Terms and Conditions

1. Your Booking

The party leader must be at least 18 years of age at the time of the booking. Your booking is made as a consumer and you agree that no liability can be accepted by the owner for any expenses, costs, losses, claims or other sums of any description which relate to any business, howsoever suffered or incurred by you. When the owner issues a written confirmation to you, this signifies that the owner has entered into a contract with you, which is subject to these conditions. The owner has the right to refuse any booking prior to the issue of your written confirmation and if the owner does this, the owner will tell you in writing and promptly refund any money you have paid the owner.

When you receive your confirmation, the details must be checked carefully by you. If anything is not correct, you should tell the owner immediately.

2. Paying for Your Property

When you book your property, you should pay the amount then due by debit or credit card, or by sending a cheque together with a completed booking form to the owner. Providing the booking can be confirmed the owner will then send your written confirmation to you as soon as reasonably possible showing your booking details and the balance of your total holiday cost which must be received by the owner no later than 8 weeks before you arrival date. However, if you book less than 8 weeks before the arrival date, payment of your total holiday cost (including any insurance premiums) is due straightaway. For properties booked less than 6 weeks before your arrival date your booking must be paid for in full by debit or credit card, or by bank transfer at the time of booking.

All prices quoted include booking fees, charges

If any payment you make is not honoured for any reason whatsoever, the owner is entitled to make an administration charge of £25.

3. Cancellations or Changes to your Booking by the Owner

The owner does not expect to make any changes to your booking, but occasionally problems occur and bookings have to be changed or cancelled, If this does happen, the owner will contact the party leader (by telephone where reasonably possible in the case of a significant change or cancellation, minor changes will be notified by post or e-mail) as soon as is reasonably practical, explain what has happened and inform you of the cancellation or change.

If a significant change has to be made (and the change is not acceptable to you) or your booking has to be cancelled, the owner will, if possible and as soon as reasonably practical, offer the party an alternative property. If you do not wish to accept a significant change or the alternative property offered or the owner cannot offer you a suitable alternative property, you will receive a full refund of all monies paid to the owner.

So as to keep any period of uncertainty to a minimum, the owner will, whenever reasonably possible, communicate with you by telephone in the case of a significant change or cancellation and you are required to do the same. The party leader should tell the owner as soon as reasonably possible whether you wish to accept any change or alternative property offered, or alternatively whether you want a refund, as soon as possible after the party leader being advised of the change, cancellation or proposed alternative property. In the unlikely event that the party leader fails to tell the owner that you wish to accept any change or alternative property the owner is entitled to assume you wish to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to the owner.

Where your booking is significantly changed or cancelled and you refuse, for good reason, to accept any alternative property offered or an alternative property cannot be offered, you will also receive compensation of £30 per booking except where the change or cancellation results from ‘force majeure’ (Point 4 below).

Please note, no compensation is payable for minor changes. Such minor changes do not entitle you to take an alternative property or to cancel without paying the normal charges as set out in these conditions. A minor change is a change which taking into account the information you give to the owner at the time of booking, the owner could not reasonably expect to have a significant effect on your confirmed booking.

4. Circumstances Beyond the Control of the Owner (Force Majeure)

Except where otherwise expressly stated in these conditions, the owner shall not be liable for any changes, cancellations, effect on your holiday, loss or damage suffered by you or for any failure by the owner to perform or properly perform any of his respective obligations to you which is due to any event(s) or circumstances beyond the reasonable control of the owner (referred to as ‘force majeure’ in these conditions). By way of example, force majeure includes fire, flood, exceptional weather conditions, epidemics, destruction or damage of the property by any cause (other than negligence of the owner) and all similar situations. In appropriate cases (for example where your booking has to be cancelled before departure) the owner will, however, refund to you all monies paid to the company by you for your booking.

No compensation, expenses, costs or other sums of any description (including without limitation the cost of securing an alternative property/accommodation) will be payable in such circumstances by the owner to you.

