made as a result of unusual and unforeseeable circumstances beyond our control, the consequences of which could not have been avoided even with all due care. For significant changes, any liability we have is limited to offering the above choices and the compensation payments (where applicable) set out below. No compensation is payable if we make any change more than 10 weeks before departure. We cannot be responsible for any costs or expenses you may incur as a result of any change. No compensation is payable for minor changes. Minor changes do not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges.

Period before departure within which compensation a significant change or cancellation per person is notified to you:

More than 10 weeks.......... Nil
Between 2 and 10 weeks... £20.00
Less than 2 weeks............. £30.00

b. All other arrangements including where Bridge & Wickers act as agent.

Service providers generally reserve the right to change arrangements both before and after a booking has been confirmed. We will notify you of any changes as soon as we are notified of them but we cannot accept any liability in relation to any change.

a. Packages and other bookings where Bridge & Wickers is the principal to the contract.

Occasionally, it may be necessary to cancel confirmed arrangements. We must reserve the right to do so. However, we will not cancel less than 10 weeks before departure unless you have failed to make payment in full and on time or we are forced to do so as a result of circumstances outside our control. Where your arrangements are cancelled other than due to your default in payment, we will offer you the choice of purchasing alternative arrangements from us of a comparable standard if available (if the alternative arrangements are less expensive than the original ones, we will refund the difference, if they are more expensive, you will have to pay the difference) or receiving a full and prompt refund of all monies you have paid to us. In addition, if we cancel 10 weeks or less before departure, we will pay you compensation as set out in clause 8 (a) above subject to the following exceptions. Compensation will not be payable where we are forced to 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 or where we cancel because an insufficient number of people have booked your chosen arrangements - in this case, you will be notified not less than 10 weeks before departure. In all cases our liability is limited to offering the above choices and the compensation payments (where applicable) set out in clause 8(a). No compensation is payable where we cancel more than 10 weeks before departure. We cannot be responsible for any costs or expenses you may have as a result of any cancellation.

Very rarely, we may be forced to curtail your arrangements after the date of departure where circumstances amounting to “force majeure” as defined in clause 10 below occur. In this very unusual situation, we regret we cannot make any refunds (except where refunds are obtained from any supplier), meet any costs or expenses you may incur as a result or pay any compensation.

b. All other arrangements including where Bridge & Wickers act as agent.

Service providers generally reserve the right to cancel arrangements at any time. We will notify you of any cancellation as soon as we are notified of it but we cannot accept any liability in relation to any cancellation.

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions we regret that we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation where the performance of our contractual obligations is prevented or affected by reason of circumstances amounting to “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, riots, civil strife, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions, fire and all similar events outside our control.

(Please note, clauses 11a, 11b, 11c and 11e below only apply to 'packages').

1. We make every effort to ensure that all arrangements booked with us are made correctly and efficiently. We further accept responsibility for the acts and/or omissions of our employees, agents, suppliers and sub-contractors (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except where these result in death, personal injury or illness (dealt with separately below). We also accept responsibility if the services which we are contractually obliged to provide prove deficient or not of a reasonable standard. In all cases except where personal injury, illness, death, loss and/or damage to and/or of luggage or personal possessions results or a lower limitation of liability applies, our liability (if we are found liable to you or any member of your party on any basis) is limited to twice the price of the contracted arrangements (excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges) of the person(s) affected in total. For loss and/or damage of and/or to luggage or other personal possessions (including money), our liability in all cases is limited to £25.00 per person as you are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance prior to travelling. This clause is subject to clause 10 'force majeure' and the other terms of these booking conditions.
2. Subject to these booking conditions, we accept responsibility should you or any member of your party suffer death, personal injury or illness as a result of any failure to perform or improper performance of any part of our contract with you buy any of our employees, agents, suppliers and/or sub-contractors (providing they were at the time carrying out work authorised by us) except where the failure to perform or improper performance was due to:
   1. The acts and or/omissions of the person affected or other party member(s) or
   2. those of a third party not connected with the provision of your arrangements and which were unforeseeable or unavoidable or
   3. an event which either ourselves or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have foreseen or avoided even with all due care.
3. It is a condition of the acceptance of liability set out in clauses 11a that you notify us of any claim in accordance with clause 6 'Complaints'. Where any payment is made, you must also assign to ourselves or our insurers, any rights you may have to pursue any third party.
4. Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, where any claim or part of a claim is based on any travel arrangements made by us (including the process of getting on and off the transport concerned) provided by any air, sea, rail or road carrier or any stay in a hotel, the maximum we will have to pay you in respect of that claim or that part of the claim if we are found liable to you on any basis, is the maximum that would be payable by the carrier or the hotel keeper concerned under the applicable international convention. (e.g. Warsaw convention as amended for international travel by air and/ or for carriers with an operating license granted by an EU country, the EU regulation on Air Carrier Liability for international and national travel by air, Athens Convention for international travel by Sea) in that situation. You must give credit for all payments due or received from any carrier or hotel keeper which will relate to the claim in question.
5. Should you or any member of your party be unlucky enough to suffer personal injury, illness or death by misadventure as a result of an activity which does not form part of your booked arrangements nor an excursion sold through us, we shall assist you. This assistance may, subject to our prior approval and our reasonable discretion, include financial assistance with legal expenses to enable you to take proceedings against the third party responsible. All assistance is provided subject to a maximum total cost to ourselves of £5,000.00 per booking form. In addition, if you should be successful in obtaining a costs order against any third party or if you are able to claim under any insurance policy(s) you may have, we shall be entitled to recoup from you the costs actually incurred by us. Finally, all requests for assistance must be received by us within 90 days of the date of misadventure.
6. Please note that we cannot accept any liability for any damage, loss, expense or other sums of any description which a) 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 b) did not result in any breach of contract or other fault by ourselves or our employees or, where we are responsible our suppliers. Additionally, we cannot accept liability for any business losses.
   
