The following Booking Conditions together with the general information contained in our brochure & and on our website form the basis of your contract with Finlays Skiing Limited. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations.
In these Booking Conditions, "you" and "your" means all persons named on the booking (including anyone who has added or substituted at a later date). "We", "us" and "our" means Finlays Skiing Limited.
The first named person on the booking will be treated as the party leader. The party leader must be at least 18 and must be authorised to make the booking on the basis of these Booking Conditions by all persons named on the booking. The party leader is responsible for making all payments due to us.
Once we have received all payments due at the time of booking (see below), we will, subject to availability, confirm your holiday by issuing a confirmation invoice. A binding contract between us comes into existence when we dispatch this confirmation invoice to the party leader. Please check this invoice 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 10 days of our sending it out, 5 days for tickets. You must ensure that the names of all persons travelling are correctly given (spelling and initials) at the time of booking and match those appearing on their passports. If the name shown on a flight or train ticket is not exactly the same as that shown on the person's passport, they are likely to be refused entry onto the flight or train. Changes to incorrectly spelt names, verbally or in writing, may incur an amendment fee and, depending on the time of notification, other charges. Changes to these Booking Conditions or the general information shown in our brochure will only be valid if agreed by us in writing.
In order to confirm your chosen holiday we require a deposit at the time of booking - minimum £100 per person per week for our chalet holidays, £200 per person for our short break and weekend holidays. A higher deposit may be payable if, for example, you opt to travel by train or scheduled flights - you will be advised at the time of booking if this is the case. Full payment is required if booking within 8 weeks of the departure date. If you wish to purchase the insurance policy we offer, all applicable premiums must also be paid at the time of bookings (see clause 4).
The balance of the holiday cost must be received by us not less than 8 weeks prior to departure. This date will be shown on the confirmation invoice. If we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full by this date, we reserve the right to treat your booking as cancelled by you. In this case the cancellation charges set out in clause 3 below will be payable.
If you are receiving a special discount for a group booking, the full amount of the deposit and balance respectively must be paid by one payment. The discount will be forfeited if the balance is not paid in full by the due date.
We accept payment in Euros. The amount due must be confirmed before payment is made unless agreed at the time of booking. You will be responsible for any bank charges connected with payment by bankers draft. We reserve the right to charge 2% of the final balance if paid by credit card.
Should you or any member of your party need to cancel your holiday once it has been confirmed, the party leader must immediately advise us in writing. Your notice of cancellation will only take effect when it is received in writing by us at our offices. As we incur costs from the time we confirm your booking and may be unable to resell your holiday, the following cancellation charges will be payable.br /> Where the cancellation charges are shown as a percentage, this is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) cancelling excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges which have already been incurred. Insurance premiums and amendment charges are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply cancelling.
 |
Period before departure within which written notification of cancellation is received by us. |
Cancellation charge per person cancelling |
Up to 8 weeks before departure |
Loss of deposit |
42 - 55 days before departure |
30% |
28 - 41 days before departure |
50% |
14 - 27 days before departure |
70% |
less than 14 days before departure |
100% |
Depending on the reason for cancellation, you may be able to reclaim these cancellation charges, less any applicable excess, under the terms of your insurance policy. Claims must be made directly to the insurance company concerned. If any member(s) of your party is/are prevented from travelling, the person(s) concerned will be able to transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you) providing the following requirements are complied with. We must be notified of the transfer(s) not less than two weeks before departure. All costs and charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers as a result together with an amendment fee of £20 per person must be paid before the transfer can be made. For flight inclusive bookings, you must pay the charges levied by the airline concerned. As most airlines do not permit name changes after tickets have been issued for any reason, these charges are likely to be the full cost of the flight after this point.
Please note, if any members of a group cancel without providing a substitute, we are entitled to allocate their accommodation to other clients who are not part of the group. This will be the case even if the group previously had sole occupancy of a chalet.
We consider adequate travel insurance to be essential. Details of the policy we offer are shown on the insurance page of this site. If you decide not to purchase this insurance, you must give us written details of your alternative policy, insurer and policy number. If you fail to do so, we will add the appropriate premiums for the personal travel insurance we offer to your confirmation invoice. These premiums must be paid as soon as possible as cover will not be effective until we receive all applicable premiums in full.