5. Website Details

The owner aims to ensure that the information provided is accurately conveyed in the web site details and other promotional literature or material produced and circulated by the owner. However, the information and prices on the website / other material may have changed by the time you come to book. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the website / other material and prices at the time of printing, errors occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen property and arrangements (including the price) with the owner at the time of booking. There may be small differences between the actual property and its description, as the owner is always seeking to improve services and facilities. Occasionally, problems mean that some facilities or services become unavailable or subject to restriction. If this happens the owner will tell the party leader as soon as reasonably practical after the owner becomes aware of the situation. The owner cannot accept responsibility for any changes or closures to area amenities or attractions mentioned on the website or advertised elsewhere. The owner makes reasonable efforts to ensure that information supplied to you in relation to the property or its facilities and / or services is accurate and complete as at the date given. The owner cannot accept responsibility for any inaccurate, incomplete or misleading information about any property or its facilities and / or services, except in the case of the negligence of the owner. The owner will, however, use its best endeavours to notify you of any changes to or inaccuracies in any information contained on the website or otherwise provided to you as soon as reasonably practical after the owner becomes aware of the inaccuracy. The owner makes no promises, representations or warranties about any property or its facilities and / or services other than those made or confirmed in writing by the company.

6. Liability

The owner shall have no liability for any death or personal injury unless, in the case of the owner, this results from negligence of the owner or his employees (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment).

You must take all necessary steps to safeguard your personal property. No liability is accepted by the owner in respect of damage to, or loss of, such personal property except in the case of the owner, where the damage or loss is caused by the negligence of the owner of that of any employee of the owner (providing they were at the time acting in the course of their employment).

7. If you Change or Cancel your Booking

i. Changes

If you want to change your booking once your confirmation has been issued, an administration fee of £25 will be payable to the owner once any change has been made. However, it is important to realise that a change of property or dates may have to be treated as the cancellation of one booking and the making of another. In such cases cancellation charges may be incurred which may be as much as the total cost of your holiday booking. The owner will advise the party leader if this is the case when the change is requested. The party leader must then inform the owner as to whether you still wish to change your booking. If you advise the owner that you do or the party leader fails to contact the owner, your booking will be treated as having been cancelled by you. So as to keep any period of uncertainty to a minimum, the owner will, whenever reasonably possible, communicate with you by telephone or e-mail and you are required to do the same.

ii. Cancellations

If you have to, or wish to, cancel your booking, the party leader must telephone the owner (the telephone number is shown on the website and the booking confirmation) or e-mail the owner (the e-mail address is on the website) as soon as possible. The party leader must also immediately confirm your cancellation in writing sent by recorded delivery to the owner to the owner’s address shown on the website and on the booking confirmation. The day the owner receives your telephone notification of cancellation is the date on which your booking is cancelled.

Subject to this clause, you can cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to the owner other than a cancellation administration fee of £35 per week and, where applicable, the premium(s) for any personal insurance you have purchased from the owner, any amendment charges and credit card charges you have already incurred. To qualify for a refund your reason for cancelling must be one of the following, must apply to a member of your party, must have occurred after you booked your holiday (with the exception of pregnancy) and must prevent you from taking your holiday:

Illness / pregnancy (subject to medical evidence of unfitness to travel)
Death
Redundancy (provided employment has been on a continuous basis with the same employer for at least 2 years)
Jury or witness service (in a Court of Law)
Illness or death of a close relative (a close relative is defined as one of the following - spouse, son or daughter (in law), parent (in law), grandparent, sister or brother, fiancé(e)
Your home is rendered uninhabitable due to fire, storm, flood subsidence or malicious damage.
Your presence is requested by the police, following a burglary at your home or place of business during the period of your holiday or within the preceding 7 days.
Your unexpected posting by HM Forces or cancellation of leave by HM police (unless the cost of the lost holiday is recoverable from any other source).
Compulsory quarantine.
You may also receive a full refund if you are unable to reach your holiday destination due to snow or flood conditions. (NB This cover only applies if you have made every effort to attempt to complete your journey. You will need to produce evidence from either the police, RAC or AA). Although you are covered for a complete refund for all curtailed holidays, you may prefer to delay your arrival until conditions improve. In these case, a 25% refund is available for each 24 hour delay up to a maximum of 72 hours - 75%. For short breaks a fixed refund of 50% applies for all arrivals delayed for more than 24 hours or as the result of being involved in an accident en route. You will be asked to complete the owner’s Booking Cancellation form, which may require signing by a Medical Practitioner or employer and in which the owner may request further information from a third party. The following reasons for cancellation are NOT covered:

Suicide or attempted suicide.
Intentional self-injury.
The effect of intoxicating liquor or drugs.
Any other reason, which is not specifically covered.

