Booking Conditions
PURE LUXURY is brought to you by Gold Medal Travel Group PLC.
1. Our Agreement with You
Pure Luxury is a trading name of Gold Medal Travel Group PLC. The following terms and conditions form the basis of your contract with Gold Medal Travel Group PLC.
Your contract will be with Gold Medal Travel Group PLC which is a member of the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA V6805). The air holidays and flights in this brochure are ATOL Protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organiser’s Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority. Our ATOL number is ATOL 2916. In the unlikely event of our insolvency, the CAA will ensure that you are not stranded abroad and will arrange to refund any money you have paid to us for an advance booking. For further information, visit the ATOL website at www.atol.org.uk.
All travel arrangements are sold subject to the following booking conditions:
2. Booking
The terms and conditions vary depending on whether you purchase a package holiday consisting of transport and accommodation booked at the same time and invoiced as a fully inclusive cost or ‘Other Travel Arrangements’ which is anything else, including accommodation or transport booked together, but quoted separately and subsequently itemised on your invoice.
Please note that where a suppliers services form part of your booking, the suppliers standard terms and conditions will also apply. These are important in the case of ’Other Travel Arrangements‘ where Gold Medal Travel Group Plc acts only as an agent between you and our suppliers. All travel arrangements that include flights are based on scheduled IATA airlines and are subject to their conditions of carriage. Copies of these conditions may be requested in writing.
3. Deposits & Payment
(a) When making a booking we require a minimum deposit of £250 per person. Occasionally airlines require full payment to secure the seats and where this is the case, we will advise you before you book and will require additional amounts to cover this requirement. We will then send you a confirmation invoice, after which a contract exists, subject to English law unless otherwise agreed. We will require payment of the remaining balance as shown on your confirmation invoice, not less than eight weeks before your departure from the UK. If you book within eight weeks of departure from the UK we will require full payment at the time of booking. If you booked through a travel agent all monies paid to your travel agent are held by the agent on our behalf at all times. Deposits are non-refundable and should you fail to pay the money when it is due we reserve the right to cancel your booking and retain the deposit that has been paid. Travel documents will not be released until we have received full payment.
(b) Airline Ticket Deadlines: For ‘other travel arrangements’, where we act as agent between you and our suppliers, airlines may on occasion request that payment be brought forward in which case we will notify you of this change of payment date. This usually occurs when an airline withdraws a fare and request that all tickets in the old fare are issued by a particular date. Regrettably your booking cannot be held after this ticket deadline date and will have to be cancelled if payment is not made.
4. Cancellation by You
(a) Packages: If you need to cancel a confirmed booking you must contact your travel agent or your PURE LUXURY Travel Ambassador, if you have booked directly with us. To cover the cost of administration and cancellation charges imposed by suppliers and for the possibility that we will not be able to resell the holiday we have to make a cancellation charge. If you have purchased our recommended insurance you may be able to claim for the charges we impose. Should you cancel your confirmed booking or part of your booking, then the following cancellation charges will apply:
More than 56 days prior to departure: Deposit only
29 – 55 days: 50% of the total cost
15 – 28 days: 75% of the total cost
14 days or less: 100% of total cost
Note: These cancellation charges apply to all bookings, except in circumstances where a booking includes items or services where our suppliers own cancellation charges exceed those shown above. In these circumstances any additional cancellation charges will be advised at the time of booking.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: If you need to cancel you must contact your travel agent or your PURE LUXURY Travel Ambassador, if you have booked directly with us. Cancellation charges vary depending on the services booked and will be clearly stated at the time of booking. In all cases a minimum cancellation fee of your deposit will apply regardless of the value of the service cancelled. In some cases it may not be possible to offer any refunds for certain services such as air tickets once a booking has been made. Please ensure you are certain of the fees applicable to your booking by asking your travel agent or us before proceeding to book your arrangements.
5. Alteration by You
If you wish to make a change to a confirmed booking please contact your travel agent or your PURE LUXURY Travel Ambassador if you have booked directly with us. Any changes made up to 56 days before departure will incur a minimum charge of £50 per person. In some cases airlines require tickets to be issued on booking and where tickets have been issued changes may be treated as a cancellation and will be subject to the charges shown in section 4.