   

Please note that the timings of air, sea road and rail departures given in booking are estimates only and are subject to change. Latest timings will be shown on your confirmation/invoice. Timings may be affected by operational difficulties, weather conditions, passengers failing to check in on time and other factors outside our control. For flights, the actual flight times will be those shown on your tickets (unless otherwise advised) which will be despatched to you approximately 2 weeks before departure. You must check all tickets very carefully to ensure you have the latest timings. You must in addition ensure you read and observe any instructions sent with your tickets, for example reconfirming your flights at least 3 days before departure where possible. Please note, even when we sell flights as principal (rather than agent), we do not enter into an agreement for carriage by air but rather only undertake to reserve accommodation on board the airline advised at the time of booking or such other airline as may be substituted. Where we sell flights as part of a 'package' or as principal, we are not always in a position to confirm the airline, aircraft type and airport of destination which will be used in connection with that flight. Where this information is provided at the time of booking, it is subject to change. Any such change will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges. Please also note that in relation to flights, an infant must be under two years of age on the date of their return flight to be entitled to the infant fare level which is usually 10% of the IATA published fare.

We strongly recommend that you take out full, comprehensive travel insurance both for protection against misfortune that can occasionally occur and for your own peace of mind. We can offer excellent travel insurance packages, details of which are available from us on request.

Tickets and travel documents, unless collected from us, are usually despatched by normal Royal Mail services. If you require the added speed and security of data post or courier delivery, this can be arranged and the net cost of this bill be added to the final invoice. We cannot accept any liability for late or lost tickets if normal post is used.

Details of the passport, visa and health requirements as applicable to British citizens holding a full ten year British passport are shown on the confirmation/invoice. Should you need to obtain a full 10 year British Passport you must allow a minimum of 6 weeks for processing with the relevant authorities. Non British citizens and British citizens not holding a full British Passport must consult their Embassy, Consulate or the British Foreign Office to check the applicable requirements. Clients with any existing medical problems should consult their own doctor. Requirements may change and you should check the up to date position in good time before departure. It is your responsibility to obtain proper and detailed medical advice and to ensure that you have the correct passport and visas to gain access to or pass through any country or region included in the travel arrangements which you purchase. If you fail to do either, we have no liability to you for any cost, loss or damage which you suffer as a result and nor will we refund the cost of any unused portion of your travel arrangements.

If you return any unused ticket(s) to us for refund, we will submit them to the relevant airline for refund. Once we receive the refund from the airline we will forward it to you less any applicable cancellation or administration charges. You should note that the airline refunds for part used tickets and the return half of the tickets are always less than the pro-rata proportion of the fare paid and, in some cases, may have no refund value at all. Refunds usually take 10 to 12 weeks, but in some cases, may take longer. Refunds in respect of all other unused services are not generally possible.

If you have any special request, please inform your travel consultant at the time of booking. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot promise that any request will be complied with unless we have specifically confirmed this in writing. Confirmation that the special request has been noted or passed on to the supplier or the inclusion of the special request on your confirmation or any other documentation is not confirmation that the request had been met. Unless and until specifically confirmed, all special requests are subject to availability. If you have any medical problem or disability which may affect your booked arrangements, you must advise us in writing at the time of booking giving full details. If we feel unable to properly accommodate your particular needs, we must reserve the right to decline/cancel your booking.

We regret we are not in a position to offer you any assistance in the event of a delay at your outward or homeward point of departure. Any airline concerned may however provide refreshments etc.

For all land arrangements, a 10% deposit of the total value of non flight product charges must be paid at the time of confirmation of your booking.

Bridge & Wickers is a fully bonded travel agency. Your money is protected whilst in our hands through our membership of ABTA (W7956). Our Air Travel Organisers Licence (ATOL 6611) gives financial security for all travellers who book with us as principal by ensuring monies paid to us are refunded or repatriation is arranged should we be unable to provide the contracted arrangements due to insolvency.

Please be assured that we have measures in place to protect the personal booking information held by us. This information will be passed on to the principal and to the relevant suppliers of your travel arrangements. The information may also be provided to public authorities such as customs or immigration if required by them, or as required by law. Certain information may also be passed on to security or credit checking companies.

If you travel outside the European Economic Area, controls on data protection may not be as strong as the legal requirements in this country. We will only pass your information on to persons responsible for your travel arrangements. This applies to any sensitive information that you give to us such as details of any disabilities, or dietary/religious requirements. (If we cannot pass this information to the relevant suppliers, whether in the EEA or not, we will be unable to provide your booking. In making this booking, you consent to this information being passed on to the relevant persons.) Full details of our data protection policy are available upon request.