Where the reason for cancellation is not covered by one of the above reasons, e.g. disinclination to travel, leave cancelled by an employer (other than HM Forces or the police) etc., a cancellation charge will be payable, based on the number of days before the arrival date at your property that the owner receives notification of your cancellation, as shown in the following table. This means that if you have paid the balance of your total holiday cost and then have to, or wish to, cancel, you may receive a refund of part of such cost. However, if you have not paid your total holiday cost including, where purchased, the premiums for any insurances, by the time of your cancellation, you may be required to make a further payment. For the purpose of this table, cost means the total cost of the booking, including any extra items (e.g. advance ticket purchases, deposits for booking of babysitters, etc) after deducting any insurance premiums and credit card charges and administration fee paid for making any change. Please note that no insurance premiums or any such administration fee are refundable. Please also note that no advance purchases of tickets, or deposit payments for pre-booked services paid for by you is refundable.

Number Of Days Before The Arrival

Date That Notification Of Cancellation

Is Received:
Amount payable:

More than 56 days
Full deposit (including any balance of deposit due)

29 - 56 days
50% of cost or full deposit (including any balance of deposit due), whichever is the greater

15 - 28 days
75% of total cost

1 - 14 days
90% of total cost

On arrival date or later
Total cost

If any payment due tin relation to your booking is not paid by the appropriate date, the owner is entitled to treat your booking as cancelled by you. Cancellation charges as set out above (which can be as high as your total holiday cost) will then be payable. The owner normally sends out a reminder to you before your booking is cancelled, although the owner may charge you £10 for each reminder sent if your payment becomes or is by then overdue.

If you live outside the UK and have booked your holiday through a local agent, the tern ‘cost’ in the above cancellation charges table means the amount paid by your local agent to the owner after deducting any insurance premiums and any administration charge paid to the owner for making any change. For the avoidance f doubt, ‘cost’ does not include any charges made by your local agent or other third parties for booking fees, flights, other travel services or any other amounts not paid to the owner.

iii. Curtailment of your holiday

Cancellation Protection provides for a refund of the cost of your holiday where it has to be cut short for any of the reasons listed in (ii) above. In this case, you will be reimbursed for the appropriate proportion of the holiday charge. The curtailment protection only applies if the property is vacated by all persons in your holiday party. Where your holiday is curtailed for medical reasons affecting any persons in your party, you will need to produce a certificate from a local doctor, confirming he necessity of returning home.

8. Your Property

You can arrive at the property you have booked after 15.00 hours on the start date of your holiday rental and you must leave by 10.00 hours on the last day of your booked holiday. If your arrival will be delayed beyond 20.00 hours on the start date of your holiday rental, you must contact the owner, so that alternative arrangements can be made. If you fail to do so, you may not be able to gain access to the property. If you fail to arrive by 12 noon on the day after the start date of your holiday rental and you do not advise the owner of your late arrival, your booking may be treated as having been cancelled by you. No refund of any monies paid by you will be made in this situation.

The owner may require you to pay a security deposit on arrival. If this applies you will be advised of the amount at the time of booking. The security deposit will be refunded by the owner at the end of your holiday rental (less any costs for breakages, damage etc., if applicable - see below).

You and all members of your holiday rental party agree both to keep the property clean and tidy and to leave the property in a similar condition as you found it upon your arrival. You and all members of your holiday party further agree not to use the property for any commercial purpose, including without limitation assigning or subletting it or otherwise allowing anyone to occupy it who has not previously been accepted by the owner.

You are responsible to the owner for the actual costs of any breakage or damage in or to the property - along with any additional costs that may result - which are caused by you and / or any members of your holiday rental party, and the owner can require payment from you to cover any such costs.

The owner is entitled at his / her sole and absolute discretion to refuse to hand over to you, or to repossess, the property (which includes the fixtures, fittings, furnishings and decorations) if the owner reasonably believes that any damage is likely to be caused, has been caused or is being caused by you or any members of your holiday rental party. These circumstances will be treated as a cancellation by you. No refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and the owner will not have any liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as your incurring the cost of securing an alternative property / accommodation). In this situation, the owner is not under any obligation to find any alternative accommodation for you.