Please Note: A change to the travel departure date once confirmed, is regarded as a cancellation and rebooking, not an alteration to the booking. Some suppliers, particularly airlines, whose special fares in some cases are non-refundable, may consider a name or other change to an existing booking, as a cancellation and rebooking, with up to 100% cancellation charges.
If the services booked are dependent on a minimum number of people using the service, we will have to recalculate the total cost based on the new number of passengers travelling. The cost may therefore increase but as this is not a cancellation charge, it may not be covered by your insurance. No refunds will be given for unused services unless an amendment or cancellation has been made in which case the charges shown above will apply.
Name changes: If you are prevented from taking a package holiday we will be happy to arrange a change of name provided you give us at least 21 days notice prior to departure, provide evidence of your inability to travel and pay the cost of the changes. We will charge £50 per name change in addition to any charges levied by the service providers such as the airlines.
6. Cancellation by Us
(a) Packages: We aim to provide the travel arrangements you have booked without any changes, however, it is possible that cancellations may be necessary due to changes made beyond our control by airlines, hotels or other suppliers. For some ‘’package holidays’’ to operate a minimum number of people may be required. If sufficient bookings are not received we reserve the right to cancel the holiday, but will do so at least eight weeks before departure.
In the unlikely event that your travel arrangements must be cancelled we will advise you as soon as is reasonably possible and you will be offered an alternative or a full refund.
If we have to cancel your package holiday as a result of any other circumstances, we may offer you additional compensation where deemed appropriate.
Note: Compensation will not be payable when the cancellation is due to events beyond our control, such as war, threat of war, riots or disturbances, terrorist activities, industrial disputes, fire, nuclear or natural disasters, health risks, problems with transport, severe weather conditions or any other similar events. Please ensure that you have adequate travel insurance to protect you from such events.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: In the unlikely event that a booking has to be cancelled by us, for any other reason than non-payment, then a full refund will be made of all monies paid, less any amendment fees or insurance premiums.
7. Alteration by Us
(a) Packages: Although it is unlikely, we may unfortunately have to make changes to your travel arrangements and we must reserve the right to do so. We will inform you or your travel agent of any major changes at the time of booking, or as soon as possible afterwards if you have already booked. If a major change is necessary, such as an alteration of your outward/return flights by more than 12 hours, change of resort, or reduction in standard of your accommodation, you will be offered the choice of:
(i) Accepting the change
(ii) Accepting an alternative
(iii) Receiving a full refund of all monies paid.
If the alteration results in a reduction in the total cost of your travel arrangements, we will make an appropriate refund. We will offer appropriate compensation for the charge imposed providing that it does not arise from circumstances outside our control.
(b) ‘Other Travel Arrangements’: Where we only act as a booking agent, particularly in the case of air tickets, we may not be notified of a major change before you travel. However, where we are notified, we will advise you or your travel agent as soon as is reasonably possible. If the changes are not acceptable to you, we will offer you an alternative if available, or a full refund. If your chosen alternative costs more, you must pay the difference, unless you have paid for your booking in full.
8. Lost tickets or vouchers
If your travel documents have not been received by you, or you have mislaid your travel documents, you must inform us or your travel agent at least 10 days prior to departure. Failure to do so may result in additional charges as special arrangements will have to be made. Tickets once sold towards a sporting event cannot be replaced if lost.
9. Changes in Price
We reserve the right to increase the price of your holiday after booking if any increase in price occurs in respect of:
(i) Air fares or other transport costs,
(ii) Taxes or duties payable, including new taxes introduced by any government
(iii) Adverse changes to currency exchange rates
In all cases we will pay any increase which is less than 2% of your package holiday cost, not including insurance premiums or amendment fees but increases in excess of 2% will be payable by you. If the cost of your holiday increases by more than 10% you may decide to cancel the holiday and have a full refund except for the insurance premiums or amendment fees paid after booking. If you want to cancel you must tell us or your travel agent within 14 days of being advised of the increase. In return we will not change the cost of your holiday within eight weeks of departure. The only exception to this offer is in respect of any government imposed charge that may be introduced to provide consumer financial protection which we may be required to collect on behalf of the government. To guarantee the cost of the holiday you may pay in full within 14 days of booking in which case we promise not to make any price changes whatsoever. Equally, where our costs fall after the package has been bought, we will pass onto you any benefit and reduced costs to ourselves as a result of changes to the items listed above.