There is a "cooling off" period of 14 days in the very unlikely circumstances that you find our insurance is not adequate. After that date the premium is not refundable.
Please read your policy details carefully and take them with you on holiday. It is your responsibility to ensure that the insurance cover you purchase is adequate for your particular needs. We do not check alternative insurance policies.
Holiday prices are based on an exchange rate of 1.46€ / £1 .
We reserve the right to increase or decrease the prices of unsold holidays at any time. The price of your chosen holiday will be confirmed at the time of booking.
Once the price of your chosen holiday 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. Price increases after booking will be passed on by way of a surcharge. A surcharge will be payable if transportation costs and/or dues, taxes or fees payable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports or airports increase or our costs increase as a result of any adverse changes in the exchange rates which have been used to calculate the cost of your holiday.
Even in the above cases, we will absorb increased costs up to a total amount equivalent to 2% (or 5% in the case of currency fluctuations) of the cost of your confirmed holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges). Only if the increased costs exceed this amount will we levy a surcharge.
If any surcharge is greater than 10% of the cost of your holiday (excluding insurance premiums and any amendment charges), you will be entitled to cancel your booking and receive a full refund of all monies paid to us except for insurance premiums and amendment charges.
You have 14 days from the issue date printed on the surcharge invoice to tell us if you want to cancel for this reason. 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.
We promise not to levy a surcharge within 30 days of departure. Due to the above promises, no refund can be made in the event of favourable exchange rate variations or decreases in costs.
We reserve the right to correct errors in both advertised and confirmed prices. We will do so as soon as we become aware of the error.
Please note, changes and errors occasionally occur. You must check the price of your chosen holiday at the time of booking.
Should you wish to make any changes to your confirmed holiday, you must notify us in writing as soon as possible. Whilst we will endeavour to assist, we cannot guarantee we will be able to meet any such request.
Where we can and your confirmation / invoice must be changed as a result, an amendment fee of £20 per person per occasion will be payable together with any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. The only exception is where you are increasing the number of people travelling on the booking.
Occasionally we have to make changes to and correct errors in brochure and other details before and after bookings have been confirmed and cancel confirmed bookings. Whilst we always endeavour to avoid changes and cancellations, we must reserve the right to do so. Most changes are minor.
Occasionally, we have to make a "significant change". "Significant changes" include 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 or a change of outward departure time or overall length of time you are away of 12 or more hours.
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:-
accepting the changed arrangements or
purchasing an alternative holiday from us, of a similar standard to that originally booked if available (if the chosen alternative is less expensive than your original one, we will refund the difference but if it is more expensive, we will ask you to pay the difference) 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. Minor changes include changes in travel timings of up to 12 hours. If we have to make a significant change or cancel 8 weeks or less before departure, we will pay you compensation 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 or
we have to cancel because the minimum number of bookings necessary for us to operate your holiday has not been reached - in this case we will notify you by the deadline specified in the details of the holiday in question.
No compensation will be payable 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 a significant change or cancellation is notified to you |
Compensation per person (excluding infants) |
0 to 14 days |
12.5% of holiday price |
15 to 28 days |
10% of holiday price |
29 to 42 days |
7.5% of holiday price |
43 to 56 days |
5% of holiday price |
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 or where we make a significant change or cancel more than 8 weeks before departure.
Very rarely, we may be forced by "force majeure" (see clause 8) 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.
Except where otherwise expressly stated in these booking conditions, we regret we cannot accept liability or pay any compensation or other amounts 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 9 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, terrorist activity, industrial dispute, natural or nuclear disaster, adverse weather conditions (including avalanches and mudslides), fire, closure or congestion of airports, ports, train stations or roads and technical problems with transport.
We promise to make sure that all parts of the holiday we have agreed to arrange as part of our contract are provided to a reasonable standard and in accordance with that contract. We also accept responsibility for what our employees, agents and suppliers do or do not do. We will not, however, be responsible for any injury, illness, death, loss (for example, loss of enjoyment), damage, expense, cost or other sum or claim of any description whatsoever which results from any of the following:-
the fault of the person(s) affected or any member(s) of their party or
the fault of a third party not connected with the provision of your holiday which we could not have predicted or avoided or
an event or circumstances which we or the supplier of the service(s) in question could not have predicted or avoided even after taking all reasonable care (see clause 9).
the fault of anyone who was not carrying out work for us (generally or in particular) at the time.