You must not allow more people than the website or booking confirmation states to occupy the property, neither can you significantly change the composition of the holiday rental party during your occupation of the property, nor can you take your pet into the property unless this has been arranged in advance and it is shown on
our booking confirmation. If you do any of these things, the owner can refuse to hand over the property to you, or can repossess it. If the owner does so, this will be treated as a cancellation by you. No refund of any monies you have paid in respect of your booking will be made and the owner will have no liability to you as a result of this situation arising (including for example any costs or expenses you incur due to not being able to occupy the property, such as your incurring the cost of securing an alternative property / accommodation). In this situation, the owner is under no obligation to find any alternative accommodation for you.

You must allow the owner and any representative of the owner (including workmen) access to the property at any reasonable time during your occupation of the property (except in cases of emergency or where a problem needs remedying quickly and you cannot be contacted in time - in these situation the owner is entitled to enter the property at any time without giving you prior notice).

9. Complaints

Every effort has been made to ensure that you have an enjoyable and memorable holiday. If however, you have any cause for complaint the owner is anxious that remedial action is taken as soon as possible.

It is essential that you contact the owner immediately if any problem arises so that it can be speedily resolved. It is often extremely difficult (and sometimes impossible) to resolve difficulties properly unless the owner is promptly notified. Discussion of any criticisms with the owner or his / her representative whilst you are in residence will usually enable shortcomings to be rectified straightaway. In particular, complaints of a transient nature (for example, regarding preparation or heating of the property) cannot possible be investigated unless registered whilst you are in residence.

10. Communicating with You

For the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998, the owner is the sole data controller of all personal data provided to him / her by customers and prospective customers. In order to process your booking, the owner needs to collect certain personal details from you. These details will include your name and address and where applicable, the names and addresses of members of your holiday rental party, credit / debit card or other payment details and special requirements such as those relating to any disability or medical condition which may affect your choice of holiday property to rent and associated travel related arrangements (if any) and any dietary restrictions which may disclose your religious beliefs. If the owner requires any other personal details, the owner will tell you before he / she obtains them from you. You may also be asked to complete a post-holiday questionnaire which will include your personal details.

The owner may need to pass on your personal details to the companies and organisations who need to know them, so that your holiday rental and any travel related services can be provided (for example any airline, hotel, other suppliers, your credit / debit card company or bank, the insurance company if you purchase the owner’s recommended insurance policy(ies), etc) or for verification of details relating to your holiday rental and any travel related services booked. Such individuals, companies and organisations may be outside the European Union, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein.

The owner also needs to process and store your personal details for his / her own administration, market analyses and operational reviews. The owner would also like to store and use your personal details for future marketing purposes. All details you give to the owner at any time (including those relating to any disability or medical condition or your religious beliefs) will be kept, but only names, contact details and any booking preferences will be used for marketing purposes unless you are informed otherwise when you provide the information.  We never pass details to other businesses or organizations other than in connection with holiday services for the holiday booked.

The owner or any trading division of VU may make contact with you or any members of your holiday rental party by post, e-mail, telephone, including automated dialling equipment, fax, and / or pre-recorded messages for the purposes set out in this clause for a period of three years after the end date of the holiday rental or travel related services provided. If you do not wish to receive any or all of the communications set out in this clause, then please let the owner know as soon as possible by telephone, letter, e-mail or fax. The owner is entitled to assume that you do not object to being communicated with unless:

You have previously ‘opted out’ of such use of your personal data by ticking the relevant box on your booking form or other document, or by ticking the relevant box on marketing or promotional literature sent to you.
You have otherwise previously informed the owner in writing that you do not wish your personal data to be used in certain ways
Unless and until you notify the owner in writing to the contrary.
Except where expressly permitted by the Data Protection Act 1998, the owner will only deal with the personal details you give to the owner as set out above unless you agree otherwise. The owner has appropriate security measures in place to protect this information.

You are generally entitled to ask the owner (by letter, fax or e-mail) what details of your are being held or processed, for what purpose and to whom they may be or have been disclosed. The owner is entitled under the Data Protection Act 1998 to charge a fee in responding to such a request. The owner promises to respond to your request within 40 days of receiving this in writing and payment of the appropriate fee (if required by the owner). In certain limited circumstances the owner is entitled to refuse your request.

The owner may also record or monitor telephone calls to and from the owner without notification for staff or training purposes.

11. Law

The contract between you and the owner is subject to English law and is formed in London, England. It is agreed that any dispute you may have with the owner will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales, unless you live in Scotland or Northern Ireland in which case proceedings may be brought in the Courts of those countries.

12. Your Rights

Your statutory rights are not affected by anything contained within these conditions.