10. Our Liability
(a) Packages: Should you or any member of your party suffer illness, personal injury or death, through any misadventure out of any activity which does not form part of our package holidays, nor part of an excursion sold through us, we shall offer you every assistance we can. This includes advice, guidance and initial financial assistance in the form of legal expenses insurance, where appropriate, up to a limit of £5,000 per person. All requests for assistance must be made within 90 days from the date of the misadventure. Where legal action is contemplated, our authority must be obtained prior to commencement of any proceedings, and subject to your undertaking to assign any costs recovered or any benefits received under an appropriate insurance policy to ourselves. Assistance is given at our reasonable discretion.
We are responsible for ensuring that your package holiday is of a reasonable standard and as described to you. If any part fails to reach this standard and affects the enjoyment of your holiday, we will offer reasonable compensation providing it is not due to events outside our control. Our liability in all these cases is limited to a maximum of three times the value of the services affected.
Gold Medal Travel Group Plc accepts responsibility for death, injury, or illness caused by the negligent acts and/or omissions of our employees or agents, together with our suppliers and sub-contractors, servants and/or agents of the same, whilst acting in the course of their employment in the provision of your package holiday. We will pay compensation equivalent to that which would be awarded in an English Court, but will not offer compensation if the injury, illness or death is caused by your own fault or the fault of someone unconnected with the package, or an event that could not have been expected or avoided even with all due care. In respect of international carriage by air or sea our liability in all cases will be limited in the manner permitted by international conventions. You may ask for copies of these from our offices.
(b) APC: Our costs include the £1 ATOL Protection Contributions (APC) paid on all packages and flights departing after 1st April 2008, which guarantees your financial protection in the event of our insolvency. Should the government announce an unexpected increase in the APC during the validity of this brochure, we reserve the right to pass on any additional payment.
11. Complaints Procedure
If you have a problem during the course of your holiday, you must inform the supplier of the service, plus a representative whose details we have provided, or telephone our offices immediately, failure to do so may reduce or extinguish any possible claim. We will endeavour to put things right as soon as possible. We will acknowledge all complaints on their receipt and deal with them promptly and efficiently. Any disputes which cannot be amicably settled may (if the client so wishes), be referred to arbitration under a special scheme which although devised by arrangement with the Association of British Travel Agents (ABTA), is administered independently by the Association of Independent Arbitrators. The scheme does not apply for amounts greater than £5,000 per person. There is also a limit of £25,000 per booking form. Neither does it apply to claims that are solely or mainly in respect of physical injury or illness. The application for arbitration must be made within nine months of the date of return to the United Kingdom, but in special circumstances it may still be offered outside this period. Alternatively, you may wish to take any dispute to the Small Claims Court.
Full details of the Arbitration scheme can be obtained from:
Association of British Travel Agents, 68-71 Newman Street, London W1P 4AH.
12. Data Protection Act 1998
By making a reservation with us you agree to the use and disclosure of the information you provide for the following purposes: to enable us to process your booking (when it may be transferred abroad), if you purchase insurance we may process your information (including medical information) about you or your travelling party and pass it to insurers; for market research
and analysis purposes; to avoid fraud and to enable us to contact you by letter, telephone or e-mail, SMS or any other technology we feel appropriate, with details of our products or those of our suppliers. If you would prefer not to receive marketing information, please email your name and full postal address to OptOut@goldmedal.co.uk. If you pay by Credit Card, we may disclose your payment and booking details (including those of your travelling party) to other companies who require these details in order to process your payment, and / or if the company that issued your card fails to settle your payment or requires a subsequent repayment.
PURE LUXURY is brought to you by:
Gold Medal Travel Group PLC, The Trident Centre, Port Way, Ribble Docklands, Preston, Lancashire, PR2 2QG,UK.
Tel:+44 (0)1772 251133. Fax:+44 (0)1772 251188 Website: www.pureluxuryholidays.co.uk
Registered in England No:1376076. VAT Registration No: 323043604