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.
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.
The promises we make to you about the services we have agreed to provide or arrange as part of our contract - and the laws and regulations of the country in which your claim or complaint occurred - will be used as the basis for deciding whether the services in question had been properly provided. If the particular services which gave rise to the claim or complaint complied with local laws and regulations applicable to those services at the time, the services will be treated as having been properly provided. This will be the case even if the services did not comply with the laws and regulations of the UK which would have applied had those services been provided in the UK.
(3) We limit the maximum amount we may have to pay you for any and all claims or parts of claims which do not involve personal injury, illness or death. Except where loss of and/or damage to luggage or personal possessions is concerned or a lower limitation of liability applies to your claim, the maximum amount we will have to pay you for such non personal injury claims 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. This maximum amount will only be payable where everything has gone wrong and you have not received any benefit at all from your holiday. 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 £50 per person affected as you are assumed to have taken out adequate insurance at the time of booking. Please also see clause 9(4) below.
Where any claim or part of a claim concerns or is based on any travel arrangements (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 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 which applies to the travel arrangements or hotel stay in question (for example, the Warsaw Convention as amended or unamended and the Montreal Convention for international travel by air and/or for airlines with an operating licence granted by an EU country, the EU Regulation on Air Carrier Liability for national and international travel by air, the Athens convention for international travel by sea). 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.
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 10 below. 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 co-operate fully with us and our insurers if we or our insurers want to enforce any rights which are transferred.
Please note, ski passes and ski school do not form part of your contract with us. Where requested to do so, we will endeavour to arrange such services on your behalf on the basis of the information you provide us with. However, we cannot accept any liability in relation to such services which lies solely with the ski lift / ski school operators concerned. Where we accept bookings and/or payment, we do so solely on behalf of and as agents for the operators concerned.
If you have a complaint whilst on holiday, you must immediately inform our representative and the supplier of the service(s) in question and allow them an opportunity to resolve the problem. Any verbal notification must be put in writing and given to our representative and the supplier as soon as possible.
If you remain dissatisfied you must write to us within 28 days of your return to the UK giving your booking reference and full details of your complaint.
For all complaints and claims which do not involve death, personal injury or illness, we regret we cannot accept liability if you fail to notify the complaint or claim entirely in accordance with this clause.
If you have a dispute with your tour operator which you are unable to resolve, you may call upon the low cost AITO independent Dispute Settlement Service (details on request). Claims which exceed £1,500 per person or £7,500 per booking form or claims which apply principally or exclusively in respect of (or as a consequence of) illness or physical injury are not admissible for settlement under the service.
We both agree that Scottish law (and no other) will apply to your contract and to any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us. We also agree that any dispute, claim or other matter of any description (and whether or not involving any personal injury) which arises must be dealt with under the AITO Dispute Settlement Service set out above or by the Courts of Scotland only unless, in the case of Court proceedings, you live in England or Northern Ireland. In this case, proceedings must either be brought in the Courts of your home country or those of Scotland. If proceedings are brought in England or Northern Ireland, you may choose to have your contract and any dispute, claim or other matter of any description which arises between us governed by the law of England/Northern Ireland as applicable (but if you do not so choose, Scottish law will apply).
When you book with us, you accept 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 any claim subsequently made against us (together with our own and the other party's full legal costs, as a result of your action.
It is expected that clients will behave in a reasonable manner when on holiday. If in our reasonable opinion or in the reasonable opinion of any other person in authority, you or any member of your party behaves in such a way as to cause or be likely to cause danger, upset, or distress to other third party or damage to property, we are entitled, without prior notice, to terminate the holiday of the person(s) concerned. In this situation, the person(s) concerned will be required to leave the accommodation or other service. We will have no further responsibility towards such person(s) including any return travel arrangements. No refunds will be made and we will not pay expenses or costs incurred as a result of the termination.
You are responsible for the behaviour of any children in your party.
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 9(4)). Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from ourselves or the supplier concerned.
If you have any special request, you must advise us at the time of booking and clearly note it on your booking form. Although we will endeavour to pass any reasonable requests on to the relevant supplier, we regret we cannot guarantee any request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part. We regret we cannot accept any conditional bookings, i.e. any bookings 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. 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.
It is your responsibility to ensure that you are in possession of all necessary travel and health documents before departure. A full British passport presently takes approximately 2 to 8 weeks to obtain depending on whether you are renewing your passport or obtaining one for the first time. Requirements may change and you must check the up to date position in good time before departure. Information on health is contained in the Department of Health leaflet T6 (Health Advice for Travellers) available from your local Department of Health office and most Post Offices. For European holidays you should obtain a European Health Insurance Card prior to departure - forms available at Post Offices and from the Department of Health website
All costs incurred in obtaining such documentation must be paid by you. We regret we cannot accept any liability if you are refused entry onto any flight. 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. If failure to have any necessary travel or other documents results in fines, surcharges or other financial penalty being imposed on us, you will be responsible for reimbursing us accordingly.
We would advise therefore that you take all these above precautions to protect yourself and your family whilst on holiday.
You should familiarise yourself with fire escape routes immediately on arrival.
For up to date travel advice from the UK government, please visit www.fco.gov.uk/knowbeforeyougo
Animals are not permitted in any of our accommodation.
We take no responsibility for any loss and /or damage resulting to clients personal belongings, money, traveller's cheques or equipment except where this has resulted from our negligence.
In the event that you leave items in the accommodation or on aeroplanes, trains or coach transfers, no responsibility will be accepted by us for the return of the property. If requested to return items we will endeavour to do so whenever possible for a minimum charge of £5 but cannot accept responsibility if items are lost or damaged in transit.
The air holidays and flights described in our brochure and detailed on our website are ATOL protected, since we hold an Air Travel Organisers Licence granted by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). Our ATOL number is ATOL 4828. 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.
We are also members of the Association of Independent Tour Operators. In respect of non-flight inclusive holidays we are fully bonded with AITO Trust, number 1056, who have similar insolvency guarantees for all clients who travel by means other than air.
Please note, the information and prices shown in our brochure and on this website may have changed by the time you come to book your holiday. Whilst every effort is made to ensure the accuracy of the brochure / website and prices at the time of printing / loading, regrettably errors do occasionally occur. You must therefore ensure you check all details of your chosen holiday (including the price) with us or your travel agent at the time of booking.
Photographs used in the brochure are intended to give an overall impression rather than detail. Items of furniture may have been moved or changed, and decor may have been altered. All information provided is given in good faith. However, we cannot guarantee and do not accept liability for the accuracy of any information which does not relate to contracted services such as resort information or facilities, weather or snow conditions, local activities etc. or any information provided verbally.
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.
The flight timings given on booking are for general guidance only and may be subject to change. The latest timings will be shown on your confirmation invoice. However, the actual flight times will be those 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 required to bring to your attention the existence of a list of airlines which are subject to an EU operating ban - see; http://europa.eu.int/comm/transport/air/safety/flywell_en.htm. We will advise you of your operating airline at the time of booking or as soon as we become aware of it if later. We are not always in a position to confirm the aircraft type and airport of destination which will be used in connection with any confirmed flight. Any change of airline, aircraft type and/or airport of destination will not entitle you to cancel or change to other arrangements without paying our normal charges.
If any flight you have booked is cancelled or delayed, your flight ticket is downgraded or boarding is denied by your airline in circumstances which would entitle you to claim compensation against the airline under EC Regulation No 261/2004 - the Denied Boarding Regulations 2004, you must pursue the airline for the compensation due to you. All sums you receive or are entitled to receive from the airline concerned by virtue of these Regulations represent the full amount of your entitlement to compensation or any other payment arising from such cancellation, delay, downgrading or denied boarding. The fact a delay may entitle you to cancel your flight does not automatically entitle you to cancel any other arrangements even where those arrangements have been made in conjunction with your flight. We have no liability to make any payment to you in relation to the Denied Boarding Regulations or in respect of any flight cancellation or delay, downgrading of any flight ticket or denial of any boarding as the full amount of your entitlement to any compensation or other payment (as dealt with above) is covered by the airline's obligations under the Denied Boarding Regulations. If your airline does not comply with these rules you should complain to the Air Transport Users' Council:
Tel; 020 7240 6061 or click through to their website; Air Transport Users' Council .
Click here to download these booking conditions in Word format:
Booking Conditions 0708.doc
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